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Entry tags:
Debt/Money
I just did that thing where you sit and add up everything you owe and have a heart attack.
Only...
I didn't have a heart attack!
(I am not counting student loan debt, which I may never pay off, for the record. *lol* But even so, I do categorize that debt differently, since it's not harmful debt.)
I now owe less than one-fifth of what I owed at the beginning of this whole debt-reduction plan that I went on two years ago. I am not out of the woods yet, but when I keep blindly stating that I intend to be out of debt this year (2010), I was sort of doing a hand-wavey thing to mean, "if possible."
Well, hell's bells. It's possible.
And pretty damn exciting.
I feel like I have given up so many things to make this work and now that I'm this close to the end, I find myself resenting certain things more than I did in the beginning. But... when I write the last check and forever end my credit card debt? I will do a fucking dance of joy!
I owe money to 4 different establishments right now, two because I made balance transfers to take advantage of 0% interest rates. I hated owing money to more people, but under the circumstances it made sense.
My big line of credit - the one I consolidated 90% of my debt to in the summer of 2008 will be paid off in nine months, if I don't do anything but make the minimum payments. Holy shit.
HOLY SHIT. I didn't think I was ever going to get that paid off.
I am making more than the minimum payments, of course, but that is so unbelievably liberating. If I don't do more than the bare minimum, I will be debt free in 9 months. (The other three debts will be gone before then. The most I owe on any of those is less than 1/4 of what is owed to the big one.)
I am literally vibrating with excitement right now. I have money in my bank account (not much, but making it!). I have almost paid off all my debt. Next year will actually be a whole new ball game in terms of what I can afford.
I was talking with A about some of this, and she expressed interest. So I figured I'd lay out my financial goals, beginning with the most immediate and stretching into the future.
1. PAY OFF DEBT
2. Build a safety-net cache. This is a sum of money that is linked to my checking account (likely in a savings account), that can be used to pay for unexpected expenses so that I never, ever, ever use credit cards again (except the minimum amount necessary to build a better credit score). (I had one, but I used it to pay taxes this year. Now I need to rebuild.)
3. Establish a retirement savings plan of some sort for myself.
4. Establish a 4 CD ladder, whereby I have rotating CDs coming available every 4 months.
5. Fully fund said CD ladder with the amount of money that I feel is optimal for me. This creates a second layer of savings - again not long term - that allows me to make more interest on money that is still reasonably available in case of financial emergencies. If the longest I have to carry a credit card balance is 2.5 months? I can live with that.
6. Set up a savings account to work on a down payment for a home.
7. Pay off my car.
8. Pay off my bar loan, because I hate and resent that loan so fucking much.
9. Establish a monthly CD ladder, whereby a CD becomes available every month.
10. Fully fund the CD ladder. (I am okay with this part of the goal taking several years, up to 5. It takes a while to save money, but this method seems feasible to me.)
11. Set up a "freedom fund" which is an investment fund for the future, not related to specific goals (buying a house or retirement). This money is for playing when I finally am at a place to play. This is the money to be used for investment experimentation, etc.
12. Purchase a home.
Now this is the plan that I've worked out for myself. I in no way think that it's the only way, or even the "right" way. I'm pretty sure that like all plans, it will get blown to hell as I work on it. But... I haz goals.
Only...
I didn't have a heart attack!
(I am not counting student loan debt, which I may never pay off, for the record. *lol* But even so, I do categorize that debt differently, since it's not harmful debt.)
I now owe less than one-fifth of what I owed at the beginning of this whole debt-reduction plan that I went on two years ago. I am not out of the woods yet, but when I keep blindly stating that I intend to be out of debt this year (2010), I was sort of doing a hand-wavey thing to mean, "if possible."
Well, hell's bells. It's possible.
And pretty damn exciting.
I feel like I have given up so many things to make this work and now that I'm this close to the end, I find myself resenting certain things more than I did in the beginning. But... when I write the last check and forever end my credit card debt? I will do a fucking dance of joy!
I owe money to 4 different establishments right now, two because I made balance transfers to take advantage of 0% interest rates. I hated owing money to more people, but under the circumstances it made sense.
My big line of credit - the one I consolidated 90% of my debt to in the summer of 2008 will be paid off in nine months, if I don't do anything but make the minimum payments. Holy shit.
HOLY SHIT. I didn't think I was ever going to get that paid off.
I am making more than the minimum payments, of course, but that is so unbelievably liberating. If I don't do more than the bare minimum, I will be debt free in 9 months. (The other three debts will be gone before then. The most I owe on any of those is less than 1/4 of what is owed to the big one.)
I am literally vibrating with excitement right now. I have money in my bank account (not much, but making it!). I have almost paid off all my debt. Next year will actually be a whole new ball game in terms of what I can afford.
I was talking with A about some of this, and she expressed interest. So I figured I'd lay out my financial goals, beginning with the most immediate and stretching into the future.
1. PAY OFF DEBT
2. Build a safety-net cache. This is a sum of money that is linked to my checking account (likely in a savings account), that can be used to pay for unexpected expenses so that I never, ever, ever use credit cards again (except the minimum amount necessary to build a better credit score). (I had one, but I used it to pay taxes this year. Now I need to rebuild.)
3. Establish a retirement savings plan of some sort for myself.
4. Establish a 4 CD ladder, whereby I have rotating CDs coming available every 4 months.
5. Fully fund said CD ladder with the amount of money that I feel is optimal for me. This creates a second layer of savings - again not long term - that allows me to make more interest on money that is still reasonably available in case of financial emergencies. If the longest I have to carry a credit card balance is 2.5 months? I can live with that.
6. Set up a savings account to work on a down payment for a home.
7. Pay off my car.
8. Pay off my bar loan, because I hate and resent that loan so fucking much.
9. Establish a monthly CD ladder, whereby a CD becomes available every month.
10. Fully fund the CD ladder. (I am okay with this part of the goal taking several years, up to 5. It takes a while to save money, but this method seems feasible to me.)
11. Set up a "freedom fund" which is an investment fund for the future, not related to specific goals (buying a house or retirement). This money is for playing when I finally am at a place to play. This is the money to be used for investment experimentation, etc.
12. Purchase a home.
Now this is the plan that I've worked out for myself. I in no way think that it's the only way, or even the "right" way. I'm pretty sure that like all plans, it will get blown to hell as I work on it. But... I haz goals.