Financial Peace

The season of Lent is upon us and my little Catholic self has gone into a bit of overdrive and reflection. For 40 days and 40 nights, I have elected to give up fast food. This brought about a series of questions from friends who thought that was too severe of a restriction, but really people?! I believe Jesus died for us, I can do without a Whataburger (#7, no onions but with jalapenos) for a few weeks.

Anywhosits, as I was filing my taxes last night, I realized just how much money I made last year.....for a single woman with one small dog.....I should have craploads saved. And yet I don't. So this morning, despite some hyperventilation on my part, I tried to layout a budget. Honestly, I've lived on my own since I was 17, but never really had to budget before. I was on scholarships and parents dime(#fistbump to my pops for that debit card) in college. After college, the salaries that I've made have always been 'tight' but if I wanted to go do something I could. Every company I've worked for, thankfully, had 401k or 403b options so having a retirement has always been established and transferred as I switched companies. But actual savings for 'emergency situations' not so much.

And this is going to make me sound like the most un-American girl in the world, but owning a home has never really been a dream of mine. OR rather, it's something I always assumed would happen when I married someone. I never wanted to own my own piece of property...I never saw the point.

But when I saw my gross salary and all that last night. I got scared a little bit. I don't make millions, but I do make enough that there should be something left over at the end of the month to tuck away. But there isn't. So I logged onto my bank and reviewed their "Personal Spending Report" feature that I always ignore. I nearly choked on my Mr. Pibb when I realized how much I'm spending on "Restaurants" and "Retail". NOT ACCEPTABLE!! So.....I'm attempting to create a budget to get me on track. Will report back later with my outline!