My first steps toward financial security

I started my financial journey about five years ago. My spending had gotten out of control!  I splurged in many ways: shopping, dining out, vacations, splurging on my boys and friends, spending thousands on holidays and birthdays, and even more then I should have on haircuts ($300), massages ($250), manisand pedicures ($75)! Why? Because I felt I needed those items, to make myself feel beautiful, to have fun, to live life to the fullest. I have since learned that I don’t! In my journey, my mission to financial security, I not only paid off $60,000 in debt, I found myself!

There were several steps that I took, I’ve noted the first few below.  Note: I am not a professional, don’t claim to be,  so what I am sharing here is what has worked for ME in my own mission to obtain financial security. 

1. Take stock of your assets (money coming in) and liabilities (money going out). Make a list, including each item on your list.   This makes it so much easier to keep tally!

2. Obtain your FREE annual credit report(s) at AnnualCreditReport.com. You can choose to get all three at once or spread them out as I do so that you get one every 4 months.

3. Review your credit report for any discrepancies. Make sure you check amounts and account numbers against the list of liabilities you created. Also review your  previous place of residence, past employers, and name(s). If you find that there is an error in any or all of these in your report, contact the reporting agency immediately and start an inquiry. NOTE: If  you ordered one report as I suggested in #2 and discover a discrepancy, make sure to order the other two reports and review those as well.

4. I placed a freeze on my credit, since I knew freezing my cards in the fridge wouldn’t work. This made it harder for me to apply for any credit, which I did quite often! At one point, I even had 25 credit cards!  Freezing your credit is NOT for the faint of heart. A credit freeze, normally used to thwart identity theft, will not allow you to obtain any new credit.  You must contact each credit bureau directly to place a freeze on your account.  A freeze also involves a  fee, which varies based on state. You can click below for amounts.  If you want to remove the freeze, or “thaw” your account, you will have to contact each bureau directly and pay for the thaw. Below I have noted info for each credit bureau.

(a) Equifax : To place a credit freeze or to read more, click HERE. NY is free for first freeze, $5 .00 ($5.41  with tax) for subsequent freezes and removals. Click  State Freeze Requirements  and Fees to determine fees for your state. 

(b) Experian: To place a credit freeze or to read more click HERE. NY is free for first freeze, $5 .00 ($5.41  with tax) for subsequent freezes and removals. Click HERE to determine fees for your state.

(c) TransUnion: To place a credit freeze or to read more click HERE. NY is free for first freeze, $5.00 ($5.41  with tax) for subsequent freezes and removals. Click HERE to determine fees for your state. 

5. Open up a savings account, a new one! I suggest opening a new one because psychologically it makes it feel like a fresh start, a new beginning, which you ARE starting by taking control. I like ING Direct . It allows you to set up a direct deposit AND set a name for the account becausewords ARE important. I have three: All Mine, House (for my future home), and Peru/DR! Thesewords speak to me on a personal leveland keep me focused on my goal. You can change the title of your account as often as you like. Another benefit of ING, or con, depending on how you look at it, is that it can take up to two days to get your money which makes you think twice about using it cause as mi mami always said “se te sala cuando sacas el dinero” and my mission is too important for me to take a chance!

*The literal translation of “se te sala cuando sacas el dinero” is it will get salty when you take out the money, which of course makes no sense! The phrase basically means that you will get used to taking the money out and will not save consistently, I think. In my mind its so clear but if you have a better explanation please leave a comment!