SelfVooDoo - The magic of responsibility and growth are yours to wield

Saving Money does not happen when you are shopping. It happens when you lower your budget or save that windfall. Saving means spending sometimes. If you rent a place for $600 a month you can likely find a house or mobile home thart you can afford. Now if you can't stay employed for multiple years then you must clean up your work record as well as your finances before buying a house. Let's say you find a snug little 3 bedroom 1 bath home and buy it. You will not be buying in the best neighborhoods; after all you are not rich...yet. You can get a room mate that will pay you $350 a month plus half the utilities. Similar to when you were renting except that as the landlord you can add the rent money to your mortgage payment, you will find that your mortgage disappears much quicker. Now you have tax credits for mortgage interest. If you dump your tax return into your house or pay down a credit card; you will find that you are nearing a cash basis. If you have experience...

Like it or not, the exchange of money for goods and services is what makes the world go round. If you want to know what happened, follow the money. Especially in dealing with corporate over sight; the money will tell what budget it came from, who signed the purchase order, what company got paid, what is being paid for and then into fixed assets (for equipment at least) to discover where the equipment is now. The emphasis on accounting is because they want to track every penny, it's their job. You can get reports that keep you abreast of spending under your control. Year over year trends can lead to new insights in managing growth, handling unintended consequences and budgeting for the next year.  Banks have especially powerful accounting departments and can provide a significant amount historical information.

 It's always been about you. And why not? You don't feel pain when you see someone hurt. You do feel pain when you are hurt. This is the basis for all your actions; will it hurt worse than the alternative or will it make me feel good? There are many nuances to these two. Ideas like "it's only illegal if you get caught", "I need it more than they do", "they can afford it" do not make sense. I hope your moral compass finds true North in knowing what is yours and what is not. Violence or the likelihood of violence results in replacing morality with survival; fight or flight. Running away from trouble should be practiced. Leaving a scene where violence is likely to save you pain and maybe your life. Don't hurt others. Look at yourself in the mirror. Keep learning. Discover what YOU makes you happy and then pursue it. Don't allow others to steal your dreams.  Sometimes dreams turn sour with age.  Will you follow your own mind a...