Friday Finances (late – on the following Wednesday)

Well, day 2 of the blog. It’s Friday (when I started this), and it’s time for Friday finances. As part of this project is to improve my financial position, here’s the first of my blunt assessment for the week of January 29 – February 4.

I spent a lot of time setting up an Excel spreadsheet to track my spending and budget. It’s extremely comprehensive, if I do say so myself. I think it’s going to be a fantastic tool to keep me on track, so I’m excited about it. I’m going to take time this weekend to do an update on net assets and overall positioning, so I’ll have an extra post next week with those details, and maybe even one about January month end.

Net income: $2,763.37

Transferred to Savings/Investing: $1,665.95

Expenses: $2,872.08

Overall net for the week: ($1,774.66)

Verdict:

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

A big thumbs down.

Well, a slight positive note was that I put so much in savings. However, it’s not as positive as it really looks. Previously, I had to pull funds out of savings to cover bills, so this is attempting to get the savings accounts back up to the level where they don’t incur fees.

Overall, my week was such that I spent about $100 more than I made. So what did I spend it on? Here’s a breakdown:

Home expenses: $812

Entertainment: $28 (Netflix is helping keep me sane!)

Debt payments: $1,864

Charity: $105

Insurance: $64.75

Lessons for the week: Paying myself back is hard work.

Goals for next week (well, this week): Stay on top of this so I post easier. List items to sell to increase cash. Get photos and options on here ready to go. Feet are coming soon!

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

  • Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
  • Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

  • Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
  • What topics do you think you’ll write about?
  • Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
  • If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

  • Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
  • Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

  • Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
  • What topics do you think you’ll write about?
  • Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
  • If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

  • Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
  • Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

  • Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
  • What topics do you think you’ll write about?
  • Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
  • If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.

About Me

Me in a nutshell: wife, mom, full-time employee, MBA, crochet, read, dance, swim, walk.

Can you really capture a person in a list? Perhaps not. But, that’s okay. It’s a start.

I also like feet. I was a dancer when I was younger. Ballet mostly. Dancing is still something I love to do, but I don’t do it as often as I’d like. Feet are an integral part of a dancer. Feet are important to human beings too. I’m fascinated by feet.

What do feet and finances have in common? Well, for me, a lot. This is my attempt to start another income stream, and maybe even have some passive income through ad revenue, sponsored posts, and other potential opportunities. Bottom line: my financial situation is not great, despite having a full-time job, an MBA, and a desire for more education. I’ve made some poor money choices, and this is attempt to be accountable for those and to do better. I want to get out of debt and pay for a PhD, and I heard about people making good money selling feet pictures. So, that’s what I’m attempting to do. On the way, I’m going to share candidly where I’m at financially, and what’s happened, and how the choices I’ve made will impact where I’m going.

So, this website and blog are my attempt to do this. We’ll see what I can do. Perhaps, I’ll even be able to pay for my education and my son’s education, when he get’s there… (luckily, I have a few years to pull that off.)

Fingers crossed.