Then I didn't.
After I graduated from college, the retail job I had was paying me $7.25/hour. My total student debt load was between $17,000 & $18,000. My near (at that time) minimum wage job wasn't going to cover it. Needless to say, I freaked out. I got a degree I didn't really want to use in an industry (journalism) that was failing anyway. Job prospects utilizing my degree were slim. I started to budget, something I had never done before because in my future the money thing was going to take care of itself. But now that the future arrived, I had to grow up with the way I handled money, fast.
Even though I had never budgeted before, I had been decent with money. I just never really kept track of it. Now I had to. I made salary charts, estimating how much money I would make per week and per month based on a certain amount of hours. I had to make every dollar count, had to curb my spending.
A few months later at work, due to my hard work, luck & the right people leaving the company, I earned a managerial position with a starting salary of $26,000. I was suddenly able to cover all my bills, and start paying $125 towards my student loan with every paycheck. Bit by bit, the large debt hanging over my head was shrinking. Eventually the payment rose to $150 per paycheck and finally, when I had enough in my checking account (probably not the best place to have my money but I wanted to be liquid) I paid off the remaining $8,000 in one shot. It felt great because there was no huge debt over my shoulder. My money was now my money.
After a couple yearly raises (and turning down one job offer outside the company) my salary increased to $30,000. I was on a good path... until the store closed.
Now, I know I wasn't exactly in a job I was going to retire in, and in a way I was happy the store finally closed after being on the brink for a couple years. I was the store manager for over five years, and I knew it was coming. In fact, the job was great, except for the depressing aspect of something else, this time closure, hanging over my head.
After that I was on unemployment, which is currently running out. I was unable to find a comparable job and am currently working in a seasonal part-time position which may or may not lead to a permanent position. I have a decent amount of savings to fall back on, if need be, but I do not want to do that. It was time to budget like crazy and become a cheap bastard again.
So, I'm going to use this blog as a way to keep track (without getting too personal) of my finances and my efforts to increase my net worth & total wealth while in this transition period.
What this isn't going to be is a "coupon blog". There are many others for that. This is just my story.
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