Financial Fun

Finances have always been a sore subject for me. Yes, I may have taken a number of statistics, account and finance courses in college but have I ever applied any of those principles to my own life....? No. In addition to that, my grandparents have been financial planners my entire life and Grandpa's motto was always "Pay yourself first" but have I ever faithfully saved money? No. And last but not least, my dad has told me my entire life to save as much money as I can and now that I am a real-world-working-woman I should have at least three months living expenses in the bank. Have I done so? No. The moral of the story, I need to start saving!

So here is my plan:

1.) Keep track of every penny spent.

Whether cash, change, check, or card I am going to monitor my spending habits. This will be especially challenging while traveling for work because EVERYTHING is an expense but I know I can do it.

2.) Save $27.40 every day.

This may seem like an arbitrary number but in reality if I were to save $27.40 every day for one whole year I would have $10,000 in savings. Dad's piece of advice to me after graduation was to strive for this number and in this economy and being entirely self-supported I don't think I could make a wiser decision.

3.) Budget.

I have never stuck to a budget. My primary reason has been that I've never had a steady income. Working part-time as a waitress through college means if you need the money you pick up a shift, you spend your tips, and use your paycheck for bills. At least that was the way it seemed to always work out for me. Now I have a fixed income, fixed bills, and a student loan payment looming just 3 months ahead of me. Now is the time.

All of these financial resolutions shall begin in earnest October 1st since this month there are a number of large payments (Doctor, dentist, dresser, etc.) which need to be addressed first. Is this another excuse? Well, maybe. But if I only have one more month of excuses left I'll let this one slide.