doribug

i just had a 2 hour talk with my mom. it was really good. when i visited olympia a month ago we sat down and wrote a basic budget. it was embarassing to have to tell my parents how much debt i'm in and how out of control i let it get. it was cathartic though and in the end i learned a lot about my parents, about myself and about money. i learned that my parents don't think i have a horrible job like i thought they did. they actually think it's a good job for me right now, because it's steady employment, pays well, has good benefits, and i have no fear of losing my job (knock on wood).

i also learned that i should have my paycheck taken from me each week and be given an allowance. because i have no money sense to speak of. according to our calculations i should have and extra $300 after bills each month. where that money was going i have no idea. i do have a bad habit of cooking huge dinners and inviting all my friends over to eat. bad for my budget, but good for their bellies.

it makes me happy to take care of people. but now i have to take care of myself.

an additional stressor lately is the fact that once you start paying the evil collections drones, they tell all the other drones that you have money and then they all start calling you. i talked to three of them yesterday. i can only set up so many payment plans. and the bitchier they are to me the bitchier i get. not a good way to get money out of me. so the added payment plans completely threw off my budget and i freaked out yesterday. i called my mom and cried which is always a good release, but she worries enough about me as it is that i shouldn't be adding more..... anyway, we talked today and i was calm and collected and on the ball. we got things figured out as much as we could and i feel a lot better.

for the next month or two i'm going to be living off of very little money, so if anyone wants to cook me dinner i promise i won't critique. and i'm really good company. plus if you're hot you might get lucky!