Personal Finance ... Exploring the "Personal".

Of course, I would love to just jump right into stating my short and long term goals. But with the fear of burning out too quickly or being unrealistic, I will be taking baby steps to get there. Before setting financial goals, it is first necessary to understand my current financial situation. This requires being honest with myself regarding my assets, debts, incoming funds and spending. Now, I find this easier said then done, especially in a public realm. Putting myself on display to the whole world (albeit anonymously) is a little challenging, but more so because I have to honest with myself about the reality of my funds.

Since I have not yet determined how to link-in an excel file, I'm starting small with writing out my current standings. Proceeding onto baby step #1:
Assets:
Checking - $78.51
Savings - $8,634.52
Retirement - $4,966.83
Investments - $86.87
Car - $7,220.00
Total $20,986.73

Baby step #2... being honest about the debts. I fortunately have no credit card debt, as I pay off my credit card monthly. However, I have alot of educational debt ... which before today, have not totaled it up.
Debts:
School Loans (undergrad) - $16,042.05
School Loans (grad) - $20,296.00
School Loan (parent) - $3,371.84
Total $39,709.89

Ouch. The parent loan is listed up there seperately, as it is a plus loan my mother took out for me to assist me through the undergrad years. I feel that it is my responsibility to resume payments, and my goal to pay off first, which it is why I list is seperately.

I've actually recently graduated with my masters degree, and will start working in two weeks. With that said, I haven't yet estimated what my monthly income will total.

Then, like everyone else, there are fixed expenses that I am trying to currently reduce. I intend on looking at these on a monthly basis to offer insight to where our money is being spent. I know in advance that the expenditures I will be portraying will be skewed in comparison to my goals. I am responsible for maintaining all the finances in my household between my fiance and I, and will display our spending as such. However, the assets and debts are solely mine. I will talk about this most likely at a later time.

So, I welcome anyone who wants to join me on my journey and welcome any comments or advice. This blog is like my personal diary, and hope to use it to my advantage to learn more information and better my financial self.

BeyondYourHorizon