I Like, I Need

My fellow Revenge watchers should already be familiar with this. It was used in an episode during a therapy session and who doesn’t love a good therapy session.  I was immediately drawn to the concept and thought of a how I could use it to pertain to my life. The idea is to name one positive quality, the I like portion, then one area that needs improvement, the I need portion.  I thought this could be good for my readers as well because it really helped make a lot of things I had running through my head much simpler. In this crazy complex world simple is sometimes underrated. Be honest with yourself also, there is no one here to judge you. Well, unless you put it on the WWW, then everyone can.

I Like, I Need

I like my life. I need to appreciate what I have.

I like my spontaneity. I need to start considering the effect it has on others.

I like making others happy. I need to concentrate on my own happiness more.

I like when I’m positive. I need work on my self-confidence.

I like being social. I need to find a balance between healthy and destructive.

I like having money. I need to be more motivated at work.

I like my passion for change. I need to be willing to work harder to make it happen.

I like food. I need to not use it as crutch.

I like being fit. I need to put in a larger effort to be more active.

I like clothes. I need to not hide behind them.

I like when I’m sincere. I need to be more honest with myself and others.

I like me. I need to start showing myself more often.

Wasn’t that fun? Hopefully you’re list isn’t as long, I’m a work in progress. I’ve found that in the past few days whenever I’ve been feeling “icky”, I use this to simplify my thoughts and I end up feeling much better. For instance, yesterday I was hating everything about my job. I took a giant step back from the situation and analyzed it using this format. It went something like this. I like that I haven’t killed anyone yet. I need to go for a drink. 🙂

Rock on

D

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Sorry today’s post is a little behind schedule, I was busy trying to figure out where the hell I went wrong in the past 30 days or so. With the aid of my budget sheets, I can figure out quite precisely where I decided getting out of debt didn’t matter anymore. I’m pretty much back to square one, if not worse.  Awesome!  It’s astounding how thick-skulled I am sometimes. It’s like I’m trying to create the image of a heart rate with my graphs.  If this were a normal day I would be highly disappointed in myself and begin to feel borderline depressed, but today isn’t normal. You’re going to have to keep reading to get to the good because this was the ugly.

This is what my chart is beginning to look like. For a heart this is good, for my debt, not so much.

On to the bad, I can already say with confidence that I will not be completing one of my goals this month. I will be taking off Friday. Boooo. Yea, I know, get over it. It’s going to beautiful and I want a long weekend. Judge me if you like, but I figure it’s a pretty good trade-off, because below you find that I not only completed one of my goals, but I knocked it out of the damn park. I bet the suspense is killing you. I can feel it through my screen.

So remember when I gave some helpful pointers on how to have a successful interview? Eeehhh? Remember?? If you scroll down, its right there for ya, named Interview 101. Read that first. Well wouldn’t ya know we can now add crying to the list of successful tips! I GOT THE DAMN JOB! I received the call yesterday and was offered the position. I exclaimed, “Oh how great!” and she replied “Good! We think so too!” So clearly they loved me, hot mess and all. I am beyond excited. It’s not a position to write home about, but it’s going to be another pay check, and more importantly, it’s not a serving position! Thank you to everyone who believed in me and told me crying wasn’t that big of deal while thinking, “Wow, who does that?” You guys are my angels and the keys to my sanity in a total insane world!

Couldn’t have done it without you Britney!

Winning!

D

Interview 101

Before I continue, I should probably mention, the following advice is for your average entry-level, admin, maybe some sales position, jobs. If you want pointers on how to land the mother ship, you’ve got to find Hans Solo or some shit, because I don’t have that kind of experience, yet.

Overall I would say I’m pretty confident when it comes to interviewing. I’ve had a lot of years of practice. You know, I still get the occasional butterflies, and the sometimes sweaty palms, but for the most part I don’t clam up. I remind myself to be myself. My number one rule is you can’t go into an interview pretending to be someone you’re not. You’re either going to fail miserably or they’ll see right through you. I’m not saying you can’t boast or lie a little, to give yourself the edge, but make sure it’s still in the realm of possibility. If they ask you about your computer skills, don’t say you could hardwire a broken pc blindfolded, unless of course you can.  You could say you consider yourself an expert with most programs, but like all things, you could stand to learn some more. You never want to appear like a know it-all, unless of course they’re looking for a know-it-all.  Appear confident but not over-confident.  All of these things will ensure you’re not accidentally hired for a position you are completely under qualified for. While I’m in the advice giving mood, why don’t I give you another piece of advice, because I’m all about helping. Don’t cry.

