Starting Over From Scratch

I've been learning a lot since I've adopted my new policy of learning the ins and outs of real estate and financing while at the bank job. It's such a shame that I hadn't thought of studying at work before. I could have saved myself a hell of a lot of money and headache.

Financially, I'm basically starting from scratch. My debts should be cleared up by the end of next week, but I will have very little money at the end of this month. I'm applying for two secured credit cards tomorrow that will cost me about a thousand dollars. Secured credit cards provide the best way to build up credit, but your credit line comes from your pocket. Say you want a credit limit of $500. You have to give them $500 out of your own pocket to store for you as credit. The first card will be from Bank of America, while the second will most likely be from a local bank. I found out that the bank my ex-girlfriend, Marla, works at has a very good deal on those type of cards. But I'll save that as a last resort. If I can find a bank that will front me the line of credit, then that will cut those initial expenses in half. Also, I will be paying off the remainder of my debts with next week's pay checks. With any luck, I would like to have at least 2k by the end of July.

I've also been doing very well in the spending department. I went from spending over $40 a day on food to just over $10 a day. I'm hoping I can keep this up long term, but it will take some discipline. I went to the supermarket to buy food and drinks for my mini-refrigerator, and I had to stand in line waiting for the welfare people to finish using my tax money to keep themselves fat. I no longer get mad about it, but it was interesting to see me spend $30 for my stuff and anyone with a Benefit card spend at least $200 for themselves. The real test will come on the weekends, when I'm sitting at the shipping depot on 12 hour shifts. My idea is to buy a big ass sandwich for the afternoon, then light healthy snacks and trail mix for the rest of the day.

It's very humbling to start from scratch when I was so close to purchasing another property this year. I'll feel much better at the end of December when I will hopefully have over 15k in my account, two credit cards in good standing, two mortgages in good standing, and maybe even a new job if I get lucky. As humbling and depressing as it might feel to start over, it feels great knowing that I'm doing it right this time.