I recently explained my history of having no money and as promised, will now come clean with the mistakes I’m still making:

I’m driving the wrong car

I’ve never owned a car long enough to get it inspected. The first Jeep Cherokee was a lease, and I foolishly let them talk me into not converting the lease into a purchase. Then I couldn’t afford the new Jeep Cherokee, so I took it back and they gave me a Dodge Neon with a loan amount equal to the price of the Neon plus about $6,000. Then I crashed the Neon. That was actually okay, but only because I had Gap Insurance. Always get Gap Insurance, friends. It literally saved me from being homeless.

Years later I got a Scion xB. That thing was delicious, but I grew ever more jealous of my wife’s Prius, so I traded up and got one of my own. Sometimes I wish I hadn’t done that, because I now have a $595 monthly car payment. I know it doesn’t equal out, but it sure feels good to fill the tank only once every two weeks. I’m taking care of the Prius the way I forgot to with the Scion, and I fully intend to drive it until it won’t drive anymore. I think it’s due for inspection sometime this summer.

I love shiny electronics, and they love me

Like most geeks, I have a rapport with computers that is difficult to establish with other humans, and I tend to hoard sources of entertainment. Gadgets are an expensive hobby. It never seems that way to read about them, because the journalists get them for free. I have to remind myself of that. As an Interaction Designer, I’m always looking for a more elegant solution, for more ways to automate my life, and I can rationalize any purchase by telling myself that exposure to these things will help me in my career.

That’s how I managed to “buy” an iPhone. But as you’ve guessed, I put it on a credit card. Nearly everything I own that is worth something was put on a credit card. But I’m committed to stopping that. As of this writing, I have just over $7,000 in credit card debt, which I expect to have paid off within the next 16 months.

So, I have to keep telling myself that I don’t literally need an Apple TV, or a 1 Terabyte external hard drive. When I force myself to think about it, there’s nothing in the entertainment compartment of my lifestyle that is actually broken. It’s just not perfectly elegant, and for right now, because other things are broken, that’ll have to do.

I don’t sell enough of my stuff

When I upgraded my iBook to a new MacBook last May (see previous problem with shiny electronics), only about $1,000 of the purchase went on a credit card, ‘cause I managed to sell the iBook on eBay for about $600. I’ve got a boatload of unused electronics that I could be selling, but it seems like such an effort to even bother writing descriptions for them. If you have any advice for doing this more easily, I’m happy to hear it.

The interest rates are too high

On both our cars and the house, our interest rates are higher than they could be. At the time, of course, it was the best we could do. I should mention at this point that my wife’s credit history is slightly worse than mine, and until we started making mortgage payments, my FICO score was on the positive end of “Fair”. Naturally, the FICO isn’t the only thing that creditors look at, but mine has increased roughly 70 points in the last year. One of these days, I should really look into refinancing at least one of the cars.

It’s somewhat painful to admit mistakes, especially when they’re ongoing and not likely to change anytime soon. But if you don’t acknowledge there’s a problem, the likelihood of it being fixed goes down to zero. So, it’s a start.

Near the end of my college career there was a sort of “Psychic Fair” on campus. As I recall, nobody charged us anything, so I got a reading from a Numerologist.

She basically had me fill out a form with some information about myself. I remember “full name” and “birthdate”, for example. Multiple calculations later, the right side of the form had four numbers filled into boxes with labels like “Destiny” and “Soul Urge”. The Numerologist slowly removed her glasses and looked at me quizically before telling me that all four of these core numbers were the same: 8.

To summarize:

“The number 8 Destiny suggests that the direction of growth in your lifetime will be a move up the ladder of attainment in the material world, to achieve financial security, and status amongst your peers.” source: http://www.astrology-numerology.com/num-expression.html

She explained that apparently, the only reason I was here on Earth was to learn how to attain and manage wealth. So, more than ten years later, why do I still have a negative Net Worth? Even putting metaphysics aside, it’s still a valid question.

I think there are a few primary reasons:

Upbringing

Though I considered myself an independent thinker at a very young age, you can’t decide to disagree with something if it’s never presented to you. My parents didn’t take the time to teach me how to save money, though they always told the story of how my oldest sister learned to be stingy by age seven. We definitely had classes called “Home Economics” in school, but economy never came up. It was all cooking and sewing… very progressive, I know.

Not paying attention

I’ve been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder. For those that don’t have it: imagine that you’re watching TV, and the show gets less interesting. The channels automatically start changing, but you don’t notice the change until you end up back on the original program again. That’s what A.D.D. is like for me. The problem is that I didn’t know it was a treatable disorder until I was more than 30 years old.

I’m sure there were times in my life when someone was giving out some good advice about managing money, and I was happily daydreaming.

Funny story: the first four checks I wrote out to various utilities when I graduated from college all came back because I didn’t sign my name. It’d be funnier if they didn’t all charge me extra for the inconvenience.

Lack of ambition

I never had anything resembling a “career” until after I got engaged. As soon as I was responsible for someone other than myself, I suddenly felt a drive to improve myself, my brain, my prospects, etc.

