I have not been hitting my savings goals the past several months. I am saving, but not as much as I normally do or should. Part of me wants to buckle down and get serious and the other part wants me to loosen my budget. By allocating more funds into the various monthly categories will have me not save as much every month. I'm pretty hesitant to do that, but that may be the best. I spend too much during the month and then I end up charging some stuff (not a lot). Since I pay off the cards in full every month, I'll not put the allocated funds into my savings so I'll be able pay off my cards. It is a vicious cycle; one that I need to seriously get a hold of.
My numbers still look okay, but not as good as I'd like for them to. We're having the same problem as usual. We eat out way too much. We eat in during the week, but lately starting Friday all the way to Sunday, we eat out. No bueno.
I mentioned this to B the other day and we both agreed to make a conscious decision not to eat out as much anymore. Instead of the 3-4 times a week, we'll keep it at once a week. I think that is totally manageable.
In the meantime, of course, this means I won't hit my savings goals again this month. Unfortunately, I find myself saying that way too often. If I am unable to hit my savings goals in May, then I will seriously look into modifying my monthly budget.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Still Hanging In There -- $$ Version
I've updated this blog on my diet issue, now it's time to discuss $$.
I'm still saving, just not hitting my savings goals lately. I do have a bunch of expenses in the upcoming months and I'm okay with that. I filed my taxes last week and I was able to max out my IRA again this year. Yay!! I'll also be receiving a total refund of a little more than $1800. Not too bad. I'm going to buy myself something (not sure what yet) for about $100 and will spend another $100 on B. The remaining refund will sit in my savings collecting basically no interest.
Currently, I have a little more than $13K in my liquid savings (just transferred $5K into my IRA). My IRA/Money Market Accounts are currently sitting at around $30K. I expected to have more in liquid savings by this time, but I'm okay with the balance that I do have.
I really have to buckle down on my spending. It's not too outlandish, but a little excessive for me. The fact that B and I eat out only about twice a week will help. Since I'm not really cooking much dinners anymore and our food basically consists of salads and fruits, our grocery budget should be decreasing a bit. That'll help.
Also, I currently have a few IRA CD accounts, one Money Market Account, and one Brokerage IRA Account. I have like $2K invested in my brokerage account, but have about $4K more just sitting there not invested in anything. This year, I'd like to allocate that money to some stocks. My Money Market account is literally earning pennies. I'd like to roll that over to something else (Not sure what yet). I'd also like to do something with my IRA CD's. They are just sitting there and not doing much. I also have two separate IRA CD's at two separate banks and I'd like to merge those sometime this year. The thing is I know absolutely nothing about investing and need to learn the basics so my money can work for me in the long run.
I'm still saving, just not hitting my savings goals lately. I do have a bunch of expenses in the upcoming months and I'm okay with that. I filed my taxes last week and I was able to max out my IRA again this year. Yay!! I'll also be receiving a total refund of a little more than $1800. Not too bad. I'm going to buy myself something (not sure what yet) for about $100 and will spend another $100 on B. The remaining refund will sit in my savings collecting basically no interest.
Currently, I have a little more than $13K in my liquid savings (just transferred $5K into my IRA). My IRA/Money Market Accounts are currently sitting at around $30K. I expected to have more in liquid savings by this time, but I'm okay with the balance that I do have.
I really have to buckle down on my spending. It's not too outlandish, but a little excessive for me. The fact that B and I eat out only about twice a week will help. Since I'm not really cooking much dinners anymore and our food basically consists of salads and fruits, our grocery budget should be decreasing a bit. That'll help.
Also, I currently have a few IRA CD accounts, one Money Market Account, and one Brokerage IRA Account. I have like $2K invested in my brokerage account, but have about $4K more just sitting there not invested in anything. This year, I'd like to allocate that money to some stocks. My Money Market account is literally earning pennies. I'd like to roll that over to something else (Not sure what yet). I'd also like to do something with my IRA CD's. They are just sitting there and not doing much. I also have two separate IRA CD's at two separate banks and I'd like to merge those sometime this year. The thing is I know absolutely nothing about investing and need to learn the basics so my money can work for me in the long run.
Still Hanging In There
B is still sticking to his diet of salads and fruits during the week. He is eating light during the week and eats whatever he wants in moderation on the weekends. I've been following suite more or less. I also have been eating fruit or a shake for breakfast along with a salad for lunch. Dinner time is where I struggle. Although I do not over indulge, I do eat more than I should. I keep my calorie count fairly low throughout the day and then just basically blow it in the evenings. The good news is that I do not eat after 8 pm.
This week, I've been eating my apple salad for breakfast and my lunch consists of either Greek or a caprese salad. I might have one small piece of chocolate sometime in the afternoon. When I get home, I'll eat maybe two eggs with toast or the other day I seared three scallops and served it with a small portion of pasta and a "cream" sauce (made with skim milk). Healthy? Not really, but better than what I was eating. Tonight I'll have a portabella mushroom pizza (no crust). Basically I'll top a portabella cap with a little tomato sauce and a bit of cheese and broil until cheese is bubbly.
B has lost almost 20 pounds and I have just seemingly maintained my past weight loss. I know I'll have to cut my treats and really watch my portions and food intake to match B's accomplishments. B says he sees my body changing for the better, but the scale is not moving too much. I might have to give it an extra push.
This week, I've been eating my apple salad for breakfast and my lunch consists of either Greek or a caprese salad. I might have one small piece of chocolate sometime in the afternoon. When I get home, I'll eat maybe two eggs with toast or the other day I seared three scallops and served it with a small portion of pasta and a "cream" sauce (made with skim milk). Healthy? Not really, but better than what I was eating. Tonight I'll have a portabella mushroom pizza (no crust). Basically I'll top a portabella cap with a little tomato sauce and a bit of cheese and broil until cheese is bubbly.
B has lost almost 20 pounds and I have just seemingly maintained my past weight loss. I know I'll have to cut my treats and really watch my portions and food intake to match B's accomplishments. B says he sees my body changing for the better, but the scale is not moving too much. I might have to give it an extra push.
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