The Writing Still Continues

Hey Readers! Happy Thursday! I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe. I’m doing fine, I’m home and will be working from home for the forseeable future. If anything with this whole pandemic, I have learned to be content in all things. Sure, we have to adapt and do things differenly in order to have the same results, but change is still something that is constant.

It’s a little after 8 pm and I have the pleasure of video chatting with my bestie and  writing friend, Julia who then introduced me to her writing friend, April. April and I clicked right away. My bestie was like I want my two best friends to be friends. The sentiment was so sweet. We talked like we were friends for years! Sometimes you have good chemistry with people and know it’s right. Which bring me to writing. It’s my thing. Having good chemistry means the relationship is likely to last.

The Writing Continues…

While having nothing but time, I was thinking to myself about how I want to be consistent with my writing. I have in my planner to write daily and yet I’m 3 days behind! It’s okay. As long as I start and don’t give up that is the key. My goal is to write daily on a novel and to blog daily. I figure if I can post on Facebook everyday, I can give you guys some good material. If you are a writer or want to start writing, the goal is to just stat writing. In turn, I have a guide on how to write a book, screenplay or journal titled, ” The Krystol Method: An Easier Approach To Getting Your Words Out” on amazon.

As I started to publish books, I’m always asked, ” how do I write a book?” I figured I’d explain that in more detail. Now this isn’t to pitch you to death,  but if it intrests you it can be a resource. This story that I am working on now is called ” Worth The Wait” which is about two twin girls who are preacher’s kids  who venture out in the world living their lives where God is suppose to be the center of their life, or is he? This is my first Christian book and if I’m honest, I’m really nervous as to how the population will like it. But, I will cross that bridget when it comes. For now I’m going to just enjoy the process of writing.  Let me know, what are you currently working on?

Power Through

I figured this picture would be fitting for everything that is going on. We are over it and we want our lives back to normal.  This is only temporarily and I belive that things will get better. If you are home from work like me, keep a routine going. My day today consists of writing a novel that I need to finish and taking some time out to read. I’m currntly reading two books right now The Richest Man of Babylon by George Clason and Novebmer 9th by Colleen Hoover. My grandmother alwahys said, ” the mind is a terrible thing to waste.”

Keep powering through! Delayed does not mean denied. Whatever you want to do in life whether it is a goal, dream, for work, etc it will happen. Keep the faith. It will be worth the wait. As I take the time to encourage my readers, I’m also speaking for myself. I’m home for 2 weeks with pnemonia that is clearing up nicely thanks to faith, prayer and medicine. I’ve always had a weak immune system from being born premature so I am staying inside and taking precautions. But, I will not let that stop me. Life is still be lived! I’m doing the things I love the most, read, write and watch YouTube videos on budgeting and financing.

I’m Getting To The Money

With everything that is going on money is at the forefront. Take the time you need to make arrangements in your budget if you have one. If not, my budget jounral is a personal journal for you to organize your finances and start that budget. But, if here are some tips to do at home right now to free up any extra cash you may need.

I have been doing a challenge for myself where I save any money that I have on hand and wasn’t using. It’s been about 4 weeks and I have saved about $350 in cash. Of course I didn’t know this was going to happen, but I’m glad that I am prepared. I am the type of person to always think ahead and not just live in the now.  Some people have a different approach and want to spend their money because they worked hard for it, and that is their choice. Follow to the beat of your own drum.

