I haven't had a specific goal in a while. I just finished reading Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover and I am more convinced than ever that the car loan, HELOC and mortgage have to go. I have never been comfortable with the myth of "good debt". I have nightmares about being crushed by our mortgage, and it is less than 1/5 of our take home. I would love to see us completely debt free in 15 years. It sounds tough, but with some careful planning and a lot of budgeting, it can happen.
Total Money Makeover is a great book. Dave tells you upfront he will tell you nothing you don't already know. It's true - I knew everything in the book. He just gives you some great tools to make your financial goals a reality. I realized how much of a mistake the HELOC was 2 years into the loan. Although the car loan isn't big because we put around half down, we probably could have waited until we had a little more to put down to get rid of the debt sooner. And the mortgage? We definitely should have done a 15 year loan. The only thing I can do is a "debt snowball" to clear these things as soon as possible and never make these mistakes again.
So my 2009 financial goal is to make great strides paying down the car loan. Once I get rid of that, the extra cash will go to the HELOC. After that, everything extra will go to the mortgage. And then, I can rest peacefully.
Wanna hear God laugh?
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Tell him your plans.
Yeah, that plan I wrote about (at 5AM yesterday) is already out the window.
Yesterday, in addition to my planed cleaning of the kitche...
13 years ago
4 comments:
So, you have to read some hack (actually, I no nothing about this guy) with the personal latest money-management book to figure out something that Shakespeare figured out in 1603?
"Neither a Borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry." Polonius in Hamlet
Actually, screw Shakespeare. Wasn't it Aristotle who advised "moderation in all things"?
Fear not your mortgage or your car payments. Strive only to avoid excess and living outside your means. And next time you need a book to read, ask my wife for a better recommendation.
Also, ignore the editing errors in my last comment. It's so annoying to edit in these "Leave your comment" boxes.
As I mentioned, this guy has nothing new to say. I've been reading a lot of financial books lately because I have always been nervous about these "good debts". It drives me crazy to have 3 monthly payments, in addition to utilities and groceries, etc. We live below our means, and can certainly continue to cut back a bit. I think it would feel really great to be able to sock all this money away in investments instead of sending them to a bank. I plan to travel a lot when I retire.
Travel? I suggest having your children push you out on the proverbial ice-flow so you don't waste any of the village's resources.
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