Happy Holidays!
I had a pretty good Christmas. I got a toaster oven and lots of accessories and "green" things. Willie got me a neat "Lomography" (sp?) camera so I can run around taking artsy pictures. The best part by far, though, is that my family is all together, which happens only about twice a year now that my sister is in California. I was so stressed out at work before the vacation but it all melted away after spending time with my siblings. The laughter and love was just what I needed, and I'm so thankful for that. I also did pretty well money-wise on Christmas presents, which is to say that I managed to get nice gifts for everyone but didn't spend too much.
I've been thinking a lot about money lately. Even though I'm not particularly pleased with my job, I'm lucky to have a job that gives me enough money to pay my rent and bills and still have some fun on the side. I'm also lucky enough to be getting grants towards paying off my student loans. (One of the few benefits of being a public servant.) And now I'm actually starting to save up a little bit every month. It's not like I have money to throw away, but this might be the first time in my life where money isn't a major worry.
But I know that could change very quickly, so now that I have a little bit of money to squirrel away each month, the question is, what is the smartest thing to do with it? Should I continue to put a little bit into my savings account for an emergency or rainy day? Should I buy some stock now that the market is down in hopes that when I'm older it will bounce back? Should I put more into my retirement fund? Should I do more to pay off my debt more quickly? I never really had to think about those things before.
But, since it's the holidays, I think I will spend some of my hard-earned wages on some Christmas presents for myself! I hope everyone is having fun and relaxing!
I've been thinking a lot about money lately. Even though I'm not particularly pleased with my job, I'm lucky to have a job that gives me enough money to pay my rent and bills and still have some fun on the side. I'm also lucky enough to be getting grants towards paying off my student loans. (One of the few benefits of being a public servant.) And now I'm actually starting to save up a little bit every month. It's not like I have money to throw away, but this might be the first time in my life where money isn't a major worry.
But I know that could change very quickly, so now that I have a little bit of money to squirrel away each month, the question is, what is the smartest thing to do with it? Should I continue to put a little bit into my savings account for an emergency or rainy day? Should I buy some stock now that the market is down in hopes that when I'm older it will bounce back? Should I put more into my retirement fund? Should I do more to pay off my debt more quickly? I never really had to think about those things before.
But, since it's the holidays, I think I will spend some of my hard-earned wages on some Christmas presents for myself! I hope everyone is having fun and relaxing!