It's A Rich Man's World

I have to start budgeting.

I'm not irresponsible with money. In fact, I hardly spend money on myself at all. I bought a 40 dollar dress for Halloween that I also wore for New Years and a bra that actually fit from Walmart. That's all I can remember.

The rest went to food, gas, medicine, CPR class, background check, Christmas presents, textbooks and school. My parents covered my cell phone bill, dance classes, car insurance, car repairs and the majority of my food. Ouch.

So yes, I need to budget. I closed my savings account when it got so low I was losing money and instead of gaining and got a free checking account instead back in October. I am proud to say I have never spent more than I have. I also have my debit card from Mount Hood with my financial aid for school.

Now that I have a part time nanny job I'm hoping I can close some gaps. If all goes well I should be getting my CNA certification in February or March after which I will begin searching for an actual job. I need to start saving but first I need to actually break even, instead of scrounging for gas money like I've been doing.

Hence the budgeting, so that this is actually possible. I've realized even if I'm responsible with my money if I don't have a plan in place it's easy to lose track of where the money is going, whether that be in trips to Rite Aid or the school cafeteria.

I wonder how many years it will take me to become completely financially independent from my parents. Hopefully I'm heading in the right direction.