Money and bills...

Another long day. This working six days a week is getting a little old. Oh well that's the life of a business owner though....especially for a new and not yet established business. Generally the environmental business is pretty slow in December so I'll take extra time then.

The benefit of the extra work is extra money. On Friday I was able to pay off a pretty good size credit card, and I'll be paying off a second one at the end of the month. So that feels like an accomplishment and helps keep me motivated.

I paid off my car last fall and I must say it has been very nice not having a car payment. Actually I love not having a car payment. And in August I sent in the last payment for Erik's orthodontics. Of course his braces were removed long before I finished paying for them! Anyway the point is I'm starting to see a domino effect starting with paying off bills.

I'm making good progress on the bills and it feels good. Of course I wish the progress were much faster, but since I recently blabbed to someone that I'm much more patient than I used to be...well I guess this is a good test of how patient I've become. Plus I didn't rack up the bills overnight, so it'll take a little while to knock them all out.

It's funny because my views about money have changed over the last few years, and I think it's linked to my goal to simplify my life. Ideally my goal is to be able to have a mortgage as my only longterm debt. I don't know if it's feasible, but I think I'd like to give it a try. I'm not looking to get rich and I don't want to overly deprive myself either. I think balance is the key. Neither too much nor too little.

These last several days I've really been thinking about Emerson's quote that money often costs too much. That's true on so many levels. But since I have no intention of living the life of an ascetic, money is necessary to a certain extent. And I do like some nice things. Plus I would like to travel more. So once again it comes back to finding the proper balance.

I haven't found it yet, but I think I'm on the right track. Now I just have to hope that I have the patience to meet my goals. Time to put my money where my mouth is.