Rolling In It

We're only half way through the month but I am declaring March the best month of the year! Well, so far anyway; I don't want to rule out the possibility that things could get even better. I've had more money coming my way this month than I could have possibly imagined.

Here's how it breaks down:

• Federal tax refund: $1800

• State tax refund: $300 (anticipated, not yet deposited)

• Side-business income: $1900

• Refund from mortgage company for an escrow overage: $350

Total: $4350

This has made the following possible:

• Pay off all my credit cards (including the business card)- check out the progress bars on the right!
  

• Fully fund my travel account

• Give about $400 away to people/causes that I support

Other good stuff:

• I discovered that I could still open a Roth IRA for 2007 and deposit money into it. I did. I transferred the full $4K for '07 and another $2500 for '08 from my ING account.

• Looks like my monthly escrow payments are going down by $40 each month.

• One of my roommates will be moving out and I am planning on moving into her room and renting out my larger gorgeous room for an extra $100/month. This will bring my housing expenses down to $265/month. Throw in the $40 reduction from above and we're looking at a monthly outlay of $225. Wow.

At the end of the month I'll tell you more about how I've gone over budget in some areas... but it's all still good! Yay! This is my version of march madness and I love it!

February 2008 Budget Update

I started using Mint.com a couple of weeks ago. (Confession: I discovered it by clicking on one of the Google ads on my own site which is apparently a huge no-no).

What an incredibly easy way to track my daily spending. The categorizing features on this free site are outstanding! It did take a little tweaking to get some of my expenses in the right categories but it learned quickly! The major drawback is that it doesn't let you create your own categories. Hopefully the folks at Mint will get that sorted out soon. In the meantime I am pretty comfortable with the choices they do offer. My favorite part? The clickable pie-chart under the "spending trends" tab. :swoon: Who knew spending could look so beautiful?

I highly recommend you give this site at least a trial run. It's totally free to use.

Now, on to the real reason why I have this blog: accountability. Here's how I did with my budget this month:

Earned Income after taxes and withholdings
Job 1: $1530
Job 2: $512
Total income: $2042

Expenses
Housing/utilities/internet: $365
Transportation (gas): $72 for gas
Groceries and Supplies: $175

• Grocery stores: $68 (wha....?!)
  
• Restaurants: $86 (I only drink water and I eat cheaply... this figure shows I ate out a lot last month!)
  
• Entertainment: $21 (rental movie marathon)
  

Transfer to "Save to Spend" account: $100 (also took money out from this account to pay for filter and oil change, and quarterly water bill)
Student loans: $87
Other debt: $725
Gym: $45

Repay myself for car purchase: $400

Total expenses: $1969


Good News: Well within budget in every category.

Bad News: Apparently I haven't learned any lessons from my January Spending. I am still eating bad-for-you food products that come out of a box and not out of the earth. @#$&!

Why Do People Hate the Word 'Budget'?

I've been trying to figure this out. The word "budget" seems to be one of those heavy words, full of negative connotations for many many people. Why is that? It's just a word. It doesn't have any more power than you give it.

What's So Bad About a Budget?
Where does this strong reaction to the word budget come from? Is it because of early life experiences and imprinting from parents who were stressed out about money? Does it make you think of disappointment, deprivation, and squashed dreams? Does it make you think you are poor? Does it make you afraid of money?


Why I Love Budgets
I love having a budget. It's my map, my plan, my path to my dreams. It reminds me that I want something bigger than the little impulses that pop up during the day. It puts me in control of my destiny. My budget removes the fear that I do not have enough. With my budget I can see clearly that I do have enough to pay my bills and buy the things I need. If it looks like I don't have enough in one category then I can move numbers around until it works. And in the extreme cases where there really isn't enough money coming in... then my budget points it out and I can start taking steps to increase my income. That makes me feel powerful, not poor.


Focus on the Positive
I think people often use their distaste for the word budget as an excuse to avoid dealing with the reality of their situation. So if the word is turning you off, change your attitude towards it. Figure out what unpleasant images and feelings it brings up for you and compare them to what the word actually means. My description of why I love my budget is the polar opposite of why I think people hate budgets. The same word brings up exactly the opposite feelings for me.

