Youngmommyof1's Personal Finance Blog

Yesterday was payday I received an unexpected pay raise which will increase my paychecks $117 more every two weeks. My plan is to sock away that extra money each month which will give me a little over $3,000 by year end. I am so excited about this and I've also started the new year with a better attitude. I have been carefully monitoring every dollar spent I've started using CASH versus the debit/credit card. I am so surprised at how much money I actually have when I budget it carefully. I think i'm going to pay off a $233 balance on my Mastercard. It may not be much but hey at least I won't have to worry about that bill next month. My second highest interest rate card is my Visa with a balance of $300. Next month i'll concentrate on paying that one off the snowballing method is what I plan to use. Any other tips or suggestions are always welcomed.

Cable $648
Internet $518
Personal Loan $1,536 (4yrs left)
Auto Loan(5yrs left)
Car Insurance $976
Rent $1,048
Cell Phone $1,370
Electricity $1,200
Gas $683

I'm just starting to sit down and tally up my annual expenses. This is a start for me to really see where my money is going and where I really should cut back. My annual salary is about $43k and up until the end of last year I haven't had a clue where my money has been going. I have decided this year to only purchase items that I NEED by setting aside my WANTS and MUST HAVES. LOL I currently have about $1,500 in credit card debt and anothe $1,500 in medical bills. I should have the 3k paid off on all of my debts around mid year if not before depending on my tax refund. I am very open to any suggestions/tips that anyone has on how I can cut back on expenses.