My Rocky Relationship with Money

Okay, so my relationship with money has been on the rocks. It's no one's fault but my own and I'm ready to get working at it. One of the things that I'm doing is working through a program called Tools for Life. It has been WONDERFUL in my realization that I'm in control of my finances no matter how much or how little I make. Although this seems like a "duh!" moment, it really seemed, to me, that something always came up to "take my money." The truth is, if I had been saving just a little bit, all along, I would be prepared when those "things" would come up. The exercises in Tools has been crucial in this journey and I highly recommend it.

Mint.Com

One of the things that I am doing right now is tracking what I spend my money on. This is pretty easy at this point because I do not use a whole lot of cash and use my debit and credit card for most purchases. The way that I'm tracking my spending is through Mint.com. It's been helpful at this point. I like that it gives me a weekly update of how much money I have in each account and when my balances drop below a certain amount. What I don't like is that I cannot get my credit union account information to show up. I've tired all the tips and ideas they suggest, but no luck.

First things, first

Here we are together. You're here, I'm guessing, for the same reason that I am: you need to same money, some where, some how, with what you've got. That's partly why I'm here. The other reason is that I've got a dirty little secret. I'm a highly educated person in a great profession. I'm in the non-profit sector, so I do not have a whole lot coming in and my problem is that despite all my knowledge, I'm still no good at keeping what I have. I pay my bills on time, but I continue to end up "in the red." This happens no matter how much money I'm making and that tells me, this is a "me problem" not a problem of how much money I make. So, I'm here to work on that and track my progress. I'm also here to share any tips--what works for me and what doesn't.

Please, feel free to contact me with your own personal stories or tips!!! Let's grow, financially, together!