financial reflections

Yesterday, I posted about my money mistakes.  Well, I don’t want to be all negative, so here’s my list of financial hits…

• Starting a 401(k) - I did this on a job I had several years back.  After a job switch, I moved the money to a Rollover IRA.  I hung on through the post-9/11 stock market dip and now I’m seeing some real results.  It’s one of the few things I have that’s making me money, and will be there for me later.
• Buying a used car - I think I can count two cars in this category.  My first was my college “junker” car.  When I think of the milage I got out of that car for $500 (not to mention the fact that I traded it in for $800), I did exteremely well.  After that, I bought or leased new cars and paid the price for every mile I got out of them.  Then I happened on my latest purchase, a quality used car with low mileage.  It looks good and cost me $10,000 less than the same thing new.  The previous owner paid over $1 per mile to drive it!
• Keeping my paid-for car - Before the used car, I bought a new car.  The trick is that I’ve completed paying for it and kept driving it.  It’s a good brand, so I hope to have it for a few more years, or until my spouse forcibly removes it.
• Emergency Fund - I “accidentally” had an emergency fund when I lost a job after 9/11.  The money I had was due to a miscalculation in my checking account (yes, the record keeping on my end was that sloppy).  As I straightened my record keeping out, i realized what had happened.  I just kept the money in there.  Sure enough, It got me through the gap between jobs - which happened to be over Christmas.
• Financial Planning - Keeping track of my money.  It sounds so simple, but very few people seem to really know what their money is up to.  It’s helped me move forward in the past few months faster than I ever have.
• Buying a home - Both times.  I may have what I’ve heard called an “exotic loan product” right now, but that can be fixed.  My homes have made me money and provided me with a place to live.
• Eliminating debt - There was a point in the 1990’s when I had zero credit card debt, then I let it sneak back into my life.  No more.  My cash flow is getting killed by credit card debt.  I plan to dump the cards, and get to one fixed-rate mortgage.  I even plan on buying cars with cash in the future.  And there’s a sense of freedom and accomplishment in paying off debt.  I can’t tell you the joy I had when I opened up my last card bill and saw “No Payment Required.”

Hmm, that’s a longer list than I thought it would be.  That’s what’s worked for me so far.  Your results may vary, but I think most of that list is based on common sense or finacial advice that’s pretty well known, if hardly ever practiced.

So what’s your smart money moves?  Feel free to comment and help build the list.