My Money Mindset

 

I love a particular podcast called Budgets and Cents.  One of their recent episodes talked about their money mindsets, and it was interesting to hear how their mindsets had reversed over the past year.

 

One mindset that a lot of us have is one of scarcity. It’s one that I have fallen victim to off and on in my life.  Recently, I found myself going down that road, and I didn’t like it.  I didn’t like it at all.  I’m one of those individuals who feel that whatever energy you put out into the universe will affect the situations and individuals who come into your life.  So I knew I needed to make a change. I really think you can change your life or your circumstances if you put your mind to it.

When I was first separated from my marriage, there was a day that it became very clear to me that my outlook on life was hugely important to my everyday life.  I could choose to be sad and miserable and hate myself every day or I could choose to wake up in the morning and say to myself, “Today is going to be better than yesterday.  Even if it’s just one small thing, that counts.”

So, when I found myself feeling very stressed about my financials recently, I decided to take a deep breath.  Then I started to ask myself what I could do to change that.  I thought of the transcription work I’ve already done over the past several months and started to look into other companies that are hiring, to supplement the income I make from my first priority company.  (It’s also run by a friend, so I can’t and won’t let her down.)

I also looked into Flexjobs, and just signed up today for a membership.  It costs $49.95 for the year, but they also offer promo codes, so I got 30% off of my first-year membership with them.  I like that the jobs and employers are vetted by real, live humans and not a computer!  At the very least, I will know that the jobs I am applying to are real and not scams.  The way I look at it, paying $3-4/month in order to have the opportunity to obtain flexible side-hustle work is a very low fee to pay. Even if I only get one job off of there, I think it will pay for itself. That’s my attitude and I’m sticking to it!

As soon as I changed my attitude, I heard good news from my friend who asks me to do transcription jobs.  It looks like there will be a good amount of work coming my way, very soon, and I can’t wait.  I like being needed and knowing that my efforts are helping someone else out.  Plus, the work is generally pretty interesting.

And finally, a friend of mine has had a delivery route with the Albuquerque Journal for several years.  I’m going to ride along on a route tomorrow and see what I think, if I can handle it.  It would involve getting up early every morning (usually papers have to be delivered by 6 a.m. during the week), but Hello! That’s something I already do, get up early! At least this way, I could get paid for it. I would be paid as a 1099 contractor, so I know I would need to hold money  back for taxes.  But it would still allow me to pay off my debts very quickly and then start putting money aside for things like travel, etc.

A good friend of mine was concerned I was losing sight of my goals by entertaining this idea.  But I’m not.  Rather, it will help me stay on board with those goals.  My day job really just covers the day to day expenses.  If I want to get ahead, I have to sacrifice in some places, and in this case, the sacrifice will be in time. But it will be worth it.  I will pay off my credit cards, then pay off my vet bill at my employer, and then pay off my car.  I really want the car paid off before I reach 100K miles.  And the best part about it?  I will be able to do that work and be productive before most people even get up in the morning and have their first cup of coffee.  And you know what?  A lot of people are in the same boat as me, having to work more than one job.  I know some of you readers have done this before.

One thing my mom taught me is a good work ethic. She taught me to do whatever you need to do to get things done and take care of yourself.  And that’s what I am going to do. By the way, if you like to listen to podcasts like I do, there is a good one called His and Her Money.  They had a recent episode called 3 Words That Will Help You Get Out of Debt Faster.   And those words are Whatever. It. Takes.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go take a few skills tests for Flexjobs to add to my skills already listed on my resume. 🙂  And snuggle with a few furry ones, because, as you know, they are the reason for the changes in my life I’ve undertaken over the past few years. ❤

As always, thank you for reading.