Money Money Money

I wish earning money was as easy as consuming calories. I've been away from my blog living life, but I had to come back to confess something. I'M STRESSED OUT ABOUT MONEY. Now my mother and any one who knows me would probably call me crazy because I'm a very frugal person and hate spending money, but now being in New York, that attitude is turned up to about an eleven. I know I moved to the most expensive city in the country, but it's where I need to be! But I did not need the added on stress about money. As a matter of fact I'm sure all of you guys would agree no one needs added stress about money, but like every one I know says, "Welcome to being an adult." If only they could write you a manual into adulthood, maybe that would solve all of my problems. Growing up in my household, my mom has always been a very hard worker and a dedicated mother. Even when the money was tight, she still made sure I was fed and clothed. That dedication inspires me to be like that now. I work, I like who I work with, but I definitely don't want this job forever. But like my mother, even if she hated the job, she worked to pay her bills. Have you ever met a person who says they love their job and then thought "are they really being serious?" My mother likes to tell me that no one likes working, but I hope to eventually love what I do. Unfortunately, it's definitely not what I'm working now. This idea of loving what I do is good for me because it motivates me to want to move on and get a career for myself. The sucky part is realizing I'm still so young and have a lot of years ahead of me. This is lesson one I would put in the manual, get a job that pays well, work to live and strive for your career one day. A tough, but practical lesson. The second lesson I would write in the handbook would be to save Save SAVE! The thing with me is being so frugal means I save and don't know when to spend. I recently spent $4.50 on three pancakes at a deli. After I purchased the pancakes I kept thinking, "was it worth it?" And then after I was on my last fulfilling bite, I thought, "it was totally worth it...and the calories." There's really no right or wrong to spending money. There are obvious things that you should save money on and spend for. If you want a $400 bag and only have $1000 in savings, obviously you should save your money. But if you have a cut finger and need a bandaid or have a friend who wants to go out for tacos, spending a little cash is okay. I guess for this lesson I would write in parentheses (spend when necessary). My last point about my stress over money is all the necessary expenses in life like groceries, rent and transportation. These three things are running my financial situation. I spend my money on my groceries, paying rent and using the subway. It gets a little stressful because every paycheck I get, I think, "okay this much goes to this, this much goes to that and what's left is mine to save." Lesson three would be to make a list. This list should be solely on monthly expenses. This list should also be your life. Be honest, write down when you spend money at Dunkin Donuts or when you spend money on your metro card (or gas if you're not a city person). Knowing how much money you spend monthly is so helpful in knowing if you're out of control or if you're being a little too cheap. If I'm being honest, I'm a little too cheap, but I'd rather be cheap and work hard so I have a ton of money to live off of. (Sorry if that sounds frugal). Overall, I hope I've taught my fellow stressed out friends three things that I use to live by when it comes to work and money. I also enjoyed getting this hectic stress off my chest, I like talking about my feelings. Also, before I leave this post with you guys, if any adults have some advice, leave some down below. I'm not one of those snobby young teens who only listens to themselves and what Twitter has to say, I enjoy elder wisdom.