Looking at the Future and Possible FInancial Goals for 2010

I love reading personal finance blogs. Once and awhile I read an article that really catches my attention and when I do, I like to throw them in a bookmark folder to go back and read again later. Here's one from back in October I really liked: 10 Things That Will Happen On the Road Between Being in Debt and Being Debt Free by No Credit Needed. I think the author lays things out pretty well!

I have such a weird situation, I mean, in many ways I'm not really "in debt" as it is usually defined. Oh, I have a touch of consumer debt, but it will all be paid off in just a couple of months. Besides, it wasn't like I was out buying crazy things - my credit card debt was accumulated through my divorce. Let me tell you, divorces are expensive. Even if your divorce is fairly amicable, as mine was, there are still a fair number of unexpected expenses that can crop up. For me, a lot of that went on the old credit card. The good news is that it is almost a year later and that will all be paid off. However, while my consumer debt is almost gone, my mortgage debt is through the roof...

Remember when real estate was considered one of the few true solid investments? No matter what happened, "real estate would always increase in value." Ha! Still, no use crying over spilled milk or underwater houses. Instead I've been thinking a bit on my financial goals for the future. For right now I have a couple of months to get the consumer debt paid off, plus I am working on paying for getting the house painted. That will keep me working on that $900 monthly goal through the summer. ...but then what? I have a few more home improvement projects, both at home and at the cabin, and I would like to go back to school, but I am also starting to think about that mortgage debt.

There are a number or arguments on why (or why not) to pay off your mortgage and I've read the pros and cons on each. What I am thinking about though, is tackling just one loan. See, each property was financed with two loans in an 80/20 split. That means I have 4 loans total. One of those has a slightly higher interest rate than the others and not as good of terms. It's also one of the smaller "20" loans. Even though we are only 4 month into 2009, I am already thinking about 2010 and I'm kicking around the idea that once I get what needs to be done taken care of this year, I next start to tackle some new projects, namely: 1.) Get the emergency fund up to 3-6 months of savings and 2.) Pay off that smaller mortgage.

Now who knows what the future will bring? Right now this is only an idea I am toying with. I realize that even if I were to jump into these with both feet, it will take me a couple years to achieve them. However, awhile back I wrote about how not having financial security saps away at my happiness. I was feeling pretty low when I wrote that piece, and I am not sure I would say the same today. Fortunately, I don't feel quite so much like I am walking a tightrope as I did then. I feel like I do have some security, even if it is only of the "Well, I ain't died yet" variety. I have happiness. At the same time though, I wrote some good solid goals in that article on what it would take to make me feel more financially secure. Those are still valid and worth fighting for. Tackling the emergency fund is a given, I think. Already I feel better knowing I have 1 month stocked away, having 6 months would be incredible. If along with that, I could chip away at some of that mortgage debt, well, that would be fantastic.


Photo of underwater houses by: bk-robat