Southern Diva Words of Wisdom

I graduated. Again.

2013-05-18T21:45:00.000-05:00

My family loves to joke about my somewhat long scholarly career. At the ripe old age of 48, which is not really that old when I think about it (mother nature is just playing a cruel trick with the calendar on me) I just graduated with my MSN degree in nursing. The joke is that when I was six years old my mom took me by the hand for my first day of school and said, "Come on, sweetie. You have to go to school." Mom says she didn't mean for the rest of my life. I graduated with a BA in communications first, swearing that I'd never go back to school. This was at the age of 21 when I suddenly decided I was filled with the knowledge only bestowed upon ancient wizards. At 30, I realized that I didn't know everything after all, and went back to school off and on for many years. During this time, I got half a business degree (I refused to retake literature so that my courses would be in sync. I graduated before the core curriculum was enforced, and I can be stubborn at times), minored in Forensics, took several writing courses, got my ADN degree in nursing, said I was done with school, then went and got my BSN and said I was done, and then went back AGAIN for my masters'.

The good news in all this is that once you get that ADN, which will cost you blood, sweat, tears, much of your sanity, and maybe your marriage (nursing school hatches life changes. In my class, 3 people got divorced, 2 girls got pregnant and were competing to see who would go into labor at graduation, one got married and several took up smoking), getting the BSN and MSN is really easy. Mine was all online, and other than taking lots and lots of time, along with the dreaded group projects, it really is pretty easy. Out of the 20-something courses I took for the last two, I made all A's with only two B's while working full-time. It can be done.

For graduation my mom made me promise I won't go back to school again (I won't) and my dad was mentioning something about me getting a PhD (no, thank you). I'm really done this time, except for writing courses and the like. I was just happy to graduate before I would need a walker to get to the stage with. Lots of people are now graduating high school and college at this time of the year. My best advice to the 20-year-olds graduating? Never say you'll never go back to school. After a few years, you may very well eat those words. And if your employer offers tuition reimbursement or any kind of help with school, you're an idiot not to take them up on it. A few workplaces still offer totally free tuition coverage for employees without them having to pay it up front and get reimbursed later. Since the pension plan has gone the way of the dinosaur, take advantage of any kind of educational assistance you can get for free. When I was a new nurse at UAB years ago, they totally covered my tuition for advanced pathophysiology. All I had to do was buy a used book. So that was like tax-free money since I never saw a bill for the class.

Think about it.

Do You Have a Coupon For That?

2013-03-22T22:13:00.002-05:00

I talked my boyfriend into letting me buy his groceries one day. He gave me the money, and I returned with several bags totaling around $70. I had saved $30 with coupons and sales, and we had more to eat than just a box of cereal and some junk food.

"Why is it when I shop I come home with $200 worth of stuff and it only lasts 2 days?" he asked as he helped haul in the bags.

"You don't know how to shop," I told him. It's true. He doesn't have the time, inclination, or know-how to peruse sale ads, cut coupons, and troll the internet looking for deals. Case in point--earlier this week his fridge was practically empty. He went to the store without a list, and pretty much just went up and down every aisle and grabbed a little bit of everything. I met him at his house, and thought I was going to pop an artery.

Yes, he had lots of groceries...he should have. The grand total?? $350.00!!! I nearly had a stroke. My grocery bill for the month of February was $111.00. Yes, it's just me, but still, he only buys for himself and his son and I on weekends. He works out of state all week and I'm like how on God's green earth can you spend so much on groceries when you're never home???

Even worse, when I helped put things away, I could count up at least $50 I could have saved just with coupons, not even worrying about sales, or using Target coupons (I love Publix for that), or any of my iPhone apps that have coupons and other savings programs.

Now my running joke is to tell him I had a coupon for something after he buys it. He said for me not to say that after the fact, when I wasn't in the store with him. I tell him if I'd known he was going to the store, I could have hooked him up. It must have worked....for the last couple of weeks every time he mentions going to the store he says, "Oh, do you have a coupon for that?"