These are the kind of moments that I swear only happen to me. Yesterday I went on an interview. Yes, I am working on my monthly goals. It was the perfect part-time job that I’ve been looking for . I was completely qualified, if not over qualified. I had my pretty face on, hair did, and a sharp outfit. I was going to kill it. Then I was presented with this question, “In your professional or personal life give me an instance where you had a challenge you had to overcome within the last year.” If you’ve ever been on an interview this question is pretty routine. I thought a good topic would be my debt. EHH! WRONG! I started crying! Story of my damn life. I couldn’t believe it as it was happening and I couldn’t stop it either. It went something like this. Feel free to laugh because this is a joke, a very real joke.

J:  In your professional or personal life give me an instance where you had a challenge you had to overcome within the last year.

Me (thinking for a second): Well just like so many of us, I (tears starting to form) am in debt and (one drop falls, she’s looking at me like is this really happening) pretty severely.

By now it’s affecting my speaking because I’m trying to regain control of the f#*$ing situation and it’s not working.

J: Do you need a tissue?

Me: No, I’ll be fine. I’m sorry I was not expecting this. Well I recently started (tears continuing to form and fall) a blog so I could….

J: There’s some Kleenex over here, I’ll just grab some. I’m sorry I didn’t mean it to be that personal.

Me: (she’s apologizing to me, for me being a hot mess) So this can be classified under what not to do in an interview 101. I’m really sorry, I wouldn’t have chosen this subject if I had known this was going to happen.

The rest of the interview went perfectly well without anymore waterworks. I’m definitely chalking this one up as a loss. I mean I haven’t completely given up hope and bless her soul if she actually calls me back. My support team is trying to convince me it wasn’t that bad, it shows I have passion. Or it shows I’m a complete nut job. I mean, I write about my debt and share my personal story daily without getting all misty eyed, what the hell happened?! I don’t know, but I can assure you one thing, I will never bring up my debt in an interview again. Yikes!

If Brittany can do it so can I!

And you thought these things only happened in the movies.

D

Court is in Session

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, today I will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that women have it harder than men. I’m not here to complain about equals rights. I’ll leave that to someone who knows what they’re talking about. No, today I am here to discuss pain. Particularly, the age-old battle of who has it worse, men being kicked in their jewels, or women receiving their monthly friend. This argument has waged over centuries and many a war has been started, slight exaggeration, but today I will put an end to this quarrel! Below you will find researched, creditable information, provided by professionals in their relative field of expertise. Well one professional, that happens to be me, Dr. Ichards.

Now we’ve all been children and we’ve all had males as friends and we’ve all thought at one point it might be funny to see how your male friend would react if you “kicked him in the nuts”. You only make that mistake once. Nothing transforms a fun, laid back, male faster than having his pride bumped.  As females, we sympathize and are apologetic for a long time, because we’ve never experienced something that could cause that much pain. Then we hit puberty, have our first period, and from that point on our sympathy card is gone. From then on its, “Get over it, have you ever had a period?”

Pain –Males, imagine the worst charlie horse you’ve ever had. Remember that feeling, good. Now place that feeling on the inside of your body. A place where you are unable to reach, to massage, to alleviate the pain. Now on top of that, put a little devil poking that charlie horse with his trident.  Yea, that’s right, welcome to a women’s period.

Duration – Men we get it, getting your pride nudged hurts like hell. Try to picture for a second that the pain you experience for a couple of minutes, dragged out for days. Welcome to cramps.

Above are probably the only two comparisons that may be somewhat equal. Based upon my knowledge and expertise I would say that women have already won but I’ll continue.

Emotions – Ah yes, last time I checked getting booted in the gonads doesn’t send you on a roller coaster of emotions. You might be angry for a little bit but it’s nothing compared to PMS. That magical word males love to throw around at exactly the wrong time. Here’s a fun experiment males, try telling you lady friend that she’s PMSing while she’s PMSing.

"Say that to me again and see what happens."

