have better control of my finances

Well, Patrick and I have somehow been able to pay all of our bills without any crazy stress. That has been nice. It’s crazy how both of us having decent jobs makes the financial burden so much lighter! :) I feel like I’m well on my way with this goal, but I still want to do a better job sticking to a budget. My parents are loaning me their Dave Ramsey DVD, CDs, and workbook, so that will be a great educational experience. My sister-in-law said it was a little difficult in the beginning but it has been a blessing for them. So, when I get through that “course” and am successful in sticking to a budget and building up a solid savings, I’ll consider this done.

I haven’t been using Quicken, but I’m doing much much better with my finances. I still indulge in little things here and there, and I need to get some savings going on. So, here’s what I need to do to finish this goal:

Create a budget and follow it
Get out of debt!
Create and build an emergency savings fund
Create and build a fun savings fund

I’m officially on the path of living dependency-free with credit cards. I’m paying them off, not using them until the debt is completely gone. I’m using the roll-over system, so when one card is paid off, the $$ amount will go to another card to beef up the payments. I’m hoping to be debt free in 3 years, 2 years ahead of the payment forecast. I’m also working on building up an emergency savings fund that never gets touched. I’d like to learn more about investing as well, so I can do what I can NOW to take care of myself financially in the FUTURE. I’m excited about this new beginning!!!

For Christmas my parents gave me Quicken so I can get a better handle on my finances. This may not seem like the coolest gift, but they’ve really extended a LOT of financial help the past several months (car repairs, legal stuff, etc.), so I didn’t want a big present from them, and getting financially stable is a huge goal I have. So the gift was perfect.

I’ve set it up on my computer and need to make a habit of checking in regularly, setting up a budget, and doing reports to see where I am unnecessarily spending my money. I’ve had an extremely aggressive get-out-of-debt-budget before, and knocked out thousands of dollars in about 8 months. So, it’s time to do that again and take control of my financial future.