A teeny tiny part of me is saving for a future down payment, but teh main part of me is getting into the habit of not missing $50 each month. I'd like to do this for the rest of the year and come January up it to $75 a month.

By then, based on where I'm @ debt wise (remember I'm also hoping to go back to school and pay in cold hard cash), I'll start looking into opening up a few CDs. I've always wanted to do this thing a friend of mine told me about. Open 6 CDs, each one month later and as each one matures, roll it over. There's a name for it, I'll have to google it…brb…

Found it…Zeus bless Google

CD Laddering Strategy

Instead of simply letting your matured CDs rollover, you can purchase multiple CDs with different maturity dates and take advantage of higher interest rates that are normally associated with longer-term CDs, and still maintain frequent access to a portion of your money. By staggering your CD investments using a strategy known as "CD laddering," you can typically increase the earnings potential on your CD portfolio while maintaining greater access to portions of your money for the duration of the investment lifespan.

Here's a better example via about.com

For example, assume you have $10,000 sitting in a passbook savings or money market account and you are chafing at the bit every time you receive your bank statement and see the paltry interest your funds are earning. You research CD rates and identify the bank with the best deals that meet your criteria. Then you purchase five CDs: CD #1 for $2,000 for a one-year term, CD #2 for $2,000 for a two-year term, CD #3 for $2,000 for a three-year term, CD #4 for $2,000 for a four-year term; and CD #5 for $2,000 for a five-year term.

Each CD is like a rung on a ladder. When the one-year CD matures, roll it over into a new CD for three years (or whatever term you decide to use for your ladder). When the two-year CD matures, roll it over into a new CD for three years. When the three-year CD matures, roll it over into a new CD for three years, etc. You can choose a shorter or longer term, but the key is to use the same term for each one once you start rolling them over at maturity. At the end of four years you'll have five CDs with one maturing every year, so you'll never have all of your money tied up long-term or at lower than market interest rates.

CD laddering is a smart way to protect yourself against fluctuations in interest rates while giving you the security of knowing that you will be able to access at least some of your money within a relatively short time frame.