The House Fund

11 posts

From $4,200 to $32,200. Paychecks, refunds, side money, the jar and one paid-off car, added up honestly, including what didn't work.

Pay stubs, two years of taxes, bank statements and a letter about the mowing money. How pre-approval went and the number we got.

The Silverado needed a water pump and a timing chain part in the middle of July. The emergency fund covered it, which is the whole point.

Down payments, USDA rural loans, closing costs and why our credit card history mattered. Notes from an hour at a bank desk in town.

Every deposit of 2025 in one table: paychecks, the tax refund, the old car payment, mowing money and the jar. Plus the two months we missed.

Our savings earned almost nothing at the bank in town. What moving it to an online bank paid us in the first year, in actual dollars.

One account for the truck and the dog, one for the house. Why we stopped keeping both in a single pile and how much goes to each.

We dumped the jar on the kitchen table and counted $187.40. What a few months of quarters and fives are worth, and where we cash it in.

The CR-V is finally ours. Instead of letting that $289 disappear into everyday spending, we set it to move on its own the next morning.

Most of the refund went straight to the house fund. The rest bought tires and one good dinner, and I don't feel bad about either.