But in the spirit of Andrea’s post yesterday over at So Over Debt, I’m going to tell the total, 100% truth:
Last week, I withdrew $2,400 from my Roth IRA to pay off my credit card and beef up my cash savings.
This was an undoubtedly bad long-term move – from a financial standpoint. But much like the last time I did this, I feel great about it psychologically.
I originally had a very long justification as to why I made this decision all typed out and scheduled to post, but the whole thing really comes down to the fact that I’m not ready to start investing yet. I wanted to be – I talked myself into contributing to my Roth instead of my emergency fund. But this was having a very negative impact on my money psyche. I need to have a solid stash of cash in place to deal with life’s ups and downs before I can move onto the next step, financially.
That is, I need a little bit of financial cushioning so that when I fall on my ass, it doesn’t hurt so badly.
Luckily, at the 11th hour, I got a job teaching summer school this year, so the process of creating that cushion should move a little faster than it otherwise would have.
More on my next financial moves later this week.
Do you have any “bad” financial choices you want to be honest about? Go for it!
