What went well:

0% APR Balance Transfers: Believe it or not, I did several 0% APR balance transfers throughout the year to help us over the rough patches. So far, with no problems. This is really a risky strategy, I do not recommend it, but it has worked for us in a pinch. Unfortunately, these credit card balance transfers do not come free anymore. I had to pay a 3% balance transfer fee for all three that I took out.

Blogging: I have been a blogger in one sense or another since 2006 and 2009 was the first year that I earned regular income from this “hobby”. I hope to continue this trend.

Health: Poor health may have been the “straw that broke the camel’s back” for the Stew household in 2009, but fortunately, we had very few expenses in this area.

Child care: This was a lot of work for Mrs. Stew, but we would not have made it through the year without her hard work taking in children during the week.

Selling our house: The house was on the market for 16 months and the realtor only showed it three times in that time and it sold on the third showing. I am glad that we continued to stay current with our payments even though it was extremely difficult.

What didn’t go so well:

Budgeting: Spending did not go out of control for us in 2009, but we fell out of the habit of keeping track of our financial picture through the use of a written budget. To a certain extent, this was because just before we sold our house, the picture had become so bleak that I avoided looking at it.

Cashing out my SIMPLE IRA: I wish I had not done it, but faced with the same scenario, I probably would have been forced to make the same choice. Tough call, but we needed the money . . . still waiting to find out the exact tax ramifications of this decision. Of course, the market rebounded significantly since I shut down the account. Figures.

Ya’ win some and ya’ lose some.

Article by Stew

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As part of a new series I’m starting, I asked you last week to share your story about your dumbest purchase.  There were lots of great replies about cars, clothes, food, and even falling for scams.  I found everyone’s replies really interesting to read and my hope is that everyone’s stories are not only fun to read but beneficial to others by helping them make smart decisions.

This week the Share Your Story question is: What is the most expensive thing you’ve ever purchased?

My most expensive thing

Mine, like many other’s answers I would suspect is our home.  What makes mine interesting though as it wasn’t only the most expensive thing I’ve ever purchased, but also one of our more “dumb” one’s as well.  We paid about $20,000 too much for our house!  While I could easily blame this on our real estate agent as she pretty much lied to us, I blame myself for not doing my own homework.   I was far too trusting of her and won’t make that mistake again.  We didn’t find out how in the hole we were until we looked at possibly selling our home a few years later.

We just put a contract on another home, and not only did I get the competetive market analysis from our buyer’s agent, I also did research myself using sites like zillow.com.  Fortunately this time around our agent was thorough and honest.  His analysis was accurate and very well done.

How about you?  What is the most expensive thing you’ve ever purchased?  Would you purchase it again?  Was it worth what you spent?

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While driving to work, I often enjoy listening to the various morning shows.  One of the common themes is to ask the listeners a crazy question and have them call in and share their story or experience.  I thought it might be both fun and interesting to do something similar here on Gather Little by Little.  This post is the first in on ongoing series I am going to run called Share your story, where I’ll throw out a question and you can share your answer.  If you have a blog, I encourage you to blog about your story and I’ll add a link in.

Here’s the first question:

What is the dumbest thing you’ve ever spent money on?

My dumbest thing

I have to be honest, I’ve spent money on so many dumb things, it was a bit difficult for me to choose, especially considering I bought lots of items I didn’t need while still carrying significant credit card debt.  For me I think my dumbest purchase was our truck and camper.

In 2002, we purchased a 32′ travel trailer camper, and in 2004 purchased a brand new Dodge diesel pickup truck to pull it.  While RV camping and owning a trailer isn’t dumb, for me it was a dumb purchase.  We had many numerous wonderful vacations in our RV and as a result carry memories we will cherish for a lifetime.  Some of our fondest memories as a family are camping.

I bought the truck in order to have a reliable and safe pulling experience.  If you’ve ever pulled a trailer with a vehicle that wasn’t capable, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.  Purchasing the truck made our camping experience far less stressful for me.

The problem wasn’t purchasing the camper or truck, although we did buy them both new which was dumb.  Our problem was buying both of these items while still carrying a large debt balance.  The camper and truck combined were right at $50,000.  The truck was financed for 5 years, and the trailer for 10 years.  Monthly payments for both were around $550.00.

That was $550.00 a month I should have been applying to my debt snowball.  Fortunately we saw the light, and sold both the truck and the camper in 2006 and 2007 respectively.  We still camp, but in a large tent.  I now drive a 100% paid for used vehicle instead of a brand new truck.

We may again buy a camper, but it will be used as will the tow vehicle and it won’t happen until we are 100% debt free except for our mortgage.  Amazing how hindsight is 20/20 huh?

Other bloggers sharing their “dumbest thing” story:

• Cindy Brick – Stupidest Purchase You’ve Ever Made?
• Not the Jet Set

Share your dumbest thing story by adding a comment or blogging about it. If you blog about your story, make sure I get a trackback, if not add a comment linking to your post.

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