Yikes, it seems that a twice-weekly schedule is too much. I'm going to try for once a week and put the 31 days project on hold for now until I get into more of a rhythm with this blog.

I've been thinking about my last posts. I realized that I interpreted values as qualities that I want to improve in myself, which led to abstract inwardly directed goals. That's fine, but I'm looking more for concrete directions so I know how my actions affect what I want to do with my life.

So, I asked myself instead, "What is truly important to me?"

Here is what I came up with:

-Helping people
-Traveling the world and understanding different cultures
-Family
-Writing

For me, writing this felt like taking off a burden. It's solid, and I can see clear, concrete goals I can make towards these values, especially during my final year of school and the year after graduation. My next post will focus on designing goals to match these values.

Some background info: I'm Luna, a 21 year old in my last year of college. I have never really had to manage my own money, but I want to learn how to now so I can be in good shape after I graduate and not let money control me.

My school allots each student a yearly stipend of points, which is included in our tuition. Since we do not get reimbursed for unused points, the goal is to pace yourself so you have enough points to last the whole year. However, since meal prices are outrageous (we just switched food providers), I'll have to balance cooking meals at home, buying cheaper groceries elsewhere, and not spending too much time in the kitchen.

Since I use invisible points for most of my daily expenses and a credit card otherwise, it's hard to stay frugal. One of my first goals is to get a more tangible sense of my money, as well as the amount of debt I have.

I plan to monitor my spending habits and not splurge on items simply because I'm stressed and want entertainment and new clothes. I also want to maximize my time so I can get what I need to do done and not go crazy.

I'll be keeping a journal of my habits and write occasional articles about college student finance and organization. Thanks for reading and stay tuned!