Do you want to know some financial thoughts that I’ve had? If you said, “Yes” then you are in luck because this post is all about financial thoughts that I’ve had in my 38 years of living.
Two weeks ago, I turned 38. First off, Thank God for allowing me to see another day and another birthday. I truly don’t take opening my eyes daily for granted. As I get older, I become more and more aware of how I want to live, the impact I want to have on others, how I will raise my daughter and ultimately the legacy that I want to leave behind.
It seems that the years are going by faster and faster. This year it is really setting in that soon I will be turning 40 so a lot of things that I have been thinking about or dreaming of need to happen. Most people say give goals time limits but recently I heard someone say don’t. For me, I like to give my goals deadlines and considering that I will be looking age 40 dead in the eye in basically 24 months – It’s truly GO TIME.
But I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself because we are celebrating 38 after all! To celebrate turning 38, I wanted to share 38 Financial Thoughts that I have. These thoughts include things I have done, things I wish I did, things I hope to do and just overall tidbits about me.
38 Financial thoughts as I turn 38:
- I have always considered myself to have an abundance mindset before I even knew that was a thing. Growing up, I always felt that if I needed money then it would come to me. I still feel that way to this day.
- One way that money would come my way, would be via my dad. We weren’t rich but if I wanted some money he would usually give it to me. I would typically always have some spending money and I am not talking a ton of money but I could make $20 stretch. Also, $20 used to go a whole lot further than it does now.
- Gambling was a favorite pastime of mine growing up. My parents didn’t like it or approve of it and trust me, I got in BIG trouble behind it but in my defense, I was pretty good. I use to WIN! I would play pitty pat, tonk, and we would also pitch coins and wager side bets on other people hands. However, once I got older, I valued my money more and stopped gambling because I didn’t want to risk losing and as we got older, the bets got bigger and bigger.
- My mom taught me how to shop for things on sale and to not buy things at regular price. My mom can still find a good deal at her favorite stores. Another lesson my mom taught me was to cook and to eat meals at home. Growing up, we rarely ate out – She cooked almost EVERY DAY! This knowledge and habit currently help us to save money on eating out because we cook often.
- I sold candy in middle school and got caught. When I got caught, the principal took the remaining candy that I had and my earnings. I stopped selling it after that because I wasn’t supposed to be selling candy and if I couldn’t risk getting my earnings taken again. Funny thing is, I was caught because someone told on me. Reminder: There is always a hater out there.
- I started working a part time job as soon as I could and my first job was actually stuffing sales circulars into the local newspaper. I’ve also worked my fair share of retail and fast food jobs so I am not a stranger to working.
- At 18, I got my first credit card and I still have it. It has switched lenders so many times but I won’t cancel it because it holds the longest credit history. It has 20 years of credit history.
- I care about my credit score. We plan to buy another house one day and I highly doubt that we will pay for it with cash so I care about my credit score. A personal goal of mine is to achieve an 800-credit score in the near future.
- The first financial book that I read was, “Girl Get Your Money Straight” by Glenda Bridgeforth. My dad and I was in the bookstore years ago and that book was on the shelf calling my name with that title because I had credit card debt that I needed to get rid of. My dad was nice enough to buy it for me and I still have it on my bookshelf.
- The next financial book that I read was “The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke” by Suze Orman because once again the title screamed out to me. This book was actually pretty good and helped me understand credit a lot and money.
- One of the most impactful books regarding getting out of debt that I read was “The Total Money Makeover” by Dave Ramsey. This book laid out a great plan to pay off debt by introducing me to the snowball method.
- My husband and I took Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University in 2018 at a local church.
- I started this site: sugarandmoney.com in 2018 to share my thoughts as it relates to living a sweet life while having sweet finances.
- At one point, I had $100,000 of debt all by myself which included credit card debt, student loan debt and a car loan. Read about my six figures of debt here.
- Oh yeah, I purchased my car brand new in 2010 with only 30 miles on it because I felt like I deserved a new car. After driving a 1992 Saturn for 10 years – that didn’t have any a/c, had manual roll down windows and towards the end I would have to pull over on my way home sometimes to add more radiator fluid – no one was talking me out of buying a brand-new car and since I still have it 9 years later – I don’t regret purchasing it. Also, I got a super low interest rate of 0.9% and I am in no rush to get rid of my paid off car either.
- I paid off $20,000 in credit card debt and since doing that I hate carrying a credit card balance. Carrying a balance gives me anxiety. Learn how I paid off thousands of credit card debt here.
