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I can't say that I have had one singular turning point for my finances, but there have been four milestone events that have brought me to where I am today:
1.) Getting my first full-time paid job (change made: thinking about the future and setting goals that I would act toward in the present)
Prior to getting a steady paycheck I was completely careless about money and assumed everything would work itself out in the future (as a result I was $50k in student debt). The simple act of being able to enroll automatically in a 401k got me thinking about the future and was the starting point for me setting financial goals.
2.) Getting my first raise (change made: understanding what I thought was worth spending money on and eliminating the rest)
About 9 months later I got a fairly significant raise and a transfer promotion from San Francisco to LA. I was on top of the world. I bought a new car, paid for friends when we went out, I even kept my place in San Francisco even though I was working in LA. It took about 3 months to blow through all of my savings and the bonus I got for moving. I was also in a position where I was spending more than I was making. I had to make some drastic cuts and changes that I never would have made had I not gone so overboard. My favorite change and one I will argue to death is that bus travel is immensely superior to air travel between LA and San Francisco.
3.) Taking a lower paying job to move back to San Francisco (change: a deeper commitment to negotiating my worth)
4.) My grandfather dying and getting buried by associated expenses (changes made: a better understanding of the power of liquidity and an awareness of earning money beyond my primary job)
1.) Getting my first full-time paid job (change made: thinking about the future and setting goals that I would act toward in the present)
Prior to getting a steady paycheck I was completely careless about money and assumed everything would work itself out in the future (as a result I was $50k in student debt). The simple act of being able to enroll automatically in a 401k got me thinking about the future and was the starting point for me setting financial goals.
2.) Getting my first raise (change made: understanding what I thought was worth spending money on and eliminating the rest)
About 9 months later I got a fairly significant raise and a transfer promotion from San Francisco to LA. I was on top of the world. I bought a new car, paid for friends when we went out, I even kept my place in San Francisco even though I was working in LA. It took about 3 months to blow through all of my savings and the bonus I got for moving. I was also in a position where I was spending more than I was making. I had to make some drastic cuts and changes that I never would have made had I not gone so overboard. My favorite change and one I will argue to death is that bus travel is immensely superior to air travel between LA and San Francisco.
3.) Taking a lower paying job to move back to San Francisco (change: a deeper commitment to negotiating my worth)
4.) My grandfather dying and getting buried by associated expenses (changes made: a better understanding of the power of liquidity and an awareness of earning money beyond my primary job)
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