Debt Free Kid

One of my goals for 2009 is to save at least $2000 and take 10% of it to make a donation to one or two charities. This is my variation on titheing. I have my mind on Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto. Last night I decided that I needed something to be excited about sooner, so today I am going to take $25* from my paycheque and donate it to Kiva.org . It's not really a donation, it's actually a loan negotiated through a microfinance NGO in a developing country to an individual who will invest it in a self-employment venture. Examples are a woman who will buy produce for resale in a village market, a man who will open a small mechanical shop, or a woman who will put it towards her textile business. I feel so fortunate to have been born in a developed country, to have my education and my union job at the university. Some of the big financial advisors may tell me that I should put my $25 towards debt reduction, but some of them also say that we need small rewards for incentive. My con...

My budget is in place (in Excel anyways) and so far it looks pretty good. I'm saving an average of $350 in rent and bills thanks to the smart decision to move to the apartment. I have also canceled my internet cable (hello to the kind person who is currently supplying the wireless network, when I find out who you are I will make you some banana bread), which saves me another $35 a month. My Emergency Fund is almost complete and I have made arrangements to "pay myself first" by deducting 10% of my gross pay each month and transferring it to an ING-type account. The transfer is made only once a month because, well, have I ever mentioned that I get paid only once a month? Yeah. I have my $20 a week set aside for personal spending, and 20% of that goes to my version of titheing: $2 to my self-help group and another $2 to the offering plate at the UU church. I aim to be able to offer more to each once my savings account is established and I can skim a percentage from that acco...