22 Feb

One Year, Two Baby Steps, Three Missed Snowballs

Posted by the Dad in Climbing Out.

DOMAIN RENEWAL NOTIFICATION: Your domain Climbingout.net is going to expire!

Wow — already?!

I can hardly believe it has been a year since we started on the road to financial peace. First, a thank you to all of you who follow our journey and offer encouragement. To those of you doing it with us, HIGH FIVE!

So how are we doing? It’s been 12 months since we started this journey and this blog.

For 12 months we have …continue reading

12 Jan

I’m Excited about 2010 – The Joy of Positive Momentum

Posted by the Dad in Climbing Out.

I feel like we spent 2009 pushing back on a huge boulder that is now rolling in earnest.

If it were tangible, is this what momentum would feel like? In my soul 2010 already tastes like a great year.

It’s hard to put my finger on why, but after starting 2009 at the bottom and watching our lives turn around, 2010 seems to stretch ahead of us full of promise and I’m excited. …continue reading

31 Dec

Happy New Year’s Eve, Ten Years Ago

Posted by the Dad in Climbing Out.

What were you like 10 years ago?

Isn’t it interesting how we attach significance to some numbers? Turning 40 is over the hill. $99 is a much better deal than $100. 5 miles over the speed limit is okay.

As this decade ends today I find myself weighed down with the importance of looking back ten years at where I was, what I did and, maybe more importantly, what I didn’t know.

Certainly nothing makes this ten year span more important than any other, but what the heck. …continue reading

4 Dec

Sticking to the Plan – Straying from the Budget Meant Seven Overdrafts Today

Posted by the Dad in Climbing Out.

There is always tomorrow. Another month. Another budget. Another chance to get it right.

Oh. My. God.

After ten months (TEN MONTHS!) of financial responsibility… no, financial PERFECTION, today I screwed the pooch.

Actually, I screwed the pooch more than a week ago when I ignored our budget and decided things were going even better than I thought they were… and gave away the farm. …continue reading

24 Nov

Are We Watching the Same Movie Here?

Posted by the Dad in Climbing Out.

Never has it been so clear to me that personal finance is really personal.

I have tried to find the tone for this post for a week now, but have to admit it is hard to land squarely on the side of happiness or condemnation.

You know how some things just make you cock your head to the side in a gooey blend of disbelief, empathy and mild-confusion? Not in a superior manner — instead, you want to be happy for someone, but can’t see around the enormous elephant in the room. …continue reading

16 Nov

The Good and the Bad of Arbitrary Goals

Posted by the Dad in Climbing Out.

[W]e may have to accept a new time-line. Debt-free in May 2011 seems more likely than October 2010.

We’re not going to make it.

The wife and I have been running the numbers and talking it over for about a month and we realize that unless we take extreme measures or a financial windfall drops in our laps, we are not going to make our goal of Debt-freedom by our tenth anniversary next October.

Like accepting Darth Vader is Luke’s father, it’s demoralizing and takes the wind out of my sails, folks.

”A goal is a dream with a deadline.” said Napoleon Hill and I gotta be honest, unless The Wife and I can drum up another grand each month, we ain’t gonna make ours. …continue reading

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