FEBRUARY OFF TO A GOOD START

The month of February is off to a good start for me.  With the stock market up and coupon savings at the grocery start of 47% this week, it's looking like a good month money wise.  I've been getting all my information together to file my tax returns and expect a modest refund.  The problems I've been having with my landlord regarding damages caused by a roof leak are nearing a resolution, so I should getting my apartment repaired soon and get things back to normal there too. 

I've had a lot of turmoil in my workplace related to turnover of employees and an upcoming corporate review.  While I don't deal as well as I should with changes in the workplace, I realize that fact and have resolved myself to roll with the punches, so to speak, and keep in mind that change can bring new opportunities.  So I'm concentrating on keeping myself open to new opportunity and keeping a positive outlook.  Ultimately I'm thankful to have a job at all when so many people are out of work.  Currently my working income represents the majority share of my monthly cash flow, so until my investment income overtakes that, I need to concentrate on keeping my employers happy.

I'm continuing work on my investment plan for the year and am considering opening a Roth IRA.  While contributions are not tax deductible, I like the idea of not being taxed on profits.  With contributions to my regular IRA making up only a small percentage of deductions to my taxes, I'm thinking that I would benefit more from future tax savings offered by a Roth account. 

Got some great coupons in the mail from Gerbes this week.  The mailers they send out are based on past purchases, so the coupons are for items I regularly purchase.  Some are entirely free and free is the ultimate goal of coupon shopping.  I'll be making good use of those along with the coupons I received from last weeks paper and register rewards from Walgreens.  All the money I save from couponing contributes toward building my investment portfolio and increasing monthly dividends.