SiscoVanilla Hits The Bricks

So we're almost halfway through this year 😖🤯😖🤯. Crazy, right? Well, as I posted on January 8th, I was going to follow the following plan to sock away $1,000 by the end of the year. Here is the plan I'm using courtesy of @getjoemoneyright: Now here is how it looks today. All number amounts "X'd" out are what I've been able to sock away: I'm ahead of the pace since I've had a couple of awesome weeks at the bar. I've doubled or even tripled the amounts put away. Safe to say I'm already more than half way to $1000. The key is to bang out all the big numbers first if possible and coast the rest of the way with the smaller amounts.  Anyone following a different plan? Hit me up and let me know whatcha doing. Until Then Keep Stepping #SiscoVanilla #SiscoVanillaIsStepping #SiscoVanillaHitsTheBricks

Many of you are revved up for the weekend when Friday arrives. For someone who it seems has worked the traditional weekend now for decades, as the image above says, I get fired up about Mondays in the same way that you all get fired up about Friday. Why? Allow me to elaborate. We're in the beginning stages of the holiday season at Barnes and Noble and the BN Café is not exempt from the rush. This was one busy weekend in the middle of a busy stretch. My next day off is Thursday the 15th with the Thanksgiving weekend looming on the horizon. I had all the intentions of sleeping in today before my late shift at the café. But, as we all know, best laid plans and all that jazz. I didn't sleep in, but was able to wake up naturally without the aid of an alarm. For me that is a plus. I detest having to wake up to an alarm. I find it to be unnatural. I hate alarms. Always have. Today marks the beginning of a goal. From now to January 8th, I'm going to try and make enough money...

Yes folks, this summer has been one long slog of hustling. Sitting here on September 5th, I've worked the last 30 of 35 days without two straight days off from both jobs. Compound that with my working pretty much every Saturday and Sunday this summer. It's nice to finally have what so many people take for granted: a two day weekend. It is probably a longer stretch but I dont even remember how many days I worked in July after I took those few days off in the beginning of that month. The struggle is indeed real folks. But if I don't do it this way, I can't get to where I want to get, which is debt free by 50. Im going to brew a few cuppas of joe and plan the next couple of months. Have a great day. And a special thanks to @therock for that amazing shout out on the mike 😎 Until Then Keep Stepping, #SiscoVanilla #SiscoVanillaIsStepping #SiscoVanillaHitsTheBricks

My one positive thought today is that after an eight day stretch at my two jobs, I finally have a day off on Friday. That's the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. I so need that day off. I'm tired peeps. Working two jobs ain't easy folks. Neither is the struggle. But to be able to see the results that I want, to be debt free by the age of 50, I need to push hard. Those bills  aren't just going to pay themselves off on their own. Just wanted to leave off with this little video of Dave Ramsey. He is so right when it comes to feeling awesome as you see your debt start to fall. Have a great day. Until Then Keep Stepping, #SiscoVanilla #SiscoVanillaIsStepping #SiscoVanillaHitsTheBricks

One of the big reasons why many of us are not doing as well as we should in terms of physical and mental well being has to do with our money situations. I've personally made it a goal to be debt free by the age of 50. What exactly does that mean to me? That means that aside from my large nut of a student loan, I want to be debt free of any credit cards, loans and other lines of credit that don't involve something like a mortgage. Like many of you out there, I'm choked by debt. Let's be frank, I have more debt now at the age of 45 than I did when I turned 40. Now, I have no one to blame but myself for doing so. Situations in life called for increasing credit and thereby debt in order to survive. Now that I find myself in a better place these days, I can try and focus on killing that debt. What people don't realize is that owing money can be a tremendous strain on your health and wellbeing. The constant reminders in the form of monthly bills, minimum payments and ...