Over this past weekend I finally got away from things here in Maryland and ventured north into Upstate New York. I got a chance to meet new members of my business fraternity at Clarkson University and oversee their endowment fund efforts via alumni phone-a-thon calling sessions. Although not as successful when compared to past numbers, the brothers managed to pull in $300. Every little bit helps with the total amount now standing near $4,420. To stay on pace with our $10,000 goal deadline by 2010 we will need $5,000 by year end 2007, which at this point is very manageable.

At the current time I am working with a few alumni to find financial support through the support of employer gift matching. As we speak paperwork is being filed with a good friend and alumni who currently works for Dell.

In other news I managed to hit a 54.3% personal savings rate for the month of March. I am always excited at month’s end to see the final financial tally. Some key areas of improvement have been on the dining out front where I managed to spend $138.24. Usually, this number is around $166. Miscellaneous expenses more than compensated for the increase in gas, dropping from $306.27 down to $218.92. Furthermore, travel expenses dropped from $325 in February down to $0 in March. You are probably wondering why travel is $0 at the same time I am mentioning a trip to New York. Well, since gas and dining out are separate categories on my spreadsheet and are already accounted for, there is no need to incur a travel expense. I use this category mainly for plane tickets and hotel room costs. Thankfully, I still know people up north who are willing to play host for a weekend and do not mind me sticking around for a few days.

My goal for next month is to reach a 60% personal savings rate. To accomplish this, the numbers are telling me to pack and eat a lunch everyday at work instead of the occasional pit stop to a Gourmet Café or local deli shop in downtown Baltimore where I work. I continue to car pool with my significant other to a light rail stop which takes me into the city and helps to keep weekly travel expenses low. One area for improvement would be in the shopping department. Last month I picked up three suit coats for work and will not need to cough up cash for big ticket items in the near future.