Sunday, January 9, 2011

New Years Resolutions

Happy New Year part two!

So Adam and I made quite a few New Years Resolutions this year.  And--made quite a few decisions that are going to make a huge impact on our life.

First for the big decision--Adam will be quitting his job within then next 2 months.  The company he works for is great and so is his job but his bosses boss is a total ass who makes a lot of business decisions that Adam has to go with that we both feel are morally wrong and when Adam has stood up for what we believe is right then he has been punished, most recently he was suspended for a week without pay for refusing to suspend one of his employees for forgetting to make a deposit (of $40) that was made before they opened the next day.  Also--They are threatening to keep his bonus from December, which is a performance based bonus when this "issue" occurred in January.  Which is illegal.  Adam doesn't want to have his name associated with morally wrong things, at the same time we can't afford for him not to have a job so he is busting ass to get out of there asap.

Second--Resolutions
1--Lose Weight
Adam wants to lose 20 lbs by May and 40 lbs this year.  For the record he has already lost 10--I hate him...
I want to lose 20 lbs by May and then we will see if I need to lose any more.  So far I have lost 3.5--I still hate Adam...
2--Enroll in an MBA Program
There is one that is AACSB accredited that meets in this town on Saturday's.  I"m super excited I have done some research and will be applying for scholarships this week as well as applying to the program and starting to study for my GMAT.
3--Live on Adam's income alone
Obviously, this depends on how much money his new job will pay to some extent so really it's more like live on my income alone but either way our goal is for the only expenses to be coming from our second income be my MBA program and Student Loans so that we can save the rest towards buying a house/new car/etc. in the future.
4--Start a retirement plan
My retirement plan at six flags was cashed out because I didn't get it rolled over in time.  My new job offers a
(b) plan so I'm going to get started investing in it.
5--Pay off all "bad" debt
We don't have a lot but we did rack up some credit card debt when I lost my job last year then we had to take out a loan to pay for Adams car in October when he totaled the Callibur.  The goal is to have our credit cards paid off by May (hopefully our tax refund will cover most of it) and to have the car paid off by the end of the year.  We also still owe Adams mom some money from when Adam bought his Callibur in college.  We are making payments to her and our goal is to have that debt paid off by the end of 2012 as well as the $1,000 I borrowed from my mom to buy my house.  We are going to continue paying debt out of our "second" income until everything is paid off

We have a plan in place and it is very doable.  Really the only corners we are going to have to cut out of our budget are things we don't particularly need.  We eat out WAY to often and I buy a lot of groceries that end up getting thrown out.  There is never room in our cabinets for all of our canned/dried goods so I'm going to quit buying those things unless they are actually needed.  Also I have Adam on board for planning our meals bi-weekly to cut down trips to the grocery store.  I already use coupons but I'm going to try and be smarter about which ones I clip because I tend to buy a lot of stuff because it's a great deal more than because we need it.  Also we have a Sam's Club opening next month and we have a membership so that will help us cut down on the prices of paper products and cleaning supplies as long as some dried/canned goods but again--I'm not buying them if we don't need them.

Wish me luck, I'm going to need it!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

To quickly pay Off student loans look into what tax breaks you may qualify for by paying on your student loan. Tax breaks can really help you to save money so that it can be devoted to paying off your student-loan debt. Depending on what tax bracket you fall under and your job, you may be able to deduct your student loan payment from your taxable income. Consult with an accountant or financial adviser to conclude your eligibility.





home and garden design

Shanon said...

Hi Jazzie,
Thanks for the advice but I am an accountant--I know the laws and believe me I use them to my advantage, unfortunately when you pay for your own private education with only a 50% scholarship and pay for a masters with student loans completely they rack up pretty high.
Thanks though,
Shanon

PCS Updates

 Wow I can't believe it's been almost 3 months! SO much has happened and I honestly feel like I've barely had a chance to breath...