this blog has been started to record my triumphs and tribulations:
1. raising 3 boys
2. learning in my 30’s to be fiscally responsible
3. greening my household

The boys really have nothing to do with my past financial faults. They are an ever-present source of will power to accomplish those goals and teach them to be fiscally responsible. (Do I really want any of them to reach 30 without ever making a huge financial decision on their own like their mother?) Because I have counted on others (my father, before age 21 and my dear husband after our marriage) to make those decisions for me I have never had the opportunity to fall flat on my face or succeed enormously in this regard.
This has changed. as of Jan. 15 I will be contributing money towards my retirement.
$50 in an IRA.
It’s not much, I know. Especially since I will be 33 nine days later.
All I can say is it’s about damn time.
But I have decided to become proactive in regards to MY finances. Scratch that. OUR finances. My dh is in finance. He’s always handled things smoothly. I’ve always been frustrated with my lack of financial knowledge. I plan to budget. I plan to spend wisely. I plan to save. I love the word “save” even though I’ve rarely lived by it, I appreciate the simplicitiy of it.
The boys are also the reason why I wish to “green” my household – change our lives. They will have children some day. Will those children be raising their children on top of our garbage? What will their world be like if we continue to use in excess?
I’ve already taken small steps in this area: we use cloth napkins for every meal (told you they were small steps!)
I hope to have a clothesline built this spring and I plan to spend at least one month dryer-free just to see how much energy the thing really uses. I plan to use the clothesline after that month, don’t get me wrong. I would love to say we will never use the dryer again but that is a little too optimistic for my standards. Especially since we live in a cold state filled with snow. Using a clothesline in January? I think not.
Those are my small steps. I hope to gather some goals for 2008 for my next post.