I'm not like you guys/gals. Not exactly. So when I decided to post what is probably a brag, I couldn't do it in the gauntlet section. It just wouldn't be right. I don't strive to reach FI. I'm not trying to build my wealth in a particular way. No, instead, I'm just a guy who wants to be a little smarter about my money, and that's easy to do when I've spent years being so ignorant about it.
For three years, I have fought hard to control my spending. I've spent close to 75% of my take-home pay on things the past-me has bought but not paid for. Old credit card debts. Old student loans. Unpaid state and Federal taxes (from two years time-span for each). Judgments. Collections. In those three years, I have both paid for my past mistakes, and managed to prevent any major new ones. I sold my truck, and for over a year I took the bus and two trains to get to my job. I dispatched my fancy tablet-looking Galaxy Note phone and got a 3g option from Republic Wireless. I obtained a secured credit card and never missed a payment. Then I got a few more cards over time, and kept 100% perfect payments on those too. I'm not going to lie: I built up a bit of debt I couldn't pay all at once, so I ate some interest charges here and there. But I never got in over my head, and I kept fighting back against my spend-ready nature.
Last month, all that effort finally gave way to a real sign of progress. My FICO climbed from it's starting point of 490 to 675. And as of today, I have only the student loans left to tackle. I have 3 years on-time payments on my credit score, and not a single collection or derogatory item remains. Now my only limitation is length of time and credit inquiries.
I promised myself I'd buy a car when this was done. The 25 min trip to work takes me 1:45 by public transit. That's each way. I looked at the Prius C, which I could get around 20k for the options I wanted. And I looked at a Scion IQ, which I could get around 11k. And yesterday, I bought a vehicle. A used 2006 Saturn Ion. It's gold and ugly. But it cost me just $600 and it's reliable. My coworker sold it to me for the same amount a dealer was going to give him as a trade-in.
This is probably the least ego-driven decision I've ever made in a car. Part of me is still in shock. I worked my ass off to pay all this debt down, and the prize I promised myself for doing so was the first brand-new car I'd have ever owned. And my credit was good enough, a car dealer would certainly have managed to extend me credit for it. But that's the old way of thinking.
Now if I want a new car, my deal is this: I'm going to have to have every penny of it in my bank account. I'm going to have to see the money sitting in a real, spendable balance. I have to see it, know it's mine to use in any way I want, and STILL decide the best use for it is a new car. Maybe that will happen. Maybe it won't. But either way, I am tired of buying things today that the tomorrow me has to pay for. Because I just spent THREE YEARS paying for things I got in the past and I am sick and tired of doing that. If today me wants a car, future me has a message: buy it yourself.