New Year's Resolutions (mine & other people's)

According to this article from Fitness.com ...

"Many people tend to make unrealistic goals when it comes to creating a New Year’s Resolution based on health and fitness. Many rush immediately to a gym to sign up, go for a few weeks, and then decide to give up. Instead of making these unreachable goals for yourself, why not start with something simpler. Here are some suggestions to creating a more manageable and achievable New Year’s Resolution."

This year (next year?), instead of doing traditional resolutions, I'm doing a 101 Things in 1001 Days list. I'll be tracking that list in a separate blog, here.

The finance related goals are:
1. Have emergency fund of $1,500
2. Get 1 full paycheck ahead in checking overdraft account
3. Consolidate credit card debt & reduce by 75%
4. Open a CD Ladder with a minimum of $500*
5. Develop a consistent fourth stream of income.

If this is for real...

I got an offer in the mail yesterday for a loan from Bank of America (holder of one of my credit cards, btw). It seems strange to me that they would offer me a loan when I aleady owe them money, but my credit union wouldn't loan me money & I don't owe them anything.

Anyway, I was thinking, I'm going to check it out. Because if it's for real, then I could consolidate my credit cards, plus get the work done one my car that it's going to take me entirely too long to save for otherwise. I could also buy a light box for the SAD, and a few simple additions to my work wardrobe. I still would rather be doing it through my credit union... or even through Wachovia. ING doesn't do loans other than mortgages, so that's out. But Bank of America? I just feel really unsure about that.

I can't believe I forgot clothes!

So the past few days I've been reviewing my budget. I've decided I don't need any major changes. But I did realize that among all my savings accounts, I'd forgotten to set money aside for clothes. Which is silly, because I've been saying I need to boost my work wardrobe for weeks, if not months. I've started it with a small bi-monthly transfer, but I'll review it more closely in a couple months.

On a related note, I just discovered www.shopittome.com thanks to this article in I Will Teach You to be Rich. So I'm hoping I can keep my clothing budget down.

I bought a couple pieces at Target this weekend, just to help stretch the days between laundry.