- I don’t regret getting student loans for my college but I definitely wish that I didn’t get all those refund checks.
- I bought my first house at age 27. Now at age 38, I am ready to purchase again but as I read more and more on house hacking, the true cost of home ownership, etc… we are carefully deciding on our next house and purchase price.
- I started investing in my first 401k in my 20’s, a few years later – I cashed it out in 2008 right before the great recession of 2009.
- Before I cashed out my 401k, I did go to a local Edward Jones branch to talk to a representative about rolling it over to them but the white guy that helped me was talking above the level of my understanding so I didn’t work with them. I could have possibly opened up an IRA online and transferred it but honestly in 2008, I wasn’t all into my personal finances like I am now and I choose to cash it out. Still don’t regret it.
- I restarted my 401k with another employer and I have been investing up to the employer match since then.
- I defer part of my yearly bonus into my 401k.
- The best financial advice that I was given but didn’t always follow was pay yourself first. Now I follow it!
- Growing up, I never thought that I would be an entrepreneur even though my dad and mom were. However, now I am slowly becoming an entrepreneur. This blog is an LLC and I have also released my first digital product – a Holiday Planner and you can learn more about it here. Also, you can save $5 by using code “earlybird”
- I believe that everyone should have multiple streams of income even if you don’t plan to leave your 9-5 completely. It’s good to have a way to make money outside of a company that you don’t have control over.
- I wish I would have learned about investing when I was younger. Time and compound interest is amazing.
- I love financial podcasts and some of my favorites are: HisandHerMoney, SoMoney, WomenandMoney, and Redefining Wealth.
- Before I fell in love with financial blogs and podcasts, I loved reading food blogs. During that time, we would try so many new dishes which at times saved us money by cooking more at home but also cost us more because of buying unique ingredients or spices we would only use once. I still love to cook and experiment with new dishes. My husband loves to grill.
- I was very hesitant to start budgeting but budgeting isn’t a bad word or a bad thing. It really helps me to confidently see what I can spend on and what I can’t spend on. As the saying goes, “Women and men lie but numbers don’t!
- I have attended two Fincon’s and it’s such an awesome conference for anyone in the finance community. I went in 2018 – Orlando and 2019 – DC. 2020 will be in California and at this time I am undecided about going.
- At one point, I didn’t think I would ever pay off my student loans. Facing over $60,000 in student loan debt alone isn’t a cake walk but thanks to a major mindset shift, seeing other people doing it (thanks #debtfreecommunity on Instagram) and increasing my income – those loans will get paid off. I would love to pay them all off by December 2020 (#goals).
- I wish I would have learned about the F.I.R.E movement earlier because I plan to retire early. Having to work until I’m 67 or longer just doesn’t sit well with me. Not to say that I won’t still work in my 60’s but it will be work that I truly enjoy doing and not something that I HAVE to do. Click here to learn more about the F.I.R.E movement.
- One of my favorite affirmations to repeat is, “I have enough and I am enough” this usually prevents me from buying something that I truly don’t need or an impulse purchase.
- One thing that I splurge on yearly is a planner or two from Erin Condren. I love her Life Planner for my day to day and yearly planning. I love her Deluxe Monthly planner for planning out my bills, spending, and financial goals.
- I am moving away from consumption to more contentment. In doing so, I am selling things from our home that we no longer need and also more cautious on what we buy. Essentially spending less and selling things to make money.
- My husband and I moved away from South Carolina to increase our income. Eventhough we have now moved back to South Carolina, moving away was one of the best decisions we could have made for our marriage, personal growth, mindset, friendships and our finances. We are open to moving again.
- We will teach our daughter about money at a young age. She is only 3 currently but she has her own bank account and soon we’ll open her a 529 College Savings Account. She is already aware that money is exchanged to purchase things.
- Since starting my blog, I’ve been on 3 podcasts and also been featured on other blogs. I have also thought of starting my own podcast.
Bonus: Even though I have student loan debt, I have a positive net worth due to investing in my 401k for years and also my home’s value.
In Conclusion: Starting this platform has truly been a blessing and I can’t wait to see what the next year has in store for me. Hello 38. I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about me.
Have you started planning for the holidays yet? Here’s an awesome resource to help you.
As a birthday gift to me, I would love if you would share this blog post with someone that would enjoy reading it. Tell what you thought about it, did anything surprise you? Do you have questions about anything I shared?
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