No Longer Broke in America in 2009

Today is the beginning of the rest of my life, and I choose to no longer be broke in America.    Worrying about my finances is taking a toll on my life, so much so that it sucks up all my creativity and my passion for life.

Instead of being reactive, I choose to be proactive, and here is the plan:

First, I have to stop the bleeding.  The late fees and insufficient fund fees I paid in 2008 have been shamefully staggering.  This tells me that not only was I broke, but that I need to keep track of my money better.  I need to plan my expenses accordingly, and work from a budget.  This is going to be tricky.  I do not do well with paper, so it will have to be some finance software that is easy to use.  The goal is to have a workable budget so that I will no longer pay any late fees on my utilities by the end of Q1.

Second, I need to raise my income.  With the economy and job market the way they are, this will be hard to do.  In order to be more competitive, I will need to raise my qualifications.  I plan to get a certification in the technical field that interests me, and this will help me get a better position — and better pay, I hope — than what I have now.  The goal is to have passed the certification exam by the end of Q1.

I am keeping it simple enough so that it is achievable.  How about you, what are your financial goals or resolutions for the new year?

They Took It All Away

My very first post here was about wage garnishment — the garnishment of my wages, that is.

I was told by my manager, “Of course, we’re not going to take it all at once!” And of course they did. I opened my paystub and the take home pay was $0. Budget that for bills, groceries, and even gas money. How could anyone have any rights to take one’s entire pay away???

The kids were about to start school and we needed to get school supplies, shoes and clothes for them. The car payment was due. So was the mortgage.

We made it through that bleak two-week period, but barely. I explained the circumstances to the kids (teens, really) and they were not happy but they understood. School supply shopping was transformed to “Mom, can I get this? It’s really cool!” to a bargain-hunting exercise. Personally, I think it did them good. The car and the house aren’t paid yet, however. It is too bad I am going to be paying late fees for those.