I ran the numbers today and in 2010 I:
- put $3,400 towards SL Principal
- $2,000 in my 401(k) - not including my employer match
- put $2,000 in savings

My goals in 2011 are to:
- $5,000 towards SL principal
- $2,600 in my 401(k)
- $5,000 in savings

Sometimes I like to take walks on the weekends. I live in a very commercial area, so these walks frequently involve walking into stores. Usually this is fine because I am a picky shopper, but this weekend Ann Taylor Loft was having a sale. The evil marketing geniuses had everything 30% off, then for every $50 you spend, you get a $25 discount on your next purchase. I ended up spending $100 and getting two discount cards. I am not upset about buying the clothes because I need them for work and I lost a bit of weight and my older clothes aren't fitting so well. What I am upset about is that the two discounts are burning a hole in my purse. Maybe I should throw them away? I do need another pair of work pants...

Thanks for all of your comments and suggestions. Here is my budget, like I said, this is relatively new since I am now splitting rent and got a raise this month.

My take home pay after everything is 3600.00
rent $875
utilities $175
cell $55
perscriptions $85
groceries $200
eating out $100
misc. $300
savings $200

student loans - my minimum is $560/month and that only covers interest. I have been paying around $800 every month. Ideally, I want to boost this up to at least $1000.

If I can stick with the above budget, I should be able to put ~$1600 towards the loans every month. I am going to see if I can hit that goal this month.

I also forgot to mention that my food costs have gone way down since we stopped eating out. We used to go out at least 3x a week, now its 1x every two weeks. I am loving cooking at home now.

I have been looking for part time jobs but I am sort of limited in time. I work a pretty intense job from 7:30 until 5 and commute by train 45 mins each way. Also, I do occasionally have to travel for work. I am trying to seek out some type of work from home stuff, and will keep posting on craigslist. I am a lawyer and my job won't let me moonlight with legal stuff, but i can write, edit, tutor, etc.

My bf is being supportive, and splitting rent, home expenses, and food costs has been great. We have both noticed a savings in the food department. However, my bf has no student loans, a great income, and money in the bank, so he has trouble seeing why he needs a budget. He has the car in the relationship and pays all car related expenses, so that has been a big help for me.

It could be worse, I know. I keep thinking about how money was approached growing up. We were middle class, but never were in a tough situation because mom has been very successful in her job. We never talked about budgets, savings, planning ahead, education debt, etc. If I ever have kids, I am going to make sure that these life lessons are imparted from the begining.