Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Goals Revisited....

I admit, I made those goals below on a whim.

They are mostly fine, except #2- Instead of this, we decided to seriously sit down and look at our budget.

We discovered we have about $3200 each month left over after paying bills, so every single penny of this for now will be going to pay off our debts.

1st. Jeremy's credit cards
2nd. Jeremy's student loans
3rd. My Car

*** we do plan to take a cruise in October for our 1 year anniversary :-)

We estimate that we can be debt free by about June of next year, if not earlier! :-)

So- this means several things:

1. We will be living very frugal over the next year (and we are ok with that)
2. This will only fuel my coupon clipping, sale section reading even more!
3. Our house projects will have to wait. We could easily put those new hardwoods on a credit card, but that's kinda backpedaling, now isn't it?

After those debts are gone we'll start doing a few things:

1. We will start contributing to IRAs ( I have one open right now, that my employer is socking 5% of my income into, Jeremy doesn't have one)
2. We'll most likely start paying extra on our mortgage (like a lot, like 2k more a month!)
3. We *might* start trying to have a baby..... eek!

If you are in the mode to get out of debt and see some light at the end of the tunnel, I highly recomend reading The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. It's just practical. Definitely not a 'get out of debt quick' scheme... just good advice for those of us who need a place to start.

2 comments:

  1. I think you have always been a smart shopper, Jessica! I am really impressed with the goals you and Jeremy have set for yourselves. Its a great foundation for a new marriage. I really want some tips on how to save money at the grocery store and clip coupons - since soon I will be back on that train (looking forward to it).
    Also, have you subscribed to Lowe's Creative Ideas? They have really great crafty (and usually cost effective) ideas for home projects. Just incase you still wanted to fulfill something on your list.

    Sorry for the long-winded comment - hope your day got better. Let me know the next time Jeremy is out of town...we can grab dinner or something!

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  2. I've heard about the Lowes thing, but haven't looked into it!

    Coupon and deal links- these are great, and where I find out about lots of great deals!

    hip2save.com
    neverpayretailagain.blogspot.com
    freebies4mom.blogspot.com

    I am trying my best to find coupons to match up with a sale items!

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