Feeling a Little Like John Kerry

June 10, 2010 2 Comments

I’m the type of person that when I make up my mind, I stick to the plan.  Lately, though, this hasn’t been the case.  I’ve struggled to stick to spending plans, failed to keep a balanced budget and have been indecisive about whether to save money or pay down debt.  Cue the Swift Boat Veterans!

Even more than you’re probably sick of hearing about my struggle with my spending and the battle to balance savings and debt repayment, I’m sick of struggling to reach a solution to the problems.  It is frustrating to continually fail at reaching my spending goals and even more troubling to realize that what had been a surplus at the beginning of the year has become a deficit.

Exposing these challenges fills me with fear and discomfort.  It is a lot more fun to share the accomplishments, the highlights of life and inspirational stories.  It isn’t as enjoyable to broadcast my weaknesses and uncertainties and I don’t like sharing my insecurities and self-doubt.  I don’t like it but I want you to know that I struggle with the same challenges as anyone and I want you to realize that doing the right thing isn’t always the easiest.

It is a battle always in perpetuity.

I will continue to struggle and fight these battles so that when I come out at the end of all of this, I will have the comfort of knowing that I have fought to do the right thing the entire time.  In the process surely I will make mistakes and maybe even fail.  I will be wrong and do stupid things at times.  I will satisfy my impulses one day and regret the decision the next.

Despite all of this, there is an end to the war and it isn’t over until I have won.  It isn’t over until I have defeated my enemy; debt.  It isn’t over until I am consistently reaching my savings and retirement goals.  This battle cannot be lost until I choose to give up and accept defeat and as much as I may vacillate from time to time, I will persist and I will win.

We must fight the battles in our lives that are worthy of fighting and realize that defeat only happens if we make that choice.

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Check out Pop Economics’ Carnival of Personal Finance #261 which featured this Hundred Goals’ article!!!

Filed under Budgeting, Debt, Goals, Life, Money, Preparation, Prioritizing, Random Thoughts, Savings, Spending, Success

Eating Ourselves into Debt

June 6, 2010 1 Comment

With all the ventures we have been pursuing in our lives, no doubt a lot has changed in the past few months.  Some of us have had children, moved into a new home, started a new job or lost an old one.  Maybe we are on the cusp of a new beginning, starting our own company or thinking of marriage.  No matter where we are in our lives, even if it seems as though life has been pretty dull lately, now is a great time to take another look at our budget.

“I don’t have a budget.”  Then today is your lucky day!  It is time to take control of your finances and create one.  You get to tell your money where it will be spent.  There will be no more uncertainty of where your money is going.  It is the dawn of a new era in your finances!

I created a budget at the beginning of the year based on actual and expected expenses.  When I made my budget I was running a surplus.  I budgeted for debt repayment and savings and still had money left over to use for pocket cash.  I used the extra money to help pay for some of the expenses of my travels around the world and a candy bar here or there when I wanted one.

Since setting up my budget, my life has remained relatively unchanged.  I didn’t move, no babies were born, marriage is still somewhere beyond the horizon.  Everything seemed to be headed in the right direction, yet, despite the appearance of a stable financial situation, when I re-evaluated my budget recently, something was amiss.  I found myself with a monthly deficit.  In a year’s time, the balance in my bank account would drop hundreds of dollars even though I was doing everything I should have been doing according to my budget.

What had changed?

When I revised my budget, I replaced the expected expenses of the original budget with actual expenditures over the last few months.  In addition to some recently added expenses, our actual grocery expenses were much higher than I had budgeted for at the beginning of the year.  This comes as no surprise considering how challenging it has been to bring this expense down in recent months.

Earlier this year we were eating meals that were cheap and unhealthy.  Processed food was all too common and fresh vegetables were pretty much absent from our diet.  When we prepared meals at home most of the ingredients came from a box, can, carton or bag.  Cheaper?  Yes.  Healthy?  Not at all.

We wanted to dramatically change our diet so we donated all of our processed food from our cupboards to the local church and restocked our shelves with foods that were healthy.  Fresh fruits, vegetables, fresh meat.  The recipes we used called for ingredients we had never heard of.  Strange and exotic spices began filling our cupboards and our grocery bill climbed.