A quick-fix short term solution is to give it another name that doesn't bring up the same feelings of dread. But don't be fooled, you will eventually have to look those scary feelings in the eye and tell 'em to scram. There, add that to the list of courageous things one has to do on the path to financial freedom.

Whether you call it budget, spending plan, cash flow plan, goal, or even Frank, ultimately we're talking about being aware of the money that flows through our hands and consciously directing that flow. We're talking about living on purpose.

What My January Spending Taught Me

It's one thing to have a spending plan and quite another to stick to it. Ok this concept is not news to me, but I was reminded of it once again during January. If I just look at the numbers, I did quite well with my budget. I stayed within $20-$30 of all my major spending categories, spent less than I earned, and saved everything I intended to. The problem is that I can't just look at the numbers.

The information hidden behind the numbers is what is going to have a big impact on me and the world in the long run. And it's not pretty.

A Closer Look at My Gas Spending
I wrote a whole post on how I intended to maximize my gas mileage. I came in just $2 over budget, which I think is great considering I still have enough gas left in the car to go another week or so. But I didn't do the things I planned. If I had followed my own advice, I would have gotten better results. Why does that matter? After all, I stuck to my budget didn't I?

It matters because in this day and age, I have to be careful with my fuel consumption not only to prepare myself for rising prices, but because even the smallest steps will impact the environment. I forgot about that. A gas budget is going to be moot if we have no environment to live in.


A Closer Look at My Grocery Spending
This one is shameful even though my numbers here are pretty phenomenal. $135 at grocery stores including food, tp, toothpaste and hair color, $65 in eating out, and I even got a haircut and gave the lady a 35% tip. Plus I have plenty of food left over for a few more weeks. This looks good on paper!

The problem is I forgot to put my health into the equation. I have written about the importance of maintaining your health into old age and even wrote up a skeleton menu of healthful foods and how they would fit into my budget. But I didn't do all that stuff! In fact, this has been one of the most preservative-laden months I have had in a long time. Canned soups, frozen dinners, too much ice cream, and even drive-thrus at unmentionables. Yikes!

Why did this happen? I know a few things about myself that I failed to make accommodations for.

• Over the past year or so I have developed a low tolerance for hunger. If I am hungry I will eat right away. All proactive thoughts about health and nutrition lose their power. In order to accommodate this, I should keep healthful foods on hand at all times. I didn't do that.

• I do not like to cook. If I am tired after a long day the last thing I want to do is put together a meal. I avoid it like the plague. I need to give myself more time to prepare meals and also have meals all set to go for those late evenings. Again, I know this but I failed to do it.

• I can't say no to sugar. If I put that first bite in my mouth, I'm not stopping until that food item is completely gone. I can't bring home more than a single serving of dessert. I haven't found my off switch yet. Guess how much ice-cream I ate in three days because I purchased a half gallon of it. Yeah, too much. Some people don't know how to use credit wisely, I don't know how to use sugar wisely. It's best if I maintain strict control of my access to it.

So What Did My January Spending Teach (or remind) Me?
It reminded me that I must keep all of my priorities in balance. If I am so busy focusing on one thing that other priorities suffer, then I need to make some adjustments. Sometimes the adjustments are simply a matter of being more aware and renewing my commitment. I can do that. But if I want to really make a difference, then I have to look closely at why things are falling behind and come up with some strategies to prevent that.

My gas spending I think simply needs a renewed commitment. The grocery spending however is going to require the additional strategies outlined above.

Here's hoping for a budget-wise, healthy, and environmentally friendlier February!

January 2008 Budget Update

It's already February! Time flies when you're having fun.

Here's how I did with my budget this month:

Earned Income after taxes and withholdings
Job 1: $1530
Job 2: $512
Total income: $2042

Expenses
Housing/utilities/internet: $365
Transportation: $82.68 for gas (still have half a tank left, can go for another week)
Groceries and Supplies: $221.63 (have enough food left for another two weeks)

• Grocery stores: $134.84
• Restaurants: $62.53
• Haircut: $19.95
• Post Office: $4.31

Transfer to "Save to Spend" account: $100 (also took money out from this account to pay for car insurance premium)
Student loans: $87
Other debt: $725 ( 0% to my sister)
Gym: $45

Repay myself for car purchase: $400

Total expenses: $2026.31


Good News

• The tenants at my rental property just paid their rent.. on time.. and they haven't been calling with complaints and problems! I was a little concerned that they'd be high-maintenance but I was wrong! I love being wrong about stuff like this.

