I flipped through an Inc. Magazine from Feb, 2007 the other day and BOY were things different! The cover headline read “How Philip Rosedale Created Second Life. The Coolest New Marketplace in the World” Second what? Are they still around anymore?
Oh man, this thing was filled w/ memories of the past. There was even talk about how awesome it would be to grow as popular as MySpace ;) Hah! That was nice, but now we’ve got Facebook and Twitter ruling the social media landscape. And don’f forget about the iPhone – it hadn’t even hit stores yet (how did we ever manage?).
Then, of course, we’ve got the Economy. You don’t have to be reminded that the money was flowing all over the place and deals were happening left and right. In fact, I specifically recall thinking that I have to hurry up and buy a place so I can get in on it before it was too late! Well, I def. got that last part correct.
That brings us to our finances. 2 years ago I was bopping around in la-la land w/out a care in the world! Great for the mindset, but not so great for the wallet. I wasn’t getting into any debt or anything, but I surely wasn’t saving all that much either. Needless to say, I’m glad I’ve wised up and started tracking where it all goes now ;) This way, when we look back 2 years from now again, I’ll be bloogeeing* & skonjering** while my money is working FOR me instead of against me. Here’s to a happy 2011!
————
*Bloogeeing; verb: To blog via thinking. Brain waves alone activate keystrokes on the computer.
**Skonjering; verb: To Tweet/IM/Text/Blog and pen old school letters at the exact same time.
Get blog posts automatically emailed to you!
I come across these older posts and it’s like a time machine. It does, however, get me thinking…2 years ago I was starting the process of divorce, worked 2 jobs, owed $7500 in joint taxes, ended up losing $20K in the process of splitting up my 401K (I was working, he was not and it was marital assets per state law). I then added $11K debt for a car to get to work and back but it was in good shape (so I didn’t have to worry about major repairs right away), really low miles and the financing was something I could afford. I opened up a credit card to start my credit rehab (everything had been in his name through the marriage) and used it then paid if off immediately and was faithful to that. Fast forward 2 years…I paid off my car in just under 2 years, have 2 mos expenses saved, fully recouped my 401K and then some (upped the % to 6 with my last raise). I’ll be debt free by the end of the year and then I’m working on splitting the savings between investing and saving for a year of expenses. I added short- and long-term disability insurances through work in the last year and recently met with my financial advisor (he has a face now lol) where he encouraged me to keep going. A couple tweaks with the investments, nothing major. I’m still working the 2 jobs (consulting 10-15 hrs a week in addition to a normal 9-5 position) and trying to figure out if/when I’ll stop that one. So far, it’s working and getting me ahead so I’m not too worried about it. My massage therapist likes seeing me so often ;) Good for the bank account, killer on my body after a while. It’s good to look back and see where you’ve been occasionally and then refocus on where you’re headed.
Work it, girl! Always good to look back in our lives and see how far we’ve come :) Congrats on all your success so far! With much more to come, for sure… I think I’ll actually have to another “where were you 2 years ago” post as it’s since been FOUR years since posting this one – crazy how time flies…
Hope to see you in another two years :)