money can't buy happiness

 

(via)

I'm good at spending it, but I'm terrible at saving it.  I opened up my first credit card when I was 19 and it all went downhill after that.  I spent my entire life savings on rent, food, books, and bar tabs during college because I wanted to experience true college life.  I graduated college with a Bachelors degree and no college loans (thanks again, Mom, for working at the University and providing your children with free tuition) but I managed to rack up about $2,000 in credit card debt. 

Then I nailed a job in Philadelphia, found an apartment downtown and decided to experience true city life by going out to happy hours, dinner dates and buying anything I wanted.  It was great because I never had someone (i.e. parents) telling me no.  But by the end of that first year, I had racked up about $6,000 in credit card debt and at one point, had a mere $10 in my checking account.  I didn't have health insurance or a 401K because I couldn't afford it.  I was literally scraping for pennies, trying to find a way to pay my $600 rent each month.  I blatantly ignored paying one of my credit card bills for almost a year and eventually, it came back to bite me in the ass.   

So what has my city-life taught me?  Own up to your finances and be smarter about your choices.  You can still enjoy life without going broke.  

This was a tough lesson to learn.  I'm still living my city-life, but I'm more mindful of where my money is going.  I [finally] have good health insurance, a 401K, two checkings account and a savings account.  Not to mention mutual funds and stocks.  I know how much of my bi-weekly paycheck gets deposited into which accounts so I can keep track of where I'm spending my money.  One thing I am absolutely loving right now is mint.com, especially their Droid app, because I can check my bank and credit card accounts when I am traveling, making sure I keep within my travel budgets.  I'm starting to clip coupons more and I receive the daily Living Social and Groupon e-mails which also inform me of special deals and offers in the city.  I'm also working on knowing the difference between need and want.  I was at Target over the weekend and they had Dawson's Creek: Season 1 & 2 for $19.99.  I tossed it into my basket because yes, I just started getting it through netflix and I am now addicted (don't judge me).  As I wandered around the store though, I keep asking myself:  Do I really need this?!  Do I really want to spend the $20 for this?!  I walked out of the store $20 richer (kind of) because I didn't buy the DVD set.  And you know what?  It felt so good.

I'm still working on paying off all of my credit card debt and my new goal is to start an emergency fund (yeah, never had one of those either) in case my car blows up or I lose my job soon.   I live in a big city but I certainly don't live an extravant lifestyle.  

Money can't buy you happiness, but it sure does make having fun a little better.

This post is a part of the 20-Something Bloggers Blog Carnival in partnership with Charles Schwab Community Services.  I took the Financial Fitness Check-up Tool and scored a 68/100.  For more information on the carnival, click here.

Disclaimer: This post is part of the 20SB Blog Carnival: Friends & Money, sponsored by Charles Schwab. Prizes may be awarded to selected posts. The information and opinions expressed in this post do not reflect the views or opinions of Charles Schwab. Details on the event, eligibility, and a complete list of participating bloggers can be found here