Parting The Sea of Red

Recently, as I was driving to work and listening to Christian radio, the hosts were discussing a "too old" list- listeners had been given lists of certain life-aspects and asked to vote on what age was "too old" for each one.  At one point, one host said, "This one I can't say I fully agree with: 'Thirty-eight is too old to live with roommates.'  Isn't the whole point of living with a roommate to save money?  Who's too old to save money?" Good question.  Who is too old to save money? Those of you who know me personally may already know that my lease on my apartment (shared with two roommates) ended August 9th, and, as my job-search hasn't landed me a teaching position yet, I had no way of getting approved for an apartment or paying rent without proof of income.  I also didn't know where I could safely move and sign a lease- I live in a huge city, and, were I to sign a lease in one area of the metro and be offered a job in a...

So, I have a confession to make to my readers.   Actually, maybe it's not as weird as I think.  It seems like a lot of people- women, in particular, are prone to this.  Especially girly, beauty-obsessed women like myself. I am a horrible goo-hoarder.   Up until recently, I could not be trusted in a drug store where cheap makeup, bath and body products, and nail polish colors (aka GOO) flow freely.  I say "up until recently" because 1) after starting my own Amway business, I have tried to be better about buying health and beauty products from myself from my own website, and online-shopping helps me be less impulsive in my purchases and 2) as I have come to better understand my own body, skin, and hair, I've realized that these cheap products don't always make good on their promises.  Even so, in the final days before a pageant, important photoshoot, or big event, I often find myself running to CVS or Target and spending money on products that prom...

For students and recent graduates, it seems like there are two options: spend your entire paycheck on organic groceries, supplements, a gym membership and a personal trainer, OR save all your money buy living off cheap junk food and never working out.  Throughout my undergraduate career I varied between the two, and ended up either loosing sleep wondering how I was going to pay my bills, or feeling like crud all the time.  This summer, I'm determined to NOT settle for either.  My health is an important investment, but it's not an investment that should eat up all of my financial resources. So, for those who are interested, here are some steps I'm taking now (and some tricks I've learned in the past) to be healthy on a budget. 1) I refuse to be ripped off at the grocery store. The nice thing about living in a big city is that I have lots of grocery options to choose from.  There are some stores (i.e. Whole Foods) that advertise pure, organic foods free of preserv...

Those who know me personally will know that I write not only from the perspective of a recent graduate and new teacher, but from that of a committed follower of Jesus Christ and a believer of the Bible.  I think a common mis-perception of Christianity is that we believe money is evil and refuse to mix finances with our faith.  One of the most misquoted Bible verses I hear is I Timothy 6:10 "The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.  Some people, eager, for money, have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." (NIV).  Notice what it says: " The love of money."  Not, "Money itself is the root of all kinds of evil," but, the LOVE of money.  Greed, relentless pursuit of material wealth, refusal to be satisfied- these are the kinds of things that lead to "piercing ourselves with many griefs".   The Bible never gives any implication that money or wealth in and of itself is a bad thing; the Bible is full of v...

I think it was on New Year's eve just before the start of 2012 that I said I wasn't going to drink soda for a year.  I made it to March and then found myself working from 5:30am to 8:30pm straight most weekdays, and fell back into my caffeine addiction. After I returned to the States after living in Spain for seven months, I found that I didn't even LIKE American soda anymore.  In Spain, it was made with cane sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup, which, in my opinion, tastes waaaaaay better and is easier on your body (not that it's particularly healthy either way).  Even so, I don't know if it's possible to get through the grad program I just completed without self-medicating on caffeine.  Chances were, in any given class that we sat through, everyone was sipping a soda or coffee.  A few weeks ago, a few of my classmates and I agreed that we were all a mess physically from living on so much caffeine and so little sleep this past year. Well, besides kil...

Last Monday I walked out of the high school where I am volunteering for my final project...and my car was NOT in the spot where I had left it.  I had a moment (or, rather, a good ten minutes) of panic thinking that it had been stolen.  Thankfully, it turned out that it had just been towed- the street sweepers had run through the area that day and apparently there were signs out that said "No Parking 4/28" (although they certainly weren't visible when I parked there that morning)! So, my beloved car wasn't in a chop shop being sold piece by piece, but it WAS in an impound lot, and I was going to have to pay the towing fee to get it back, plus the cost of a traffic ticket and a cab to get there (it was pouring rain and storming; otherwise I might have tried to bike or take public transportation, but, while there's a lot of crazy things that I'll do to get out of debt, getting struck by lightning isn't one of them!).  Once I got to the impound lot I explain...

If you know me personally, you know I love to write and blog.  I welcome any excuse to set up a new blog and share my thoughts with the rest of the world.  However, this is the scariest blog I have ever set up.  Scary because I feel like people see me as the girl who has it together- I have served on the mission field, I have been a professional model and a pageant title-holder, and I am days away from realizing my dream of becoming a teacher.  Will people's perceptions of me change when they see my financial status? This blog is scary for me because I feel like I'm never going to succeed- the amount of debt I have, the amount I can expect to make as a teacher, and the cost of living just don't add up.  I feel like this blog could turn into years of me writing about my latest excuses for why I can never get out of debt. This blog is scary for me because I'm sure I'll make mistakes along the way, and readers who have more financial wisdom than I do will read ...