No more CC debt

I am absolutely thrilled. Now what? Oh yes, now I can spend that money maxing out retirement accounts, increasing my emergency fund, paying down my mortgage, and fixing up the house. :)

Debt Report - September

I'm not really posting updates in a predictable fashion despite the fact that I have every reason to. 1 more paycheck and then I'm off to saving money. I can't wait!

July 2009 Debt Report

As noted, I made an accidental 2nd payment to my credit card. This required a bit of magic and luck to survive since my debt payment strategy is so aggressive and doesn't really allow for these kinds of mistakes. I made a 3rd payment to even out the amount of debt owed to be a nice round number. $4,000!

4 more months. 4 more paychecks.

July Progress Report

A few things have occurred.

1) I have reduced my weekly ATM allowance to $80 to see if this can work.
2) I sold a few of the things lurking in my house that I do not care for. Craigslist was very useful here.
3) I am going to save up some money on the side to pay for a car service that is due.
4) I have officially survived my accidental debt payment gaffe.

In other news, I've found that I really enjoy waking up early in the morning on weekends.

Oops

I accidentally paid my CC bill twice. This is both good and bad. It's bad because I'm out some money that I had set aside for other bills. It's good because I now have a total CC balance of just $4,000. I guess I can live with it.

Premiums that turned out to be completely worth it

My $20 water bottle
It has transformed the way I drink. By being constantly around, it has helped me to reduce my intake of coke/soda to 0 during lunch. It is expensive and nice which makes me remember it. It is also practical in size which allows me go through entire meals without needing to drink something else. Would a cheaper Nalgene bottle have sufficed? Maybe. But I've had those in the past and they don't fit in my car's cup holder so it's debatable.

My $25,000 car
The additional features that raised the price of my car from $20,000 are what makes my drive to work that much more pleasant. It might be imagined but hey, that's the point! It's okay to care about the details sometimes. Also, the fact that it's so good at not breaking helps a lot with the overall cost of ownership.

My $200 sunglasses
I lost these earlier this summer and my $50 replacements although adequate, don't make me as happy. The $200 sunglasses were around through a lot and used on a daily basis for years. Compare that with the crappy $10/$20 sunglasses that I used to buy before that and which I used to lose after a day or 2, they were an absolute bargain.

Vacations
I remember a lot about all my vacations. I don't remember a lot about each of my $17 books or the $45 meals or even the $199 electronics that I used to buy regularly. Vacations produce memories. Memories are priceless. My original iPod although still physically cool, is being used nowadays as a paperweight. This is a far better fate than my old broken DVD player or Playstation. The absolute worst vacation I've even been on is still somewhat memorable and funny in retrospect. Lasting impact should not be underrated.

My iPhone
It has completely changed the way I live. I am as connected as I want to be, I have access to all of my photos and music which is useful in a variety of rather common situations, and on top of this, I have access to a variety of applications that make my day that much smoother.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that there are things in life worth buying. What those things are depends largely on what you value. Good luck figuring that out responsibly! :)

Lifestyle Changes

Lifestyle Changes

Let's face it, your lifestyle largely dictates where your disposable income goes. If your overhead is high and your leftover (disposable) income is low, your lifestyle needs to reflect this in order to work. Here are some of the lifestyle changes that I have implemented. Note that this is more of a peek into how I do this and not a guideline for how you might do this.

1. I stopped going to amazon.com when I became bored.
2. I developed a repulsion to stores in general (Target, Costco, Best Buy).
3. I curbed my drink buying when I eat out.
4. More efficient route planning on car trips.
5. Cancelled cable TV.
6. Cash for food.

- Avoiding amazon.com took about 1 microgram of willpower.
- Developing a repulsion to stores was a slow journey and is now, an incredibly awesome skill to own. When I do go to these stores, I only pick up exactly that which I came for!
- I developed a taste for water and now, I don't buy soda or beer when I eat out. I do drink on social occasions when the setting calls for it but that's more a social choice.
- If I plan on going to different locations in 1 day, I think about my course and plan it. This has saved me quite a bit of time as you would expect.
- Don't miss Cable TV at all.
- $100/week cash budget keeps me from going overboard. It's a lot of money but it could be a lot worst if I didn't use this method.

The bottom line is, I found some holes and plugged them with minor hacks. They work because they're sustainable. That counts as a victory.