" It's not the way I hoped how I planned bust somehow it's enough." -from the song Save the Best for Last by Vanessa L. Williams
So this is it. Today is my last day as a twenty-something. In the last 10 years had a child, survived cancer, graduated college, learned to drive, bought a car and a ton of other bits of "life stuff". I didn't want my last post to be too heavy so I thought it be fun to do a quick questionnaire about me. Here's the famous Pivot questionnaire from The Actor's Studio.
What is your favorite word? Romance
What is your least favorite word? cacophony What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? intelligence What turns you off? rudeness What is your favorite curse word? "got" dammit What sound or noise do you love? music What sound or noise do you hate? whining What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Composer What profession would you not like to do? Middle School teacher If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? What do you want to do first?
"The Check-Cashing joint is kinda like a homeless shelter for money. Well, a homeless shelter with a door charge. They know the only reason you're there is because you have nowhere else to go, but they take advantage of the situation by charging you fees for everything. First-time check-casing fee. Payroll-check fee. Welfare-check fee. Breathing too hard while in line? Extra-breath fee. You can't just be sucking in all the check-cashing air for free! Pay up!" -Angela Nissel from The Broke Diaries
Hello there Friends, Mothers, Lovers and Other Strangers,
Upon my goal to read 1 book a month the first one I chose was The Broke Diary by Angela Nissel. The book consists of diary entries she kept while she was a lowly underpaid college student. We follow Angela, or Ang as she ends all of her entries, through her struggles with being short on rent, being rejected by a bank, using her cat's water bowl to make a potluck dish and dating a guy who breeds, slaughters and cooks his own prizewinning chickens(she says it's true and I'm inclined to believe her).
Having been in her shoes I could totally relate to the tales listed within and likely you have too. Being broke is not simply a college thing. We've all been in situations where we've found ourselves literally just 3 cents shy of a pack of Ramen (C'mon man! You know I'm good for it).
It's quite a short book (by an avid reader's standards) so I don't want to risk giving too much away but there is an entry about attending a free poetry reading that still has me in tears with laughter. Revolution!
My only criticisms on the book, aside from it's length, is that we don't get to see much of the journey out of the "broke status". Angela went on to do great things like establishing the hip-hop culture website OkayPlayer along with ?uestlove from The Roots and becoming a writer and producer for the tv show "Scrubs". I'm sure that simply getting job after college wasn't the only thing she needed to get a handle on her financial situation. Also some of the entries are getting to be a little dated as time passes (i.e. having overdrafts due to collect calling from a payphone) but this really can't be helped.
I feel that this should be required reading for all high school seniors and college freshmen. While she allow us to laugh at her pain, Angela Nissel also shows us the often harsh realities of entering into young adulthood. Click here to purchase the book from Amazon while showing my humble blog a little love in the process.
"Don't make me live for my Friday nights, drinking 8 pints and getting in fights."
-Jamie Cullum from the song Twentysomething
Good Morrow Mi Familia,
It's 11:37 pm Friday as I set out to write this. For the next 48 hours I don't gave to report my place of employment. For the next 24 hours this is going to feel amazing! Come Sunday night the depression sets in. I find in a few hours I'll have to report to work again...waiting...for the next weekend to come. This wouldn't be so bad if I actually enjoyed my job. Sometimes I do but to get to the good moments I have to endure all the garbage. 5 days of garbage for 2 days of freedom. It's wearing me down.
On my road to financial freedom I've been reading a lot of blogs and listening to a ton of podcasts.
One blog that had captured my attention is Dividend Mantra. The author, Jason, is already 3 years into a journey similar to the one I'm on. With his friend Kraig of Young Cheap Living they created The Chasing Financial Freedom Podcast. In episode 3 they talk about and article written by Steve Pavilina outlining 10 Reasons Why You Should Never Get A Job.
At the onset, the title alone feels very counter intuitive. Yes, we have to work to get the money to buy the things we need and want. For the majority of us work=job. Some of us are fortunate to have jobs we love and are fulfilled by. Me? Not so much. I'm working now to put myself in a position where I don't HAVE to work...and soon! I want to touch on three key points in the article that really drive home what I'm trying to accomplish.
Jobs put a cap on your finances. Most people can only work one job at a time, limiting your income. You don't earn money when your not working. And no, paid vacation days don't count. When you do actually get paid you have to pour those resources right back into job relates expenses (i.e. transportation, lunches, supplies etc.).
Jobs are time leeches. I get out of bed and get ready for work at around 9am. I get home at about 9pm. That means five days a week 50% of my day is spent getting ready for work, driving to work, working or coming home from work. For the remaining 12 hours I either don't get enough sleep because I have limited time to do non-work related activities, or I get nothing done because I'm running on empty and pass out sleeping.
Jobs keep YOU from being YOU. Have you ever had a co-worker who was really passionate and outspoken about work when they talk to you but suddenly turn as quiet as a church mouse when you all are in a meeting? I recently had a one-on-one with my supervisor where she noted that she doesn't feel like she's ever gotten to see "the real me". She couldn't be more right. I feel defeated every day that I walk into those double doors. I try to soldier on but it's wearing on me bit by bit.
