… but apparently I’m it?
Little Lamb tagged me with 11 questions which took me a surprisingly long time to answer. These are the rules…
#1 – Post these rules.
#2 – Answer the 11 questions from the person who tagged you.
#3 – Create 11 new questions for the people you tag.
#4 – Tag 11 people and link them to your post.
#5 – Let them know that you tagged them.
I don’t know that I’ll be able to find 11 people who haven’t been tagged yet, but I’ll see what I can do. This is my Q&A session from Little Lamb:
1) What do you think is the biggest financial challenge you currently face?
Trying to balance debt repayment with general maintenance, and preventing financial fatigue. I’m pushing pretty hard right now trying to put as much money onto my debt as possible, but I know I won’t be able to keep it up at this rate all the way until everything is paid off. I have expenses coming up that I have to do because I’ve been putting them off for too long, such as having my furnace and duct work cleaned. Expenses like those aren’t cheap. Also, I’ve been in debt for two years now, and I’ve been seriously trying to pay it off for almost a year and a half. I’m tired. I want to spend a little bit on myself, but I feel guilty doing it as long as I have a debt hanging over my head.
2) What is the best money saving tip you can share?
Save your “found” money. Even if you’re currently living paycheque to paycheque and haven’t managed to squeak out any savings yet, if you put your found money into a savings account you’ll still get ahead. By found money I mean income tax returns, medical reimbursements, money you find on the street, pop can refunds, kijiji sales, birthday/holiday money, you name it. Don’t use it as an excuse to ramp up your lifestyle.
3) What is the biggest challenge you have faced in your life and how did you overcome it?
Picking my confidence back up after being laid off. I’m actually still working on this one. Anyone who has been in the same position knows how badly losing your job can impact your self-confidence. What’s worse is that it’s the exact time you need your confidence the most. Ever tried convincing a potential employer that you’re perfect for a position when you’re not convinced yourself that you are? It’s pretty much impossible. That right there is part of the reason why my stretch of unemployment lasted as long as it did. I didn’t know what I wanted. I was lost.
The job I ended up getting was one that actually got me excited in the interview. I saw the shop, and I WANTED to work there. My first 1/2hr interview lasted about an hour. I prepped my ass off for the second one, and it lasted 45 minutes. By the time the third interview rolled around they basically showed me around and offered me the job. I’ve been here for 8 months now, and I love it just as much as I did my first day on the job. I’m still working on dealing with the fear of losing my job out from under me, but it’s quieter now. Digging into work I enjoy, and working on continually improving my skills have helped rebuild my confidence. I needed a purpose at work that fit me.
4) What is your proudest accomplishment?
Buying a home on my own. No, I didn’t put a lot down, and yes, it was what spurred on a lot of my debt to begin with, but I’m still glad I did it. I know a lot of people who are older than me who aspire to own their own homes, older couples even, but are nowhere being able to do it. I did it by myself at 25. Not only that, but I’ve been renovating it myself rather than hiring someone to do it. I’m really proud of that.
5) What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given during your life?
It’s not a piece of advice so much as words of encouragement:
“You’re smart, you’ll figure it out.”
Nothing kills a defeatist attitude faster than someone saying they have faith in your ability to work through a problem. Consequently, I’ve been able to work through things I didn’t think I’d be able to by borrowing other people’s faith in me when mine was down.
6) What is the best cleaning tip you can share?
You’re asking me for cleaning tips? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA….. Oh wait, you’re serious. Okay, let me think. Make it fun. Some people turn on music and clean. Usually when I’m cleaning I’m actually on the phone with my mom, and she’s cooking or cleaning too. We do this with headsets so it frees up our hands. Basically it ensures that my cleaning lasts approximately as long as the battery life on my phone. We talk a lot My mom talks a lot.
7) Do you clean a little each day or save it all for a specific time?
I definitely clean in waves rather than everyday. The before pictures of my room are indicators of that. I used to set Sunday aside as my cooking and cleaning day, but since I’ve been spending weekends at The Boy’s, that’s sort of been in upheaval. I’ve had to learn how to cook and clean in smaller spurts before and after work.
8) What chore is your least favourite, and how do you make it more pleasant?
Washing pots and baking pans. I haven’t come up with any way of making that more pleasant. My mom did help make cleaning the floor more pleasant though; she sent me a pair of slippers with a chenille sole that you take off and run through the washer when it’s dirty. It’s fun skating around the floor on them. That’s right, I clean like a little kid.
9) What do you wish you did more often?
Read books. Do yoga. Workout. Craft. My hair. Basically all of the things I tell myself I don’t have time for as I sleep in/read blogs just a little longer…
10) What is one important thing about you that you would like to share?
That I haven’t shared on my blog already? Hmm… I went to 7 different churches as a teenager, but never with my family. My sister and I were given the freedom to choose whatever faith we wanted, so long as it didn’t involve hurting ourselves, or hurting others. They all had their pluses, and they all had their minuses. I ended up decided that organized religion wasn’t for me, because it was always taught with the bias of the person teaching it. I didn’t always agree with that bias. I figured that as long as I followed what is essentially the basis of most faiths (do well unto others, give back to those less fortunate, etc…), then I’d be doing pretty good. I didn’t think this would bother anyone, but apparently it did. Some people I was close to in high school I barely talk to anymore, and religion was part of the rift.
11) What did your mother (or other loved adult) used to do that you always said you would never do yet somehow you do it too?!
Oh geez, what don’t I do…. Knitting is a big one; it always seemed really grannyish and uncool to me. Give me a few years and I’m sure I’ll be carding and drop spindling my own wool too. Gardening, and its related corollary weeding. Covering large areas of my living room floor every spring with seedlings. Fussing over my lawn (oh wait, that’s dad). Being anal retentive about turning off lights in the house (dad again). Worrying incessantly about other people (back to mom). I have very mom-like tendencies that almost everyone who knows me has pointed out at some point over the years. The biggest and possibly most blasphemous one though? Even though I love my career, I would consider giving it up to be a stay at home mom. Totally serious.
For the people I’m hopefully quick enough to tag:
1) When you started paying off your debt, did you do it by balance or interest rate?
2) What was your first job, and how much did you make doing it?
3) Have you ever stalled on an investing opportunity and regretted it?
4) What was the blog that first got you interested in blogging?
5) If you had to trim your budget to the bare bones, what is the last thing you’d cut?
6) What was the worst piece of financial advice you’ve ever received from a well intentioned person?
7) What do you wear to work?
8) How much money would it take to make you feel “set”?
9) If you were to start over, which money mistakes would you make again because they contained valuable lessons?
10) Are you following in your parent’s financial patterns? Why or why not?
11) When you’re short on cash, what are your go to cheap meals?
These are the people I’d love to hear from:
Femme Frugality
Cents of a Country Girl
Simple Rich Living
My Money, My Life
Married with Debt
Fabulously Fru-girl
Life is Full of Sunny Days
Upendilife
Blonde on a Budget
Almost Rock Bottom
In Debt, Fat, Short with Bad Teeth
It’s time for me to let people know they’ve been tagged so I can go to sleep, lol.
Recommended Reading: I’ve Been Tagged!
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