Two Year Anniversary

Wow! I just noticed that today is my two year anniversary for the first post on this blog! That's pretty exciting. That means that two years ago, today, I had the heavy debt of $24,187 and I was feeling pretty miserable about it all.

My life is better now, in the sense that I don't worry about who I'm going to pay, if I can make a payment on time, or the, "What if my car breaks down and I can't afford to get it fixed?" scenarios.

Being debt free has really made a difference in my happiness. Just recently I bought a plane ticket, concert ticket and hotel stay for NYC. This is going to be a pricey trip...it already is and I haven't even gone! NEVER would I have been able to do this if I was still in debt!

One friend who I am meeting in NYC asked another friend who is also going, "Is she (me) really going? I thought she couldn't afford these trips!?" Well the friend being asked was able to tell her that I paid off all my debts :) That felt good.

NOBODY I know, knows that I keep this blog. I guess it's a way of me talking to myself? Hmmm... I get to tell the screen everything that other people would just get sick of hearing. Well, I can be happy and tell myself, "Happy Anniversary." Cheers!

Late fee!

Argh...I forgot to ask my guy why Blockbuster charged me $19.xx. I think he returned a movie late which I used my credit card to rent. If it's not my account, can they charge my card?

Health insurance

I did it! I signed up for health insurance today! Well, I submitted my application so we'll see what happens next. The plan is an HSA with a $5k deductible (yikes!), but now I have the peace of mind that if I end up in the hospital with a $20k bill, I won't have to pay it all. Whew, it's about time!

Car upgrade?

I've sort of been thinking about my car situation. Either I keep the car I have, which is a 2001 Japanese made with 141,000 miles -OR- get a newer 2006-2007 Japanese made car with around 40k - 50k miles on it and pay the difference of about $5,000. My car is 10 years old this year, and I know I can drive it at least another 3-4 years with basic repairs. This car will keep going to at least 200k miles!

I've never loved the car I'm in, and would really LOVE to have heated leather seats because I get cold so easily, but should I? Never going in debt to buy another car would be key, and I have the money now, but do I want to do this?

It's something to think about.

Too Much Stuff!

Last year was a great one for me: I got out of debt, met a great guy, learned to fly fish and ski, went to Chicago and NYC, and that's only part of it all!

This year one of my goals is to get rid of lots of stuff that has been holding me back and weighing me down. I mean material stuff. Things I purchased over the years and some even contributed to the $24k that I paid off last year.

Honestly, I don't feel that it is going to take me a whole year to do this, but I am giving myself this long. Decluttering is something I need to do in order to keep my sanity. lol

We'll see how this journey pans out!