Yippee!

Here's a bit of good news.

I checked my IRA and 401k accounts today, something I have avoided doing much because the balances seemed to drop each time I looked.

My investments were up $1,900. Woo hoo! I still haven't made up all my losses since October, and I realize my holdings could slide again tomorrow. Nevertheless, it is nice to see my net worth climb again.

It has been a little disheartening to work so hard to pay off my debt and build up my cash savings only to see my retirement accounts decline in value. It seemed at times as if I was jogging at a stand still, waiting for the crosswalk sign to change, instead of improving my overall financial position.

The Dave Ramsey debt reduction plan I started nearly a year ago calls for no contributions to retirement until the debt is gone and the emergency fund is complete. It has been a scary feeling not to give to my 401K, but it keeps me motivated to fix my mess quickly. 

The Ramsey way has one downside, at least lately -- it makes market drops all the more glaring, because I have no new contributions to mask them. Hence the hamster-on-a-spinning-wheel feeling I have.

I eagerly await the magic month --  June 2009, when my debt is gone and emergency fund is complete. My retirement contributions will return in full force, with an additional 5 percent on top of what I had been making.

My new short-term goals will then be home ownership and boosting my net worth to $100K. Hopefully, this can be accomplished in another 2-3 years. 

A girl can dream, and strive, can't she?