Emergency fund....safe!

Dear trusty, old, rusty, beat up '92 Chevy pickup,

thank you for not being fatally injured when you would not start the other day.
Thank you for only needing $60 worth of labour to remove the corrosive buildup from your positive battery terminal, instead of needing $300 of new alternator, or what-have-you.
Sincerely,
me and the emergency fund.


I am trying to be more mindful of my spending and saving, so I can be more accountable. Accountable just to me right now, because I'm typing to myself, but I also like to think one day someone else may stumble upon this and go "Damn. That girl should get a real job...but hey, she is mighty accountable." :)

This week, I spent money on:

Groceries! $37 at the food basics, and then $27 at the IGA. We're trying to budget $80 a week for the two of us.

Truck- $67 after tax, I believe.

Brunch! $28 we splurged on big brekkies and mimosas with some friends we haven't seen in a while.

Drinks and misc!- oops, we did it again. I don't have the numbers since my spousal picked up the tab. two drinks... maybe $12.00?

Play! the husband was in a play, which was the cause of above-mentioned drinks. So I blew $3.00 on a latte while I waited to go buy my $5 ticket.

Save?
I did actually manage to put $90 in short-term and $20 in long-term savings this week.
yee haaaa.

Hello

I have been reading a lot of personal finance blogs over the past two years, and I was really starting to feel like a stalker for reading other people's blogs but not stepping up with one of my own.

I don't make a lot of money, and in the past I have been managing my money incredibly stupidly and poorly- well, not managing it at all. This year, thanks in part to great PF advice from blogs, I have:

Opened a tiny $250 RRSP GIC (that's a Canadian retirement savings acct)
Paid off my credit cards.
Established a small $3000 TFSA emergency fund
Established a dedicated short/term travel fund $1350, about to be plundered for a Florida trip!
and a long term/help my folks when they're old fund $200
I have stopped buying on credit.
My momma graciously offered to buy out the remaining $6500 of my student loan and is letting me pay it back interest free. Yay! At the embarrassing age of 30, I am finally on the road to financial smarts.

I should point out that my husband is a much better saver and higher earner than I am, and he handles the majority of our expenses. I am currently the designated 'payer of groceries, some car repairs, and most travel/recreation'.

Watch for exciting developments like:
"oooh, I put ten dollars into savings this week. "
"Ooooh, I stuck to the budget!"
"Aaaaah, I actually remembered to drink my water and eat some fruit and do my workout three days this month!"
"Wow! I may one day figure out how to make one of those cute little counters with my financial goals on them."

I am not going to be a very innovative or clever contributor to the world of PF blog. I'm going to shoot for 'not making a total ass of myself', to start. I want to use this blog to set some goals, track and have some accountability in this lovely, anonymous format, and possibly to get some feedback and conversation with other PF bloggers out there.
So thanks everyone for all the great reading so far, and thanks for letting me join in the conversation!