Starting from Zero- Nowhere To Go but Up

I recently got myself into a bit of financial trouble, it’s a bit of a long story but basically the combination of working a low paying job, clients dragging their heels to pay me, my bank account not updating my balance in real time and thinking I had the money to pay a bill (when I didn’t) have overdrawn my account and left myself with a negative balance (-$8.04 exactly) accidentally. I only now have the money in my wallet to live off of for around 4-5 days. (Around $20 or so)

An emergency call to my parents yesterday left me with a brick wall since they have their own bills to pay and won’t be able to pay me until sometime next week. At first I told myself to ride it out till payday as a valuable lesson to get serious about really getting my business off the ground so I won’t have to rely on an employer pay period to come to be able to have money in the bank. I’d rather rely on myself to have the money I should to be financially independent so crap like this never occurs because worrying about money woes is one of the biggest wastes of mental energy and your mind should be put to use for higher, more important things. (That’s for another thread though) But then I thought of the weekend approaching and looked in the cupboards.

Paychecks are issued on 15th but that falls on a Saturday so it’s more likely Monday or Tuesday .. The most I can stretch $20 in NYC is Sat at the most (and that’s being insanely frugal, skipping meals, etc…)

I can think of decisive ways to make return my bank account to normalcy without doing something stupid or desperate. I’m coming up with ways that have worked in the past and developed a list after searching through What to Do If You’re Desperate thread and am being grateful it's not any worse.

When I have my finances restored, I have promised myself to get my online projects and business in-order and take it seriously. I will never let this happen again and vow to always have the money I need in the bank from my own entrepreneurial efforts since I'm considering this the turning point for a better bank account. I wouldn’t wish financial stress on my worst enemy since it clouds your thinking and limits your ability to think clearly of how to get out of that situation and prevent it from happening in the future. What you focus on expands- you can't make money coming from a negative place.

BTW, for all those who will tell me to get a real job. I’ve been applying to positions for a little less than a year now. You’d think a college degree and a decent resume would get you past the 1st or 2nd round of interviews but it seems many employers have jumped on the internship with no benefits bandwagon. (that's also for another thread)

As they say when you hit bottom you have nowhere to go but up that's, which is the direction I'm focusing on right now.