Bag Lady Syndrome--I Am Not Immune

I discovered the term --Bag Lady Syndrome--when I skimmed my local paper tonight. I have never heard the term before, but I think I have it. It is a fear of ending up a bag lady.

Anyone can feel this way. The article went onto explain that women from every walk of life can have this fear--the very rich to the poor. No one is immune.

Part of the syndrome is realistic. You see homeless people on the street, many of them women. There have been a multitude of stories since 2008 about people losing their jobs, sometimes coupled with gargantuan medical bills, losing their savings, their homes, and ending up on the street.

So, there is a possibility. But how likely is it to happen to you? To me? Apparently, I am not alone in being a woman and worrying about this outcome.

Is it because women make less money and tend to  have a more precarious financial position? Is it because we are less risk takers with money, and therefore make less on investments? Are women generally still too dependent on their spouse's income and don't pay enough attention to their own careers? A combination?

Another article I read on the subject tonight talked about some of this being evolutionary. That the fear of being left behind is built into women.

Maybe it is not so bad to worry a little. You don't want to create a financial mess that will make becoming a bag lady a sure thing. But you also don't want to worry about it too much.

I guess the answer is to take a periodic reality check, and make changes if necessary. Spend less. Save more. Get better paying jobs. Increase skills to be more marketable. Etc. All of these will help keep the bag lady at bay.

Back in Business

Oh my goodness--I see it has been over a year since I posted. And I am so sorry. I love my blog, and I love my readers. I haven't meant to be away so long.

And indeed, I didn't need to be gone so long. A lot has happened. I have a new job. Actually, I am self employed and am an independent contractor. And that has a lot of good and bad aspects, both of which I will go into later.

But with this new job, comes new financial challenges. And these are on top of my old financial challenges! Yes, I am still not a financial genius. Imagine that.

One good thing is that maybe this new job has awoken me to more financial responsibility. Really? I hope so. It feels like.

I have woken up to some things I have to do. Save money. Stop having overdrafts. Try to pay bills in full and not have payment plans with interest. Pay things off as soon as possible.

Certainly not rocket science. And certainly things I knew before. But now maybe I am really feeling it? I hope so.