save my money

I’ve been working on this and it’s a real positive. I did my taxes right away and received a good refund which I’ve used to pay off some bills and bulk up the emergency fund. I created a workable budget that I am comfortable with.
The biggest thing was doing a debt snowball to formulate a plan for attacking some of my lingering bills. If you are looking at reducing debt, check it out at http://www.vertex42.com/Calculators/debt-reduction-calculator.html

Having a plan seems to be half the struggle, now I just need to stay committed to it.

Christmas spending has probably caused me problems. I didn’t go all out, but I didn’t keep a close eye.
I have changed my direct deposit to put 10% into my credit union account to use for food, gas and pocket money. The rest is for bills. The idea is to separate descretionary money from the directed money. What is left at the end of the month will go toward an emergency fund.

I need to create a plan and a budget, but I haven’t had success with that in the past. This time I may just create targets.

It’s almost month’s end and I am still handing on to a positive checking balance - too bad the paycheck comes on the 5th. I’m going to really try to make the $$ last until payday!

Oh, and the lovely free pie coupon last week was great - along with free rentals at blockbuster. Once you start looking for deals, they seem to pop right up!

This hard but worth it. I’m glad to see that I actually have a positive net worth

I brought my lunch to work or ate at home. With the expection of a cheap dinner at Taco Bell (less than $5), I’ve really watched the dining dollars.

I made a menu plan and generally followed it. Next week I will plan on going to the grocery store mid-week and review my plan because things change.

I paid bills this week and things are tight—had to transfer from savings. I pushed the car payment to the end of the month.

I will work on my budget this week - I need to know where the money goes.

I have brought my lunch everyday—or eaten at home. I planned out our meals for the week and stuck to it.

One slip up was buying a cold coke, even though I had brought a case into the office. I just like the stuff cold and had to do it. Overall, I’m still saving and feeling a bit more in control.

Rarely is the take-out or quick meal satisfying. If we eat out all the time, there is no real magic or special-ness about it. The money spent is just wasted.

I need to plan my meals out for the week and look at the family schedule so I am not taken by surprise. Cooking my own food saves money and helps to make me proud of myself.