My Project

I've decided to get off the fence and go with my passion. I love helping people improve their household finances. Over the last several years, I've read a million and one finance articles. I started reading Yahoo! Finance, then MSN Money, MSNBC Business, CNN Money, and a ton of books. I've taken online accounting courses through a local university, and even pondered going back to school to get my degree in Finance.

From the point of reading that first Yahoo! Finance article, I became obsessed with getting our family's finances on the right track and maximizing our spending. Mostly, I focused on retirement research. After I opened my 401k with my employer and maxed out my contribution, I breathed a sigh of relief and went on about my business. My projections show that with a standard rate of return, if I work until I'm 65, we'll have enough in the retirement account to live on $120,000 a year for the rest of our lives and still leave money for the kids.

I realize that retirement is far more complicated than that, but knowing that I have at least a loose plan, I felt free to make changes in other areas of our lives. I created a budget for our family in excel. It's a complicated spreadsheet and covers lots of variables for 5 years. It also has a section that tracks debt reduction, and feeds right into the rest of the calculations. This spreadsheet has been shared with quite a few friends and relatives over the last year and it's been wildly successful!

I've tweaked and adjusted and learned more and implemented tips and tricks from other bloggers and sources until I have our finances rolling like a well oiled machine. And everything I need to manage our household finances on a monthly basis is contained in one 3 ring binder. Not too long ago, Wes was watching me process the weekly grocery list and manage our household finance tasks and had an epiphany.

I think everyone is aware that the economy is going down the tubes. For most of the people in our lives, this means radical changes in their household finances... but they don't know where to start. I'm going to help give people that start.

My new career path is Household Finance Coaching. I'm writing a book to go along with the organizational binder. I already have the binder in Beta form. I'm working with several test households to get real numbers in line. I'm building a new website, and am going to give this a whirl. I really am looking forward to making a difference.

:) And when the book is finished, I'm going to give away a free copy here.

Financial Goal

Until now, I have had a very vague idea of what I want to accomplish. Getting out of debt is only a portion of the equation. It's going to take a long time, but how do I get there? Not only that, but once I get there.. and max out my retirement savings.. and get my emergency fund.. what then?

I have a financial goal. My goal is $100 per day in passive income (or at least non-traditional employment generated income), 5 days a week. I have a few ideas to try. I'll post about them as I go along. I'm not sure what the parameters are yet and I may modify this goal/plan a dozen or so times in the coming weeks, but this is my starting point.

It's not enough for me to stay at home, but then I'll never be able to do that. Wes and I are unable to be approved for private medical insurance. Since my job provides medical insurance, I can't lower my hours to part time or quit to work from home.

So, what will I do with an additional $100 a day? Pay off the debts faster. Give extra money to Wes' daughters (one is in college and the other goes in the fall). Travel. Max out our personal retirement options. Save. Probably equal divisions in all of those categories. Maybe. I still have to map it on my spreadsheet.

Discussions on Poverty

I just read an interview with Adam Shepard that JD over at Get Rich Slowly posted, this morning. The interview was interesting and gave me food for thought... but not as much as the comments. It seems to me that there are so many people who adamently refuse to believe that each person is responsible for their own rise above poverty.

I've seen all of the excuses. Not enough education. Not the right sex. Not the right background. And the ever popular "I'm a single mom!"

I was raised by a Single Mother. Raised in poverty. We did not own our own home, or even have a place to live many times growing up. My mother was a Welfare Mother. All of her income came in the form of welfare checks, food stamps, and we were all provided the best healthcare the state offered. During the course of my childhood, we lived in dozens of places across 3 states, in low income housing, on friends' sofas, with families in overcrowded houses, and a few times in shelters.

Our Christmas gifts, school clothes, and anything else of significant value was provided by Christian Social Services, Community Action, Goodwill, or any other of a hundred charity organizations. My mother did not work, except when it was mandated by state law that she work for the state for the number of hours equivalent to her welfare check paid at minimum wage. And, although she most certainly had enough money to spend every night at the local VFW, or bar, there was little leftover to raise her 4 children.

Now, this is not a pity party. I value the lessons I learned during my childhood. However, this is to demonstrate that I do know what I'm talking about when addressing the issues of poverty and the struggles faced by families ensconsed in it.

As many of the girls who grew up in this environment, I got pregnant at 16. I was a Momma at barely 17. However, I refused to hang the label "Single Mother" on myself. Yes, I was a mother. Yes, I was single. But, my child deserved better than the life I'd had. I went to school during the day, worked at Papa John's Pizza at night. I lived with my mom until 3 months before graduation when she decided to move to another state again. With no way to graduate high school if I moved with her, I packed my 10 month old daughter up and moved into the local homeless shelter.

