Month in review

So I started making some monthly resolutions in January when I made my 2010 resolutions. One of them was to stick some money in my savings account and leave it there. For once, this has actually happened. I am kind of pleasantly shocked.

I've read a number of articles, like this one and this one, about renewing savings and having a certain amount (in this case, $500) in the bank as a safety cushion. Now that I have that, I'm grappling with the next steps. Obviously, paying down the credit card debt amassed from Christmas and France are the next big steps, and then starting to tackle my student loans, since my grace period ends in April.

It's really interesting to find myself in this position, of truly dealing with money in a "grown-up" manner. I like it for a number of reasons, namely that I finally feel like I'm in charge of the money that comes through my household. Indie Rocker and I are saving up to hire an architect to create blueprints for the house renovations we want to start working on; ideally, we'll be able to afford him by May.

Obviously, the thought of renovating the house excites me to no end, because it means that someday I might actually be able to live in the house I want, rather than the one I'm currently stuck with. I will admit that I've done a lot with what's currently there, but until we can really dig in and get rid of the crap that the last remodel did to the house, I'm not going to be truly satisfied. We've made a start, and are working towards making real changes, so I'm happy for the time being.

I'm still looking for a new job, preferably one that makes more money, so we'll see where that search goes. I definitely need to start devoting more time to it, since I've been side-burnering it forever. I just need to suck it up and do the work, even if I hate it. I mean, really, who likes job hunting?

Quote of the Day: "Money is like a sixth sense without which you cannot make a complete use of the other five." W. Somerset Maugham