• My 403b withholdings are all set up and I've already contributed $1290 this month. This should continue for the rest of the year.

• I liquidated some old investments before the markets fell. I have already used $5000 to pay off some of my credit cards. I am holding the other $5000 until I open a Roth, which should be next month.
  

• My remaining debt breaks down as follows:
• Sister 0%: $8525
• WaMu 0%: $1250
• Advanta 0%: $2063
• Student loans: $835

• February is a short month. I have enough food to last me a couple more weeks and enough gas to last another week. I have a week off which I may be spending with my family (even more free food!). I expect my living expenses to be fairly low next month which should allow me to save up for my summer trip or eat out a few more times :)

Being Organized Can Save You Money

I admit, I enjoy organizing. I like things to look neat and orderly, I put things away and my home is beautiful (to me anyway). But I wasn't always like this. In fact, I was quite a slob. Too much clutter, too much paper, too much stuff, and not enough getting done.

When I first started working, I made very little money. I had to learn to live on a small income really fast. Getting organized, and learning to love it, was one of the best things I did.

Here are some of the ways that being organized saves me money:

No Late Charges $$
I don't lose bills and statements in a pile of mail and forget payments. I never have to pay late charges, overdraft fees, or ATM fees. I know how much money is going into and out of my checking account, and when.

Quick tip on how to handle mail: when you pick up the mail, walk directly to your recycling bin (with a table next to it). Open each piece of mail, tear up junk or useless items and toss them in the bin right away. Save only the one or two sheets needed from your statements or other important mail. With a highlighter mark the due date and put it on your desk for bill-paying day. Don't have an intermediate holding place for all your mail between your mailbox and your desk unless you religiously schedule in time to deal with mail.

No Unnecessary Shopping $$$$
A good storage system saves tons of money by eliminating unnecessary spending. I know a lot of people who simply toss a new purchase into a catch-all closet or drawer because they found it on sale, or it looked good... and then completely forget about it and go out and buy another one.

Quick tip for organizing storage: Use plastic drawers- they are easily stackable yet keep contents easily accessible. If my things aren't easily accessible, I tend to avoid using them. If I have to move two or three items out of the way to get to them, forget it. In your closet, hang up as many of your clothes as you can- this is easier to maintain than folding, and keeps clothes visible. I like having a visual reminder of how many things I have- cuts down on the urge to buy more stuff!

No Wasted Food $$$
Menu planning and using a price book are fantastic ways to slash your grocery budget. Menu planning eliminates impulse buys, unhealthy snack purchases, and wasted food. Maintaining a price book keeps you on track with getting the best prices for your regular purchases. Check out Organized Home for more details on how to make and use a price book.

No Last-Minute Expensive Gifts $$$
This one used to be a killer for me. Rushing out to buy someone a gift at the last minute is a sure0fire way of busting your budget. I now keep a gift box which I stock throughout the year with items I find on sale. If I were a dedicated gift-giver (which I am not), I would probably make a list of all the people I buy gifts for and note down things they would be interested in. then I would keep an eye out for those items and buy them when I found them at a good price. There is a good collection of gift giving tips at The Dollar Stretcher.

No Stressed-Out Urge to Spend $$
I do believe that over-spending is often a mechanism we use to cope with stress, much like over-eating. The problem is, it's a vicious cycle and ends up causing more stress. I also think clutter is an insidious source of stress. Read more about stress and clutter here. So, maintaining an organized home is a very good way to reduce stress and spending.

The Dollar Stretcher has a great set of articles on how to get organized on a budget. Check it out!

More on How to Live on Minimum Wage

My Minimum Wage post is by far the most visited page on my blog. I guess a lot of people are interested in this topic. I decided to do a little search and gather together some of my favorite posts on the net about minimum wage living.

