August 13, 2019August 13, 2019 FOGA

July Goals Update

Goals

Hello FOGA Readers! Happy August and welcome to the July Goals Update. 🙂

Can you guys believe it’s already August? Less than five months left in 2019.

Let’s get to it.

July Wrap Up

The main event in July was the work cruise with my company. Back in January, they announced a contest for sales where if you met your goal, you go on a free cruise. Well, I met my goal, and July was cruise time.

It turned out to be better than I thought it would. Since it was a work event, I was picturing a bunch of forced socialization with coworkers I didn’t know. Thankfully, that was cut down to a minimum, and Mr. FOGA and I had fun. Unlimited alcohol didn’t hurt either. Plus, we got to try a Norwegian cruise as well. I definitely like Norwegian more than Royal Carribean.

Aside from that, I met up with a friend to hang out for a bit. That was fun and much needed.

Work Update

Last month was pretty much all work. We had the work cruise and some weird schedules due to it. I covered for my partner when he was on his cruise, and then I went on the next one. They didn’t want us to close down the offices.

When I came back, one of my clients decided to transfer to another community. They were two weeks before closing. They even asked us to move up the date. 😤 The good news is I still get paid on half. The bad news is that I lose the credit for the sale and now am not going to make it to a higher commission this year. The way my company works is once we have a certain amount in sales for the fiscal year, your commission increases. I was this close. Sigh. Next year.

Despite that, I sold three homes in July and had three and a half homes close (split sale with my partner). So, August is looking up for money. I’ll get two paychecks if all goes well.

Other news: It sounds like they may be moving me to another community. A better performing one, which means a bigger paycheck. This is my version of a promotion. I have no ETA on anything, but it sounds like it may be by the end of this year or early next year. The only downside is that I would have a new team, so my partners would change. I’m trying to hold my opinion on it until I know who my partners would be. For now, it’s nice to be recognized.

No real change with Mr. FOGA. He’s was stressed for so long in his previous role that I think he’s just enjoying the simplicity of it. 🙂

Top Posts

Most Popular FOGA Post in July: Home Squeezed Home: Why I Love Living In 160 Square Feet
Tread Lightly Retire Early featured this post in her Women’s Personal Finance Wednesdays, so this took off. 🙂

My Favorite FOGA Post in July: What the Hell is FIRE Anyway?
I had a lot of fun writing this, and it was the least popular post in July. Shows you what I know. lol

My Favorite Post in July: After Burning Out: This Is How I Spend My Money Now
This is an awesome post and very helpful for me. I have been fighting extreme burnout and anxiety for the last few months, and this was a useful take on self-care. I highly recommend reading this.

Goals for July

July was another great financial month (though not as good as June). Also had a lot of stuff going on with the cruise.

I ending up getting paid once instead of twice due to a home closing being delayed.

So, how did we/I do on the goals?

• Keep a $0 Credit Card Balance. PASSED! Also offically removing this goal. If we ever end up with a credit card balance that is not paid off by the end of the month, I will put it back on. 
• Stay Under $500 for Eating Out. FAIL! I was being so optimistic. We actually ended up more around $645. Between the cruise (we didn’t want to leave food in the hosue to go bad) and birthdays (Mr. FOGA’s and a friend’s), this was dead in the water. Not really bother with it though. 
• Max out our IRAs ($1000 total). PASSED!!! The IRAs are maxed out for 2019!!! Woohoo!!!! $12,000 in seven months. Yay for home closings!
• Put $3000 in Our Emergency Fund. PASSED! We ended up putting in around $3166 in our emergency fund. Only $3,500 until it’s maxed out. 
• Read One Book. FAIL! Although, for the first time I don’t feel miserable about this. I got a comment on the last monthly update that made me feel better about this. While I seem incapable of reading a book all the way to the end right now, I have been reading about 5-8 blog posts a day. That did cheer me up a bit. Thanks Radical FIRE. 🙂
• Work Five Times This Month. FAIL! Two out of Five. This is better than normal. The rain has been mkaing my normal workouts not possible, but I’ve got alternatives, so that’s not really an excuse. 
• Figure Out What to Do with the Excess Stuff from the Closet Cleaning. FAIL! I think I will just go ahead and donate the clothes and shoes. Makes it easier and gets them out of the house. 

Blog Goals for July

• Post Four Times this Month. PASS!!! Four posts in one month! Look at that! 🙂
• Get One Week Ahead on Posts. FAIL! This was a stretch goal, so I am not as concerned with this. Just happy to have four posts in one month. 🙂
• Equal or Beat June Monthly Views. PASS!!! Thanks to the feature, FOGA had 761 views. This is the new all time high (not counting the month of the Rockstar finance feature).
• Track Twitter & Pinterest Growth. Twitter is at 1100 followers and Pinterest is at 302 followers. 🙂 Been trying to devote at leat an hour a week to Pinterest and that has been paying off with repins. Plus, posting regularly does wonders as well. 
• One Year of Blogging. Completed this post. 🙂 Check it out here. 

Goals for August

August should be a good month financially. Mr. FOGA gets three paychecks, and I get paid twice. 🙂

• Stay Under $550 for Eating Out. Added a little more to this due to my mom’s birthday. This should be a fairly normal month without any traveling so this should be more than achievable. Should be. 
• Max out our Emergency Fund. $3500 left to max out our Emergency Fund at $30,000. Fingers crossed! So excited to cross this goal off the list.
• Start Savings for New Car ($1000). Mr. FOGA’s car is getting up there in miles and it’s time to start saving up for a new one before it starts to break down constantly. We want to pay for it with cash, so we are saving up. 
• Pick an investment account for the future. After this month, we will be done with maxing out the IRAs and the emergency fund. Need to pick somewhere for funds to go afterwards. So far, looking into Vanguard, Schwab, and Ellevest (thanks for letting me know about this one Moriah). 
• Finish One Book. While I do feel better for missing this goal as much as I have, I still want to actually get this done. 
• Work Five Times This Month. Got one down on this. Only four more to go. The rain has been killing my normal walks outside, 
• Clean Out the Excess Stuff from the Closet. Need to find a local charity to donate everything to and then take everything over. 

Blog Goals for August

• Post Four Times this Month on Tuesdays. I’ve narrowed this down a bit. Due to popular vote, I will be posting on Tuesdays now. So far this makes two. Only two more to go. 😊
• Get One Week Ahead on Posts. Keeping my stretch goal. We’ll see how it goes.
• Equal or Beat July Monthly Views. Goal is to beat 761 views. Is 800 possible?
• Track Twitter & Pinterest Growth. 1100 and 302 on Twitter and Pinterest respectively. How much higher can we go by the next update?

Plans for August

We have a few things coming up in August. Mr. FOGA is going to visit both his parents. My mom’s birthday is in August as well. Plus the Glass Cannons are getting together for another round of Dungeons & Dragons. Will we live? Who knows!

Should be a fun month!

In Summation

And that was the July Goals Update! I hope you enjoyed it. 😊

I am going to be playing with the timing that the Goals Updates come out. Want to get them closer to the beginning of the month vs. the middle or end. This is the earliest I have posted one in a while, but want to improve on it.

How was your July? Did you get your goals accomplished? Let me know in the comments.

Until Next Time!

-Ms. FOGA