To Write

Daydreaming.  When I get bored at work I pull up my budget spreadsheet and think of ways to save money.  A goal of mine is to become a published writer.  I’m still working on completing a manuscript and I think publishing is at least two years away but in the mean time I’m thinking about what I would do once I started getting income from my books.  I have no credit card debt but I do have a hefty student loan ($54,000) and a nearly $100,000 dollar mortgage.  Common sense would say throw the money at the student loan first.  But I’m thinking no.  First I would tithe 10%, and then I would fully fund my 401k (minus the monthly amount I need to get my match).  Then I would fully fund my kids’ college fund up to the tax deductible amount for the year ($5,000).  Then I’d start paying off the smallest loans first.  That way all of the money from said check would be tax deductible.  Only after all this is done would I start paying off my student loans and mortgage.  I love to write, I hate to edit but thinking about what I could potentially do with the income from writing a novel is really motivating me to complete my first manuscript.