It’s that time again….

As I type this blog post, it is approximately one hour until the start of a brand new year. It’s typically the time that I would sit down, pen in hand, and craft a grandiose list of resolutions, many of which I would break within a week. Not this year. Don’t get me wrong, I still want to lose weight, I still want to be a better friend and parent, I would like to pay off debts, travel, get more organized, etc. But maybe I won’t do any of these things, maybe I will do them a little…but one thing I will do is take each day as it comes and just really strive to focus on making better choices. Isn’t that what all of our goals come down to? Making the choice to right a wrong, improve a situation, mend a relationship…the list can go on forever. I have often made resolutions and when I don’t stick to them I get down on myself, which starts a downward spiral that I often can’t recover from in terms of achieving my original goal. I think that if I focus on just making better choices, while being fully aware of the fact that I will fall short at times, then I will have a better chance of achieving my goals and keeping my self-esteem intact. So, I suppose THAT is my resolution…to take one day at a time and make better choices in the areas that I would like to improve. Wish me luck…and to all of you, may 2009 be a joyous, prosperous year.

What did I do today to save some money?

I started today on my journey to financial freedom. I went through a “bill purge”. It didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would, and I believe I made some progress.

The first thing I did today was call the phone company. I wanted to investigate whether there was any way that I could cut my service or not, with the intent to save some money. The agent that I spoke with was very nice, which was a refreshing change. We went over every single detail of my account. I learned that the only thing that I could cut out would be my “communications bundle”…call waiting, caller ID, call forwarding, etc. That would save me $8 a month, or $96 per year. I’m debating this one. I really don’t talk on the phone much. The caller ID would be helpful, I suppose, but if someone calls and the line is busy, they’ll call back if it’s important. The holdup to getting rid of the bundle is that I have been spoiled…when I leave the house, I forward my calls to my cell so that I don’t miss anything. I do this because in addition to my job, I have a small business, and I don’t want to miss any business calls. My DSL service is included in the cost of my bill, and it’s as cheap as I can get it. Ideally, I would really like to get rid of the land line altogether and just use my cell phone. That would be tricky, because I absolutely NEED internet at home for my business. I have read about services that allow you to make long distance calls through your computer, such as Skype. I’m still learning about this, but it sounds like a great idea…except that for me, it would be impossible to use, since no one that I would call long distance would use Skype. So, as far as the phone goes, it’s nice to know that for the services I have, I am paying the least amount that I can. I just need to decide if I’m ready to cut out the luxuries. Anyone have any suggestions?

Next… my Netflix account. I love Netflix! Love, love, love them. Did I mention that I love Netflix? I live too far out of town to get cable television, so I just get the basic channels…and Netflix provides my entertainment. I couldn’t get rid of Netflix completely, so I downgraded my plan and saved $10 a month, or $120 per year. We’ll see how that goes…I have done that before, and I end up changing it again. I’m going to try and stick with it this time.

I thought that I could possibly save some money on my insurance. I called my agent, who handles both my auto and home insurance. Apparently, I have utilized all the discounts that I can…but at least I tried, right?

My last project was my electric bill. I have already done a number of things to try and lower the bill, and it appears that it is working. I turn off the lights in every room that I’m not in, and I have trained my son to follow the same practice. In fact, he’s pretty good at catching me if I forget! I unplug all appliances that have an internal clock, and I unplug my computer when it’s not in use. You get the idea. Today I finally replaced all my incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. It was a pretty significant cost upfront, but I’m curious to see how it affects my overall bill. It feels good knowing that I’m doing something good not only for my finances, but for the environment as well. An added benefit to this is the great conversation that I had with my son about the switch, and why it’s good for our planet. He really got into it, and that’s good to see.

Not bad for one day! I feel like I accomplished a great deal.

So it begins…

I sat down today and took a good, hard look at my financial state. I’m not too happy with it. As much as I hate to type this, I am going to do it:

I am $10,000 in debt.

That hurt. But, I figure that I can’t beat it if I don’t own it. (Was it Dr. Phil who said something like that?) Anyway, the worst part about that debt is that it’s all credit card debt. Okay, I do have a car payment and a mortgage, but while a car payment is not ideal, it’s necessary for now. I need a car and there was no way around it. Plus, the payment and interest rate are VERY low. My first priority is to get a handle on the credit card situation. I have no idea how I got so far in the hole (I know that I spent money that I didn’t have, but where?) and I not only need to pay that off, I really need to figure out how to keep it from happening again. I am not a financial wizard, but I believe that by committing publicly, through this blog, to getting my finances under control, that I have a great chance to succeed. Nothing like public scrutiny to hold one accountable! J