My 4th Blogiversary AND 1000th post!

When I realized I was getting close to 1000 posts, I figured I would pace it out so that my blogiversary would be just that much more outstanding.  I love it when it all works out.

Yes, 4 years ago I open this little corner of the internet and decided to share my financial soul to a bunch of people who I don't know.  We had $76,649, in debt as I reported.  And actually, it was more because at that time I chose to not include the retirement loan we were paying on.

Four years later, we are at $67,729.   That is a difference of $8,920.  *sigh*

I am not going to rehash the 4 years of issues, problems, mistakes and mis-steps.  Feel free to read about them on your own.  What I would like to point out is that after just under 3 years of tracking (May 2012) we seemed to finally get the hang of it, and are now down $12,272 in the past 15 months.  Feel free to check out my Finest Geekery Page, which I updated with a progress chart (ok...I need to update the other chart, and add some other stuff....it is coming, it is coming, stop yelling at me.....)

Over time, I have included more personal stuff in here.  I figured out that A) that is what I like to read in other blogs, B) it isn't as dry, and C) it is my blog so I can write what I want.  I still haven't shown MY face on here.  Maybe I will when I do the victory dance of being debt free.

Our estimate is to be at about $62k of debt at the end of the calendar year.  We would really love to be in the 50's, even if it is just by a dollar.  Not sure if that will happen.  Losing the overtime that G-man usually had has influenced what we can do.  On the flip side, if my work changes, my salary may go up.  Only time will tell.

So....what is in store in the coming year....as I work towards a FIFTH anniversary.....

• Debt reduction!  Well duh.  That is what this blog is about.  The neat thing that will happen in the coming year is that we are starting to see less money going to the dreaded interest and more to the principle!  YAY!!!  That means that numbers will DROP.  The year 2016 will be the pay off of the car and retirement loan, so we still have a little ways before we will celebrate those.  But the overall numbers will really show PROGRESS. We should be in the 40's by next 'versary.
• YOU.  I have gotten a little lax on my blog commenting and reading.  So many of you are commenters, and I need to reciprocate.  I am looking forward to going to your "house" and starting from the beginning (yeah, that is me....I get a drink and a snack, and read a blog cover to cover!).
• Retirement talk.  I really think that as 40 is approaching (May 2015), I am "growing up."  And retirement has started to become a bigger concern that it was.  There may be some fiddling around with that.
• House stuff.  I whine about the house all the time.  I know I do.  This isn't where I want to be, but this is what it is.  The coming year will really be about making it work for us, especially as the kids are getting older.  And yes....that will include money.....money that will NOT go to debt.  And some people are going to say, Go Mysti!  And some will be disgusted that I have tens of thousands of dollars in debt and that we are spending money on "stuff."  To each his own.
• Blog makeover (again).  It just isn't what I want.  I am fighting the urge to hire someone to do it that actually knows what they are doing.  I just need to dedicate the time.  I also would like to add in more pictures.  Some of our real life, some just to make it more interesting.

So here we are....4 years and 1000 posts.  Hope to see you around in the coming year.  What would you like to see, if anything?  Or what would you like to know more about?  Let me know!!!