First Quarter Financial Review Exercise

I'm not sure where March went. It doesn't even seem real that 1/4 of the year is gone already. This weekend I'm going to review not only our family's spending and accomplishments for March but also for the first quarter of the year. If you would like to join me, this is what you need to do:
(Even if you use a money program like Quicken or MS Money, doing this exercise on paper is very educational, eye-opening, and motivational)

1. Gather or print your January-March bank statements.
2. Get a highlighter, a piece of paper, and a calculator.
3. Glance through your statements and make a category for each type of spending (mortgage, utilities, groceries, etc.)
4. As you go through your statements add the amount of each transaction to each category.
5. After you have done all 3 months, add up the totals and divide by 3 to get your monthly average.
6. Compare the spending in each category with your total income to get a percentage of your money going to that category.
7. Behold your accomplishments and areas that need to be reworked.

I hope to complete this exercise by Sunday evening. I will post my findings! I hope you will join me in reviewing your first quarter spending and saving.

Is the time right to refinance your home?

With the Fed lowering interest rates lately it might be a good time to refinance your Mortgage. My husband and I are looking into this ourselves. Although our current rate is not high we might could lower it a tad and have more money toward our debt snowball each month. Our estimated Refinance Rates are 1 to 1.5 percentage than our current rate.

If you are in the process of buying your own home it is certainly a buyer's market. In my neighborhood you can have your pick of great homes at pretty reasonable prices. If you are new to this process make sure you do your homework and learn as much as you can about the buying process and the mortgage brokering process. This is one area of our finances that my husband and I did it right the first time. Check Florida Mortgage for more information for rates and reputable mortgage businesses in our state.

PersonalHomeLoanMortgages.com provides consumers with a comprehensive directory of mortgage lenders and real estate professional throughout the country along with expert advice and up-to-date industry news. Visit their site for more information about your specific situation.

My goals for March

I know that we are technically 1 week into the month of March but March always seems so

l o n g

to me! I guess it is because it has 31 days and half of them are spent stressing over and giving out state's mandated assessment test: FCAT. Don't get me started there! My 5th graders have 7 days of tests beginning next Tuesday. So without further ado here are my goals:

1. Keep the baby emergency fund at a full $1,000 (Dave's babystep #1)

2. Keep grocery spending to a minimum and continue to use up stuff in the pantry.

3. Declutter more stuff from my bedroom and hallway closets. Add to garage sale pile.

4. Not eat out more than 3 times for the month. This includes lunchtime at school. (Hard to do for me, shamefully)

5. Continue to keep electric bill low. It has been at $132 for the past two months.

6. Pay off Discover Card by March 31st.

At the end of the month we will be credit card free for the first time in our adult lives! Then we will tackle our personal loan, then the car loan and then we are done with baby step 2!