December 07 Totals

0 - Credit cards
0 - Car
27616 - Student loans

27616 - Total Debt

2197 - Emergency Fund
5295 - 401K

7492 - Total Savings

So, my EF didn't take the hit I thought it might, after Christmas shopping. What saved me was an unexpected small windfall from a project that I had worked on this year.

I have been managing my EF more fastidiously lately, too. Those nice guys at ING Direct are kind enough to send you cute emails when the interest rate on your account goes UP, but not when it goes DOWN. Sneaky! It's taken a couple of steps down recently and is currently at 4% or 4.1% or something. However, they offer a lot of options with regard to CDs, and you can get a rate of 4.7% just by committing your money for 6 months.

So I have been keeping a good chunk of my EF in CDs...making sure that I have enough accessible for a real emergency. However, it's pretty easy to get your funds out of a CD, too. They do take a penalty fee of three months' interest, though.

Here's to a productive 2008! I hope to knock out most of my remaining loans while socking away as much as I can. Other goals include going to San Francisco and Europe, and helping to educate my friends and family about saving so that everyone around me can feel better about their situation! Yay!