Our next Twitter Tuesday Profile takes us to Canada to meet Fabulously Broke, also known as @Brokeinthecity. She’s a freelance IT consultant who sometimes calls Montreal home and sometimes calls Toronto home. She’s paid off a whole lot of debt and blogged about it in the process from FabulouslyBroke.com.
OODC: How did you get started blogging and tweeting?
@BrokeintheCity:I started blogging in 2007, and tweeting just followed as soon as I realized what an interesting communication medium it was. I didn’t even know what a blog was. I only knew it was called a “blog” because the name of the platform I used was “Blogger”. For me, it’s still a continuous learning process on how to become a “blogger”. I’m not even sure I really feel like a genuine “blogger” yet, because it just feels like I’m writing & doing this for fun, and not as seriously as some folks out there who want to (and do it!) for a living.
OODC: You are self-employed. What’s your best piece of advice for other self-employed people when it comes to managing money?
@BrokeintheCity:Keep your expenses low and save for the days, months and even years when money will be slow to trickle in.
OODC: You have a lot of information about budgeting on your blog. Why is this so key? Could you have erased your debt without budgeting?
@BrokeintheCity:Well I couldn’t have erased my debt so quickly without tracking my expenses, budgeting and earning a pretty good salary. It’s just simply impossible to get out of debt, without knowing your numbers & watching your spending habits. For those of us seasoned expense trackers and budgeting gurus, it’s like second nature for us now to budget & watch our expenses. However, in the beginning, I will admit that I failed a lot at budgeting & tracking expenses. It took me 3-6 months before I started to feel comfortable because it’s easy to say that budgeting is no sweat, and it isn’t, but the hard part is to execute your budget and to do it diligently and consistently.
OODC: How do you suggest people get started with creating a budget?
@BrokeintheCity:People should budget & track their expenses so they can see where they stand, rather than as a way to compare with others and feel either inferior or superior. Your money is exactly that — your money, and you should learn as much as you can about how to handle your money. From there, it’s just a simple decision (after seeing your numbers) to either make more money and/or cut back. There are no other ways that have been more tried & true. There is no magic 8 ball for the stock market, special set of numbers to help you win any lottery or a white Knight or Princess to come swooping down to your financial rescue. There’s just you, your income and your expenses. If you don’t think you can do it, start with the basics: rent, minimal utilities, food & warmth …… and you will find that you have a surprising amount of money left over to make decisions with.
OODC: Who are some of your favorite money tweeters?
@BrokeintheCity: I’m not really a hardcore PF money tweeter myself, so my choices are somewhat lifestyle/money related: @RevancheGS , @krystalatwork , @Monevator , @mrsmicah , @singlema .. are just a few of the tweeters I enjoy interacting with on occasion.
Thanks again to @BrokeintheCity for being part of this week’s Twitter Tuesday Profile. Want to be considered for an upcoming profile? Just tweet me.