Please add your favorite links so we can get a good list going! Keep them positive though. We're looking for things that will provide encouragement and ideas for handling a budget (or ideas for getting out of min. wage)

Ten Steps to Financial Success for a Minimum Wage Earner at the Simple Dollar
How to Live on Minimum Wage by Exjackly
How to Get Wealthy on Minimum Wage at Early Retirement Extreme
Saving on Minimum Wage at Tight Fisted Miser
Breaking the Shackles: How to Escape From Minimum Wage at Get Rich Slowly
Minimum Wage Challenge series of posts by L R Johnson
Can You Live off Minimum Wage in Los Angeles? at City-Data.com

Saving on Heating Costs

I've been doing some research to figure out how to bring down my heating costs. See the collection of links at the end of the post for some good ideas.

For those who have read my previous posts, you know by now that I live in a place that gets a decent amount of snow. Even with our unseasonably warm (and whacky) weather this year, this town gets cold. And I don't like being cold.

I recently got on the budget plan with my utility company so I have a consistent payment every month. However, I have been keeping an eye on the details of the bill anyway to compare my usage this year to last. I would ideally like to bring it down, not just to deal with the rising cost of fuel but also to be a little kinder to the environment.

So, what do I already do, and what can I improve?

Programmable Thermostat
Thankfully my house has one... and I know how to use it! I used to keep the temperature at 68+ degrees when I was at home but this year I seem to be managing just fine with 66 degrees in the evenings. Here's my temperature schedule:
5am-8am 68 degrees (I hate getting out of bed into cold air, the warmer the better)
8am- 7pm 59 degrees (this is the time I am at work or running errands etc.)
7pm - 10pm 66 degrees
10pm-5am 62 degrees

Wear Warmer Clothes in the House
You'd think this was a no-brainer. I didn't like doing it because the clothes felt so restrictive. But I got a couple of large roomy sweatshirts that I now love bumming around in. I also started wearing socks around the house. What a difference that made. Can you tell I wasn't raised in a cold climate? The things one learns.

Sealing Windows and Doors
The previous owner left a cute "draft dodger" for the front door. But the back door sure lets a lot of air through. On a particularly windy day I can have quite a bit of snow inside my back door. I need to get proper weather stripping there. Newer windows throughout the house so their weather stripping is pretty good. I just need to make sure they are closed and locked properly.

Hot Water Heater
I can turn down the temperature on my hot water heater. I can also shorten my showers and use cold water in my washing machine.

Furnace
I will make sure to check/replace my filter every 2-3 months.

Insulation
I will add more insulation to my attic.

That's the list I can handle right now. When I feel a little more adventurous I shall tackle a few more of the suggestions that can be found in the following links:

12 Simple Ways to Save Money on Utilities (and the Planet) at Fivecentnickel

Save Money on Heating Costs at About.com

Home heating tips to save fuel and money at Greenerchoices.org

Saving Money on Home Heating at Pioneer Thinking

Eleven Ways We are Going to Save Money on Heating Costs This Winter at Blogging Away Debt

And this huge archive at The Dollar Stretcher

Simplify Your Finances

I want money management to be easy. Yes, I like organizing and planning and reviewing... but I don't want to do it for the same subject forever.

Below are the steps I am either taking now or plan to take very soon to simplify my finances. If you scroll down to the end of the article you can find some links to other writers who have some great suggestions.


Direct Deposit
Oh the joys of not having to get myself to the bank and deposit my paycheck! Now I just need to find a way to automatically deposit the rent from my tenants. Ideas anyone?

Automatic Retirement Deductions
This is taken out of my paycheck and sent directly to the 403b brokerage account. No muss, no fuss.

One Checking Account
Everything comes into and goes out of the same account

The Orange Savings Account by ING

Maybe if I did more research I could find a simpler way to manage savings.. but I'd be surprised. I love how ING lets me have as many savings accounts as I want (there may be a limit but I haven't come close) and lets me transfer money between them instantly. And I can close them and rename them with just a few clicks as well if I start feeling overwhelmed. I have brought my savings accounts down to four:

1. Financial Freedom: this also serves as my emergency fund. Any amount above a certain level will go into a mutual fund.
   
2. Save to Spend: Here I save for quarterly or annual bills, upcoming vacations, irregular bills, etc.
3. Rental: All funds related to my rental account get transferred to and from here
   
4. Interest Income: this is a just-for-fun account so I can see how much interest I have been accumulating over the year.
   

