Better Personal Finance - The Start of My Journey

This is my first post to Financial Wisdom 101 about personal finance issues and ideas that are important to me.

For the first 37 years and 7 months of my life, my spending habits have been financially irresponsible. If I wanted something, I bought or charged it. I never gave a lot of thought to whether I needed it or was it a good price.

In the last couple of months, I have changed my personal finance ways. I have become more aware of the cost of items. I now go to the grocery store and compare products and prices. A couple of months ago, I would have the most expensive can of whole tomatoes figuring they were the best. Now, I buy the non-name brand for a dollar less. I have yet to notice a difference between the two except I have an extra dollar in my pocket.

Last year, I bought 4 different digital cameras trying to get the best one and probably lost $2,000. At the time, I never gave it a thought. Now, I wonder what the heck I was thinking. Unfortunately, I have many more personal finance nightmare stories like this.

I have cancelled my credit cards. My credit card debt is not too significant ($10K) and I can pay it off in a year.

I still have temptation. When the Ipod Nano came out my first reaction was to go and buy it. Armed with my new ways, I thought it through and came to the conclusion I didn't really need it. I have a Ipod Shuffle that works fine.

What caused my change?

A lot of things but I think the most likely reason was I got tired of feeling behind in my personal finances. I am tired of feeling like I am never in control of my personal finances.

This blog will be about the financial wisdom I discover during my journey. Hopefully I will share something with you and you will share something with me.