And the $400 goes to….

DEBT!

Well, partly. For those who don’t care to scroll down or click here, a week ago I asked what I should do with $400 I am getting from an extra roommate for two months. Thanks for all the suggestions.

As_green at Always the Planner was the closest. I decided to give $300 to debt and $100 to savings. I know, boooooooring. But I just gotta keep in mind those progress bars and that increased net worth.

Here’s my rationale:
Each month I give $100 upfront to wedding savings, but I gradually add cash that I make babysitting or if my budget has a surplus (I think that happened only one month!). So while my $5k goal seems far off with just $100/month, I add tiny amounts each week to get me closer.

My debt, however, is at a steady $500 a month. So I decided to add $300 to the debt. Adding $650 in May and June, and if I continue to give just $500 each month, no more, no less, I’ll be debt free in June 2010, one month before I was suppose to be. Holla!

As for the other ideas:
For J’s b-day gift… well, I’ve already budgeted in May for him and I know I can do something really sweet with that money. I’ll get him a nice graduation/christmas gift at the end of the year. The Travel Fund? Right now I’m not planning any extravagant trips and budget month by month for the smaller ones. This is going to be a future savings fund, for sure, but just not in the cards for me right now. The Roth IRA? I think I’ll just stick with my 401(k) for now. I will open a Roth once I complete my debt payments.

It’d be super sweet to put this money towards a plane ticket to somewhere or towards a shopping spree. But all in due time. Slow and steady. Slow and steady.

Although, things have picked up–especially since I started this blog! Perhaps it’s the “visual” reminders and updates, or maybe it’s because I’ve gotten a lot of windfalls lately (tax refund, extra b-sitting gigs, new roommate). But either way, I am so thankful that I started this and have really seen a difference it’s made, not only in tracking my progress, but keeping me accountable to whoever happens to read this silly thing.