TinyDancer

Sometimes, when I'm bored or need some extra motivation or simply need soothing, I like to log into my ING account and just look at the balance. It's not that I have a lot of money in there, I don't. But it does make me feel better to know that I have some money saved and that the balance is bigger than it was last paycheck. This is especially helpful when I start to worry about not having a job. Is this wierd? Does anyone else do this?

I have quite a bit of debt. Much more than I ever dreamed I would have. I owe this to lifestyle inflation. The more money I make, the more I spend beyond my means. I've really focused on living within my means the last year and a half and I really feel like I've built some good habits. I still screw up from time to time, but thankfully those times are becoming few and far between. I believe that this year, I'm in a position to actually pay off most of my debt.

I had an epiphany the other day when I was looking at my 401(k) and Roth IRA balances for extra motivation. I was BREIFLY considering using the money in my 401(k) to pay off my credit card balances. (I'm not going to do it, so please don't yell at me. ) If I can manage to work 15 hours of overtime each week, I would make an additional $24,000 (before tax) this year. That is more than enough money to pay off my debt and still build my savings.

Part of my problem with a lot of the debt reduction advice I read is that I'm supposed to sacrifice just about everything until the debt is gone. It makes financial sense, but life isn't just about finances. Life is short and I don't want to sit on the sidelines for the number of years it would take to pay off my debt. But sacrifice for one year? That I CAN do.

Now, I just need to get 15 hours a week of overtime in. I didn't make it this week. I only worked about 8.5 hours. But, that extra money will be going towards my cc's.