1.  Pay Only The Minumum Or Put Payments on Hold – With the virus and things still being do, don’t make an extra payment just yet. Just pay your minimum balance on ALL of your bills and that extra payment, put it in savings or just keep it in your account.  Or if you are able see if you can stop payments altogether until things are somewhat back to normal.
2. Call Companies- There are many companies that are putting payments on hold and providing free services while the pandemic is going on. I.E, Comcast, Electric, Internet and even cell phone bills. Now, just because you don’t have to pay it right now does not mean you get a FREE MONTH.
3. Shop From Home First – Depending on your circumstances if you are quarentined in the house or not, first go through your pantry and take inventory of what you have. Shop from home first and make a meal plan so when you do go shopping or have someone go for you, you will know exactly what you need.
4. Buy In Bulk (If You Can) – There are stores such as BJ’s, Sam’s Club, or even Costco where you can buy meats and other groceries in bulk in order to have more for times like this. If you do not have a membership to any of these places, it’s okay. Buy the family pack of meals and seperate them. Leg quarters are VERY CHEAP and you can get like 10 pouds for like $4. Take them home, clean them, and cut them in half and you have double the amount of food. Now, I know food is scarce in the grocery store, but don’t stock up too much, be mindful of those who may still need to buy groceries and can’t come at the moment.
5. Stay Safe – If it is not mandatory to go out, please don’t. I know some people still have to work and if you do please be careful. Take all the safety measures that you can during this time.

Having More Than One Dream, Is It Possible?

Good morning, readers! It is about 7:45am and my day started at 7. I have a new schedule at work that I’m not fond of, but we are here. I am grateful for the little things so that I can be blessed with bigger! Yesterday, I was watching a church sermon from Bethany Baptist church! If you guys are not familar, check them out on Facebook every Sunday, they go live. One of the messages that stood out to me was, ”  figure out what you want to change in the world and focus on that.” The Bishop said that is where your passion lies. Now, my 18 year old self had SO many things that I wanted to contribute to the world and I’m thinking about that as my 35 year old self! Speaking of, I’m REALLY 35. Like, where did the time go? I mean, I remember graduating high school and taking my senior pictures. Anywho, the statement really had me thinking because there are only two things that come to mind. Writing and Finance. Which brings me to our topic today. Is it possible to have more than one dream? Of course!!  Why not? I follow Kumiko aka The  Budget Mom and she said something that was SO profound. She said, ” Let’s stop leaving the big dreams to millionaires!”

There is nothing wrong with have more than one passion. We are gifted in so many things. I’ve been told that I’d make a great counselor, accountant, writer, even speaker. Believe it or not, I am not fond of speaking in front of crowd’s. But, who knows I may have a passion for it later in life. If you see something that you quickly develop a knack for or it comes easy to you, look deeper into that. It maybe a new passion or gift. I love to write, but I have not been writing a lot. Dealing with the stress of student loan debt and figuring out how to pay it off with my small salary( at least not enough to really put a dent in my loans) was taking up so much in my mind. But, NO MORE! The debt will be there until it’s not. As long as I am making more than my minimum payment, that will suffice for now. Cinderella once said, ” A dream is a wish your heart makes, when you’re fast asleep.” There is truth to that! When I lay down at night, I dream about  budget coaching and helping people manage their finances. This is something that I want to do as a side hustle for now and continue my writing endeavors. But, when you become self employed, to me its’ hard to find people who will pay your services. I just need to look and find the people that will respect my craft and my passion and will actually want the services.

Having dreams is something that should not frustate, but it should excite you. Make a plan and then put action behind it. Do not allow anyone to tell you what is good for you and your life. If that dream is to become a chef, cook everyday. Start allowing people you don’t know to try your meals. Get an internship or a part time job at a resturant. As long as you are passionate about it, others will start to take notice, too. I’ve talked about my writing and my finance passions at work. It’s funny, I could see people judge or smirk from afar. One girl said, ” Well if you have done all of this and you like finance, why are you here?” I often get that question a lot! My answer is, ” Well, I have several streams of income and this just happens to be 1 of them.” Then she got quiet. In a sense, I’m not lying, lol. I do get royalties from my books when they sell and I will try to make a way to get money from this blog as well. See, potential revunue for your work! But, this goes to show, you can not tell everyone your passion and dreams. Just like that girl who asked, ” well why are you here and the other looks I got.” They are not happy that I have more than one dream or even income. They are called ” haters”. With haters you have to erase them from your mind and keep going. She could have simply said, ” That’s great that you do more than one thing or how does this job that we do correlate with your passions?” It could have been many questions asked. But, yet, she thinks I’m lying about my other income streams because I’m working their full time. But, here’s the thing. We are not responsible for what other people think about us. It’s simply none of our business. Now that I know how she is, I will just not speak anymore on the subject matter. Once you know your dreams, take the time and patience to see them through.

