Financial Wake Up Call

To be honest, I don't recall the exact date that I became this personal-finance-obsessed person. It most likely happened in the fall of 2009, probably in September after I joined Mint.com. The grace period for my student loans was almost up and the thought of shelling out $800 per month scared me. I was a big spender back then and I knew I couldn't keep up with the payments if I didn't change my ways.

I remember looking at the MintLife blog and reading some interesting articles. After reading through most of the posts there I decided to search the rest of the internet. I came across a lot of PF blogs and websites like Wise Bread. There's definitely a lot of information out there. It can almost be overwhelming for a novice like me.

I started slow. Baby steps. Breathe. It's not the end of the world, but it felt like it. At the time I was still sending money home to my mom on a monthly basis. I felt like the Bank of Patti. I also felt like I wouldn't be able to pass the stress test should something big come up in the future. I didn't have a lot of money saved up and I was surely spending too much. That thought ate into me day after day. What to do? Where to start?

I knew I had to do something...