Turned my furnace on today when it started to snow outside. Didn't get a lot but it's cold. I was hoping to wait till Nov 1 to turn it on, but didn't quite make it.
I got gas at 2.59/gal spent $26.41
Went to the grocery store and stocked up on candy for halloween and a $10 bag of shrimp which will last for about 3 months. Spent more than usual $49.22 saved 18% according to the receipt.
Total spent so far this month = $537.50
I got yesterday's mail and I had a $6.50 rebate and also my flex care rebates. The dentist and other over-the-counter items got reimbursed really quick. I need to go through some of my old receipts and see if there's anything else I need to claim.
I finished reading the library book Undead and Unappreciated by Mary Janice Davidson. Vampire. Good book. Cute.
I also finished reading the library book You Don't Have to be Rich by Jean Chatzky. Finance. Pretty Good.
I definitely like the premise of the book, which is money can't make you happy, unless you're desperately poor.
Something that bugs me is how many finance articles or gurus there are telling you how to be rich. I have nothing against being rich, I just think it's a ridiculous goal, all by itself. If you want to be rich so you can have a certain lifestyle or to meet a certain goal that's one thing, but it seems to me that people want to be rich, just to be rich. Like somehow being rich will solve all their problems.
While I wouldn't turn being rich down, it's not my goal in life. My goal is to have enough money in savings and investments to finance a comfortable lifestyle so I don't have to work if I don't want to. This amount is well below the amount needed for what I would consider to be rich.
This book asks what makes a happy, successful life and how much money you really need to have one. The book details a survey regarding people's attitudes towards money and how they manage money successfully. It asks the same survey questions in the book and helps you define some of your thinking about money.
She lists a simple set of strategies to help you control your money, spend smartly, eliminate debts, and set and reach financial goals. Most of these strategies are well known, but still worth reading.
more snow
October 31st, 2005 at 04:05 am
October 31st, 2005 at 02:20 pm 1130768440
In typical New England fashion, we had snow on Saturday followed by a perfectly sunny, calm day in the high 60s on Sunday. !!!
October 31st, 2005 at 03:38 pm 1130773139
My goals are fairly simple, too. I want to not have to worry about money and have a little beyond that so that I can enjoy my life. That’s my definition of rich.
That said, maybe I’ve missed the more obnoxious gurus and books that really do put the emphasis on becoming rich just for the sake of being rich…