What seemed like it was going to be a relatively quiet week on the financial front ended up turning out to be pretty busy.

Between my bank account bonus and federal refund, I got some "snowflakes" earlier than expected.  That combined with payday meant a good deal of progress on debt and savings goals.  I'm looking forward to my monthly summary on Monday. 

Over the weekend, I will likely have to take a little bit of money out of savings for some auto maintenance....I don't yet have an auto sinking fund set up, but am getting started on that soon.  While I don't relish the thought of taking it out of savings, it's certainly better than putting it on a credit card.  I need to get my oil changed, and my wiper blades (front and rear) replaced.  I'm going to the dealer, merely because I have a good coupon for the oil change.  Hoping it all costs less than $100, but we shall see.  I don't spend a lot on auto maintenance, I think it was less than $400 for all of 2020.  I'm starting to funnel money into the sinking fund for that in a few months.  

Once the low hanging fruit of credit cards has been paid off (the smaller balances that I am able to knock out with snowflakes), I am planning to increase my 401k contribution.  I am currently at 10% (I forget what the terms of my match are exactly, but I know I am contributing more than enough to max the match).  I'd like to bump this to 14% by the end of the year. In order to max at my current salary, I need to be at 23% - ideally I can get close to there by the time I'm 45.  As time goes on in my massive debt paydown, I should be able to keep increasing this contribution.  I think 23% by 45 is very doable.  

I also spoke with HR this morning to iron out my questions about the tuition reimbursement program and was pleased with the answers I got.  I'm still waiting on my transfer credit evaluation, and then I will update my roadmap of courses, and speak to the financial aid office to find out if I am eligible for loans for any courses taken prior to matriculation.  That's the big outstanding question right now. 

I've been helping my mother and aunt this week in settling my grandfather's estate.  It's a little frustrating because no one seems to move as quickly as I do.  But I'm glad I have the skillset to be able to push through the inefficiencies for them to lift that burden.  It's also highlighted areas where I would like to conduct pre-planning for my mother's affairs (I will likely be her executor because I'm best suited for it out of my siblings).  We decided that she will sign POAs now, so that it's taken care of long before needed.  My sister and I are already on her bank accounts as joint holders, I can get into most if not all of her credit card accounts, and we are listed as beneficiaries on everything.  Should be pretty straightforward.  I am going to curate a list of all financial info, and just keep it updated as her situation changes.  Right now the only outstanding things are the house and her car, and hopefully those will no longer be an issue by the time we have to deal with any of this.