Even as our spending grew, our budget didn’t change to reflect the increased costs.  We were making smarter decisions about what we ate but ignored the cost.  The money we were spending in restaurants was declining now that we were cooking meals at home and we weren’t eating out as often, however, the drop in restaurant spending didn’t make up for the inflated expense of the groceries.

How do I plan to turn the deficit back into a surplus?

Grocery spending (and restaurant spending) is what got me into this mess in the first place and will be the first category that will be cut.  I will not be buying macaroni and cheese to make these cuts.  The reduction in spending will boil down to meal planning.  Now that we have many of the basic ingredients for our new diet, I expect the costs associated with our diet to begin to decline.

I will create a zero-based budget, which means every penny will be accounted for somewhere on my budget.  No more surplus money floating around.  I will create individual accounts for specific goals such as my Emergency Fund and  Travel expenses.  My debt repayment goal will remain unchanged for the time being, though once my budget is balanced and flowing correctly, I hope to increase the monthly payment by an additional $100.  Each month I will transfer the budgeted amount into those accounts.

I have also added another category to my budget; Entertainment.  When there was extra money every month, it was easy to spend $30 to $40 on a date with Erin.  Now that I am spending more money than I bring in, it is time to tighten the belt and adjust accordingly.

That’s the plan!  Cut spending, begin a zero-based budget, no more slush fund and new budget categories for Travel and Entertainment expenses.

How often do you check your budget?  Once a month is probably better than twice a year!

Filed under Balanced Diet, Budgeting, Food, Money, Spending

The Borrower is Servant to the Lender…Maybe Not?

June 3, 2010 3 Comments

I have $31,829.47 in Student Loans.

Even though my loans are in deferment, I am paying these loans back while still in school.  As I mentioned last week, I am paying $350 each month towards this debt.  I’ve been crunching the numbers and came up with some scenarios.  At the current rate of repayment, it will take 9.3 years to repay the loan in its entirety.  By increasing the monthly payment to $450, I can have the entire balance of the loan paid off in 6.8 years, a full two and a half years earlier.

In order to reach my original goal of paying off $14,417.68 by next year I would have to pay $1,246.19 each month.  In as few words as possible, “It ain’t happenin’.”  If I were to eliminate all travel expenses (estimated at $3,000 to $5,000 a year), as some readers have suggested, it would take 4.8 to 3.6 years to pay the loan off in full.  By giving up travel, I could cut the loan time practically in half.

Maybe of more concern than the length of the loan is how much money can be saved.  The interest accrued on the loan when payments are $350 a month comes to $9,363.24.  Adding $100 a month would reduce the interest charges to $6,634.26, a difference of $2,728.98.  The accrued interests at $600 and $775 are $4,637.04 and $3,444.60, respectively.  The savings on interest charges could be as much as $5,918.64.

I could be out of debt in 3.6 years and save myself $5,918.64 if I eliminated all travel and applied the money towards debt repayment.  That really sounds great but the question becomes, “At what cost?”

Should money be the only consideration when getting out of debt?

The benefits of paying down the debt as quickly as possible are obvious and living with debt limits our potential.  Debt forces us to make decisions based on servicing our financial obligations rather than making choices that will bring happiness and satisfaction to our lives.  We are slaves to our lenders.

Or so we’ve been told.

The phrase “the borrower is servant to the lender” has been around since Proverbs 22:7 and in so many ways, this idea has weathered the test of time.  As I mentioned above, debt limits our potential and becomes the driving force behind so many of our decisions.  If we are in debt, taking the risk of quitting a job to pursue a dream becomes almost impossible.  Our ambitions are stifled by our obligations to our lenders.

Still, I wonder…is it possible to live a rewarding life while in debt?  Can a balance be found?  If we are methodically paying down our debts and meeting our financial obligations by building our savings and preparing for retirement, are we slaves to our lenders?  If we are able to balance these financial responsibilities while enjoying the moment we are occupying, does that make us slaves to our lenders?  There must be something more to this idea of being a slave to our lenders.

