Make A Decision!

A lot of times, I think that people end up in bad situations simply because they get so stuck in a rut that they don’t realize that it is hurting them (or at least, not helping them!). So the tip for this month is to make a decision and run with it.
For a long time, we have been trying to set money aside for various projects, vacations, emergency funds, etc. Sometimes we manage it pretty well, like with our Disney trip. Other times, we transfer the money from our checking to savings, only to transfer it back when something comes up. We finally broke this cycle by setting up a new online savings account with HSBC Direct. Now, a portion of my paycheck is directly deposited into that account, and we don’t touch it. The biggest hurdle was just deciding to set up the account in the first place. It was clear that what we were doing sorta worked, but sorta didn’t, and making the decision to put the money where we wouldn’t be able to get to it easily is what set us off down the right path. Now we actually have two savings accounts, one for our renovation projects, and the other for the emergency fund and property taxes. This arrangement makes it clear what each pool of money is for, and keeps our grubby hands off it.
We’ve been doing a pretty good job of making decisions this year. We have put off some things for far too long which we are finally getting accomplished this year. We have a meeting with a lawyer next week to talk about a will. After we get that squared away, we will be making sure that we have enough life insurance in case something happens to us. We’re meeting with window contractors over the next week to get our crappy, falling apart, single pane 1950’s windows replaced. Later this year, we’re going to be van shopping, which will require some tough decision making.
All these things are big decisions that require a lot of thinking. But the hardest part is just getting yourself to make that decision. Once you do that, the rest practically takes care of itself.