Taking That Huge Leap of Faith...

Since January, I have been concerned with my financial well-being.  Let's be honest - I am not getting any younger and retirement talk is swirling around me as I get older.  When I looked at where I was financially, I was not very happy.

Vet and medical bills seem to hang over my head a lot.  I did create a checking account with my bonus this year for the dogs.  I think that was a smart move, but on the other hand, I had nothing to pay down my credit cards.  That situation was making me sick to my stomach.

One day, I had discussed my credit card headaches with a friend from work.  He had suggested taking out a loan on my 401K.  At first, I balked about it - I did not need the headaches of filling out forms for early withdrawal penalties.  My friend explained that the money was a loan and you paid yourself back, so the government would not penalize me, unless I failed to pay back the loan.

My friend went into detail about his troubles, which were similar to mine.  Granted, financial advisors will try to deter you from doing this because you won't get any interest gained on the amount of the loan.  Also, there is always that possibility of pumping back up your credit card debt.  That one worries me.

It is not that I want to run out and "CHARGE!"  It is simply a problem that downward spiraled when I was young.  I had gotten to a point in my life where my financial woes were hurting me, so I took the slap in the face and worked on correcting it.  That was when my bonus money was always put to good use.  I would make a purchase on a credit card, pay monthly charges, when I got my bonus, pay off the purchase.  I had my debt down fairly low, but still had work to do.

Soon, life got out of control again, so did the credit card debt.  The things I depended upon to help me financially were no longer there and I made tough choices.  However, that did not help the vicious circle I found myself.

This week, I took the huge leap of faith to borrow money from my 401K to reduce my debt.  The plan is to pay off all high interest credit cards.  That right there will help my situation immensely.  Whatever is leftover, pay a few other credit card bills.  The debt at that point should be manageable and the company will take out a specified amount of money from my paycheck each pay period.  That amount will be far less than what the credit card companies are getting from me.

Once I have all of that established, I want to see someone about how to go about taking some of that money and moving it to another account that builds on that money.  That way, I can build income for getting a house.

Everything seems all good and rosy with that "happy path."  I am well aware of pitfalls, which I have a plan to avoid.  I really want this to work out, so I am out from under this huge black cloud hanging over my head.  Perhaps, that will allow me not to worry so much and enjoy life a little bit more.