Three Money Mistakes That Can Turn To Financial Apprecation

 

Ever heard the term, ” Money doesn’t grow on trees?” My grandmother used to say that to me ALL the time every time I’d ask for something when we were at the store. We’d go shopping just about every weekend for groceries, clothes, or whatever else we needed in the house. My hand was always out for something that was materialistic and would decrease in value as soon as it left the store or I broke it, whatever came first. She used to always say, ” Krystol, you have to learn to only buy your needs and some of your wants but not all of them.” The older I got, the more I understood where she was coming from because I made so many mistakes with my money. I’m sure some of you can relate and have done the same thing or are currently doing it. Now,  I am not here to make you feel bad because I’ve made my fair share of money mistakes along the way. But,  I will show you these  mistakes can be prevented in the future and turn into apprecation overall.

Money Mistakes

Here are some mistakes that I have experienced and have turned them around for the good. Hopefully they can do the same for you.

 

1. Not Saving Any Money. This is so crucial! I was guilty of this. I was living paycheck to paycheck and only buying more wants than needs. I was a mess guys. Within the weekend I was broke until next payday. My thought process was, ” Well at least my bills are paid.” This is the wrong mindset to have. Saving money is so important now a days especially with this economy. Even if you only save $50-$100 a paycheck. Creating a nest egg in case emergencies happen. For example, 6 years ago I was living in an apartment for $600 a month. The job that I had the time was only paying me $625 every two weeks so that is $1250.00 a month. That is $15,000.0 a year! I was 29 years old. Now let’s look at these numbers. Check out the breakdown.

• Rent- $600 per month
• Cell phone – $75 a month at the time
• Cable -$100 a month (just cable)
• Electric –  $60 a month

Total Bills $825

In the hole -$200

As you see I did not have enough money to live. I was not making enough, right? So, I had to borrow the $200 that I was short, plus extra for groceries until I asked my landlord if I could pay my rent bi-weekly as I got paid instead of every month. Now seeing my essentials, I would still go deeper in the hole because I woudn’t pay my cell phone bill of $75, I’d order Chinese food or buy books. I would skip out on cable in order to buy groceries and have toiliet paper or get my hair done becaus I can’t do hair to save my life.  I had gotten to a point where I was SO tired of asking my parents to help me out that I ended up making some changes to my income.

• Rent – $300 bi-weekly
• Cell Phone  (cheaper plan)- $ 50
• Cable – $100
• Electric $60

Total: $510

Remaining: +$115

Now, look what I did:

Savings: $50.00 – bi-weekly equeals $100 per month

Remaining -$65

Groceries -$50.00

Tolietrees $15.00

I made changes when I decided I was tired of depending on others when I was a whole grown woman. Now, I know you guys must be asking, why were you making so little? So, I was apart of a program called AmeriCorp where you worked in a low income service based job to help the community. The job lasted 1 year and I ended up getting a better job.

2. Not Creating A Budget. You see the issues that I was having without creating a budget which was another money mistake for me! Wow! I was in the hole and I had to dig myself out of it. Once I was able to see what I was spending and on what, I decided on what I needed to cut back on. In about 6 months of that year, I had cut my cable completely off which now led to.

Savings: $100 a month $50 bi-weekly which totaled to $200 a month.

I saved that $200 a month like my life depended on it because let’s face it, it really did. My parent’s started asking me if I was okay and needed money because I stopped asking them. I said, ” Yup, I’m good, i’m saving money.” Good thing I did save to because the carpet had gotten pulled from under me. My landlord ( I was renting his house that he made into aparents) told me that I had 30 days to move, because he was coming back to LIVE in his house. It was random and I was terrifed! I only had $1000,00 saved in my savings account and I had 30 days to find an apartment, get someone or people to help me move and still figure out if I could afford to live. I looked at my budget and realized that I actually had $2,250.00 (plus the security deposit $600.00 ) for first months and security deposit of a new place no more than $750 a month. I had just started a better job but had not gotten paid yet. Luckily, my Dad and my cousins and uncle helped me move. It all worked out perfectly, but just think I didn’t budget and save money! Yikes!

