Yielding to Logic

That's what I have done with my latest transfer of funds.

How so?

Some of you will recall a plan I outlined almost exactly one year ago. That plan involved paying off my AmEx at a slower rate while I amassed my emergency savings. Now I am ending that plan and focusing on reducing the balance on my card.

So you may be asking what has changed since then?

First and foremost, I achieved my savings goal for 2008. I currently have $20,142 in emergency funds. While I will not completely terminate my Direct Deposit into that account, I am turning down the savings rate to about $150/month from $1000. The remaining funds will be divided among a savings account for travel expenses and for paying down my card.

Second, the return of principal I expected last year never materialized. Thus, due to fees, the AmEx balance has grown much faster than I originally expected or intended. That was a failure of management on my part. I needed to pay closer attention to this situation, and adjust my plan as soon as the payment clearly was not going to be made. This mistake is a learning experience and will not be repeated.

Third, as will soon be detailed, my trading adventures recently have been a less successful than expected. Thus, paying off the card has a higher ROI than shorting AXP or riding the volatility of FAZ. (I have been positive on my AXP shorts, but I haven't had the funds to control enough shares to make huge returns. FAZ, on the other hand, has stopped me out more times than I care to count.)

Fourth is the emotional and psychological component. In the year since that last blog post, the balance on the AmEx has grown pretty steadily. Even after I moved to my current apartment and stopped paying my rent on my card, I just have not been able to pay down the balance as quickly as originally anticipated. That outstanding balance is an albatross around my net worth. At this point, with other goals accomplished, it is now time to address this situation. As I previously mentioned, money is an emotional topic, and how each of us manages our finances is very personal. This charge card balance has finally reached a point of personal pain for me, and now is the time for salve.

By transferring out of my investment account so that I can use the funds to pay down the AmEx balance. While once upon a time, I had it under control, it has become abundantly clear that I am doing more harm than good but allowing this balance to continue living. The rate at which it is accumulating interest is overwhelming my ability to service the debt at a level I feel comfortable with. (To be sure, I could continue doing what I am doing, and technically it would not be hard, but I hate the feelings associated with it. Psychosomatic? Probably.)

Fifth, having a written goal to pay off the card has focused my mind. While it will not be a simple process, if I am going to achieve this goal by year end, I have to commit myself to it. That means doing everything I can to allocate the necessary funds. Some of that will likely come from additional income. Some of those funds will come from re-allocating income from my job, and part of it will come from reducing the balance against which fees are assessed. No matter how this comes together, I MUST perform activities which support this goal given its importance to me.

I have already transferred half of my cash balance from my trading account back into my checking account. From there, it will be applied against my AmEx balance; that transaction should complete today, Friday, 20 March 2009. Along with the coming shift to reduced savings, I estimate that I should have this card paid down before the end of August. I think I can probably be even more aggressive, but there's no sense in creating suffering just to serve a goal. This single payment will reduce my outstanding balance by 46%.

On top of re-arranging my income stream to pay down the card, there are a few places where "found money" comes into play. I have a 5 year, $1000 CD coming due this month. When it does, I will transfer those funds into my checking account and then make an additional payment to my AmEx. I also expect to be repaid about $1600 that I lent to a friend last year. That money can either augment the savings I am assembling for travel spending later this year or, depending on the potential cost of those trips, I may just apply the money to the AmEx.

A bonus to this entire scenario is that I will probably earn enough Membership Rewards points to pay for at least one of the flights I am preparing for. That takes some of the edge off of the pain of scraping together the almost $22,000 that I owe. That alone is a huge win.

Anyway, that's the plan which has been put into action. I'll keep you updated on the progress.

Until next time...