I’m Not Perfect. Not Even Close.

Sometimes personal finance bloggers come across like they have everything figured out and their money management is running exactly right on autopilot.  Often, people start blogging during or after getting out of a massive amount of debt and so they have a tight focus and seemingly boundless motivation.  These are incredible achievements and should be commended.  I’m sure these bloggers don’t seek to conceal their current imperfections from their readers but I think it comes with the territory of trying to be an authority on personal finance.

I have found that the theoretical aspect of personal finance is rather easy to grasp – at least so far in my young, straightforward life.  As my life becomes more complicated (a for-profit employer, home ownership, capital gains taxes, itemized deductions and what have you) I’m sure I will have to learn more concepts or recognize my need for professional assistance.  But for now, the theory is simple:

• spend less money than you make
• pay yourself first
• don’t take on any debt – or if you do, make sure it’s in an appreciating asset
• compound interest is your BFF for retirement planning

The difficult part is the implementation.  You can know all the right things to do and it doesn’t get you squat until you put your nose to the grindstone and accomplish some things.  That can be a very slow process and it’s easy to get impatient or discouraged.

In this post I’m going to outline some of our current shortfalls and in my next post I’ll give you some tips on how to go about rectifying some of the shortfalls you identify in your own budget.