Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Beginning of the month

It's April 1st and time for a clean slate. I like the first of the month a lot better than I used to, that's for sure. Before my No Buy and my Master Plan budget sheet in Excel, I dreaded starting over. *sigh* It was just another round of new bills. Didn't I just pay these people? Again? Really? Does it ever end?

April brings with it my 9th month of No Buy. My attitudes towards money, finances, and bills have changed so much. It's not a dreaded chore anymore. It's a challenge, and dare I say it, kind of fun. What has happened to me? I guess my inner planner has taken over.

This month has some different bills than usual. The Saturn's registration is due and the taxes on Tara are due (Federal income taxes). The "other bills" as I used to call them always sent me into a tizzy. What, like I didn't know cars got registered and tax day fell on April 15th? It used to seem more like random acts before my excel spreadsheet was born. When I hit September of this year, it will be even easier to plan for these types of bills. I'll have made a full 12 month circle on the spreadsheet and be able to look at last year's expenses.

We also have a bit of fun coming up this month. For our family fun exemption, we're taking Hoot to the circus on Friday. I know it's not very P.C. but I love the circus. It's even cooler because it's a real big top circus. His first circus is going to be under the big top! That's too cool. I even scored a free child's ticket!

Current reading: It's Not About the Money by Brent Kessel. I've just picked it up today and I've only made it through the introduction. Pretty interesting so far. I wonder if it'll be a Zen and the Art of the Bank Account Maintenance kind of thing?

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