Sunday, May 15, 2011

"I am a money management genious"

This is what I was yelling on Friday as I was taking some web based e-learning training titled "finance for non-finance professionals".  Scott backed away from me for fear of lightening striking me down dead.  But it was true.  I got all the answers right on the course regarding managing money.  The points the course was making regarding cash flow, money in and out, etc. were very, well, basic.

You shouldn't spend more money than you have.  If you find yourself in a cash crunch because your invoices are not being paid timely, or because of unexpected emergencies, you need to prioritize what monies are going out, ensuring that what needs to get paid (any fixed expenses- rent, phone, salaries, etc) are getting paid.  If you see this being a regular occurance where your money out is always more than your money in...well, Houston...we have a problem.  More drastic measures need to be taken, whether that is across the board cuts, or getting more income.

So yes, on paper money management is easy.  However, this is probably one of my biggest flaws as a human.  I do really good for a couple of months (Jan/Feb/March---I did AMAZING).  April....I sucked!  and when I am stressing about financial issues you know what I do?  Shop...because of course, shopping cures everything.  I bought 4 new pairs of shoes in April, 3 new shirts from Victoria's Secret, I bought new throw pillows for the coach, new curtains for the living room, new fabric to make purses, not to mention a trip to Kansas City.  (oh- and the fact that I owe the dang government a million and a half dollars :(). 

So, now I have found myself cooking up "get rich quick" ideas.  Here are some of the ideas I've come up with this week:
1.  Sell stuff on ebay.  I have a billion books that are collecting dust on my shelf,  I have stacks and stacks of DVD's that I never do anything with.  I have clothes that no longer fit- this time in a good way!

2.  Sell things on Etsy....I mean, everyone is doing it.  I just made a super cute purse...do you think I could make purses and sell them on Etsy?  I mean I do have all this extra time where I am not doing anything;)

3.  I could actually be better at watching my spending...but what fun is that.

Do any of you have any "get rich quick" schemes?