You know so many of us just go day to day, dealing with things that come our way without much thought into the future except lab appointments, Dr. visits, birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, baby showers or other holiday celebrations. But how many of us really sit down once in a while and give deep thought to our future, what it looks like, what you want it to look like? Goals? I admit I've always been bad about this because when I was diagnosed in 1988 there wasn't a future to look forward to, just a ticking clock. Retirement? Savings? 401Ks? IRAs? Who needed those because I might not be here to cash in on it?……That was then, live for today because tomorrow isn't promised.
Fast forward... what the hell? Now I kick myself. I was in a "live for the moment" mentality for way too long. No more!! HIV/AIDS is no longer the death sentence it was in 80's and 90's if you take good care of yourself and take your meds, so NO EXCUSES to not take care of yourself financially too. I was able to buy a brand new house on SSDI so that really forced me to be more responsible, but I did find myself maxing my credit cards out with no savings so I had given it serious thought that I really wanted to make a change to reduce my credit card debt and if I can't pay cash for it I don't buy it.
Being stressed over your finances is not healthy for us and I wished I'd had people around to give me this advice... Think about your financial future and what do you see? Where do you want to be? For me I plan on being debt free from credit cards in 2-3 years. And I am going to start putting $25-50 away every month. It's always a good feeling to have a nest egg… I hope some of you can relate and find something of use to help you feel more empowered to take charge of your financial future....I've been there with no income or barely scraping by or paycheck to paycheck and only eating Top Ramen. Never again!!
