Financial Strategies: Goal Setting

In a newsletter last month, I shared some surprising information. I did the math and realized I was spending just over $8,606 a year on take out, daily Starbucks visits and lunch once per week at work.

Actually, I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s back up a bit. It all started during a phone call with a friend. She has finished her first year of cutting way back on spending. In just one year, she has paid down half of her family’s debt!

This blew my mind. Not only is she paying down her debt, she is still enjoying her life. Instead of dinners out, she cooks and invites people over. She and her husband find free activities in their city for entertainment, and instead of buying books, she goes to the library and borrows them.

The biggest take away from our call: she didn’t feel that she was missing out on living! In fact she was enjoying it more, realizing now how much more free time she had in daily life. It was a really enlightening call.

While I have no credit card debt, nor a mortgage or car payment, I do owe Ms. Sallie Mae some serious dough. I don’t regret taking out student loans. It was how I could pay for school and afford to live while earning my degrees. I’m elated to say that I paid off my undergraduate loans a few months ago, but I still owe Sallie nearly $30,000 for my master’s degree.

So this brings me to my goals. Here’s what I’m committing to in the next month. I will try them out and adjust as needed:

1. I will cook my own meals each week.
2. I will only go out for food if another person will be joining me. When dining out, I will be aware of how much I am spending.
3. I will limit Starbucks visits to twice per week.
4. I will take advantage of free activities available in the City.
5. I will no longer be ordering take out, unless I am returning from a trip and have no groceries in my apartment.
6. I will not drive myself crazy over said rules. Sometimes, life happens. If I break a rule, I will accept it, learn from it and move forward.

I’m hoping to save $500 this month—wish me luck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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