Let’s Talk Money Management

Anyone that is close to me knows that I am a bit of a saver… penny-pincher… tightwad, whatever you wish to call it.

Anyways… people have asked me to share a blog explaining my money management skills or as some may see it, how the f*** do you do that?

*Disclaimer: I stay away from money numbers for obvious reasons and this blog is more so an overview of my money management style.

Here’s a little bit of background about me before I start. I started working with I was 16 years old, moved into a one-bedroom apartment in Midtown, Atlanta when I was 19, moved to a 3-bedroom apartment in Kennesaw when I was 22, paid off my student loans when I was 23, and now here I am (hopefully) saving for my next endeavor.

My rent when I was living in Atlanta was $1097 + electric, water, gas, not to mention the expenses of tuition, books, groceries, etc. Here’s how I afforded my lifestyle: I saved every paycheck I got while I was working in high school. My thought process was, “I’ll get myself one nice thing every paycheck and the rest will go into saving” because I don’t NEED anything right now. It quickly turned into just using my money for gas and putting the rest away for saving. I mean hell I was living at home, I never partied in high school, and I was working every weekend so I never had time to spend money. This meant when I moved out that I had been sitting on my high school savings.

Here’s my financial mindset plain and simple: If I don’t need it, I don’t buy it. Except for the rare occasions that I decide to spoil myself.

Things don’t make you happy and people spend so much money on minuscule things that keep them satisfied/happy for a short period of time and then they’re on to the next thing. I enjoy experiences, which is why I can afford to travel more than most people.

Here’s my advice for anyone that has trouble saving:

Pick a number in your head, a financial number that makes you feel comfortable and keep your checking at that number. Anything that goes over, move it to a separate account. Put it in your savings, your retirement, under your mattress. Put it away so you don’t feel the desire to spend it. If your checking goes significantly lower than that number (you decide how much lower you feel comfortable with) then you should probably stop spending so much.

Also, credit cards can kill you. Do not ever spend money you don’t have. My credit card is used to help build my credit and that is it. I never put more money on my credit card than I have right in that moment. Look at your checking and look at your credit card, if your credit card is way higher than your checking you are literally spending money you don’t have. Yes you can get your next paycheck and pay it off, but then you’re back to nothing. You will constantly be working to pay off your credit and just adding another bill to your finances. Now, having debt in credit cards for pointless things is different from having debt on a car or a house, it’s mindless spending.

For all of you that are feeling a little stressed after reading this, there’s a fine line between smart saving and solely focusing on the future. You don’t want to lose yourself in preparing for a day you may not get to experience, but you also want to live your best life making sure that you are always taken care of. Have fun, but be smart, check your credit, run credit checks, talk to bankers, invest your money, do whatever works best for you. I don’t have all the answers and I’m always learning what works best for me, but I hope this has helped motivate you to save that extra dollar!

 

-Till next time-

Family Matters

Maybe I’m biased, but my Great-Grandmother is the sweetest woman I have ever met. 87 years old and she’s still the kindest soul you will ever come across.

Nothing makes me more thankful for my family than the 12-hour drive it takes to get to them. Kidding… the drive is horrible, but every mile is worth the distance, especially when I get to see views like this.

Caitlyn Martin Photography | Smokey Mountains

My family, with the exception of my mother and a couple of relatives, live in Maryland and Virginia. The distance has made communication difficult, but we are still a family that laughs and talks for hours when we do see each other. Literally… my mother and uncle can talk for hours (maybe it runs in the family, but I’ll never admit it).

Thanksgiving is the one holiday where we all try as hard as we can to make it to Maryland. It is not an easy trip to make happen, between work, money, and life in general it is hard to find an opportunity to actually get away. Thanksgiving, luckily, is one of the few holidays where we manage to escape back north. Last year I spent my Thanksgiving under the roof of Ted’s Montana Grill, serving all day long. Oddly enough, Ted’s is one the few restaurants that stay open on Thanksgiving. That meant that this year was over due and extra special.

Pictured above is my Great-Grandmother, who in my entire life I have never seen smile for a picture (she always says that she is smiling). If I could define kindness in a person, it would be her. My favorite thing when visiting is digging through old photographs, even all the way back to 1945, she is pictured here below.

We lost my Great-Grandfather about 13 years ago and she has persevered every single day. When I think of my great-grandparents, I remember their farm house. I remember sitting in the living room watching A Land Before Time while coloring these little, paper clouds that I would then hide all around the house. Don’t ask me why, but I thought it was hilarious to hide things before I left to go back to Georgia. I remember exactly how her iced tea tasted, how it felt to sit at the table for dinner, and how long the driveway up to their tiny little house on top of the hill was. After my Great-Grandfather passed away, that was all gone. Life happens and we never expected him to be gone so soon. Grandma now lives in a quaint, little apartment in Bel Air with the sweetest live-in nurse, Angel. She helps Grandma get out of bed, get to the dining room, and everything in between.

This Thanksgiving was extra special because as relatives get older you never know when it’s going to be last time you see them. Now, Grandma is still kicking and I’m hoping that she lives until she’s 100. I can’t imagine the world without her sweet laugh and loving hugs. Pictured below is her with my Great-Grandfather and… my grandpa in their arms.

Family matters.