Just goes to show, ya gotta train them right, and make smart shopping a habit. I'm attempting to introduce his teenage son to the joy of coupons, so we'll see if it takes hold.

Got to go check for the last day of the week's sales I don't want to miss tomorrow at CVS and Walgreen. I love their rewards programs, and I have $10 in CVS bucks burning a hole in my coupon holder:)

Until next time, happy saving! And watch those spring allergies. They are starting up around here.

Happy New Year of Saving!!!

2013-01-03T17:39:00.000-06:00

Welcome to 2013! Here's hoping everyone has a happy and prosperous year. My grandmother always said, "A penny saved is a penny earned." Well, her pennies went much further back then than my dollars do today, so I'm going to share some money-saving tips with you. There are many ways to save money--on groceries, entertainment, clothing, and just about everything you buy!

Think how hard you work to make enough to pay for the 200 channels of cable you don't watch, or buying another pair of black boots to go with the other six pairs in the closet. Makes you think, huh? As a nurse, I find it handy to ask," How many butts will I have my hand up in to earn enough to buy XX with?" Do you really want to throw out a full workday of 8+ hours on that purchase?

The best way to start is to know where those dollars are going. I'm "auditioning" several apps on my iPhone for tracking my spending. So far, the winner appears to be Pocket Expense Personal Finance Account Tracker by Blue Tags. It meets my most important criteria--easy to use and FREE!!! If you need more than just the basics, you may have to pay a few dollars for apps that do it all. Remember, in most cases you can upgrade later if you need to.

Got to go work on my coupon organizer. If you want to start the new year learning how to save big on groceries, there are dozens of web sites to get you started. One of the best I recommend (and she has a very good book to accompany the site is The Krazy Coupon Lady. You can follow her on Twitter at @KrazyCouponLady.

Till next time, happy saving!

Roma

Want to Learn More About Writing??

2012-11-11T14:14:00.000-06:00

If you have any interest in writing, blogging, etc and want to know how to start, you need to check this out! I've taken several of Carol Tice's workshops and am a member of her Freelance Writer's Den. This is one of the very best values out there and has been a huge help to me over the years. As I'm still a blogging "baby," I'm reading everything on her site I can about blogging. I did the J-School audit earlier and printed out the PDF's. Worth every penny, so check it out!!

Great Quote from Lana Turner on Men

2012-09-26T21:50:00.000-05:00

A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend. A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

Lana Turner

This is so true! Until I met my wonderful man a couple of years ago, I went more for the fixer-uppers...you know, like buying an old home for the challenge of remodeling. Now that I'm older, I no longer cut the grass, do yard work, paint the trim or clean the leaves out of the gutter. And I sure as hell don't want to tackle a total do-over! I'm also not your momma, your shrink, or your ATM machine. If I want to do a crafts project, I'll get out my sewing machine and some of the fabric that is dry-rotting, anxious to be put to a useful purpose.

What Fresh Hell is it Now?

2012-05-17T20:36:00.002-05:00

Does everyone else live like a page out of a bad soap opera? My soap would be called "As the Stomach Churns." What fresh hell is on the end of that ringing phone? I keep threatening to write country music songs. This week's tune could be called "My Mama's Gone Blind in One Eye, and my Step Granny is Sick, Too." I think my family tree has a giant crack down the middle where bad lightning or karma must have hit. My mom is really legally blind in one eye now, my step grandmother just found out she has leukemia, my stepfather's foot is about to fall off from a wound that won't heal, my stepmother's liver is acting up (transplant, anyone?) and the only good news is that my stepbrother and his wife are expecting their first child.

Oh, and I got bit by a tick about a month ago, so I'm keeping an eye out for Lyme disease. My boyfriend just didn't know what he got himself into when he accepted me and my crazy, and not-too-healthy family. Oh well, laughter is the best medicine. Of course, my great-grandmother died of TB, but that's another story for another day.

