Frugal New Year
Today or Saturday is a great day to take a few hours, sit back with a cuppa and make some financial goals and a spending plan for the New Year. This is the time that can make grown men cry, but know that it's worth it! Nothing feels as good as sending in that last payment and knowing you can put that amount in the bank next month!
So what's on your list? Are you trying to pay down credit cards bills? Are you shooting to pay off your mortgage? Save for a transcontinental trip? Will there be college bills in your near future? How about a new house or car?
Financial goals don't have to be monumental. Little things really do add up. You could simply decide to save $20 a week. Something so "small" can go a long way toward starting a nest egg. ($20 x 52 = $1040) Or you might decide to stop your $4 a day Starbucks habit. ($4 x 365 = $1460!) Giving up smoking at $4 a pack would provide serious savings too. You could cut out packaged convenience foods that you don't find on the clearance rack or have serious couponage for. Or you might stop eating out altogether. Mix and match the ideas and the possibilities for saving money are endless.
I encourage you not to be afraid to include goals that might sound funny or strange to others. Since everyone's family is different, if the "funny goals" work for you, they are frugal and something to be embraced. Also, don't be afraid to try new or crazy ways to save money - as long as they're legal, of course! If you approach money saving as a game, you just might find you like it.
What are some of the craziest frugal goals you have ever made and kept? What are some of your "little vices" that add up to big $$ by the end of the year and throw off your goals? I'd love to hear about them! Oh and...
Happy New Year!
Honestly, I'm writing this on New Year's Eve and keep thinking that New Year's Day is Wednesday so you'll have time to kick back and relax... I'm still in some weird time warp after being gone for a month. I might never catch up. Oh well, sit down and create some good financial goals anyhow! OH! And I definitely think we should come up with a way to thank Meredith for working overtime on Christmas and New Year's Eve! Any suggestions??
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One Response to “Frugal New Year”
January 2nd, 2008 at 8:39 am
Crazy goals: I am five library trips away from “paying off” the double stroller I bought. (In order to justify its $35 purchase, I challenged myself to walk to the library and earn it back in gas money.)
And I was totally kidding about working overtime, y’all! Tapping at the keyboard is a pleasure for me, and I only wish I had more time to do it.
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