One girl's quest to shore up her personal finances and save for her own business
About Me
Denise T.
Denise is a freelance journalist and crafter who dreams of starting her own business-- a hometown Tiki bar. She is a former New Orleans Bourbon Street bartender.
The challenge: I can't use my primary income to fund the tiki bar. I can only use money I earn in other ways. Part of the challenge will be to develop new, creative revenue sources. It's like a pumped-up,long-term $20 challenge.
***2008 Tiki Fund goal: $1,500***
$990.56 in fund, $509.44 to go
***Monthly Tiki Fund Total***
June: $2.21
$2.21 interest on tiki saving act.
: (
May 2008: $98.70
$9.00 Web sales
$87.61 Google Adsense
$2.09 Tiki savings interest
For a full breakdown of Tiki fund money, visit my $20 challenge page.
***Personal Savings Goals for 2008***
$5,000 into my IRA
$2,000 into hubby's Roth IRA
$2,000 into 529 plan
$6,000 into savings account
$3,600 into brokerage account
$650 into new car fund
Total: $19,250
***Progress Report***
$4,199 in my IRA, $801 to go
$1459 to Roth, $541 to go
$1100 to 529 plan, $900 to go
$5200 to savings, $800 to go
$1995 to brokerage, $1605 to go
$357.25 in car fund, $292.75 to go
Total: $14,310
***
Debt to pay off:
Student Loan: $14,841.42
(Down from $40,000 in 2001)
***
No Drive Days (where me AND the hubby don't drive! Since May 15):2
New car fund balance: $285
For a Hybrid Honda Fit!!
***
All of these goals will be a little harder to reach this year because I am now a self-employed journalist and the hubby and I had our first baby in April. Last year, I was a staff reporter at a major metro newspaper so saving was easy.
We have always lived on one salary only. But we aren't quite sure how a new baby is going to affect our finances.
***The Big Picture***
Me 33, Hubby 35
-No credit card debt
-No car loan
-House paid off because we moved to a cheaper city
Yay! I added another $15.71 to the tiki $20 challenge today, thanks to some sales on my Web site. That brings the total for the year up to $689.66. Not too shabby!
