Wild Card: Springtime is a Gift.

Springtime 2011 By Angelica Cabrera

There is a sort of magic that comes around springtime that I never understood. As a child from Maimi, I was oblivious to the seasons and the cycles of nature. I thought it was all one big endless summer with a few rainy days in between. When I finally moved out to the north and now the west, I have seen the beauty of what springtime is all about.

Spring is supposed to be about rebirth and blooming into a beautiful butterfly and all that jazz. I think that it goes deeper than that. April starts the second quarter of the year and gives us a unique time to look at what we are doing with the rest of our year. We are able to take a breath and look back at all we have, or have not, accomplished in the last three months and what we can achieve. Let's face it, the year is on a steady pace to summer and there is no slowing it down. Things are starting to open up again, that stimi-money is flowing, and life is just weird overall. Before we know it, we will be taking down the summer shades for Halloween costumes and then it will be Christmas all over again. So why not take a second and see what the year has in store and plan ahead?

Spring Ahead Planning Guidelines

So when I was making my list for the rest of the year, I took out a blank sheet of paper and wrote out all the "events" that were already blocked into my calendar.

Example: 4/20, birthday, mother's day, summer trip, etc.

Then I broke down how much each "event" would cost into rough estimates

Example: 4/20: bud, booze, chips, butter, etc. $100

5/1: birthday hat, cake, gift to self, etc. $500

Once I had a good handle on the fun stuff, I took a look at all the debt I owed and how soon did I have until they were due.

Example: I owe $500 on my credit card and the monthly due is $50. I also owe $10 to the rainy day jar, etc.

Once I had an idea of what I was looking at I totaled it up and divided it by how many paychecks I had to play with.

Example: $3,000/9 paychecks left = $334 per paycheck and still broke.

If this sounds like the outcome is going to make you throw your calendar out the window and eat beans for the next six months in order to catch up, that means you need to do it. Ignoring our finances instead of embracing them will just lead you to still being poor in the long run. If that means you have to pick and choose which vacations to go on in order to catch up on rent, then so be it. Take control of the rest of your year by taking a breath and planning it out. Yes it is going to be overwhelming and crazy numbers will just pop up at you, but in the long run, it will be worth it. You got this! And if you need extra money, there are a million different ways to get some. Use the google and make it happen capin! There's no better time than now!

This article was written in the spirit of play and to inspire others to just get it together and go for the dream. What else do you have to lose? Until next week!