So what is the one thing you've done to improve your finances the most...
 

...over the last 6 months or a year?

I am working on dumping all short term debt. That alone will be worth some good extra coin when it's all gone.

Just curious, if you've started a business or refinanced something, whatever, I'd love to hear about it.

Bought Ford at $3.24.

divorce..

I got a job finally..... Does that count?

Quit drinking, well the Doc told me too, but still means more $$$ in my pocket..

6 months to a year... continuing to not spend beyond my means? Some home improvements I did myself, maybe.

paid off the mortgage. debt free and saving/investing like it's going out of style.

My wife went back to work. We are still living like we have only one income, though. Except for some medical expenses that we will incur and maybe some small home improvement projects, we don't plan to spend like crazy. Maybe splurge a little on meals out.

I can tell you, though. It is difficult to force myself to NOT make a purchase.

Refinanced house, saves $400/month.
Did not buy a new SUV when old one is paid off, saves $300/month.
Sell a porsche part before buying a new one...keeps things under control.
Sold power boat and got a kayak...uses a lot less gas ans marina fess, $2000/yr savings.
etc...

I decided to do a rebuild...

Oh no, wait, that won't be improving my bank balance, will it??

Sent the mortgage co. a check for 10K in an attempt to pay down the house. got about 24K left till it's paid off.
Sold a race car
Found a super nice Miata owner that lets me co-drive his car in trade for driving lessons and wrenching work.

Paid down debt.
Changed 401K /IRA mix to 45% bonds and cash.
Selling my house - downsizing

Paid off the house.

I avoid searching for a 2004 GT3. If someone drives up in a super clean white or Gulf Blue 2004 GT3 for sale I will be back in debt, especially if they always wanted a 1985 Grand Prix White Carrera for a trade in. :)

Refinanced the house. Resisted the temptation to buy another car. Stopped eating out for lunch every day.

Paid off student loans.
Pay off credit cards every month.

Putting my house up for sale (has made me stop planning home improvements...for a little while).
Banked some cash for next home purchase.

Hands down, [I]WRITE[I] out a budget every month, a different one every month, things change from month to month. If you write it down and actually stick to it I will surley bet you'll feel like you got a raise.

- Since I broke my foot (1 month ago), I've not been going out at all.

- For the last year or so, whatever check we get back from the health insurance company, I put in savings. (Ex: dental work - I pay the dentist, and the insurance company sends me a check, which I deposit in savings) - this really adds up quickly.

- I did not change my 401k when the market tanked -- now it is back to where it was before 2008. Long term investing tends to even itself out in the long run, so there was no need to panic.

- I cut down on track events. :(

- I always pay my credit card bills in full.

-Z-man.

Kept driving the old paid off cars. Aggressively paying off my student loans. Refinanced our house to a lower rate. Working 70 hours per week.:(

More of the 401k in bonds then ever. Spending less by eating at home, re-organized driving by combining errands, thermostat set at 64.

Finished building my house, paid for out of pocket, and living in it now. Now I save $400 to $600 per month in diesel fuel by not having to commute back & forth during construction. Paid off all our bills & pay credit accounts off each month. The only thing I plan in the future is a new car for the wife, and she's easy to please.

It's especially effective when you're getting paid for 40.

Thanks to my exceptionally low salary I actually get paid OT. Though in the grand scheme of things I'm still getting screwed.

12 months ago I maxed out 401k and went 90% stocks.

House paid off this June.

10 years ago I bought a Honda with 80,000 miles for $3,500 and drove it 10 years until it hit 200,000 miles. Just sold it for $600. I new car depreciates more in a year than what my car cost over 10 years.

Installed a water heater timer at a cost of $150 for parts and saves about $30 a month.
Less heating of the garage to wrench on the car.
As little driving as possible.

Speedy:)

I put my 914-6 resto mod project on hold, and parked my 911 :(

It sucks, but it is effective...unfortunately when the cash sits around I become tempted to buy more spoons. This has recently wiped out extra savings from the p car. I have totally stopped burrowing money though. Aside from student loans, I am 100% debt free.

getting married.

before, i was a loose cannon with my money. hunting trips, 12 track days a year, new bows and other toys, eating out, and dating loose women.

my life is boring now, but i have a nest egg...bittersweet!

now, i pack my lunch, and go to the library. irony alert! my wife got laid off, one friggen year after i got hitched. she is going back to school, and I still have WAAAAAYYYYY more money than before. once she rejoins the work force..i'll be on easy street. but still no loose women.

hahah.

^^^ Jeez Vash, You make growing up sound like so much fun. Remainder to stay single... check. ;)

It's different for me. For the first time I've got a good income that I don't have to be sensible with. Houses paid off etc. So I've been playing with guns a bit :) And last Saturday bought a new trout rod. I fished all day on Monday without a single strike (lightweight spinning rod), wow was I a tired boy and slept well that night. I've opt'ed for suicide by bacon and eat bacon and eggs at cafes followed by lattes to keep up the spending. No race cars, maybe a race gun in the near future.

Me too, so I'm using it to pay everything off and build up some savings (fancy having that). I'll never be in this position again if I have anything to do with it.

Me too... got married... was living high on the hog... diner out three four times a week... don't miss it at all.

Just refied mortgage, paid off credit cards, going to keep cards paid off every month.

This is how I got off the debt merry-go-round:
1) Did a ledger to see where I was spending. Everything. Even a gallon of milk or a coke. It took some time but you'd be amazed how much you spend that doesn't get picked up on the budget radar. :eek: It helped me to reign in my spending habits.
2) Paid off all debt starting with the highest interest first. Did the mortgage last because it was tax-deductible. *A word to those that recently paid off the mortgage: be prepared for a bigger tax bill! For me, it meant going to standard deductions instead of itemized. :mad: Each time I paid off a debt, I added that monthly amount of money each month to the next bill to be paid off.
3) Once everything was debt free, started a simple savings/money market account. I put 2 - 3 paychecks each month into it and then when it grows to a pre-determined amount I move the money into a CD and start building again. When I had a nice cushion, I bought my `87 with 34k miles in 10/03 and paid cash. No small trick for a middle class guy without a 6 figure income or rich parents.

I'm now looking for a stable long term investment. My pain threshold for financial risk is rather low so I'm not the stocks kind of guy. Am I a millionaire? No but I sleep like a baby knowing that the volatility of the market or my job situation will not affect my standard of living or risk me losing everything. To me, peace with some nice stuff is better than tons of stuff with liens. I admire those of you that have the go big or go home financial plans but I knew I wasn't going to be happy doing it that way.

Switched from Coke to Pepsi

Put spending on the 911 on hold.

I stopped being poor.

Got the hell out of Kalifornia.

Go big or die frustrated. Your choice. If you have to watch every nickel and can't get what you want, whether it be where you live, material items or vacations, then you must be frustrated. Very few people are happy spending all their time in a boring, stable situation whiling away their days, waiting to keel over. So don't tell me you're perfectly happy not getting what you want. I'm gonna call BS.

How much do you want?

And no doubt Motion knows how to go big! :D http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/33022-pity-poor-me.html

As much as it takes... personally, I'm not happy in a boring, unstimulating situation. If I wake up tomorrow and decide I want to pursue a hobby in antigravitational mobility devices, I want to be able to pursue that, regardless of cost. Yeah, some are going to call that hedonistic, but I might keel over with a bad ticker tomorrow, so I'd like to be able to pursue my interests without hinder. Of course, one must take care of their obligations first.

Awwww jeez, Kurt.