We become slaves to our lenders when all of our life energy is focused on servicing our debts.  We become slaves to our lenders when each penny we earn is not able to be enjoyed because it must be used to pay off debt.  We becomes slaves when we go to work for the sole reason of paying the bills when they come due.  Slavery to our lenders means the money we earn doesn’t belong to us anymore.  We become the middle man, working for one to give to another.  That is slavery.

Can we escape the financial slavery while still having debt?

I believe we can.  Being a slave to debt is a very real situation for many people but for a lot of us, it is a self-imposed sentence.  It was an imbalance in our finances that got us into trouble in the first place and it is an imbalance that is forcing us into a feeling of slavery.  If all of our energy is being spent to earn money to pay down our debts, of course we will feel like slaves.  If we work to create a balance between paying down our debt, building our savings and pursuing our passions and hobbies, the feeling of slavery disappears.  Paying our debts no longer feels like drudgery.

It will take longer and cost more money to reach an endpoint but the end will come.  Does it make sense to put yourself through 3 years of pure Hell to get out of debt faster and save some money or does it make more sense to create a plan that falls somewhere in the middle while you are still able to enjoy the precious few moments we are given on this earth?

That is a decision each of us must make on our own.  As for me, I am going to try to fall somewhere in the middle to get out of debt a little sooner while still chasing after my dreams and ambitions.  I am going to review my budget, find areas that can be cut and use that money to pay off my debt.

And as for cutting travel?

…

Filed under Attitude, Behavior, Debt, Freedom, Money, Passion, Preparation, Prioritizing, Spending, Student Loans

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

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

Livin’ Like a Drug Dealer

March 22, 2010 10 Comments

“They must be drug dealers. How else could they possibly afford to live the way they do?”

On the outside, my life might seem glamorous, the life of a drug dealer, full of money and expensive trips around the world. In the last year I spent a week in the Las Vegas area, went on a month-long road trip on the west coast and returned to California a month later to camp in Yosemite, went cruising around the Caribbean and last week was spent visiting a friend in Germany. In two months I’ll be visiting Iceland and a month later I’ll spend two weeks in Kauai, Hawaii.

Most people only ever dream of traveling to the extent that I’m able and some speculate that such a lifestyle can only be attained through illegal means, such as dealing drugs. What many people ignore are the sacrifices I make in my daily life in order to afford to live the way I do. If you want to live like a drug dealer, I can show you exactly how I am able to do it, no drugs necessary.

Rule 1) You Can Have Anything but You Can’t Have Everything. When we are kids our parents tell us that we can grow up to be anything we want to be. It’s true. With enough hard work, we can become anything we want to be but we can’t become everything we want to be. You can have anything you want in life, for me this is travel, but you can’t have everything. You have to make a choice. Do you want to travel or do you want to drive a sexy sports car?

Rule 2) Stop Paying Attention to Others. We only see what other people want us to see. People do not want us to know that they can’t really afford exotic vacations, expensive designer clothes, luxury automobiles, dinner at exclusive restaurants and drinks after work. Our society believes that being rich means looking rich. We spend our money trying to keep up appearances, all the while completely undermining our financial stability. Being rich and having money has nothing to do with what you drive or the clothes you wear. Ignore other people and focus on your own financial situation and on your own dreams.

Rule 3) Stay Out of Debt. If you’re in debt, get out. When you’re always paying for the past, you’re unable to focus on today or the future. Since beginning this website I’ve eliminated my credit card debt and paid off my car loan.  Now I’m able to apply that money towards doing other things in my life, such as travel. Debt holds you hostage. You become a slave to your lenders and you spend your days working for the banks and credit card companies. The money you earn doesn’t belong to you and until you eliminate your debt, you’re not in control of your life.

Rule 4) Stop Buying Shit You Don’t Need. Really. If you want to live like a drug dealer, you can’t spend all of your money on stupid shit that brings no value to your life. My money is spent on plane tickets and hotel rooms, the things that I value and that bring enjoyment to my life. I don’t spend money on media, cigarettes, alcohol, clothing, etc. I live minimally and only try to spend my money on the things that I need. Stop buying shit you don’t need and you’ll have money to spend on the things that you want to do in your life.

