the start of something good

if you had an extra $1600, how would you spend it?

i might go on a bit of a shopping spree. or get a new laptop. or maybe i'd take a trip someplace i've never been and buy oodles of souvenirs.

turns out, last year, i spent approximately $1600 at mcdonalds.

embarassing? sure. i should have been making healthier choices.

and even though i could sit down and think about how terrible those nuggets are for me, the feeling that REALLY plagues me is what i could have spent that money on.

friday at work i was bopping around cnn.com and came across this article. and this line hit me:

"i know what it feels like to be completely convinced that the debt will never ever, ever get paid off, and that if it did it'd only be because i won some random game show or some mega lottery jackpot that i don't even play."

the lottery fantasy enters my mind every time i make a payment towards my student loans or credit card, and i don't even PLAY the lotto.

but the reality is i've done nothing to fix the situation. sure, my payments are on time, but it's always the minimum. extra cash is spent on fast food ($1600!!?? at ONE place?) and stuff i simply don't need.

and so after investigating her site, and then she saved, i was inspired to do the same...make a list of needs vs. wants. stop spending. start saving. set rules for myself and find some sort of financial stability.

and i'm gonna blog about it too.

the more i think about this project, it really isn't all that complicated. i'm not talking about 401k's, investments or high return savings accounts. i'm talking about eliminating trips to target and bringing lunch to work everyday.

i hope you'll follow along as i give this project a shot...stay tuned for the rules...