February Goals

I would have to say that I'm pretty happy with my January progress. Being mindful is a beautiful thing. By just being aware of when I'm swiping, I have reduced the amount of money I carelessly piss away. And I'm proud of me. Next up...February! Since February is a short month, it gives me less time to act up, hence...I'll add another goal to my list:

1. Don't overspend. Valentine's Day is this month and while I LOVE to shower boyfriend with gifts...I shall refrain. I think we (boyfriend & I) should pledge to spend $100 MAX for V-Day. Our love is solid, I don't need material things to solidify anything.
2. Put all extra money towards my credit card. The tax refund is looking pretty solid right now, so hopefully I can knock out my credit card (for the 3rd or 4th time, I'm losing track at this point.)
3. Track what I spend. Every single penny, nickel and dime.

January Goals: Hit or Miss?

Below are my goals that I set for myself in January and whether I Hit or Missed:

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... HIT. (Cue the cheers) I did however have to swipe my credit card for Michelin tires at the dealership. I'm beginning to think that I got hoodwinked.
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. HIT/MISS. No extra money yet...I get my first paycheck for February this Friday, which means I will then push all extra money from January to the CC. I'd planned to push $200 at a minimum to them, so that will at least be done.

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.

A Personal Hiatus

Today during a very interesting gchat with boyfriend or Mr. Man as I sometimes refer to him, I realized that often I've set goals for myself and haven't followed through with them. Boyfriend is very good at setting goals and checking back on his goals...so...he suggested that I take a personal hiatus once a month to set goals, short and long term, follow up on goals from the previous month, and do major things related to personal finance. Now you see why I love him so much, he's a genius. I set goals during August, and much to my chagrin, I didn't follow up on them. So perhaps this would be a great monthly exercise for me and it would help me to stay on the grind continually.

On a monthly basis, I will now have a personal hiatus (with boyfriend, but separately). This way I can set, follow up, and maintain my goals. As well as, know his goals and we can both help one another as far as accountability is concerned. I'm so excited! I wonder when we'll start? Perhaps January...isn't that the time EVERYONE starts new goals and projects? (That was a rhetorical question.)

Maybe I can label them Personal Hiatus...doesn't that sound intriguing?! Like hmm, how classy, what's she up to?! Yep, the Personal Hiatus it is...a star is born. And more importantly, a great habit.