financial reflections

I’ve had a bit of a revelation lately: I’m not as frugal as I imagined myself to be.  Keeping track of my finances has helped me learn that lesson.  Now I’m moving on to find better ways to control my spending, so I can grow financially.

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I’m in two carnivals this week, feel free to check them out!

Frugal for Life features my post Personal Finance Isn’t About Money.

Make Love Not Debt features Slow and Steady Wins The Race.

As some of you may know, I’m in the process of paying down my credit cards.  But lately I’ve gotten very frustrated with the lack of progress I’m making.  I’ve considered doing some rather drastic things, none of which are realistic right now.  Then I just get depressed.  What’s a blogger to do?

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I paid off my student loans a while back, so I don’t need to consolidate them.  But I just read ”Time Is Running Out for Student Borrowers” on Yahoo! News and it caught my attention anyway.  As you may know, I’m considering refinancing my mortgage due to rising interest rates.  Rising interest rates will also shortly affect student loan rates.  From the article:

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Personal Finance involves a lot of number crunching.  Not to mention that there are forms to be filled out, phone calls to be made and dates to remember.  We calculate, negotiate, and consolidate.  When you think about it, there’s a lot to do in the course of a year.  No wonder people get burned out on it and leave behind the perceived drudgery of the things that make us rich.

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Working as a “consultant” for over a decade has offered me a unique view into some of the world’s largest corporations.  I’ve been privileged to work a company that that can trace its roots back to the 1800’s, as well as at least one that has risen from nothing to the Fortune 500 within my lifetime.

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I entered no fewer than four Carnivals/Festivals this week and I’d like to point out the fine blogs who are hosting them:

• 2million is hosting the Carnival of Personal Finance where my post How to Own a Home is entered.
• Investor Geeks is hosting the Carnival of Investing where my post Dilbert’s Stock Picks is entered.
• Savvy Saver is hosting the Carnival of Debt Reduction where my post How to Stay in Debt Forever is entered.
• And I’ve put my post Why My Car is Going to Make Me Rich into the Festival of Frugality at Boston Gal’s Open Wallet.

While there’s very little doubt that Americans are sinking deeper in debt, I haven’t heard much controversy about why people are going backwards financially.  The Washington Post just ran a story on a study about the trend of high consumer debt, and I feel the need to comment.

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Americans have a continuing love affair with debt.  I’m not sure when all this stared, but it seems that the marriage between consumers and debt began with the arrival of the first “gold card” about 25 years (or so) ago, and has only strengthened.

But if you’re faltering in your indebtedness, I’ve come up with a sure-fire guide to keep you up to your eyeballs in debt:

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I’d like to thank Clutter2Cash for hosting the 22nd Festival of Frugality.  I was fortunate enough to have my post How Goodwill Saved My Computer selected for the festival.  The whole festival is worth a look, who knows, it could even save you some money!