Not happy with the year so far (financially)...

[humandraydel]

My wife had our daughter in February which was obviously expected - so the $4k bill that came wasn't a surprise. However, in the past few months we have had several unexpected (dental/medical) bills totaling about $2500 (3 root canals, 2 crowns, MRI, other smaller stuff). Our budget has $1k of savings per month so at the end of June we will have essentially saved $0 this year (not including 401k and HSA which I max).

Oh well - just a little frustrating to work for 6 months and not feel like I saved anything. I realize maxing a 401k + HSA = $24k and that's more than many people save. Plus we've cash flowed all these bills and haven't touched our 8 month EF but it is still a little disappointing.

How do you stay motivated in situations like this?

[TBH]

I think it's amazing that you got through the birth of a child and many unexpected expenses without touching your emergency fund or missing a beat on your retirement savings. You should be very proud of yourself.

Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Eventually you'll look back and be amazed at how far you've come.

I track my net worth monthly, which helps me see that I'm not treading water even when I feel like I am.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

My wife had our daughter in February which was obviously expected - so the $4k bill that came wasn't a surprise. However, in the past few months we have had several unexpected (dental/medical) bills totaling about $2500 (3 root canals, 2 crowns, MRI, other smaller stuff). Our budget has $1k of savings per month so at the end of June we will have essentially saved $0 this year (not including 401k and HSA which I max).

Oh well - just a little frustrating to work for 6 months and not feel like I saved anything. I realize maxing a 401k + HSA = $24k and that's more than many people save. Plus we've cash flowed all these bills and haven't touched our 8 month EF but it is still a little disappointing.

How do you stay motivated in situations like this?

I hear you on this. Just keep the emergency funds up and remember that while it's important to save, saving isn't everything. One day you'll be old and all you'll have is memories.

[JadeSmith]

Emergency funds are very essential to be saved!

[feh]

I think it's amazing that you got through the birth of a child and many unexpected expenses without touching your emergency fund or missing a beat on your retirement savings.

+1

This is an issue of perspective.

[bjl584]

You're way better off than if you had no savings and were forced into putting all those medical bills on a credit card.

[LizfromtheBronx]

I track my net worth monthly, which helps me see that I'm not treading water even when I feel like I am.

I second this tip! The numbers won't lie....and it truly is great to have gone through so many things and not gone further into debt, or touched the EF.

Congrats on the baby!

[MonkeyMama]

Welcome to life with kids, haha. (I always kind of cringe when it is assumed that diapers and cribs are the expensive part, know what I mean?)

Of course, our own having kids coincided with a poor economy, chronic unemployment for my husband, random health problems (though otherwise very healthy), and so on. So it's been a bit of a storm (& my eldest is 11 now, but the storm continues). Adding more people to your family does increase the Murphy potential.

But you are doing well and will emerge out the other side fine because you were well prepared.

I second the net worth comments. Last year was a crazy nasty Murphy year for us, But our net worth went up six figures. It was kind of an odd mix. I'd say at a basic level it was our worst savings year (of our entire adulthood) but on a "big picture" level it was one of our best years. At least our investments and prior years of savings are working for us.

[snafu]

humandraydel, Just a peek at your precious baby daughter can be a giant motivation. We all admire and compliment you on managing so well that your EF and 401K contributions remain intact in spite of a new baby and expensive dental care. Good on you!

Life is about challenges and how we cope. I hope you're smiling as you have done better than most of your peers.

[humandraydel]

This is an issue of perspective.

I know it is and so I hesitated before posting about my "1st world problems" - and I also realize that even my expenses aren't THAT big since many others face major medical bills from cancer, car accidents, chronic diseases, etc. Nonetheless, I appreciate the encouragement from everyone!