24th
This month I finished off the last of my student debt, so outside of my credit card’s grace period, I’m no longer in debt financially. I also set up a six-month emergency reserve in a CD ladder, portioned to mature monthly like an allowance should need arise.
This week I started a Roth IRA because my company is discontinuing 401(k) matching, which nixes any incentive someone in my age and income brackets might have to contribute to those expensively managed funds. I should have started the Roth years ago, so I’m playing catch up wit h the $5k yearly max.
For the remainder of the month, my monetary chores include: reviewing all these accounts, requesting my annual free credit report, also getting my credit score, and checking the above linked WSJ article for any more tips/tricks I can wield while I’m in the mood. I’d love to automagically track and collate expenses with some free online service but I don’t think those guys will ever support my credit union and I’m not sure those snazzy Web 2.0 graphs would reveal anything I don’t already know.
That said, I’ve come to the point where I can’t really cut any expenses without major quality-of-life drawbacks. So, my finances are now officially Better Than Ever and yet I’m at a loss.