So how do we fix this?? Keep following this blog so you can see what I do, when I do it and how I'm doing it!
The light bulb going off. The a-ha moment. The "come-to-Jesus" meeting. Eureka! No matter how you express it everyone has that defining moment in their lives when something just clicks in your brain. Either you get fed up or you feel so at ease and suddenly it all makes sense. I touch on it a little bit in my first post (click here to read it) but I've come to this realization through several small moments in the last few months.
This past June I took a vacation with my family to Myrtle Beach. It's tough for me to get vacation time at my current job so until a few weeks before I didn't even know if I could go. Luckily part of the vacation was scheduled around my current off days and I put in for the remaining time with plans to see a Boyz II Men show (the best group EVER. Fact not opinion).
This turned out to be one of the best trips of my life. I'm neither an early riser nor an exerciser but for every morning on this 5 day trip. I got up at the crack of dawn without an alarm to go out for a jog on the beach. One morning my son got up with me and we flew a kite. I ate at least 4 plates of crab legs. I bought a new jacket on the cheap at the Ralph Lauren outlet (I LOVE Polo.) I played mini-golf with my son and my parents. I rode the tallest Ferris Wheel on the east coast. It was something I really needed.
On the last night the moon was full and high in the sky. My son was off with his granddad with flashlights searching for hermit crabs. My aunts were wandering the shore near by. I sat on a beach towel with my mom watching people shoot off fireworks. There were murmurs about wishing we could stay an extra day. I didn't know when I would be able to do something like this again.
That's when I had that moment; a resounding pivotal moment about time. I looked at time as a commodity. As an employee I put my time out on the free market. I sell my time to my employer in exchange for money. I have to then lobby my employer to get back the time I sell to them for my own personal use. Does no one else find this idea the least bit problematic?? Does no one else see major parallels to prostitution here?? You have to get clearance from your boss to get back your own time!!! Meaning your agreement to work for them in turn gives them the right to deny you the use of your own time. Ain't that a bitch??? But there is a way around this.
Rather than spending my whole adult life trading my time for money I am taking steps to make my money work for me. Money is the best employee there is; it works 24x7x365 and never calls in sick. Saving is great but that alone won't get you a return worth not having to lease out your time. Early retirement is a pretty lofty goal for me, especially since I'm halfway toward mid-life status, but it is what it is. I'd like to at least be semi-retired by 40, allowing my money tree to grow and bear enough fruit to live off of and to regenerate itself time and time again.
First off I want to say gracias, danke schoen and a great big ol' THANK YOU to all who have read and/or shown support after my first post. This is a very personal endeavor that I'm putting out for the world to see and it's always nice to get a "You go girl!" I'll try my best to keep my topics both entertaining and informative.
Now on to the topic at hand. As the title says, the intent of this post is to outline some goals and ground rules. You can decide from my bullet points here whether or not you want to follow in my humble corner of web real estate.
WHAT IT IS
This is me getting real with myself; my "come-to-Jesus moment" as some would say. I'm not where I want to be and I have to take responsibility to put myself it a better standing. Keyword: accountability.
This will put stakes on my learning process. If I'm not learning anything, trying something new or working through problems then I won't have anything to share with you beautiful people.
This is me being an open book. Without getting too dangerous, I'm going to be as candid as possible about my finances, certain aspects of my life, my hobbies etc.
WHAT IT AIN'T
This will not be an advice column. I am not within a million foot radius of being qualified to dispense advice of any sort.. This blog is for informational purposes only. If you like any ideas I post about finance or investing, do the research for yourself or seek professional financial consultation. If you like my ideas about social matters, see a shrink. The food thing? Talk to a chef. I'll be happy to answer any and all questions. Just take my answers for what they are: opinions.
This will not be any kind of socio-political manifesto. I have beliefs. I may even briefly talk about my beliefs on occasion. But I will NEVER EVER force my beliefs on you. Simple as that.
This will not always be grammatically perfect. I tend to use a lot of run-ons and comma splices. Spell check doesn't catch everything. I do the best I can at editing but don't be a troll if you see a "your" when it should be a "you're".
WHAT IT GON' BE
I want to become an expert in personal finance. I think the reason we get into so much economic trouble is the don't really understand the fundamentals of how finance works. We're touched by Adam Smith's Invisible Hand briefly in the 8th grade, but for a lot of us that is where our financial education ends. There's been a recent push to bring financial literacy to the forefront and I want to be a part of that movement.
I hope to use this blog as a weapon in my arsenal for a comprehensive passive income portfolio. I'll outline more details in an upcoming post about my specific goals.
I want to be an example to people who are in similar situations. I'm a single mom. I'm burdened by debt. I'm a cancer survivor. I'm caught in a career loop. I'm still trying to leave the nest and set out on my own. I'm tackling all my problems and will be completely transparent with how I do it. I hate when people say they made it through an ordeal, or they got rich or got the career of their dreams and when you ask how they get all secretive. When I come up I bring people with me.
