I have increased payments for my auto & TSP loans, as well as my mortgage. Those few dollars won't be missed, but over time they will really add up towards paying down my debt sooner. I am now very close to breaking even on my principal vs. interest amounts. Very soon I will be paying more on principal that interest. And I have more than 50% equity in my home. I wish that I had increased payments sooner, but better late than never.

I am going to enjoy this long Memorial Day weekend. Yesterday I got up early to take my car in for service. I purchased the tire care package when I bought my car & I have made good use of it. I think this is the second tire that I have had replaced already. They found a small hole that couldn't be patched.

Then I came home & napped, which I have needed. Last weekend I worked 24 hours while fighting a cold. Then yesterday evening I dropped by my co-workers' son's 16th birthday to give him a card and some cash for his gift. They had a ton of food. I ate some there & they send me home with a plate of shrimp, my favorite.

Today I am just being lazy until it's time for church this evening. I will eventually do some much needed cleaning. The gym is not closed tomorrow for the holiday so I won't get out of my run.

At home I have several ceiling repairs to be done due to roof leaks & a tub leak from my second floor bathroom. The plumbing repairs of nearly $700 I had to pay for, but the damages will be covered by insurance. It's so hard to find contractors at this time.

Oh, updates on my other passion besides personal finance...travel! I am going to New York & DC over 4th of July. Taking a short cruise this autumn, traveling to England & Scotland after Christmas, and Greece in the spring. I'm turning 40 in December & celebrating all year!

As we head into fall, I was thinking about reaching this year's goals & looking ahead to next year's goals. This year my main goals are retirement & debt repayment, as they are every year. I always meet my retirement goal, as I will this year. In January I funded my Roth IRA with the maximum $5,500. I don't know if I'll be able to do that this January. I may have to fund it throughout the year, since my savings have been somewhat depleted to pay down debt. I will continue to fund my retirement account at work with my maximum contribution. I have not read if they're anticipating another increase in limits next year, though. A $500 increase would only mean an extra $20 biweekly though.

Last year I transferred the majority of my credit card debt to a card with 0% interest for 18 months. I started out paying $200 weekly, but now pay $100 weekly since I have one job. I still plan to have that paid off before the 18 months of no interest.

On a lighter note, I am going to enjoy this 3 day weekend by taking some time to cook, relax, and visit with family & friends.

Some changes I made thus far this year:

1. Started off the year with a spiritual Daniel Fast & it made all the difference. Also, it forced me to stop eating out & enjoy cooking healthy, whole foods at home.

I went into 2013 with a renewed sense of hope & the fast just really opened my heart to what God has in store for me in every area of my life.

2. Transferred my credit card debt at Capital One to Pentagon Federal @ 0% interest for 18 months.

3. Attended the inauguration & visited with family. I had a wonderful time.

4. My second job that I have held for 4 years will end in April due to the hospital closing. I have worked at this hospital in some capacity since 2000. I'm just waiting & praying to see what I should do on that.

I've been wanting to start a small business for some time now. I am excited to see what the future holds on that.

I've been stressing about my debt a lot - but doing very little to alleviate it. This month I bought plane tickets for 2 separate trips next month. I also need to book a hotel for the second trip. Thank goodness I can get very nice hotels for very low prices at Hotwire.com. I love that website. I've had much better experiences with that website than with Priceline.com.

I'm going to have to curb my spending after these trips in order to pay down my debt like I'd like to. It's not a lot, but I have far less worries when I'm debt free.

My parents welcomed their first grandchild March 21st. My niece Laura Elizabeth is just precious and I can't wait to meet her next month.

My mom and I attended the strawberry festival last Saturday and I really enjoyed it. I need to take advantage of all the great festivals in this area. South Louisiana in particular has the best food festivals. We missed the oyster festival last month - hate oysters - but will go next spring. My sister sent me an e-mail about the crawfish festival. That should be fun.

I was just doing some financial homework online and realized how very long it has been since I posted a blog here.

I am doing well, both personally and financially, though I wish that I could be more focused and disciplined when it comes to my credit cards. I think that will be my big challenge in 2010.

Things going on with me:

I am still working my second job and enjoying that additional income. I've been thinking about adding another income source. I think it's good to have several sources of income. It provides security, as long as you aren't dependent on all those different sources of income. I would sell Avon, but worried that I would spend it my income buying Avon for myself, family, and friends!

I have been attending a church that I really enjoy. I am becoming more involved there. I have enjoyed my spiritual growth in recent months. I definitely feel more at peace.

I have lost 13 pounds since joining the YMCA in September. I hope to lose at least 13 more by the end of summer and even more beyond that. I am a slow loser because I do enjoy my food! Obviously.

I am expecting my first niece in 9 days. I'm so excited and I love her already! We went to Virginia a couple of weeks ago to participate in a surprise baby shower. We had so much fun.

Darn, darn, darn. I just lost a whole entry. Here I go, here I go again...

Yesterday, I went to Whole Foods. I got some good things including some pork ribeyes to make pork chop rice skillet. I made that late last night and just put it up since I got dinner from their deli.

I got the $5.99 plate for 3 side dishes. I got shrimp/sausage/chicken jamabalaya, with cauliflower cracklins which was roasted roasted cauliflower with peas, and sauteed cabbage. It was all very good but, probably very salty as well.

I weigh myself daily and I had put on 3 pounds overnight. What?! It was so funny because I started hitting my scale because I thought it was stuck or broken. Then I remembered what I had eaten yesterday. I can't gain 3 pounds in less than 24 hours on 1400 calories. So I'm chilling out and drinking plenty of water.

I brought some cherries that I bought by my parents' house today on the way to work. These cherries ended up costing me $11 to my surprise. They're very good though. My mom called me to come by and get some food. I got some beef stew and black-eyed peas. I had some brown rice in my freezer to go along with this as well.

I really need to start cooking more. Especilly now that I'm starting school and not working as much overtime. My dining out is definitely where I could stand to cut some money. It just gets a bit tiring eating the same thing everyday, what with living alone.