Well I have posted my 2011 Financial Goals. I may revise them by the end of the week. But I believe these will be good goals for the year. Still working on to do list for December. Hopefully I will make it!

I went out with a friend today for dinner. She treated me to dinner. So I did not have to spend the twenty dollar bill I sat aside for eating out tonight. So I am going to add that to our long term savings account. My wedding anniversary was in October. A family member sent us a check for $30. But she did not have the correct address. So we didn't get it. She resent it to us and we got it last week. So we are going to add that to our long term savings too. That makes a total of $50 we will add to our savings at the bank this week. I am also going to add at least $200 to our money market account at the credit union this week. Plus my personal savings account will have the automatic $5 transferred to it tomorrow. So I am in an AWESOME savings mood right now! It's fun watching your savings grow. I even got my mom excited and saving with me.

I have debated whether to start a blog for a long time. But I decided to take the plunge and go for it. My hope is to become financially at peace, meaning that I won't have to worry about bills or having enough money in the bank. I love the ocean. It always makes me feel free. My husband and I go to the beach every year even if it's just for a short weekend. We always say that when we become more financially secure we'll take more trips to the beach. We are only 2 hours away from the ocean. But until that time comes we have a lot of work to do. This year we have been working hard at lowering our expenses. We were paying close to $900 in rent (we do not own a house yet) a month. But we found a cheaper place and now only pay $610/month. That was quite an adjustment because our "new" place is not nearly as nice or as new as our other place was. But to save $300 a month, it made the most sense from a financial standpoint. I had a car that we paid off in May. I was paying $300 a month for it. Also we had a furniture payment of $250 a month. (we will NEVER finance furniture again; such a waste!) But we paid that off in September. So already we have a savings of around $850/month! And we plan to continue getting rid of all unnecessary expenses. My husband's car will be paid off next Spring. Once his car is paid off we will not have any more car payments, which would be another $350 in savings each month.

We made foolish financial decisions in the past, trying to keep up with our friends. But we have learned that we have to do what's best for us. And personally, I'd rather have money in the bank instead of all the latest gadgets and luxuries.