Strengthen my financial health

I’m putting yet another direct deposit into a credit union that is difficult to get into in an attempt to actually save up the 8 months emergency fund that Suze Orman recommends. I don’t know if I’m being ridiculous or not because I am currently struggling to get by on the money I get every pay period, and now it’s down that deposit amount. Am I overly optimistic, or am I actually making a smart move? I have no idea. I guess time will tell.

into a an account further in the future than my current one. I’m keeping my current balance in the ultra conservative account, and putting the future contributions into one that is a bit more risky and making more money. My brother-in-law did investing professionally for a while and he told me to go this route for about a year. I’ll try it for a year.

It’s about half of what I expected. Oh well. So how to use it for the maximum bang for my buck? Ordinarily I would save it, but if I do, I will end up spending it to buy things while I am trying to pay off debt. It’s better to pay off the debt (avoiding interest) so that I can live within my means and not incur more debt. I am so against incurring more debt. My main thing is staying home and working on my house and land. That requires little money at this point, so I should stay within my budget while building up my savings and retirement. I will be able to pay off 5 debts.

“Your [financial] purpose should be to understand how much you have, figure out your expenses, save a reasonable amount for the future, and enjoy the rest.”

This makes sense.

a relative asked me to drive her to the store to buy something she wanted, then at the checkout she expected me to pay for it! Uhm, no. I learned a lesson: don’t go with her to the store when she wants to buy that certain something.

I had to get a credit card for veterinary services. High interest, but deferred if I paid it within a certain time. I have been doing it, but I realized that it is agonizing. If I pay half from my savings and half from my paycheck during November, then it will be paid off and I won’t be suffering to live during each month until it is paid off. My savings goes up quickly, so it would be better for my peace of mind (which is priceless) to do it this way. So I will.

One credit card and the trailer loan. Now I have more debts, but less outlay each month.

It sure did save gas. I’ll try for the same next week. If I can take the shuttle, I should have to fill up the tank only once or twice a month!

Next I have to read how to do it. Tomorrow.

1. Give up storage unit – DONE
2. Sell Bronco – DONE
3. Take shuttle to work
4. Take my lunch – DONE
5. Eliminate buying yummy big salads at IHS cafeteria
6. Recycle aluminum cans for money (yes, it’s at this point)
7. Sell my mare (only as a last resort)
8. Sell dead vehicles to junk yard
9. Sell on Ebay
10. Moratorium on Ebay purchases
11. Save most of my conference perdiem – DONE (I saved half)
12. Moratorium on Amazon purchases
13. Use up the food in my pantry
14. Limit “treats” to healthy foods only – DONE