It's been a long time since I've done one of these but I'm back! I have had a lot of changes to my finances, mainly I'm in the process of buying my first home! From a purely financial standpoint this may not have been the best decision, however the home is in an ideal neighborhood, I LOVE the house and can see myself (and my fiance and future family) there for a long time, so I'm comfortable with my choice.
Save $4000 by January 2013 I've added about $2200 to my savings this year and so far I haven't touched any of the money that has been added to my savings account since I opened it. I'm scheduled to close on the house in about 2 weeks and unfortunately I will have to pull out about $1500 for closing.
Maintain a buffer of $100 in my monthly budget. From March to May I maintained about a $400 buffer each month. In June I went on a vacation and had some minor expenses relating to the house (ex paying for a home inspection) so this buffer was only $49. I did put down a $1000 deposit to secure the venue for my wedding next year, but I didn't include this in my monthly budget because I have been saving cash and gifts from family members in an envelope labeled Wedding Fund (old school, I know).
Maintain $0 credit card debt.
I used my credit card for my regular monthly expenses (grocery, gas, etc.) and pay the balance in full by the end of the month. So far this year I've gotten a $50 Gift Card using my credit card reward points and by next month I should have enough points for another $25 card!
Open a Roth IRA
Haven't done this yet.
