A Fresh Start

I have decided to try blogging once again on a more regular basis. The main goals of this blog will be to give details on how I make financial decisions to live a frugal but satisfying life while saving the majority of my salary. 

I recently graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in Agricultural Economics. I have been working at a local bank now for half a month. 

Throughout this blog I will post budget friendly recipes, cheap grocery lists, saving tips, investing advice, DIY projects, book recommendations and the progress on my potted vegetables. (I can't have a garden since I live in an apartment). 

I can't wait until these tomatoes are ready to eat! I don't even like tomatoes all that much but it is so satisfying to know that I grew my own food on my own. 

I recently finished reading this book "The Cheapskate Next Door". I would recommend this to anybody who would like some advice on frugal living from real life "cheapskates". 

And finally, I recently finished listening to Dave Ramsey's "Financial Peace University" c.d.'s. They were very informing and entertaining. I would recommend them to anybody who is willing to try to get out of debt. He has a 7 step "baby steps" guide: 

1. Put $1000 into an emergency fund 

2. Pay off debt using the "debt snowball" 

3. Add 3-6 months of expenses into the emergency fund 

4. Put at least 15% of your salary into retirement accounts 

5. Save for kids college 

6. Pay off house 

7. Build wealth and give! 

The CDs go much more into depth about these steps and there is also a lot of helpful information on the website www.daveramsey.com

I also listen to his podcasts of his radio show daily. I usually learn something new every time I listen.