Better go take some extra vitamins. I think I may need them!

I Survived the Grocery Store Today

2012-04-11T18:22:00.000-05:00

I'm home after buying groceries....oh, my God!! The prices!! I bought a few frozen dinners for work, bacon (on sale), ice cream bars (on sale), some bagged salad (on sale), and some yogurt (not on sale), and spent over $75!!! It's just me, and I spend about that every week. I call it my "going to buy $75 worth of nothing to eat" day.

Really, by the end of the week, there won't be much left of this. About the only thing that will last are the hot dogs and buns....why do weenies come in packs of 10 or 12, but buns come in 8's??? You do the math and see how many you would have to buy until you have a 1:1 ratio of weenies to buns. Another marketing ploy designed to separate us from our hard-earned money. You will either throw out stale, moldy buns or expired weenies, only to repeat the process next month.

When I was a kid, my mom would spend about $40 a week on groceries for our family of 3. The buggy would be mounded over and barely fit in the trunk. We had tons of meat, cereal, produce, snacks.....all kinds of things to make 3 meals a day, plus snacks. And we weren't standing in front of the pantry door scratching our heads thinking 'gee, I wish there was something to eat in here.' Bear in mind, this was when there were no microwaves, and frozen dinners consisted of nasty faux-fried chicken with English peas and carrots in tinfoil trays that you baked in the oven for about 45 minutes before you could eat them.

Now we have entire aisles of the grocery store devoted to 10,000 different kinds of cereal, most of which are laden with sugar and tie in to either a cartoon character or a children's TV show or some other scheme to sell us processed trash and wonder why we are so fat and becoming diabetic at younger ages. I'm working on my New Year's resolution to eat healthier, one meal at a time. Tonight I'll be nibbling watermelon and cantaloupe while I work on my Ebook on budgeting. It's a work-in-progress I hope to release in the next couple of months. I'm working hard to follow my own advice.

Now, go make something semi-healthy to eat, and take a walk around the block. And if you go to the grocery store tomorrow, practice taking just one item out of your buggy before you check out. You will not miss that bag of chips or box of crackers, I promise you. And with what food costs now, you'll also be $5 richer, so you can go buy yourself a teaspoon of gas.

Marilyn Monroe Quote

2012-01-24T18:10:00.000-06:00

"I've been on a calendar, but never on time."

This is one of my many favorite quotes by divas who are neither southern or related to me. Poor Marilyn really got the short end of the stick. She was much smarter than the ditzy blond movie star she channeled. I find the story of her life fascinating and have read dozens of books on her. My opinion: it was not suicide.

I'll be bringing more Words of Wisdom from some of my favorite divas in the future.

New Year's Resolutions 2012

2012-01-03T23:37:00.000-06:00

So I've written mine down.....two full, nicely typed pages, categorized with numbered bullet points. I showed it to a friend of mine who said, "Oh my God, you look like someone with OCD." Well, hopefully not that bad, but since organization was on the list, I thought it only prudent that my list be organized.

My Aunt Rene never made resolutions. She would say every year that if you were doing what you were supposed to do, you wouldn't need to write it down. That might be true, but I tend to be very forgetful. Anyway, if they're written down and I haven't accomplished anything by the end of the month, there they are in black and white, ready to make me feel guilty and try to play "catch up."

So far, I haven't broken any. I have resisted the magnetic pull of the hot-off-the-press glazed donuts at the Krispy Kreme just right down the street. I nearly cried when they built it last summer. I could eat my weight in those things. But I have not had a single one pass my lips since it was built. I joked to my other friend who is also a KK addict that I almost wished it would burn down, thereby removing the temptation. The next closest one to me is a good 30-minute drive and just not worth the effort.

Must go now and meditate upon this year's goals. What are your goals for this year?

