CASH.

Cash is the only form of currency that I want in my wallet these days. I will never own another credit card again other than my banks debit card. Everything I need is right there in my debit card. The accessability for the web and other transactions are there underneath that Visa logo. Credit cards are not worth the head aches nor the time. A strict budget using cash is the way to go to get debt paid off and eventually become independently wealthy.

My husband and I have been living by a cash only basis for the past few months and let me tell you, it works. It is all too easy to swipe those cards and quickly lose track of your money. The banks are counting on you to do so. They want you to do so. This is how they make money. Money earned from overdrafts and over the limit charges. Late fees and penalties are added on. A problem that is easily avoided when using a cash system. You can get rid of those bills you have now and also save at the same time. Budget for your bills and budget for your own spending, or as I like to call it "flex", money. Lastly, budget for savings.

This may sound absurd to some. How can I possibly save money from month to month living on paycheck to paycheck? It is possible but it does require some sacrifices. Whatever your monthly bills are, write them down. Determine the closest rough estimate for utilities. Work on a budget for your grocery bill. Calculate the minimums for larger debts and choose which debts are the smallest. Those are the ones you will be attacking first. ALWAYS, always start with your smallest debt and work up to the larger ones. When you are able to pay off those smaller debts that is more money in your pocket each month. No matter the amount it is still extra money that can go towards other bills. Paying off smaller balances also gives you a feeling of accomplishment and success in your money saving endeavors.

Groceries are a must have to survive. When converting to cash it is imperative that you stick to a strict grocery budget. Many people do not realize the amount of money that is wasted on food. Eating out is one way of overspending. Preparing meals at home are not only healthier but it is also a way of conserving money and a way to spend some intimate time with your family. There are several meals that are inexpensive and can feed up to a family of four or more depending on that recipe. I can't tell you how many times my husband and I have lived off a giant pot of chili. Canned beans are in expensive. I compare ingredients and nine times out of ten they are the same if not slightly off. I mainly use store brands and sales ads. Even store brands like those found in Kroger have an even cheaper alternative. For instance; there is a Kroger Brand of tomato sauce that I use for my chili. Even cheaper is their "Value Brand" tomato sauce. When the ingredients are compared, it is essentially the same thing only less appealing labeling. Coupons are another sure way to save money. My husband and I frequently shop at Kroger. Not only do they have great sales but they also offer us an additional savings on our gas each month. Spend at least $100 dollars worth of groceries each month and earn a 10 cent discount on gas each month. The internet is full of helpful information on savings and recipes for cooking on a budget.

Sacrificing does not mean you can no longer buy for yourself. Allow yourself money during each week that you can either save for larger purchases later or for spending money for that week. Per week my husband and I have an allotted amount that we can use for "flex" spending, gas and lunch money. I have the gracious gift at my job where lunch is usually provided day to day by the very many different pharmaceutical reps that need time to talk to the doctors. Still there are some days when it is not available. What I don't spend in lunches however, I use in gas as my work travel time is an hour or more over a 27 mile stretch. My husband has a job closer to home and must buy his lunch on the go. It all balances out. Whatever the situation we have a set amount that we use each week. We have since been able from the beginning of this new method, increase that amount. We withdrawal a certain amount of cash for the grocery budget and our "flex" spending budget each pay day each week. This method works easiest for us. Others may work better on a monthly basis. However you choose just make sure that no matter what you stick to that strict cash "flex" amount and you can physically see where your money is going. I never knew how much money I wasted on swiping my card for lunches or breakfast or impulse buys here and there that didn't seem too much. Once you have a set amount of cash you can see your money begin to dwindle and the chances of you making wiser money savings decisions increase. It is your own personal daily budget and your own way of helping in the long run of your financial goals.

Making a commitment to put any amount of money into savings is the best thing you can do. Having an emergency fund is way to ensure that you will not end back up in the vicious cycle of debt. My husband and I had a goal of one thousand dollars for emergency funds. We reached that goal with in a few months due to strict budgeting and sacrifices. You will see that the more you can give up now the more room you will have to breath later. I am not afraid to live off rice and beans if I have to in order to be debt free. Start small on a savings goal if you really and truly can not afford much per paycheck to put aside. Just make sure that you are putting aside something each pay period towards a savings. Even five dollars can add up. Another way to add to your savings account is to include unused amounts from your "flex" spending. If you have a week where you have extra money left over, deposit it into the savings. It all adds up and in no time you will have a small savings that is growing each day and will be there for you in times of emergency. Thanks to this method the four hundred dollar car job I recently had to have done was no sweat by any means. I didn't panic to in thinking my God I'm going to have to sacrifice my paycheck for that week to pay this or I have maxed out another card in order to satisfy this bill. Make sure you make the necessary adjustments to put those funds back into your savings.

