Hawaii Bound

Well, this post is coming to you from the SEATAC airport floor. I am sitting on the ground, charging my iPhone and waiting for this beauty to be ready to board.

I might blog from Hawaii, I might not. You'll just have to wait and see.

Have a wonderful 2 weeks. Stay warm, Seattle!

I survived.

Well folks, I survived another tax season, my 5th to be exact. I don't know why I am surprised because I always do. The whole 2.5 month ordeal actually flies by so fast and before I know it, it's spring. I am headed on a much needed vacation next Monday to Hawaii to visit my parents, brother, his girlfriend and some high school friends. I couldn't be more excited. I haven't been to Hawaii since October 2010. I usually go at least once a year to visit family, but my family came to Seattle in 2011 for my August wedding and we went on our European Adventure to Italy in 2012. 

So, finally I get to go to the beach, eat my favorite foods and spend quality time with the fam for 2 weeks! I am also headed to Oahu to visit friends from high school for a weekend. I'm sharing some of my favorite Hawaii photos from years past.

No filter, baby!

Yes, that is a Tide swimsuit.

Kauai Trip with Jake, 2009

Kauai Trip with Mom, 2006

Waipio, Hawaii

Rusty, everyone's favorite puppy! Can't wait to see him again.

Running Waters Beach, Kauai

Kauai, The College Years

Umm.... no comment.

The fam!

Coconut Island, Hilo, Hawaii

Kauai with Jake, 2009

I am loading up my kindle with library books to read. Let me know if you have any suggestions for summer beach reads!

FINANCIAL GOALS UPDATE

We started our spending diet {term explained and inspiration here} in January 2013 and I am proud to say that it's a success {so far}.  We cut our monthly spending allowances down to less than a third of what they used to be. Crazy, I know! It has been an adjustment and we don't get to go on spending sprees as much as we used to but we are pumping up our savings which is really nice. 

Peacefulness is this Cherry blossom tree on a Sunday walk.

We were able to meet one of our spending goals which is to pay off my credit card earlier this month!!!!!!!!

When I made that last payment in early April, it was incredible. I have had credit card debt ever since I graduated from high school (10 years now). It was never anything too crazy. For a long time it was under $1,000 but it was just a burden. At the highest balance, I had over $6,000 in debt at one point and I just knew it had to stop.  Part of the problem was that I relied on it after I "ran out of money" at the end of each month and I used it as a crutch to get me to the next paycheck and I just felt like it was a cycle that I could never get out of. But now that it's paid off, I don't even have the urge to charge anything! Because I don't want my balance to be anything but 0.00. I am pretty proud of us for being able to save and pay off my credit card so quickly.

My credit card never looked so good.

From this post in September 2012:

My Financial Goals for the next 2 years:

1. Pay off my credit card debt   ACCOMPLISHED 4/2013

2. Start a savings account and put money away each month  {{IN PROGRESS}}

 

Now, how do I reward myself? As far as shopping goes, I have never been much of a bargain shopper.  Most of the time I make myself decide if I like something before I look at the price tag so it doesn't sway me either way. Sometimes I set a limit for how much I think it's worth.  I try to spend "smarter" which means thinking about things for a couple days before buying them but doing that got me into trouble when my size was sold out the very next day. So sad!!!! Like most things in life, I think spending money is all about balance.

 

Now that tax season is {almost} over, I am going to start having a lot more free time on my hands. This is where it will get tricky with the spending diet. But if we can keep up our plan, we will be in a lot better financial shape now than we were just 6 months ago.

 

If I can do it, you can too!

 

Cheers,

Kim