In the past 3-4 months I have done the following:
- Changed Auto Insurance
- Changed my work health insurance to an HSA plan
- Started using Netflix and Gamefly rather than the video store
- Put together our first family budget
- Started finance and money classes with the family
- Opened 2 new savings accounts
- Opened 2 new checking accounts
- Purchased a New Car
In addition, the following is also underway:
- Have application in process to refinance the mortgage
- Moving my prior employers 401(k) plan to a rollover IRA
The biggest frustration in all this is that almost none of this activity is directly related to paying down our debt. This was all things that needed to be done in order to organize us properly. I never realized how out of control we really were until I started to try and control things. When I took the time to actually analyze where our money was going it was eye opening.
I had always thought of myself as rather savvy financially (despite many setbacks, we've always manage to keep good credit and stay out of major trouble), but now I know better. We've always lived by the paycheck and making the move to my current job as a contractor (from being an actual employee) has forced me to plan further ahead and save more for contingencies.
As frustrating as this has been, it's also refreshing to know that everything should be done by the end of the year (or at least final decisions made). That means next year will be the real test of our fortitude to stick with our plan and make real progress. I look forward to next year, but the rest of this one still has some work to be done!
If you are ready to take control of your own finances, don't be discouraged, the upfront work like this takes some time, but (hopefully) once I get in the swing of things we'll hit our stride and start seeing some real progress.
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