You’re happy one minute, you’re crying the next. The next you want to punch small kittens in the face. Maybe that’s a personal thing. Either way, I don’t think the jewels being shaken causes this much madness to a persons demeanor.

Boobs – Massive, well larger than before, sore, BOOBS. So sore you contemplate removing them. This could also be a personal thing. As far as I can recall I don’t think having your prized gems smacked around makes your arms swell and hurt.  The best part is because they are ripe they become all that more appealing to males. Want another fun test males? Try to touch them when they’re in this fragile state.

"Do you have a death wish?"

Hunger – I’m quite certain the last thing males want to do after having the pearls batted around is eat. Well thanks to hormones that’s all we want to do. Not normal food or average portions either.

“I want loaves of dark chocolate.”

“Well, honey they don’t offer loaves of chocolate, I can get you a bar.”

"Find me a f*%$ing loaf of dark chocolate!"

Acne– Men go through puberty, sprout hair in weird places, and develop a deeper voice. Some, may have a brief phase of a year or 2, where their skin is trying to figure out what the hell is happening. Awesome, congratulations men. Women, nope, we get to break out like we are 15 years old again, every month. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Based on this proof, I can safely draw the conclusion that men should never complain again when the family jewels get knocked around. Also, we already knew that men were babies, so it wasn’t even a fair fight. However, CASE CLOSED!

Why this rant, because I’m suffering here, and I needed to make sure it didn’t go unnoticed. Also, it could be because I wanted to be a raging b$*@%. Either way to all my male readers, I’m sorry I had to call you out, please don’t leave. Remember this is one girls opinion, feel free to reach out to other females who might have an ounce of sympathy for you.

BOOM

Dr. Ichards

P.S. Not ALL men are babies, just a large majority are. 😉

Smelling the Roses

We’ve all heard the saying, “stop and smell the roses.” The meaning being, slow down and take the time to enjoy your surroundings. Generally this is applied to hard workers and since we’ve already established I’m not a hard worker, one might think this couldn’t apply to me. Correction, I’m a hard worker, just not THAT, hard of a worker. Make sense? Probably not, but we’re going to carrying on anyways. Seeing as I’m not an expert at working hard yet, I’m going to apply this quote to debt. Yay! If you spend your life living pay check to pay check, stressing about your bills, worrying about money, you’re going to miss life. Unfortunately, what I’m about to say is going to make me a hypocrite, but I need to say it.

Next time you find yourself about to use your credit card or buy something you cannot afford, STOP, and SMELL THE ROSES. In this instance it’s not about embracing the life around you but more so directed to what you are about to do. Really concentrate and take a moment to reflect on your actions. How is this going to affect your debt? How is this going to make you feel? Is this a necessity? Will this fix any of your current problems? How is this going to help you in the long run? If even one of your answers is no or has a negative response you should NOT being make that purchase. You do yourself no favors by lying or trying to justify the purchase either.

After you’ve walked away, try to focus on the positives. How much closer are you to paying off your debt now? How much more can apply to the bottom line? How are you feeling? I admit the feeling part is difficult, because when you’ve already tricked yourself into thinking you needed that particular item, walking away can be hard, but you’re a stronger person for doing so.

As a reward to ourselves for taking a step towards changing our lives were going to start a savings-on-a-whim box. All you need is some type of box, or even piggy bank, just make sure it something that you can glue, staple, tape, or weld shut. You can have zero access to the contents inside. Also, make sure it’s not clear.  When you arrive back home, put five or ten percent of what you were just about to spend in your savings-on-a-whim box.  It might sound silly, but seriously do this, money adds up over time. Especially when left untouched.  For anyone who is thinking, “Well, if I didn’t have the money to buy what I wanted, why would I have the money to put in a stupid box?” Here are some fast figures for you, 5% of $20 is a $1, and 10% of $50 is $5. You can see what I mean.  These figures aren’t going to cause you to go into further debt, but they will be a nice treat  for you when you get to open your box. Want to know when you get to open your box? Never! Just kidding, when you’re debt free! As long as you are dedicated and don’t cheat yourself you should have a pretty penny waiting for you at the finish line and all because you stopped to smell the roses.

