Hi, Tony here. First of all, if you’ve been keeping check on this website…..I must apologize for my absence. Several things took away my energy for keeping the site up.

1. Even though the blog was new, I didn’t feel like I was getting any traction, so I got a little bored.
2. I took on some extra work to speed up my debt repayment. I’m still not debt-free, but I’m still on track…….a little ahead of schedule actually. (yay for me!) This left me less time…..therefore I this blog is one of the things I put on the backburner.
3. Personal Finance is not something I enjoy that much. Writing and keeping track of bills is not my idea of enjoyment. It’s necessary if you want to win with money, but it’s still a chore.

So why am I back now?

I have some new ideas for this site. I would like to shift the focus a little bit from debt repayment to more of a personal growth blog. I want to write about not only money, but other issues that lead us either closer or farther away from our goals. I believe there is more to winning than just paying off debt and getting your finances in check. That’s certainly a great place to start, but life is full of victories and defeats, opportunities and setbacks. So I plan to broaden the topic just a little.

If you were reading the blog a few months back, and your reading this now, thank you for hanging with me. I’m not going to make any promises at this point as to how often I’ll post. I’m gonna take it like I’m taking life…………..one day at a time.

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Wow! The first time I’ve been tagged here on Living Switch. Tammy at Debt Crunch! tagged me to follow the meme, My Top 5 Obsessions.

So, here are the top 5 things I’m currently obsessed with:

1. Paying Off Debt - This is the one thing that I’m extremely focused on right now. I think it’s like a little light bulb in my head right now that sheds light on the fact that debt robs me of freedom. The faster I can get out of debt, the sooner I can live as a free man with options, rather than a slave.
2. Blogging - I really like blogging. Although I’ve slowed down the pace here somewhat, I have another blog that has a few more readers than this one. I won’t link to it, because it’s not a financial blog, and I’m trying to maintain some level of privacy and anonymity. I may get over that at some point, but talking finances and sharing details is a little out of my comfort zone.
3. Reading - I love to read, although I’m not sure I would call it an obsession. It’s just one of those things that I do without thinking to much about it. As time consuming as it is, and as little extra time as I have, I seem to find time to go through a novel every week or two.
4. Spreadsheets - This kind of goes in hand with paying off debt, but I’m a spreadsheet junkie. I catch myself making spreadsheets for everything. I think they’re neat and easy to make. I don’t know why…….
5. Coffee - I don’t know if this would be better defined as an obsession or an addiction, but I love coffee. I drink way to much of it. The strange thing is, I don’t care for the fancy stuff. I’ve never stepped foot in a Starbucks. I just like the plain old Folgers and Maxwell House. What can I say? That’s just how I like it. It works for me.

This has been kinda fun. Thank you Tammy for the tag. I’m not sure who to pass this on to……..hmm.

Filed under: Luck, Web | 2 Comments »

I read a story in the latest issue of Kiplinger’s titled, Breaks On the Way for Credit Card Users by Joan Goldwasser. In the article, she reports that during this “changing business and political climate”, credit card issuers such as Chase and Citibank are adopting more consumer friendly schemes. These companies are feeling the heat from Congress and may soon be changing their ways whether they like it or not.

What’s the beef that Congress has with Credit Card Issuers?

• Double Cycle Billing
• Universal Default
• “egregious” late fees
• mail solicitations to minors
• the mailing of unsolicited “convenience” checks
• applying payments to the lowest interest rates first
• imposing over-limit fees…..after they approve the purchase!

The more I step back, I realize what SCUM these companies really are. They’re just a legitimate business, right? In my opinion, they exist to take advantage of you in anyway they can. When they back you in a corner, they gang up on you and beat you to a pulp.

Filed under: Debt | 2 Comments »

I’ve come to realize that financial stability is a choice……at least in the long term. I realize that is a rather general statement, but it’s a broad topic. If we’re in a bad situation with our money, and we take a long hard look at our life, the far majority of people would have to admit that they are where they are because of poor decisions. That includes me. How bad the situation is depends on how bad the choices we make are.

For instance, I’m in my mid-thirties, and I have approximately $13k in consumer debt, and that’s aside from my $85k mortgage payoff. The thing is, that debt has been reduced by about $5,000 in the past year or so. I’ve been carrying this debt for years. I’m talking like seven or eight years. Now I’ve had some “unlucky” things happen(no emergency fund) and I’ve made some very poor decisions. The decisions not only got me in debt, but they’ve kept me in debt for all these years. I haven’t taken on new debt in a long time, but bad decisions have led me to spending money on other things rather than paying off debt. The debt has hung around and become part of the family. It’s an anchor holding my ship out in a stormy sea.

Now I’ve made a decision that this debt will be eliminated. Period. Whatever I have to do, I’m ready to make it go away…..forever. In order to do that, I think we have to come to a certain level of contentment. That brings me to my point. In order to ever have any money and in order to actually get out of debt, we have to find rest and contentment where we are and with what we have. If we can’t come to that place, there will always be something on our horizon that we want to spend our money on the next time we get paid.

So, the question is, are you content? I really believe that I am. Sure, there are things that I want to spend money on, but they are gonna have to wait, because I’m on a mission to clear out my debt. I’m shooting for 18 months.

Filed under: Money, Debt | 2 Comments »

It’s very easy for me to spend money when it’s in my pocket. Don’t get me wrong, I do have a fairly good sense of self-control. However, I’ve noticed that the more cash I physically have in my pocket, the more things I see that I “need”. Am I alone here?

I get paid every two weeks, and generally there’s a certain amount of money I keep out for cash to cover gas, food while working, etc. Every now and then, I end up with a small amount left over - or I end up with a little more than usual. Rather than take the money and put it in savings or toward a debt, I tend to just keep it in my pocket “in case I need it for something”. To make a long story short, it disappears. I end up blowing it on whatever. Sometimes I don’t even realize what I spent it on!

That’s a good example of how the lack of management makes it disappear. I’m learning that managing your finances are very similar to managing a business…….the business of you.

Now I’m not beating myself up too bad over $10 or $20, because I don’t want to be so “tight” from a money standpoint, that I’m miserable. But I’m merely pointing out that we often have more money and resources than we realize, but it disappears because we don’t manage it and tell the money what it’s job is. If I just try and hold it in my pocket and let it rest, it will disappear. If I put it to work, it will get things done for me.

Evil Directory

Filed under: Money, Budgeting | 7 Comments »

I tend to think that the more I can keep my plan on the forefront of my mind, the greater my chances of reaching my goals. I’ve been considering subscribing to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine. I’ve found that some of these financial magazines are very inexpensive if you subscribe. For instance, if you buy Kiplinger’s off the newstand, it’s $3.50 for each issue. On the other hand, if you subscribe by mail, you only pay $1.00 per issue………$12 for 12 issues. That’s HUGE savings!

On the other hand, will I get enough information and motivation from the magazine to make it worth $12? Would my $12 be better spent somewhere else? Would I buy it off the shelf more than 3 or 4 times a year?……and more importantly, does it provide me with information that actually helps me in my financial goals?

The fact is that there are tons of resources on line to provide motivation. Think of all the great blogs out there. I’m going to hold off on the magazine subscription, and continue to read online, as well as buy the occasional book.

Filed under: Motivation | 5 Comments »