In keeping with my mini goal, here's my breakfast:

glare!! 

Raisin Oatmeal. I skipped the milk.

I got a neat hack too! Instead of buying those pre packed flavored oatmeals, I repackaged them! It would look like this:

Photo courtesy of The Simple Dollar

Check out the recipe/procedure at The Simple Dollar. Good for the tummy, good for the wallet!!

I'm seriously doing something wrong...

*this is going to be a bullet point post...*

• I have been yoyo-ing on the scale front. =(
• Seriously, who can resist rice? (obviously not me...)
• I need to change my eating habits, seriously!
• Dubai Marathon is tomorrow!! (will be watching and cheering on the sidelines)
• Currently reading : The 4 Hour Body - Tim Ferris. (will probably do a review later)
• I was able to score a chiropractic treatment at 80% off! GoNabit FTW!!
• Money in, money out -- will be paying off some loans today. 

Mini fitness goal: photograph foods I eat. 

Edited to add: I'm crossing off # 30 - Make our Family Tree. I have completed my immediate family and included a whole lot of relatives in the process.  3 down, 32 more to go!!

Crunching ....

...the numbers.

Just 5 minutes in the process, I'm already spacing out...

Have you heard of Dave Ramsey's Total Money Make Over? I'm giving it a try!

The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness

Personal Finance Blogs

As I've mentioned in my previous post, I'll post the links of my favorite personal finance blogs here. Check it out:

List of Personal Finance Blogs 

• Blogging Away Debt - a personal finance blog. This was created by Tricia who was able to pay off her debt in 2009. This blog is now managed by Beks. Check out her progress!
• Our Debt Blog - a blog about the struggles of having self control and managing credit cards. Nice read!
• The Frugal Dad - you can get a lot of tips from this blog!
• Savvy Saver - personal finance blog dedicated to making smart money decisions, living below your means, and increasing net worth.
• The Budgeting Babe - journey from over-spender to power saver
• Make Love Not Debt - a couples blog. This is a must read for couples out there!

These are just some of the blogs that I read. There are lots out there. You can also check out blog rolls of the finance blogs mentioned above. I'll add more later.

Finance Tools I Use:

These are just some of the personal finance tools I use (...I'm going to be brutally honest here, I use them for a while then forget about it. LOL!)

• Quicken  2010
• Spending Plan / Monthly Budget Plan (excel) - from It's Your Money. Simple budget plan, really cool!
• Pen and Paper - yep! these are tools. You have to list everything down.

As part of my 35 Thing Project - #10 Have an emergency fund, I'll update my progress here so I can be accountable for my success (or failure... x_x). 

Let's do it!!

#10 - Have an emergency fund

personal finance

Not so long ago, I had a personal finance blog. I researched everything about saving, having an emergency fund, getting out of debt....everything.

I knew what to do. But I lacked the discipline. So sadly, I'm still where I am 3 years ago.

The first thing to do is create a budget plan. Or spending plan. Whatever you want to call it...just have a plan! How do we do that? Well, list everything.

Carry a small notebook and a pen every time and list down everything you buy. Even the last coin you have to pay for parking ticket or to buy a soda. The purpose of this is to know where your money goes and how much of your salary goes to ... let's say food. or entertainment. or unnecessary things.

This is where I failed. I was too lazy to write things down. Every month end, I'd just round off the figures and basically guess what went where. Obviously, it doesn't work that way. This time, I'm making a list. I'm going to stick to it. And I'm gonna check it TWICE!

money bag

There are lot's of personal finance blogs out there that's loaded of information and motivation. Personal stories of people who actually got out of debt. It's so inspiring.

I'll just have a look around and I'll post the links my favorite personal finance blogs. Any add in links where you can download pretty cool excel sheets and apps you can use too!

Till next post!