Category Archives: Confessions of a PF Blogger

Confessions of a PF Blogger: A Slow Slide into Credit Card Debt Hell

Posted on by
5http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehappyhomeowner.net%2F2011%2F09%2Fconfessions-of-pf-blogger-slow-slide.htmlConfessions+of+a+PF+Blogger%3A++A+Slow+Slide+into+Credit+Card+Debt+Hell2011-09-13+21%3A23%3A00Jenhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehappyhomeowner.net%2F2011%2F09%2F13%2Fconfessions-of-a-pf-blogger-a-slow-slide-into-credit-card-debt-hell.html

Welcome back to CoPFB!

Confessions of a Personal Finance Blogger In my previous post, I highlighted a triumphant financial moment: being able to pay off my first year of college in cash.  Based on a synopsis of that post, some may wonder how someone who was so diligent with her money could be so foolish as to rack up over $14,000 in credit card debt.

The short answer? I have no idea.

I can pinpoint a few moments throughout college where I began to act financially irresponsible, but I’m not sure they account for the overall status of my finances. Or perhaps they do…

My college experience was much that of the typical middle-class student: I worked a few part-time jobs, I became a Resident Assistant to off-set room & board costs, I sought out paid internships, and I worked hard to get good grades in my classes.

Type-A all the Way

I was the stereotypical Type A busybody who threw herself into a myriad of activities, jobs, and situations that demanded a lot of my time. In addition to my professional and academic pursuits, I also somehow managed to have a pretty roaring social life. I certainly had my fair share of fun nights and weekends, but I was careful to never let the wild ways affect my jobs, academics, or finances.

That was, until one fateful weekend when I experienced a deeply personal, challenging situation that would forever impact my existence on campus as well as plunge me into an emotional funk for quite some time.

During that time, I somehow managed to keep up with my coursework, but I also found myself acting completely out of character in terms of spending, among other things (I also eventually quit all but one of my jobs even though the time commitments weren’t as much as they’d previously been).

Spend ALL the Money!

I also became a bona fide spendaholic; if I wanted it, I bought it. And for a while, it was easy to pay off the credit card bills because I had a decent internship income. However, slowly over time my spending eclipsed my earning.

The first time I opened my credit card statement and saw a four-digit balance, I literally threw up.  Ironically (and despite my physical response to the bill), I emotionally felt little stress or importance to pay it off completely. Worst yet, I continued to shop.

And so it began.  My life as a saver and diligent money manager had been turned upside down.  Unfortunately, it took quite some time to snap out of this and actually process what I had experienced.

I effectively became very good at running away from situations instead of dealing with them head-on. If I only I knew then what I know now…

This post is part of my Confessions of a PF Blogger series.  Other posts include:

 

 

 

        

Confessions of a PF Blogger: $5,500 in Cash

Posted on by
6http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehappyhomeowner.net%2F2011%2F08%2Fconfessions-of-pf-blogger-5500-in-cash.htmlConfessions+of+a+PF+Blogger%3A++%245%2C500+in+Cash2011-08-16+15%3A43%3A00Jenhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehappyhomeowner.net%2F2011%2F08%2F16%2Fconfessions-of-a-pf-blogger-5500-in-cash.html

Welcome back to CoPFB!

Confessions of a Personal Finance Blogger As my previous post in this series alluded, I haven’t always had such stellar work & savings habits.

Looking back through my financial history, I can easily pinpoint the exact date when my situation began to turn from sunshine & roses to thunderstorms and ragweed (or, more appropriately, from loads of cash flow and savings to an eventual mountain of debt and anxiety):  August 13, 1999.

Friday the 13th

You see, this was no ordinary Friday afternoon–despite being able to cash a sizable paycheck as I’d done so many Fridays before.

While I had diligently worked 70+ hours each week at the local amusement park that summer before college to save as much money as humanly possible (and somehow managed to still enjoy my summer), I had been dreading this day–the day when the check to pay off the balance for my first year of college tuition had to be postmarked by.

Write Me a Check, Please!

So instead of depositing my entire paycheck into my savings account as I had done for so many previous weeks, I needed to take out the cash, plus the [entire] balance of my account.  I didn’t have a checkbook, so I needed my mother to write the check to my University for me (these were the days before online bill pay became the norm).

I drove home with an envelope stuffed with cash, and I promptly counted out said cash on our kitchen table:  $5,500 in cold, hard cash.  Sitting there, taunting me.  Reminding me of my hard work and motivating me for what the next chapter in my life would bring.

No Money for Me

I watched, horrified yet exhilarated, as my mother wrote the check, stuffed the envelope, placed the stamp, then put the envelope in her purse to be mailed on her way to work the next day along with the pile of money to be deposited.  I earned that money all by myself.  I took out zero loans for my first year of college (I had some scholarships in the mix, too).  I was on my way, and I was going forward in a financially stable manner.

Then I looked at my wallet.  In it sat two very lonely $1 bills.  I had two dollars to my name and I was going off to college in one week.  As I felt a wave of anxiety flood through my system, I wrote it off as a fluke and banked on the notion that my on-campus job would provide enough security to weather this small storm.

