A penny saved, is a penny earned.

I have some lofty health and fitness goals for 2014. But of equal importance are my financial goals. 

Those closest to me know that I am bad with money. Very bad! I won't bore you with all of the details but let's just say that money has a tendency to burn a hole in my pocket. 

This year has to be different. It needs to be. I can't keep living paycheck to paycheck, paying bills with nothing leftover. 

Focusing on the good, here are some things I have been doing well:

1. I save $100 per paycheck, pre-tax to s 403b. My work matches me $600. So in addition to my state pension (I can retire at age 59!) I am saving $3200/year in a retirement account. And I have a small IRA hanging on from my former work. 

2. I am paying off my debt. I paid off most early this year when I sold my house. The remainder will be paid off in the next 30 months. My goal is to pay it off early, hopefully in 24 months. 

3. I have a plan...

Here is an abbreviated version of my plan:

1. Continue to pay off debt, on time, and use tax refunds to help speed that up. 

2. SAVE!!!! I am terrible at saving. But if I stick to a budget I should be able to save $2500 in 2014. I can also save $500 fron my tax refund and I have an additional savings "project" that will allow me to save another $1500. So by this time next year I should have $4000 in savings. 

3. No eating out. At all. No take out. No coffee. No spending my money at restaurants of any kind. So if anyone wants to treat me, I accept! But all my food spending will be at whole foods and market basket! This will be challenging!

4. Meal plans, healthy eating and a strict budget for groceries. 

5. Catch up on any bills that are lagging by March and pay everything on time. 

6. Buy only needs, no wants. The kids and I have more than we need. 2014 will be all about only buying clothes, shoes, stuff for school that we absolutely need. Wants can wait. 

7. Find fun, free things to do. Hikes, library and church events, playdates!!!

8. Cutting corners, utilizing freecycle and thrift shops, borrowing library books, selling anything we don't need (yardsale and ebay) and focusing on the future!

This debt diet will require me to cultivate a lot of patience, discipline and new habits in 2014. I might need to whine about how much I miss Starbucks soon, so I apologize in advance.