Beautiful roses supplied by the BF ❤

 

One day at a time

D

20something Year Old

This internet machine is really fan-f*%#ing-tastic. Autocorrect is trying to tell me that’s not a word, the hell it’s not. I love the internet, and not just for the fact that it helps me get through the work week, every week. The explorer in me loves the journeys I get to take without leaving my office chair. Every time I find a new blog I get a little glimpse into someone’s life. That little piece of them, they are so courageous to share.  One of the bloggers I follow is The Trouble with Association, Shayla. You can read her blog here. A couple of days back I read one her posts, and it moved me, as well as inspired me. Well, she has done it again. She’s a beautiful writer and puts so much meaning and thought into her words it puts me to shame. She wrote THIS and what kind of follower would I be if I didn’t share my 20something outlook.

I, too, am guilty of hating on my 20’s. I’m not going to put this half as well as Shayla or the original creator but you’re going to get the picture. I personally had a really hard time turning 25 and that’s why I’m still 24. It meant I was growing up. It meant the time for my adolescent foolishness was over but it’s not. This is the perfect time to make mistakes and learn from them. This is when we grow and discover ourselves. We learn who we are and what we want, or don’t want. I can’t say for certain this will be the time I want back most in my life, because hell, I’ve only seen 25 years of it. I’ll be damned though, if I going to lie down, and let time run its course. Live your life, find who you are, and don’t settle for anything less than extraordinary.  There is so much this world has to offer, that this isn’t the time to rush into adulthood. We’ve got a good portion of the reminder of our lives for that. This is our time.

My, not so rhyming, poem to being 20something

I’m in debt, not jail.

I may have thought you had gotten the best of me but you haven’t.

I’m in no rush to grow up but I’m also not afraid of what life has to offer.

I will make mistakes from time to time and probably the same mistake more than once.

 I might’ve spent too much money in the past but I now know money cannot buy you happiness.

 With a lot of perseverance, and some much needed patience, I will get to where I want to be.

 I have hurt the people I love, and I’ve been hurt as well, but it has made me stronger.

I can’t pretend to know what the future holds, but I will try my hardest to prepared.

I’ve got the character needed to get back up when I’ve been knocked down.

I will continue to strive to be the person I’ve always wanted to be.

I will not always do the right thing but I’m learning.

I promise to give myself wholeheartedly to this life.

I’m a 20something year old and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Photo Credit

Please take the time to read Shayla’s post as well as the original inspiration because both are great.

25 is the new 25

D

Because I’m a Follower

I have enough pride to admit I’m a follower. Somewhere deep inside me, I probably posses a minuscule amount of leadership qualities, but for the most part, I just run with the herd. I’ve been reading more debt blogs and found another trending feature, goal setting. Blonde on a Budget is one of my new favorite blogs to follow. I know I briefly stated  before that goals are important, blah, blah, but they really are.  My original message was brilliant and much more important then I may have just lead you to believe. Trust me, I’m like yoda, but freckled.

As a good follower, I will do as I’ve been taught to do, follow. Obviously I have goals. I want to get out of debt, I want to live in Hawaii, I want to marry George Clooney, but apparently it’s good for the heart and soul to set smaller, more obtainable goals. We will call these instant gratification goals, clever eh? Seeing as it is still pretty early in the month, I figure why not give this a try, the chart thing worked out great.  I will be setting monthly goals rather than weekly. I know me best, and seeing as I’m an expert at procrastination, I know I’d just be setting myself up for failure if I did weekly goals.

MY APRIL GOALS

I’ll show you mine if you show me yours 😉

Lose 10 lbs – Say what? As I said HERE, I believe, as women, were genetically altered to dislike our bodies no matter what kind of shape we’re in.  I will be trying out for a sporting event later this month. I’m hoping with the help of my physical trainer, enter the boyfriend, that we’ll be able to shed these last pesky pounds.

Finish A Clash of Kings – This is the second novel to the A Song of Ice and Fire series or season 2 of Game of Thrones being shown on HBO now.

Get a Second Job – Ugh, just typing that makes me feel like giving up. I need more money, hey don’t we all sister, but I really need more money. If I’m going to reach my goal by January I somehow need to pull in additional $890 a month.  I’m limited in time but plentiful in excuses. I’ve served in the past and I hate people. I’m just kidding, I love you all, I just hate serving you. 🙂 I’ll figure something out. It’s funny how rarely you see ninja assassin on Craig’s List, now THAT I could do.