3. Not Having A Money Mindset. I’m sure by now if you are still reading you are like, sheesh, let me get my ish together because the unexpected can be expected. If you thought that, you are right. Life happens. Just like it happened to me, it can happen you at any time. At the time I didnt’ have a money mindset and I didn’t care until I had to start caring. I expected my parents to always help and pick me up when I fall. Although, they will because it’s what parents do, but why do we have to put them in a positon to? After that experience in my life, I developed a strong relationship with God first, then money. My money mindset is on 1000%, lol. No, but I alway think of the end before the beginning. What if this happened? Would I have the money for that emergency in my life? Also, make sure it’s YOUR emergency and not someone else’s. If you can’t take care of yourself, you can’t help to take care of someone else. I felt some people needed to read that. But, I always think of what if? Just like my experience, what if I didn’t have that money saved to move? I’ve become so frugal and money conscious that I try to be prepared for most emergencies that can occur like car issues, I didn’t have a car then, but I do now. To prepare for car maintenance, I did a little money challange and saved anything that I had left over from paychecks and put it in an envelope, if 6 weeks I had saved $500. Now, I know that may or maynot be enough for a car emergency depending on what it is, but it’s an amazing start. Not having a money mindset can set you up for failure when life happens. No matter how much you make little or small, practice a money mindset. Ask yourself, do I really need those sneakers or those jeans? Or should I save the money I was going to buy those items with. Granted, I am not saying to not have fun or live your life, treat yourself, just plan and budget to treat yourself.

Try this exercise:

If there is something that you want to buy, budget for it. Set aside a certain amount every paycheck until you have reached the goal of the item you want to purchase. If you want to then still buy it, go for it! If not, think about a category if your life where that money may need to go.

Categories of Life (YOu can put a little away each paycheck toward these cateogories and when they are needed, you already have money available)

• Emergency Fund ( It’s good to have at least 3-6 months of expenses(Rent, Electric, Groceries, Gas or Water whatever you NEED to survive in your home) in a savings or checking account. For example, my monthly bills to live are $850. Rent -$750, Electric, $50 and Cell – $50. $850×3=$2,550 $850×6=$5,100. This is in case I loose my job by being laid off, getting fired, whatever. I know I can give for 3-6 months and still pay my bills to live.
• Car Maintenance – Anything can happen with a car. A good started fund for can be $300-$1000, you just never know. Your car can break down, might be a tow, car tags, inspection, brakes, new muffer whatever..
• Christmas – Depending on if you have children or not, or how you raise your kids this can be between $100-$500
• Gifts/Birthdays – Whatver you want to buy people, can be $100-$500
• New Car (Whatever your budget is for a new car whether it’s used or not start putting a little away toward it)
• Funeral – Sadly, people pass away every day. This can be used toward bills after someone passes, their grave site or plot or even life insurance. Other Categories can be: Vet, Medical, Kids, Back to school, Clothes, Date Night, Wedding, New Baby, New Bed, LabTop, Pets, Vacation, whatever your life consists on you can plan for it little by little. 

With that being said, I have written a personal budget journal just for you to plan your life and make your money mistakes because financial apprecation! Check it out. You can buy your copy of Amazon for just $25.00. Here is this personal budget journal, you can create your budget, learn how to repay your debt, make a finance vision board and more. Create a healthy relationship with your finance. I introduce to you:

Here is the link if you’d like to purchase it: 

 

 

