I tried tackling my financial beast head-on a couple of times, and got my butt thoroughly handed to me each. But each time I learned something new, so each counter-attack gave me a new strategy. At some point I stopped losing, and the healing began.
>Budgeting – I never used to budget before. It was unheard of. I saved some money for a trip or a thing, and blew the rest of who knows what. But ever since I began holding myself accountable, there has been a radically positive shift in how my money has been used & cultivated.
>Discipline – I looked at all the reasons my situation had gone sour, and made a rule to stop each one from happening again. Those few commandants have since grown to a little list I like to call Dark Angel’s Money Rules.
>Education – I became obsessed with EVERYTHING having to do with money, literally, overnight. This passion is one that I have not felt in years, and a fire that has fueled my decision to change my major from Theatre to Finance.
>Finding Money – This was probably the weirdest phenomenon in my quest for financial freedom. During a residency in Georgia, I kept finding money. Like I’d be walking down the street & there would be a dollar bill on the ground. Or I’d be heading for an appointment & there would be 4 quarters on the ground. It was never enough to ever satisfy my bills, but it added up very fast. It hasn’t happened again since 2009, but it was a big help when it did.
>Fixing Up My Credit Score – Your credit score is the Holy Grail, but it’s also been one of the hardest areas for me to fix up. It’s like treating a patient on life-support, I can only take it one day at a time.
>Help From Family & Friends – My family played a good part in constituting my crappy finances, so understandably there has been a little static between us since then. But were circumstances different, I would openly approach them for help, as your family usually has your back no matter what. My friends however have been key instrumental in helping me rid myself of debt with the power of microloans.
>Inspiration – It’s very hard to accomplish anything, much less financial freedom, without any inspiration. It’s passion that drives people to do amazing things. I do have a throbbing passion for finance, but also a very intimate fear. I’m afraid I’ll find someone amazing that I’ll want to share my life with, who will love me despite my faults, and fill the general void in my life, but I’ll lose her because I won’t be financially stable. These very conflicting emotions are my inspiration.
>Investments – I started investing (relatively) early and have never looked back. I love the idea & dynamics that investing brings to the world of finance, and I love the profits I’m raking in nowadays too.
>Odd Job(s) – Otherwise known as supplemental income; I spent all my free time working on these when I 1st started looking for extra work. I’ve done everything from paper routes to taking surveys online. I was never really able to get an actual 2nd job, but the extra income from these bad boys has been invaluable all the same.
>Paying Down Debt – This one’s pretty obvious. The less debt you have, the more money you have.
>Planning Ahead – And not just any ol’ planning ahead, but planning ahead for things like a family, a 2nd car, & my eventual career. Some people might put this under budgeting, but I see this as long-term investing, on paper. I like this method [and looking at it as such] because it gives me perspective on how & where to put my money. For example, ½ the people my age will never even consider retirement at least for another 10 years. While I, on the other hand, am starting to put away for it as you read this very passage. I could retire tomorrow, I’d only have enough for 3 months (at the moment), but it’s getting ready now, that makes it easier down the road.
>Savings – I NEVER used to save. So to do it now, and to watch myself keep this new habit, that in and of itself is benefit reaped.
>Talking To Others About Finance – The biggest thing that’s kept me interested in finance, is simply talking to others about it. It’s like being a kid all over again and learning how to ride a bike, or seeing DisneyLand for the 1st time. This world of finance is amazing; like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Even more amazing is how much I learn from individuals just by listening to their real-world experiences, or answers I have that I didn’t know I knew for questions about finance I get from my peers.
>Work – I hit some really low points during the ’08-’09 recession, but no matter how bad things got, I still found myself lucky enough to snag 5 (yes 5) jobs during the epic recession. Just being able to work drove me to want to be better and improve my financial status by leaps and bounds.
