The Quest to Be a Responsible Adult

In "I no longer have an excuse not to blog" news, J got his own computer. In the awesome tradition of frugal bartering, he traded his huge, not working laptop for a small, happy little Netbook that he can take wherever he goes. Sort of. The battery doesn't work well, so he needs to get that replaced, but the verdict on the whole trade is "Success." Have I mentioned how much I love Craigslist?

So now I have full use of my own laptop, which means the "I didn't blog because I was letting my husband use the computer" line won't stand. Having said that, I'm good at finding excuses, so there could be any other number of reasons for me being gone, but for now, I'm going to attempt to get my writing act together.

There really hasn't been anything huge to write about except for the fact that I've decided to try to be more responsible with my finances. I've been doing well for about three weeks now. My problem has always been twofold: Laziness at tracking my purchases and the need for instant gratification. Even when I thought I had it under control, I realized how half heartedly I was doing things and something would inevitably come back to bite me and cause huge issues in the accounts.

I was finally faced with an issue that I had to take care of, and the only way I'd be able to take care of it was to figure out my finances and get on a plan. So I set down with everything I had, bills, income, and my checkbook and figured out how things were going to work for the next few months. I think the "I really need to do this moment" came when I realized that if we're careful with our spending, we can be ahead as soon as January. Not hugely ahead, but enough so that all the bills are paid and I'm not scrambling to pay anything, nor am I letting my phone or internet get shut off.

So far so good. As long as I check and double check my work and not spend money on stupid stuff, things seem to be alright. We're still not 100% where we want to be, but then again, we're not even into December yet. What strikes me is how content I am not to be spending money and eating out all the time. I'm enjoying cooking meals at home and most of the time I realize I don't actually have to buy anything since I have pretty much everything I need at home to keep me busy, including my computer, enough stash yarn to keep me knitting for probably the next year, and a stack of books waiting to be read (plus a library card if I ever get through those).

My plan is to be able to travel more in 2011 and beyond. Already on our travel wishlist are trips to Omaha, Michigan, Texas, Oklahoma City, Indianapolis, and Colorado/Dodge City. If we save on our regular income, we can do it I think, and that's not counting extra money from writing and ChaCha. Overall, I'm feeling pretty darn good about our financial future. Who knows? Maybe I'm finally going to grow up.

Acting my age, though, is a whole other thing entirely.

ALF