Money Musings 💭 my 💳 snafu + holiday tipping 💵
My first job in NYC was near the flagship Bloomingdale’s. It was probably the biggest department store I’d ever step foot in – it’s 9 stories high!
The first time I went in and bought some clothes I was offered a store credit card that would save me 20% on my purchase.
20% off probably meant $50 in savings, and I felt like such an adult getting my very own credit card. Little did I know what I was getting myself into.
I went back to work and forgot all about it. Although I made a login to see my credit card statements, I rarely checked it. I thought I signed up for alerts and linked my credit card to my account, but I must have done it wrong.
I remember having the feeling I should check in and see what was happening with my credit card and when I finally logged in, I saw WAY too much red.
I had missed multiple payments and one was over 30 days late. I had also incurred a bunch of late fees and interest.
I thought this must be a mistake.
I called up the credit card company and remember being on the phone with the customer service representative. She walked me through how to set everything up and I asked her to show me what I had done wrong.
I felt so embarrassed and was also mad that I had wasted so much money. At the time, I didn’t even know this would be a blemish on my credit for the next seven years.
I had no idea how credit cards worked, yet it was so easy for me to open one up.
When it comes to our debt, we’re not set up for success and we have so much working against us.
I’m here to help change that. If you are looking for a manageable and sustainable, step-by-step plan to pay down your debt for good, join our 10-week Tackle Your Debt Course.
MONEY MOVE OF THE WEEK
Invest in learning to invest. The world of investing can be really overwhelming and daunting. There are millions of books that promise to turn us into millionaires, entire TV channels that talk about investing 24/7 and we can get lost in a rabbit hole of google searches trying to figure out investing jargon. 👎 Forget all that. 🙅♀️
Hands down, the best way to learn how to invest is to invest. Now, that doesn’t mean you want to invest your life savings on the first go. Just like you might purchase a course on investing (ahem… I have one! 🙋♀️), you can set aside a certain amount of money to practice and learn to invest. Yes, it’s great if your money grows, 🌱 but it’s more about education and getting comfortable. Set aside $100, download my free investment guide for beginners and just get started.
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
Your guide to holiday tipping. It’s that time of year again. Time to make a list of the service providers and people in your life you’d like to tip and/or give gifts to.
In the past, I’ve asked my friends and family and got wide-ranging responses. It can be difficult to know how much to give or even what’s normal. This holiday tipping guide from Emily Post is filled with really helpful guidelines. I also love that she talks about making it all work within our budgets!