Monday, October 17, 2016

I Love My Envelopes

I wrote to you guys about my first attempt at the Envelope System and I am offically in love. I've found how I can curb my spending and feel great about it!

My envelopes now consist of these categories: Food, Bar, Groceries, Fun, Miscellaneous, and Gas. All pretty typical, but they are all where I can get a little out of hand.

The Gas category isn't the most flexible, but I am now able to get gift cards easier that will give my dad's school and myself some cash back. I also put all of the coinage into my piggy bank.

Overall, taking the money out in cash helps me refrain from online shopping and using my debit card. I have to seriously think, "Do I want to pay for this?" Sometimes, the answer is Yes! I bought some new Nike shoes last month and I am so happy I did. My old pairs were at least 8 years old. What's awesome now is that I don't feel bad about going out to eat or buying some much needed shoes. I feel like I can make more choices, because I have that money right in front of me.

And what's also awesome is that I've had cash left over every month. I don't plan to change my ammounts any time soon. I usually come close, or have to really cut back to keep myself in those areas - but a few dollars here and there adds up.

It has added up to about $200 saved in three months. I've kept this stashed away to pay for Christmas presents. I know I said I may do something fun with it, but to me giving great gifts and shopping for my family are things I enjoy.

I suggest everyone try something new with their budget. The experiment might just work!

Sunday, October 16, 2016

October Net Worth

Hi Everyone! I know I haven't written in a while. I've stayed focused on my finanical and personal goals, so not sure why I didn't get to posting about it. Overall, I've stopped posting so much on social media. Maybe it has something to do with that as well. (Also could have to do with my WiFi not being great and my laptop missing a few keys.)

Since August, I've continued to pay off my debt. I've offically passed my $10,000 paid off in 2016 goal! That's super exciting and I know I'll up the goal for next year. I'm thinking I may focus in other areas as the years ends. Not entirely sure what that will look like.

I'm at a Net Worth of -$50,979.50 and that's about +2,000 since my last Net Worth post. I'm still on an upward trend, so it's all going the right direction. Actually, I can honestly say that I have been in the positive trend every month except maybe one. (I started to add in my retirement fund as well, so that might have saved me.)



I'm proud of what I've done and continued to do. I'm working hard at my job in my new role. I'll be getting another increase in my next paycheck. I'm not sure how much that will be. I have some ideas on what I'd like to do with it, but we will see how much this first increase will get me.