$12,500 in RESP contributions – Aside from the $900/month that automatically goes into our kids’ RESP, we put in an additional $420 in April thanks to G’s income tax return. Total for April was $1,320, bringing my year-to-date total to $6,270. Definitely on track.
Increase automatic investment amounts ($500/month excluding pension contributions at Jan 1) – Still $900/month, so mission accomplished.
Annual spend under $80K – Our April spend was $5,427.86. This included our annual lease fee on our cabin of just under $1,200, which was our only big-ticket item this month. I’m super happy about our low spend this month, especially since we still managed a ton of fun activities and outings with families and friends! Our year to date spend is $24,839.70, so we’re on track here.
Increase our saving % (20% at Jan 1) – Currently at 25%, so mission accomplished.
Declutter at least 2 things a day – Confession time – I didn’t declutter a thing in April (nor in May so far!)!! GASP!! I can’t say why, other than I just never got around to it. My year to date is still 335 items though, so I’m still on track, but I’m gonna have to ramp up efforts in this area soon!
Big Win – March 31 is our year-end at work, and in April, I received a bonus of just over $3K for my performance last year. Same as with my income tax returns and other cash ‘windfalls’, I typically would have spent all this money on stuff. But this time, all the bills were up to debt, and money was already being invested for retirement and our kids’ educations, so we put all that money into extra payments on the only remaining debt we have, our mortgage. Some might question making extra payments on a low-interest debt, but I’m more debt-averse than most, and since all of our savings obligations were already being taken of, it was the right choice for us. Another extremely satisfying use of ‘extra’ cash!!
There you have it! 4 months down, 8 to go!