The Cannibal Eye

Its a dog-eat-dog out here. Too many people clamoring for the same job no matter how miniscule. Like cannibals, feeding on each other. I've been job hunting since February 10th, and nothing steady. Registered myself with three temp agencies and the jobs either close down or the shifts laid off. Tonight I'll start my "dry run" at UPS to see if I'll be able to handle the fast paced work environment.

The hiring manager said to all THREE of us that were present last Monday to watch the seven-minute video and "everything that's on there, multiply it times 50. This is a job that requires you being told what to do. If you don't like being told what to do, then this isn't for you. I like to tell people that because your supervisors will watch you closely for the first couple of weeks and then after that, you'll be on your own."

I don't care about all that; I'm not easily intimidated. I was in in the military and I was always being told what to do. The government OWNED my ass. I just need to get income going so I can make next month's car payment and insurance and hopefully, keep my phone turned on. I'm tired of surviving/barely surviving. Time to pull up my boot straps and dig in for a long-term goal: to be financially stable.

That's what I want.

Financial Peace

It took me a year to read this book when my brother gave it to me as "something you should read". I ignored him, of course, as he's sometimes an over-bearing prick.

This time last year, I was in an unhealthy relationship as well, which also drained my creative juices. My ex was a few years younger than me, and she was completely Ms. Wrong in every way and manner. I guess at the time, I just NEEDED somebody...then it dawned on to me that I wasn't happy. I actually lived from paycheck to paycheck, a bad routine to have etched in my life.

I was willing to work through the muck of the relationship but we just seem to fall back on the same groove of argue/make up/argue. Mostly about financial matters. I'm a tight wad, and at times, impractical. I also have impulse-control issues, I'll admit that. The relationship just wasn't working out--I'd save money, but the stress of being with the ex just kept draining me as she mirrored my impulsiveness all too clearly. In other words, we weren't meshing as originally stated. It was just the novelty of a new relationship that was appealing and against my better judgement, I found myself becoming emotionally invested in the unhealthy union.

While I was going through that unsteady affair of the heart, I picked up this book one day...and couldn't put it down! I'm usually a slow reader, but that one day in August, I read almost to the end of the book. In it, Dave Ramsey explains his story of having it all and then being broke and all the measures he took to not scrape and the bottom again. Its been a while since I've read "Financial Peace", but I still implement the basics of it into my personal life like having an emergency cash fund. That part my brother engrained into my head cuz in his words, "Shit happens on a daily basis and you can't predict the outcome of life, so be prepared. Have something to fall back on so you won't be stressed out like you are now."

After reading three quarters of the book and applying some of the fundamentals to my way of thinking, I can safely say that I no longer look forward to counting days to payday. I'm still a money whore, that part won't ever change, but if I can at least plan for my future without having to worry about being in huge debt, I will. In my prepper mentality, its nice to have a Plan B, C, and D.

Its also the Boy Scout motto to "Be Prepared".