I allowed myself to be too busy today and didn't get my planned piece written. So, here's a short mashup of my mind.

Garage sales are amazing things when done well.  My wife and a friend in the neighborhood held a garage sale on Friday and Saturday.  We walked away with $184 in cash to put back into the budget.  Speaking of budget, we sat down and reviewed the budget for the month… turns out we made a clerical error in the rough draft which was in our favor… yay!  We're on target to pay off the last of our consumer debt within the next 15 days or so.  Give or take a couple of days.

I hate driving our beater… It's paid for, it runs but it's butt ugly and I almost despise it.  In order to improve my attitude I've come up with the following list of things that I like about it.

1) I don't have to worry about anyone stealing it.

2) I don't have to worry about anyone wanting to steal anything in it.

3) I don't have to worry about anyone wanting to steal from me because they won't think I'm wealthy enough to mess with.

Okay, so even I admit it's difficult to come up with things to like…. Here's the deal.  If I keep the car for 6 months and sell it for what I paid or slightly less then I haven't left much money on the table.  And I will have spent much less than any of you with a car payment… something to think about!

Did I mention that we're almost debt free except our home… I'm really really impatient for this to happen.  We've been working toward this goal for a long time.  I think we're going to splurge on a nice restaurant and buy an accessory for our computer.   Of course, I have a tough time convincing my wife that all of the hard work deserves a fancy restaurant where we drop $100 plus on one meal. In fact, that may seem lavish to you… Here's the deal… We've worked really hard to get to this goal and I'm going to celebrate. We don't do go to nice restaurants very often but this occasion would be worth the money as we celebrate paying off the last bit of consumer debt.  Man, I'm fired up about this!!!

I have an opportunity to put together a financial seminar for an organization… That's exciting and scary all at the same time.

Do you work because you have to or because you love your work?  Somedays I'm not sure.  There are certain elements about what I do that I really enjoy… Then there are other elements… Hmmm.  Expect to see more about this in the future.  Let me summarize by stating that getting your money under control is the first step in being able to fire your boss.  When you have a large emergency fund you can afford to try new things without having fear over the ability to pay bills intruding in your mind.

That's all I have for tonight.  I'm planning to wrap up my financial plan this week.  For those of you who wonder, for the most part it's nothing new.  Many other financial experts have similar plans.  I hope that you find this information understandable.  If not please let me know so that I can correct it.

Thanks!