It's December. And, my bank account is starting to depress me (more than usual). Instead of waiting for the new year, I'm going to suck it up and start a Spending Diet now.
Over at AndThenWeSaved, Anna gives the guidelines and one of the first steps towards a Spending Diet is to determine things that you will actually have to spend money on. The Necessities.
My Necessities Are:
1) Car Payment.
2) Cell Phone bill.
3) Car Insurance
4) Gas
5) Prescriptions
6) Netflix (I know, not a necessity, but I would be lost without it and at the end of the day, the $8 I spend on it goes a long way).
7) Food*
8) Toiletries*
*This is why I'm lucky to live at home - I don't spend a ton of money on either of these usually, but I've included them just to be safe.
Aside from those 8 things I've listed above, my money isn't going anywhere else. (Another caveat, I still have to get my mom her birthday present).
My plan for all that money saved is to first - pay off my credit cards. Or, at least one of them and get the other one down to a reasonable amount.
After that, the rest of the money will go straight into my savings account at the end of every month.
And, I will be doing this until the end of 2013.**
**I totally intend on allowing myself some more leeway, but we'll get to that bridge when we come to it.
Crazy. I know. But it's definitely worth it and it's necessary to get my finances back on track.
Labels: finances, personal, spending diet
