2010 financial goals update

Here is what we have done and things we are doing to reach our financial goals for 2010. Read our 2010 financial goals here.

We paid off our car insurance for the year. This eliminates an almost $70 bill every month.

We paid off a small loan of my hubby's. This eliminates and almost $60 bill every month.

We have only used a credit card once for 2010. This was for the $52.00 Tubo tax charge for me to do our taxes online. I know our goal was to not use them at all, however, this was a small charge and saved us hundreds of dollars in tax preparation fees if we had gone to H& R Block again this year. I have been using my debit card for all other online purchases. If your debit card has a Visa or Mastercard logo on the front you can use it like a credit card online except you are spending REAL money and not putting yourself into deeper debt.

One thing that is helping us live within our means is taking his check amount (he gets paid every two weeks) and subtracting the bills we have to pay for that period until his next check and putting what is left in an envelope for grocery, gas, newspapers and other spending. I like this system because you can see what you have to work with at any time. Unlike using a debit card, you can count the money in the envelope at any time to see what is left for spending and stay within budget until your next check. Now, if there is anything left in the envelope when he gets his next check we will figure out what our spending limit is for the new check after bills and add to what is still in the envelope to give us that amount. When my hubby deposits the money I need to pay my bills the extra money will go in the bank and it will be like we never saw it.

Using this system also helps us not spend our emergency fund. Our emergency fund of at least $1,500 is for unexpected bills, like the almost $300 excise tax we need to pay this month, amazing sales that will get us necessities that we always use for free or at a significant discount (our first choice is to try and do this with our allotted spending money for that period) or something breaks or needs to be replaced that we can't live without or an emergency.

We've all been very disciplined about writing dates on food when we open them or put leftovers in the fridge which has helped us waste less. I also bought a very large metal rack to store stockpile items in my kitchen and now all of my food stockpiles (except bottled water) are in my kitchen. I think this will help me avoid buying too much and not using things before they expire.

We are paying almost double the minimum on two of our bigger credit card balances every month. We are paying $15.00 over the minimum on my student loan with the overage going towards the principal. We paying $5-$10 over the minimum on all other credit cards.

How are you all doing with your financial goals?