A Man Without Goals is a Man Without Success

2011-12-28T21:30:00.001-06:00

My grandmother was quite fond of the above saying. Having survived through the Depression, which to me is amazing in itself, she often had sayings about surviving and living within your means. I was taught that if I don't have goals, no matter how humble, I will end up being someone who just sort of drifts through life, taking whatever circumstances I fall into.

I'm so glad that she taught all us grandkids that success isn't just measured in monetary terms. As we look ahead to New Year's and make those resolutions, remember that success means achieving your goal. Whether you want to lose 10 pounds or start college or advance in your career, having a goal gives you something to push for. Planning on how you will get there gives you the roadmap.

If your goal is to lose 10 pounds, break it down into little steps. Set a target date, say April 15. On income tax day you'll be glad you have a success to celebrate instead of bemoaning how much of your hard-earned money Uncle Sam took away from you. Set a goal to lose 4 pounds by February 1. Then go for 3 pounds by March 1. That's 7 pounds. Lose those last 3 by April 15.

You know why most people fail at their resolutions? They fail to write it down. That's it. Write it down, whether on your computer or on a post-it you stick to the bathroom mirror. Make it measurable numerically. Don't just say "lose weight." And give yourself both major deadlines and little mini-deadlines to keep you on track. I'm writing mine down on my calendar, where I can see what I need to do each week and each month. Checking those off is rewarding and lets you see how much closer you are.

What are your goals for 2012? How do you plan to achieve them? Go write them down and map them out. Share them with family or friends so you have an accountability buddy.

Have a safe and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-24T23:00:00.000-06:00

Hope everyone has a wonderful and Merry Christmas! Also Happy New Year.....I love looking forward to a new and better year. It's the chance to start over, remake yourself, tackle a goal or work towards a dream. You just have to jump in with both feet and make it happen. Never let anyone shoot down your dreams and aspirations, and always remember......

If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes.

Count Your Blessings

2011-11-22T19:25:00.003-06:00

This was one of my grandmother Nannie's favorite sayings. With Thanksgiving upon us, now is the time to be glad for all the blessings you've got. Do you have good health? Can you see, hear and get up and walk outside if you want to? Do you have food in the cupboard? It may not be your first choice, but if there's anything there, be grateful.

Have you got a job? Even if you hate it and the pay isn't that great, there are many unemployed people who would jump at the chance to have your job. Got a roof over your head? If you said yes to all the above, you, my dear friend, are rich! The poorest Americans live better than a lot of people in third world countries. If you can't afford a car, but have a roof over your head and eat once a day, those people would call you rich.

So while we're all pigging out on turkey, sweet potatoes, pies and whatever decadent goodies you have, don't forget to be thankful for all the great things you have. You can lose them in the blink of an eye.

You're Never Too Old to Learn

2011-11-15T18:01:00.001-06:00

You've got to see this....below is a link to a precious lady's blog I found out about. You won't believe it, but she is 101 years old! That's right......and she has a blog that I love reading. She was in the paper about a computer class being taught in her assisted living. This is so inspiring. Miss Betty is also a writer, takes writing classes, and loves to read. I need to meet her. She could probably help me with my blog!

Here's the link, so read and enjoy!

http://goodykoon.wordpress.com/

I Got My Easy-Bake Oven 30 Years Late

2011-11-11T21:15:00.001-06:00

Christmas is coming....the magical time of year when children are focused on Santa and the gifts they hope to receive. When I was a kid, I remember when I was six that I got a chalkboard (so I could practice being a teacher), a baby doll, a Barbie doll (what a mixed message that sends nowadays! Barbie has practically turned into a hooker, and don't get me started on the Bratz dolls....), a microscope so I could look at things (we found out 2 years later that I was nearsighted as a goose. It's a wonder I passed first grade), a sleeping bag (I camped out once in my life in a tent with a huge rock under my back, freezing all night), and a train set (which dad enjoyed 'helping' me with).