Consolidate Debts
After I purchased my house I did some remodeling (definitely worth it) on 0% credit cards. But now I have 6 credit cards and too many due dates, which is a pain. Plus it hasn't been good for my credit score to have so many maxed out cards. My wonderful sister has offered to be my next 0% balance transfer offer (gotta love family). I am using her to consolidate my credit card debts and cashing out some old investments to pay off the remainder. Now I make one simple monthly electronic transfer to her bank account instead of paying 6 credit cards.

Online Bill Pay
I love online bill pay and have been using it for years. Organized as I am, putting a stamp on an envelope and putting it in the mailbox is one of the hardest things for me. Go figure. The first time I get a bill from a vendor, I quickly input their info into my account and from then on it's two clicks and we're done!

Automatic Payments
I do this in two ways:

1. On my credit card: This is my first choice. If a vendor will accept an automatic credit card payment I add 'em on and rack up the cash-back rewards.
2. Through my bank: Some vendors will automatically deduct payments from my back account on the due date. This saves me from having to send them a check through bill pay.
   

One Rewards Credit Card for all Purchases
Using a credit card isn't recommended for people who have problems with over-spending. I don't have that problem so this system works amazingly well for me. I put all of my purchases on my credit card- from the smallest to the largest. This gives me a nicely organized and categorized statement of all my spending on a monthly and yearly basis. It also gives me rewards for purchases I would have made anyway. Using a credit card over a debit card also has the advantage of giving me some float time and simplifies my bill paying.

I have been using Discover Card for about ten years but I am going to switch this year for two main reasons. Discover still isn't accepted as ubiquitously as Visa/Mastercard and there a couple of places I frequent that don't take it. I don't want to miss out on the cash-back by having to use my check-card. I can also find a card that gives me a higher cash-back percentage. I will keep you posted on which card I decide to go with. (And obviously, I won't be closing my very old Discover account with the perfect payment history or my credit score will likely plummet).

Having a Schedule
I keep a master schedule (which has been so regular for so long now that I just keep it in my head) of when I get paid and which bills come out of which paycheck. Most of my bills are automatic so I don't have to do anything. The only ones I pay are my monthly credit card bill, the transfer to my sister, and the transfer to my savings accounts. My bank doesn't allow me to automate a payment to another account holder (and my sister doesn't want me to send her a bill-pay check because she dislikes lines at the bank as much as I do). The other two I like to do manually because they are irregular amounts and I like to check them over before I send the payment.

Going Paperless
My life changed after I decided to stop receiving paper statements. Now I no longer fret about mounds of paper I should keep or shred. Online statements are all I need.

Online Account Aggregation
There are many services that will gather data from all your financial accounts into one place for you. I do this through my bank and I highly recommend it to everyone. This process allows me to see all of my accounts at a glance with the most up-to-date information. It keeps old but unused accounts on my radar for suspicious activity. And it calculates my net worth for me as well. Wonderful stuff.

Below are what some other folks have said:

How to Automate Your Personal Finances at Get rich Slowly
17 Ways To Simplify Your Personal Finances at Your Credit Advisor
6 Easy Ways to Simplify Your Finances at Moolanomy
4 Ways to Simplify Your Finances Where Possible at Consumerism Commentary
Simplify Your Finances at the Motley Fool
10 Ways to Organize and Simplify Your Finances at The Digerati Life

What are your best tips for simplifying your finances?

That's My Budget And I'm Stickin' To It!

Now that I'm done with my minimum wage dreams post, let's get down to my actual real-life budget.

Income
Job 1 $1500/month after taxes and maxing out the 403b (woohoo!)
Job 2 $500
Total $2000


Expenses
Housing $365/month
Utilities $0 (gas, electric, internet, laundry included above)
Gym $45 (I love my gym and I will get $300 of this reimbursed over the year)
Health Insurance $0
Transportation $80 (for gas)
Groceries $200
Save to spend $100 (includes savings for annual/quarterly payments like car insurance, car registration, home maintenance etc.)
Student loans $85
Other debt $1,000
Wiggle room $125
Total $2,000

By the end of the month I will have moved some money out of old investments to fully fund a Roth IRA.

I already have $4K in my emergency fund.

By December all of my non-mortgage debts should be paid off if I stick to this budget. I mean, they will be paid off because I will stick to this budget!

How Would I Live on a Minimum Wage Income?