I would re-build my savings because I was a worker and I’d always been a saver.  I would continue to make smart financial choices because I vowed to myself that I’d never struggle like my parents had.

Or so I thought..

This post is part of my Confessions of a PF Blogger series.  Other posts include:

.

 

.

 

        

Confessions of a PF Blogger: 16 Candles

Posted on by
4http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehappyhomeowner.net%2F2011%2F08%2Fconfessions-of-pf-blogger-16-candles.htmlConfessions+of+a+PF+Blogger%3A++16+Candles2011-08-08+18%3A30%3A00Jenhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehappyhomeowner.net%2F2011%2F08%2F08%2Fconfessions-of-a-pf-blogger-16-candles.html

Confessions of a Personal Finance Blogger Welcome back to CoPFB!

Ahh, the 16th birthday.

To most, this milestone marks a huge step in gaining a bit of much-anticipated freedom: the driver’s license.

While certain state laws that regulate the dispensing of driver’s permits and licenses have changed since I reveled in my 16 candled-cake, most high school students I know still wait, often with breath baited, for that coveted birthday.

No Driving Permit for You

My 16th birthday included a permit that had nothing to do with the operation of a motor vehicle. Deeming 16 to be too young and immature an age for driving, my parents allowed only permits of the working sort until our 17th birthdays.

So on my 16th birthday, I visited my high school’s administrative office and filed the paperwork to obtain my worker’s permit.

I subsequently got in my mother’s car and was driven to my new job (already confirmed prior to my birthday). I was the proud owner of a minimum wage-paying position at Wendy’s, and I picked up my uniform shirts to be ready for work the very next day.

She Works Hard for the Money

Aside from my strawberry-picking adventures on the farm, this was the only other job I’d ever held that yielded a real paycheck. Of course, now that I was legally able to maintain both a paying job AND a savings account, I promptly had my savings switched into my very own account. I no longer relied on my mother to cash and deposit my checks, and I loved the freedom I felt when going into the bank to cash them myself.

I worked this job up until the summer before college. I would go to school, go to cross country or track practice, then be picked up by one of my parents and taken straight to work for the evening and/or closing shift. I worked as many weekends as I could as well.

And what did I do with the money I was bringing home? I banked it. I banked it for a trip to France during my junior year.  I banked it for my first car. I eventually banked it to off-set college tuition costs.

Financial Goals from Day One

I set (and reached) a myriad of financial goals that most kids my age could only dream of (or have their parents pay for). I was responsible & hard-working, and I had the savings account balance, car, and life experiences to prove it.

That is, until that fateful summer before my first year of college. Little did I know that my work-save-work-save formula was about to be shaken up in a major, life-changing way…..

This post is part of my Confessions of a PF Blogger series.  Other posts include:

 

 

 

Confessions of a PF Blogger: $0.25 per Quart

Posted on by
14http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehappyhomeowner.net%2F2011%2F08%2Fconfessions-of-pf-blogger-025-per-quart.htmlConfessions+of+a+PF+Blogger%3A++%240.25+per+Quart2011-08-02+15%3A31%3A00Jenhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehappyhomeowner.net%2F2011%2F08%2F02%2Fconfessions-of-a-pf-blogger-0-25-per-quart.html

Confessions of a Personal Finance Blogger Welcome back to CoPFB!

I’ve always been a worker.  To this day, I don’t recall a time in nearly two decades when I haven’t been juggling multiple jobs.

Looking back on my employment history, I remember a plethora of odd, random experiences that always helped to boost my bottom line.

In order to fully understand the magnitude of my love of work, one needs only to rewind a mere 19 years.

First Paying Job at 11 Years Old

I was eleven years old, and I managed to land my first paycheck-bearing position in addition to my standing babysitting appointments:  I was hired to pick strawberries at a local farm.

Despite the state mandate that farm help must be at least 12 years old, my mother was able to convince the farmer that he should hire me (thanks, Mom!) because ‘I was a worker and he wouldn’t be let down.’

And So it Began

Every morning at 5:30AM, seven days a week, one of my parents would schlep me over to the farm and drop me off.  I would spring from the car and immediately ask the farmer which rows we’d be picking that morning.  As soon as I grabbed my trays and empty quarts, I was off to find the “perfect” row.

No matter the slugs, bugs, rain, and straw rashes on my legs, I was a strawberry-picking machine.  I found great satisfaction in knowing that the faster I worked, the more money I made (I also seriously enjoyed competing with the boys and seeing their faces when they found out I had picked more than them at the end of the day).

25 Cents Per Quart

Each week I received a “paycheck” that reflected my $0.25 per quart salary (it was a personal check written by the farmer).  Being too young to have a bank account, my mother would cash the checks for me and subsequently deposit them into a separate savings account.  I had my first savings account “passport” at the age of eleven, and I carried that damn thing around like it was my personal Bible.  Watching the balance grow in that book was as liberating as I currently feel while watching my Net Worth grow.

I held this job for 6 consecutive summers, and I firmly believe that this experience was the catalyst for a life of hard work and dedication to my finances.

While I’ve had some struggles and mishaps along the way (to be shared in future posts), I know that my dedication to maintaining a healthy financial life is literally rooted in the farm…

This post is part of my Confessions of a PF Blogger series.  Other posts include: