One thing I'm seriously lacking financially is a car buying or car repairing fund.
I'm very happy with what I drive now but its a 2001 Kia Rio. Its at an age now when it really could break down seriously without much notice. Plus eventually I would like to buy a new car. My real hope is to still be driving this same car 10 years from now though.
Anyways I just haven't had extra money to even start a "car Fund". I've been focusing on other things and my tiny little dollars only stretch so far. :-)

So yesterday was payday and I took a dollar out of my spending money and tucked it into an envelope to begin a car fund. A little silly maybe but its a start. And I'm hoping the little seedling dollar grows healthy and strong.

My next step with it is to have a bank account designated for a car fund and start building it up. But for right now for me it was important just to get something started. I'll try to keep my progress updated. Also I noticed how most people have their goals posted in the sidebar. I'm hoping to post some of my goals like that too very soon.

Wow I just got my new gas bill and I am relieved that it only came up to 85 dollars. I still personally think thats outrageous since I keep my heat very low. But its still better than most people's
bills that I know. And I compared it to what I paid for the same time last year. Last year it was
$126. So thats a drastic improvement.

I also should be getting a check for $5o soon from doing a beverage market survey.
It was pretty intersting. They sent me a Palm and I had to keep track of everything I drank for 2 weeks. They already gave me $10 cash when they sent me the Palm. I just sent the Palm back to them so after they get it and make sure I did the survey they will mail me my check.
I'm glad I did it but I'm not certain if I would do it again. It got a little boring after a few days. But it was easy money.
I was also offered to do a survey of writing in a little diary everytime I spent any money at all. I think I would have enjoyed doing that one but it only paid $10 and I was thinking it could get somewhat invasive into a person's privacy.
So I turned that down.

There are so many things I wish that I had known at a younger age. I think most everyone can look back and find a few of those things. I know on a more personal level I wish I had told my Mom more how important she was to me. We were very close but we argued and stuff a lot. I wish I showed my appreciation more to her when I was younger.

What I really wanted to write about now though is that I wish I had valued an education more when I was young and had gone to college. I did ok in school but did not like it and couldn't wait to get out. I said from an early age that "I just want to get my high school diploma and work in a factory." Thats pretty much what hasppened too. WARNING: Be careful what you wish for.
I still believe there is nothing wrong with working in a factory. And I know many people working in lower paying factory and retail type jobs with very good educations. But I now know that an education opens up a lot of doors and oportunities that just don't exist with only a high school diploma.
And its not just about money. Money and status are of course the obvious things that a higher education brings. But I'm also thinking of other oportunities that are much more important to me. I was thinking at one point in time (not very long ago) of signing up for the peace corps. They were not very interested in me at all because thet wanted people with college degrees or special skills. I figured the desire to help the world was enough. But thats simply not the case. I still feel thats a little bit backwards. But it shows how important an education can be even if you are not looking to "just make money".

I know its never too late to get started. But for me (in a way) it is too late. I'm almost 45 years old. I'm now working in retail and for the most part I actually like most of what I do. I also am a firm believer in self-education. I believe learning is a life process that doesn't just occur in a classroom. Travel(I sing many praises of),reading,watching educational television,and the internet are all things that can also teach valuable lessons. But until now I never realized how important that classroom is too. So as corny as it always has sounded,
"Stay in School!"