Extra Paycheck

For those of us who get paid bi-weekly, we get an extra bonus twice a year: three paychecks in a month instead of two. The next one coming up is in July. I was hoping it would help me when I am not working for a few weeks while I study for the bar. My only question is where it falls....will it really help me, since I am going to be off work for the last couple of weeks in July? hmmmmm. Maybe it won't be "extra" money, but hopefully, having that extra pay period will mean that at least I won't lose money that month. Have to think about this more.

Keeping Your Job

The workworld is very different today. Change happens at an ever increasing rate. There is a greater amount of change and it is increasingly happening at a faster pace. There aren't many jobs today that don't incorporate change. Well, maybe there are a few. But it seems that even unskilled or semi-skilled work have change as a component. Here is the reason why: Competition is more keen today with outsourcing and streamlining. An employer has to constantly think about how to change the business to stay productive and respond to market needs. Even an unskilled worker may need to do different things or take on a new task every once in a while. A trend is to also work faster and better, to work smarter if you will. To work smarter, you have to think about what you are doing, and how you can do it better. What steps you can leave out, or how you can be more efficient. In my previous job, I had to think about this all of the time. Luckily, I was able to do it. This can be important to keeping your job. I know of two people who have lost their jobs because they were unable to work faster and smarter, and I know of another one who may lose his job soon for the same reasons. (And losing your job can be disastrous for the budget, for obvious reasons.) It is not really difficult to adapt--you just have to accept that you have to do it and be willing to try to adapt to change. Change can be exciting, and like anything else, the more you do it, the better you get at it.

No More Credit Cards

A relative today was saying I should get a certain department store credit card, because I could realize some savings on every item I buy with it. I just nodded my head and said, "OK." I didn't go into the fact with her that I already have too much credit card debt, and am not sure I would get approved for it anyway. But the bottom line: I would never even dream of trying to get that credit card. I just don't feel the need to explain my situation to people anymore. I can just do what I need to do. And that is empowering.

Value Vet

I have a regular vet (and boy, is he hot). But his clinic tends to be a little on the pricey side, so in the last couple of months when I have had to schedule vet appointments, I have chosen Value Vet. There are a couple of locations in Nashville. I earlier took my cat Loopot there, and he was diagnosed with diabetes, which we are trying to maintain with diet. I took my dog Stoopot there yesterday for a heartworm check. I was holding my breath, because I had let his heartworm pills lapse, and I was frightened that maybe he had gotten exposed. He doesn't go outside very much, so I guess there was less risk. But anyway, his test came back negative. I was so thankful! Every time I have gone to Value Vet, they have been great to work with and have treated my pets very well. It is nice to have such an economical alternative when you need pet care.

Save on Gas

For those who shop at Krogers and have a Kroger card, it is a good way to save on gas. Anytime you enter your phone number at the pump, it will recognize you as a Kroger card customer and will give you three cents off the price of gas. If you spend $100 in groceries during a particular month, you get ten cents off instead! I have spent over $100 at Kroger's this month, and just filled up my tank. I got $3.05 cents a gallon rather than the $3.15 posted price. Nice!

Change Jar

One more small step to better money management--I am starting a change jar! I have had one before and did quite well, but had to cash it in. Of course I needed the money, and that was OK. But I didn't start up another one until now. I can use the extra savings. I will "cash in" the change every so often and deposit the money into my credit union savings account. Hopefully I won't need to withdraw it for quite a while and can let it grow. But I might need to tap into while I am studying for the bar exam, and that will be OK. I just don't want to wait another couple of years to save my change again.

Financial Mistakes Pass in Front of My Eyes

There is nothing like having to stare down your mistakes. Seeing them in black and white. Your financial mistakes laid out in a row for you to see how you messed up year after year. And all the money you wasted. That is what happened to me tonight. I have to fill out a bar application, which includes filling out financial information from the beginning of time. I haven't pulled a credit report yet (shudder). I am sure it is slow. But going through some old papers, I found some old credit reports that will help me reconstruct my past. Looking at them made me just shake my head.

I am really dreading filling this out. My one saving grace is that I have never declared bankruptcy, and I have always paid off my bills. Even if it has been slow. I always make payment arrangements. I am not worried about my dedication to paying off my bills. I am worried about how bad this looks to someone else. One good thing is that by seeing this right in front of my eyes, it reinforces that enough is enough.