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Saturday, February 6, 2010

Drum roll please.....

Ok, so after much more input than I expected (thanks everyone!), I've decided how to use this mega tax return. I'm sticking to Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover plan and putting the whole $1000 aside as if it doesn't exist. Then I will tackle a big loan payment and the rest will go to me. The money is due in on Feb. 19 so I'm pretty excited.

I would just like to point out that before this new years resolution and my change of heart about my spending habits, I would NOT have been so smart with my money. I would have given myself permission to take half-ish of that just for myself/spending and then saved the other half and eventually that savings would go to paying off my credit card bills if I was short. It's crazy that although it's only about a month ago, I can't believe how DUMB I was!!

Now, after giving myself only $282 of that mega return, I think I deserve to use it! I'll give my guy the $70 I owe him and I'll put $100 into my Spring Break spending envelope and that leaves me with $112 I can spend. I know I said "no-spend" February but the extra discount at Express apparently applies this weekend as well and I can't let that completely pass me by. I'll see what that gets me but I swear I won't spend over $112.

Hmm..maybe I'll put $50 towards getting my hair done and that will complete the amount I need to get that done and I will no longer have to dip into my allowance each paycheck to save for it.

So that leaves me with $60 for an Express trip...I guess we'll find out this weekend if I use it or not.

Thanks for bearing with that thinking through typing! I'm sure I just rambled on but it's just my way of processing how to handle the money. Part of the money makeover is that every dollar coming in should be accounted for because if it's not, it will be spent unwisely. So far so good!

4 comments:

  1. I'm proud of you! I think that's a very smart decision. After tax returns, I too have my thousand dollar emergency fund. I'm just trying to figure out how to keep it seperate from ym other money. I can't using my savings account right now. Did you see in the book how they said one lady took her thousand out in cash, put it in a big picture frame, taped it up real good in the back, and in the front wrote "Break in Case of an Emergency" I thought that was a good idea. Lol. Then she put it at the back of her closet behind all her clothes.

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  2. Thanks! Yay I'm glad you have it all saved up too! I can't figure out where to put it either. My uncle Warren said to put it in a CD (but then it's hard and expensive to get it out if it really is an emergency) or to put it in savings and think of it as the "minimum balance" on the account so anything over that is really your savings. That way you can still earn interest. I all about the idea of "out of sight, out of mind" so I like the picture frame idea too, but it won't earn interest, what if I lose it or someone steals it etc?

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  3. exactly. The picture frame isn't insured. Lol. Ummm. I was actually talking to Trav at lunch about this and he thinks I should go to a bank that I don't bank with now and open a savings account only. That way, if I wanted to get any of the money I would have to go out of my way and make a trip to the bank to get it. But no penalties if I need it. Plus, it will earn interest =) I think I'm going to do that for sure. Then I'll take more money over and put it in the savings as I get more to save and I wont be able to just transfer money from my savings to checking like I usually do when I think I'm cutting it close with my spending...I'm naughty when my savings is right there with my checking. Lol.

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  4. lol yeah, when I returned from NJ and opened a savings and checkings here, I made sure I couldn't withdraw from my savings from an ATM. I can do it online easily I guess so a different bank would be great. I'm going to look around and see if banks have any good deals for opening new accounts! Great idea!

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