Rule 5) Make Life a Priority. Stop thinking about all of the things you want to do in life and make them happen. It took me a long time to stop making excuses. There is always a reason not to do something and so long as you continue to use these excuses as justification for not pursuing your desires, your life will never change or improve. If you want something in life, you can’t expect for it to happen to you, you must make it happen. You have to be aggressive and punch life in the face!

The rules of living like a drug dealer are simple, totally legal and can work for anyone. You don’t need to earn a lot of money to live a great life. You just need to be smart with the money you earn and prioritize the things that are important to you. Once you begin to follow these simple rules and apply them to your life, you can be certain that your life will begin to take shape in exactly the way you have envisioned in your mind.

Filed under Attitude, Debt, Freedom, Lifestyle Engineering, Money, Potential, Prioritizing, Spending

Tax Time: Gucci Shoes or Your Life?

March 6, 2010 5 Comments

It is that time of year again;  tax season!

For many people, a tax return is more exciting than any holiday.  Tax returns mean shopping sprees and vacations.  We dream of Gucci shoes, Prada sunglasses and Coach purses with more anticipation than we do of sugar plums on Christmas morning.

A large return also means a chance to catch up on old bills, bulk up our savings account or pay down debts.  Instead of using your tax return to buy more Stuff, take an honest look at your financial situation and use this as an opportunity to begin your journey toward financial freedom.

A refund can buy an expensive pair of shoes or it can be a chance for you to set the stage for a new phase of your life.  Living with debt limits your potential.  Living without savings restricts your ability to capture opportunity.  Now is your chance to eliminate the limitations and prepare for opportunity.

Nothing you can buy at a store will change your life.  An expensive purchase may bring a rush of endorphins that make you feel on top of the world, but at the end of the day, you are no better off than you were before and another opportunity has slipped through your fingertips.

A tax refund is only the beginning.   A refund means little without a desire for real change.  Your good intentions of paying down debt or building savings can be undone in a moment of indiscretion.  Real change requires discipline and determination on a daily basis, the days when you make small financial decisions.

Tax time comes around but once a year and we are faced with the difficult choice of fiscal responsibility or personal indulgence, yet each day we are faced with countless financial choices that can accumulate and far exceed the value of any tax return, however, we don’t give them the same amount of consideration.  For real change to occur, we need to question the day to day expenses as well.

Financial stability does not occur as a result of once a year decisions.  Financial stability results from a daily diligence to save, to live frugally and spend wisely.  Financial stability is a result of living within our means and staying out of debt.  It isn’t an annual tax return that creates change.  This is only the first step in the journey towards a life of financial stability.

Will you use this year’s tax return to buy Gucci shoes or will you use it as a stepping stone towards improving your financial situation and changing your life?

Filed under Consumerism, Life, Money, Opportunity, Preparation, Prioritizing, Taxes

Personal Finance Update

February 14, 2010 3 Comments

At the beginning of the year I wrote an article titled Attention to Detail: Finances where I discussed my financial situation as being weak.  Having focused almost entirely on debt elimination, I have left myself in a position where my goal of becoming debt free is able to be undermined in an instant.

While I was paying off debt, my savings account was ignored and I emptied my Emergency Fund in order to pay off the last of my Auto Loan.  While all of my effort has been for the greater good, I have been living from week to week as a result.  To find balance in my finances, I made the following declaration:

“I will establish a savings plan to compliment my debt repayment plan.  In doing so, I will create a balance in my finances which will help accomplish both goals simultaneously.”

By the time February arrived I still hadn’t been proactive in finding a balanced approach to my finances.  Instead, I was focusing exclusively on rebuilding my savings account.  I managed to put away $650 in that time, however, my debt repayment plan was pushed aside and largely ignored.  I even procrastinated on personal financial obligations in order to boost my Emergency Fund.

While I succeeded in creating a small financial cushion, my other goals slipped through the cracks and I lost an entire month of repayment.  Instead of further perpetuating this imbalance in my finances, I made a promise to create a budget that would balance my savings goals with my debt repayment goals.  I am happy to say that today, that goal is accomplished.

