- Sold our house at a good price before the housing dip. This enabled us to pay off almost half of our debt right off the bat!
- Over the next 18 months, we were able to pay off the remaining debt. We became completely debt free on June 15, 2007!
- My side business (music arranging/typesetting) had its best year ever in 2007. This enabled us to quickly pay off our remaining debt and start saving a larger emergency fund.
- Paid a large chunk of taxes in April 2008 - fortunately we were able to cash flow this through our larger emergency fund. This completely cleaned us out, though, financially!
Even though we have accomplished these amazing goals, I have found myself completely and utterly frustrated with our financially situation. I know I should feel blessed and excited about the future, but with inflation occurring in food, gas prices, and the overall rise in the cost of goods and services, our dollars are not stretching as far as they did 2-3 years ago! I feel stuck on moving forward with our financial goals when the money coming in is not going as far as it once did.
OK, so with all of these frustrations weighing on me on a regular basis, little disagreements on spending between my wife and I have been occurring more and more frequently over the last several months. Unfortunately, these disagreements are happening in front of our children.
Over the last two years, my wife and I have seen disturbing behavior problems in our oldest daughter. These behavior problems have escalated to the point that we have sought family counseling to intervene in our situation. I know that I'm personally responsible for my daughter's issues right now, especially in my possibly obsessive compulsive patterns regarding our finances. I believe the more I can relax in these areas of personal finances, I will communicate a more relaxed household.
I'll be working on this area of my life for the next several days, weeks, and months to come!
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