“I don’t need more stuff, I need someone to spend time with me” Photo Credit – LightChaser: Luis Cruz
Read MoreJuly 2008
I have no clue to what the future holds, and it bugs the heck out of me. To catch you up in case you’re just joining us, earlier this month I started posting here on THE HAPPY ROCK detailing my journey to a debt free life. Everything was going along nicely. I was opening up about my personal finances, and you, the HAPPY ROCK community, were giving great comments/ideas to help me out. Then last week, just when I was putting the semblance of a plan together, I lost my job. It was a shock to say the least. I [...]
Read MoreI often talk about how destroying debt simplifies your life, but the word simplicity is vague and fluffy. It might not mean much to a lot of people. So let me take a shot at inspiring you with the current state of my financial simplicity journey. First, as I did my bills for the month, I could feel the simplicity. Simplicity is often more of a feeling than it is a system or goal. Sometimes it is the absence of feelings that mark simplicity. The absence of worry and stress being the most notable. As I sit down each month, [...]
Read MoreThis week’s stroll around the personal finance posts revealed a great list of articles. We start with two great articles that talk about on of my most important adjustment to many financial plans, figuring out why you are changing your financial habits and using that to create motivation to carry you through. Frugal Dad shares identifying the why and RC @ Think Your Way To Wealth talks about developing burning desire. A second Frugal Dad post explores his path to financial maturity by getting rid of his new truck. Especially relevant, because DD is considering selling his car to aid [...]
Read MoreI(DD) went to work yesterday morning and my boss met me as I walked in and suggested we have a brief meeting in the conference room. In my short time at this job I have learned one thing, meetings with the boss in the conference room are not good. This one sure wasn’t. I was being let go. They were expecting tough economic times in the near future and they weren’t sure if I was a good fit for their company. So they decided we should part ways now before things got too complicated. I was fairly blindsided so I [...]
Read MoreI have already shared my analysis of the best cash back credit card, and for those of us that have the financial discipline and habits to not overspend and pay off the bill each month, credit card rewards can be a nice bonus with relatively little effort. My question is whether or not the fiscally responsible are living off the debt and fees of the fiscally challenged. Before you dismiss me or get up in arms, let’s take a look at the math. Credit card companies card charge about 2% give or take for interchange fees on each transaction. By [...]
Read MoreI promise that eventually I’ll quit referring to the Nitty Gritty post. But a subject was brought up in the comments that I thought should be explored further. The idea of selling our vehicle for a cheaper one. I can’t say that the thought has never crossed my mind. In fact, a case of “Buyers Remorse” arrived almost immediately upon purchase, but it never fully set in, instead it comes and goes. On one hand our van (2004 Honda) is by far the nicest vehicle that either me or my wife have ever owned. The leather seats are easy to [...]
Read MoreThis is a guest post contributed by Heather Johnson, who writes on the subject of Discover rewards programs. She invites your feedback at heatherjohnson2323 at gmail dot com. Whether we can officially call the economic downturn we’re currently experiencing a recession, we can all agree that it’s harder and harder to keep your head above water these days. If you’re like me and in debt then you are feeling the pinch even more so. Being in debt is always a terrible feeling but it’s worse when your dollar just doesn’t go as far as it used to. The high gas [...]
Read MoreHere are the posts from around the personal finance community that struck a cord with me. First, celebrate with debtfretter as they destroyed $27,000 in just 370 days. JD @ GetRichSlowly shares about some of the patterns that kept him in debt. Tony @HelpMyCashGrow talks about how personal finance is all about attitude. I think it is mostly about behavior, but our attitude and passions do effect our behavior. DebtFreePlayBook reminds us that life goes much deeper than money. When you are eliminating debt, money usually becomes your sole focus, but the reason you are getting out of debt should [...]
Read MoreI will keep this one simple. Assuming that you just get end of the year raises that keep up with inflation(3-4%), you will be making the same amount in 20 years that you are making now relitave to the cost of goods. Obviously your actual salary will be higher in 20 years, but that salary will buy you the same amount of stuff. If you started your job at $35,000, in 20 years you will be making almost twice that much at $67,287, but that will be the same as having a $35,000 job 20 years prior. If this is [...]
Read More
