Making the rounds of my accounts this week, I was pleased to discover that after a few months on a regular prepayment plan, the minimum payment on my private student loan has dropped a sweet twenty bucks.

Twenty bucks! That’s like a happy hour and a half a month! Or six empanadas! I mean, of course I’m going to keep funneling the same amount towards the debt, but it’s nice to watch my cash flow swing a little bit in my favor–and to know that more of the money I give Sallie Mae each month is a choice, instead of a desperate attempt to keep them from garnishing my wages. I’m also delighted because for some reason I thought prepayments meant that I shortened the term of my loan, rather than lowering the minimums–it’s nice that the extra payments have a more immediate effect on my cash flow.

Saving less hasn’t been as bad as I feared. The only time I’ve gone into my savings since I struck out on my own was to pay for my dental surgery, and that was lower than I’ve expected, so they’ve come along pretty nicely. Once I get my tax return, a third paycheck in May, and then my stimulus check, I’ll have a fully stocked emergency fund and enough in short-term savings to cover my spring and summer travel. (Although I’m thinking I might use the stimulus to buy formal dresses for work. Besides that I’ll need them, I heard if I put that check in the bank the terrorists win….)

The only financial concern at the moment is my wild spending. I spent a ton in January, but hardly anything in February. I gave too many bartenders my plastic too many times in March, so I’m dialing it back for April. My spending is more even if I budget it more strictly, putting my discretionary spending into categories, but I kind of prefer the freedom of letting it swing up and down–for me, it usually amounts to the same total over a few months. It’s hard to plan around my own free spirit, though. The astrological cusp thing will kill you every time–Virgo Melissa likes budgets, but Libra Melissa likes bartenders. And used bookstores. And clothing sales. And Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice. (Oh, god, the Ready Rice. $2.00 for two cups of rice! But it only takes 90 seconds, yall.)

At some point this summer–emergency fund funded, formals purchased, April travels completed, August travels planned, minimum payments lowered–I’ll be able to start retirement contributions for the match I’ll get in September. Then I’ll kick it on cruise control for 45 years, cash it all out, move to Cabo, and consort with all the bartenders I can find. It’s good to be a planner.