Financial Woes

So you have officially entered into the corporate world. You are excited to start a career path, save money, buy a house maybe? You think, "Hey this will be a piece of cake! I can do this!" You thought wrong.

Finding a full time in a job you can see yourself having a career in can be more difficult than it seems, mostly for those of us with no fancy BACHELOR'S DEGREE certificate. You may find a great full time job, great benefits, 401k and stay there for years, or you may go between numerous jobs until you find the right fit—if you find one at all.

Now being young entering this world of work, you make some stupid decisions. You start spending money you don't have (CREDIT CARDS!). Bills begin to add up, the job then doesn't seem to be working out and you feel burnt out and stressed. BUT DON'T FRET! IT GET'S EASIER....

Easier in the sense of learning to avoid your problems and bury your head in the sand like an ostrich hiding for cover. You stick with a job and bite your teeth through the struggles of being at a job you LOATHE. You try to make progress, sacrificing your happiness, free time, and even things you WANT. All of the efforts and yet, you are still stuck.

I personally work a ten hour job, 40 hours a week and I still am struggling. I went from working an overnight job working 40+ hours a week bringing home over 400$ weekly, living a lavish life and spending whatever whenever, to leaving this job out of pure anxiety ridden hatred. I then began to struggle, working a job I made less that 300$ a week. That couldn't get me by on rent, bills, necessities, food, and pretty much anything else I wanted or needed. I searched effortlessly and finally landed my current job making about $13.50 hourly, which was a step up from the $10 an hour.

I had let many of my bills slip and started avoiding them, which was the biggest mistake on my part. I left my apartment I was comfortable in and moved back into my family's home (living in a camper in the backyard) and now face an eviction because I knew I could not pay the $975 a month and have the means of living (food, necessities, etc). I am now stuck with more debt than I started with and no idea how to begin to bring all of it down. I had dreams and plans of buying a house, but right now, that seems barely impossible. My 600+ credit score has DRASTICALLY dropped and now I just feel stuck.

Stuck or not however, it takes baby steps to reach your goals. I may not be where I want to be, but I am taking the necessary steps to reach them. I have begun looking at the bigger picture of my finances. My debt is well over $40,000 due to school loans mixed with personal debts and endeavors. I cannot take out a loan on my own to pay the lump some of them all at once, so I have to begin the baby step process.

Here is just a break down of my personal finances

• Credit Card Debt: $3995 combined
• Car Loan: $3700 remaining
• School Loans: $39,000 remaining to pay
• defaulted bills: $4,000 owed
• EVICTION: $3000 roughly!
• Grand Total : $54,000 rounded up

This large number can seem so intimidating, mostly at the age of 23. I have dug a hole way too early in life that I want to diminish while I am YOUNG, so when I do invest in a house, my debt will only be from the mortgage and I can say I am completely DEBT FREE. This may seem like it would take me forever, if I can reach it at all, but there is a method to my madness.

Budgeting, Planning, and Sacrificing

Yes, I did mention this earlier on, but there is a way around this to feel like you are not sacrificing EVERYTHING.

Budgeting

Look at all of your expenses. What can you afford? What are you overspending on in areas you don't necessarily need to (for me, it is food)?Now, begin your own personal budget plan, whether it's paying certain bills at certain times, or saving so you can pay as much as you can at once.

Planning

Set a goal for yourself. Start off small and build up from there because the smaller the goal, the easier it will be to stay motivated to achieve it. For me, my goal is to see how much I can get paid off as quickly as I can. I use my budgeting outlines and my rough weekly pay to plan out what exactly I can afford to pay and when. My small goal is to get all of my small debts paid off within the next three months. My bigger goal is to have a good chunk of debt paid off by September before my birthday (Starting off small with just my credit card and car debt).

Sacrificing

Now this is the hardest part: sacrificing things to make an effort to control and maintain your debts. For me, I do not need to buy as many necessities as when I had lived on my own in an apartment because it is all supplied to me by my family, which is something I am extremely appreciative of. For me, my largest sacrifice will be using my money to get things that I want to. This means cutting back on spending money foolishly on food, clothes, objects, tattoos, etc. I will need to hold back on getting things I want and put it all towards bills because the faster I get my debt managed, the faster I can enjoy again buying the things that I want and don't necessarily need.

If I stick to these and anyone else following the basic guidelines I've listed above and stay motivated to make a change for the better outcome of life, mostly while living a young adult life, then you can reach the biggest goals you want to, like buying a house! Things may seem overwhelming and difficult at first, but with a set plan and motivated mindset, you can do anything you strive to do. Now pull your head out of the sand little ostrich and begin your steps to fix whatever situation that is overwhelming you!