It's payday, which feels like I have tangible action on some of my goals, instead of just planning out actions and waiting for the calendar to tick over.

I now have a more accurate picture of what my new take home pay is at the lower withholding rate, and while for some pay periods it's not quite enough, it's close enough that I am just going to make it work.  Once some of the "snowflakes" I am expecting come in, and I am able to eliminate some monthly debt payments, this will get better, so I don't see the value in continuing to fiddle with it.  

I paid about $400 towards debt today, sent $25 to savings, and once I transfer from one of the other checking accounts I have my direct deposit split into, will pay another $450 towards debt, and pay the rest of my bills.  Sometime next week, my mortgage will be auto-deducted from the separate account I keep for housing costs, so another $415 towards debt.  I don't have a huge buffer left over when that's all done, but I'm going to try to stay within it for grocery spending over the next 2 weeks til my next paycheck. 

Looking forward to a few months from now when I have a larger checking buffer to cover that kind of stuff.  How do you figure out what your checking buffer should be?  Is it a set dollar amount, or is it a certain % of expenses etc?  I know both methods are valid, just curious why you chose to go the way you did.  I think what I would ultimately like to have in my checking account is a month of expenses, and then tiered savings (3 months in my attached savings account, an additional x amount of months in a separate higher yield savings, etc....)  I'm still at the baby steps portion of this all.  I'm going to start with $250 as a goal, then gradually increase until I get to a month's worth of expenses.  Do you consider your checking buffer as part of savings?

Today, the IRS opened up acceptance of federal tax returns for 2020.  I have not yet gotten notification that mine was accepted.....fingers crossed that comes in a few days so I can get a better idea of when I will receive my refund and put it to good use.  I was able to complete my state taxes yesterday, and am getting back a whopping $89 lol.  Oh well, it's better than owing, and it will go directly to debt.  Once I receive that refund, I can then work on amending my 2019 state return, and should get some money back from that too.  

My quarterly Rakuten payment is scheduled to come Monday.  I am expecting around $115.  Some of that will be used for spending this weekend (~$30), and I had not decided where the rest was going to be allocated (~$85), as I wanted to see what the situation was with my new take home before overcommitting.  I think what I am leaning towards now is just leaving in checking as the start to my buffer.  

Spending on tap for this weekend:

*$30 at a clothing store I like - will be combined with a $20 birthday reward for a total budget of $50 (out of Rakuten).  This is definitely not a need, but I could use some new leggings and I like theirs.  And it's funded out of extra money, so fits the parameters I've set for fun spending.

*Target - will buy the few groceries I need for next week (using existing cash buffer), and also want to pick up a jar for my newest bedtime snack obsession (DIY Instant Oatmeal lol).  I've been using a jar I had but it is not the right shape, I need something with a much wider opening.  Target looks like they have several options that will work well, all for under $10.  I'll be using the merch credit I got from Target a few weeks ago to cover this ($19.80).  I will also be using the merch credit to cover ingredients for Rice Krispy Treats that I am making for a friend later next week.   

*Wendy's - this is a treat for both my diet and my budget I'll probably only spend a few dollars here, which can come out of existing cash buffer.  I haven't purchased takeout for about a month, and this will be a very economical way to feel like I am treating myself, while still staying within my calories for the day and my financial goals.  

*CVS - will probably stop at one at some point tomorrow and pick up some candy.  I have $1 in ExtraBucks so whatever the balance is (maybe a few cents?) will come out of cash buffer.  I let myself have candy once a week.  Same concept as above!

That's a long enough entry for now hahaha.  I'll leave on this note.  I know a lot of people here are fans of Dave Ramsey, and I have mentioned in the past that I am not a fan of his.  He just rubs me the wrong way.  Well, I saw this article yesterday, and if his quote in here is accurate, it just proves further that he's a jerk.  How judgemental can you be?!?!  Ugh.  This is why I will not ever follow his program, even if some of the advice is sound.  He's a <insert many curse words here>, kicking people while they're down.