How I'm Cleaning up my Financial Health

bybosswords

145 followers

5 years ago

I Used to Set Money on Fire.

Not literally of course, but what I was doing was legitimately the same thing as far as my bank account was concerned. I made money. Lots of money. I moved it around. I had three credit cards. I signed up for free and promotional memberships that I never used, And then never canceled. I didn't bat an eye at late fees. I had gym and tanning memberships that came out of my bank account twelve times a year that I only used in June and July.

And Then I Switched Careers.

I'm a teacher now and I love what I do. But I don't make as much as I did when I worked a mile underground in a Canadian mine. The trade off was a financial hit of about 70%. And I didn't know how to cope. Looking back it's embarrassing to admit but I had bad habits. Serious bad financial habits. I still made late payments on all my credit cards, but not because I was procrastinating and frivolous anymore, because I couldn't afford to. The penalty was high though, about 35$ for each late payment. I started every month in the red, by 70-100 dollars.
I still signed up for frivolous memberships, leaving myself sticky notes around to remind myself to cancel them if I didn't use them. And I still forgot. And after a couple of drinks I picked up the tab, because that is what I've always done, and at the time, there was money in my account. I still ate out. I still went shopping. I still did all the things broke people aren't supposed to do.

I Was Going Broke at the End of the Month Just Trying to Eat.

I was getting paid once a month. By the end of the last week I was broke. I had nothing. Literally. Cents in my pockets. But I had a "trick." I would transfer $100 from my credit card to my checking account and even though the money wasn't in the credit account to begin with it still magically appeared in my checking the next day. Yes! Cash! Groceries! (And yes, I got dinged $35 NSF fees for that, to come straight off my paycheck before I even saw it, but it was worth it. I could eat). Yes I know. I wouldn't have to do that if I hadn't squandered money all month. But these are my confessions.

I Had a Self Reckoning.

I finally sat down one day (today to be honest) and decided to come to terms with myself and what I've set on fire, and what I still owe. It is utterly embarrassing.

I have paid $450 in late fees since this month last year on various loans, credit cards, and NSF fees.

I have $155 in upcoming NSF and late fees.

I have paid $120 to apple tunes this year that I can never remember the password for and never use.

I bought my boyfriend a $300 dollar plane ride on Groupon for a trip we had to cancel because of Covid.

I have a $30 gym membership I don't use.

I have a $30 tanning salon membership I don't use.

My interest free promotion is $2400 loan was ending and I am going to be dinged 700$ interest.

My first 12 months promotion for my cable just ended and the bill went from $80/month to $125/month.

What I'm Doing to Fix Things.

This is a month later.

I'm a teacher. I work harder than I have ever worked, yet make less money than I have ever made. Does it make sense? Kind of, if you get teaching. But it also doesn't make sense and that is why I am here, on Wealthy Affiliate, trying to be successful. I also just took on two summer jobs to try to turn my financial health around. I tutored summer school part-time for the first three weeks of summer vacation and I am making milkshakes at the local diner. (Would you believe that I make more money making milkshakes than I make teaching!? It's true. Anyways, here I am trying to fix things. This is what I've done so far:

I made $450 tutoring and $350 so far making milkshakes. Profit: $800

I canceled my apple tunes subscription. Pandora is free. Savings: $10/month

I canceled that groupon plane ride and only got 75% in return but there is no trip to San Fransisco in the foreseeable future. Return: $225

I canceled my tanning salon membership. Savings: $30/month

I canceled my gym membership at least until September. Savings: $30/month

I called the loan service and got an extension on that gave me time to pay off the loan, interest free, which I did with tutoring money. They were extremely difficult to come to an agreement with, and one woman was completely condescending, but I was persistent and remained friendly. It worked. (The woman was a total bitch and she told me to get my life together, lol. I merely and pleasantly told her that is what I was doing. Painful. But worth it). That grueling one hour phone call gave me: Savings: $700 !!!

I called my cable company and asked them to extend my promotion for another 12 months. Although she couldn't' quite do that, she was extremely friendly and agreed to remove $30/month for the next 12 months. . All I had to do was ask! (after discussing it my bf and I decided cable was important and we didn't want to cancel it completely. And that's OK. If something is important to you should keep it. My bill went from $80 to $95/ month, but if I hadn't called to ask it would have been $125. Savings: $30/month

Last but not least I called around and begged, and pleaded, and explained, and managed to reduce three of my NSF/late fee payments reducing them from $155 to $35. Savings $120

This Month's Profits and Savings: $1945

I can't explain the overwhelming feeling of seeing how much money I mitigated parting ways with this month. By sitting down and reckoning with myself what I owed and what I was starting on fire I was able to assess my financial health. Late fees here, subscriptions you half heartedly use (or never use), free promotions that you never bother to deal with when they end, it all seems like a little bit here and there but it truly adds up.

And I'm not against spending money! I am not frugal by any means and I believe in self-indulgence. But much of my spending was not going towards me. If was due to procrastination, laziness, and being complacent about my financial health.

The overwhelming feeling is one of pride, mixed with disgust and a little shame. Shame on me for wasting money when I didn't have any, and shame on me for wasting it even when I did. But mostly I am proud. I am proud I finally sat down and took the time to see what I needed to see and do what I needed to do. I am grateful to myself that I have eliminated so much frivolous spending. My projections are that I'll save another $720 between my cable and the tanning alone by this time next year and I swear to myself that there will not be a single late fee payment leaving my bank accounts EVER AGAIN.