An article on CNNmoney.com reports that many Americans are using credit cards to pay for basic needs.  Then when the bills come in they struggle to pay even the minimum payments.  I think this report really doesn’t surprise anyone.  Everyone is struggling financially because of high oil and food prices.  Many families have done everything they can think of to cut back on spending money they don’t have.  A few ideas I’ve considered was to disconnect my home phone since my husband and I have cell phones.  We’ve cut back on food, clothing, dining out, home, garden, and personal care items.  Families may also benefit from budget software to help manage monthly cash flow.  And I don’t see this trend ending anytime soon.  The next few years will be tough.           

I’m addicted to Oprah so naturally I Tevo it every day so I can keep up on the latest and greatest in the world these days.  Just recently Oprah featured a new breed of people choosing a lifestyle free from traditional consumerism.  Meaning they spend very little on basic necessities and root through the garbage to find clothing, furniture, and yes even FOOD.  Freegans, that’s the name they go by.  It seems crazy at first but really I admire this lifestyle.  The idea of not participating in the “work more to buy more crap” mentality we have all been brainwashed to believe in.  In the episode Oprah asks the question, “What are we really working for anyways?”  Are Americans in competition with each other to buy luxury SUV’s, marble bathroom vanities, plasma TV’s, and the biggest house on the block?  Truly, I believe that many people define themselves but what they can buy.  Anyways, I think freegans are cool but I just can’t see myself rooting through the garbage for food anytime soon.     

Reader be warned, but I must rant about an article I read today on MSN’s career/employment page about the benefits of working weekends in addition to your regular work week.  This article was so lame and so supportive of corporate america that I honestly thought I was going to vomit.  Basically, the article said working workends would allow you to be more productive and undisturbed by normal work week activities like phone calls, meetings, answering emails, etc.  The article also went on to say how you could be more ”creative and innovative” by working additional time on weekends which only adds to your skills and marketability to a potential employer.  This sounds like corporate slavery to me.  Of course, they listed the negatives, less time to rest and relax as well as spend time with your family and friends.  I don’t know about you but I don’t have enough time to rest and relax as it is.  And I don’t spend nearly enough time with my husband and family.  This article was honestly such a load of cow pie because it supported the need to get ahead in corporate america which really doesn’t pay off or make you any happier.  Several years ago I worked in an investor relations department for one of the top banks in the U.S.  Initially, I was a naive little employee brainwashed by corporate america to go above and beyond, to give 110%, and even earned a crappy employee of the month award.  They gave me a nice little certificate signed by the vice president that hung in my cubicle next to my snowboarding pictures while I slaved away.  Then once I realized that all my hard work got me was a certificate I would just daydream about becoming a snowboard bum and never looking at cheesy “Employee of the Month” certificates again.                  

Last Saturday morning my older sister was driving in a nearby town and was struck by a train.  She walked away from the accident without a single scratch or bruise, just some mild soreness and a totaled car.  The red lights at the cross bucks were not working and a house on the corner blocked her view of the oncoming train.  My sister says she’s not sure what made her look to her right as she approached the tracks.  She slammed on her brakes but the train clipped the front end of her car, spun her around, and then hit her in the rear.  Somehow she was able to avoid a direct hit.  No one wants to think about the inevitable, but close calls like the one my sister had are very real and can happen to anyone.  It makes you think about how prepared you and your family are if the unspeakable happens.  Is your life insurance policy enough?  Should you get mortgage life insurance?  Do you have enough money saved?  How much debt would your spouse be left with?  Thankfully, my sister was being watched by her guardian angels that day but we just never know when its our time.    

Many of us younger folks realize that Social Security will probably be bankrupt by the time we are age 65.  So, now more than ever, its important to invest for the future.  One of the best ways to invest for retirement is to open a Roth IRA through either an independent investment company or by doing loads of research on your own if you trust your knowlege about mutual funds.  However, if your willing to take on more risk there are so many other ways to invest like hedge funds, forex, options and futures.  If you are new to trading options, forex, and futures then its a good idea to have commodity brokers.  Even if you are a veteran its still not a bad idea to have a broker to work with since these are generally high risk investments.

