It's Raining in Baltimore

It is close to mid December and it is...raining. It was as high as 60 degrees. I don't know what to expect when I'm in my 60s, it may be sunny and 80 degrees here. Anyways, a few weeks ago our nation finally declared that we are in a recession, I feel like breaking into the SNL bit of "Really?." I understand our nation declaring recessions are usually several months/years behind because they have to await statistics before declaring it. So now that it's official, what now? I plan on staying my course, eliminating debt and accumulating savings as I go. Ali and I had a discussion this week about combining savings so the money that was owed to me will now be a moot point. We have a goal, save $20,000 for a down payment. I expect I should be seeing a large sum of money for a bonus at work. I was not able to save money this past month because I had to drop $540 on new tires for my car, but it was well worth the money. I was doing research about auto insurance, and passed on my emergency fund, I increased my deductibles and restructured some other coverage and was able to cut my 6 month policy, equaling about a $30 savings a month.

As I may have said in previous posts, my net worth is now out of the red. I plan on building upon that, not as fast as I should because of my 401k. As many people in our country, I am anxious to get Obama in office and let him start putting his policies to work. I just finished reading Your Money or Your Life, I recommend it to anyone interested in personal finance. I don't agree with everything in the book but it makes you think about how you value your money based on how you make it. A lot of the 9 steps in the book I've been slowing implementing and plan on going forward with a majority of those. I actually enjoy my work for the most part so in the immediate future I do not forsee leaving it to enjoy my life free of relying on a paid employment. Two things I do enjoy using my money for are live music and traveling. I admit I would love to have the financial freedom to travel all the time but at the same time while traveling I hit a point where I want to return to my normal life, working and enjoying my nights and weekends. I think my ultimate goal would be either freelancing, or owning my own modest IT business. I don't want to be the richest man in the world, I just want to live comfortably. I think once I eliminate my debt, I will take on a new debt of a mortgage but a mortgage in which I can afford comfortably.

I'm still unsure as to where I want to settle down for the rest of my life. I'm happy with Baltimore, but I love the pacific northwest and Barcelona. I would love to pick up and move to Barcelona for a few years but the risk is leaving everything I enjoy in the states like family and friends. Granted I could make a new life with new friends but it would only be temporary. I'm also interested to see where our country is headed into 2009 and more importantly 2010. I'm happy about being more educated about finances and the housing market. By the time we decide to purchase a home, I think the market values of homes will be about where it needs to be and not where it was in the past few years. A lot of unknowns and I will constantly be learning but such is life.