Become Financially Independent

I’ve been cut off. Thank God this happened AFTER I got a job and after I made the connections I needed to make it on my own far from my parents. I don’t anticipate having to rely on anyone other than my fiance too much, though. I’ve wanted financial independence for so long, and I really think the only way I would get it was if I was forced to, so in a way this is a great thing.

If it weren’t for extenuating circumstances beyond my control, I would BE financially independent right now. But I am having to support three people instead of just me because I’m a decent person who supports my friends when they have nowhere else to turn, and getting my fiance home is going to cost me big time. But I am proceeding with this goal on schedule, all things considered.

Coming soon…
My own health insurance (paid for by me)
My own auto insurance (not linked to my parents’ policy, paid for by me)
My own cell phone plan, NOT family share (paid for by me)
Student loans to cover school (obtained by me with no cosigner)
NEVER EVER ASKING FOR MY PARENTS’ MONEY EVER AGAIN!

$117 this week before taxes are taken out. Next week I hope to earn $273 before taxes. This is a very, very good start. In addition, I am selling some football tickets (very illegally, but the cops look the other way in a college town when it is one student selling one ticket per game) and taking some clothes I don’t wear to the consignment shop, so that will be even more extra money. I also start a second job in a couple of months where I will earn an additional $300 a week (up to about $600 a week within a year), plus I will have several pay raises from the job I have now. So for a college student I am doing very well for myself at becoming financially self-sufficient. Working two jobs and going to school may be insane, but I feel like I have to do it to keep myself busy and earn enough money to start supporting myself.

Well, I have a job interview Monday, which I’m thrilled about because it’s the first time that’s actually happened. Being employed is the first step to financial self-sufficience. I also have a friend of my fiance’s offering me a job, but I won’t be able to start for another month or so, so now I’ve got two jobs lined up! Between the two of them I’ll probably make about $400 a week.

Just looking at all the bills I have to pay next month is staggering! But I should be working full-time soon, so I’m confident I can start managing better on my own.

Right now I’m actually pissed off at my family and want to make it on my own without them just to show them I can. My fiance’s check gets direct-deposited into our joint account, so that is how I plan to pay the bills until I get a full-time job. I will NOT swallow my pride and ask my mother for money ever again.

What I must be able to afford to be financially independent: Food, extras (things like toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc., that I really do need), rent, utilities, car payment, gas for the car, clothes, my own health insurance, cell phone bill, tuition, have fun money, and probably a couple of other things.

Just recently got a work-at-home job in data entry but have had NO TIME to start work. Relied on parents for money, got careless spending, broke again and about to go in debt so I don’t have to ask again, because it’s really humiliating and I really think that this time I’ll have my act together and be able to cover my expenses. My fiance is willing to help out, and considering the fact that I’ve helped him out in the past, too, I’ll take his help right now because we’re a unit. We’re making one of my accounts a joint account because he trusts me with money more than he trusts himself, which given my recent history makes no sense. As far as my friends who owe me, I’ve been really generous, but it’s collection time for all of it, as I haven’t lent any since about February, and the girl I lent money to in February has already paid me. We’re talking $70 from two people that has been owed to me since October. I’m a very generous, understanding person, but that was nine months ago.

As far as financial independence goes…not this semester, but maybe next semester. I really need to get to work. I’m taking a second job doing notetaking in one of my classes for Disability Services, and I’ll gladly take a third and maybe even a fourth job to the point where all I do is work and go to school until I’m financially stable. The problem is getting hired when you have no work experience.

My life as a working woman has to start NOW. My parents already give me money; it is wrong to ask them for more when had I been more careful, I wouldn’t be this broke. Before I try to establish my financial independence, I need to make a list of my expenses and income sources. I can do that now, while I’m broke. That is my task for the day. My task for tomorrow is to make some money!

A lot of people (including members of my family) think that the only reason I would want to be completely financially independent of my parents right now is that I have something against them. That could not be further from the truth. While it would be great not to have to answer to them, they’ve been pretty lenient since I left home, and I really just feel awful asking them for money. I love my parents and appreciate everything they’ve done for me, and I realize that my father is only a couple of years away from retirement and needs to save for that more than he needs to support me, his adult daughter, as I really should be starting to make a living for myself, and that my brother is about to go off to college himself and that is important, too. Tuition is no problem because I have a scholarship that covers that as well as some living expenses, but there are a lot of living expenses, and I would love to be able to tell my parents there is nothing for them to pay on my student bill, that I already covered it. My ideal date for reaching this goal is next January 1. What I can do now is this: I can actively seek employment, and I can make a list of my expenses and sources of income and determine how many hours I must work to cover all my expenses and have a little left over.