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The other week my boss mentioned something about a raise and I replied with "Raise? What raise?" And he said that he wanted to check just to make sure I had received it and I had to sit and think for a moment about the last time I looked at my paycheck. It gets direct deposited and after I buy seven heads of organic cabbage and pay my rent, I really don't think about the amount of money in my checking account. It gets distributed electronically to various institutions - including an Orange ING account, my regular bank savings, my 401(k), United Way and a political action committee - while I sit around and twirl my hair. Another coworker was in the vicinity at the time and she threw a bagel at my head because how does one not notice that they've gotten a raise? I gave her the answer that I am prone to giving people who ask me financial questions as of late: It is easy not to notice when the only person you have to worry about is yourself. As long as I eat and I have a place to live I honestly don't really think too much about what else goes on.
That is the truth and relaying the truth as it comes to my finances was something that I promised myself I would do when I made the decision to become a personal finance blogger. The choices were to be a blatant liar with perfect credit and a 401(k) since 1985 or I could just tell the truth and wasn't it really funny that time I maxed out all of my credit cards and Visa called me everyday for three weeks? A riot. I decided to be honest about my spending habits and the way my brain has a difficult time comprehending the concept of budgeting because for me and many of my peers this is a reality. The being broke and having nothing to having a little more than nothing and using that little more to enjoy ourselves. Comfortable enough to be able to get a manicure, go on vacation and do other superfluous things, which in my case would be twice yearly trips to Oklahoma as that is how I choose to spend my disposable income.
I actually loathe that term - 'disposable income' - something about it gives me this blah feeling like I'm placing money down a sewer once every two weeks. Not only that but the way in which it is thrown around with an air of disgust by a few because some people have more of it than others. I will admit to getting defensive when called 'frivolous' and 'stupid' until I realized that money is already a very difficult topic to broach without adding the phrase "...and then I went to Coach" at the end of each paragraph. Add to that discussion of disposable income and how much or how little one has after different major life events (house, kids) makes it so much more of a sensitive topic. I have found that people view money with extreme tunnel vision. They understand it from where they sit and I have explained before that it is possible for a person with three kids and a mortgage to see how my spending - as a 24 year old with no kids, living in a city where the cost of living is like $11 - might be vacuous. When in reality it's just that as a 24 year old with absolutely no responsibilities I'm spending exactly as one would and should expect even though when I speak of it, it is often with a bit of hyperbole and enhanced for comedic effect.
Several weeks ago I used my disposable income to go to Austin and then used more of it to go out to dinner during which I commiserated with two other bloggers about my open and honest discussion of my personal finances and the reaction to it by others. And during that dinner I used my disposable income to bribe these two bloggers in order to persuade them to write about their disposable income as well and lo we found ourselves in the same boat using one hundred dollar bills as oars.
We are two twenty-something attorneys with no children. When you have two people, no plans to have children, and no large financial obligations, other than the requisite student loans
