financial zen

I participate on a few online communities that receive lots of broad comments - local boards, financial boards, and web design/development boards. It’s great to have a helping hand, and it’s nice to be able to assist when you can.

However, often you come across someone who decides to post how down-trodden they are in their current state. They can’t get hired because they’re a particular sex/religion/race/age, or “how dumb I was to get an Art History degree” or other “woe is me” type posts. As a friend pointed out, this person was getting interviews based on their resume - meaning that the company obviously was interested (they wouldn’t waste time interviewing someone ‘as a courtesy’). This person wasn’t hired, so she started listing the reasons for why it was so horrible for her, and she was relegating herself to be stuck in a server position for the rest of her life.

It’s very quick to judge online - and even more difficult to express emotions, sarcasm, and seriousness. So it’s no surprise that any comment that tried to help her was taken as a negative, which only reinforces the idea that “whoa is me - nothing can help me, and you’re an asshole for trying.”

Plain and simple - a degree is merely a piece of paper. I’ve met CEOs that held bachelor’s in liberal arts, department managers with art degrees, and designers with computer science degrees - we determine where we go, not by our degree, but by our own choices! The most important aspect of any degree is the ability to accomplish something difficult, and the critical thinking it takes to get there. Not everyone tries, not everyone succeeds. I’m still in school, and I hold a professional position with no degree and primarily personal experience. It’s not impossible!

This young lady felt that her degree limited her in her abilities, as some people often feel - it is NOT a limitation, but should open new doors for you, should you choose to open your eyes and sell yourself not as someone who majored in XYZ, but as someone who can accomplish your goals, find creative solutions, and keep on truckin’!

Thanks to everyone for the kind comments about the birth of my baby boy! I’m hesitant to post pictures because I enjoy the anonymity of the site, but I have a feeling I will be overtaken with the need to share my parenting experiences and future financial zen moments!

Thanks to everyone, and The Wife and Baby Boy are both doing exceptionally well! (As you can probably tell, he’s got no problem keeping me up, or waking me up - but it’s time for updates as it is!)

I’ve mentioned before you should have an emergency fund - and I hit one of those snags that shows how important it is to have one. We have two cars (both Honda Civics) which both needed major repairs - timing belts, water pumps, and exhaust work. My car - the old beater - was less than $400 (which also goes to show - find a trustworthy mechanic! I was quoted $600 at the first place I went to!)

The nicer, newer car? Nearly $1000. Needs a new exhaust manifold. That, needless to say, was a shocker. With the new baby, I really hate having only one car available at a time, and “exhaust leaks in the front of the car” cause me some concern when I’ve got a growing boy in the back seat, so of course I had him fix it (and I use this mechanic repeatedly because he’s always straight, never lies, and has been a friend of my wife’s family for years).

Luckily, we’ve got nearly $5000 set aside for emergencies, so this will greatly offset any ding that it would’ve otherwise caused. See how important an emergency fund can be when you’re prepared? $1400 is more than my mortgage payment - which means if I wasn’t prepared, this would go onto a credit card, which I couldn’t pay off immediately, giving me interest charges for the next few months (more than likely!)

Because I was prepared - I can pay off these charges right away, without worry! No worrying about not meeting any bills, no worries about “how can I handle this” - a true moment of Financial Zen. My wife was taken back by my tone when I initially told her - and through no fault but my own she was concerned. We try and talk weekly about our finances, but with the baby being born it’s sidetracked us both - but because we are prepared, it’s a non-issue.

Whew!