Top Notch Bank

March, one of my favorite months out of the year. Why? Well when you live in South Florida it means gorgeous weather in perfect temps (high 70s) and relatively low humidity. Add that to time springing forward (hello longer days/more sunshine) and you’ve got a win win situation.

Spring’s arrival brings the perfect platform to do some cleaning, both physically and fiscally. Below are some of my top priorities for March:

1. Reading: As an avid bookworm, my kindle is jammed with books I’ve downloaded but have never gotten around to. I am making it a point to read all these forgotten souls.
   • Goal: Do not spend extra money on books.
   • Read: 11/22/63, Blink, An Abundance of Katherine’s, Adventures of your Soul
2. Food: Cooking is slowly becoming one of my favorite passions. However, I still get newbie anxiety with certain dishes (such as fish) and tend to stick to the same boring dishes I already know (pasta, zoodles, chicken).
   • Goal: Do not spend money on takeout/anything with a delivery fee. Try new recipes.
   • Try: Honey-ginger grilled salmon, cauliflower rice, gluten free banana bread, meatless Mondays
3. Fitness: Avoid being tempted to spend extra money on Pilates and cycling classes.
   • Goal: Speed walk at least two times a week. Continue yoga, bootcamp, barre routine.
   • Try: Running without stopping for 10 minutes (i.e.: 1 mile)
4. Budget: I spent part of my leap day meeting with a financial adviser at Charles Schwab. She was so helpful and offered to much insight regarding my debt situation.
   • Goal: Pay off Capital One and Citicard credit cards ($2,728.00). Stop using credit cards, focus on using money I have (debit cards).
   • Try: Freezing my credit cards…literally. This way if an emergency comes up, I have enough time to think things through while my cards defrost; Snowball effect.
5. Shopping
   1. Goal: Store any coats, jackets, nice dresses to clear up space in my closet.
   2. Try: Shop inside my closet.