• pay off debt
  ~ security deposit
  ~ cc #1
  ~ cc #2
  ~ cc #3
• meet w/ a financial advisor
• live w/ in my means
• check credit report
• start retirement fund
  ~ 401(k)
  ~ roth ira
• ask for a review and raise (need to get it over with)
• update resume
• create own business card
• gather three references
  ~ professor
  ~ boss
  ~ volunteer
• create budget
• help boyfriend create budget (working on this)
• living will or power of attorney
• start emergency fund
  ~ 1+ month cushion
  ~ 3 months basic plus deductibles
• implement ways of making money (came up with ideas, need to do)
  ~ second job
  ~ odd jobs/ side business
  ~ sell my stuff
• find ways to save money
  ~ take care of and make do with what i have
  ~ cut my own hair
  ~ use up leftovers before they go bad (been terrible since going back to work)
  ~ find alternatives to disposable products
  ~ seek out free/ low cost ways of entertaining ourselves
  ~ eat less processed/ prepared foods (same here)
  ~ reduce my ‘fixed’ expenses
  ~ take advantage of sales and coupons
  ~ less car trips, more walking14 months ago

called my car insurance company and asked if there was anything i could do to lower my premium. i ended up qualifying for a low mileage discount. that cut the premium down by almost $500, essentially cutting my monthly payments in half.

i canceled my gym membership. now that spring is here i am outside most of the time anyways,and i don’t seem to be the type of person who wants to exercise for the sake of exercising. i need to be producing something or just completely goofing off.

but i still need to discuss with my s.o. if we want to take care of the apartment’s landscaping, it’s something we would both be good at and could do much better than the landscaper he hired is doing now. and it is a good workout :) 14 months ago

i’ve been working on this list a little at a time. so far i’ve accomplished:

live w/ in my means i cut up my credit cards and only purchase what i have the money for, this was a bit hard when my car got a flat tire, but made it through thanks to ebay.

update resume have two now, one for part-time gigs and another for my main full-time job.

create own business card yay!

i’m still working on creating a budget that i can follow consistently and still pay down the debt and save some on top of it all. for this month i have it pretty much figured out including the unexpected expenses incurred. 15 months ago

• pay off debt
  ~ security deposit
  ~ cc #1
  ~ cc #2
  ~ cc #3
• meet w/ a financial advisor
• live w/ in my means
• check credit report
• start retirement fund
  ~ 401(k)
  ~ roth ira
• ask for a review and raise
• update resume
• create own business card
• gather three references
  ~ professor
  ~ boss
  ~ volunteer
• create budget
• help boyfriend create budget
• living will or power of attorney
• start emergency fund
  ~ 1+ month cushion
  ~ 3 months basic plus deductibles
• implement ways of making money
  ~ second job
  ~ odd jobs/ side business
  ~ sell my stuff
• find ways to save money
  ~ take care of and make do with what i have
  ~ cut my own hair
  ~ use up leftovers before they go bad
  ~ find alternatives to disposable products
  ~ seek out free/ low cost ways of entertaining ourselves
  ~ eat less processed/ prepared foods
  ~ reduce my ‘fixed’ expenses
  ~ take advantage of sales and coupons
  ~ less car trips, more walking 15 months ago

so much for this goal. currently i’m on unemployment(again),with a good chance of my job being in jeopardy even when i am able to go back in a few weeks. i have almost no money – i’m pretty much living paycheck to paycheck. my car has a flat tire that cannot be repaired so it needs two+ new tires; my insurance went up; my rent is going up soon; our security deposit is due; i have a pretty reasonable amount of credit card debt from medical procedures; and i’m getting nowhere the amount i expected for my tax refund. 15 months ago

1. keep all important permanent documents
2. gather write-offs for taxes
3. learn the policy on my health insurance
4. emergency fund
5. retirement fund
6. check credit report
7. obtain my driver’s license
8. find a doctor and dentist (get basic check-ups)
9. update my resume
10. get contact info for refrences and possible letters
11. living will and power of attorney
12. balance checking account statements against register
13. create a new budget
14. keep track of unemployment amounts
15. figure out how much i can borrow for education compared to my future earnings
16. plan for short and long term goals (travel, college, house, and retirement)

all in bold have been completed. but the trick to #13 is to follow it :) 2 years ago