But for all the wonderful treasures I got.....I mean these were REAL toys that required that I physically interact or do something to get the fun out of them.....I did not get the one cherished item I had wished harder than anything for......an Easy-Bake Oven. You know, you hold a teaspoon of cake batter under a light bulb in a cute plastic box that looks just like mom's oven and then poof! Like magic, you have a wonderful cake the size of a quarter. Of course, the ad on TV seen through my (blind) child's eyes envisioned a full-sized cake like my grandmother made.

For many years after I was a little older, we laughed and joked about it. It was then forgotten until I was thirty-something and in nursing school. My parents reasoned that "well, you have everything you need and if you want something, we just go buy it nowadays instead of lusting for it for six months" during Christmas that year. So when gift-opening time arrived (yay! I still love presents! I'm a girl and a kid at heart-oh and wrap it pretty, like you put your best effort into it so I will think it holds the Hope Diamond or something equally as amazing) I received a giant box. Beautiful paper, nice expensive shiny-sparkly bow in turquoise blue (my fave color)....oh wow, what was it?? A new computer??

Imagine my face when I opened it and saw.......an Easy-Bake Oven!!! I laughed until I almost cried. Well I wasn't about to wait. I plugged that thing in, added a teaspoon of water to the mix and voila! We soon had dried out chunks of tiny little cakes balanced on our fingertips. Dad was impressed that I managed to cook for once without burning the house down. Honestly, I'm convinced that this oven was specially boxed just for me. Santa found it in the back of his workshop many years later.....with the original cake mixes inside.

The Great Oven didn't go to waste, though. (We don't believe in waste). I gave it to a friend in my nursing class to give to her two young daughters. They had no clue what it was. The youngest one was trying to figure out if it was a computer or something.

Reminds me of my cousin, who's a couple of years older than I am. When her daughter was about eight, she came to mom's office and discovered the old IBM Selectric typewriter in the corner. We thought we'd hit the big time when we bought it. After all, it had two fonts when you changed the ball out. I think they were Pica and Elite. The child was mesmerized, so mom put some paper in and typed a sentence so she could see how it worked.

She turned to her mom and exclaimed, "Mom, we need to get one of these! That's better than your computer because it comes out right then. You don't have to wait on it to print out."

Sometimes I think the old stuff was better.

Southern Diva Words of Wisdom: Free Books!!!

2011-11-05T16:04:00.000-05:00

Southern Diva Words of Wisdom: Free Books!!!: This is so cool! Paperback Swap (see link on left) lets you list your unwanted books and swap for ones you want. I've only been on there a f...

Pretty in Pink

2011-10-31T22:29:00.000-05:00

Fall is a time of change, so I'm changing the look of Southern Diva Words of Wisdom! I'm playing around with the new pink color, and hope to be making some major tweaks in the upcoming weeks. I'm open for any suggestions or help....I'm definitely not a techie! This is kinda like telling me to build myself a car so I can go to town when I would just as soon ride a bike or catch the bus :)

Another Southern Diva

2011-10-26T00:07:00.000-05:00

I've been following one of my fave bloggers on Twitter. Check out http://TheSingleWoman.net/. This Nashville Diva tells it like it is with funny, true perspectives on life, men, singlehood and lots more. She would have done my Aunt Rene proud. Aunt Rene was a southern diva who was just a few years (okay, decades) ahead of time.

Kindle Fire!!

2011-10-25T01:14:00.001-05:00

I'm treating myself to this for Christmas! I can't live without my trusty K2...truly one of the best things ever invented. The Kindle Fire promises to be a big step up. I'm excited about color! I had been debating whether or not I wanted a Nook, and I'm glad I put off buying one. Basic Kindles are now becoming way more affordable. Much as I love paper books, in the future I see myself buying fewer of them, unless it's a photo-rich book or a coffee-table book I want to display. Look at all the weight I'll save when I travel. I vote for the Nobel Peace Prize to go to its creator.

