Since we're preppers, we're all forward/future-minded thinkers who think before spending and who believe in saving. I thought we could encourage one another in wisely managing our money - after all, savings is preferable over debt; being debt-free is freedom; and, having extra cash gives us greater leeway to prep.
I'll start.
I’m paying off some credit card debt, in a 0% interest account. I will use my federal and state tax refunds to kill off most of it. I was quite mad at myself for a while that I allowed myself to get indebted in 2012 to start with; otherwise, that’d be a few grand I could use on gold, silver, guns, ammo, and other goodies.
However, going on a moderate austerity lifestyle since last autumn has helped me become more disciplined. I had a cash windfall earlier this year, but because I have this debt, I’m forcing myself not to spend beyond the essentials and requirements. This means I’m not buying silver or gold right now despite this week’s dips because I want to be debt-free first before I divert any of my savings into such investments.
What I also have done is that, after paying off my car in early 2012, I began to take the amount of the monthly car payment and divert it into a new savings account which I generally don’t touch. I’ve got a couple thousand dollars in there now.
Retirement-wise, my 401k’s doing well, and I went from 11% in 2012 to 16% at the current time. My company matches up to 6%. I’m up about 8.3% for the year.
For me, the short-term goals are: eliminating the leftover credit card debt, further building up the savings cushion, and DCAing gold/silver sometime this year, when prices are favorable.
How is it looking for you guys?
I'll start.
I’m paying off some credit card debt, in a 0% interest account. I will use my federal and state tax refunds to kill off most of it. I was quite mad at myself for a while that I allowed myself to get indebted in 2012 to start with; otherwise, that’d be a few grand I could use on gold, silver, guns, ammo, and other goodies.
However, going on a moderate austerity lifestyle since last autumn has helped me become more disciplined. I had a cash windfall earlier this year, but because I have this debt, I’m forcing myself not to spend beyond the essentials and requirements. This means I’m not buying silver or gold right now despite this week’s dips because I want to be debt-free first before I divert any of my savings into such investments.
What I also have done is that, after paying off my car in early 2012, I began to take the amount of the monthly car payment and divert it into a new savings account which I generally don’t touch. I’ve got a couple thousand dollars in there now.
Retirement-wise, my 401k’s doing well, and I went from 11% in 2012 to 16% at the current time. My company matches up to 6%. I’m up about 8.3% for the year.
For me, the short-term goals are: eliminating the leftover credit card debt, further building up the savings cushion, and DCAing gold/silver sometime this year, when prices are favorable.
How is it looking for you guys?