Things have changed since 2005. I have changed since 2005 although I am still deciding if it is for the better or worse. :)
In any case, I decided to update the "About Me" section and thought I'd post the following updated information:
I am currently residing in Orange County and am not rich.
I started this blog purely as a way to encourage myself to start saving for a home downpayment in 2004-2005. Despite having a low income, I met my initial goal of budgeting enough to save for my own piece of real estate, and in March, 2006, became a homeowner. However, I bought at the height of the real estate bubble and my condominium has fallen drastically in value. I recently refinanced to a lower mortgage interest rate, which has helped slightly with the mortgage payment and associated costs.
Disheartened that my life savings went nowhere, I started doing things that I never did before while I was budgeting; using credit cards for unnecessary things, expensive outings, and vacations. I am also the main supporter of my partner until he is finished with school. I have accumulated debt and then, paid it off multiple times in the last few years. In 2012, a few more events transpired and I have once again accumulated $16,000 in debt.
Eventhough my salary has increased by approximately $30,000 since 2004, I had ill budgeted during the last few years and managed save less than when I was making a lot less money.It is time to stop this cycle.
I plan to start anew, saving as much as $50,000 in the next five years and paying down debt in the process. I am starting over again in December 2012 and hopefully, there are better savings days ahead and the cycle of building and breaking down debt ends.
Really like the new site design.. it is new right? And happy to see the new "about you." Looks like you're empowered and in a better place now to start back on the right track. Kudos!
ReplyDeleteThank you. I had to revert back to the simple template because the dynamic template on blogger kept having issues. The About You section, for example, would not even work with the dynamic view template. I can't wait until blogger/google fine tune the dynamic view templates more!
DeleteI am very interested about everything connected with money management and that’s why I am a regular reader of your blog. And I really like that you always use your own experience to show what is good and what is bad. Money is an important part of life and people should make such a long way to achieve financial prosperity. And we all make mistakes and learn from our own experience. Most of us don’t live within our means and use credit cards or online loans to buy what we need. I think that everything depends on a person’s spending habits. Nobody was born frugal or wasteful, it comes with experience only. And thank you that with your own experience you help people to motivate themselves for saving money, paying off debts and being financially healthy.
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