Waiting For Someday

May 29, 2010 Leave a comment

Around the time I began writing Hundred Goals, I wanted to change my life.  I was working at a job that I hated to pay for a car that took me to that very job.  All three of my credit cards were maxed out and over their limits.  I had been dragging along a personal loan for almost 6 years, the result of multiple failed attempts at debt consolidation.  This, on top of my Student Loan debt that continued to grow with each semester.

I wanted to change my life and the first step had to be getting my financial situation under control.  Without making money my priority, accomplishing anything else, any personal goal, would either be impossible or lead me further into debt.  My only option was to dig myself out of debt, dollar by dollar.   For the next year I spent every moment of my life working.  I went in early and stayed late.  If I was able to work on the weekends, I did.  I worked every single day of the week, Sunday to Saturday, at times working more than three weeks without a single day off.

I was earning a lot of money and using every penny to pay off my debt.  I watched my account balances disappear and I began the long climb out of debt.  My credit cards were the first to be paid off, then the personal loan.  While I was working to get out of debt, my life consisted of nothing more than work.  Keeping the money flowing in was my sole mission and purpose in life.  I knew that my hard work and determination would eventually pay off.

After paying off my credit cards and personal loan, I felt like my financial situation was almost under control and I began working less hours.  Now that some of my debts were paid, I was no longer struggling to make ends meet.  The money I earned working 40 hours a week was more than enough to continue paying off debt and to begin pursuing some of my other ambitions, so…

Erin and I booked a trip to Aruba.

Even though I still had debt, a balance between delaying gratification and living in the moment needed to be struck.  Instead of waiting for the ideal financial moment, a moment that would be years in the future, I seized the opportunity to pursue my dream of world travel rather than continuing to delay my life.

Fiscal responsibility doesn’t mean a life of suffering and slavery to your debts.  It means finding a balance, one where you meet or exceed your financial obligations while still leading a fulfilling and meaningful life.  When I was working seven days a week, my life wasn’t fulfilling or meaningful but it was what I needed to do at the time in order to put my life in a place where I was able to find meaning and fulfillment.

I wanted to change my life and I have.  I no longer need to rely on my credit cards and I do not carry a balance from one month to the next.  I don’t need to rely on payday lenders to make my rent payment at the beginning of the month.  I have paid off the remaining balance on my car loan and have begun repaying my Student Loans.

All the while, I am chasing after my goals.  Since traveling to Aruba, I have spent the majority of my free time visiting places around the world.  Belize, Germany, Iceland (Mexico, Honduras, Grand Cayman).  I spent a month visiting National Parks around the United States.  I have paid for all of these things with cash from my pocket as I continue paying down my debts.  I’m not waiting for someday.

It could be argued that I could pay off the last of my remaining debt much earlier if I were to sacrifice even some of the traveling that I do.  Absolutely!  It would be possible to get out of debt earlier, though I see no reason to sacrifice the precious moments I have now in order to become debt free a little sooner.

“Accomplish Your Goals While Managing Your Finances”

It is possible to do both and I encourage you to find the balance you need in order to turn your dreams into a reality while meeting your financial obligations, not only in debt reduction but also in savings and planning for the future.  Waiting for someday to live your life is a sure way to waste the life you have at this very moment. 

Find balance.

Filed under Debt, Prioritizing

My Wandering Mind: American Insecurity

May 23, 2010 2 Comments

The following is a journal entry written at some point during my travels.  I offer it to you in hopes of inspiring you to consider the world we live in during your own travels.  It is one thing to be a visitor in a foreign land and another to be mindful and conscious of the people and culture you find yourself a part of, even if only temporarily.

When I began traveling, I was worried about how I would be perceived by the world for being American.  Leaving the comfort of the United States brought with it an insecurity about my nationality.  I worried about how people might respond when they realized that I wasn’t one of them.  Would I find myself needing to defend myself for being American?  What if I encountered someone who hated me for American foreign policies that I didn’t even understand?

During my trip to Iceland, I overheard conversations of others who were facing the same questions, insecure about being an American in a foreign land.  The first of these was while I was waiting to board the plane in Minneapolis.  A young girl began chatting with an Icelander, excessively professing her desire to not be one of those Americans, that she represented a different type of American.  I wondered to myself if this declaration of superiority over the rest of America wasn’t anything more than a sub-conscience manifestation of her insecurity about not being any different than anyone else.