Motivation Monday

Good evening, readers! I know today is a holiday and some of you were home relaxing or spending time with family. I had to work! I was bummed, but working in Finance, the work does not stop, at least not for President’s Day. While at work, I was thinking a lot about my goals and the things that are important to me. What did I really want out life? How will I get there? What motivates me to go after it? The more I thought, the answer came to mind. My attitude. Just mine, not anyone else’s attitude. You see, you have to want something so bad that you will do whatever it takes to make it happen. Want to be a writer, write. Want to be an actress, get into acting by any means neccessary. Want to loose weight? Set yourself up for success. But, it all starts with your attitude. If you are positive in good spirits and have a ” can-do” mindset, results will be achieved! I must admit, I have been slacking a bit on my craft of writing. It was my attitude. I was a negative Nancy or a Debbie downer if you will. Since, my attitude has changed my writing has increased. I am working on a new book that I put off for about 8 months due to my negative attitude. No one’s going to buy it. No one wants to read my work anymore. Just nonsense! The mind is to powerful that even YOU believe what it says when it starts to talk mess. Ignore it. Ignore the negative voice in your head that says you can’t do what you put your mind to.

Lately, I have been telling my close friends about my writing and how I really miss it. They had some positive things to say like, ” Okay, so write.” Make the time and get to work. One of my best friends said that I was a different person when I had writing in my life. I did not know how to take it. Maybe I was happier? I don’t know, but I didn’t want to question it either, because I am senstive and very protective when it comes to my craft. But, I want to encourage everyone who reads this blog to not give up on your dreams no matter how far fetched they seem or how many there maybe. I have lots of dreams, but I keep some of them to myself because sometimes in my opinion family and friends will tear it down if they don’t understand your vision. But, it’s not for them to understand. For example, I can say, ” I want to have a big family one day, like 6 kids.” Mind you, I am 35 years old so can you imagine the opinions and comments people would say? ” You waited late? Or that’s too many at your age, etc.” But, why do I have to listen to what they say just because they don’t think what I want is good enough for me? Makes sense? I understand that we as people sometimes or often really value the opinion of those close to us, but let me ask you, why is that? Why do we value opinions of others who are afraid to go after their dreams or think it’s too late for them? Let’s be honest, if they were living in their dreams and doing what they always wanted no matter what it is, wouldn’t they encourage us to do the same? They’d say, ” Yes, do it when I did it, it worked for me, or I was happy. Sometimes we have to motivate ourselves and achieve what we want ourselves without outside influences discouraging us.

Don’t allow your attitude to crush your dreams or other people’s opinions and comments crush them before you even start. But, it first starts with your attitude. If you are over the moon about something and it makes your heart smile, keep that same energy. Let that feeling drive you forward to keep doing whatever it maybe. Achieve your goals and live your dreams.

Unavoidable Suffering

Good morning everyone! It’s very early, but my energy and my words are ready. I was listening to a speech by Les Brown this morning and he said, ” If you are unhappy, figure out what will make you happy and do that.”  I shed a few tears because I knew I was guilty of not being happy.  As I sat on my bed I knew what was going to make me happy and what was missing. The love of words! It was by chance, my friend called me last night who’s an actor and have worked with Tyler Perry and doing some independent films. Last year he bought my screenplay, ” I’ll Never Tell”. He said,” Krystol, I know it’s been a year since I bought your script, but I just came from LA and I pitched it to a few directors who love it. He said, ” I don’t know if it will be picked up, but I’m going out on faith and I am going to make your film in LA.”

I said, ” Ty, you bought the film.” He said, ” Yea, but I didn’t write it. I haven’t changed anything,  we love it the way it is. If it become an indie or make it to a big screen you are the original writer and will get the credit.” Now, of course it’s in our contract, I get a writer credit, but the fact that he still holds to it says a lot. Then he asked about me writing and I said I have lost motivation. He said, ” You are a great writer whether it’s a book, film or TV show idea. Keep writing. Don’t stop. He said as a matter of fact, re-pitch your work to the celebrities you’ve worked with.”

It clicked, He was right. I’m working in finance and I enjoy it, but my heart is telling stories and putting them down on paper. I got the courage yet again because I was super confident now. I e-mailed the actor Omar Dorsey and Leon.

LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 23: Actor Omar J. Dorsey attends the premiere of DreamWorks Pictures and Universal Pictures’ “Thank You For Your Service” at Regal LA Live Stadium 14 on October 23, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images)

It was late. I know Leon is on the east coast and Omar on the west coast. I said a prayer and took a chance. I pitched my work to both and said what the synopsis was. Now, both men have read some of my work before and we have somewhat of a rapport being as though I interviewed them when I used to write for CNN I-report. Leon, actually e-mailed me back right away and requested the script. That is just the first step. I am excited that he loved my ” elevator pitch”.