Create a Squirrel Stash –  I want to start squirreling away money here and there. Why, you might say? You might not have said that at all, but I’ll tell you why anyways. My family will be going on vacation next February. My parents are starting to view us children, my brother and I, as semi, not even close to being, grown adults. With this new revelation, theyre are asking us to pay for ourselves. Horse doodoo right?! Let’s start an uprising for this injustice! Small joke, I’ve been privileged to have my parents take me on plenty of all-inclusive vacations. Spoiled is the word that comes to mind. By asking us to pay, it’s the least we can do, as miniature adults, to help ease to burden of the bill. Well, my brother is sitting pretty, but I on the other hand, in my current state, cannot afford to go. ::blink, blink:: WWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH. I’m hoping by squirreling away money, I might be able to afford the first leg of the trip, and find my way to the cargo hold for the second. The plan is ingenious.

I think that those should be enough for one month. I’ll be proud of myself if I complete one of them. Anyone out there betting, put it on finishing the book, and you didn’t hear it from me. Make sure when you set your goals, you make them realistic and achievable. It will give you a sense of satisfaction that you may be lacking when your debt isnt plummeting to zero as fast as you expected.

In other news, overnight, I gained my 40^th follower. YAY! Don’t forget sharing is caring. If you love poor grammar, and lame excuses, spread the love and joy of reading about my life in shambles.

Happy Humpday

D

Progress Puppy – Day 77

"Sup Bitches!"

The sergeant was nice enough to spare a couple of minutes of his time to help update you on the status of my progress. I guess the easiest place to start would be my charts. Dunt-Dunna-Na, that was supposed to be the sound trumpets make, fail.

                         

As you can see, I am slowly making progress, getting my tax return REALLY helped. I paid off two of my cards. I know I said 3 before, and it was 3, until I charged some things to that card. -_- I’ll probably get yelled at but here is my poor excuse. This is a little tiny card credit, I mean its normal size, but the credit limit is only $400. I opened this card to stop me from spending on my other cards, which has worked. Look at the trend for my American Express and Capital cards. I pay off this card almost every month.  I DO NOT recommend this because it’s not a solution. It will, and is slowing my progress down, but there are times when I really need money. I use this card for necessities, groceries being the main point. Like I mentioned before I started a vegan diet and that shit is expensive! I probably should give it up but it makes me happy. I love the way it makes me feel and I am loving the results. Poohy on me, but it’s my reasoning.

I was not completely sold on the idea of charts but now that I’ve created them I see how beneficial they really are. If you’re interested in using my template, click this link > Debt Template. Also you can find some other budget excels HERE. I highly recommend them. Number one rule, be honest with yourself. You do yourself no favors by hiding purchases here and there. Numbers can’t lie unless you’re lying to begin with. You can’t start to make progress until you accept your situation and understand you need to make some changes. If you need help getting started please look at some of my first posts where I outlined the basics for getting out of debt.

I hope for those of you in similar situations, who have been following from the beginning, that you are beginning to see some progress as well. If anyone ever has any questions, or want to know more information, or you just feel like sharing your story, please don’t hesitate to contact me. My email address is SunnyD10121@gmail.com. I will help to the best of my ability and remember no one judges you here. 🙂

Happy Muesday Everyone

I have Friday off, so its already like Tuesday for me.

D

It’s Friday?

I seriously lost track of time this week. I guess that’s what happens when your work week starts on a Wednesday. I mean I’m not mad about it, I’m just a little caught off guard. Normally I’m all revved up on “its Friday” juice and able to fire off a post no problem. I’m staring at my fingers on the keyboard waiting for them to work their magic and yea, nothing is happening. Sip my tea, still nothing. Okay brain it looks like it’s just you and well, you. This isn’t going to be pretty.

Yesterday, I FINALLY received my tax return. ::happy dance:: I paid off 3 of my credit cards, you read that right, T-H-R-E-E. I guess I actually am making progress. The thing about debt recovery is its slow-moving. Unlike debt building, that can be done in a matter of hours. It’s easy to be discouraged and want to go back to your old ways but don’t. I’ll tell you what has seriously helped me more than I thought it would, my charts. When you see the progress, or the regression, it keeps you motivated. Sad to say, one of my card totals has gone up since I last posted due to interest rates and protector fees. The f#*$ is a protector fee?!  HOLY SHIT BALLS Y’ALL!! Sorry for the caps but I mean you would not believe what just happened.

