I went to a seminar on money last night given by the Learning Annex, which I only attended because I received an email coupon to go to the seminar for only $20 when it would have normally cost $60. The seminar was actually quite good, and at one point the speaker asked the audience if any of us had made money in the last five years in California. No one raised their hand, and he said if we didn’t buy real estate we were fools because real estate has just skyrocketed in California over the last five years. He said we didn’t have to buy in the hyper-inflated real estate world of the San Francisco Bay Area, but could have bought property elsewhere in California and we still would have made money.

I’ve been thinking about his question since then because of course like everyone else in the room last night, I felt totally stupid when he said that. But you know, the more I think about it the more I feel like I did make money in the last five years and that I’m in a much better financial position than I was in 2000.

First of all, I don’t own a house but I have a positive networth. I didn’t for a long time because I am a serious shopaholic and didn’t care too much about money thinking I was always going to earn it. It wasn’t until I saw the size of my credit card debts that I realized that I was in serious, serious trouble. Well, all that’s changed now. I will be pretty much debt free by the end of year. I will have paid off all my credit cards and my car as well.

The following incidents have helped me achieved positive networth.

1. I’ve always contributed to my company’s 401(k). Sometimes not very much, but I’ve always tried to have money taken out of my check and put into some kind of retirement savings. I did end up taking money out of my 401(k) at some point to pay off some of my debts, which was a big mistake because of the taxes I had to pay, but since then I’ve managed to build the amount back up to what it was before.

2. I moved my money out of the stock market and into money market funds before the market crash in 2001. I probably moved my money out a little too quickly and missed out on some of the market’s bigger gains, but at least my 401(k) didn’t turn into a 101(k).

3. Before the stock market crash, I had some good stock tips and doubled the amount in my 401(k). So I did make money in the stock market boom, which I managed to keep.

4. I was never unemployed during the economic downturn that hit the SF Bay Area after the stock market crash. I was lucky, very lucky and blessed.

5. I forced myself to curb my freespending ways, still a horrifying daily, daily struggle, and made my instead save money. I have money taken out of my check which goes straight into savings. This method really, really works. If it doesn’t hit my checking account it’s like it’s not there.

6. I earn more money now than I ever have in my whole life. My salary increased by 23% since 2000, but this is also my third job since then. The moving around for more money thing really does work.

And it’s not like I didn’t spend any money either. I moved to an apartment that doubled my rent in 2002, and I bought a new car in 2000.

And now I’m like, okay, maybe I’m not financially where I want to be but I’ve made darn good progress in these last five years when I had pretty much negative networth at the start of the millenium.