Looking Back On 2008
Posted on January 1, 2009
Filed Under Attitude | Leave a Comment
Although 2008 was a pretty bad year for the economy as a whole, personally it was pretty good. Both my wife and I managed to stay employed, and we did OK financially in spite of some large and unexpected expenses. Here’s a recap:
The Good
I managed to avoid all (most at least) of the bad habits that got me into so much credit card debt culminating in late 2007. I rebuilt my wife’s trust in me (still an ongoing process). I set up online access to ALL of our accounts so she can check on me any time, not just once a month when the statements come. This also eliminates the problem of statements getting “lost.”
We were able to fully fund my wife’s Roth IRA and put $7,500 into savings. This in spite of over $5,000 in repairs to our (only 5 years old and well maintained) Subaru. I may never buy a new car again. I was also able to purchase (with my wife’s permission) a really nice model railroad locomotive and a Glock 23.
We have a good budget plan in place. Although both of us are still employed, the possibility that one or both of us will lose our jobs by next June is fairly high, and we have plans in place to deal with that eventuality as well.
The Bad
Our retirement accounts lost about 40% in value. I’m not really too worried about this. We are at least 14 years away from being able to access this money without tax penalties, and I look at it as a good time to be buying.
The Ugly
I invested about $2,500 and a lot of time trying to start a second job as a Realtor. Despite the money and time, I wasn’t able to close a single transaction. Actually, 2008 was my third year of trying to break into real estate, but this year I finally promised my wife that if I didn’t have anything to show for it by year’s end, I would give it up.
Although I wish I had some monetary return on the money I spent, I did learn some valuable lessons. First, people who don’t think that Realtors earn their pay are idiots. Second, it’s very difficult to spend the time necessary to build a real estate business while holding another full time job, maintaining a family, etc. Third, I should have realized point number two after the first or second year.
In Conclusion
I feel we made good progress in our financial situation, and I personally learned (finally!!!) some valuable lessons about trying to start a second job. We are also well positioned for the coming year, regardless of what happens with our current employment. All in all, 2008 was a very good year. I hope yours was as well. If it wasn’t, then I hope 2009 is better for you.
Cheers,
Ken
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