I absolutely believe that there is value in visualizing your goals.

One goal I have is to limit my debt load. My tool to visualize this objective was something we did way back in second grade - maybe you did too.

About Christmas time we would decorate the Christmas Tree using multiple colors of construction paper. The paper was cut into strips that were made into loops. The loops connected to one another make a paper chain.

Now I use that same advanced technology. Where a single link back then meant you didn't eat your paste or glue, today each link in my chain represents $10,000 in debt that I need to retire. I keep this chain hanging on the wall above my desk so I can see my progress.

With inflation, I am alright eliminating all these links, but it is nice to know I down to 61 links. I think I learned this from a book I read decades ago that was titled Everything I Needed, I Learned in Kindergarten.

Maybe someone else can use this method. If you are reading this and are under age 25, feel free to create the I-Phone App for me. I am getting older and might start eating the paste again.

Hmmm, that's interesting. I am a visual person.

SID,

I saw your video of you and the kids chopping off links. Sounds like RayRay could be encouraged by watching it.

Heck, ALL of us would be encouraged!

Don,

I have a spreadsheet that I track all my rental properties. Estimated value, amount outstanding on loan, taxes, insurance, rent amount, other costs and cash flow per month, and equity.

I try and update it once a month

A little much for young kids to grasp.

Mortgage companies like it when applying.

Phil,

I couldn't agree with you more. I have an excel type file I created years ago and add to constantly.

Almost nothing makes a person happier than adding or subtracting from it. After I did a big refi on three places to pull cash I created another page to toy with spending the money. Pay off this loan or that loan. Put this in here with this interest rate.

Just added to it last week as two separate tenants got new dogs. That's another $200 in reg fees and $600/year in pet rents.

I like it!

The only debt we've had was either a primary mortgage, a short term bridge loan on a HELOC, or a 0% auto loan.

What I did was hang pictures of my "wants" on the fridge with grid paper covering them. Each square of the grid was $5k of debt. I told my wife we can't take that vacation or buy that car until the debt is gone...so we would tear off one square for each $5k we paid and the picture would show more and more until we could see the beach or the car.

No Vacations is Hard Core.

Ray, I love vacations too, but I love being debt-free more. We have been "essentially" debt free since we were in our mid 40s. Bought our house on a 15 year fixed and paid it off in 12 years. Yes we borrow sometimes, but only things like auto loans where we can get guaranteed returns higher than the loan (and we already have the money in the bank to pay for the entire loan), 1 year same as cash deals, and so on. Haven't had a credit card balance since I was 19.