[lookout123]

i'm in the black. i paid off the CC's slowly, but at the same time was saving $XX each month on a dollar cost averaging program. every time i got something paid off and had freed up cash, i added 50% of it to my monthly plan. every time my income increased i added 50% of the increase to the investment. in the beginning we were just scratching by, we really didn't have anything for entertainment for some months, but it was worth it in the long run. in the last 5 years we've managed to accumulate about 1 year's income in investments and savings. that does count investment growth.