Slightly Increased My Retirement Contributions

I decided to slightly increase my 403b contributions from 2.9% of my bi-weekly pay to 3.9%. My company matches my retirement contributions dollar-for-dollar up to 3% of my base compensation and 50 cents per dollar beyond 3% up to 5%. I will increase it again to 5% in a few months. I’m sure I won’t miss the money since it's taken out before I receive my paycheck.

I still plan to start contributing to a Roth IRA account in January. The goal is to contribute $200 (automatically) to that every month. Doing things automatically is the only way I manage to save these days. If I see money in my account after I pay bills and other necessary expenses, I tend to substantiate extra purchases and treats for myself. So, doing my saving automatically makes up for my occasional spending impulses.

I recently started using Yodlee to track my expenses and may eventually use the bill pay option the site offers. I like being able to go to one place to see my accounts instead of visiting several sites to see what shape my accounts are in. Mint is good, but I think I like Yodlee a little better. Yodlee seems to be more functional though I like the actual look of Mint (aesthetics matter to me...). I am still tracking my spending daily in addition to checking my balances on Yodlee. Revised budget still to come sometime this month.