My New Running Shoes!

So in December of 2008, when I committed myself to losing weight I bought a pair of New Balance running shoes and got going. Six months and 40lbs later I hit a plateau (both in my weightloss and focus) and my sneakers stunk. So yesterday I went to Finishline and bought a new pair of sneakers. The sales associate was extremly helpful. Not only did he take the time to explain why it was important for me to purchase a "running shoe" he then took me over to the children's section wear my women's size 8.5 ($55.00) fit perfectly into a children's size 7 ($35.00). So not only did I get a great shoe, I saved about $20.00 bucks while doing so. I also ended up picking up some socks (they were on sale...less than $1/pair) as well.

Shopping Tip #1: If you are a woman and have small feet, check to see if you can fit into children's sized shoes. They often have the exact same style for a lower pricepoint.

A New Beginning...2009

2008 was an ugly year. And when I say ugly, I don't mean it's that time of the month and you're feeling bloated kinda ugly, I mean you were in a car wreck and it might be advisable to consult a plastic surgeon lest you scare small children kind of ugly. *sighs* We have just reached the half way point of 2009 and already it has been a much much better year in all areas of BENs world. Before I recap some of the ugliness of 2008 and begin 2009 I figured it might be a good idea to look back at my 2008 personal and financial goals and updated them as to my progress so far in 2009.

2008 Goal 1) Lose 70lbs. and become more physically fit.
2009 Response 1) CHECK! I lost 45lbs and now fall within the normal weight range for someone my age and height. I became a vegetarian, I eat better, I am more active, I look better, and I feel good.

2008 Goal 2) Eliminate all credit card debt!
2009 Response 2) FAIL! I paid off my Citi Card as well as other all other forms of debt. I was temporarily unemployed at the end of 2008 and I began again only making minimum payments and eventually was unable to make payments at all. I now owe $2,120.93 on my Bank of America Card, but it is the only form of commercial debt I have and it will be paid off by the end of the year.

2008 Goal 3) Become more financially knowledgeable.
2009 Response 3) CHECK! I met with both a financial planner and have a tax preparer. I will blog about both experiences soon.

2008 Goal 4) Graduate with a 3.0+ GPA.
2009 Response 4) FAIL! To be continued...

2008 Goal 5) Become more frugal!
2009 Response 5) FAIL! I still spend WAYYYYYYY too much money eating lunch and dinner around the place that I work.

2008 Goal 6) Organize finances!
2009 Response 6) FAIL! See this post.

2008 Goal 7) Stop procrastinating!
2009 Response 7) Giant FAIL!

2008 Goal 8) Get an entry level job and volley for first promotion!
2009 Response 8) Not applicable.

2009 Goal 9) Repair, Establish & Maintain GOOD credit.
2009 Response) CHECK!/FAIL! After I lost my job my credit scored dropped further as I made two late payments on my Bank of America Card. The card was and remains closed and I am working towards paying off the balance. However, I did get another credit card through HSBC (Orchard Bank) and have made on time payments on all of my debts since I became gainfully employed again.

2008 Goal 10) Find a church and rededicated myself to living a better life.
2009 Response 10) FAIL!

Now, on to my financial goals for 2009...

1) Build/Repair Credit
2) Establish an emergency fund.
3) Eliminate Credit Card debt.

Personal goals...
1) Find a church
2) Continue to focus on one thing at a time: career/education.

I will of course talk about my 2009 goals in greater detail in future post but for right now...

In thought,
BEN

Taking a break...

Recently my life has been turned upside down by returning to school, figuring out what I am going to do after graduation among other things. I will resume blogging regularly starting this Friday. My blog will take a slight change in focus as I plan for a drastic change in my life...so stay tuned.

Broken eggs...

Budgeting sucks. I planned for $125.00 in my budget that has not come through and will not be coming through for any foreseeable time period. This, in addition to me quiting my second job, has put me into a bind. Money for July is going to be very very very tight.

Lesson Learned: Only count on money you have in your hand...or in the bank.

Er'body and their mother's cousin's dog toto wants my money.

This is definitely how I am feeling right now.