The next conversation I overheard was in our hostel, when a new guest asked the person working at the desk what he really thought about Americans, and “c’mon, be honest.”  I didn’t stick around to eavesdrop on the ensuing conversation, though I wish I would have, since I’ve never been able to be so forthcoming.

While traveling abroad, I have had occasion to discuss America and our politics.  In my experience, the world does not hate us as individuals for being American, nor do they hate the United States.  The politics and policies of our country may be called into question, though most people understand that not all citizens agree with or even realize the impact of our government around the globe.

Recently I have had people tell me how excited they are about Barack Obama being our President.  It isn’t only America that is filled with hope with the election of our President.  In Germany, when the owner of a candy store in Heidelberg found out that I was American, he pulled out a big poster of Obama  and gave me a big smile and a thumbs up.  In Iceland, when I told someone that I thought it was great that their country has more than two parties to choose from, they told me that they were excited about the future of America with the election of Obama.  Love him or hate him, Barack Obama is changing the worldview of America.

As you travel the world, be proud to be an American.  We live in a great and beautiful country, we should not be insecure.  We should be proud but respectful of cultures different from our own.  Even though we are searching for affirmation that people do not hate us, rather than proclaiming how different we are compared to other Americans or confronting people about their opinion of a complete stranger, represent yourself in a way that projects a positive image of what it means to be an American.  Your behavior and actions are more influential towards forming people’s opinion of Americans (and you) than anything else.

Safe travels!

Filed under My Wandering Mind, Travel

Ask the Readers: Savings or Debt?

May 23, 2010 13 Comments

I have been working towards building my Emergency Fund to my target of $5,000 while also trying to pay off my Student Loans.  This approach is restricting my ability to accomplish either very effectively since my money is being divided between both.

I have given this situation a lot of consideration over the past year or so and had settled on trying to pay down my debt while also building my Emergency Fund, though now I am beginning to think this may no longer be the best choice.

The high interest portion of my Student Loan balance (I have a total of $32,157.96) that I want to pay off within the next year lingers at $14,417.68 with a 6.8% interest rate, which translates into $980.40 a year ($81.70 a month) in interest charges.  I am paying $350 a month towards this debt.  I am eligible for grants and have earned a small scholarship which I hope to be able to use towards paying down some of my Student Loan debt.

My Emergency Fund balance is $1,907.03 and will cover 2.5 months of living expenses.  The interest rate on this account is 1.10% which, at the current balance, is $20.98 a year in earned interest.  I am contributing $100 a month into my Emergency Fund.

If I continue to save $100 a month, I will reach my goal of $5,000 in December 2012 and my Student Loan balance will reach zero by June 2014, a far cry from my ambitious goal of having it paid by May of next year.  On the other hand, if I apply the extra $100 a month that I am saving towards paying off my Student Loan, I will be able to reach my goal a year earlier.

There is another option.  I could throw all of my current savings at my Student Loan debt, which would lower this portion of my Student Loan balance to $8,789.68.  This would drain all of my savings and put me in a precarious financial situation and I am not honestly considering this as a viable option.

Clearly, the choice that makes the most sense mathematically is to focus all of my energy towards eliminating the Student Loan balance.  Mentally, having a cushion of money to fall back on is reassuring and allows flexibility in my lifestyle.

This money in savings (not my Emergency Fund) also allows me to pursue many of my ambitions such as travel.  It could easily be argued that until I have paid my debt that I should not be traveling.  Fair enough, though I believe that finding a balance in life is the key to happiness and I make sacrifices in other areas of my life in order to pursue my passion of travel.  I would not be happy without the freedom to move.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions about my situation.  I know what I want to do but I feel like I would be making a mistake by ignoring my savings goal.

Filed under Debt, Emergency Fund, Money, Prioritizing, Savings, Student Loans

Goal #83) Witness a Volcanic Eruption

May 23, 2010 6 Comments

My first glimpse of Eyjafjallajökull came just as my airplane began its descent into Keflavík airport in Iceland.  In the distance I could see the dark plume of ash rising into the blue sky.  Even from afar, it was an awesome spectacle to behold.  The hundred or so miles between us did little to diminish the majesty of witnessing a volcanic eruption for the very first time.

I decided that before anything else during our stay in Iceland, I would pay a visit to Eyjafjallajökull.

