F*ing Bills

We did it! We made it to another month without ending up on the street!

Being financially independent is something that I have struggled with since I was in the womb I swear and through no fault of my family or anything but I feel like sometimes you just get handed shitty cards and you make due.

I’m sure some people reference lemons and making “ade” from them, but I’ve never been a fan of the drink….

BILLS, bills, billlllllllllsssssssssss. It is the number one worst ADULT thing to do cause you work 50 hours a week to pay for the things that provide basic necessity and still don’t have enough.

That’s what is was for me until this past year to be honest.

These are the things I’ve done. They may work for you they might not that’s the beauty of the internet and posts such as these. Take what speaks to you and work it into your life as you see fit.

PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR CREDIT. Why the f* this imaginary number means so much to so many people is beyond me but it can so greatly affect your life that’s it scarier NOT to pay attention to it. disclaimer I am NOT a financial adviser, I’ve never gone to school for this shit and I never will but there are some REALLY great resources out there.

CreditKarma an easy way to get a very vague idea of where you stand on credit. I use this site religiously. Mostly because the website is pretty and it makes you think that you are doing adulting right by giving you a percentage of how much better your credit is than every other member on the site…. this used to hurt me since the only credit i had was…. an IOU I wrote a bartender at a strip club one million years ago. life… its weird.

One of the biggest issues that I have with this site is that it is not current. The number they show you is from three to four months prior. It can be a huge shock when you go to buy a new car and you THINK you’ve got excellent credit but you really only have average credit and you end up financing a loan for 8.2%. This is not a good thing, just so we are all on the same page.

PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR BUDGET. This is the real shit. When you have lived paycheck to paycheck you might think to yourself “I am a slave to budget I will always be a slave to budget” and you will be right. Budgeting done right can help you not only SEE what you are doing but help you LEARN about what value you put on certain things.

Mint is a budgeting tool I use the most, I don’t really like it BUT you can link your accounts and see in real time what your money is going to… you can set categories AND track those things to really make yourself feel bad when you realize you spent a paycheck on eating take out (PRO TIP DON’T SPEND A PAYCHECK ON EATING OUT).

This next bit might get a bit feels-y but hear me out.

LIVE FOR THE EXPERIENCE NOT THE PAYCHECK. When people say “stop and smell the roses” they are usually trying to be helpful, its rarely FEELS that way but I swear most of the time they are trying to be helpful.

I got my first job when I was 14 and I haven’t gone longer then two weeks with out one or more jobs since then and its DRAINS you, but sadly for most of us that’s just life.

Bills are always going to be like that monster under your bed or like the serial killer behind the shower curtain but you will manage. The next time you feel the walls closing in take your happy ass outside and scream. Let all that negative shit out and then take a moment to just feel the things around you. When you’ve jived on your hippie self pull up your big kid undies and get back at it. The grind never stops.

THINGS I DON’T DO….

I might cause a shit fit saying this but I don’t coupon. I’ve watched that show on TLC, I am just not that person, if it works for you have at it, I’ll be over here cringing at your paper cuts.

I also don’t budget down to zero, there is a great program by Dave Ramsey that my best friend lives by… the concept is great and there are some really great tools for that type of budgeting but its just not how my brain works. I suggest giving the almighty Ramsey a glance if only for the inspirational quotes and facts you can find on his website.

IN CONCLUSION! If you made it down this far i congratulate you! I’d probably wouldn’t have made it this far if I hadn’t written it but you know how that goes, before you leave feel free to tag me with your tips and trick on budgeting, bills and f*ing adulting @mlwcomedia

See ya’ll on the flip side!