The day began well enough...I got up, fairly late in the morning, completed my m.y.s.t.e.r.y shops for the day (this was a very good day and I completed about seven shops, in tow hours, for approximately $125.00) and arrived to work shortly thereafter. I could not have been at work more than five minutes when my cell phone starts ringing. I hear, "Please hold for an important call from AES." I proceed to hold and am finally connected to a gentleman who reminds me that my loans are entering their repayment period. He then ask if I am going to be able to make the payment for this month. I told him that I made a payment last month (it was only interest) and I was aware that the loans were leaving the grace period and I was prepared to make the payment. He wanted to continue talking to me about a reduction in my interest rates (read: .25%) if I decided to enroll in ach. I told him no thank you and hung up the phone (now that I am getting my ish together, I like to be in control of my money). I then proceeded to log in online to my AES account, as I did not believe that they came out of grace until August and didn't know what my payment amount would be. After logging I was shocked to find out that my payment was for $375.00 and was due on the 22nd of July. As in NINETEEN days from now, and the day after I have to pay the federal gub'ment $132.00 for my federal student loans.

I immediately broke out into a cold sweat and began trying to crunch the numbers in my head to see if this was going to be possible. While crunching the numbers I decided to log into my e-mail account and was greeted with a message from the house where I lived this past spring. Apparently, there was a mistake in the bursar billing and the charges were reversed. They wanted to know my current mailing address so they could send me a bill; the bill will be to the tune of $6000.00! I also had notice from my soon to be Alma matter letting me know that my grace period for them had also ended and that I owed them $60.00 ever month beginning on August 1st.

At this point, my head was spinning, I felt faint and I had to sit down.

This lasted for all about five minutes before the wheels began to turn, I got out my calculator and my calendar and started crunching the numbers again.

Since I want to aggressively pay off the student loans anyway, I will (Lord willing) continue to make the payments on all of the student loans, in full, for July and August. In September, when I am registered as a full time student again, I will defer all of my loans, still continuing to pay the $60 I owe my University in full, the $131.00 I owe the gub'ment in full and as much as possible on the AES balance. (There is something that my change this plan of repayment, as my gub'ment loans may be paid off very shortly, however, I will discuss this possibility in a later post.) The AES balance will continue to be paid after the Rank of America balance as paying off my dwindling credit card debt remains my top priority.

2008 New Year's Resolutions

2008 New Year’s Goals

1) Lose 70lbs. and become more physically fit.
a) Exercise five times a week

2) Eliminate all credit card debt!
a) Pay off Rank of America Card
b) Pay off Shi*ti Card
c) After Shi*ti Card is paid off, use monthly payment towards Rank of America Card

3) Become more financially knowledgeable.
a) Take a seminar on tax preparation.
b) Meet with a financial planner.

4) Graduate with a 3.0+ GPA.
a) Complete work and arrange for any/all grade changes
b) BUST YO ASS!
c) Meet with Dean _____ and figure out what exactly is needed to graduate

5) Become more frugal!

6) Organize finances!
a) Open a High Yield Savings Account.
b) Deposit $50.00 a month until the end of undergrad and $100.00 every month thereafter.
c) Create a spreadsheet to track finances.

7) Stop procrastinating!

8) Get an entry level job and volley for first promotion!

9) Repair, Establish & Maintain GOOD credit.
a) Follow up with collections agency.
b) Get a credit card and begin a good relationship paying of balance in full at the end of the month.

10) Find a church and rededicated myself to living a better life.

____________________________________________________________________

In my next post I will reevaluate my New Year's Resolutions and the progress/changes that have been made toward each goal.

"Well, I prefer to work for white men."

Recently, while having a conversation with a friend she mentions that she preferred to work for white me. She expressed that she felt that they worked the hardest and were the easiest to get a long with. At first I didn't really say anything except, "Umm...okay." After I changed the conversation to something else she eventually came back to this topic and continued to press the issue. When I finally gave in, I explained why I felt that the development of stereotypes, like the statement she had made, had the potential to be incredibly disadvantageous to women and minorities. That her statement reflected her feelings not just towards white men, but particular groups of white men and how the fragmentation helped to reinforce particular types of work cultures. Her eyes glazed over after the last bit and I again changed the conversation to Eyrka Badu's new album.

In retrospect, I guess what bothered me most about this conversation is that it was coming from a very hard working black woman. My friend bust her ass every day to earn the respect of both her co-works and colleagues and I guess I find it very hard to understand how someone who works so hard to combat stereotypes is so increasingly complicit in their re entrenchment.

In thought,
BEN