Happy New Years!

Another year down. Another 365 days of life experiences, ups, downs, tears, laughter and whatever else can be compacted into this little brain of mine! In all honesty, 2012 probably wasn't one of my most favorite years to look back on. There were a lot of trails and frustrations and it has pretty much left me back to starting over again. Not that starting over is a bad thing! BUT I feel like I'm back to square one. Still need to find another job and I've applied for so many already! I've been a bit frustrated about that. Funds are really tight and poor hubby is having to put in a lot of extra time at work, but moving will help a lot! The first couple months of 2013 will be a bit tight, but I can tell you I'm very hopeful for better things! They seem to be looking up anyways! So I am hopeful! I've never been a big massive fan of doing the whole "New Years Resolutions" thing. I've always figured that becoming a better person doesn't just have to happen in the beginning of the year, it should probably be a continuous life journey. This year though, I have to admit I do have some goals that I would hope to acheive (But again, they are goals that I have had over the course of the last couple years, I just need to continue to jump the hurdles with a positive attitude!) So here are some of the things I'm up to this year that I hope turn out great! 1. Find a job (Obviously a new goal as of November, but I figure this could be an excellent opportunity to really find something I love!) 2. Obviously moving homes (down sizing to a smaller, cheaper place). It will save us a fortune and I think accomodate more of what we need. It keeps us in the same area we want to be in as well. I think that this is the place we will end up living in for a VERY long time! (Which is fine by me!). I'm really excited about this home and move! I think it's a start to better times! 3. Successfully put together my "Indefinite Leave to Remain" (ILR) application for immigration, submit it, and recieve my ILR with no issues! (And the damage of cost not breaking my bank account!) This is EXTREMELY important as it is basically £1,000 every time you submit this application! Once mistake and they can fail your application and you have to start all over again and repay that £1,000 all over again as well! OUCH!! BUT This is also a fantastic step as once I am approved, all I have to do is wait one more year and I am offered the opportunity to recieve my duel citizenship here! Yay! 4. Finally get some spendy debt of our plate! I'm especially excited about this as it will make such a world of difference to us! Losing my job was a bit of a set back on this one, but I have to say, even with the loss of income, we have budgeted REALLY well, made some good cutbacks and once I get a job again, it will actually put us ahead of the game at this point! The idea was by this summer, to only have my University loan left as our outstanding debt to be paid off and I think we will actually acheive it this year! The long term goal of this is to just always save up and buy things from now on without getting into Debt (Except obviously the bigger purchases like a mortgage. But we aren't looking to buy a home anytime soon anyways). We have been going through Dave Ramsey's "Financial Peace University" Seminars and I have to admit, it has totally changed the way we view money management! it has really helped us get some nasty monkies off our backs!) He has a lot of fantastic tips and things to know that can help with the bigger expenses like going through University without killing yourself with loans in the U.S.(That I wished I knew about BEFORE going to University and racking up massive loads of school debt!). Overall, I can honestly contribute the fact that we are managing well even without me being employed, because of the practices we have learned from Dave! Ok, well, this is getting long, so I will stop here! (all of the noted above are all happening between now and April! Crazy huh!) It's going to be a bit crazy over the next couple months, so I apologze now if I get a bit quiet! I hope this year will bring many wonderful things to you all as well! Keep your head up and keep smiling no matter what!! Live, Laugh, Love!