How is it a new year already?! In sitting down to write this post I realized just how much I had to share. Let’s get right to it!
2022 Highlights:
● WE GREW OUR FAMILY
Baby Luca joined our family in February and has been eating his way through our hearts and garbage bins ever since. To say I’m obsessed with my son is an understatement. His existence has been the highlight of the year and of my life.
● WE TOOK MULTIPLE FAMILY VACATIONS
Whoever said having a baby limits your ability to take vacations hasn’t met mine 😛 This year we took trips to Mexico, Disney World, and Vegas with a number of weekend getaways in between. It’s been so fulfilling to be able to create these memories with my son! I can’t wait for him to learn our love of travel.
● WE BOUGHT TOMMY’S DREAM CAR – A KIA TELLURIDE
This has been Tommy’s dream car since the flagship model came out in 2019. I mentioned in my previous post that we ordered ours at the end of 2021 and it finally arrived in April 2022. We put ~$34k down to minimize the car note and Tommy’s been making extra monthly payments with plans to have it paid off in less than 2 years. And in case you were wondering – yes, the car is amazing and we’re obsessed. We dubbed it the Baby Whisperer cause Luca spends half his days snoozing in there.
● WE INCREASED OUR HOUSEHOLD INCOME BY 11%
Tommy and I both got raises in February and March which helped increase our household income quite a bit. It couldn’t have come with better timing as I started my maternity leave in February and we were able to comfortably plan for Luca’s arrival without compromising our savings goals.
● I TOOK AN ADDITIONAL 6 WEEKS OF UNPAID LEAVE
After my paid maternity leave concluded, I opted to take an additional 6 weeks of unpaid leave. As someone who carries trauma from my experiences of growing up poor, the thought of taking any unpaid time off was harrowing for me. Ultimately I am SO GLAD I did it. My savings and spending were limited during that time but I would do it again and again, given the chance. That extra time with Luca was B-E-A-utiful. The fact that I was even able to have this option and financially prepare for it is something I never thought I would ever be in the position to do. I am beyond grateful for that.
● MAXED OUT MY ROTH IRA CONTRIBUTION ($6,000)
I’ve done this consistently for the last 5 years by automatically transferring $250 per paycheck into my Roth IRA at Vanguard. I get paid bi-weekly so my contributions max out every November which is nice because December always feels like a little bonus month for me having the extra $500 cash in my account. The majority of my funds are invested in index funds with a very small portion invested in individual stocks ’cause I like to have fun sometimes.
● MAXED OUT MY 2022 HSA CONTRIBUTION ($3,650)
This year my employer increased their HSA contribution to $500 for individual plans which was a nice added benefit. As a result of this, I was able to decrease my payroll deductions slightly to meet the max annual contribution. In 2023 the limit is increasing to $3,850 for individuals and $7,750 for families. We plan to contribute the family max by using both mine and Tommy’s HSAs. You can see how we plan to break up the contributions between us in the table below:
| Employer Contribution | Individual Contribution | Total | |
| Amy + Luca | $1,000 (for family plan) | $2,850 | $3,850 |
| Tommy | $600 (for individual plan) | $3,300 | $3,900 |
| $7,750 |
● CONTRIBUTED $3,800 TO OUR SON’S 529 COLLEGE ACCOUNT
A couple of months before Luca was born, I opened a 529 account in my name and started making monthly contributions. I knew once he was born I’d be able to switch the account into his name. We’ve put every monetary gift received for him into this account and have contributed $200 a month into it since he was born. As a result, he’s currently got a couple of future textbooks paid off already – YAY!
● SAVED $22,150 IN OUR HIGH YIELD SAVINGS ACCOUNT
This year we saved a little over $22k in our HYSA, which is ~$5k less than last year. Not bad considering we had a kid, started saving for said kid’s college, started paying for said kid’s daycare, bought a new car, AND had our biggest year of expenses yet (more on that later)! As always, a breakdown of our monthly savings is detailed below:
2022 Lowlights
● EXPENSES, EXPENSES, EXPENSES
The biggest thing working against us this past year was the number of large expenses we had. They required us to spend heavily and occasionally, dig into our savings. Some of these expenses were expected but many of them weren’t:
- In January, we spent a small sum of savings on preparations for Luca’s arrival. Outside of some nursery items, we also bought a new king sized bed & mattress which is honestly top 10 best purchases of my life.
