The House that M Built

CB (right) and myself pose for the camera at Monaco Bay.

January 2009, hopefully not the highlight of the year, but successful overall.  To recap the month:

• Successfully reduced my debt by paying off two credit cards in the month of January
• Picked up a part time job working at the retail fashion store Express as a Sales Associate on nights and weekends.
• Read the book Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
• Filed both my Federal and State taxes
• Moved into a new apartment
• Got into a car accident (not at fault, but now we have to plan the repairs)

My hopes are that February will be more successful, less eventful.  We’ll see how that goes.

Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover

As I said in my previous post regarding my new years resolutions, I’m trying to read at least one book that will improve myself in a professional or financial manner.  Since I’m a new college graduate with a drastic change in income and will have to soon begin paying off a mountain of student loans, I decided to start reading Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with his concepts, the book thus far works on establishing a plan to become debt free.

In my attempt to apply what I’ve learned thus far from Total Money Makeover is to establish a budget, and it’s the perfect time since my new income will start coming in this coming payperiod. Using a zero-balance method (every dollar is allocated to a specific expense or savings) I have been able to get a more clear idea on how my new income will impact my expenses and attack my debt, with my goal to eliminate my credit card debt before my grace period ends for my student loans, allowing me to funnel more money each month towards those loans.

If you have any reading recommendations, please feel free to tell me by commenting.  I find the books that have the most value to me are ones that are recommended by others who may share similar experiences to mine.

I’ve thought about areas I want to improve with my life in the coming year, and I figured that I would share them:

1. Work towards becoming debt free by eliminating my credit card debt
2. Establish 2 savings, 1 for emergencies and 1 for other things
3. Get off the fence
4. Read one book that will better myself professionally or financially a month

Accomplishing these goals should firmly establish myself firmly to be successful in the future as I begin my professional career.