It's tough but I'm making it happen...

There are a few things that I have implemented recently to help me get on the right foot financially. Truthfully, this is a financial transformation plan that I set into motion couple years ago. It has taken awhile to get into the groove because I retired from a previous profession during the. implementation phase. I know, you're thinking..you are too young to have retired! You're right I am, but I had already put more years in and become fully vested far earlier than most of the peers my age. So I feel like I'm on my second career, when most people my age are beginning to hit their stride in their first career.
That transition slowed down my progress, but allowed me to get more focused, better at living within my means and budgeting.

So what am I working on now? I quit smoking cigarettes for starters. That's like trying to pull out of the war in Iraq. The hardest thing ever! Anyway, I had been planning it for a while. I figured I would monetize the effort by planning a vacation with the money saved by quitting. I spent roughly $100 per month on cigarettes. No, I didn't really smoke that much, roughly a half a pack a day. But yes, I spent money like a fool. I never bought cigarettes by the cartons because I was in denial about how long I would continue to smoke. My logic was that I might quit tomorrow (which was lie, most of the time) so I shouldn't buy a whole carton and waste the cigarettes.

So my new year's resolution was to quit and am 17 days smoke-free! What else have I done? I have severely cut back on my daily Starbucks habit. I buy coffee maybe once in 2 weeks or more. I've switched to hot tea. I spend $4 per month now versus $45 per month.
That's not all...I've turned over a new leaf and made peace with my dinner leftovers. Previously between my boyfriend and I, we spent enough money on eating out for lunch, dinner and breakfast on the weekends that we could have carried another mortgage or two luxury car notes.

So what is the "new me" doing now? Bringing my lunch and even breakfast to work.
I haven't crossed over to the everyday lunch-bringing world, but I'm getting there. So what am I saving? I was spending almost $75 per WEEK on breakfast, coffee & lunch! That's a plane ticket to a vacation spot. My spending is down to about $30.00 per week at this point. I've decided to slowly cut back, partially because my cooking skills suck and I have limited time in the evenings. However a fellow blogger has turned us all onto some simple recipes that work well for lunch and breakfast at work. Trent at the Simple Dollar has a flare for freezer cooking. Check it out..The Simple Dollar

So I forsee some white sandy beaches in my future paid for in advance using my expense budget savings