I recently read a post entitled How to Get Wealthy on Minimum Wage by Jacob over on the Early Retirement Extreme blog.

I am all inspired to try to tackle life with a minimum wage income. I have no intention of actually earning that little, but I wonder if I could handle it if I did.

Income
The minimum wage in my state is $7.15/hr. Using the hourly paycheck calculator at paycycle it looks like I could bring home about $219/week after taxes if I work 38hrs/wk. If I figure I won't work for about 3 weeks of the year for sick/personal days my average monthly take-home would be about $900. Ohkaay... can my living expenses fit within that? Let's find out.

Assumptions

Family I am single so I only have to cover my own expenses. If I had someone else to take care of I would definitely be working a lot more hours.

Health Insurance I will assume that health insurance is not provided. My employers have intentionally kept my hours below 40hrs/week so that I wouldn't be considered full time.

Location Exactly where I am living right now. I know the cost of living here.

Debt I will assume that I am carrying some consumer debt. I don't know much about how minimum payments are calculated at different interest rate levels so I will leave this part fuzzy until I do some further research.


Expenses

Rent This is easy. I actually own my house and rent out one bedroom for $325/month which includes all utilities, wireless internet, and laundry. My roommate has free use of the rest of the house as well. If she could find this deal, then I will assume that I would be able to as well!

Utilities Included in the rent.

Health Insurance I have pretty low risk tolerance so the thought of going without health insurance would be a huge source of stress for me. I would sign up for a high deductible health plan. I can find a state sponsored plan administered by Blue Cross & Blue Shield for $115/month without Rx drugs. I very rarely get sick so I would be willing to accept that risk. I would also budget another $35/month to put into the attached Health Savings Account (HSA) to use towards the deductible if necessary. The great thing about an HSA is that even though it is tax deductible like an FSA, you don't lose it at the end of the year if it is unused. You can withdraw any unused money at retirement age for any purpose without penalties (but it will be taxed at that point). So $35 out of my monthly budget would actually mean that more is deposited into the HSA.

Transportation I imagine that if I made minimum wage I wouldn't own a car like I actually do. My current gas budget is just over $75/month so I will use that for bus fare. I live within safe and easy walking distance to two grocery stores which will even help with comparison shopping. Bonus! I would also look around for a used or freecycled bike that I could use during the summer months.

Groceries I have lived on a $1/meal budget before and I could definitely do it again. However, I do believe strongly in the importance of good nutrition so I would make sure to include sufficient fresh fruits and vegetables which can raise the cost per meal significantly. I would budget $200/month for groceries. This would have to include toiletries and supplies etc.

Debt I could budget $100/month to pay my debts.

Retirement I would sign up for an automatic investment plan for a Roth IRA and deposit $50/month. Earnings on a Roth IRA grow tax free but I can withdraw my actual contribution any time I want without paying penalties. I like this option if I am earning such little money in case I need to tap this money for an emergency.


So where does this leave me?

Rent $325
Utilities $0
Health Insurance $150
Transportation $75
Groceries $200
Debt $100
Retirement $50

Total Expenses $900
Total Income $900

The fact that this budget leaves me no wiggle room is unacceptable.



Must...have...wiggle room!

One thing I won't compromise on is taking three weeks off from work. No human being should have to 'work' all 52 weeks of the year. I like my personal time. Time to stare at the wall, time to walk in the grass, time to visit friends and family. Not giving that up!

I am, however, happy to work a lot more hours per week. In fact, as a salaried person I currently work an average of 50-60 hours every week... and love it.

If I want wiggle room in my budget, I would add an extra 10 hours of work each week. This would pump up my take-home pay by about $260 each month.

Where would I spend my second-job wiggle-room money?

Debt I would add another $100 to snowball debt repayments.

Emergency Fund Another $100/month would go to an emergency fund

Wiggle Room $60/month... just in case! If I don't use it up one month, it goes into the emergency fund.

Once the emergency fund is fully loaded, I would focus in on eliminating debt. (f I wanted to get serious about blasting that debt I would be working an additional 10 hours a week.) Once the debt is eliminated I would put all of those payments now totaling $300/month towards the retirement fund or towards improving my education if I wanted to move up the earnings ladder.

