I worry and I know that I am no different than anyone else. I think that people who don't have some worries are probably either unaware, completely financially secure, or dead. Maybe I should clarify that I worry about MONEY. Money also equates to my job. And, the reason that I worry about money is because of the responsibility that I have (e.g., my sons and all that goes with raising a child to become a self-sufficient and productive member of society).
Once upon a time - before I had the boys - I really didn't worry about money. This was when I was in my teens and early 20s. In my teens I always had a job and it was easy to make money. Plus, I didn't have a mortgage or rent to pay and I didn't have to put food on the table for anyone. In my early 20s, I was fortunate to land a job 6 months before I graduated from college. It was a great job too - one with benefits, a corporate credit card, very descent pay (at least back then), and travel. I didn't have to worry about paying rent because when I was on the road, which was 100% of the time, the company paid for everything. And, because what I did for a living had transferrable skills, I never worried about being without a job.
I look back to those days fondly and with amazement. Amazement in that I didn't take advantage of the benefits that were extended to me like traveling during the weekends instead of flying home. But, that is a topic for a different journal post. If you fast forward 20 some years, I am a constant worrier. My mother tells me that I worry because I don't have faith. To some extent, she is correct but I actually do have a serious amount of faith (again, another topic for a different journal post). But, I think that we are wired to worry or be anxious about things that are unknown.
While I have faith that everything will turn out okay for my family, I know that faith alone cannot make the stomach twisting feelings go away. What makes those feelings go away is having that faith that we will be okay but also taking advantage of opportunities that are out there. Opportunities such as balance transfers to a credit card that offers 0% interest for 18 months. Seriously, the interest rates on credit cards are crazy and the financial situation that I am living in now sometimes calls for me to carry a balance. * stomach twisting * And, when I think I've paid more than the minimum I look the next month and see the interest that I've been charged. It seems that the balance goes UP instead of down even though I don't happen to use the card.
I am doing the best that I can with the cards that I've been dealt or traded in (let's face it - much of the situation one is in is because of the choices one has made). And, I'm doing okay - BETTER than okay. Still, the worry and anxiety sometimes gets to me. I know, ma, I need to have faith. But, I swear it helps to have that card that offers 0% interest for 18 months on balances transfered.
