What two (years) can do

As you may or may not remember, I started my Debt Destruction Resolution (TM!) in November 2007. As I've just hit the two-year anniversary of that decision this week, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on where two years has brought me. No, scratch that. That is way too passive of a sentence. Rather I'm going to reflect on what I HAVE DONE in two years!

• paid off my car
• paid off all my credit cards
• become completely consumer debt free
• started multiple savings accounts
• created multiple (albeit small) income streams
• taken advantage of special rate offers from multiple banks to maximize return
• started a Roth IRA
• worked up to the point where I am able to fully fund a Roth within one calendar year
• contributed enough to my regular retirement to get the full company match
• established annual savings goals and am on my way to reaching them
• started planning ahead so my expenses are easy to cover without using credit
• have reduced my monthly expenses by more than half
• have saved over four months' worth of expenses in an Emergency Fund
• have kept more than $2,000 of "short term emergency" money in the bank for over a year
• have paid off a combined total of $29,638.63 worth of debt (including the car, cards, loan, and payments toward the school loan)
• put 63% of my income for year one toward getting debt free
• have so far this year saved over 50% of my income (yes, really!)

And here's a real big kicker:

I am only $1,581.07 away from having a positive net worth - INCLUDING the student loan.

I think that's pretty amazing. That means I have increased my overall net worth by $46,667.22 in the last two years. Not bad on a $36k/yr salary, I think. :)

This calls for a HAPPY DANCE!

Okay, peeps, show me your happy dance ;)

Seriously, this is just embarrassing

October Redux:

No-Spend Days: 24

No Eating Out Days: 29 (!)

Extra Income: $ ($18.40 from surveys & $11.68 interest)

Progress Toward Savings Goal: 81.01%

Retirement Savings: $193.80

“Healthy” Days (eating well or working out): 5

Books Finished: 3

Times Flossed:

Letters/Cards/Contacts:

Progress on 2009 Goals:

• have kept my amazon.com card paid off each month – monthly goal MET!
• kept my credit union savings/checking account balances above $750 in each account to take advantage of the special rate – monthly goal MET!
• met all of the monthly requirements for my Checking ++ account – monthly goal MET!
• continued contributing to my SIMPLE IRA (w/matching) – monthly goal MET!
• took the tuition money I had saved and deposited it in my nephews’/niece’s tuition accounts – goal MET!
• have continued to contribute little amounts to my vacations/gifts funds, and have not spent money on those two things without saving it first – monthly goal MET!
• kept my “Little EF” above $1,000
• continued contributing to my “Big EF”
• continued to post on the No-/Controlled-Spend thread
• continued dancing, although dance classes are down to once a week because of a late schedule at work. The projector is fixed now, though, so hopefully I can get myself motivated to start Wii Fit-ing again!
• am doing very well with surveys – got some more recommendations from a No-spend friend and have been really trying to get them done before they expire (which is pretty quickly). The fun side of this is that now I am more frequently getting little prize checks in the mail - $3 here, $6.10 there, but a lot more fun to get little checks in the mail than it used to be to get BILLS in the mail!
• did pretty well being patient, even though I am feeling pretty impatient with work being so slow!
• did well keeping in touch this month – many birthdays and events in October!