No Debt MBA

So I'm halfway through my first year of two for my MBA.  It's funny to realize that I'm a quarter of the way done when I feel like I've just barely gotten my legs.  The last few months have been filled with ups and downs, more ups but it's still been a stressful, all consuming time.  The first bit was overwhelming because of the new routine, people, culture and trying to figure out how everything worked on the fly then once I got settled into a routine recruiting hit.  Recruiting is stressful on its own but the evening events messed up my carefully crafted schedule a couple days each week.  I couldn't bike because of the suit and the late wrap up time.  I had to find odd pockets of time to prep for classes.  I was hardly ever home.

I'm looking forward to coming back after new years.  I feel comfortable with what's expected of me academically and in recruiting now, know where my limits are, and have a lot of the logistics figured out.  I'm hoping to be less stressed and spend more time getting to know people better.

On the money side I'm still going on cash.  This month will be the first where I'll need to transfer money out of savings to pay my credit card bill (in full, of course).  My checking account is too low to pay the bill and I want to keep a buffer in there too.  I'd just been cruising on my last two months of pay from this summer that I'd left in checking so far.  Not even two full months of work, but more than four months of living expenses. It's good.

I need to decide ASAP if I'm going to pay spring tuition and fees in this year or next. Either way the money will come out of savings too.   I think I should be good to ride out the academic year on my savings account to a hopefully lovely cushion of a paying summer internship.  Knock on wood for me. 

I'm pretty happy with where I'm at money-wise right now.  My goal of no student loans is looking more attainable every month (knock on wood again).  My spending is at a level I'm comfortable with and more importantly my standard of living is as well.  I'm feeling healthy and comfortable.  I haven't been worrying about a little money to go out and have fun or have people over for dinner.  At the same time I've been pretty good about eating our own cooking which saves money but also keeps my diet better balanced.  I've also been using my bike or feet for transportation which helps me get a little extra exercise in too.  Finally, I just haven't had time to spend money on things that aren't important to me.

I want to give myself a solid pat on the back for how I've been doing.  It hasn't been perfect but it's a huge amount better than it would be if I said the hell with it or ignored it.  Going forward I want to maintain this balance and try to squeeze a little more fun with my SO in.  How does that sound as a resolution for the new year?