I blogged about this earlier here and had decided that I should get a 403b started even with a small minimum amount.

But now I'm not so sure, after reading this discussion over at NCN. Specifically, should you have a 401k (or in my case, a 403b) if your employer is not matching funds and you need to pay down debt?

Part of me feels like if I can squeeze it out of my budget somewhere, even a small amount in my 403b would be smart to get going while I work my butt off to pay down the rest of my debt.

But then the other part worries that I'll need that money each month.

I left a comment over there looking for NCN's thoughts. I'll wait to see what they say and then make the decision. I'm leaning towards getting it, signing up for the minimum and then just figuring out some more ways to bring more money in to make up that difference. It makes more sense to me to have a nestegg of something, no matter how small, when I get rid of all of my debt, than nothing at all, you know?

Feeling Down ... Quitting Soda

But I just keep telling myself, hey, at least I'm not Lindsay Lohan today.

I now know my balance on my last credit card. It's worse - much worse - than I thought. And I'm behind on it. I've been working hard to catch up on everything else and get organized, but ignoring this one.

But I'm going to take care of it soon somehow. Then I'll update the sidebar again.

At least I'm not dead. At least I'm not facing jail time. I'm healthy. I have a good life. I can make this work. Somehow.

Today's step towards getting out of debt, and improving my personal health as well, is that I quit drinking soda yesterday. Cold turkey. I'm now on day 2. I'm most definitely a soda junkie, but then Monday night when I realized I was out of soda and trying to figure out how I could go buy more, I further realized I only wanted the soda, I didn't need it. I don't need most of the stuff I have bought in the past, much less this crappy artificial beverage.

So, this morning I'm drinking hot tea. Gives me a bit of caffeine, plus it's green tea. And I can keep reusing the bag for a few drinks. And I have my trusty water bottle too. Free!!

Hopefully in a few days, I'll start feeling better too as my body cleanses all the soda residuals out.

Every little bit helps right? Right.

Sacrifice

I play a sport that I'm very involved in. Some call it passionately. My ex-boyfriend said I was obsessed. Naturally, we're not dating anymore. ;)

My team is competitive and our players run the club as officers and do all of the work to keep our team going. I'm an officer as well as a starting player. Beyond this, there are our twice-weekly practices in the fall and spring, games almost every Saturday and in the summer, pretty much a tournament every weekend.

And while I still love my sport, there are many days where it just zaps me. And I know I spend too much time - and too much money on it. So I've realized that part of my journey to becoming debt-free and getting my life back is taking more control of my schedule. Learning to say No to some of my commitments. Learning to take time for myself and get/stay organized.

This weekend is a fun tournament a few hours north of here. All of my friends are going, including my boyfriend and his team. They will all play all day, probably win the tournament and party it up. Someone even dragged a kiddie pool up there last year, so we had a pool party on the sidelines.

So, needless to say they are very confused why I said I wasn't going. Am I sick? Do I have to work? Do I have a wedding or family event? No, no and no. I'm staying home to clean up my house, organize my life and save money. I'm sure I would've spent at least $30-40 by going. So that will stay in my pocket. And yes, I'm a bit sad I'm missing the fun. But in the big picture, I know it's more important for me to stay home and take care of my life.

There will always be another day for fun and sports. But like the ants told the grasshopper, you need to work in the summer, so you're ready for the winter. And I don't like snow.