my goals have changed

July 27, 2009 · Posted in buying stuff, credit and debt, investing, keeping tabs, my own house, saving

I am working a lot. I am working out after work. (Aren’t you proud of me?) I had the work done on the roof. Now I have other projects to do before the weather gets cold. I have some water damage outside that needs fixing, ASAP. So, heeeeere we go! My trip was great, and I didn’t come home broke, which is always a good thing. I didn’t spend any money this weekend. My bills are paid through the middle of August. I’m in more debt though, ’cause I put a big ole TV on my credit card. It’s OK, though. I won’t let it stay there long. My deadline is the end of September. It would be sooner, but with home improvements and the medical debt (which I’m paying on a payment plan), I won’t just knock it out with every available cent. In fact, if I didn’t absolutely need to work on the water damage, I’d wait on that too, but I have to have that worked on now. That is not an option. The good thing is that I’m not taking any major trips in the next few months, and I don’t plan to make any other big purchases for the house outside of non-cosmetic necessities for a while.

I am through with my goals for the moment. There is too much going on with the home improvements and the medical bills. There were some things that I didn’t absolutely need, like the TV and the weekend getaway, but I can afford them, and if I had it to do all over again, I would have made the same decisions. I am enjoying my summer and enjoying the fruits of my labor, for the first time in years. It’s nice to have these little luxuries, and I believe I have earned them.

But I am not comfortable with the TV and medical bill debt. I am not happy that it’s almost August and I haven’t paid anything extra towards my small student loan or my car loan. But it is what it is. I just know what my goals for 2010 will be, without question. For the rest of this year, all I want to do is get rid of my TV and medical bill debt, contribute to my IRA and savings when I can, have the money to pay next year’s insurance in full when it’s due in December, and make some house repairs – a new door, a garage door opener before winter, and a fix for that water damage before the first snow. With less expenses coming up, I want to get as much of this done as possible before the utilities start to go up in the fall and winter months.

Thank God for a cool summer. Here’s to praying for a warm fall.