Welcome

Well Hello World,

New blog here and I'm 100% positive no one is reading this yet.

I am a 30 something female living in Philadelphia. I titled this blog SimpliCity because what living in a city means to me-- simple living.  No car needed in the city of brotherly love.  No car = savings on gas and car payments. Work is only a 15 minute commute.

A little bit about myself.  I will always remain anonymous on this blog.  I plan to share my financial life with all of my readers, which is very personal.  I hope to help myself and others by being frank and sharing my payments on my debt and to myself.  On a personal note, I'm newly married and I live in a small house in South Philly.  I have no credit card debt but I am a somewhat new home owner and I have school loans, yes still = UGH.

My goal is to continue living a simple life, finding bargains for necessities, saving money and paying down my own debt.  My husband and I have separate bank accounts and while he helps me with bills.  It is still a struggle to find the balance on living frugal and saving money.  I want this blog to be about my journey to financial freedom, not my husbands.  He is frugal and does not carry any debt.  I would like to contribute to our comfort too.  I recently started couponing, which helps with cost of toiletries and food.  Don't worry I will not become one of those wacky extreme couponers------ but I probably should.

I use to be overly extravagant with my money and sometimes I resort back to my old self...  I'm hoping this blog helps me stay focused and see the bigger financial picture.

Unfortunately, we all live in a time where the rich get wealthier and the poor can barely swim above water.  Right now, my 403B account is pathetic and I have 28.5 more years of mortgage payments.  My house is just shy of 1,000 sq ft and my backyard fits a table, flowers and a grill, that is it.  I don't need 3,000 sq ft to prove to the world that I have made it.  Yes, space is nice but I inspire to feel comfortable enough that if I loose my job tomorrow, I would be OK for 8 months. Based on Suzie Orman advice, I should have 8 months of emergency savings.  Right now I have 1 month... I also plan to make extra payments on my mortgage so I can reduce my 30 year mortgage to 19 years.  I am now keeping a spreadsheet on every time I save money at the store or bills in general. The monthly amount will go into my savings account at the end of the month.

So here is the blog plan.

Every week I will post how much I saved on food shopping and bills and give you tips that I learn along the way.  This might include couponing, 403B-401K, mortgage payments, the list will go on and on.  This first entry is just a hello and explanation of my blog attempt.

I'm inspired by my brother who is the frugal king and has been counting and crunching numbers since he was an infant.  I am impressed with my old college roommate. She paid for college on her own, managed to work full time and save 20K when she was only 25 yrs old.  Both of them have always had a 5 year plan.  I am not that girl.  I live for the moment and spend in the moment. Not any more....  I want to be as focused and driven as my friend and brother.

So Atsuko and Al i dedicate this blog to you.  The savvy savers and the 5 year planners.