OT - What's in your wallet? Why?

Ayy yo,

I must admit that all of this talk about whether or not the recession is almost over; whether or not the President is handling business financially; and will this dismal job market get any better, has left a brotha thinking - What does money mean to me?

When I was younger, having money only meant the difference between riding the bus and driving a car that you owned. FYI - I hate the bus.  The riders smell; they won't let you play your radio; and waiting on one in the cold weather will make you lose your religion.  Also, back then, money meant the difference between a "dinner and a movie date" and a "microwave popcorn and a rented movie from Blockbuster evening" at home. Being older my views on having money have changed because my responsibilities have changed.  I find myself spending more and more of it on stuff that I need to keep me going (house, car, food, etc...) but feel like I have less and less to show for it.
How do you see it BAF?  What does money mean to you?  Holla atcha boy.

HEYU....from a business and financial standpoint, money means EVERY thing to me right about now, if I did not have none I could not function or survive, if I lost my job TODAY, I am only a few paychecks away from foreclosure, coz an unemployment check of about $500 dollars per week would NOT put small DENT in my bills, it's a scary thought, I am a techie and I do contract work, and our contract ends this year, they could pull the plug on it anytime, this is why my GAME has to be tight at all times in case I hafta FIND sumthin quickly.

I am HOPING Obama TURN the economy around, but again he inherited almost a depression so I can't be mad at him, but if things don't look better by the end of the year... I CAN  EASILY SEE A ONE TERM IN OFFICE FROM HIM.

Yeah it's sad that he [Obama] didn't make the mess but he will be primarily judged on how well he cleans it up.  But... (<-- big butt here)  he can't keep trying to get mileage out of that song and dance though in interviews.  That translates into "Well... ya know.  This job IS actually bigger than I thought it would be before I started..."  Not a good look.

Sistas seem to be better at being on top of the money game than Brothas.  I wonder why is that? 

I think HE KNEW it was big....I think for him just GETTING INTO office was his main goal; again even if he is an one term president, he, Michelle and the kids will be set for life and they would not have to lift a finger again...other than paid speeches and appearances...lol.

But I do think he means well.....but again...pink folks don't want to hear as you quote This job IS actually bigger than I thought it would be before I started..." 

If he can't deliver...his is out for sure in one term...too many folks (black and white) are out of work or looking....or in dire straits with upside down mortgages....

Google Hope Home Loan Modification Program to assist you prior to foreclosure. Do it now! 

Mo money is mo problems.  LOL  I filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy at age 22 – so I know the heyl that credit can be all too well.  Did I learn my lesson after that dropped off my credit at age 32?

 

Lil bit.  But still ended up enrolling in a deb repayment program after racking up another 22K in cards – that doesn’t include my car, house or student loan debt OR the 4 cards that I did not put in the program……

 

What does $$ mean to me?  TONS – and I’m slowly digging myself out of the hole *I* created for myself.  Right now, I have a very nice, steady paycheck, and I am hustling everyday to keep that puppy going.  I’m not hourly (thank god) so my work is flexible, but I do NOT complain about having to log onto the system from home at 9pm to answer a client question.  

 

I’m trying to be smarter about my choices – but to be honest, a lot of what I’ve charged over the years has been hot ‘need’ items.  Brake job on the car, school clothes for babygirl, broken heater at the house.  Of course – there are nail appts, hair appts and plenty club clothes outfits on there too – I’m not THAT smart…. Yet – but I am getting there.  I did make a very wise decision NOT to buy my dream house and just keep my hood home improvement house – nothing like Corian countertops in the ghetto!!! LOL

 

I know I and the folk I work with have been blessed beyond belief in this recession – almost everyone at my job site has purchased a new vehicle within the last 1.5 years and while we didn’t get merit increases last year, our pay is competitive for what we do and the flexibility we have is amazing.  

 

I’m cool to chill and let Obama do his thing, I’m taking the pay it down road – trying to have a big chuck of things paid OFF or DOWN within the next two years so that no matter what happens – I’ll be somewhat okay.

Wow.  Chapter 7 huh?  Lemme guess, this was back in the late 80's when Visa and MasterCard were king and Macy's stopped making black folks feel like they were obviously being watched while they shopped in their high-end overpriced stores right?

I got kinda crazy with the credit cards back then too because I simply didn't understand how credit cards affected me on the back end.  I was in college when I got my first one and you would've thought that I hit the dayum lottery (or "the numba" as we said back in the day).  Out went the jeans and sweatshirts as everyday attire and in came the Will Smith/Karl Kani/Cross Colour loud-azz shirts and pleated slacks.  My food game was elevated from Mickey D's to Sizzler.  Hell, me and my friends would go to Red Lobster run up a tab to almost $200 and not sweat it because we'd only have to pay about $17.50 in monthly payments. (Dumb-azzes!)  We partied like rock stars on a fixed income and didn't have a thing to show for it later. It was definitely a lesson learned but who knew I'd be paying on that lesson 4-5 years after I cut up the card. 

Late 80's???!!!  WTH???

Nicca, I was 15 in the late 80's!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

Dayum youngin'...

Sike

Well I guess you can tell from what I wrote that's when it started for me. 

 

@Hell, me and my friends would go to Red Lobster run up a tab to almost $200 and not sweat it because we'd only have to pay about $17.50 in monthly payments. (Dumb-azzes!) 

You made me LOL!!! when I read this....sort of deja vu for me....I used to joke with my friends that I was paying interest on shioot because...the meals that we ate out were long gone and down the yet my azz was still paying interest on it....LOL! To this day...I will not use a credit card to pay for a meal as a result of that craziness back in the day.