just looked at my 403b retirement account and the $300K has been reached: $300,766.52. Yay - so fun to see that number. Of course, now i want to see the next milestone. $310K? $325K?

now if only i could get motivated to do my taxes. i took a staycation all last week and successfully procrastinated on everything i wanted to get done. crap.

current debt update:
discover card - $3,383.00 (0%) - will be paid off by 9/2013
chase auto - $6,778.08 (2.9%)

good news - when i went to look up the chase auto balance, i discovered that the website has been updated and i will be able to set up auto payments for that loan, which wasn't an option before. now to just actually do it.

I�m supposed to be in Florida visiting my mom and enjoying some warmth right now, but I never got it together to make plane reservations, so I�m making some of this week into a staycation. Ugh, I�ve been so lethargic lately. Combination of long winter, depression, poor eating choices and complete lack of exercise. And there�s probably some menopausal hormonal stuff mixed in there, too. Oh my.

I just called Discover to confirm how to set up an auto payment. The instructions on line didn�t really make sense and I don�t want to be late with a payment, or I will lose my 0% interest rate. The auto withdrawals won�t start until May. The next payment is due April 8, so I paid that tonight so that I won�t forget. After that, $677 will be withdrawn every month until mid-September and that c.c. debt will be paid off in full.

I still haven�t done my taxes (thanks to creditcardfree for the reminder!). I�ve already contributed the limit of $17,000 to my work retirement account for 2012. Now I need to decide if I should put some money into my traditional IRA and get a little tax benefit. Or should I open a ROTH IRA? As I start to think about when I want to retire, I wonder if I should have a tax free ROTH account from which to withdraw money (contributions, not earnings) from before I turn 59, just in case I am able to retire before that (probably not a likely scenario, but a girl can dream!). I really need to figure this out so that I can finish my taxes and move on.

I have an exciting start to my day tomorrow � I�m getting my septic tank pumped at 8:00a! I�ve owned my house for 8 years and this is the first time I�ve had this done. It will cost $255 for the pumping, plus whatever labor cost there is to dig down to the tank. I had a fleeting thought of doing the digging myself, but I really don�t want to, so I�m going to cough up the cash and have the pump guy do it. This is the first in an incredibly long list of house tasks that I need to take tackle.

I�ll say goodnight with a favorite photo of my cat Juby:

I just checked my work retirement account (403B) and the balance is $299,849.31. I still really want to see it hit the $300K mark, if only for a day!

I had a combination ultra-lazy and somewhat productive weekend. I�ve felt very lethargic recently and ended up sleeping through most of Saturday. But, I did also manage to tackle the mess in my house and got a lot cleaned up. No more living in squalor for me, at least for a few days! It was a sad state of affairs.

This morning I paid three medical bills which totaled $355.29.

I owe $635.61 on my VISA due on 3/27, so I will pay that today (DONE) so that it�s over and done with and I don�t have to worry about late fees or finance charges. The total due includes a $6.38 finance charge because I was late paying last month�s bill � grrrr. Thankfully there was no late fee, though!

I FINALLY submitted my medical reimbursement paperwork on Friday (the deadline!). If all of the claims get approved, I will receive a check for $1222.00 in the near future, which will go into my bathroom renovation account. I had a total of $1300 in my medical reimbursement account and only $1222 worth of medical expenses, so I ended up having to forfeit $78.00, which I�m still not over. But, I did find out from Human Resources that all unclaimed med reimbursement money goes into a relief fund that is available for employees to apply to use in times of need. I feel better about that � it�s like charitable giving rather than going into a black hole at an insurance company or something.

This year signed up to contribute only $1200 to my med reimbursement account, so I won�t have a problem getting it all back. Unfortunately, I will most likely have more than $1200 in out-of-pocket expenses since I need to get two fillings and probably a new mouth guard (still cranky about the lost $72! ) My current mouth guard snapped in half the other day. I�m still using it, but I�m wondering if it�s now a choking hazard. I�ll have to look into getting a new one. They are expensive! I seem to remember my insurance covering some of it, but not sure if it�s a once-in-a-lifetime type reimbursement. (Update � I just called my dentist and he suggested that if it still fits snuggly on my teeth, that I should just keep using it. A new one is $625! So, I�ll use the broken one for now and then see if my insurance will help me to buy a new one.)

I did a quick run through of my taxes using TurboTax and will most likely get a refund of between $200 � 900, depending on traditional IRA contribution. I haven�t made a decision about that yet.

This is kind of fun: as of Friday, my work retirement account was up to $299,215.55 due to current strong market � so very close to $300K! I really hope it hits $300K before the market dies down � I would LOVE to witness that number even if only for a day! I see in an old post that the account hit $100K in October 2007. So, it took 5 years and 5 months to get to $300K. I hope the next big landmark comes faster than that. I still haven�t figured out what my goal is for retirement savings.

Ugh � I just spent $7.25 on an unhealthy lunch and $1.42 on two small bags of Cadbury Mini-eggs. I have to pick up something for a potluck this evening (didn�t feel like making anything this weekend). I want to get back into the swing of healthy and inexpensive meal prep � I am way out of whack with that.

