Happy New Year! What's Around The Corner?

Out with the OLD, in with the NEW.

Do I need to come up with "new" New Year's Resolutions? :D I make them but never get around to really doing them.

Fudge it.

Here goes.

At 30ish, you would think I've already saved something but nope, financially, I'm not far from broke and I have no one to blame but myself.  So this year, I would like my first focus to be on personal finance. 2013 has been such a blessing. Part of the money did go to the house. A good deal went to the expenses. And a chunk that I "should have" been saving for emergency went to...uhm, I've no idea. I'd rather not think about where it really went. Like bubbles, money can disappear with a *POP* and not leave a trace so NO, I don't want to spend the rest of the evening thinking about where the money went.

But before anything else, I want to talk about how we, as a family, respond to MONEY.

The last two years, we did GREAT. We don't have credit cards. We don't have "utang" at the "tiangge". We've made it a habit to pay in cash. Most of the time, we buy only what we need, no serious splurges, no shopping sprees. The ultimate tightwad. Ha. No, not really. We've just grown smarter with our spendings now that we are parents, that is all. Frugality is not something to frown upon. Hence, my first New Year's Resolution came into being.

I get paid weekly. My husband gets paid weekly as well. We pool whatever money we have, pay the bills, buy food, buy a bit of something for ourselves, the rest goes to the house. Nothing's left. No savings. No emergency fund. No investment. Nothing.

Kuripot Pinay's Financial Resolutions for 2014 inspired me to make a few tweaks in our finances that I think would make 2014 an even better year. (1) BE MONEY SMART. Effective next week, we will be keeping track of where the money is going and make sure everything from savings to the emergency fund is covered. I'm actually not sure how to do it yet. I haven't talked to the master of the house. We always discuss anything that involves money and the expenses and decide on what we think is best.

My second New Year's Resolution is one more thing I am looking forward to doing this year. (2) TIME MANAGEMENT. First thing I need to do is free up my time. There is no way I'd be able to accept more work with my 2 year old bawling all the time and that is not because he is not getting any attention or because he's hurt or anything. He's well taken care of. I just think that he needs to see me a little less and spend time with his father MORE. When I'm around, the little guy gets all whiny and would cling to me for hours. He'd cry if I let go and just loves following me around. That's fine with me. My husband and I take turns making sure he is clean and fed and getting lots of play. We're the hands-on type.

With more time in my hands, I should be able to work full-time and earn more. Which brings me to my third New Year's Resolution. (3) TAKE IT EASY WITH FACEBOOK. More time does not mean taking frequent breaks and checking in on Facebook more often than necessary. Facebook is a vice. If there is one thing I have no need for right now is for Facebook browsing to again become a habit. I should know better. I already got addicted to some of their online games a few years back and believe me, it's EVIL when it gets out of hand. I'm glad I've already cut down my browsing and have totally recovered. I should cut it down some more just to be safe.

Last on my list has nothing to do with money or work but I see it as something just as important. (4) LOSE WEIGHT. 2014 is definitely the best time for me to get back to my weight loss goal. I started dieting a few months back and lost a few pounds. I started exercising and lost a few more but gained it all back when I stopped checking the scale. I should get a digital one and record my progress in my other blog, that way I can keep track of how much pounds I am losing.

Now with these resolutions in place, I hope to accomplish more this year and give back where needed. I'll do another post some time soon with updates. Let's see where this goes.