Hello Financial Bliss!

I started a annuity a couple years ago. I get graphic quarterly reports that remind me of spreads from U.S.A. today. Anyway, I probably haven't opened one in like a year, because frankly it was just all too depressing to see my shares going up, and my value steadily sinking like a rock. Yep, that's right. I've been forking over 200 tax free dollars a month to a retirement annuity just so I can have the supreme pleasure, and gratification of watching that money disappear. Burning in the fire of our recessed economy. This money is supposed to be for retirement, but really I consider it my, house down payment/ change of career reeducation fund.

So, yesterday, I open the latest quarterly graphic report, expecting to see the amount of shares I own to have significantly increased, and to see a very negative growth in my overall monetary value, as has been the norm. Instead, I was EXCEEDINGLY pleased to see that my growth was nearly equal to the amount of my contributions for that quarter. I mean HELLO! Did a little happy dance thank you very much.

So, I also think credit cards are the devil, and have been paying off a sizable credit card debt for the last 5 years, I have like 5 more payments left, at $150 bucks a pop, I really don't know if it was wise or not, but I reached a breaking point yesterday, and decided that the monthly $150 dollar leak in my expendable income just really is NO LONGER EXCEPTABLE, and called my financial advisor to tell him I wanted to make a withdrawal, he counciled me against a withdrawal because I would have penalty fees, taxes (since this money is withdrawn from my check pre-tax) and I don't know a lot of other, blah blah blah, which would all end up at nearly 40% of the amount I wanted to withdrawal, but I was determined. I wanted out of that $150 dollar a month strangle hold my past credit card had me in, so I pressured him to see my point of view. He finally admitted that it would be wise for me to pay this sucker off, AND was much more enthusiastic after he found out I have been living credit card free for the past 5 years.

Kyle suggested I take a loan against part of the value of my portfolio. At the word loan, I kinda' got cold feet, but they warmed up again once I found out the minimum payments are quarterly, and only like 30 dollars, and I'll be paying more then that monthly anyway, and the interest rate was like 3% or something. SO yeah, I'll be feeling a $150 dollar cushion in my monthly budget, which makes me just smile.