Are you ready for the New Year?
I'm on a roll here, so can I keep it going? I am inclined to think that anything is possible provided you put your mind to it. So let's continue with what I learned from my own personal experience. I know I'm guilty of wasting time and as I get older time is becoming more valuable. Don't let it slip through your fingers...
As I look back, yet again, I wonder where the time has gone. So as not to waste any more precious time, I'm sharing the last several years of personal experience in growth. As the blog states "Success From Within", it truly does generate itself from within our on existence. It may take some poking and prodding from outside sources to get us motivated but it's possible for us to better ourselves in ways we'd never imagine.
2012 brought it's own challenges. More house work, vehicle issues and the ever slow recovery of the economy. I continued reading and applying what I learned to my everyday life to improve my situation. My traveling was getting more extensive as business started to pick up. I found that almost every book I picked up all said the same thing. Set goals, focus on the future, save and give to create abundance. My two oldest children were now out on their own, although I still supplied them with insurance and vehicles. The nest had shrunk and so did my out flow of cash. I concentrated on my savings and found more places to stash it. Hiding it away so I'd never have to face the multiple years of stress I had when the recession hit.
2013 threw a curve ball as my company was sold to a huge corporation. The finalization was at the end of the year. We felt it was for the good of our survival in the industry but wouldn't know for sure until the conversion was complete. Business continued to grow and so did the traveling. I continued on making improvements to the house. I had another section of roof leaking that needed to be replaced. There were other changes around the house. The exact year this happened eludes me so sorry if I'm jumping back in time. Our neighbor across the highway sold their property to the same gentleman who bought the acreage next to us. He is the local banks CEO and was starting to cattle farm. I rent my well to him since it runs over to his acreage and I let him graze the cattle behind my house just to keep the grasses down. Near years end we had a meeting in Maryland where the new company made all the usual announcements. The bad news of big corporate running was evident. That feeling of needing to move on was sinking in but for some reason I decided to tough it out.
2014 was a much better year. The best I'd had in a long time. The reading, saving and giving were starting to pay off. I'm not one to budget my money but with sticking too my guns I was able to start getting things that I normally would not have been able to in the past. I sent my youngest on some trips that the other two didn't have the luxury of but also she is more out going than the others were. I had replaced two exterior doors and had central air installed for the house. Vehicle swapping was a little more easier since I had cash to deal with it. Our savings grew and the pressures of paying on time were gone. I was finally able to get a credit card again and made sure that it was paid in full every month. I found new ways to get extra cash such as shopathome. Buying through their website allowed me to get cash back on purchases. The Ibotta app also was a great way to get cash back from grocery shopping. A positive outlook on things and always looking at new opportunities pushed me forward to a better, more relaxed life. Not to say that all is perfect but many worries went away. I am left with only one loan other than the mortgage but I set up an accelerated payoff plan and am happy with the results. I did have a fight with them since they had taken over the loan and were mishandling the funds I was sending. I simply made copies of all my canceled checks and sent them a nice letter stating where they missed my payments. I also sent it registered with a statement saying if it wasn't handled in a timely matter, my lawyer would be receiving it. Needless to say they came through rather quickly to fix the issue and there has been no issues since.
2015 was an all out better year. As usual there is always something that will spring up and steal your cash but overall it went well. I hit my goal of how much money I wanted in the bank. Traveling was getting pretty extreme. Spent very little time at home but it paid the bills. Nothing really done with the house this year but a new set of windows was bought. I bit too much for me to put in alone so they sit for now and the old ones are boarded up to keep the elements out. My new company was again put policies into place that made no sense for our industry. Seemed as though they were doing everything in their power to destroy what ever profits we are generating. As the small group of guys I work with tried to stay under the radar, we still felt the little pricks and pinches the big corp was rolling out to us. I had multiple accounts set up for various things so nothing would take me by surprise again. At years end I had made the decision to do the 52 week challenge. You can find out about it yourself @ 52weekmoneychallenge.
I figure I've ranted enough for today... Tomorrow I'll finish up with 2016.
Regards and Happy Holidays!!!
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