Monday, February 11, 2008

Poetry Whore Speaks on Becoming Debt Free

Perhaps many of you have read that if you are a poet, it had better not be the only way you earn a living. Like Stephen King did in a laundromat, many of us work cashier jobs, gas station jobs, and anything else to pay the bills. I happen to have at least three friends, through writing, at this time who've declared bankruptcy at least twice. One asked "How could I do this not once but again? How did I not know when I was going down the same path again? " Lack of self-awarness scared him.
How to change the course of one's financial management life?
Well, first of all, if you have done something the same way multiple times, and it doesn't bring success, stop doing it that way. Know that whatever that was, it did not work.
Second, become a brutally honest monitor of your self-talk. Nobody can over-hear you so your privacy is guaranteed. Do you get a weak feeling in the stomach when about to make a purchase? Do you have a persuasive train of mental dialogue trying to convince you that you NEED a new computer a new car, a new calculator, cell phone, the latest and greatest and your mind justifies it by saying "Ok. well ,I have to have this for my business. The business will pay for it." Is it your habit to whip out the credit card that has only $20 credit left? Do you have alot of concern for improving your credit rating?
Let's ask what is important about improving your credit rating. The better your credit rating, the more money this allows you to borrow. Those who stand to benefit aka make money from your borrowing are, of course, financial institutions such as credit card companies and banks. Which puts you back in..DEBT. Understand-- that the weak feeling in the stomach, the speeding heart is your body telling you "hey, man, you're listening to a fine line of BS up in your head."
Set up a budget. On a pad, list your income for one month, your expenses. Allot so much for extras if you have money to do so. Ie. one $20 entry fee for a poetry contest in the month of March. Or one $12.75 photo film and developing, or a book of stamps for postage for the submissions.. If you have a partner, share the plan with her or him.
Eat at home. Plan your meals week by week on Sundays-- so you know exactly what ingredients you will need. List them. In one month, average folks eat breakfast 30 times, lunch thirty times and dinner thirty times. Overall, this will help you plan a monthly grocery expense without nasty surprises. Feeding the writer and family.
Use that old beater computer and printer for the writing. Long as you can type and print you're in business. Nobody needs a cadillac of computers to be a prize winning writer. It is the person not the computer who wins.
Dump the change from your wallet into a piggy bank every week. When that is full, open a savings account.
Pay cash. Cut up the cards.
Borrow books from your local library. Its free. Reading is the ebst way to learn tow rite. And if you are able to stick to some of the financial management ideas suggested here, you wil llessen stress which will free up more energy to create great writing.