Why I'm blogging...

Why am I blogging? The simple answer would be to stay focused. But that seems to be almost too simple. As I've been changing my reading habits to include numerous non-fiction financial books, I see so many common themes emerge. The biggest one is to make goals and stay focused on them.

Ideas and concepts seem to run rampant in my mind most of the day. I plan out a lot of things and am thinking about everything I pick up all day long. My DH sometimes calls me "Rabbit" as in Rabbit from Winnie the Pooh. His point was driven home during a Halloween episode when Rabbit announced, "I have all the fun meticulously planned out!" So, okay, I can accept that. But, in order to plan, I strive to discover all possibilities. Scenerios, like so many snippets and video clips, roll through my brain. I like this goal making and planning thing, but sometimes I overwhelm myself with too many possibilities. I hope that blogging will help me focus my energies and keep my new lifestyle together so that I can achieve focus and set long term goals.

Since starting this blog, I have also spent some time looking back at the past money mistakes I have made. And dang, I've made a lot! I have a horrible track record. If you can think of it, I've made it. While I don't want to dwell too much about the past and it's mistakes, I do want to learn from them. Isn't that why we study History in school? I do think it's much harder to do when it is your own.

But, change is good, and I am changing every single day. I hope to never stop changing. I want to grow financially and to do that I must keep everything in constant motion. Especially the positive thoughts and emotions. I hope that blogging will help me in this quest.

Family & money life:

Today, I took DH's Saturn in for new brakes. I had realized it wasn't going to be cheap and I was right. At almost 195K miles, it had never had more than pads/shoes and the usual maintenance. The rotors were also "close to the end of it's useful life" as expected and the brake lines were pretty worn. Heck, let's throw some new calipers in there as well! I spent $475 and am pretty damn happy about it. Why? Because I could. I didn't have to whip out a credit card, skip a utility, or withdraw from savings. I just paid for it out of checking. No drama. I did so good with the January budget that I had it. It needed to be done, so I did it. Simple, but it makes me happy.

A bit of money also came out of the household budget for some baby proofing improvements that desperately needed to happen. The metal baby gate that divides the house in half has a removable pin. DS has been removing the pin on an increasingly alarming basis. No one likes to be awakened by a preschooler vacuuming. Not to mention that there are 900 things he could get into quietly while mommy slept on unaware. So, today the pin was replaced by a bolt with a locking nut. We also added some new locking hardware to his closet doors. This will prevent any of my overactive imagination's predictions involving the breaker box located there.

At the bookstore:
A 10 year old boy approached me totally anxious about what he had read in a Calvin & Hobbes book. "Is this book supposed to have dirty words in it?" I just knew it had been defaced. The word was "Hail." I guess if you are an insurance adjuster, "Hail" is a dirty word.

What I'm reading:
Pure vampire trash and loving it. Hey, it can't all be about the money. A girl's got to have her mind candy too.