Marching Towards My Goal

Well, I haven't updated for March and the numbers are in, so here we go...

# write an accurate budget every month and stick to it.
# pay off debt.
# avoid new debt in any form.
# pay everything on time.
# take my lunch to work most of the time.
# cook dinners at home most of the time.
# work hard every day.
# read at least one non-fiction financial book per month.

Budget-wise, I was all screwed up. We went over on our food budget by 300 bucks. This is mainly because we under-bought groceries and overdid it on the dining out. that's always a budget buster. With Spring Break and Drew's football practices, our dinner schedule has been all messed up, so we haven't been cooking as much, which is bad. Gotta work on that in April. Some other budget categories were under, however. Savings in the Utilities and Vehicle categories made up some of the difference.

Now, on to the debt payment goal... we paid off some BIG debt in March, to the tune of almost 9,000 dollars, thanks to a nice, fat tax refund. I am now officially out of tax debt and also own a decent sofa. Our total non-mortgage debt paid off to date is 12,500.

Also, everything is up to date, payment-wise. I was running a little slow on the car payment, but I've got that all caught up. I finished the book Scratch Beginnings and also read some football conditioning books. I know, they aren't financial, but they are non-fiction, so I should get some credit for that, at least. I took my lunch to work most days and worked hard, for the most part. I could work harder, and I'll continue to improve in that area.

All-in-all, March was a good month, personally. Drew's involvement in a Spring Tackle Football league takes up some time, but it's time (and money) well spent. He's getting noticeably tougher and more confident. We'll be joining a gym, so he can continue to train over the Summer. The Y has plenty of cardio gear and a pool, so we'll probably get a family membership there ($63 a month), so we can all work toward some fitness goals over the Summer. Drew and I are also looking at a more hardcore gym, that has a 2-years for $350 bucks deal going right now. That's under $15 a month for use of a fairly hardcore gym.

I'm also looking for something athletic for Claire to get involved in. ASI Gymnastics offers a free trial class, so I'm thinking about taking her to see if she digs it.

Chugging along...

Okay, it's time for my monthly status update on the ol' resolutions...
# write an accurate budget every month and stick to it.
# pay off debt.
# avoid new debt in any form.
# pay everything on time.
# take my lunch to work most of the time.
# cook dinners at home most of the time.
# work hard every day.
# read at least one non-fiction financial book per month.

The budget was written, but not followed as well as I would have liked. A few things threw off the food part of the budget. First off, top quality Valentine's dinners aren't cheap. That, combined with an unplanned out-of-town trip kicked my budgetary butt. Not that all categories were messed up, as a matter of fact, our total food and gasoline categories were well under budget this month.

On the debt payoff front, our total non-mortgage debt decreased again this month. We've now paid off almost $4000 since the beginning of the quest. One credit card balance went up (we used it on the previously mentioned out-of-town trip) but overall credit card balances went down.

I pretty much managed to do the rest of it. I'm behind schedule on my reading in a big way, as I managed to finish my January book in Mid-Late-February. Overall, the Millionaire Next Door book basically outlined the true behaviors of the average millionaire... what they drive, where they live, what they do with their money, what they give to their children... and it's not what you think.

This month, I'm reading Scratch Beginnings by Adam Shepard.

Progress!

I realize that it's been a month since my New Year's Resolution post and I thought it was about time for an update.

Let's see... I DID write an accurate budget last month. We missed our dining out target by about 40 bucks, but still finished the month just under budget for total food.

My second and third resolutions "avoid new debt" and "pay everything on time" were no problem at all.

I also took my lunch to work 4 out of 5 days a week, reserving a day here and there to actually be sociable with my coworkers.

We also stuck to the resolution to cook at home most days. We were sick for several days and didn't cook much those days, which threw us off a little. But overall, E-Mealz is really doing the trick. Before we started the plan, our grocery to dining out ratio was 1:1.5, now it's 2:1. You don't eat out much when you have a plan every day. We're also eating a lot healthier. I feel really good about the things we're feeding the kids and we're getting a lot more variety.

I fell short on my resolution to work hard every day, however. I worked harder, but not every day. I need to keep working on this one.

Resolution #7: pay off debt. I did pretty good here. Last month, I paid off 727.57 in non-mortgage debts. That brings my total since I started working on this issue three months ago to $2372.85. I have a tax refund coming this month, so look for a BIG figure in next month's update.

Finally, my resolution to read at least one non-fiction financial book per month is coming along okay. I read most of "The Millionaire Next Door", which I still need to finish. I took a detour and read a short book on Coaching Youth Football, so I could help my son with training for the Spring tackle league he's signed up for. I will probably finish the Millionaire book this week, though, and will post a report on it when I finish.

Later, folks.

Financial Resolutions

Well, the new year is here and it's that time when people make resolutions for the future. While I'm not a big fan of waiting until Jan 1 to start doing the right thing, I do find that the beginning of a new year is a great time to think on the future. We've made a lot of changes over the past 3 months, so this is a good time to re-state some of those things resolutely. If that makes them into resolutions, then so be it.

In 2009, I will:

• write an accurate budget every month and stick to it.
• avoid new debt in any form.
• pay everything on time.
• take my lunch to work most of the time.
• cook dinners at home most of the time.
• work hard every day.
• pay off debt.
• read at least one non-fiction financial book per month.
  

There they are in black and white. Not quite as daunting as "lose 80 pounds", just a lot of small daily things that will make a big difference if done for 365 days straight.

Now, about that 80 pounds... hrmmm.

Why the Federal Reserve Violates the U.S. Constitution

Another lengthy video on the Federal Reserve which challenges the Constitutionality of the Reserve's very existence.



FIAT EMPIRE - Why the Federal Reserve Violates the U.S. Constitution

I challenge you to watch this video in it's entirety and deny that the government has a vested interest in keeping the electorate ignorant. If the overall electorate was smart enough to understand this video, they'd feel the wrath. But, luckily for the government, the average voter is a complete idiot.

I do like that the video doesn't just point out the problem, but suggests a solution.

Please watch this and send links to anyone who you think is intelligent enough to get it. Spread the light.

I finally got my 401k rollover check from DST today. Gotta send it to E*Trade to get it into my Rollover IRA and then get it into a Mid-Cap Growth Fund as quick as humanly possible. Now is the time to buy some undervalued investments.

In other news...


Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

I found another educational money video.

Money, Banking & The Federal Reserve