DH has applied for a higher paying position at his job. We really hope he gets it. One of our goals this year is to increase our income. So for him getting a higher paying position is a must! I've checked into doing some freelance work and expanding my business. Also doing some other little projects on the side.

We have been so distracted this month. It has been really hard to blog. But I hope to get back on track in February. We've still been progressively saving. I try to deposit something on a weekly basis. Even if it is just $5, I'm going to make sure I made a deposit. Everything counts. When I didn't have any savings, I decided to save $5 every other week. So every month I saved about $10. I had it automatically taken out of my account and put in my savings account every two weeks. I just forgot about it. A couple of years later, I had a lot of money saved! So saving is saving. Start small and make it automatic. It will grow.

Last week was extremely busy for me. I worked everyday last week. I usually try to have one day off during the week. That did not happen last week. This coming week I should have at least one day off on Thursday. But since we are expecting snow/wintry mix tomorrow and Tuesday, I may have more days off than expected. My plan is to work first thing in the morning and hopefully be done with work at around noon. After that, I'm going to make a deposit at the bank and go home. The snow is supposed to start after noon. I do have one customer on Tuesday, but if it snows I'm going to try to push her to Thursday morning. Workwise it is supposed to be a slow week for me. So if it snows and I can't work much, it won't really hurt me.

Last week I found $3.00 on the floor at a restaurant. The person behind me thought it was mine. I just picked it up because I wasn't sure if it was mine but it could have been. When I got home I realized that it wasn't mine. So I decided to just include that $3.00 in my weekly personal savings deposit. I'll make that deposit later this week.

I have been cheating all weekend with food. I usually don't snack a lot but this weekend I just snacked. Plus I had a girls night out tonight. We went to the movies and then out to eat. I had pizza and kind of pigged out. Oh well, I'll get back on track tomorrow.

I really need to get back to studying for the real estate state exam. I've been distracted lately. Maybe if I get snowed in I'll be able to do some real studying.

DH and I reached a milestone last week. One of our savings accounts reached the $1,000 mark! So now we are going to view that account as haveing a "zero balance" and we're "starting over" as far as reaching $1,000. I figure each time I reach another $1,000, I'll view that account as having a "zero balance" and I have to reach $1,000 again even if the balance is $12,000 or $13,000. Baby steps!

Right now our retirement accounts are at close to $15,000. We are way behind in our retirement savings. So since DH works at a bank he is going to get one of the Financial Advisors at his job look at our retirement to see if we could make any changes this year. I used to have my series 6 and 63 licenses. So I do know a lot about investing. But they expired a few years ago. So I'm not too proud to ask for help. Plus it was only the 6 and 63.

Well I need to get ready for tomorrow. So I will close this blog entry. I need to some sleep!

Non-Financial Goals for 2011

I've posted these in my sidebar also.

[ ] Finish getting Real Estate license. I finished the class and passed the final exam at the end of 2008. I just never took the state exam. So I'm finishing what I started and taking the state exam. I know real estate is not the best field to be in right now. But I just want to finish what I started. So I'm studying so I can pass the state exam.

[ ] Have parents/family over for dinner once every 2 months. I"m a family person. If you don't put forth the effort to keep in touch, you'll lose touch, even with parents/siblings.
___ Jan/Feb ___ Mar/Apr ___ May/June ___ July/Aug ___ Sept/Oct ___ Nov/Dec

[ ] Have a larger gathering of friends once every 3 months (4 gatherings a year). I used to have gatherings all the time but as I got older I kind of stopped. I want to start doing that again.
___ Jan – Mar ___ Apr – June ___ July – Sept ___ Oct – Dec

[ ] Finish reading list of books by 12/31/11. (I have a list of 20 to 40 short and long books.) I'm a fast reader, so I don't see a problem reaching this goal.

[ ] Make an official wedding album. We never made a wedding album even though we've been married over 6 years. I always wanted a nice, official wedding album.

[ ] Make photo albums for all loose photos and hang photos throughout house. I want to organize my loose photos. Also I want our house to feel more homey; so I want to hang more photos through the house.

[ ] Get portrait of DH and I done. We haven't had a portrait done of us since we were engaged.

[ ] Lose 5 pounds a month. I'm an ok size now. I want to get more toned/firmer.
___ Jan ___ Feb ___ Mar ___Apr ___ May ___ June ___ July ___ Aug ___ Sept
___ Oct ___ Nov ___ Dec

[ ] Buy new drapes for living room. An investment that will hopefully last a few years.

[ ] Send out written correspondence (card, letter, etc) at least once a month to friend/family. (No electronic correspondence!) I believe corresponding the old fashioned way is slowly becoming a thing of the past. But there's nothing like getting an actual card or letter in the mail. So in an effort to put a more personal touch in my correspondence, I'm going to send a card or hand written letter to a friend or family member once a month.
___ Jan ___ Feb ___ Mar ___Apr ___ May ___ June ___ July ___ Aug ___ Sept
___ Oct ___ Nov ___ Dec

[ ] Learn one new recipe a month. I have tons of cookbooks but tend to cook the same recipes all the time. I would love to copy what was done on that Julie/Julia movie (one recipe a day) but I don't have time. So this is my modified version!
___ Jan ___ Feb ___ Mar ___Apr ___ May ___ June ___ July ___ Aug ___ Sept
___ Oct ___ Nov ___ Dec

[ ] Get library card. I stopped going to the library 4 or 5 years ago. I need to start going back.

[ ] Get passports for DH and I. We would love to go out of the country. We can't go this year but at least we can get our passports!

[ ] Increase volunteer hours in community to 10 – 15 hours a month.
___ Jan ___ Feb ___ Mar ___Apr ___ May ___ June ___ July ___ Aug ___ Sept
___ Oct ___ Nov ___ Dec
Simply stated, there is more happiness in giving than receiving. I am a firm believer in that!

[ ] Buy a new washer and dryer. We don't have either at the moment

[ ] Make 3 large panels (paint/sew) for decoration in dining room. Just a little project I want to work on

I am so ready to start this new year on a good financial foot. 2011 is going to be a "working" year for us. Even though we have been married over 6 years, we feel like we have wasted a lot valuable time we could have used saving and paying down debt. But sometimes you learn later on in life. At least we are getting it together now and we are on the same page.

I have been so excited about my new financial goals, I've been talking to my mom about it. Now she is on board with changing her finances. She's in her early 60s and has felt it is too late for her. But I convinced her she is not too late. She can save a lot of money in 5 or more years. The point is to get started! So now she's excited about her new goals this year. Saving is so contagious!!