Well, our debt re-payment took a serious hit last night… And I am not bummed a bit. Why? Because, we had to rush out little one to the hospital with an extremely high temperature, and we were so scared that something major was wrong with him. Come to find out, just a simple ear infection, with a strange “spike” in temp. He is going to be just find. Praise the Lord! So, while this was a set-back financially, it is a “set-back” that I will gladly deal with. So…Can we still be debt free? By 10-10-2005? Let’s hope! Am I going to be discouraged if this “set-back” causes me to be a month or so late. NO WAY! My little boy is going to be just fine, and that is something to rejoice over. Hope this post helped you (as much as it did me) to realize what (or rather who) is really, truly important.

END SAPPY POST…
HEHE…ncnblog

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Hey, I set up my Networth IQ profile. Pretty Cool Stuff. Check it out.

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Okay, I have my debt-freedom plan in place, and everything looks to be on schedule for being debt free by 10/10/05 (Will have a percentage paid update for you all on Monday). So, now I must prepare for what I will do with my money when I don’t have debt to worry about. My wife has a retirement plan with her job (teacher’s retirement) and I have a 403b with mine (current balance of about 14k). I will have to open ESA’s for my two children. I will also have to look into various stocks and funds to invest in. Any suggestions for simple to understand books on investing for the near and for the distant future? Here is a list of what I am going to be learning about in the next 3 months.

IRA’s, Roth’s, ESA’s, 529 Plans, Mutual Funds, Bond Funds, CD’s, Interest Rates, Taxes, Various Types of Insurance, Etc. Etc. Etc.

It will be fun to focus my energy on how to save my money, rather than on how to pay-off my debts. I can’t wait.

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Hey all, thanks for the great comments and visits. My blog had over 100 hits on Thursday. Yay. Anyhow, I wanted to make a quick statement about most of the financial blogs out there. I have noticed that many of the different “personal finance blogs” focus on the “mathematics” of finances. They update the latest interest rates, the latest credit card offers, the latest information about insurance costs, etc. I love checking out these sites…I list many of them in my links section. I read everyone of those sites (and others) every day. In fact, I am a bit obsessive. I know, I know, I am the only one who checks my favorites sites 4 or 5 times a day. None of you have that problem, right?
Now, back to my point. My blog is different. While I will talk about great deals, and maybe even mention a rate or two, my blog is not really a “numbers” based financial blog. For me, personal finances have far less to do with the “math” involved, and much, much more with the ability (or lack thereof) to control or change money habits. In fact, the number one thing that has helped me understand credit and its role in my life has not been chasing the best zero percent transfer or the best rewards system. What has helped me the most is realizing that I was using credit as a crutch. As long as I was free to use my charge card, I did not have to have a budget, I did not have to watch what I was spending. Credit cards create a “fantasy” world where we “have” more money than we really have. We can live a lifestyle that is above and beyond what we can truly afford.
So, for me, getting out of debt, and dealing with my finances is not so much about finding that perfect set of “numbers” to crunch in order to maximize my savings and minimize my finance charges. Getting out of debt is about realizing that I need to live in the NOW. I need to use the money I have NOW. I need to maximize my understanding about money, and plan for my present and my future. And, for me, this is has a lot less to do with ING’s current interest rate, and a lot more to do with whether I have planned my spending for this month and this year. Credit allows us to be sloppy. Unfortunately, many people end up paying exorbitant amounts, years down the line, to clean up their sloppiness.

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Okay, we have all heard about “free” annual credit reports, but this is for real. If you want free credit reports from all 3 of the major agencies (Equifax, Trans Union, and Experian), then you need to go here: www.annualcreditreport.com. This is a truly cool site. A short while ago, a law was passed entitling everyone to a free annual credit report. (Please note, when you use this site, you will be sent to each of the three credit agencies…they might try to sell you “advanced” services like credit scores and credit protection. If you do not want these things, simply check “no.”) Take your time at each site. Do not get fooled into something you do not want. I think that this is an awesome site, and I printed out a total of 6 credit reports, 1 from each agency for both myself and my wife. Took less than 1 hour.

Oh yeah, I DID NOT check my credit so that I could find out if I could borrow any money. I have been closing accounts as I pay them off, and I wanted to verify that my credit report was accurately reporting that I had closed my accounts.

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Why? Why is my philosophy: No Credit Needed. Well, I’ll tell ya!

1. I want to possess things, not be possessed by things.
2. I want to be free from the burden of owing money.
3. I want to pass “wealth” down to my children, not “debt”.
4. I want to be that one person in a thousand who pays for everything they have, up front, without the hassle, bother, and potential disaster of using credit.
5. I want to turn to my “relatives” and say…(better keep that to myself).
6. I want to go to bed every night, knowing that if I do not wake, my children and my wife are going to be just fine.
7. I want to be able to give money to others.
8. I want my children to grow up in a home where money IS NOT the primary topic of conversation.
9. I want to retire early, so that I can enjoy my family and my friends.
10. I believe that God intends for his people to be free, and debt creates a barrier to that freedom. The borrower is surely slave to the lender. I don’t want to be a slave anymore.

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