I have a budget that allows both savings and debt repayment.  The only disappointment in this budget is that working at both goals simultaneously slows down progress on each.  I had hopes of being able to pay off about $15,000 of Student Loan debt in the next year and a half.  This was highly ambitious to begin with and now seems even more unrealistic.  Regardless, I will do all that I can to pay down my debt as quickly as my financial situation allows.

In addition to creating a budget, I have created accounts specifically for the expenses outlined in my budget including Household Expenses (Rent, Utilities), Variable Expenses (Cable, Internet, Cell Phone and Food), Auto Insurance and Emergency Fund.

It is a start, and while there are flaws, it is a beginning towards a more stable and balanced approach to my finances.

Filed under Budgeting, Debt, Savings

Removing Temptation, Eliminating Dependency

February 6, 2010 Leave a comment

Eliminating my credit card debt has always been my top priority.  When I created my list of 100 goals, it was my number one goal.  After years of struggling to get out of debt, I managed to pay off the last of my credit cards.  It was the first time in my adult life that I didn’t owe money to a credit card company.

I decided to keep one credit card account open while I began working towards funding an Emergency Fund.  Doing this allowed access to a line of credit while my savings began to grow.  In addition to the line of credit, keeping the account open provided the benefit of 1% cash back on purchases.  I could use the card to pay for Stuff I would buy anyways and earn a little bit of money in the process.

For a while, things were working out fine.  I was able to pay off the balance when the statement arrived at the end of the month.  Over time I began to let the balance slide and I didn’t pay off the entire balance.  This pattern began to compound and before long I was carrying a balance of a few hundred dollars.  I was headed back towards the same life of credit card debt that I had just worked so hard to get out of.

In my mind, I had thought that I could be able to control my spending and use a credit card responsibly.  I thought I could use the card to earn cash back and play the game to my advantage.  I was wrong.  Dollar by dollar I was digging myself deeper and deeper.  The only positive aspect of the entire situation is that I was able to recognize my predicament before it reached a point where it was out of control.  My balance was small enough that with a little discipline, I could be out of debt in a couple weeks.

So that is what I am doing.  I am once again working to get myself out of credit card debt.

This time, instead of thinking I can use a credit card responsibly, I have removed it from my wallet and will not use it on a daily basis any longer.  The only time I plan on using it is to purchase plane tickets, book hotel reservations and when I travel for the security and fraud benefits it provides.  Outside of these specific uses, the card will stay locked away in my closet.  By doing this I am removing temptation and eliminating dependency.

Instead of focusing on paying for my past, I can use that money to save for the future.  I like that idea much better.

Filed under Credit Cards, Debt

Attention to Detail: Finances

January 19, 2010 1 Comment

In an effort to refocus my attention on areas of my personal life which have been neglected during the past year, my theme for 2010 is A Year of Attention to Detail.

I haven’t spent much time discussing personal finance recently as I have come to the conclusion that I am not the best outlet for complex financial matters.  That doesn’t mean that personal finance has no relevance in accomplishing our goals.  As a matter of fact, having a strong handle on your finances is one of the single most important things a person can do in order to turn their dreams into reality.

Having a healthy relationship with money is an area of my life that I have been working to perfect for the past couple of years.  I still have a long way to go.  The past year I have focused mainly on digging myself out of debt and have left myself in a volatile situation where I find myself relying on my credit card by the end of the week to make it through.  That is exactly the reason I found myself in the mess I was in before.  I was spending my money as soon as I had it in my hand and oftentimes, before it was in my hand.

The difference between now and then is that I am applying my money directly towards debt each week instead of spending it on toys and other Stuff.  It sounds great that I am paying down my debt as fast as I possibly can but in doing so I have been totally ignoring my savings goals.

Having no cushion of money to rely on leaves me feeling vulnerable.  I could request more Student Loans if I needed but that is not a solution.  Doing that would only delay and compound the problem.  Instead, I will establish a savings plan to compliment my debt repayment plan.  In doing so, I will create a balance in my finances which will help accomplish both goals simultaneously.

Debt repayment is crucial in creating a healthy financial relationship but doing so at the expense of your future security is poor strategy.

Filed under Debt, Savings

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