Blogging Away Debt

Politics stress me out. I will offer you an opinion on almost anything, except politics. I attribute this to growing up with much older siblings who were (and still are) bitterly divided on politics. My parents have very strong opinions as well and so somehow along the way I decided to only share my politics with the voting booth. I DO vote in every election so please don’t think me apathetic, but when it comes to voicing my opinion I just do not go there. This reality has earned me the funny reputation of “Political Pat.” Do you remember Pat from Saturday Night Live? We didn’t know if Pat was male or female and the material for comedy was just great! My very political charged family members and friends have taken to seeing me as the political version of that androgynous character.

At my 40th birthday party last year, my Mom brought a scrapbook with various keepsakes from my childhood. One of them was an essay I wrote in October 1980. I had just turned 8 years old. It was a report on voting as we were learning all about the election that year. The entire thing screams of “Hey! You have your views! I’ll have mine! No need to yell about them!” I closed with “And so I incurage (sic) everyone to vote! Vote for Reagan or Vote for Carter! Just vote!” My friends really could not stop laughing that even in the 2nd grade I was “Political Pat!”

Fast forward to this election and I find myself living with two very politically aware children. The last month has been brutal for me as they regularly bring up politics (national, state and local) and just want to discuss. The kids were both undecided on many races so the conversation was one of information gathering for them. I was blown away though by their awareness and like to think I stepped up to the challenge of at least a good dialogue about politics. I did take DD with me to the voting booth for the experience and the lesson.

It all came to an entertaining end last night as we drove home from DD’s first basketball practice and the radio had results information. She asks me if I was born in the United States and if I am a citizen. She tells me she knows I’m old enough to be President and she thinks it will help that I am a lawyer. She even said I might be good at the job. But the best part of this conversation was when she said “and if you’re the President that means I’d be famous and I’d definitely be good at that!”

Now please don’t go turn this fun story into a platform for political discussions! I share to make you laugh!

$100 Emergency Fund Starter Giveaway

by Jeffrey Strain

We have decided to make a little change to the bimonthly giveaway this time around and instead of giving away a number of small amounts, we are instead going to give $100 cash to help someone start (or reinforce) their emergency fund. When it comes to getting out of debt, one of the most difficult aspects many people have is getting that emergency fund in place, but it really is an important factor to succeed in your long term financial goals. There are plenty of ways to enter and I truly hope that we can help one of you get that emergency fund in better shape:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Of course, you should stop with entering this giveaway. Most people could probably benefit by spending a bit more time making sure that their emergency fund is adequately funded. Are you one of those people?

I found that the biggest hurdle for me when I needed to create my first emergency fund was starting it (and then consistently adding to it). When the main goal is to get out of debt and there are so many other bills and expenses which need to get paid, it’s easy to ignore the emergency fund. My guess is that this is the case for many people. The problem is that you end up ignoring the emergency fund at your own peril, and Murphy’s Law is bound make you regret not making it more of a priority. here are a few things that you should do today if you are one of those that has been ignoring your emergency fund:

1. Decide a emergency fund goal amount. My fist emergency fund was $500. Once you reach that minimum, set a new goal. Then another until you reach the point where you feel confident that your emergency fund is enough to withstand any possible emergency.

2. Figure out a way to reach that goal as quickly as possible. I funded my first emergency fun by selling stuff around the house. Chances are you are going to have to go beyond your regular income to make this happen, but that shouldn’t be a reason to give up. Yes, it will take effort, but having it in place will make reaching your financial goals so much less stressful.

3. Don’t forget about it. The emergency fund is something that should be added to on a consistent and regular basis. The more you are able to fund it, the more secure you will be in reaching your financial goals.

I have been quite thankful that I have had an emergency fund in place a number of times in my life. It includes one time when my car decided to break down in the middle of nowhere and required a several hundred dollar tow to get it to the nearest gas station (this was even with AAA). Or the time I had a tooth broken at the nerve during a basketball game and dental insurance that still left me with a $500 dental emergency bill. In both cases, the payments were painful, but I had the money to take care of them right then and there without stressing about how I was going to come up with the money.

Do you have an emergency fund and have you ever had to use one in the past?

If you are a blogger and would like to participate in future giveaways, you can get more information here. It’s totally free, and it will help your blog improve its social media accounts.

Blogging Away Debt Blogging Away Debt follows real people on their journey to debt freedom — with tips on the debt snowball, budgeting, cutting expenses, and staying motivated.

Just Call Me “Political Pat”

$100 Emergency Fund Starter Giveaway