Post #12 Finance Goals 2022 Part 1

As we turn the page to a new chapter of 2022 there’s reflection and optimism. I invested a good deal of time with a friend, LB, this past summer and early fall in helping them with a house flip that proved to be very successful in gaining experience, teamwork, and securing the possibility of working together on a future project. It just so happened that this month the favor of labor was returned as I had assistance with putting in a new Pergo floor in my own kitchen. (I’ll include before and after pictures below.)

After many trips to the home improvements stores to look for a floor that would both compliment my cherry cabinets and lighten my room I decided on a Northern Blonde Maple Pergo Flooring from Home Depot. Having friend and family input on this decision was extremely reassuring.

The ordering of 15 boxes of flooring was made in November, but due to Covid, Jury Duty, and family health issues we waited until a week before Christmas in December to complete the project. The laying of the floor took only three days, but the prep of removing my dishwasher, moving my refrigerator, and taking up the initial flooring was a process. Another friend, JF, (whom owns their own restoration business FreshStart) was passing through my area and gave me a good foundation to laying the floor, but it was my friend LB who helped me complete the project.

Originally, I had thought of trying to cut the bottom of my upper cabinet to allow me to keep my existing refrigerator. My father had volunteered to assist me with this undertaking if I decided to go this route. As the situation would have it I decided it would be too much to cut the bottom cabinet and an easier, although, more costly move would be to order a new refrigerator with the right dimensions.

I bought both a new dishwasher and new refrigerator from Lowe’s and neither of which I had in mind replacing on the onset. Replacing an older appliance isn’t always the best thing to do, but in my case I believe it was the best decision. (The dishwasher was 30 years old and the refrigerator was over 17 years old.) The overall cost of the total project was near $3,000. I saved a ton since my friends and I installed the flooring. I would estimate between $750 to $1,000 for labor.

This brings my first immediate financial goal of 2022: Pay off the home improvement stores through a store credit card and my own Visa credit card by the end of January totaling approximately $3,000.

I always pay off my credit cards monthly as to NOT incur any extra interest and charges. My monthly take home income is close to $4,000 with much of that money already allocated towards living expenses. However, this feat in January will be a tiny challenge. I invested over $6,500 in trying my hand at option trading in my brokerage account with individual stocks the last few months of 2021 leaving my regular savings account lower than normal on liquid funds. I’m waiting for options to expire to free up more cash. I will ALWAYS believe that mutual funds and ETF’s are the lowest risk investments, but I wanted to try trading options to possibly generate extra income down the road. A future post of this blog will include my experience of option trading along side a post reframing my mortgage payoff goals of 2022.

I am greatly appreciative of my friends for helping me push towards greater knowledge and experience of home improvement techniques and encouraging me to explore and push through my self-imposed limitations. May this year we all find strength in possibilities and may we all have the good fortune of friends and family that help us obtain our goals. God Bless.

~ Quiet Turtle

*Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog and in this website does not and is not intended to constitute financial advice; instead all information, content, and materials presented are for general informational and educational purposes only.