I'm Always the Brokest the Day Before Payday

2011-08-22T19:08:00.001-05:00

Only this week, I've gotten an early start!! How is it that 15 years ago, I made half what I do now, and managed a car payment, a higher mortgage payment, and still did just fine? Fast forward to present times, and the mortgage is lower, the car is paid for (thank God), but...hmmm....where does all my money go?? Money talks, allright. Mine is always saying "bye bye." I noticed my sneaky trash pickup service raised their quarterly rate by almost $7 this billing cycle! Didn't bother to tell anyone, either. Maybe they thought I wouldn't notice. Trust me, I track every penny. I'm online every day balancing my checkbook and searching for any bank errors in my favor.

Then there's the wonderful health insurance. I now pay $246.00 a month. Less than two years ago I paid $168.00 and griped about it. It's never good when you get those official-looking letters from your insurance company or cable company. They always start with, "As you know the cost of providing our services to you in these economic times....bla bla bla." Stop reading and save the time. That's their way of trying to soften the blow of another price increase.

You know one way companies could save a LOT of money, and pass those savings along to you and me?? I do all my banking online. Why do they waste trees, postage, ink and printing costs to mail me those stupid flyers every month or so telling me that they respect my privacy?? I freakin' hope so!! You shouldn't feel the need to reassure me of that all the time. I just see that as more corporate waste that I'm getting to pay for. Yet these same companies moan and whine about their expenses. Big corporations waste thousands of dollars a year on printing stuff that everyone throws away without reading. What happened to common sense? You have these people with fancy job titles making big money thinking of stupid ways to spend the company's money that ends up costing us consumers in the end. I have a keen eye for corporate waste and excess, and I see it every day when I go into a business or store. Look around your work place. Do you see things they could save money on, without cutting your pay or not giving you yearly raises? I bet you do.

Saving on Electricity

2011-08-17T10:11:00.000-05:00

Check this out for tons of ideas on how to not faint when the power bill comes: http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/

I've just glanced over it, but looks like there is a lot of good advice there. I remember when I was a kid, my aunt would complain about her outrageous power bill. I think it was all of $16 back then. You can't even run a refrigerator for a month on that. I cringe at work when people talk about power bills that run more than my house payment! If that happened to me, I'd be living naked under the bridge near work. That's a scary thought!!

Free Books!!!

2011-08-16T11:41:00.000-05:00

This is so cool! Paperback Swap (see link on left) lets you list your unwanted books and swap for ones you want. I've only been on there a few days and have already ordered a book and sent one out. The books are free; you just pay shipping by media mail, which is much less than the cost of a paperback. Great way to save money, save trees and do the "green thing." Check it out!

The Help....Another Must Read

2011-08-08T20:50:00.000-05:00

I've wanted to read this book, but now I want to read it even more. There was a great interview yesterday in the Birmingham News with a lady from Montgomery who is slated to play in the movie. Her mother was a real-life housekeeper to white people in the 70's and 80's. Even as late as the 1980's, the discrimination she faced was unreal. I felt like I was reading something from 100 years ago as I read how some of her employers treated her. Back then, the African-Americans who were hired help to the whites couldn't exactly easily file a discrimination lawsuit. How would they prove it? The interview just whetted my desire to read the book and see the movie even more. Hopefully Friday's payday will see a few things on my Amazon wish list come off the wish list and land in my shopping cart!! If anyone has read it yet, let me know what you think.

Happy Birthday to Me!!

2011-08-07T23:48:00.000-05:00

OK, I'm convinced Mother Nature has screwed up her calendar! I'm not this old.....why, just yesterday my family was amazed by the invention of the Polaroid camera. It actually developed the picture while you looked at it. Of course, it was always way too dark, but still....instant pics, just like magic. I have many high school friends and others my age who have grandkids. How can they?? We're not that old.

