Checking in on my 2021 Vision Board ( Part One)

 

Back in January, I put together a 2021 vision board.  It is my screensaver on my laptop. I set high goals attempting to balance happiness and success.  By keeping it on my laptop, I am able to look at it every day.  There is a way to make it a screen saver on your phone but I have yet to figure it out. 

I built it using vertical categories in columns, business, personal, financial, travel, and family. The first category is business. On top is eBay with a goal of $31,000 gross sales for the year.  I am on track to meet that goal and surpass it.  Beginning July 1, 2021, I made $17,000 in GROSS sales on eBay alone. 

I also stopped and started and stopped and started a YouTube channel about thrifting.  What I discovered is YouTube is time-consuming and more work than it seems on the surface. Currently, I have 300 subscribers. YouTube success demands consistency. Consistency and time.  YOU must have both to succeed on YouTube.  

I want to open a shop on Etsy filled with downloadable printables. Once you design the printable and upload it to Etsy, the income is basically passive. This has not happened yet. It is a project that I circle back to monthly and am spending time creating cute and interesting printables. 

TikTok. Do you TikTok? While I was recovering from shoulder surgery I had a lot of free time on my hands. TikTok was a welcome diversion from the pain of shoulder surgery.  Before too long the pain was getting better and I decided to start a TikTok for my cat Gary and was able to learn the ins and outs of filming and adding music etc to my videos. As a side note, there is a lot of valuable information on TikTok.  

Then I started a different  Tik Tok channel about thrifting. It is a social media platform that I still enjoy and add to daily. I have made virtual friends and met thrifting friends at estate sales and garage sales.  One TikTok friend and I go to estate sales regularly. I currently have over 5000 followers on TikTok and hope to grow it to at least 10,000 with 30,000 as the BIG goal for now.  ( my TikTok is @happygirlthrift)

In the next vision board post, I will discuss the next column, "Personal".   Have you ever put together a vision board?  This is my first digital vision board.  It took me a bit to figure it out but with the help of YouTube, it was pretty easy.

Here is the LINK to Part Two

TRANSFER TUESDAY JULY 13, 2021

 

                   

                             

Hello Tuesday!  This is the day that we make an extra effort to pay down our debt and slide into retirement debt-free .  Most every Tuesday we apply extra cash (whether it be BIG or small) to our outstanding debt.  This helps keeps us aware of and accountable for our debt. And it all makes a difference.

Our only debt is a HELOC with an interest rate of 2.24% The minimum monthly payment goes towards the PRINCIPAL and the INTEREST.   I am chipping away at the balance until we sell my deceased mom's house that is currently being used as a rental. At that point, we will pay off the rest of the balance.  Until then, I will be sending in payment to this debt and to my taxable investment account every Tuesday. 

My last Transfer Tuesday was  July 6, 2021

Previous balance on last Transfer Tuesday Post   $67,082.46

Money Moves This Week: 

 

eBay 10% of weekly payout $32

Etsy $37.22 

 

Cash Rewards Payouts have all been deposited to our banking account. 

 GetUpSide $72.55

BOA CC Rewards His: $66.78

BOA CC Rewards Hers: $44.20

TOTAL $183.53

Sending $100.00 to my M1 Finance account.  M1 will spread the payment between my first Pie (stocks I selected) and VTI (Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF) 

The balance as of this morning is $836.46

I also have a savings account with M1Finance. That side currently has $396.39 in it as of this morning.  This account may be a landing spot for future Required Minimum Distributions (from an inherited IRA) as the interest is currently 1%. The savings account this is currently being used has a rate of 0.01%.

And  I will be sending $152.75 to the HELOC

The NEW balance will be  $66,929.71 I will be sending in at least $0.71 in too.  The cents drive me bananas.  I like it to have no cents showing. 

When we started paying down the debt in Sept 2019 we were at $95,853.00

How was your Transfer Tuesday? 

My inspiration for Transfer Tuesday is Pennies Not Perfection

FICO 805 _BOA

CASHING OUT REWARDS: Credit Cards ~Get Upside~Ibotta

Today I did a few money moves with our rewards cards at BOA. The credit cards we currently have at BOA allow you to select certain categories for Rewards. 

My card I have Online Shopping 3%, Grocery 2% and all other purchases 1%

My husband's card is currently set to Gas 3%, Grocery 2% and all purchases 1%

I redeemed $44.20 from my card and $66.78 from my husband's card. 

We also use GetUpside an app that you can use to get cashback from gas purchases and some food purchases. Today we are redeeming $72.55  We have not used it for food purchases, but we use it for gas purchases.  Typically we will get 4-14 cents back per gallon of gas purchased. 

It's easy to use.  Open the app, find a gas station near you and select it.  You will have to preselect the grade of gas you are going to get. SAVE your receipt and scan it in when done.  Similar to the FETCH app. 

  Each grade will get a different amount in rebates.  The higher the grade, the higher the potential rebate.  If you refer a friend, you will get a penny for each gallon that they use when activating the app.  My son uses the app for his vehicle and his work vehicle.  He earns a substantial amount for one person being able to use two vehicles.  

The last redemption is for Ibotta.  I need to up my Ibotta game!  I was able to cash out $21.20

Total amount redeemed today:  $204.73

Total for the 2021 Redeemed $442.72

TRANSFER TUESDAY JULY 6, 2021

 Hello Tuesday!  This is the day that we make an extra effort to pay down our debt.  Most every Tuesday we apply extra cash (whether it be BIG or small) to our outstanding debt.  This helps keeps us aware of and accountable for our debt. And it all makes a difference.

Our only debt is a HELOC with an interest rate of 2.24% The minimum monthly payment goes towards the PRINCIPAL and the INTEREST.   I am chipping away at the balance until we sell my mom's house that is currently being used as a rental. At that point, we will pay off the rest of the balance.  Until then, I will be sending in payments every Tuesday. 

My last Transfer Tuesday was   June 29, 2021

Previous balance on last Transfer Tuesday Post   $67,951.00

We incurred a monthly service charge of $130.96

The updated balance is $67,145.54

Money Moves This Week: 

Paying 10% of gross sales earned this week from eBay: $31.54

The NEW balance is $67,114.00

A payment of 10% $31.54 was sent to my M1 Finance account.  M1 will spread the payment between my first Pie (stocks I selected) and VTI (Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF) 

The balance as of this morning is $800.24

Upcoming MONEY MOVES Payout for ETSY of $38.00

When we started paying down the debt in Sept 2019 we were at $95,853.00

How was your Transfer Tuesday? 

My inspiration for Transfer Tuesday is Pennies Not Perfection