I know how blessed I am to have a husband who knows how to manage his finances. I'll give myself a little credit here - I'm not in any debt whatsoever. This is partially because I just haven't had a lot of expenses in my young adult life. I was fortunate enough to have parents willing to contribute to education costs, and as I continued on with my education, eventually I was on a full ride scholarship. I have worked constantly since I started college, which isn't all something to complain about - I would die of boredom if my life was just college. I needed something mindless to occupy my time. And some pocket money. So I got a job.
I have two credit cards. One is a Macy's card with a $100 limit that my mom convinced me to open because I got some sort of discount on a major purchase when I used it. The other is a Wells Fargo card with a $500 limit that I got for being a loyal bank customer. I don't use the Macy's one because it's a store card and there is no Macy's in Alaska. The Wells Fargo one I have used in the past. I have paid it late a couple times. Now it is paid off (actually, the company owes me $10... bahaha) and I plan on never touching it again. I don't trust myself to use a credit card.
My finances have started concerning me lately. I make about twice as much as my age bracket if not more because of tips. I work for a well-known restaurant in the Anchorage area from which the servers walk away with a pretty good sum of money. I am support, and I get some of what they earn when they tip me out. My tips are bangin' for what I could be making. I'm too young to be a server (you have to be 21 in Anchorage to serve any kind of alcohol) so I'm happy with where I'm at. I'm not in dire need of more money, either, because Joe makes a real salary. My actual wages are what most people my age make. I make that plus between $40-$80 or even more on a given night. (Lunchtime I make less, but since I'm effectively a lead host, I get to ask for night shifts if I want them. A seniority kind of thing. Plus I know how to do my job right.)
Anyway, when you walk home with a wad of cash like I do, that cash has a way of disappearing almost as soon as you receive it. I don't know how, but I found myself not earning any new money in my account, even though the expenses of which I was aware were nowhere near what I was actually making.
Turns out I've spend over $1,000 on food alone working for this place! Even with my 50% employee discount and the plethora of free meals/food I've received training people and from refires and all that. Joe has been urging me to consider retirement lately, and I've never given it much thought until now. Where is all that money going? It's frightening how much I've let slip through my fingers.
So, I went to my bank first thing today. I have no excuse not to utilize the banking system because a bank I like and trust is located literally right next to the restaurant at which I am employed. I walked in and asked for an entirely separate account from the one I currently have, a new account with no card access whatsoever. I can't get into this account unless I specifically go to the bank and ask for money.
Here's what I've decided. I will keep $50 a week for spending on whatever I want out of my tips. I will take my remaining tips to the bank once a week; on Wednesdays. That is before my workweek but after my work has had time to process my earnings and I can pick up my tips in full. This way I know exactly how much I'm making in tips each week. Any necessary expenses like bills will come out of my wages.
I also checked my credit report today. Absolutely no late payments on two credit cards, with only one inquiry into my credit from June 2009 that will disappear this June. Phew!
On to homework... is it weird that I find my finances WAY more interesting than literary analysis right now? What happened to my English major self?
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