Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Happy 2009!!

I'm late...I know, but Happy 2009!

Nothing much new here...boyfriend and I have decided to set goals and stick to them. Boyfriend tends to be much more disciplined than me (hehe), so this should prove to be a worthwhile exercise. I read a brief blurp in Shape magazine about setting goals...and according to a survey (by some college or research institute) it's better to set monthly goals. So if I stay, "I'm going to save $50 this month" vs. "I'm going to save $600 this year," I'm more likely to save the $50 on a monthly basis. Setting realistic short goals on a monthly basis tends to provoke people to save more over time than setting a large long term goal.

So with that in mind, here are my January goals:
  1. Don't overspend. I know what I make, and I know what I have to pay. So when that money is gone, that's it. Period. No credit cards. I will accomplish this by monitoring my spending and truly thinking through purchases before I swipe my debit card. I have a closet FULL of clothes...so much so that I wear things once and often forget about them. I gave 35 sweaters and 13 pairs of shoes to Goodwill and my closet is still full...I have clothes in waiting?! No more...
  2. Push all extra money towards credit card debt. I've decided to take all of my extra money and put it towards my debt. This in addition to my tax refund, which I hope will be grand. What's the point of me saving money that's earning 3% interest, while I'm racking up interest on my credit card at a rate of 8.99%?! Not a huge difference, but over time...I'm sure it is. So as of now, all savings is halted...I have more than 6 months living expenses saved up, so the next responsible thing to accomplish is to pay off my debt.

That's it...simply said. No fancy resolutions, just simple goals.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent goals!

Anonymous said...

WOW...you have 6 months of living expenses saved up! You go girl!!!

That would be enough for me to fee grrrrrrrreat! You Rock.

Forget the rest of the goals! LOL

Joan's Heart said...

I like the simple goals. 6 months saved? Mean it!