The CGS Team is excited to introduce a new column in the City Girl Savings community! Daniella’s Finance Journey outlines the financial experiences that CGS member @daniellacoin is going through as she works with the CGS Financial Consultant to get on financial track. Daniella has graciously offered to share her journey to help inspire and motivate others to take control of their financial lives!
Daniella’s Share:
“Organizing my finances is overwhelming. Due dates, amounts, balance verses available credit—honestly, all of it can make me feel anxious. In the past I have tried to get myself together, but there comes a point where it gets really difficult and I just want to ignore money management and move on. This is what is so great about having a budget counselor. I really appreciate having someone to bounce ideas and scenarios off of.
Recently, I just started trying to follow up on all of my receipts. Do you know where your money goes? I mean, can you account for every dollar you spend, or does money fly out of your wallet? While I take care of bills, I definitely feel like I don’t mange my money. I feel like I pay bills, buy stuff, and then wait for my next paycheck because I am out of money. I recently sat down and actually dealt with two months’ worth of receipts and it was a mess! There are better ways to organize your daily spending and I am working on finding a system that works for me. Finance, just like fitness has general principles for success, but is not one size fits all.
Saving money is such an interesting concept to me. I never cared about saving before because I felt like there was nothing to really save for. However, being an actual adult who needs to pay for things that cost more than $200, I realize that way of thinking has to change. For me, the hardest part of organizing my finances is changing my mentality. I have to suddenly look at my money and evaluate the best method of spending and saving. Some days I really want to save money and be perfect. Other days I feel like the world is ending and wonder why I bother. Realistically, I know that is a terrible reason to want to not to save money, but everybody has a bad day.
My sister was a member of Weight Watchers and they believe in celebrating small victories. I am always hard on myself, so I try to employ this method in life. After losing my car a couple of weeks ago (yes, it broke down), I now have to rely on Uber in addition to public transportation. A small victory for me this week was noticing that I weighed my options before Ubering. I only used it twice in the past week as opposed to just spending money without regard. Also, another small victory from this past week, for the first time, I brought lunch to work four days in a row! I’m really proud of that because I used to buy food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner almost daily. To know that I am cooking is really exciting for me. I have a long way to go before I reach my financial goals, but every little step takes me closer.
I want to hear from you CGS Community! What small financial victory did you have this week? See you all next week!”
Regards,
Daniella
About Daniella…
Daniella is a 25 year old working millennial living in Dallas, TX. Daniella is originally from New York and has moved to Dallas to start a life of adulthood on her own. She currently works as an administrative assistant and has a passion for make-up! Feel free to leave a comment with any thoughts or questions for Daniella.
1 thought on “Daniella’s Finance Journey: Week 2”
@daniellacoin Thank you for being so open about your situation and what you’re dealing with! The reality is that most people don’t want to deal with their finances or don’t know where to start. I’m so happy to be on this journey with you!