I’m saying all of this not to boast or brag, but to inspire and hopefully restore your faith and your passion. It took my friend Tyrone to make me realize that I need to keep fighting. There are jobs that we hate or things are not bringing out your true self of what you want to be in life. It does not matter the age! Don’t allow unavoidable suffering stop you from trying and continuing to move forward. I let life get in the way of my craft. But, it’s not in vain at least not all the time. I am happy that I have this new found interest of finance and budgetiting because when I REALLY  REALLY make it as a writer, I will know how to handle my money. Then it got me thinking, God is preparing me for making the six figures that I keep praying about. I will be my own accountant and handle my own money.

I no longer want to be conditioned or convinced that I shouldn’t do something just because the few people in my life whom I’m value said so. I used to always say, ” oh I’ll tell my mom this cause I value her opinion, or I’ll tell my Dad this because I value his opinion or my best friends because I value their opinion. No more of that. I love you guys dearly, but I have to sink or swim on my own. Ask yourself, ” what your life be like if you decided to not tell anyone or ask anyone if you should lead your life a certain way and actually do it?” STEP OUT! Your family isn’t in your shoes, your friends or foes are not in your shoes. Try it for yourself, not because people think you should or should not do it because of their fears or them holding you back.

I just know I can’t let my life go by without truly giving it my all in this writing business. Life is too short. Look at Kobe Bryant. He started playing the game at 2 years and never quit because it was what he wanted to do. He had a full life playing professional ball for 20 years. What is the benefit of listening to yourself? What is the beneift of not fighting for your dream? Don’t allow unavoidable suffering stop you from playing the game and have you watching on the sidelines wishing you’d be called up to play. Sometimes you have to stand up while the game is played and walk forward so they can see you coming.

You Decide

Good day, everyone! I hope this Saturday finds you well and in the best spirits. Where I am located it is raining and I just want to sleep. But, I have to work tomorrow so currently, I am washing clothes and getting things ready for dinner. I’m going to try and get back into meal prepping.

In the grand scheme of things, I am focusing on my writing yet again. I had a nice chat with my YouTube subscribers aka ” the achievers” and the amount of support and encouragement that I got from them was overwhelmingly thoughtful. Granted, I go through spells when I say I’m over writing or it’s not bringing me the success that I thought it should. That is a bunch of nonsense! My heart is the pen, my mind is the pen, the soul…is the PEN! I can’t shy away from something that I am feel I am called to do. I just hate that I am cheating on writing with life. I should always have time for my first love, even if my life seems to be in disarray at times.  With that being said, writing also includes this here blog. So, I want you guys to decide what I should write about and focus on. Should it be, a finance blog? Writing blog? A little of both? I want to know what you guys want to read from me. And a goal of mine is to get  to 10k subscribers here on my blog. Think I can do it?

 

Was I Missed?

It’s been about a year and I’m just getting my thoughts together. There is a lot that has happened, but I won’t bore you with all the details. But, I will say that things happen for a reason in our life whether it is positive or negative. Instead of harping on what isn’t happening, I’m learning to be grateful for what is.

I’ve been so consumed with money and trying to make more of it,that I am driving myself crazy, lol. Still in pursuit of a better job ( as we all are) , but just having a more positive approach. Things will happen when it is suppose to.

So, what’s new with you guys? Spill the tea…

I am still working, but have really been slacking on my writing. I think about my stories all the time  and I really miss them. It’s just with this job, once I’m home I am mentally drained and I am too tired to write anything. Well that stops today. Starting tomorrow, I am going to write everyday because I have some stories to tell you guys! To my fellow writers out there, please hang in there. Keep fighting the good fight. To my folks on the debt free journey, we are still in this, but let’s make sure we are alive to see the journey of being debt free end. Don’t let work or money stress you to death.  I’m back and I feel good about it! From this day forth, my writing and finance advice will commense!

