I'm back!

I apologize for the 2 week hiatus from posting. My computer was infected with nasty stuff (spyware and all kinds of nasty stuff). My Symantic antivirus could not get rid of it and it kept getting worse and worse. Finally, I took the computer to the local repair shop and after two attempts and I'm finally free of all the bugs.

The bad news is that through a series of unfortunate event, I accidentally tried to reinstall Windows and erased some of my programs--like YNAB. I spent yesterday evening entering the data from the last two months and I think I'm pretty accurate.

I'm glad to be back! Has anyone else had problems with computer bugs?

Debt is Going Down!

My credit card debt is coming down! It now stands at $4140! I am very excited to be below $5000 and I should be able to get below $4000 by the end of the month. Maybe a payoff of July is possible :).
Tracking my spending is still fun. I'm going to check my spending percentages in each category at the end of the month to see if my spending is in balance with what Dave and other financial gurus recommend. I don't want to be obsessed with spending, although I must confess that I am right now. My goal is to get a workable system in place, and then move my energy to other hobbies.
On another note, I mistakenly deleted my blog roll on Sunday. I'm slowly building it back up. If you see that your blog is missing from my blog list, please leave me a comment so I can add it!

Master Gardener's Class

I've wanted to take a Master Gardener's class for several years. The class is 13 weeks and is offered by our state university extension office. The requirements are passing a post test as well as 30 hours community service project.
I went to the first class this week. The topics were native animals and then landscaping possibilities with native plants. The speaker had studied both for over 40 years and was very knowledgeable. Using native plants for landscaping makes so much sense. I don't know why I had never considered it before! I'm looking forward to learning much more in the coming weeks.

Anybody have experience growing native plants?

How Did I Do in January?

January is finally over! It seemed like a really long month, because I actually started tracking my expenses on Dec. 29. How did I do on my 2009 goals?
Financial:

• Track spending with YNAB weekly. I love using YNAB. I've been updating almost every day. It just takes a few minutes. As I suspected, I don't really budget accurately. I went over budget by $299, I tend to be too optimistic about the expenses. YNAB will help me become more realistic. I also started putting money each month in irregular expense accounts which will help with unexpected expenses.
• Begin sinking fund account. I'm getting 5% interest at my credit union. I just had $5.14 credited to my account!
• Pay off $6000 in credit cards by July 1. I was only able to pay $600 instead to the scheduled $900 because of the plumbing expense. So I am -$300, so far.
• Save emergency fund of $3600 by Dec 31. I put $80 into my EF for a balance of $930. This amount will go up to $600/month in Sept.

Personal

• Work out or walk (1 mile) 2x week. I rejoined the gym for a 6-week strength training class. For the last two weeks, I went to class 2x/week. The walking has not been going well. I want to step the aerobic workout.
• Walk Gretsky every day. I missed 3 days out of 31--90%.
• Do Flylady routines. Not doing great with all the routines. The sink is going OK.
• Bible study. I signed up for a group Bible study that starts next Friday. I'm excited!
• Learn something new. I may be going overboard here. I joined the local astronomy club two weeks ago. I'm starting a Master Gardener class on Tuesday. Tonight, I went to a support group called DivorceCare for people who are separated or divorcing. I'll keep you all updated on these in the coming weeks.
• Compost bin/garden. On hold
• Monthly house project. I put up curtains on two basement windows. Still need to buy tension rods for the other two. Did not get the chairs recovered.

I'm a little disappointed that I won't be able to make my July 1 payoff goal, but I'm modifying the payoff goal to July 31, 2009. I'm still optimistic!

It's time for "The Office". DS is a big fan and I'm becoming a fan so that we can enjoy watching it together.

Looking for inspiration?

These are some posts that I have enjoyed this week.
Miss Money at M is for Money has an awesome series on getting out of debt. If you are struggling with the motivation to start on or continue with your debt reduction journey check out her posts.

Finally Frugal celebrated her one year blog anniversary this week. She has paid $4500 in credit card debt and is finding all sorts of frugal tactics.

I love reading the end-of-month updates from Won't Go Down Without a Fight , No More Spending, Sharon Rose, and Shaking the Money Tree. Keep up the good work!

Budgeting Tools

Personal finance blogs are full of wisdom and encouragement. Here are some posts that I enjoyed this week.

• Money Funk has developed a spreadsheet to track your budget and spending, including a bad debt to income calculator.
• Get Rich Slowly has a list of favorite posts, including "How to Get Out of Debt". His blog is full of timely articles and great financial advice.
• Lynne at Being Frugal is doing a series on budgeting and has reviewed Pear Budget as well as other budget tools.
• Ms Money Chat at My Money Chat tells why she loves Mint software.
• SVL at The Digerati Life has a review of the YNAB system along with a 10% discount code.
• Jolie at Shaking the Money Tree and Amber at Becoming Debtfree in 2009 have had great success this month with a cash-only envelope system. Their results in January add to the evidence that using cash only reduces spending. I wasn't very successful when I tried this last summer, but I think the key is finding a system that works for you. Check out their methods and results.

I really enjoy and am encouraged by all the above blogs. I highly recommend subscribing to them if you are on a journey to becoming debt-free.

Personal Finance Goals: Week 3

It's almost the end of the month and I'm updating Week 3--just a little behind!

Financial Goals:

• I'm still enjoying using YNAB. I don't have a large unexpected expense fund yet, so with the car repairs and new running shoes for DS, I am over budget this month by 8%. At least this gives me a number to try to beat for next month!


• I probably can't make by goal date 1 of July to be debt-free, but I'm not going to change it until I see how Feb. goes.

Personal Goals:

• I'm still walking the dog every day and working out 2x a week. Gretsky's walks are pretty short--about 1/2 mile. I will try to increase this as the weather improves.


• The exciting news for me is that I joined the local astronomy club and attended Astronomy Day at the local community college. My plan is to attend at least one meeting this spring to look at the stars. I also plan to take a Master Gardener class, which starts in February. I have wanted to take this class for the past two years, but have been too busy. I think this is the right time. The class costs $80, but I feel it is a worthwhile investment. I hope to be able to apply what I learn to landscaping my steep walk to the river.

I am pleased with my progress this month. I am learning how to get my financial house in order while enjoying life. I appreciate the encouragement and suggestions given in comments. It's nice to know that other people struggle with and are overcoming the "debt monster"!