Money

First off, I've made what I hope is the last change to my username. I've evolved from "otrolado" to "freelancer" to "thinkrqp". The goal was to allow you to contact me by e-mail. While this blog is not really that anonymous, I'm not really comfortable giving out my primary e-mail address.

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Money. It's often said it's the root of all evil. This is an inaccurate quote from 1 Timothy (it's really the love of money), but we all get the gist.

There have been two primary "battles" in my life. The biggest (and the one with the greatest psychological impact) was related to my attraction to guys. That's been the primary theme of the blog and how most you of stumbled across it.

The theme for today is something almost equally taboo.

I have been very fortunate to have a mother (and father) who are very candid about money. For better or for worse, I know the complete financial situation of my parents. No subject is off limits, from what my parent's make, to their 401K balance, mortgage, medical bills, etc. Shockingly, a very large number of my friends (people in their 20's) don't even know what their parents make. For that matter, they are terribly uninformed when it comes to what they should do with money or how much it takes to survive.

Now, I will say that I have a vast understanding of what I should do when it comes to money. The problem is that until this summer I have not really been doing it. I've been a prodigal son.

I do balance my checkbook and contribute an adequate amount to my 401K, but that is the extent of my good behavior.

I like things. Shiny things. I like eating out. I really, really like to travel. I'm not satisfied with a trip to Branson. I want Budapest. It would be easy for me to take a cop out answer and say that my trips abroad were the cause of my over spending. But that's disingenuous. The truth of the matter is that I continuously buy things I don't need with money I don't have. My debt is a direct result of living beyond my means. I have consistently (on a nearly daily basis) made poor decisions about how to spend money. Buyer's remorse is nearly non-existent in my life (with the notable exception of a Rosetta Stone software package I bought at a mall in Seattle). Since getting my first credit card my freshman year of college, I have spent $28,000. I am quite certain I have spent equal that amount on my debit card.

For the past 6 years I've had serious cash flow issues. This leads me to use my cards more than I should. That has finally changed. I will have no more credit card debt in 4 more weeks (well, there might be $300 that lags behind) and will finally, FINALLY, get a paycheck and NOT have to transfer it to American Express or Visa.

My new financial goals include building an 8-month savings, knocking out the rest of my student loans and putting a couple hundred dollars into my stock account (that currently has a value of $250).

I told myself I would be debt free in last December, then March, then June, etc. Finally, I decided enough was enough. Slowly but surely I've come out from under this trap. It's not been easy. I've fought a lot of temptation when it comes to cute jackets from Banana Republic and new clothes for work. I've had to set limits and stick with them. If I can I change my behavior permanently I will be in great shape. I just have to take it a day at a time.