Thanks for the support and ideas!

I put my phone/DSL and electric bills on auto-pay a year ago to make life easier, but I didn�t realize I could do that for credit cards. So, I will set up the 0% Discover card to pay about $670/month April � September and then that will be paid off.

*Finally created on-line accounts for my medical reimbursement and health insurance. Now I can make sure that I have all of my claims from 2012 (I want to see if I can get back my full $1300, I only have $1220 worth of expenses, so will lose $80).

*Found an $11 reimbursement check in a pile at work, so will add that to the $160 guitar check for depositing this week.

*Got an email confirmation from Zappos that gave me an $80 store credit for my returned running shoes. I called customer service and was able to get an $80 refund instead since I spoke to someone a few days ago about this under-the-wire return and she made a note that I could get a refund. Yee-haw!

*Accounts update � I�ll do this now while the market is ridin� high!
Retirement plan through work: $293,631.52
Traditional IRA: $56,368.04 (earning nothing because I haven�t taken the time to invest it � doh)
Brokerage account: $ 42,050.46
Misc money market fund: $6500.00? (not sure � need to find the paperwork)
Emergency Fund: $ 26,043.76
Cash: $42,903

Debt:
Discover c.c.: $4060 (0%) � this will be paid off by September 8 w/no interest charges
Car loan: $ 6,778.08 (2.9%)

I need to add �create a will� to my to-do list. I don�t have a spouse or children, so have to decide who to choose as beneficiaries.

O.k., now back to work � this is a busy week at the office!

I looked through a few piles and boxes of desk junk last night and located the 2012 medical expenses receipts and paperwork that I had compiled last summer. It looks like I have $1218 in expenses to submit against my $1300 medical reimbursement account which means I will lose $82.00. That totally stinks! Ugh. At a December dentist appointment, I found out that I need two fillings and I should have done that before January 1. I am so annoyed. Ok, nothing I can do to change the situation, so moving on.

Guitar check � FOUND. Yay! It�s a refund for $160 worth of unused lessons, so I will deposit that tomorrow.

I have been sorting, recycling, shredding and organizing mounds of old paperwork today and have come up with additional financial items I need to take care of:

*Call Discover to find out when my 0% rate deal is finished on my c.c. that has a current balance of $4750. DONE � offer ends in September 2013, so I have 7 payments left at 0%. That�s $679/month for 7 months and it will be paid off. Next payment is due March 8, so I submitted $690 electronically today.

*Car loan � oops, for some reason I have not paid my car loan in a few months and while sorting through mail discovered two late payment notices for it. So, I paid $462 electronically toward the loan today. That was the max I could submit, or I would have sent in $500.

*I just found a few outstanding medical bills for 2013, so will pay those this week.

*My Visa payment was due 2/27, so I paid that electronically today. Unfortunately, I will most likely incur a finance charge since the payment was late. It should only be a few dollars, but still. Hmm, I might also get a late charge, which would be more than a few dollars. Crap.

O.k., so that�s some progress. I feel annoyed that I�ve lost touch with my finances and that I�ve wasted a lot of money recently. It�s time for me to get back on track.

My office area is now a DISASTER AREA with paperwork everywhere. Whenever I decide to sort and organize old stacks and boxes of papers that have accumulated, I make a colossal mess. I so wish I was naturally anal � I envy people who are!

Ugh � I�m so out of touch with my finances. I need to get a grip! I�ll start with making a financial to-do list. Maybe that will provide inspiration. If only I could channel ceejay or lucky robin or one of the other super focused SA bloggers, I�d be all set!

*figure out and submit receipts for my 2012 medical reimbursement account. I have $1300 in the account and the deadline for submission is March 15. After that, I lose the money. I started this project long ago and now I can�t even find the receipts/statements that I gathered.

*do my taxes! Haven�t even started. Shouldn�t be too difficult, but I�m just not getting around to it.

*update financial standing � what I have, what I owe, etc. I�m in o.k. shape, I�m just tending my money well and, therefore, not allocating well.

*figure out if I will put any money in my IRA for 2012. I struggle with this every year. I funnel the yearly max in my retirement account through work (I think it was $16K this year?) and my company puts in 15% of my salary in the account on top of that (quite generous!), so about $25K has already been added for 2012. Do I set aside another $5K in my IRA (traditional)? Or, do I use the money for house repairs or something that I really need now. I think last year I comprised and put in $2 or 3K.

*find and deposit refund check for some unused guitar lessons that I paid for in advance last year. So psyched that the teacher sent me a check in December, but now I don�t know where it is!

*figure out if I can return about $300 worth of clothes that I bought in December to a Ralph Lauren outlet. Would be awesome since I�ve never worn them and probably won�t. Can you say impulse purchase?

*return unworn running shoes to Zappos. DONE. Thankfully I just remembered these the other day. Zappos has a 365-day return policy and I forgot that I had purchased these shoes a year ago � on March 1. I shipped them back on Feb 28, so I�m not sure yet whether I will get a refund or site credit. I really hope I get the refund of $80. I�ll never spend the credit!

Ok, that�s a good start. I�ll stop here. Hope everyone is having a good evening!