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Small Things Add Up

September 28, 2022 You know when you go to Target and you can never walk out with ONLY the thing you need? I always fall into the trap of finding, what I think, are really good deals. A shirt for five dollars, shoes for ten dollars, a couple extra snacks. Individually, they are a good deal. Together, five dollars ten times adds up to $50 which is a lot when you only needed a couple things. Thankfully, I haven’t fallen into that particular Target trap lately, but I have seen the flip side of that where a few dollars here and there really add up. I swear I blinked, and September was over which means the holidays are right around the corner and the busy season for pet grooming and pet sitting is now upon us. Since I took so much time off this past summer, I figured I should hoard extra working hours, plus the added pay, like a squirrel hoarding nuts for winter. I’ve taken on extra grooms working overtime each week and I’m already booking out through December. I also decided to open up for new clients for pet sitting again which I had closed this summer after having a good set of regular clients that were keeping me busy. Within 24 hours, I had five new pet sitting bookings. Each individual job doesn’t pay that much, but together they add up to a few extra hundred dollars I can save each month. I’ve also been taking advantage of other opportunities to save or earn extra cash. As much as I hate it, I decided I can probably suffer through the rest of the season to mow my own lawn. With it being cooler out and the grass not growing quite as fast, I probably shouldn’t have to mow it too many more times before it freezes. I also got a nice wellness rebate through work and another rebate on my yearly order of contacts. Again, small dollar amounts separately but together another couple hundred dollars that add up! You might also be interested in What a ride it’s been! 2022 has been full of adventure and trying new things and I’m so excited by all the progress Project Money has given me financially. As the end of Project Money draws near, I can’t believe how far I’ve come since we started. Day to day, I always felt like I could be doing something more or felt like I wasn’t doing enough and I wasn’t seeing any progress. Looking back and thinking through how I’ve changed, I can see how much work I’ve put in and how far it’s gotten me. Thanks to Project Money, I’ve been able to: How many times did my dad tell me this as a kid when I really wanted McDonald’s? How many times do I tell myself this in a week when I don’t want to cook? A lot. It’s that time of the year again when you reminisce and look back over the year and start thinking ahead to next year. Every year, I try to make a personal goals list that I work on throughout the year. Some of the goals are random, some are fun, some carry over every year. Since I’ve been sharing progress on my financial goals, I thought I might share some other goals I’ve been working on alongside Project Money! Happy (belated) Thanksgiving! This year didn’t really feel like anything special since my goal was to keep it low key. I was able to make a nice dinner for my dad and I at home for just the two of us. I’m extremely grateful that he was willing to come to me this year, saving me the time, energy, and money of travel. One of the things, or problems, I knew about myself coming into Project Money was that I had a loose budget but I never let that stop me from doing the things I wanted to do. Budget might not even be the accurate term, maybe more of a tracking sheet every month just to see where my money was going and then trying to remember where I should trim it down the next month. This had never been an issue for me except for the fact that I knew it was a really bad habit to be in. I can’t believe we’re halfway through November! I feel like this entire year has just been me saying I can’t believe how time is flying. How is Thanksgiving already next week though?! One of the biggest things I’ve always been interested in is investing but since I struggle with crunching numbers and finances generally overwhelm me, I’ve never set aside the time to really learn about how to make my money work for me. And, as a big person of convenience, I’d rather just be able to set aside the money, have to do its own thing, and not think about it again. This week was a busy, chaotic week but a good one and we hit some big goals in this house! First, I finally paid off my last private student loan. It wasn’t very big to begin with, but it was still a few thousand dollars and the interest rate was higher than I’d like. I really had to prioritize paying off my loan. I could have done this years ago, but it just didn’t occur to me to do so when I had bigger things to worry about. Once I got my basic finances under control, I was able to direct more attention to my loan. Here’s the main things I did to achieve this: Featured Products Certificates Checking Accounts Home Equity Loans Home Loans Business Banking Certificates Checking Accounts Home Equity Loans Home Loans Business Banking Financial Education Upcoming Events Programs Tools & Calculators On-demand Webinars Podcasts Upcoming Events Programs Tools & Calculators On-demand Webinars Podcasts About Equity in Money™ About Summit Careers News Community Giving Equity in Money™ About Summit Careers News Community Giving Help & Support Contact Us Member Support Center Schedule an Appointment Find a Branch Contact Us Member Support Center Schedule an Appointment Find a Branch Please read the following before proceeding to: The website you are about to visit is solely the responsibility of the merchant or other party providing the site. The content of this third-party site, including materials and information, is solely the responsibility of the provider of the site. 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