Just got my tax returns from the accountant.

Results: $38.00 owed to the State of NJ

$3,100.00 back from the Feds

The $3,100.00 will be used for my son's college tuition. He chose to attend a community college to save money at least for the first two years. We will be covering books and tuition for those two years.

I just need to share this with my savingadvice friends. My husband and I bought a Honda Fit for my 17 year old simply because we were tired of rescuing him every time his '95 Honda cluncked out on him. He is a senior in high school with a 90 average since his freshman year and works part-time for a dentist.

We were expecting a little help from him for his car payment. Well, today he gave me $210.00 towards the payment of the car ($280.00)and his cell phone bill payment (62.00), which is solely his responsibility. He also deposited $200.00 in his savings account and he keeps a $500.00 in his checking account at all times. He told me he will make the full payment during the summer months since my husband and I do not work during the summer. He works extra hours in the summer. I am so proud that he is on the road of being a financially responsible young man.

On my way back home from work, along Rt. 46,there is a Subway, KFC, McDonalds,my favorite pizza place and a B.K. I've made the fast food detour many times, including yesterday. I ordered my food at K.F.C. (to be honest I was not even hungry)and while eating it I said to myself, "Boy this is not worth the six bucks I just spent" and I was a bit angry about not being able to resist the urge.

Today, I decided that if I can get through the 3 mile stretch I can start breaking this awful and costly habit.
Now, my question is, How many days do you think it'll take me to stop this habit?
I say at least 20 days.

I deposited an extra $180.00 in our money market account today. As you might remembered, my new contract adds an additional $174.00 (net) to every paycheck (biweekly check), so as a savings strategy I decided to bank the difference. Technically, my goal is to continue living as if I never got a raise.

I hope I can keep this up. On another note, I opened a Roth IRA through Ameritrade. Suze Orman's book, Women and Money had a special offer, so I decided to take the challenge. I currently contribute a little less than 10% of my income to a 403B at work. I plan to open a Roth IRA for my husband soon.

My son will be turning 14 this weekend .
I'll be spending some money on 2 XBox360 games and I'll deposit $50 in his savings account.

SON'S B-DAY= SPENDY WEEKEND!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.

One of the reasons why I make it a point to save at least 30% of our income is because we need to prepare for the summer months. Both my husband and I work for a board of education, meaning that we don't have work during the months of July and August. My husband usually brings in some money (doing lawns or transporting children to and from camps).

March is when I begin saving to cover some expected expenses, such as homeowners insurance for the rental home, car insurance (2 full coverages and 1 liability), and at least two high electric bills (air conditioner and pool pump running for at least 8 hours). The money we make on the rents of our rental home, covers our mortgage. Saving 30% of our income allows us to cover the rest of the bills without hurting us financially.

CAREFUL PLANNING + SAVINGS= ENABLING ME TO STAY HOME WITH MY KIDS FOR THEIR SUMMER VACATION