Hopeful for Tomorrow

Since I have been having so many problems with employment I have decided to take another road. In January I will begin taking classes in a real estate program. Tomorrow I am going to take my resume and start going to different Realtors in my area. Even if they are unable to give me employment they may be able to tell me some of the best ways to get my foot in the door. It may be a long shot, but I am hopeful.

My current two jobs is not even giving me a part time pay check. One job I work 2-3 days a month doing merchandising, and the other I work 1-2 days a week doing product demos. The product demos were great in the beginning because I was working 5-6 days, but I cant continue to work somewhere that I do not have guaranteed income every week. The income I am making is not helping me reach my financial goals, they are just keeping me afloat for the time being.

If any of you have any advice for someone wanting to get there foot in the door to real estate could you please share your tips?

I applied for another job!

One of the two jobs I have been working has cut my hours by quite a bit, and I am very upset about it. I need a steady income so I can continue to move forward on my financial journey. I decided to apply for a position with a company I was a manager with a few years ago. I am hoping to get this job. I was making a steady income, had 401K, stock options, insurance, and monthly bonuses.

The only downfall was it was managing a fast food chain, and I was not sure that I wanted to return to the industry, but now I am sure. I am one that believes everything happens for a reason. I feel that maybe the reason I am having problems with my current job is that it is not what I was supposed to do. Maybe this job I used to work at is what I was meant to return to.

I will call there human resources department on Monday, and hopefully I will have good luck with them. I actually new a lot of people in the corporate offices of this business, so hopefully everything will work out.

I will not put my notice in at my current job until I get another job. This will keep a little income coming in. A small income is better than no income at all.

Some Things Will Always Change On Your Journey

There is one thing we can always depend on in life, and that is change. I had started with a fairly decent plan and I was unable to get one of the jobs. It was not a lot of additional money coming in, but it was extra to help me on my journey. Now I am looking for another job again! I still have two part time jobs, clean houses occasionally, and work online. With these three incomes I have been able to catch up on my everyday living bills. I do live with family at the moment, so that does help quite a bit. I did have an interview today. I believe the interview went well, and hopefully have another job lined up rather quickly.

Change is always going to happen in our lives. We have to take the bad changes lightly and focus on what we can do to make them a good change in all areas of our lives. As soon as something happens in our lives financially or otherwise that may affect the positive direction we are heading, we should make a plan to try and get it fixed. This is just my opinion, and I am learning that it makes me stress much less about it all.

A Book I Recommend Anyone On A Financial Journey to Read

I have been looking online and trying to learn as much as I can about different areas of finances. My sister brought me a book home yesterday, and it had a lot of great information. The book I am talking about is The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke. The writer of this helpful book is none other than Suze Orman.

I gave to say that this book is very informative. I read a few things that I already knew, but there was a lot more that I had not. You do not have to spend a fortune on this book. I went to a second hand book store and purchased it for next to nothing.

This book has led me in a good direction, and I will be purchasing some more of Suze Ormans books in the future to help. I have to say that she knows what she is doing!

Focus On Yourself For A Change

For me I have always cared for others in one way or another. I will take care of there finances, there health, there children, and worry about what will happen if I couldn't do it. It has taken me 30 years to realize that I can not really help anyone else in my life if I could not take care of myself. This has hit me hard. I do not feel as if I have wasted my time, but I do feel as if I could have done more if I would have put myself first from time to time.

I know this blog is about my personal financial journey, but this is a big part of it. For those of you who are like I was you should focus on yourself for a little while. Take control of your own finances, health, education, and other aspects of your life. Doing this will actually help others in your life as well. Remember that you are not being selfish. You want more for yourself so you can do more for yourself and others that are important to you in your life.

Always remember; "You can not take care of others until you take care of yourself!"

This is something that I have not done in my life, and I feel that it is about time for it.

Credit Repair

Since I have been working on my credit for a little while, and have learned some of the steps that actually work, I wanted to share them with everyone. I wrote an article today on Firehow. The article is How To Repair Your Own Credit. In this article I have provided steps that I have taken to help repair my family, friends, and my own credit at one time or another. In one instance I was able to increase an individuals credit score by 100 points within a year. Even if you already have decent credit, it will not hurt to try to make it even better.

Defaulted Student Loans

One of the biggest things on my credit is student loans. When you are in default on student loans it can greatly decrease your credit score. I am also wanting to return to school in January, and would not be able to get any financial aid if I am in default. Yesterday I decided to call the Department of Education to see exactly what I needed to do to get back in good standings.

Apparently there is a new program that can help. The program allows you to set up payment arrangements and get caught up. In this plan you have to make all of your default student loan payments on time, every month. If you pay all of your payments on time you will be eligible for financial aid in six months, then if you pay on time for nine months your loans will show on your credit report as a positive.

I could not pass this opportunity up. I signed up for the program and will start making payments of around $40. This is one of the biggest steps I have made in my personal financial journey, and it is going to help quite a bit.

If you have a default student loan through the government you should read this page, or call 1-800-219-7931. It is worth a try to get your finances together if you are on your own financial journey.