This is my first month without debt obligation. (I eliminated my last non-mortgage debt at the beginning of December.) I didn’t realize how much money I’d been throwing at debt recently — a combination of frugality and hard work created a significant positive cash flow. Now I’m reaping the rewards of that, getting to see my bank account increase instead of sending the money off to repay debt. It’s a fantastic feeling!

Here are some recent articles at other sites that might help you achieve a positive cash flow:

  • Flexo at Consumerism Commentary is currently running a series on “putting your savings into hyperdrive”. In the third part, he looks at one of my favorite topics: how to automate your savings.
  • The Working Dollar answers the question, “My company offers a 401(k): What should I do?”. The obvious answer is: participate! Todd works with 401(k) plans every day, and from his experience most people don’t understand how their plan works. He’s hoping to provide some answers.
  • Lynnae at Being Frugal explains how she taught her preschooler the value of a dollar. I’ve never heard of a kid this young grasping the concept of money and saving. This is a fun little story.
  • Finally, Pinyo at Moolanomy polled his fellow personal finance bloggers, asking them for their best stories from 2007. His list features lots of great reading.

Today on the way home from depositing my paycheck, I stopped at the comic book store. There I made my first purchase of 2008 (The Savage Sword of Conan!). In the past, I would have bought $50 or $100 worth of books, most of which I would never read. I came home this afternoon and enjoyed a couple of stories from the book. I’ll spend the next few weeks working my way through it, and then I’ll buy something new. I like this way better. It feels good.

This article is about Spare Change  Wednesday, 16th January 2008 (by J.D. Roth)