Our tour guide picked us up from our hostel at around 8:30 that night and we began our 2 hour drive from Reykjavík to the volcano.  Though I hadn’t slept in nearly 30 hours, the excitement of seeing the eruption up close kept me wide awake.

When we finally reached the foot of the volcano, we were unable to see much of anything because clouds had begun to form around the summit.  I was practically standing on the volcano and I couldn’t see anything.  I could hear some soft rumbling coming from the direction of Eyjafjallajökull but aside from that and the thick layer of fresh volcanic ash I was standing in, there were no signs that a volcano was erupting only a short distance away.

Our guide wanted to try another spot.

We drove along a bumpy dirt road around the other side of the mountain and as we approached, the sky began to change from white clouds to a thick, dark mass in the sky.  It was Eyjafjallajökull.  We parked the truck and began to hike to the summit of a nearby hill where we could watch the eruption.  When we reached the top, the ash plume had swallowed the valley below and swirls of light and dark mixed at the peak of the volcano.

It was nearly midnight and the sun had finally dipped below the horizon, only for a moment.  The slowly dimming sky was darkened even more by the eruption and as we watched the ash being pumped into the atmosphere, a streak of orange lightning flashed through the dark plume, then again.

Our guide had one more surprise for us, a trip directly into the cloud of ash that was choking the valley below.

The ash fell like rain from the sky and the deeper into the cloud we drove, the darker it became.  We reached a point where it was no longer possible to see the road in front of us and outside was pitch black.  We were in the middle of Eyjafjallajökull’s rage.  This was the same ash cloud that was driving local farmers from their land and the same ash that had stopped European air travel.

A destructive force of our planet yet, in this moment, strangely peaceful and quiet.

Click Here to see photos from my visit to Eyjafjallajökull.

Filed under Accomplishments, Iceland

Fire & Iceland

May 16, 2010 Leave a comment

The night before my departure from Germany, Iceland came to life with the eruption of Fimmvörðuháls.  The route of my flight brought me within miles of Iceland and as my plane approached, I pressed my face against the cold window, my eyes searching the horizon for any signs of land or volcanic activity.  I saw neither.

A month later the world was introduced to Iceland in a rather dramatic way when Eyjafjallajökul blew her top.  Flights across the globe were cancelled and the ash plume from the volcano seemed to threaten the very existence of modern society.  We were at the mercy of nature and humbled by its awesome power.

Today I arrive in Iceland, accomplishing Goal #8 on my list.  I will be spending a week exploring the island, though the mood of Eyjafjallajökul will determine the activities of that day.

As is typical for my travels, there is no itinerary.

I would like to take a swim in the waste water of the local geothermal power plant.  Sounds sexy, doesn’t it?  Maybe I’ll rent a car and take a drive on the Ring Road or go for a hike on a glacier.  Maybe I’ll watch the Puffins if they are around.  I guess we will see what is going on when we arrive!

Góða ferð!

Filed under Iceland, Travel

Hundred Goals’ Blog Carnival #2

May 13, 2010 9 Comments

I’m on vacation this week and I am going to open up the floor to you.  Share your stories, thoughts and ideas with hundreds of other readers.  Pour your heart out, share your vision!  You need not be a blogger to participate, you only need something to say.  I look forward to reading some great articles!

Here are the details about how you can participate in the Hundred Goals’ Blog Carnival:

1) Post your Story in the Comments Section above.  Include a short introduction about who you are and what you write about on your blog.

2) Post a link to your blog at the end of your comment.

3) Post a link to the Blog Carnival on your blog and promote the Carnival as much, or as little, as you like.  Have a Facebook account?  Share a link with your friends.

It is that simple and with everyone working together, this could be a great chance for you to spread your message and share your blog with the world.  I can’t do this on my own and from here, it is up to you!

Cheers!

Filed under Link Collection

The Importance of Role Models

May 6, 2010 1 Comment

Who do you look up to?

Maybe this isn’t something you have considered since becoming an adult.  You might think that role models are for children or that finding inspiration in someone else serves no real purpose in your own life.  The dreams of our childhood have long ago left our hearts and been replaced with a feeling of disappointment.  “Reality” killed our youthful ambitions years ago.  Role models…bleh!

