Tax Return and The Rule of 3rds

I'm doing the happy/relieved dance today! The Tax Return came in! My Sailor and I decided to use the rule of Thirds to decided where the money goes this year. 1/3rd will go to bills. 1/3rd will go to savings. 1/3rd will go to us. Man, does it feel good to see that extra money sitting there!

This is the first year since 2001 that I've gotten money back on my taxes. As a single adult with a good job - the government LOVES to stick it to ya. Sure, we're paying for important things, but I'm happy if I break even. I'm THRILLED if I get something back! Now to decide which bill gets to disappear! I'll be checking out interest rates and making sure it goes to the highest one.

We're also going to be cutting back a bit when we move. We'll be canceling cable - which makes me VERY happy. Currently, we pay over $100/month for internet at TV. My Sailor wanted his sport channels when we moved and didn't really have an idea on how little he'd be home. Now that he does, it's time to cut that back. He's rarely home enough to catch a full game, and I prefer to head to the sports bar for a change of scenery and a beer. Most sports networks are available online, so we're going to let the cable TV go. We have a computer and a PS3 hooked up to that TV. We can watch things on Hulu.com or online for free or next to free. This has the potential to result in a savings for $750 PER YEAR! Pretty significant if you ask me!

I'm not used to being financially stable. I'm used to freaking out over money. It's kind of funny how it's working out. Sure, I'm still the chief breadwinner (what do you expect? I've been at my job since 2005), and I handle most of the money, but we make decisions together regarding how to save or spend it. I think it's proving to be a nice balance for me. I'm making headway in paying down my debt, my car is paid off, and we're looking at BUYING A HOUSE! Yeah, I know. I've mentioned it before. We're waiting on our pre-approval.

It looks like it's going to happen in this order:
House
Wedding
Baby

So that brings up the last one on that list - Baby. We're talking about starting the adoption process at the same time we pull the goalie, since chases are more than likely that my body won't cooperate. Filing for adoption will take the stress off for "must have something that looks like us", so in some ways, it might actually INCREASE our odds of getting pregnant.

I wrestle a little bit with the kid thing because it means I seriously need to beef up my writing resume, so I can work part time at my day job, and bring some money freelance writing. My current gigs pay in bragging rights mostly. I'm VERY proud to be following my passion and be part of the Celebrations Press team. It's my FAVORITE gig and I'm hoping to expand it. If I had the funds, I'd LOVE to do a Disney Parks International column for them as well. So far, I haven't been able to afford to take research trips to Tokyo, Paris, or Hong Kong, but the desire is there!

But I know I'll have to get books rolling if I want to get out of the Medical Coding world. Medical coding just pays really well and is steady. Being a starving artist is overrated.

So we'll see how things pan out, but one thing is certain -
Little Sailor's first trip to Disney is going to ROCK!