December Final Progress Report

 

Well its time for the monthly progress report and I've decided this will be the last one. The way I manage our money is changing now as we get closer to retirement & I am ready to focus less on the financial side of life and on tracking every cent.  Keeping track of our progress every month has really helped to keep me accountable and to stick with saving and debt payoff even when it felt so slow. What I have learned from tracking everything is that small amounts make a difference and that tracking every cent IS important when you're paying down debt and trying to turn around your finances. So will continue to track our expenses in YNAB but I won't be doing monthly finance updates here on the blog anymore as our goal has been reached exceeded. 

Here's the numbers:

Mortgage

We are not paying more off the mortgage anymore, instead that money sits in the offset account as our emergency fund/everyday expenses account. A summary of the mortgage payoff since I started this blog is on the Mortgages page.

Monthly Progress:

• current balance: $30,470
• total reduction: $0

Annual Progress:

• start balance: $62,991
• end balance: $30,470
• total reduction: $32,521

Savings:

Our savings are in our super accounts and we both salary sacrifice the maximum amount. I am gobsmacked at how much this has grown in the last year due to a good share market & compounding interest.  A summary of our savings since I started blogging is on the Savings page.

Monthly Progress:

• current balance: $719,588
• up from: $708,860
• total increase: $10,728

Annual Progress:

• start balance: me: $194,374  DH: $368,364 = $562,738
• end balance:  me: $259,119  DH: $460,469 = $719,588
• increase:        me: $64,745    DH: $119,243 
• total increase: $156,850

So 2021 has been a really busy year for me with all my focus being on work. I'm not sorry I did the management job but I'm glad it's over. I didn't post much as there really wasn't a lot to say.

But this last week I have slept so well and I am starting to feel a bit more energised. I started decluttering my sewing room, which I am thoroughly enjoying. I gave the blog a makeover because now I'll be blogging about things other than work and yes, a lot of it will be sewing & quilting and work around the house & garden.

We spent the year close to home due to Covid, and we all worked at home for several months in 2022. Right now Omicron is just spreading like wildfire here. Our new premier and our out of touch government have just let it rip and they don't give a toss for those in the community that are vulnerable. I will feel a little safer when we have had our boosters but I'm keen to avoid going back onto campus with a lot of people so I may even leave a bit earlier if I am forced to go back to soon.

Well this is the end for the financial part of this retirement journey. Theres only 12 weeks until I finish at work but essentially all I will be doing is finishing up an handing over, Heres hoping that 2022 is the year that covid starts to lose its grip and we can return to a bit more normal life.