Our lives, our reality, resemble nothing we could have imagined as a child.  We were dreaming of being astronauts and princesses, the President, a teacher, a doctor, a firefighter, a policeman, a famous musician, a Hollywood celebrity, a fashion model, an author or artist.  We found inspiration in people who were doing exactly what we wanted to do.  They became our heros, our role models.

Sometimes, things don’t work out like we had planned.  We never became an astronaut or Hollywood celebrity.  Practicality shaped our reality and instead of a princess we became accountants.  Instead of a famous musician, we are mechanics.  So much for being the next Jimi Hendrix or Jimmy Carter.

We need to return to our childish idealism and believe that our possibilities are limited only by our ambition.  Find people who inspire you.  In doing so, you will find the desire and motivation to chase your dreams and improve your life.  Role models can empower you to push beyond the ordinary to accomplish great and many things in life.

Who inspires me?

Frugality: Trent at The Simple Dollar

I’ll admit, I don’t always see eye to eye with some of the things Trent discusses over at TSD but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot that I can learn from him.  When I began my financial turnaround, The Simple Dollar was one of the early blogs I began reading.  I found it while searching for books about getting out of debt and read a review of The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.

Personal Finance: Dave Ramsey

Reading The Total Money Makeover literally changed my life.  Before reading the book, I was convinced that my financial struggle would never improve and that somehow I was doomed to live a life of constant struggle.  I felt hopeless to change my situation.  Reading The Total Money Makeover made me realize that I was in control of my financial future, good or bad, not the other way around.

Simplicity: Leo Babauta of Zen Habits

In the course of my financial turnaround, I began encountering words like “minimalism” and “simplicity”.  All of my life I had associated happiness and success with material possessions.  Leo changed my mind and I am no longer seeking external gratification through the acquisition of Stuff.

Fitness: Michele Levesque

It might seem strange that I find inspiration from a female fitness model.  Shouldn’t I be inspired by Arnold Schwarzenegger?  Either way, Michele is beautiful and seeing how physically fit and strong she is makes me want to get my butt in the gym and work out.

Diet: Tosca Reno

The book The Eat Clean Diet changed my thinking about food.  Before reading her book, I was convinced that diet wasn’t as important as physical activity in being healthy.  I was wrong.  Since beginning to Eat Clean, I have lost weight, have more energy, I feel better than before and I haven’t had heartburn since beginning the diet.  It has really opened my eyes to the importance of eating healthy, not only for weight loss but for health.

Creativity: Marilyn Manson

One of my biggest influences as a teenager was Marilyn Manson.  In a lot of ways, I am still influenced by the impact he had on me all those years ago.  He inspired me to pursue my creativity and individuality, even if it wasn’t socially acceptable.  I wore black nail polish, had fire engine red hair (and blue and green), wore spiked collars.  I was able to be exactly who I wanted to be and didn’t feel pressured to fit into the crowd.  Marilyn Manson gave me permission to be myself.

Travel: Chris Guillebeau at The Art of Non-Conformity

I began traveling a couple of years ago and at some point, I stumbled across a blog about a guy who is trying to visit every single country in the world by his 35th birthday.  His dialogue about creating the life you want was very inspiring to me.  If he could do it, I could too.  Maybe I wouldn’t visit every country by the time I turned 35 but I could travel the world like I had always dreamt of doing.

Who inspires you?

Filed under Inspiration

Plan to Succeed

May 2, 2010 6 Comments

Yesterday I wrote about our progress of reducing our restaurant spending.  At the end of March, our goal was to cut our spending by 50%, to $190 a month.  We didn’t reach our goal.  We were able to reduce our spending by $146.13, a victory to be sure but not quite what we were hoping for.  What went wrong?

Like so many people, we use our debit/credit cards for the majority of our transactions throughout the month.  I enjoy the convenience of electronic transactions, not to mention the automatic tracking of purchases through our online bank accounts.  There is never a question of where the money went, like with cash.  On the other hand, with cash, when the money is gone, it is gone.  It would be difficult to pay for lunch with dollar bills you don’t have.

Unlike cash, when using a debit or credit card, there is no physical indication of when you have stepped over your budget.  It is possible to track all of our expenses online or tally the receipts of our purchases each day but we don’t.  Some people enjoy tracking each penny that comes into or flows out of their fingers.  I am not one of those people.  I prefer finding simple, lasting solutions to complex problems.  The less time and effort to solve the problem, the better.

