At what age did you come to your fina...

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-19-2003
At what age did you come to your fina...
8
Tue, 07-26-2005 - 12:25pm

At what age did you come to your financial senses?



  • I was born with money sense.
  • Teen years
  • 18-25
  • 26-35
  • 36-45
  • 46-55
  • 56-65
  • Still do not have financial senses.


You will be able to change your vote.


Shannon


Pregnancy%20ticker
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-19-2003
Tue, 07-26-2005 - 12:28pm

I am now 25, and just recently this year I decided that I was tired of being in debt. Although in my teen years I did make some good financial decisions, starting retirement accounts and buying a house when we were 20.

What was your eye opener to get control over your money?

Shannon


Pregnancy%20ticker
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-04-2004
Tue, 07-26-2005 - 12:41pm
I'm now 33, I pulled my head out of the sand when I was 31 and realized I hated living in the apt I live in and I want to buy a place to live instead of living in these cruddy apts. forever. I see people there who are in their mid-40's and just hating life. I don't want to be like that! I only have one CC and my car to go on my debt which started out close to $30,000 in January of 2004. Everyday I look at my numbers of where I am and where I have been and realize I am that much closer to moving out ang buying a home! :)
~leanne

~leanne

deciding to be happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect, but that you had decided to look beyond the imp

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-19-2003
Tue, 07-26-2005 - 12:46pm

Yeah its definately a good thing to pull your head out of the sand as early as possible. Unfortunately my husband & I only would pull our heads out temporarily and then put them back in. So we have years that we would have good financial moves, and years where we just would spend, spend, spend..

No more in the sand for us.(unless we are on the beach in the carribean) This year we have to grow up & take control over are finances completely.

Shannon

Shannon


Pregnancy%20ticker
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Wed, 07-27-2005 - 9:40am

I put born with it because I can't remember a time when I wasn't interested in handling/managing money. Not obsessed-just interested in obtaining the best deal and saving. So, why am I here? LOL I married someone with debt and had student loans so that was our first time tearing down the mountain of debt and then I did temporarily lose my head-two years ago. In the space of about 4 months we bought a house, found out I was pregnant, had the costs of being in a wedding, started renovating babies room. The kicker? This was the space in between us finishing our school coursework and DH starting his faculty job so we had no income. Now we have 12,500 in CC debt (down from 14+), 12,000 in student loan debt, a car loan and 6,750 to go on a 2nd mortgage (but no PMI). OUCH!

Taleyna

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-11-2001
Wed, 07-27-2005 - 9:52am
I don't consider myself to be a spender. I was always good with money. I had happen what happens to a lot of people - medical bills! Big medical bills for me at least.
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-11-2005
Thu, 07-28-2005 - 5:51am

The reason I am here is a simple one. I want to get my debts under control, which I never had the sense to take care off. When my dad died last year, I promised him on his grave at the funeral, that I would get out of debt, but I failed miserably and we are now worse in debt then ever. However, I have come to realize that you can only get out with the support of people that you are somewhat accountable to and that is why I am here and I am going to succeed this time. It will be rough, but I know we can make it.

Sushi

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2003
Thu, 07-28-2005 - 7:17pm

I had just turned 23 when I fully realized the impact of what I had done to myself. I got my first Visa at 19, and then my first apartment and my first deadbeat roommates came at 20. After using cash advances on my cc for 3 or 4 months straight to pay for all the rent, bills, and groceries, I unfortunately allowed the compulsive spender in me to run amok. The attitude "$20 here and there won't make much of a difference to a $2000 balance" settled into my mind quite comfortably. When one of those roommates eventually paid me back, I spent that too. For the next 3 years I became trapped in a downward spiral that was limited only by creditors who stopped giving me more credit.

Now that I am 26, the compulsive spending is well under control (and has been for 3 years), and I am very happy to report that that ill fated cc is now carrying a balance of only about $500, and it will finally be $0 this September. WOO HOO!!!!

Then I get to work on those accursed student loans.




Image hosted by Photobucket.com


Powered by CGISpy.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2004
Fri, 07-29-2005 - 1:13am
Hi, Shannon! Well, you are fortunate to come to financial sense in 20's. For me, it was beyond that. I'd say in the last 6 yrs or so. Nothing earth-shattering. But, for me, medical bills did us in, then job losses,IRS and credit card debt. DH now has $18K in checking acct. Opened a 401K. I closed all cc except one. Still have two car loans-truck is about $5K, car, about 9K. House/mortgage? $300K!!! But---$90K in 403B now. I guess I got tired of working two mediocre jobs, no time off. Did I get ahead when I did this? No. Truly, I think I got tired of trying to keep up. It made no sense. I still have about $7000 in cc debt, but am working on it. Lesson learned? Dont try to keep up with others' latest and greatest. Dont fall for credit card consolidation scams and speculative mortgage payment scenarios. Still learning. WHiz.