What about entertainment and special toys and luxuries? If I want anything that doesn't fit into the budget, I'm going to have to go hunting for more hours or get some entrepreneurial juices flowing.

Saving on Gas

I am planning a budget of $80/month for my gasoline expenses this year. This will roughly fill up my tank twice. I am going to try to incorporate the following strategies to stretch my gas milage. That should free up a few extra dollars each month that I can put towards extra savings goals, or give me some breathing room as gas prices climb.

1. Check my tire pressure every two weeks
2. Be diligent about car maintenance. I sold my previous car at 207K miles and it would have lasted longer if I had been more careful about certain maintenance tasks.
3. Carpool with my roommate to work at least two days a week (every day will be tricky since our schedules can vary wildly).
4. Pay off the 0% balance transfer debt on my Chase credit card by Jan 31 so I can start accumulating 3% cash-back for gas purchases.
5. Use my Price Chopper grocery store membership card to collect points that will get me a discount at the Sunoco gas station.
6. Compare that discount to local gas prices on sites such as gasbuddy.com
   
7. Be conscientious about planning my errands to minimize miles driven.
8. Eliminate my occasional habit of "driving around" just so I can listen to music loudly and get some vibration going in my body. Maybe I'll get headphones and dance around my room. heh.
   

Things I already do:

1. Live within 5-7 miles of work, the grocery store, major shopping, and the gym- all places that I need to go to regularly.
   

Other strategies that would be great for some, but won't work for me:

1. Replace driving with biking/walking. Even though I live within just 5 miles of places I frequently travel to, I consider the road conditions relatively unsafe and I'd much rather be in my car.
2. Buy a more fuel efficient car. I have a paid-for 7-yr-old Honda CRV. I am not willing to give up all-wheel-drive as long as I live in a part of the country that receives snow for 6-8 months of the year. I am also not willing to give up the easily accessible trunk space of my CRV since I regularly need to transport fairly large items.
   

Looking forward to bringing that $80/month down a bit!

The Beginning

New year's resolutions, goals, commitments... I find the whole business exhilarating. In fact, I probably like the idea of having a goal and accomplishing it more than the goal itself. The challenge keeps me motivated. So this year, I am embarking on the self designed Great Money Challenge.

The Great Money Challenge

Goals

1. I will contribute the maximum allowed to my 403b plan (I have never done that before, and over the past 6 years haven't been contributing anything)= $15,500
2. I will contribute the maximum allowed to a Roth IRA (don't have one yet, will need to open one)= $5,000
3. I will pay off all of my non-mortgage debt= $17,843 (all of it, except for $916 in student loans, is at 0%)

Resources

1. I got a raise last month! woohoo! My full time job finally pays me $40K (should I be keeping that private? I'm going to start out with some level of transparency though so that the numbers make sense to people who may be reading). Over my ten year earning history my average annual income has been about $28K so this new number looks really good to me.
2. My health insurance premiums are completely paid for by my employer (nice perk). In addition, I just switched over to the health plan that will reimburse me up to $300/yr for my gym membership (which I have had for years and which I use 4-6 days a week). I also have a very sparse history of illness.
3. I bought a house last year and managed to find two great roommates to share it with. With their help, my housing expenses including utilities and high-speed internet is $365/month (which I think is fantastic for any part of the country and especially for my beloved adorable little house).
4. I do some part time work for a friend which brings in an extra $500/month after taxes (if I choose to put in the hours).
5. My car is fully paid for. A 2000 Honda with 83K miles.
6. I have $4K in my cash savings or emergency fund.
7. I have $10K from some old investments that I will put towards debt repayment and the Roth.
8. I am single so I don't have expenses for kids or a spouse.
9. I am a pretty organized person.

Monthly expenses to be grateful for:
Health insurance: $0
Car payments: $0
Child care etc: $0
Housing: $365
Gym membership: $20 (after the reimbursement)

Monthly income to be grateful for:
Full time job that I love: $3334 (before taxes)
Part time job that is flexible: $500(after taxes)


Possible Hurdles

1. I bought a rental property a year ago but I've been having trouble finding reliable long term tenants. If the house stays vacant for too many months it'll seriously impact my ability to contribute to my retirement plans. I don't plan to use any income from the rental property for living expenses until I have a good cushion saved for surprise expenses.