Every year on my birthday, I follow the same ritual (which began when I was about 30-something). I run straight to the mirror, and spend a good 10 minutes examining my face for signs of aging. Is there a slight crease there that wasn't there yesterday? Did I sprout a mustache overnight? Hmmm....that wrinkle looks a little deeper today than it did last week. Uh-oh, my crow's feet look more like ostrich footprints. Is that a new freckle from using those wonderful shiny silver tanning blankets back when I was in high school? Complete with the baby oil/betadine combo to assure a deep, dark tropical tan.

So after you hit 30....then 40....things slow down. Every day you get up and another body part seems to have fallen off or malfunctioned. You know where every clean restroom is for a 50-mile radius. Your list of doctors has their own section in your cell phone. You start counting down till you can claim that "you're 50 and you're old so we give you a discount" that some stores offer. You wondered why granny always complained about her back hurting, or her knees, or the arthritis in her gnarled hands. Now you know. A child has no perception at all of what pain is. You just can't fathom foot pain until you've had it. If you want to find out what it's like, I highly recommend a career in nursing. Just a few short years of 12+ hour shifts on your feet, and you will have it, along with a bonus of swollen feet and those funny little spider veins. Your feet will look like a roadmap of Los Angeles. But it is excellent bladder training. You learn to hold it until you sit down (for the first time) at 4:00 to eat lunch. You also learn to eat when you're not hungry, just because it's convenient. Now you know why nurses wear elastic waist scrubs. It's a growing profession in more ways than one.

Time to go to bed. Yes, I'm a year older....but it sure does beat the alternative!!

There's more in managing than making

2011-07-31T22:30:00.000-05:00

This little pearl of wisdom is from Nannie, my grandmother. You know, the best way to learn about how to make your bucks go further is to talk to someone who lived through the Depression (btw, we're in one now in case you haven't noticed. It's simple....I look at my checkbook and I get depressed). She could squeeze a penny till Lincoln cried. She and Pop, my grandfather, never owed a penny of debt to anyone. They had a simple philosophy-if you can't pay cash for it, you can't afford it.

Now people seem to love living beyond their means, although the new economy has put a bit of a bite in that. Wonder why there are so many foreclosed homes in nice neighborhoods? Half-built neighborhoods where the builder went belly-up, leaving behind a skeleton of half-built homes? People upside-down with their mortgages, one paycheck away from the poor house? It's the same principle of why some of these millionaire athletes can't live on $10 million a year. I'm sorry, if you can't manage your money any better than that, and you go bankrupt when you're making those kind of bucks, I don't feel sorry for you. You got what ya deserved for being such a dumb ass. Here's a hint....just because you have $10 million, you don't go out and spend $11 million on a house, car, and airplane and then whine when the repo man comes and takes it all back.

Since I work hard for my money, I'd rather manage it better than have to go work even more. So I'm going to go cut out a few coupons and make a grocery list. Just remember, before you splurge on those hot new shoes that are going to kill your feet and give you bunions, just how hard did you have to work at a job you may not exactly love to pay for them?? Are they worth the workplace politics, office drama, and Atilla the Hun boss you deal with to earn the bucks to buy them?

Want to retire rich?

2011-07-27T01:01:00.001-05:00

My best advice is it's NEVER too early to start saving! Forget about waiting till you graduate college and get a good job (good luck in this market!) and make enough $$$ so that you can actually afford to participate in whatever paltry retirement plan is available. Unless you want to live out your elder years living naked under a bridge, you better start saving up when you're about six or so. No joke. All that money you get for your birthday, Christmas, doing chores or whatever, save it for Pete's sake!! No excuses. After all, you are hardly paying the electric bill or buying groceries when you're not even old enough to drive.

Now that I've determined I will never be able to afford retirement, I have to decide if I want to work till I'm 92 (the average age at which the women in my family tend to live to) or just jump off a bridge tomorrow, LOL. I've always said I'm always the brokest the day before payday. Must go cut out some coupons now so I can buy groceries this week.

Now go save some money!!