How am I doing--December 2007

Somehow this month got away from me. I had planned to update every two weeks on pay day, but obviously that just didn't happen.

I consider December to be a successful month. In addition to my regular paychecks, I received my pay for the remaining sick days I had from the firm. That amount was $1,758. I used those funds to bring my emergency fund to $1000 ($375), pay for my tires ($300), cellphones and Christmas gifts for my children ($600). The remaining got lumped into the slush fund (checking account) and used for groceries and other expenses.

I did go over my planned $600 for Christmas spending. In the future I'm going to make a written list and place it in a prominent place where I can see it every day. I spent an additional $286 on Mary's ensemble ($57) a gift for my husband and additional gifts for C1 an C2 ($229).

I have been credit card use free for 161 days! I paid $450 on my credit card balance this month, bringing it down to $11,200!

This is still a work in progress. I think I'm going to separate what I consider fixed expenses (health insurance, hsa, commuter fee, 401K) from my every day expenses (groceries, gas, personal care, etc). The fixed expenses are deducted from my pay before taxes. I'm going to focus on my net pay and how I'm using it. I decided to reduce my 401K contribution from 3% to 1% until I reach my debt shackle release goal.

Happy New Year to all! Thanks for reading my blog and thanks for your comments. I love hearing from you! Please consider subscribing via the RSS feed or e-mail.