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.

Death to the Michelin Man

So here I am, not spending, and maintaining happily....and daggone if I don't casually drop my car off at the dealership to get the Maintenance Required light turned off, and I get SMACKED with a $1300 bill!

Okay...I'm breathing...let me start from the beginning. I just put about $1100 into my car no more than 6 months ago, and I was told that it was for early maintenance and the light wouldn't come on. So...I'm thinking this is just a matter of switching off the light. Lo & behold, my car needs service at 30,000 miles and 40,000 miles. So, the maintenance required was truly required. AND on top of that I needed new tires...which my car happens to have top of the line Michelin's according to the dealer. And he's right, I didn't find them anywhere for under $200 each. (squirming). As soon as I buckle down and get it together, I get hit with this. I don't even drive my car everyday, I METRO!!! And my car is only a 2005 with 39,000 miles on it. How and why is it costing me this much money?!!!!

I digress, I'll continue to stay motivated in spite of that goal buster. Life happens and I'll keep failing forward.

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