Finally, President Bush has done something about our struggling U.S. economy.  What in the world took so long?  He has been far too preoccupied with Iraq and many U.S. citizens feel completely abandoned by the president.  I think cutting interest rates and the tax rebate will help but its not nearly enough to offset the rising cost of energy and food.  I can’t help but wonder why the economy was allowed to get so bad and why he didn’t do anything sooner?  Many middle-class Americans aren’t out buying luxury cars or luxury watches on credit cards but do use credit to buy gas and food.  Money just doesn’t go as far as it used too.            

I think one of the greatest things you can do for yourself is to either change jobs or change careers to something you love.  For over 5 years I was in the mortgage lending industry and had to commute over 30 miles each way to get to my job.  This commute was a stretch of state highway with curves and hills allowing few places to pass a slow traveling vehicle.  I can’t count how many times I saw my life flash before me when someone would attempt to pass a car.  I remember one time I was so angry at a pickup truck with a truck toolbox in the back for cutting me off that I gave him the middle finger and cursed at him as loud as I could.  The three clowns in the front seat gave me the middle finger back with way too much exaggeration and enthusiasm. 

So, now that I have changed jobs I drive 20 miles less everyday on less crowded roads, the road rage has subsided.  I haven’t cursed or flipped anyone off in frustration.  That isn’t to say I won’t use my middle finger again but it sure has been nice.   

I just read an article on msn.com about ordinary people with relatively low incomes paying off huge amounts of debt in a short time.  While I can’t complain about my situation I do have student loan debt that just drives me crazy.  Sometimes I feel like I’ll never get it paid off and then I just give up hope the debt will ever go away.  I really try to not let it get me down but staying positive about it is a hard thing to do.  After reading this article I have new hope that if other people can pay off their debt then I can do it too.  One couple mentioned that by just making sacrifices and cutting back on spending they were able to eliminate their mortgage. 

“It has been great to be so young and live in a paid-off house,” Bethany said. “We can be more flexible with our lives since only one paycheck can easily pay for our necessities. We can choose to stay at home when we have kids and aren’t chained to our jobs if, for example, lower-paying but more rewarding career options open up for us.”

Wow.  That is huge.  Can you imagine not being “chained to your job?”  I really think that is the reason so many are unhappy in life.  Feeling stuck in your job because of that black cloud of debt hanging over their heads.  This is exactly how I feel.  So, read the article and make your own plan for getting out of debt.  I have. 

Huge Debts Paid Off Fast  

This evening I found out that one of my credit card numbers was stolen online.  The dirty rotten thief purchased $180 worth of stuff from an undisclosed online store and would have bought more if Citi (my card company) hadn’t blocked the suspicious activity.  I know that credit card companies charge outrageous fees in interest every month but I have to give Citi some love here.  Once the suspicious authorizations starting going through they called and left me several messages stating they suspected fraudulent charges to my account.  Unfortunately, $180 was charged but Citi is reversing this charge and will completely investigate and pursue the fraudulent activity.  I will owe nothing.  The customer service rep spent 20 minutes on the phone with me explaining exactly what had happened to my account, closed out my old stolen account number, issued me a new account number, and sent me an affidavit in the mail so they can pursue the dirty swindlers.  Its sad that online hacking and identity theft are happening all too often lately.  Consumers have to be so much more cautious with their information these days.  If your looking for a great credit card company I recommend Citi.  They made this bad experience very easy for me as a consumer.  Find the perfect card at www.citicards.com.               

For the next 2 days at work I must sacrifice my lunch breaks for company meetings.  Am I being selfish by wishing I could just have my lunch break to myself?  When and how did “lunch break” get re-defined as an opportunity for company time?  Truthfully, I like my job and I like what I do.  I help people get better and sometimes it is even life changing for them.  But I’ve allowed myself to feel overwhelmed, rushed, and fatigued.

So today it hit me.  I needed to start thinking positive.  So how do I do this?  The first thing I did was stop thinking about what is still ahead of me.  My schedule, the meetings,  and started allowing myself to no longer feel rushed.  I had to stop thinking about how I won’t have a day off for the next 10 days.  Its only Wednesday and I was already dreading getting up on Saturday & Sunday morning to be at the hospital at 8 a.m.  Why was I doing that?  So, now I am living in the present like we’re supposed too and taking it one day at a time.  One minute at a time if need be.  My mantra for today is:  “I refuse to feel rushed today.”  I just may have to say this to myself everyday.  I feel so much better.