Task #2

My circle of life project put a lot of things into perspective for me about how unbalanced I really feel.  I took a lot of time today to write about what areas I was most dissatisfied with, and how they affected other areas of my life.  What surprised me most was that pretty much every issue I deal with on the daily, and every ounce of stress I have, stems from the fact that I don't handle my money very well.  I'm always broke, haven't payed my bills properly in the past, leading me deep into the depths of Debtville, and I constantly find myself longing for things I wish I could have.  I worry about not finishing school and getting my dream job because I can't afford it.  I've been needing a serious doctor's visit for some time now, but don't have any insurance to cover it.  I work long hours at both of my jobs, come home feeling exhausted, but instead of sleeping, go out with all of my friends and party until the sun comes up, just to be able to have a little fun.  Then I spend my time at home complaining to my boyfriend (Still boyfriend?  Things have been so bad lately, I don't even know.) about how bad my day was and how I don't have any money and how the house is a wreck and poor me, poor me.  Not "how was your day, honey?  I missed you!" (insert hug and kiss)  This epiphany of "financial disaster" makes it very obvious what one of my non-negotiable tasks for the next several months is going to be.  Budget.  I've developed a new plan.  First, I listed all of my bills.  After that, I organized them on what needs to be paid now, soon, and can wait a little while.  Then I wrote a list of all other expenses (gas, food, home, personal, education, fun, vacation.)  As a waitress and bartender, I make cash money on the daily.  This has been a problem for me, because cash in my pocket seems to disappear just as fast as I make it.  To eliminate this problem, I made envelopes labeled with all of the previous expenses and am budgeting my daily salary like this:

bills 50%
gas 5%
groceries 5%
home 5%
personal 10%
education 15%
fun 5%
vacation 5%

It is my new daily task to stick with this plan.  Take the money that I make every day, split it, and place it in the corresponding envelopes.  I must keep the envelopes at home and only take with me, the ones that relate to what I'm doing.  Example: if I'm going to the grocery store, I can take the grocery envelope with me.  I can only use that money to buy food items.

It's definitely going to be a challenge, but with time, I think I'll start to have more and more funds and will be much less stressed out.  If things become really good, I might even be able to open up my savings account again and work on getting my student loans fully paid.  Up, will open a new chapter in my life, and things will finally fall into place.