2005 Mid-Year Checkup (Part 1 - Debt Free)

Ok, so the halfway point was a few weeks ago ;)

Honestly folks...I am feeling a little lost out here. I know I've made some really useful accomplishments but mostly all I can focus on is how my original goal of a $10k emergency cushion by year end now seems unreachable. I know that the key to succeeding is a positive attitude and a willingness to face challenges so I am trying to get out of this rut and re-frame my goal because my current inner monologue is bringing me down.

I was inspired by Nicole's birthday-eve reflection and thought that if I concentrate on what I have done right, maybe I will be inspired to find a way to meet my goal...or at least give it my best shot.

JANUARY
My partner and I started 2005 with about $14,000 in credit card debt and no non-retirement savings to speak of. Holy crap. Watershed moment. (More on that another time)

FEBRUARY

• By the end of the month the entire $14k was paid off (thanks in part to my bonus and the IRS)
• I opened a savings account with ING and earned $25
• I gained control of an old 401(k) that I had been ignoring worth approx $16k (duh me)
• I started this blog to help keep me accountable and serve as a repository for useful info
  

MARCH

• I went back into debt for $3000 (at 1.9% promo rate) to purchase an asset ...a 2004 Roth IRA
• I started automatically deposting $100/mo into savings
• I entered as much historical data as I could that was missing from Quicken (three months of cash expenditures, a few retirement accounts)
• I created a budget and met it the first month (w00t!)

APRIL

• Opened a checking account with free online billpay and cancelled two other billpay services which were costing me a total of $15/mo (gah!)
  
• Enacted my new allocation scheme for my retirement accounts

MAY - nothing to see here, move along (yeah...what *happened*?)

JUNE

• Finished paying off Roth "debt" which cost me a total of $15 and change
• Came in nearly $400 under our vacation budget

JULY

• Set up monthly automatic Roth contribution

Well, paying off a total of $17,000 in credit card debt within 6 months makes me feel pretty good and now we are debt free except for our mortgage. Let me say it again because I still don't believe it...DEBT FREE. Whew.

The rest of the year presents other challenges...stay tuned for Part 2