live and learn

I owe money on my taxes, more than I thought I would. I will rectify this for next year by increasing both the amount I have taken out of my check and and the amount I put away for taxes. Lesson learned.

In other news, I'm considering applying for a personal loan from my credit union to pay off my credit cards. I know it's just trading one debt for another, but if I can get a lower interest rate, it'll be worth it.

I just participated in an introductory session from Personal Finance 101. It was extremely helpful, more than I thought it would be even. As you might guess from the title of this blog, I've invested some time already in determining my goals, but this helped to refine them. I also got a lot more information on budgeting and retirement than I had perviously. My debt & cerdit situation aren't likely to change too drastically anytime soon, but it was nice to get some more information there as well.

As a result, I've rededicated some of my savins accounts at ING, and even added one (I already had half a dozen or so). But I now I also have a gift fund - because people just keep getting married, buying houses and having babies.