doing what you love.

As some one who is not motivated or driven by money, it has definitely been a struggle having my finances instantly cut in half while acquiring the sole weight of all of the bills that it takes to keep my life comfortable. On top of that, I've been making such an effort to get out and meet new people, try new things, and discover new hobbies. I hate the idea of living paycheck to paycheck, and like I've said before... when checks bounce or you're late on a bill, it makes you feel pretty shitty. Well, I am a pretty strong, independent woman [if I do say so myself] and I'm not one to sulk and complain without figuring out a decent solution.

I've really been enjoying my social life lately, and with each new day I feel more energized knowing that I have a purpose in life and that I am significant. I have more energy, and each day feels like a fresh adventure. I'm not trying to sound all ''rose colored glasses''.... but it really has been so great living my life with a more positive attitude. I've been looking for a part time job for a few months now because I want to be able to do the things that I love without having to decide which bill to skip or be late on. Everyone needs the opportunity to relax a bit, and unfortunantly a lot of the time this requires extra money. Especially for some one like myself, who is obsessed with brunch and coffee dates :)

I am a total neat freak, and if you are friends with me on facebook you've probably noticed that I am always deep cleaning my loft apartment.... and sometimes my neighbors as well. It's hard to explain, but cleaning is a way that I de-stress and nothing feels better than sitting back and looking at a spotless home. And I do mean spotless!

So why not use my 'powers' for good? I've been talking to a few close friends and decided that I'm going to start cleaning homes on the side -- I get to choose my schedule, I get to choose my clients, I get to be in control. I had my very first home on Sunday, and it felt so good to re-organize her kitchen and have her and her family come home excited about the job I had done. I have a friend who does design work, and he wants to help me with branding. I want buisness cards. I want to make my own organic cleaning supplies. I want to leave little gifts at each home before I leave.

Planning and thinking about the possibilities has been pretty exciting, not to mention empowering. I love cleaning and making others happy, and I feel that this is a way I can contribute... it's also an excuse to get out of bed on the weekends and enjoy the day rather than sleeping in. Bringing creativity into my idea has been an added bonus, as I am so excited to figure out what little touches I can add to my buisness to set me apart from everyone else.

It feels refreshing to have a tangable plan. A clear path that will lead me to financial stability and total independence -- something that I am so desperatley in need of during this transition in my life.

The best part, is that I only need to do a few homes in order to make up enough money to do things that I really enjoy without having to suffer for it at the end of each month. I'm excited to see where this little endeaver will take me...

Have you ever been stressed out and then felt the relief of finding a workable solution? It's funny how things come together when you start to become more positive.

''Why do you spend money on tattoo's when you're broke?''

source

I was looking through my archives today and noticed a comment on this post that I hadn't seen until just now. And 'anonymous'.... I am not calling you out, because trust me you aren't the first person to -in so many words- call me a hypocrite for complaining about being poor and then getting tattoo'd. My skin is pretty thick, so I'm not offended by any means... but I think a response in necessary because I should be able to explain myself and then if you still think I'm a hypocrite, at least I'll feel better knowing we are just on two separate pages. It's ok to disagree... in fact, it's healthy at times.

Our society is seriously fucked when it comes to priorities. Yes, I chose social work... but why are the jobs that are sometimes the hardest, emotionally and physically, paid the least? There are many, many other jobs that come to mind.... teachers, police officers, I'm sure you can list underpaid workers for days. The thing that bothers me, is that this working class -the backbone of our society- is under appreciated. 99% of us are getting poorer, while the top 1% continues to get richer and richer.

Everyone's heard about the protests going on lately, and I am so proud of Richmond every time I drive by our little park and see the 'Occupy Richmond' protesters and tents. Peaceful protest is our right, and honestly nothing makes me happier than Americans expressing their opinions and working to improve our society. I work with so many people on welfare, and while some ''abuse the system,'' a lot of them don't. They're victims of their circumstance, and continue to fall between the cracks.

I work with teenagers. Many of them were born addicted to crack or some other substance. They are born into poverty. They are exposed to drugs and violence at an early age. Learn to steal or sell drugs in order to keep food on the table. And most who graduate from high school (which isn't many) do so without knowing how to read. The system isn't working for them. These people are stuck. Should we ignore them or blame them or even punish them? It's not a black and white scenario.

But the system isn't working for people like myself, either. I went to college, accrued a massive amount of debt, chose a field that doesn't pay much, and live paycheck to paycheck. I'm 25... and while some of my friends do have a savings account, most of us are just struggling to get by. Especially those of us who aren't still living at home or have the luxary of our parents paying for our bills or cars. Most people that I know can identify with having to decide to pay a bill or get groceries... and that doesn't always stop at age 25.

I chose all of this. And guess what, like I mentioned in that post... I am so very thankful that I am independent, and that while there isn't a lot of money to spare, I am still paying my bills and my loans.

So back to the original comment about why I pay for tattoo's (which let's be honest, aren't cheap) when I could probably be investing that money or saving it or whatever. You only get so many years here on Earth. There's only so much time that we have with our families, our friends, ourselves. I don't feel bad about saving up for several months so that I can slowly get a piece finished over the coarse of a year, because I work hard for my money and tattoo's are something that I enjoy and that make me happy. I've earned it.

Sometimes, I only have about $30 in my bank account. And guess what I do with that $30? I go to brunch with my friends, I go see a movie, I buy fresh flowers for my living room. This is my choice, because I work hard and I think it's important to enjoy life also.

And I love my life. I love my friends, I love my family, I love my husband, I love my broken down piece of shit car, I love making pizza out of hamburger buns, I love spending $7 on a bottle of wine and getting lost in the moment.

I work hard, and therefore I APPRECIATE everything that I have.

But not everyone enjoys tattoo's. Not everyone likes the river. Not everyone likes everything. I think the important thing, as a part of the 99% who are just barley getting by, is to appreciate our uniqeness and realize that we are not alone in this fight. Most of us work damn hard, and it's ok to splurge once in a while and treat yourself to something that may or may not be ''financially smart''. There's a time to stress out over money, and there needs to be equal time given towards appreciating life and all that it has to offer.

dreamers shouldn't have to pay bills.

Money makes me extremely anxious. I avoid the subject at all cost, and judging my social work career it's obvious I'm not driven by it. If I could move away to a place where money didn't exist, I'd be there in a second. Each Friday rolls around and I am so excited because it's payday, and then I pay all of my bills and have a whopping $5 left over, if I'm lucky. Why do I look forward to this depressing/stressful/goddamn day!!!

Now that that's out of my system... you know, the pitty party... I want to ask all of you out in blogger land how you go about saving money. If I didn't have student loans, I'd be rich! And it's a shame your college tuition isn't equivalent to you expected income... because Citi Bank doesn't seem to buy my reality that social workers cap off around $60-70,000 {The lucky ones}. Check this out.

It is my humble opinion: that all dreamers and others who are not driven by money should not be a slave to it! Nice idea, right? Now if I can just get Obama on the phone... in the meantime, do any of you have a savings account? How to you make ends meet?

{photo credit}