- We took $3k out of our savings in February to pay for Luca’s hospital bill.
- In April we took $23k out of our savings to put as a downpayment for our new Telluride. The other $11k came from selling Tommy’s old car.
- We spent $900 replacing our water softener in the spring when it decided to stop working.
- We had a huuuge (Donald Trump voice) tax bill this year of $7k.
- Our in-home daycare provider for Luca runs us about $700/month. It’s not cheap but by daycare center standards, it’s nearly free. This has been a new monthly cost to us.
- We had to pay $3k into our escrow account in May due to it being short.
- We dipped into our savings to pay for some of the vacations we took this year.
The main takeaway here is that it is absolutely essential to have a rainy day fund. All of these large ticket items we were able to address with little to no stress due to having been financially prepared. There is NO amount of money you can put on peace of mind.
Overall, it was an incredible year for us. Dare I say our best one yet? The addition of our son was the cherry on top and being able to comfortably plan for his future gives me an added sense of purpose.
Goals for 2023
- Increase monthly 529 contributions to $300/month (up from $200)
I plan to increase my monthly contributions to Luca’s 529 to $300/month this year. In case you missed the epic news in December, Congress passed a bill that now allows individuals to rollover any funds from a 529 into Roth IRA accounts tax-free. This relieves some of my concerns of overfunding his account, should he receive any type of scholarship for school. - Increase 401(k) contributions by 1%
Unbeknownst to me, I wasn’t allowed to increase my 401(k) contributions during my maternity leave due to being an inactive employee. Since I just got back to work not too long ago, I’m planning to increase it this year instead. - Increase my income
I’ve missed half a year of work due to being on maternity leave. While I would NOT have traded that time for anything, it did make it significantly more challenging for me to justify deserving a raise this year. Luckily I was asked to manage some large projects when I came back that gave me great visibility with senior leadership. Our raises are announced in February so if I don’t get one, I may consider taking on some side projects or doing more sponsored content, which I’ve done in the past. - Read 1 book per month
My library thinks I’m ghosting them. Having a baby makes hobbies nearly impossible, but this is always a goal I have that I’m very passionate about. Send book recs my way! - Expand on my Hmong & Chinese
I’ve considered paying for classes or downloading some reputable apps that I’ve heard great reviews of. My language speaking skills outside of English (err – English too honestly) are elementary AT BEST and I’d love to change that in hopes of my son growing up in a trilingual home. - Take more family vacations
We have a cruise booked in July already with my husband’s family but I’d love to plan at least 1 other family trip. Luca’s now been on a few trips with us and each one has given me more confidence of traveling with a baby. I LOVE that I get to create these experiences for my son starting at such an early age. I cannot wait to show him some of my favorite places in this world and explore new ones with him. Where should we go this year? - Spend less money on clothes
I lost a lot of weight post pregnancy which resulted in me buying a new wardrobe since nothing I owned fit me anymore. I tried to be intentional about every piece I bought but I might have indulged one too many. I hope to spend less money on clothes this year for both myself AND Luca since I also may have caught a case of first-time-mom-syndrome where I felt compelled to purchase every Mickey Mouse outfit I saw. - Do more date nights with my hubby
Now that Luca is a little older, I have a lot less anxiety leaving him with a caretaker. He really is the most chill and happy baby and the few times we’ve left him with family, they’ve only ever raved about how great he is. I’m hopeful this will allow me and Tommy to do more date nights on a monthly basis. Having a family has really reinforced how much I absolutely adore Tommy as a partner. He’s the best date I’ve ever had and I always look forward to time spent alone with him so here’s to promising to make that more of a priority in 2023 ❤️ - Learn a new recipe every month
I’ve never been a great cook but having a family now has really motivated me to have more fun in the kitchen. I’d love to get some recipes you guys would recommend I try! - Work out 3x a week
This past year has been transformative for my mental and physical health journey. Some people have asked me what my “secret” to losing my baby weight was and it truly wasn’t anything impressive. I drank a lot of water, ate in moderation, and made it a priority to be active 45-60 minutes a day. On days I couldn’t make it to the gym, I made sure I was getting outside for frequent walks. Tommy got me a Fitbit as a push present and it has helped motivate me so much in getting my 10k steps a day. Not putting pressure on myself to lose weight for the first time and instead putting my focus on just being healthier for my baby completely changed the way I viewed physical health and for the first time ever, I’m looking forward to continuing that journey.
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