New Year, New Financial Goals!

Happy New Year!

It’s that time of year when we all make promises to ourselves and the world and stick to them for one month. Some say setting goals or resolutions is cliche, but in my opinon, people are giving themselves hope. It’s very rewarding to see that people won’t give up on the changes that they want to make for themselves. But, what about your financial goals?

Love Money? How Much Do you REALLY love it?

The more I learn about personal finances and just finance in general, it gets more and more interesting to me. With that being said, how many of you made financial goals this year? Some may want to save as much as they can this year or pay off debt, or start to invest. The sky’s the limit. Whatever you do make sure that your goals are realistic and obtainable.

For example, say you want to save $10,000 this year. What is the first thing you have to do?

1. Write out a written budget. See what your number is for your important fixed bills that are due EVERY month. This does not include netflix, cable, magazine or game subscriptions, etc. I mean let’s be honest, are those really important? Once you figure out what they number is it’s time to do some math.
2. Calcluate your MONTHLY income and substract from that number(important fixed bills).
3. Now you know what your important bills are every month.
4. The goal is to save $1000 a month for 10 months. Depending on your income you may can do that in 10 weeks if you’re paid every week or $2000 a month for 5 months. Or pay $834 a month for 12 months and you are at goal.
5. The way that saving works is to be CONSISTENT and have lots of discpline if you don’t already.

If you are paying off debt, let me just say, kudos to you! There are so many that ignore the debt that they have until the IRS comes knocking demanding their money. Don’t let this happen. Call the creditors, collectors, Navient, Sallie Mae, whoever you owe and make a payment plan, no matter how much your debt is. I know it can be frustrating and stressful, BUT the little payments do add up. Give yourself some credit, you are taking control of your finances.

Again, whatever you do make sure this goal is obtainable.

1. Get a copy of your credit report. Review it, STUDY it hard to make sure it’s correct.

2. Call the creditors and see if you can get on a payment plan.

3. If there is more than one debt, do the snowball method, which is to pay as much as you can on that particular debt alone. Just that one debt, once that one is paid off, put the same amount and a little more on the second debt.

4. You can pay off debt in two ways: the highest interest rate or the highest amount. My suggestion is to pay off the highest interest rate first. I.E, (If these are student loans, pay off the highest interest rate first because interest accures DAILY!!)

5. Keep track of how much you’ve paid off and I guarntee you will see the results in your credit score.

No matter what your financial goals are for 2019, have fun while achieving them. Don’t be so consumed by the number, but the progress you are making.

Why Is It Hard To Find A Writing Job?

It’s about to be a new year and I must say I’m not 100 % sold on my accomplishments. Yes, I’ve written two books this year that I’m very proud of, but I feel like it’s not enough. I want more to do. Writing is my passion and it’s the only way that I release myself. Some may release stress due to gambling, food, sex, or greed. Food has crossed my mind, but writing doesn’t pack on the pounds,just the words. That is fine with me. I did some research today on finding writing jobs. This is nothing new if you’ve been a loyal reader of mine for the last five years or so. My goal is to write for a living. My only feat is deciding if I do that as a company or for myself? I’ve been doing it for myself for quite some time, but I have yet to be financially successful from it. I won’t ever give up on my personal writing, but I still want to acquire working for a company someday as head writer. I’m even willing to climb the ladder as they say. But, how does one do such a thing?

I keep fighting the good fight and pound the keys. Taking a short break was very helpful with my sanity as I feel I’m suffering from cabin fever a bit lol. But, the words still consume me. As in introvert I can often times be called timid, shy, or even closed to those who know me. But, nevertheless, I will always have something to write. Something to say. It’s the words that bounds our mind and speaks to us from our souls and our hearts. As of late, I have been researching how to find a writing job. Social media is top on the list! Studies show the best way to find a job is through social media by networking. I’ve tried this way and I haven’t had much luck. Most of the times people want to writers to work for free, which is ridiculous.  That is another blog for another day.  No matter what you are trying to do with your writing be it a job, a writing schedule, or anything where you use your words, don’t give up. Just take it one word at a time.