Winter Blues Bring Budget Inspiration

It is so hard to get inspired in the cold of the winter, so this week is about refocusing on positives.

I took my lunch to work 4 days last week and 2 days this week.  My goal is to eat in at least four days a week. I am eating healthier food and saving cash. I tossed $20 in my change jar last week to account for the eating out that did not happen.  My lunches with tips generally cost $7 a day; taking lunch to work costs $2 a day. For every day I brown bag, I am paying myself $5.00.  I have not yet decided what to do with that money. Should I be frugal, or have some fun? I may save the cash to help pay for a trip to Seattle to see my son and his wife. Using lunch money and spare change to help fund that trip would be a good investment in family!

[Related Articles: Read more posts from the Debt Diva]

I check my bank balances daily to stay aware of where I am, to get the jump on identity theft, or to identify any unusual charges to my accounts. I am backsliding on tracking every expenditure. I have the receipts and my expense recorded—I just don’t have them posted to my spreadsheet.  I need to do this now so I can toss the paper and continue to adjust my budget as necessary.

I took a look at my retirement plans and decided to add any raises to my deferred compensation 457 account at work. I am increasing my contributions by 1% this month. I also have a public employment retirement plan, so my hope is to pay off all debt and then max out payments to my 457 account annually until I retire.  That, and build a hefty emergency account that I can borrow from and repay as life happens.

[Credit Check Tool: Try Credit.com's Free Credit Report Card]

I projected my expenses for the next three months and identified which bills would be paid from each paycheck.  I like the security of having a road map.  I can see where I have been and where I need to go—and prepare for any detours.

Free money!!! I love it.  I entered a drawing on a personal finance blog and won $40. I tested a consumer product and received a $20 Amazon gift card.  Doing some web browsing netted me another $10 in Amazon gift cards. It was a good week!!!

What are you doing to make this year a frugal and richer year for you?

[Featured Products: Research and compare Identity theft protection plans at Credit.com]

Image: oddharmonic, via Flickr.com

Tagged as: budgeting, Debt Diva, financial goals, personal finance, saving money

Chris Geoffrey Chris Geoffrey, a.k.a., The Debt Diva, was born into a very frugal and middle class family, spending most of her life in a really small Iowa town. A graduate of Iowa State University, she has worked for the public sector for 34 years. She got into debt, and then she decided to pay it down, once and for all.