The Finishing Touches

I have been working on my plan to be debt free by the time I'm 40. It's taken some real patience that I simply don't have. Whle talking to a friend, it occurred to me that I could borrow money from my 401(K) and pay MYSELF back.

I looked into it and I think it will keep a lot of nonsense at bay. So, I'm in the process of borrowing about 30% of the current value of my portfolio, to be completely paid back by the time I'm 39. I'm not sure why I didn't think of it sooner. The payments are so much more doable and I'm paying MYSELF back with interest and really it makes no sense to have all that money sitting there making 2% in the current market when I'm now paying upwards of 15-20% to carry balances on credit cards.

Once this process is done (by July 1, for sure) my stress level will decline considerably.

It all came to a head when I freaked out at my monthly payments to credit cards and how much I owe and I immediately wanted a cigarette. I'm 20 weeks since my last cigarette, after being a fiend for a cigarette for 15 years, and this cannot be the catalyst that takes me backwards. Towards that end, folks, my borrowing from my 401(K) is a good idea. I can't, I can't, I CAN'T become a smoker again.

AND, it gets me all out of unsecured debt by age 40. Good. (And truth be told, I don't see a stark rise in the markets now that the Gulf of Mexico is actually a sludge of gunk)

Now, I've GOT to get my arms around my own budget and I've GOT to stick to it. I'm going to focus n that next and really budget my expenses, which quickly got out of hand the last 2 years as I tried to juggle living in two cities by spending on a whim and without thought.

If you've got any budgeting ideas, share them. But please keep in mind that I prefer to use spreadsheets because I'm good at them and if I add another thing to do (like learn a new software program) I might lose my mind ....