I just switched over to Wordpress - my other pages are still around, the links are currently next to the blogroll links on the side. When I get the time I’ll move things around, change themes, etc.
My site is in need of a major overhaul anyway.
Well, maybe not back, but at least making this entry! :)
This year I’ve decided to finally start doing something about my (bad) financial situation. In the past, I’ve had a bunch of debts that I haven’t been very good about paying back. Hardly saving any money at all, even when I have plenty of extra cash after paying the necessary stuff. When I had credit cards back when I started university, I abused them for stuff I didn’t need and never paid more than the minimum amounts, if that (not surprisingly, both of them went to collections eventually). Fiddling with info on my student loan applications (not quite lying) to get as much as I could. And then wasting most of that on booze and other things you would when you’re 18-20 and in school with your friends.
So, I’ve been working and living at home for the last five years. And what do I have saved? Practically nothing at all. Well, now I do, but that’s pretty much all from the last few months. I received a decent sized bonus cheque at work yesterday, and I’m quite pleased that most of it went towards some bills that I’ve been putting off. Well, one wasn’t really a bill, but my web/email hosting renewal was there. Spent a little on myself, but nothing extravagant. It sure was tempting to get a nice home theatre system or big LCD television. But I resisted! :)
Now, I’m aiming to get an apartment of my own this summer, by August (or maybe even July). Of course, this will reduce the extra money I have, but I can deal with that. I wasn’t really spending a lot of it on anything useful anyway (I’m afraid to go back and check to see how much I spent at the liquor store between Thanksgiving and New Year’s last year). My plan is to really bump up the amount I’m putting into savings (ING Direct - ask me about the $13 bonus for new accounts referred by me, for each of us) until then. Which I’d use for basic furnishings that I don’t already have access to, security deposit, etc, plus having a chunk of money set aside for emergencies.
After I get a certain amount put aside for an emergency fund, I’m planning to start putting that much money into whatever debts I have to get them paid as quickly as possible. At this point though, I think it’s just my student loans that are left. One of which might never get paid. The smaller one I’d like to pay off. Then I can build up my emergency fund to something that could last 6-8 months if really necessary, and then start putting a lot more into RSPs and a little into another account for gifts to myself (stuff like a new tv, etc).
So yeah… a bit of a long and rambling entry there. Just typing as stuff came into my head. I’m pretty dedicated to this, I’m tired of being in debt and “broke” (well, spending/wasting every extra dollar I get at least).
Oh, I never did post any pictures of my custom poker chips. I’ll have to do that sometime. Another thing I’d like to do sometime is possibly switch over to Wordpress from Movable Type. A redesign of my web page couldn’t hurt either. I’ve been uninterested in playing World of Warcraft for the last 3-4 weeks, compared to before when I was playing it constantly. Gives me a little time to fiddle with things like that :)