So, now that I understand all of this, what am I going to do about it? Well, the ambition part has mostly taken care of itself. As for paying attention, I’ve turned money management into kind of a video game. Because everything is digital now (at least, it is for me, or I would probably lose it somewhere), I’ve got our Google Spreadsheet budget, and the bank Web site that I can have harmless obsessions over. In order to stay accountable to my goals, I’ve got you guys.

As for fixing my upbringing… well, I can’t. And since my wife and I don’t plan on having children, I can’t teach them the things I was denied. All I can do is urge you, gentle reader: if you have kids, set a good example and explain to them why you do what you do with the money.

So that covers my past. Next time I write I’ll explain all the things I’m still doing incorrectly. Here’s a hint: $595 car payment.

Has anyone been watching the HBO miniseries, John Adams? Although colonial America is not my favorite period of history, I’ve been enjoying the first episodes that have aired. However, during the slower sections of the program, you may want to take the time reading articles from Consumerism Commentary’s history.

From the first half of March 2007

By This Time You are a Seasoned Executive
What I Did With My Bonus
Problems With TIAA-Cref Continue: One Reader’s Issue
How to Withdraw Money From Upromise
Soylent Synvisc: It’s Birds!
Best Cars of 2007: Consumer Reports vs. Car and Driver
How Easy is it to Beat the Market?
February Heating Cost Way Up
Closing an Old Capital One Account
Shopping at Kohl’s and Being Granted Discounts
More Than $50 Wasted
The Cost of Buying a Home Over 30 Years

From the first half of March 2006

If you’re new to Consumerism Commentary, these articles from the archives will be new to you.

From the Second Half of February 2007

The Case Against a Life Without Debt
Tips for Purchasing a Musical Instrument for the Non-Professional
How Much Do You Pay in Taxes?
Survey Says: More Money Leads to Better Sex
Advice Needed: Newly Found Debt and Debt Collectors
12 Steps for the Paycheck Type to Become a Millionaire
Extreme Frugality: Living Out of Your Car
Is This a Buying Opportunity?
New Jersey Property Tax Rebate Increasing for Renters

From the Second Half of February 2006

Welcome readers from Yahoo, CBS 8 San Diego, Consumerist, and various message forums from around the internet. Please take a moment a subscribe to the Consumerism Commentary RSS feed. If you’re new here, perhaps you’d like to take a look at articles from Februaries past.

From the First Half of February 2007

Americans Aren’t Saving, Little Splurges Add Up
Bad Job-Hunting Tips You Must Avoid, Part 2
Study: Money Makes People Mean
Review: You Call the Shots by Cameron Johnson
Financial Ratios for Personal Evaluation: Debt to Income Ratio
Renting is Expensive in These Cities
A Quick 40%+ Profit?
5 Tips for a Frugal Valentine’s Day
Quicken Hack: How to Track Airline Miles or Points

From the First Half of February 2006

If you’ve joined Consumerism Commentary within the past year, you might have missed out on what was published here previously. Here are a few articles from January in past years to catch up. Stay current with the articles here by subscribing to the RSS feed.

From the Second Half of January 2007

Suze Orman Teams Up with TD Ameritrade
Netflix: It Might Be Time to Dump It
Review: The Maui Millionaires by David Finkel and Diane Kennedy
Investing: Real Estate vs. Stock Market
Chicago Fed: Could the Penny Be Worth Five Cents?
Yet Another TIAA-CREF Problem With My SEP IRA
My MBA at the University of Phoenix Online, Part 4: Curriculum
Financial Ratios for Personal Evaluation: Working Capital Ratio

From the Second Half of January 2006

If you’ve joined Consumerism Commentary within the past year, you might have missed out on what was published here previously. Here are a few articles from January in past years to catch up.

From the First Half of January 2007

Do I Have to Declare Goals?
10 Things Your Gym Won’t Tell You
Don’t Feel Bad if You Have a Messy Desk
Do I Need to Report This Income? Part 1 and Part 2
Beginning Employee Stock Purchase Plan
Replacing the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)
Ben Stein: Invest in 2007 or You’ll Regret It
What’s a Decent Rate of Return?
Forget About the Latte Factor

From the First Half of January 2006

New to Consumerism Commentary? Make up for lost time by taking a look through articles posted here in prior years. From the first half of December 2006:

• Sometimes Financial Decisions Must Consider More Than Just Money
• Whining About the Lack of Interest in Their House?
• Baby Boomers Plan to Work in Retirement
• Get Free Money: Comparing Cash Back (Rebate) Credit Cards
• Quicken 2007 Revisited: A Little Better But Far From Perfect
• The Bank Deposits $1,000,000 Into Your Savings Account…
• How to Be the CFO of Your Own Life
• Purchased a New Notebook Computer: Customized Dell Inspiron E1705

• Wealthiest in the World: I’m in the Top 10%

  From the first half of December 2005:

• Bank of America’s Keep The Change
• The Most Indebted Generation
• Getting Rich Is Simple
• Backfired Bankruptcy Bill
• New Jersey Nest Eggs Incubating
• Open an Account at Every Bank

• No Need To Panic About Flex Spending Accounts

  From December 2004:

• Residual Value

• Another Young Millionaire

  From December 2003:

• Do You Want to Earn More Money?
• Stealth Inflation

• Thinking Ahead