The first three months of 2008 have been kind to me. Things started out rough in January, but in mid-March I received my annual bonus as well as a nice little tax refund, so on the whole, this quarter has been a good one. Since the end of the year I have fully funded my […]
I spent most of last week at a banking conference in Chicago. It was one of the better industry events I’ve attended in the past couple of years. The panel of speakers included representation from every sector of the financial services market, from a key analyst at Goldman Sachs to a former President’s chief economic […]
A recent post by JD at Get Rich Slowly and some of the comments of my last post got me thinking about what it means to be “poor”.
On Feb 11, JD linked to this list on Whatever, a blog by John Scalzi. When I was young, my family didn’t have a ton of money, but […]
I finally finished my taxes - it’s always a relief to check that task off the to-do list. I’ll be getting a nice refund, which I plan to use to fund my wedding account and pay for my new laptop (my old one died a slow, tragic death).
I know that I should do a better job […]
I wear many hats at my work, some having little to do with my actual job description. My favorite such example is my role as a recruiter. As a business unit recruiting representative, I get to travel to regional colleges and universities promoting my workplace and answering questions about our corporate culture.
These past few weeks […]
One of the reasons my debt is so out of control is that I got in a cycle of paying off debt with other loans. My favorite way to play this game was to pay off credit card debt with student loan proceeds. It was my justification for always taking the maximum student loan amount allowed - I figured […]
If you’re a first time visitor - welcome! I encourage you to read this series from the beginning.
As Part II wrapped up, my financial situation was beginning to improve. Turns out that was to be short-lived.
Step seven - Backslide
I continued to work at that bank for five years, eventually becoming a “personal banker” and “retail annuity specialist.” […]
Welcome to Part II to of my three-part series on how to create a big ol’ financial mess. If you missed out on Part I, you may want to start here.
When we left off, I was living the undergraduate high life and financing the whole thing with unsecured credit. It gets better (which means it gets worse).
Step four […]
The old saying “The road to hell is paved with good intentions” goes double for me. My parents did everything in their power to raise me with frugal, conservative financial values. I, in turn, did everything in my power to thwart their efforts.
I succeeded in making my life a financial train wreck. Want to follow […]