January 1st, 2009 The beginning

Well, isn't this the perfect time to get started towards a goal worth trying to pursue?

I have always wanted my own home. I feel that I cam still far away from that possibility, but I know for sure that one day, some day in the near future, the keys that I will carry in my own pocket will be to my very own home.

I currently find myself in a lot of debt after bad decisions in 2008. There’s no point in thinking backwards, but I do want to ensure all of you that I will try to provide you guidelines on how you yourself can avoid my previous mistakes.

My goal through this blog will be to share with you what I have learned in the past about real estate. And it will detail what I will learn in my path to owning my first home. I will also share the steps I am taking to get there with all of you.

If I am successful, then the result will be my very own home. If I fail, then at least I will be here to share my experience and story.

To begin, I know I need an initial deposit which I don't yet have.
Therefore, I began working on my very own personal budget for this year.
It’s not down on paper yet, but I should have it down soon.

I am beginning to follow financial planner's advice...advice I hear on the radio or read about online...I don't have a personal advisor...but hope to be of some help to others someday....

I plan on trying to follows the guidelines listed below :
(They were aired by NPR this past week)

1. Develop a budget
2. Stop using your credit cards (pay cash only, or debit card)
3. Automate your savings (direct deposit part of your income on a regular basis into an account that you don't normally have access to through your debit/ATM card)
4. Live within your means (takes some analysis and practice, but everyone should be doing this)

I recently heard the advice that the best ways to get into budge would be to start a spending journal. Spending journal would be a book or journal in which you track all your expenses, item by item, on a day by day basis. The result of your effort in maintaining a journal makes you more conscious of where you are spending your money.

Keeping a spending journal may sound easy, but this is actually a lot harder to follow and keep up with than you might think. I challenge all of you to start and keep a spending journal for a week or two weeks. Once you get more familiar and in the habit of updating it, perhaps you can complete the challenge of keeping a spending journal for a full month. It takes a lot of discipline.

Remember, getting constrained to a budget is a matter of discipline, otherwise who would need financial advice?

How do you know if you need financial advice and lack financial discipline?

Answer the following two questions:

Do you know the exact amount currently due on your credit cards?

Can you itemize and list the items that you bought that total the full amount of your credit card debt?

If you answered no to either of those two questions, now is the time to take the first step and get some financial goals set up.

Well, “Happy New Year!!”

….more to follow