We have made progress on cutting our expenses without tracking them throughout the month, yet we have consistently failed to reach our target.  Even though we were able to identify the problem areas in our spending habits and made efforts to improve, our efforts weren’t enough.  Why?

We didn’t have a plan to succeed.

This month, our goal remains the same;  to cut our restaurant expenses to $190 a month.  In order to accomplish this goal, we are trying something different.  We are stepping back in time and returning to cash for our restaurant budget.  When the money is gone, its gone.

There is one small hiccup in the process this month; our trip to Iceland.  It is easy to blow a budget while traveling, especially when one of my favorite things to do while traveling is eating.  I expect our efforts to cut our spending to be thwarted by our trip, however, this isn’t a reason to ignore our goal.

Having a plan sets us up for success and without one, while we may be able to make progress, it is more difficult to measure that progress and reaching our goal is more challenging.  In one month, I will know whether or not this plan has been successful and if not, I will analyze what went wrong and refine my plan.

The secret to success is to learn from your mistakes and use them to improve your plan.  Failure is only possible if we quit. 

Filed under Success

April Wrap Up

May 1, 2010 3 Comments

Here we are, standing at the cusp of Summer.  The last of the snow disappeared a couple of weeks ago and now the sweet smell of blossoming crabapple trees floats on the crisp morning air.  Our vegetable seeds have sprouted and are almost ready for life outdoors.

The upcoming weeks promise many challenges and stress.  With only two more weeks left in the semester, finals are looming on the horizon.  Each class holds the possibility of earning an A for the semester but the margin of error is slim.  Chemistry, Statistics, Geography, Land Use Theory, Environmental Impact Assessment.  I’m ready to move forward.

We are 120 days into 2010 and I am still working on my New Year’s Resolutions.  Giving up is not an option!  What about you?  Have you stuck to your Resolutions?

Diet:  “I will no longer treat my mouth like a garbage can and junk food will find its way to the trash where it belongs.  I will learn about healthy eating, teach myself how to prepare healthy meals and reduce the number of times I visit restaurants significantly.”

Our goal for the month of April was to cut our restaurant spending by 50%, from $380 to $190.  Here are how the numbers shook out for the month:

Restaurants: $234.27 (-38.42%)

Groceries: $489.78 (+164.97%)

Each category is trending in the right directions, though I would like to see both lower than they are.  Even though we didn’t reach our goal of cutting our restaurant spending by 50%, we were able to save $146.13 and I consider that to be a step in the right direction.  I still hope to cut this even further, to approximately $100 a month.  Once school is over for the semester, our spending in this category will drop approximately $100 simply as a matter of course.

Our grocery expenses grew this month as a result of cooking at home more frequently and a change in our diet.  We began eating more fresh vegetables and meat.  We have also been buying different sorts of basic ingredients since we are trying to Eat Clean.  I expected this increase, and while the growth this month is significant, I expect this to moderate below this amount in the upcoming weeks.

Fitness: “In order to refocus my attention on physical fitness, I have purchased a gym membership and have been exercising on a daily basis for the past couple of weeks.”

We are wrapping up the second month of the Hundred Goals’ $100 Challenge and I have been happy with my progress.  Here is an updated photo of my progress.  Last week I attempted to accomplish Goal #90) Bench Press 300 Pounds and fell a little short at 270 pounds, 138% of my body weight.  I am happy with that but you can bet I will be pushing myself even harder to reach my goal.

Personal Resolutions

Travel: My goal is to travel 50,000 miles in 2010.  I stayed home during the month of April and my mileage for the year remains ~14,300 miles.  I will be leaving for Iceland in two weeks, adding ~6,000 miles roundtrip to my total mileage.

Education: I mentioned where I stood with my grades earlier and am hopeful that I will perform well on my final exams.  I will start Summer Session after returning from Iceland.  Ironically, I’m not sure what class I will be taking because the course I was enrolled in was cancelled due to low enrollment.  I signed up for Personal Finance to replace it but my advisor wants me to take another class.  We will see what happens with that soon.  I also received my scholarship this month; $550.  It is not as much as I was hoping to receive but any little bit helps. 

There you have it!  A lot of progress was made and a lot more still needs to be made.  I’m feeling good about the upcoming month, it is going to be exciting!

Filed under Updates

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