I'm still working my way through my 37 cent stamps, left over from the days before the forever stamp. Today I mailed a letter with one 37 cent stamp and three 3 cent stamps. (I have a bunch of 3 cent stamps left over from prior days as well.) I need to use these up -- I am running out of room on the envelopes!

Does anyone else have this problem, or is it just me?

I had a bit of an epiphany last week. I was making a list of chores to do, and I realized how many things that are seemingly unrelated to personal finance actually play a part in my finances. (Bear with me -- you probably all already know these things, but it was still an epiphany for me!)

Some things are pretty obvious -- if I take the time to make a meal plan for the week, I save money because I shop with a list and I am less likely to eat out during the week. Other things are less obvious -- if I make a point to wash my shower curtain on a regular basis, then it never gets gross enough that it cannot be saved and therefore must be replaced. Which costs money.

I guess I realized that the different aspects of my life are interconnected, and it will be a lot easier to change on aspect if I am also working on the other aspects as well. Being on top of the other aspects in my life will help me to be on top of my finances as well.

So what does this mean? Well, I'm not going to change what I'm doing specifically with respect to personal finance -- I'm still going to try to spend less and save more, but I also think that I can improve my financial situation by improving my life in general.

If I make it a priority to get enough sleep, then I won't feel rushed in the morning, and therefore it will be easier to pack a lunch. If I make it a priority to exercise on a regular basis, I will feel healthier and more energetic, and I'll *want* to eat health home-cooked food rather than eating out. If I stay on top of my paperwork, I can submit flex receipts right away and earn interest on the reimbursement in my account. If I don't procrastinate, I can find gifts and plane tickets for lower prices. I can think of lots of ways that being more together will help me be better financially as well.

So from here on out I am going to (try to) practice a holistic approach to personal finance. (Hence the new title for the blog...)

I went to the dentist this afternoon -- no cavities! I was a little nervous, because we have moved twice in the past two years, and dental check-ups got lost in the shuffle. I had a lot of cavities when I was younger and am very nervous about going to the dentist anyway, and I worried that not having seen the dentist in a couple of years meant that I was going to need to get some work done. Which would also be expensive. But, nothing needs to be done! (I just need to be sure to floss more regularly...)

I set up my next six-month appointment as I was leaving. I'm not giving myself any reason to put off the next appointment! Preventative care is less expensive in the long run, and easier on my nerves as well...

On Wednesday I posted about how I sent in my check to the tax man but was waiting for my husband's paycheck in order to have enough in the account to cover the bill. I said that I wasn't *too* worried about it, because I thought with all the checks coming in around the 15th, it would take the government a few days to get everything deposited.

Well, I mailed the check on Tuesday afternoon (like 4 pm!), deposited my husband's paycheck on Thursday morning, and the check to the tax man cleared on Thursday night. Whew! That was a close one. So let this be a lesson for me -- don't try to float a check to the government. (Thanks for the warning, ME2!)

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With payday, we also scheduled our monthly payments on my husband's student loans. Well, I should say 'he' scheduled the payments, because even though we have joined our finances (joint accounts, etc), he insists that payments on his loans come from his paycheck. He says he wants to be the one to pay them off.

Anyway, right now he has a balance of $2905.43, and is currently making payments of $500 a month on it. After this month's payment hits next week, the balance should be under $2500! (I will add this to my sidebar to keep track of it, so I can watch the balance decrease.)

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Also, yesterday was the five year anniversary of when we started dating. How time has flown! Every day I a realize how lucky I am to have him in my life. (Sorry for the cheesiness )

So I pounced on my husband when he got home from work -- "Did you remember to pick up your paycheck?!?" See, I mailed a check to the federal government yesterday and we don't actually have the money in the checking account to cover it. So I want to get his paycheck deposited ASAP tomorrow.

To be honest, it probably doesn't matter. I get paid by direct deposit on Friday, and the chance that the Treasury Department gets our check and deposits it before then is pretty slim. I just really hate the idea of there being a check floating around out there without the cash to back it up. (And I'm pretty sure that if you bounce a check with the federal government, they are not too happy about it!)

(The other thing I get obsessed about is when I write a check to someone and it takes them FOREVER to deposit it, so that every time I check my account online it looks like I have more money that I actually do. Sometimes that leads me to make bad choices...)

I've been lurking around these blogs since the first of the year, and I'm finally ready to dive in. First, let me say that I've really enjoyed reading about all of your personal finance journeys -- and I've picked up some tips!

I hope to primarily use this blog as a means for staying on track with my savings goals. My husband recently got a new job (hard in this current economic climate, I know) which will substantially increase our income in the next few months. His new job is much more permanent than his old job was, and so we finally feel comfortable enough to put down some roots in our current community. Which means -- we are starting to think seriously (rather than dream) about buying a house.

As a result, I really want to ramp up our savings and see how much we can sock away every month. Given housing prices where we live, we will need a substantial down payment before we can even think about making an offer. Not that that stops us from looking and dreaming!

So I'll see y'all around. I'm looking forward to commenting on your blogs instead of silently lurking