September Goals

I had a major unexpected expense already this month when the air conditioning unit at one of my rental properties stopped working and had to be replaced. The other big ticket items include pest control/termite insurance for a couple of my properties. I also have been procrastinating on buying a pressure washer so I may do that this month. Thanks to the cost of a new air conditioning unit, I won't make much progress this month in paying down debt. On a more positive note, I should close on the sale of one of my rental properties at the end of September. This will significantly lighten my debt load.

September Goals:

• earn $2,000 from mystery shopping (last month I earned $1,876)
  
• reduce credit card debt and car loan to $40,000 (8/31/2010: $42,798)
• create a Capital Expense budget through 2011
  

The first two goals are self-explanatory. This last goal is important to me as I haven't planned major expenses well in the past. I want to allocate funds each month towards larger expenses, but first I need to know how much to allocate. I also want to make sure I don't defer maintenance on my rental properties since procrastinating usually leads to even bigger headaches down the road. Good example: one property had some minor damage to the fascia and soffit when I bought it a couple years ago. I've been putting off repairing it but need to bite the bullet before things get worse.