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Hi! I am Tiffanie. We Like Money is my (our!) personal finance blog. I chose the name because…well, because we like money. “We” being my husband, Dave, and I. I started this website on July 1, 2008 out of sheer desperation to dig ourselves out of debt and begin living a healthier financial life. This is to keep me motivated and to track progress (and downfalls) of our money decisions.

On a personal note, we have been together for a long time (since 1999 when we met in high school). We have lived together since 2002 and got married in 2006. We didn’t combine finances until we got married, but I have always been the finance guru of our household, ensuring bills are paid on time and whatnot. I came thisclose to obtaining my Bachelor’s degree in Accounting. I love numbers…I just ended up hating accounting. It’s weird because our finances are the one thing I feel comfortable controlling, and yet…they’re out of control.

About 2 weeks after we got married, my husband lost his job. They were downsizing because of financial issue and they just couldn’t keep him on. This was devestating to me. We were able to live off the money we got from the wedding, but this prohibited us from starting up the emergency fund that I so wanted. He found a better paying job within a few months, and it was closer to home and he was still given a company vehicle.

Not only that, but I got promoted within my company around the same time (November 2006) from an hourly position to a very nice salaried position. I almost doubled my income. We were doing very well, got our savings rolling, invested in 401(k) through our employers, and started paying down debt faster than we had ever before. At that point we had roughly $24, 600 racked up in credit card debt alone.

Just how well off were we?

We were able to pay for a 9-day trip to Hawaii (in cash!) for our 1-year anniversary (September 2007) and also funded a trip to Florida with my family for New Year’s a few months after. Most all of this was paid in cash. I was putting $500 into savings every month. We got approved for a car loan for the car I had so badly wanted (2006 Pontiac G6 GTP). We were doing so well. I really thought we were on our way up. We were just about to start looking for a house (we’ve been in apartments since 2002!) when I lost my job.

Yeah. Without digging too much into it (legal reasons, really), I was basically terminated because I had been diagnosed with an incurable autoimmune disorder (Behcet’s). Two weeks after being officially diagnosed (after months of testing, doctor appointments, specialist…you name it), I lost my job with a company I had been with for nearly six years. That was the end of my $35,000 annual salary (not including the $6,000 bonus I got the week I got fired), the end of my health insurance, the end of my 401(k) and profit sharing.

That happened just over three months ago (March). Although I’m getting unemployment, we are bringing in roughly $1000 less than before. And because Dave had to switch from his high deductible HSA to a low deductible family health plan, we are paying more in that area, too. And his health insurance isn’t as good as I was getting from my former employer! Health insurance is one area I can’t skimp on because of my autoimmune disorder (that’s another post for another day).

Anyway, after all is said and done…here we are. I was close to cashing out my 401(k) but refused to do it. I transferred it into an IRA before I could do anything stupid. There’s a little over $6,000 in there, and although it may not sound like much to some…it was something I was proud of. We are now living paycheck to paycheck with bills crashing down around us.

This is our journey.