My Money Doing

Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.

Eleanor Roosevelt

“The job is never done.  So long as we live, we must work on ourselves”

–Jack LaLanne

“It’s wonderful what we can do if we’re always doing.”

George Washington
First president of US (1732 – 1799)

It’s official.  I no longer have credit card debt.  DW had zero credit card debt when we were married.  Now we have about $7K in an auto loans and our student loans.  My records indicate I had over $25k in CC debt 5 years ago.  How did I finally get it down to $0?  It was a two-pronged approach, plus a bit of luck.

First, I’ve kept the balance on 0% interest credit cards, switching at least 3 or 4 times in the last 5 years.  At first it was pretty easy to get the 0% rate for a year or so with zero balance transfer fees or at least a cap.  The last one though had 0% for 12 months and a 3% fee and no cap which I didn’t mind paying. as the balance was significantly lower.  While I was paying the minimum, occasionally I would pay a small chunk at the point of switching balance transfer offers. 

Second, I signed up for my company’s employee stock purchase plan.  I started out slowly with 1% but soon bumped it up to 5%.  Twice a year, stock was bought and I could either turn around and sell at a 15% discount to the current price or save it.  I just saved and built up my stock.

It’s been over 8 months since I’ve posted on my blog.   I can give all sorts of excuses about not following through on my writing but it really just comes down to a lack of motivation on my part.  I’ve always had an issue with setting my expectations to high and not doing something unless it’s perfect.  I’m correcting it today.  No more worrying about how the site looks or fretting about the name.  I’m just pushing forward as all that can be changed or updated later.  So what has my money been doing?  It’s been a fairly busy 8 months and I’ve accomplished much.

• I’m on the verge of being credit card debt free.  Only my student loans to focus on now. 
• DW and I sold our townhouse in late November 2009 and moved into a cheap 1 bedroom apartment for a few months as we did not want to jump into buying something right away and have it be dependent on us selling the townhouse. 
• We started looking for a detached single family home with a yard in February 2010.  We found a house and closed late March 2010.  Have been busy with yard work and small improvement projects.
• I started a new job in February 2010

The biggest accomplishment has been pushing towards paying off all consumer debt.  Going back to May 2005, I had approximately $25K in credit card debt.  Most of this was accumulated during my college years (1996 – 2000).  I never had an issue paying them and in fact from 2000 until about 2005, when I came up with a plan to eliminate the debt, I just dealt with the minimum payment.  I just accepted this as being normal. 

I’ll provide more details including my cc debt repayment plan in future posts.  My goal for now is to post twice a week.  Plus the occasional extra post if time permits.  Since we are now settling into our new home, I will find the time.  Plus, the only way to get better at writing is to practice.

My favorite blog lately, Early Retirement Extreme

I’m a 30 something married guy living in the Pacific Northwest.  My wife and I combine our income and share all of our expenses so if I ever refer to “my finances” I really mean “our finances”.  We have no kids at this time so I guess we are considered DINKs (Dual Income, No Kids).  We both have good jobs but we do have some debt.  Mostly in the form of student loans. 

I have had an interesting relationship with money which I plan to write about in subsequent posts.  For now, I’ll just say I have not always managed it well.  I was brought up thinking, if I can afford the payments on credit, then I’m doing fine.  It wasn’t until about 2003 when I started realizing I was becoming trapped by my debt.  I didn’t like the feeling at all.  Actually, I think I’ve always felt trapped but it was always covered by the high that came with buying whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted.  Thinking back on how much credit card debt I accumulated, it just makes me cringe.  I always managed by debt well but still, there is no excuse.

Luckily I changed my ways and I’m moving ahead.  Once I started reading personal finance blogs, I started figuring out what was possible.  I never imagined living without debt.  I just thought it was normal to always carry a balance.  I never thought about actually using a budget or building an emergency fund or saving up to pay for a car using cash.  I have definitely learned from my mistakes and I have changed my ways.  And I’m still learning about what is possible.  I’m inspired daily by what people can do when not burdened by debt and I cannot wait until my burden is finally lifted off my shoulders.

In a later post, I’ll outline my financial goals, but in a nutshell, I want to live without debt.  Living without debt represents complete freedom for me and my wife.  I’m not there yet, but I’m well on my way.  I’m no expert, but I feel pretty confident with my plan for financial freedom and my ability to get me there but I wonder if I had not accumulated so much debt, would I be as financially aware of what my money is doing?  Would I be as open to learning as I am now?  I don’t know, but in a way, it makes me appreciate the road I’ve taken.  Yes, in hindsight I still cringe.  But looking forward, I’m completely motivated by the possibilities.

“The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.” – Arthur C. Clark

My goal is to create a place where I can sort through my thoughts regarding money and to track what my money is doing and how it is doing it. The main topic will be about personal finance. About my personal finance. Also I plan to write about the logistics of life and how I am continually improving all the areas of my life. I’m not seeking perfection but I am seeking my potential. I’m also seeking my personal finance philosophy which in the end will lead me to the life I envision.

Photo by kevindooley