Okay, so after I typed the words “The f#*$ is a protector fee?! “, I actually googled what the shit this thing is. Here’s my mentality, “I’ve had this account protector fee for as long as I can remember, and thought it was because I was in debt, so I never questioned it.”  Yea, no, after googling, this is an optional program! So I call….

Me(all like wtf): I don’t remember enrolling in this shit.

Nice Lady: Well, unfortunately, I show when you signed up for the card in 2007 you also were enrolled in this program.

Me(still all like wtf): Awesome but ummm all that money I paid you f#^$s I will be getting back, right?

Nice Lady: No, I’m sorry to say but I can only reimburse you for the previous 3 months.

Me(-_-): Yea but I’ve been paying for this for 5 years now. I called to get my interest rate lowered about 7 months ago and the guy never mentioned that this program was optional.

Nice Lady: Oh, well that sucks.

Me: Tell me about it! So now what?

Nice Lady:  Well like I said, we don’t care that you’ve paid us all this money and never used this program. We took advantage of a youth who didn’t know what she was signing up for and won, but in return, we will give back $255 and cancel the ongoing enrollment.

Me: Well that’s great! Seriously, thank you so much. I’m so excited about being robbed blindly. Have a nice weekend.

Nice Lady: Oh you too and anytime you want your money to go to waste give us a call back.

Okay so maybe the phone call didn’t happen exactly like that. The woman was extremely nice and I’m never rude or swear to anyone on the phone. I worked in a debt collection center and it changed my whole outlook on how to speak to a customer service rep.

So, I was excited about receiving some money back but then I did the dumb thing. I calculated just exactly how much money I had actually given to this “program”.  Anyone good at math?  $85/mo x 60/mo =????.  Five f#@*ing thousand dollars!!! I’m in complete awe. I feel so foolish, naive once again and used. Please PLEASE please check to see if you have this program on your credit card. I completely understand the idea behind it and it’s probably saved a lot of people from debt collection but I mean……. Just check your card.

Woah, I just got all revved up on “Ive been being robbed for 5 years” juice

D

Budgeting

That word ^, is basically spanish to me. I’ve never been nor am I currently good at budgeting.  Budgeting and I do not go together. Honestly, it makes my head hurt. I’ve been finding all these great debt blogs and I feel like I’m the odd woman out. They’ve got fancy words, proper English, a million different budget templates, and all I’ve got are some funny jokes. If you even count them as funny. How am I supposed to budget for that one time I get an impulse to buy a pizza? What’s that you’re saying? Oh, you don’t budget for it because you shouldn’t be buying it, because you’re in debt. Ahhh, very wise you are, imaginary talking Yoda voice.  I look at these budget sheets and I’m just floored. One, it makes my debt look just ri-damn-diculous because I honestly have no excuse for getting into debt. I have no mortgage.  I have no fixed expenses outside of my car payment, insurance, and cell phone.  Which is nothing compared to having cable, electricity, children, and everything else real life demands. I’m really beginning to think when I decide to grow up I’m going to be screwed. Secondly, I really have no idea where to even begin with budgeting. I live pay check to pay check. I get paid and the money is gone. I set a new record for all you participating in the fund draining olympics. 5 minutes, beat that!

There are all these pretty excels that are trying their hardest to makes this easy for me but I just don’t get it.  For you people though, I’m willing to try because what kind of example would I be setting. After completing my skewed budget, I can already tell you this budgeting thing is going to suck. Very mature of me, I know. Just another avenue to make sure I keep myself truthful to the task at hand, NUMBERS DON’T LIE! Well, unless you put in the wrong number to begin with. This will be my test month, I will keep track of everything I spend, categorize it and try to make some sense of the numbers. Wish me luck, because I’m sure as hell going to need it. Got any budgeting strategies of your own, I’m all ears.

If you are interested in starting your own and understand how it works please check THIS fun one out or try THIS page for a multitude of budget excel sheets.

Happy Budgeting Y’all

D