It is the greatest feeling of all to not worry about money. Although I am still pretty young, I have seen my fair share of some major debt and what it does to your life and your relationships. Money is a major reason for marital disputes and divorces. My relationship with my husband has become stronger due to the fact that we are not bickering over money issues. Weight has been lifted off my shoulders knowing that if need be I am covered in emergencies. It took us a few months of planning and action to get where we are now. We still aren't not 100% debt free but it is enough to breath and for once I can relax in that area of my life.

So when the question arises, what's in your wallet?

I gladly reply; cash.

     In today's society it seems that the pregnant population and that of newborns are on the rise. Women of all ages are flocking to get this hot new accessory item. The teenage pregnancy rate is higher than it has been in years and seems to be steadily increasing. The states with the worst teen pregnancy population is seen in the south primarily and in some midwest. It is not uncommon now to see a woman in her early to late 40's giving birth for the first time. Celebrities are both giving birth and adopting infants left and right. It is quiet easy to gain celebrity status in today's society if a woman can undergo Invitro and give birth to multiples. I may be looking at this through jaded eyes from inability to conceive yet I still ponder. What is with all this baby fever?

     Working for a doctors office makes it difficult to escape the baby rush. Day in and day out another woman or girl comes in with a grin and a glow of a little bun baking in the oven. For my situation it is agony. My husband and I have been trying to conceive for over two years now with no success. Most of it is due to my condition known as PCOS or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. In a nutshell it is a leading endocrine disorder that affects more than 10% of the female population in the U.S. The unbalanced levels of hormones in the body causes many side effects that lead to infertility. There is treatment yet there is still little known about the causes and more effective ways to treat the disorder. Fertility seems to be one of the most frustrating aspects of health care to have an issue in. I did mention treatment but I did not mention that most insurances do not cover ANY type of infertility treatments. This makes the whole process for the couple in question that much harder. PCOS has tested me time and time again. The monthly negative tests, the pills, lack of energy or drive, and the over all feeling of incompleteness and worthlessness is hard to overcome. It is hard for many women to accept that it may take you several years to conceive, IF you even can.

     This has been my struggle now for two years and it seems this baby fever has come at a bad time for myself and maybe for others as well. Left and right I see pregnant women. I can name maybe two individuals around me that have not yet had children and I am only 23 years old! This astonishes me. Young couples are starting families sooner and many are in over their heads in debt already. And still, many of those same couples are getting pregnant again to have the magic number of two children. It seems to be the standard for everyone; one boy and one girl.

     Teenage pregnancies are not viewed the same as they once were. Today it is more socially acceptable for a girl of 16 years to have a child and still be able to resume her life as usual. Parents of the teenage mother seem to be stepping in more so than ever before to give these girls their chance at a childhood and an education putting the burden on the themselves rather than the guilty party. I know of a girl that was pregnant at 16. She had her son at the age of 17. She cried and whined that she was unable to be a mother, that it was too tough for her and so the parents of the girl took custody of the son and allowed her to finish her education and live out the rest of her own childhood. She is now 19, married to an individual in the military and living over seas. Her son stayed behind in the US under the custody of her parents. Now once again she is pregnant and is overseas. It is situations such as these that frustrates me. It goes back to that initial feeling from the diagnosis of infertility; why me? Teenagers around the U.S. that are clearly not prepared are able to have children and yet those of us who dearly want to be a mother can not conceive. How is this fair?

     Inside this small doctors office are pregnant women after pregnant women. Coworkers are constantly getting pregnant one right after another to the point where I'm the one you still has yet to have a child. It has become such a major topic that this is all I hear of. Talks of what the new baby has done lately, weather it be crawling or making weird baby faces to child care and baby showers. Pharmaceutical Representatives that frequent our office flood the baby waters with new pregnancies and stories to tell. My own family is going bananas over a baby on the way from my brother and sister-in-law. They were just married this May and have already conceived their first child together. The news of it being a girl was an even bigger blow to my distressed heart.

     On the surface I am to supposed to act excited and cheery. Yet on the inside there is still a struggle ensuing. My heart tries to give up and yet I am told to have faith. More medical problems slice open the recently healed wounds. News of yet another pregnancy is happening right before my eyes. The constant chatter of the world of mothers and babies is always around me. The only escape I have is at home with my husband away from it all. So is my cynicism amplifying this perception of a very pregnant society or is it mostly true? I can not tell trough these jaded eyes and so I turn to you all for answers.

     Now for the questions at hand. Does anyone else notice this rise in pregnancies and infants? For those that may be going through what I am now, are you feeling the same as I do? Do you have the same feeling of not belonging  to a group of people you once considered having much in common with? What do you do to ignore or overcome the triggers that make things so much more painful in the area of infertility? What of the topic on teenage pregnancies? Do you find it more socially acceptable to have a child in a girls teenage years than generations before? What are your thoughts on the subject of older women having children?