<< Back to all Blogs

About Me:

terri77

I am 47, single, no kids. I am a health care professional. I feel that I'm generally a very good saver and a not so good budgeter - hence the credit card debt payoff I worked through in 2020.

My personal finance goals for 2024:

1. Contribute maximum to Thrift Savings Plan. This is a recurring goal that I’ve accomplished every year since 2008.

2. Contribute maximum to Roth IRA. This is a recurring goal that I’ve accomplished every year since 2001.

3. Pay off credit cards. Completed January 2021. Now the strategy is to pay off my credit cards monthly with no balance carryover.

4. Build up emergency & long-term savings. I completed my initial goal in April 2021. I have 3-6 months of expenses saved at this time & I continue to save for my next car purchase, which is hopefully many years away. I use high yield savings and CDs.

5. Invest in brokerage account. I started with the proceeds from selling my condo & have added monthly. This account is for a future down payment when I purchase a home again.

6. Give to church monthly. I attend two churches right now so I alternate my monthly offerings.

7. Give to charity monthly. Food banks are my preferred charity to give to. I have automated my charitable donations at work to give with my biweekly paychecks.

8. Apply for promotions as they become available. Right now I’m very happy in my current position, so this isn’t much of a goal currently. I have received several raises, I enjoy the work I do, & the people I work with…I’m very happy to stay where I am.

9. New goal for 2024! Build new home with $100k down. This will be funded from my brokerage account & cash savings. 🏡

Where I’m At Now

July 18th, 2020 at 02:58 pm

From a high of $22k in credit card debt earlier this year I’m now down to...[drumroll]...$12k! And I now have a $5k buffer in my checking account that I haven’t had in years, plus I have $2300 in savings that I haven’t had in years. All of this has happened in less than 6 months, y’all! 🤯

Amazing how quickly you can see changes when you buckle down & make the changes. Also, I would never wish the devastation of this pandemic on anyone, but it honestly had a role in changing my behavior & contributing to my success. With nowhere to go, canceled trips, and all the available hours to work it made a big difference. Also, the $5k gift from my mom that she will match at the end of the year. I’m so blessed!

And my investments are up to $840k this morning. Who knows how long they will stay there, but they’re chugging right along for now.

And in other good news, my latest credit score updates was 836. If I pay off all my debt maybe I’ll see a perfect score of 850?

Posted in Investing ideas, Savings stories, Debt diet, Net Worth, Credit Cards, Debt, Investing, Personal Finance, Saving Money | 5 Comments »

5 Responses to “Where I’m At Now”

Wink Says:
July 18th, 2020 at 03:03 pm 1595080980
1595080980

This is fantastic! All of your hard work is really paying off. Great job!
Dido Says:
July 18th, 2020 at 06:07 pm 1595092050
1595092050

Congrats--successes all around!
Lucky Robin Says:
July 19th, 2020 at 09:26 am 1595147211
1595147211

Good for you.
CB in the City Says:
July 19th, 2020 at 01:17 pm 1595161027
1595161027

I do think the pandemic has urged more people into a simpler life with less spending, less indulgence, etc. Glad you have made it pay off!
rob62521 Says:
July 19th, 2020 at 10:01 pm 1595192496
1595192496

You are on top of the world! Good for you! You've worked hard!

(Note: If you were logged in, we could automatically fill in these fields for you.)

Name:	*
Email:	Will not be published.
	Subscribe: Notify me of additional comments to this entry.
URL:
Verification:	* Please spell out the number 4. [ Why? ]

vB Code: You can use these tags: [b] [i] [u] [url] [email]

Firefly's Personal Finance Blog

Working out my spending impulses.

Where I’m At Now

5 Responses to “Where I’m At Now”

Leave a Reply