This week was devastating to me, financially speaking. I received a hospital bill I couldn’t pay, I bailed a family member out of numerous financial emergencies, and I watched as my spending dwindled down my bank account. It was depressing and it led to a great revelation: I’m ready to take control of my finances.
And more than anything, I wanted to get control of the situation. The feeling of being out of control, of being overwhelmed, is what worried me the most. I’m the most financially responsible person in my family, yet I felt out of control and unable to handle the situation. So I decided to do something.
I decided to start blogging about my money.
Funny decision for most people. Why start a blog when you are worried about money issues? Well, first, I blog. It’s what I do. Blogging doesn’t feel like work for me so it’s a perfect way to trick myself into paying more attention to personal finance. Plus, I discovered a ton of personal finance blogs that convinced me it was a great idea.
All the personal finance blogs I found were great. Some offered advice. Some offered help. But the ones I enjoyed the most were the ones that were smaller, written by people trying to get their own finances under control. They were the people with goals in their sidebars and posts about the specifics of their money. I loved those blogs and want one of my own. I figure if I acknowledge the specifics of my bank accounts I won’t be able to ignore the problem. It can only get better from here.
So with that, I’m baring all to the internet. (Which actually means nothing since I don’t have any readers!) The following are my numbers and the goals I want to achieve.
My Debt Problem
Currently I’ve got no savings and I’m in a large amount of debt compared to my income. Depending on who you talk to, I’m majorly in debt or barely in debt. Talking to me – it feels major. So I’m going to work on getting out of credit card debt as quickly as possible.
Here’s a list of my current debts. Some have been paid down a bit but they are still huge:
- Hospital bills: $1,586
- Credit Card #1: $1,788.41
- Credit Card #2: $3,653.29
- Student Loans: $19,424.84
Current Net Worth: -$21,634.88
Not surprising considering I’m 24 and come from a family that taught me nothing about money other than how it turns people crazy. But I can fix this. I can create a positive net worth soon. I really am starting at the bottom, but that means there is nowhere to go but up!
Debt has weighed me down for a while now and I’m ready to make positive changes in my life.