From there, I began the cycle I did not want to begin. I signed up for welfare, food stamps, and medical care for my daughter. I still went to school and still worked my part time job. I did manage to graduate on time (although, with a D in a couple of classes). I found a tiny 8'X35' trailer for rent, with all utilities included for the exact amount of the welfare allotment. The school guidance counselor brought me a gift box with standard household items to help me get started.

I got financial aid and went to the local college. I met a guy. I got pregnant again at 19 and married 2 months later. I dropped out of school and we moved. Then we moved again. Then we moved again. To make a long story short, after moving more than half a dozen times in just 5 years, I wound up living on my mother's sofa in Georgia, with 3 children, 13 college credit hours and a 0.7 grade point average, two broken legs in braces, an INCREDIBLY spotty work history, and no husband.

I bought a big bottle of Extra Strength Tylenol, and got a job as a 3rd shift waitress. For the entire time I worked there, I was in such pain that I could barely walk. But, I worked anyway. I did not want to be a Welfare Mom and I did not want to ever utter the words "But I'm a single mom".

My world completely fell apart the day that my (then) 7 year old daughter fell on a piece of playground equipment and broke her arm. As a waitress, I had no medical insurance. I had to quit my job to qualify for public assistance. This was the only way that I could afford medical treatment for her arm.

The Public Assistance program in my community is very strict. You're required to attend workshops on resume building, interviewing skills, and get the documentation signed before you qualify for assistance. They also have programs in place with some local department stores to provide interview and work clothes.

I grabbed onto every opportunity they provided me with both hands. Within 10 days of my application, before I ever received one welfare check, I had a job. A job working DAYS.. at a desk job... 40 hours a week.. and for the most money I'd ever made, $10 an hour!

From that point, I never looked back. I have utilized every free educational opportunity that the jobs I've held have offered. Every training session, industry online training course, or even co-workers trying to teach me other job functions, I grabbed onto and used to my advantage. Within a year, I was working for a different company, making more money, learning as much as I could, and making sure that I was in the front of the minds of management when they thought of intelligent, hard workers.

The greatest thing is that my daughters all saw this. They all know where we started. They all know how much our lives have changed and improved. They all know that it was just the 4 of us together for a long time. Not only have I given them better lives than I had, through my own perserverence and hard work, but I've given them a foundation for success... proof that even "single moms" with "no education" and "the wrong background" can improve their situations dramatically and break the cycle of poverty.

Changing Income Without Changing Lifestyle

I was contacted by a recruiter friend yesterday. He knows of an opening for my dream job, which I am qualified for, at more than double my current salary. He's offered to pass on my resume for the position.

Upside:
More money
Extensive experience in a growing field with too few qualified candidates
Challenging job where I get to learn more and love what I do
Likelihood of a long term career with a HUGE nationwide company

Downside:
It's contract work, and the contract ends at the end of the year (but will likely renew).
Our health insurance is through my current employer
The hours will be less flexible than they are now
I lose my accrued vacation time (2 weeks starting at the end of April).

Of course, these are not the only considerations. Currently, I work for a nationwide moving company. We are entering/have entered a recession. The first thing that happens in a recession is that people and companies stop relocating (using professional movers anyway) which makes my current employment extremely precarious. If the economy does not improve, I will not have a job in two months, much less the end of the year.

So, I'm rolling the dice and I'm at least hoping to interview for the new slot. I've pulled up my handy dandy budgeting spreadsheet. I have input all of the numbers, and even with the expense of COBRA coverage, changing jobs is hands down the best financial decision.

The real challenge will be in maintaining our current spending habits and lifestyle in the face of a substantial increase in salary. Wes has already had the High Life. He's had the 3 story house blocks from the beach in LA. He's had the multi million dollar net worth. For a redneck, he's had a pretty charmed life financially (until he hit the bump in the road that everyone else did when the .com bust happened).

Right now, when there is extra money in the budget, he doesn't talk about saving or getting out of debt. He talks about replacing the carpet, fixing the front steps, rebuilding the back deck, adding a room onto the house, etc. If I do manage to pull a rabbit out of my hat and double my salary, I'm going to have to keep a tight reign on the finances until we're on steadier footing.

Looks like I'm going to be reading up on how to deal with this situation. I'll be sure and post any links that are helpful. Does anyone else have suggestions?