Keep the ball rolling

Don't stop til you get enough!

It's that time of the year again, when our taxes come back and we have extra money in our pockets. I usually spend my tax money on bills and such, but last year I spent it on my vacation to the Dominican Republic. I don't regret that decision at all, it was a trip of a lifetime and I had so much fun! This year, I have plenty of other trips planned that probably won't cost me all that much. I've been debating on what to do with my tax return. I  need to save up money to buy airline tickets for my Mom and I to Hawaii for the wedding. I have plenty of time in advance to save up for the trip, but I just don't know what to do.

My sister bought me this really great book called "On my Own Two Feet", it's really helped me a lot. It's trademarked as the modern day girl's guide to personal finance. It breaks things down into really easy terms, where you can understand how to deal with your finances. Finances are something that you kind of learn on your own. As much as your parents can tell you how to do things, you just have to find out for yourself. I dug it out of my tote last night, and started flipping through the pages. Since I'm on a journey to better myself health wise, I've decided to fix my finances along the way. 

I'm horrible at saving money. TERRIBLE. For as much money as I make, I so don't have an emergency fund. Not cool. I honestly don't know what I spend my money on...thus I downloaded an app from Mint.com to help me out. This tool is really awesome and totally safe. It links all of your accounts onto one app and tracks your spending. So you can literally see, where your money goes. How much are you spending on shopping, eating out, bills etc. It's a great tool for anyone to keep track of their spending, and gives you tools to help set up a budget. Justifying not saving money, because I have two retirement funds is totally not okay. 

I've decided that I'm just going to pay off my Visa. I doubt that I'll rack up that much again on it. Tuck it away somewhere that I won't use it. My only real areas of debt are my credit card and my car. I paid off my student loans during my first year at work. Mainly because I didn't have a car payment or any other bills really. If I'm getting rid of putting bad shit into my body, then I should get rid of bad habits that put dents in my wallet. I have a little over a year left on my car payments, and my next move is to crank it out with double payments. I'd like to get rid of is ASAP. That way, I can sock away mad money in my savings. Save it up for an emergency or a moving fund, whatever I want. 

I don't plan on getting rid of Black Betty any time soon, so no new car for me. Who needs one when your car is perfectly fine?! Besides, I love her too much to give her up when there's nothing wrong with her. Working on my weight, and my finances--what else is there left to work on?! Get it done!