Let’s talk about money, baby

Growing up, we never talked about money. First it just was there, then there seemed to be an endless supply of it and then suddenly, in 1990, there wasn’t any at all and a scary new word entered my 10-year-old vocabulary; debt. And after that, I was almost 30 before I didn’t have to worry about not having enough money to eat. During those years, money was only the topic of conversation whenever there wasn’t enough of it. But at that point, it was only about what bills could possibly be postponed until the next time someone got paid.

Even now, it’s a little hard to talk about money. It feels wrong and embarrassing. But the thing is, not talking about money is just going to end up hurting you. Not talking about money means not learning to use it. Not talking about money led me to making less than a junior colleague. And I am absolutely certain that I am not the only one. So let’s talk about money.

Previously, I’ve talked about my foray into budgeting. I’m still working it and it has been good for me. Since I started, I’ve mostly gotten to the point where I’m paying off my credit card every month and covering next month’s expenses from this month’s pay as well as investing some 700€ every month. So needless to say, it’s been good. The next over-arching goal is to get our mortgage paid off early. The stretch goal is to get it paid off by/in 2030, which would be 12 years early. Can we do it? Probably not. But we’re sure going to try.

What’s the plan for making that happen? Cut back on expenses, sell away stuff we don’t need or use, putting any bonuses or other extra money toward the mortgage, and actually sticking to the budget every month and not just most of the time. Together with my partner, we make enough money that if we’re diligent, we can make this happen. Especially, if I ever start making money off my writing.

What do you want to do with your money? Are you saving it, spending it, or something in between?