-Till next time-

Senior Portraits – One Last Congratulations

“Be bold, be courageous, be your best.” – Gabrielle Giffords

As graduation season comes in full swing, many are quickly looking for the perfect way to capture their special moment. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to photograph graduating Senior and soon-to-be Pediatrics Nurse, Jana.

Photography is something that I have always been interested in, but also intimidated by. You would not believe the amount of settings and adjustments that go into shooting manual. When Jana contacted me asking if I could photograph her senior shoot I was as much flattered as I was anxious. I wanted to capture the perfect pictures for her to have forever.

When the day came, I packed away my Nikon Camera and lenses and ran out the door. How lucky was I to photograph such a kind person for my first official photo shoot EVER. She was so patient as I adjusted the aperture and shutter speed to get the perfect shot. It took me a little bit of time to feel comfortable asking for poses, but once I did I was completely in my element. Here are some of my favorite photos from Jana’s session:

Such a beautiful person on the outside AND inside. She is going to do so many great things. Congrats, Jana, Class of 2017! Thank you for believing in me and trusting me.

If you are interested in booking a senior, couple, or family portrait session, you can contact me by email at: martinlcaitlyn@gmail.com

-Till next time-

College Debt Free in 8 Months

Featured Image: Chris House Photography

*Currently listening to In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins radio on Pandora*

I have gotten a lot of questions asking how I managed to pay off my students loans so quickly. It was not easy and it was not fun… Okay, that’s a lie. It felt great once they were paid off.

As many of you already know, I graduated from Georgia State University in December of 2016. I had the cloud of student loans hanging over my head… pretty much like anyone else that goes to college. If you’re anything like me, finances stress you the f*** out.

Here’s the difference that has separated me from many of my fellow classmates. I didn’t take out any loans until I absolutely had to. Yes, I would be sh** broke eating ramen every night before I took out a loan. I was paying for a one-bedroom apartment in Midtown, Atlanta and working every moment that I wasn’t in class. I got my first loan my second semester of Junior year, up until then I had been paying out-of-pocket for my classes. So in total I had three semesters of loans built up when I graduated.

After you graduate, you have six months to begin paying off your Stafford loans without ANY interest accumulating. Here’s the kicker… many people take this time to focus on finding a job, saving money, and just relaxing. I mean, I get it, you’ve been in college for four years and you want to relax finally. This is my advice: start paying off your debt before the interest starts kicking in.

I made my first payment on my Stafford loans in January, a month after I graduated. I put $1000 down purely taken out of my savings account and then started an automatic payment plan. The suggested payment plan it started me on was $20 a month (this also told me I would pay off my student loans in twenty years, hell no). I changed the automatic amount to $150 a month. At this point in time, I was living in Kennesaw paying a substantial amount less in rent and still working full-time as a waitress. A couple of months passed and it was April, my birthday month! Wondering what I did with my birthday money? I put it all down on my student loans, plus I saved up enough to invest another $1000. Note: my grace period was ending on June 6th… I had two months left before interest would start accumulating.

For reasons that don’t really matter to this blog, I was jobless for about two months between June-August. I still had my automatic payment plan going knowing that something was better than nothing. I started my current job in August and my very first paycheck was devoted solely to my student loans. BOOM, I was done. Less than a year since I graduated and I haven’t worried since about the debt hanging over my head.

My story is different from many others, I didn’t take out any money until I desperately felt I had to. I started working when I was sixteen and saved every last bit of the money I had made from working through high school. I am so very thankful for my family because I learned the value of a dollar at a young age. If anything comes from this blog, I feel the most valuable piece of advice I can give is to start paying off your loans as soon as you can. If you can start paying them off before graduation, go for it and more power to you!

-Till next time-

“Too Young & Too Green” – The Harsh Reality of Applying for Jobs in your 20’s

This blog hits home a little too much, especially lately. Finding a job S U C K S, it is even harder when hiring managers require that you have 5+ years of experience, but no one is willing to give you a chance to get that experience.

I am no stranger to applying to jobs. I graduated from college back in December of 2016 and immediately thought I would get an offer… HA! I was immediately slapped in the face with the hard truth of today’s economy. Ten applications went by, then thirty applications, then fifty applications, at one point I had applied for any and every job I could possibly think of. I lost sight of what I truly wanted just because I was so eager (and desperate) to have a job.

Fast forward and I am currently working as a Social Media Manager, but I have started looking again. Not because I do not enjoy my job, but because I want to push my career even further. This brings me to the hurtful truth I learned through my most recent job interview.

I had the opportunity to do a phone interview for a position I wanted so incredibly badly. After the interview I was asked to complete a test assignment with a 24 hour turnaround. 24 hours? Psh, not only did I finish it before the deadline, but I was beyond confident in my completed assignment. About a week later, the hiring manager emailed me letting me know that the company was going in a different direction. At first, I was bummed, but more so I thought to myself that I needed to be better. As I stared at the email, I quickly realized that the hiring manager had accidentally attached the entire email thread between her and her superior talking about my qualifications, or lack thereof. I was no longer bummed, I was crushed.

“This girl applied for a job, but TBH I don’t think she has enough experience”

“I think Caitlyn is too young… and too green.”

“Yeah, I agree and she sounded immature on the phone.”

That was it. Absolutely no review of my test assignment, no review of my education, and no review of anything other than how young I look and how I sounded on the phone. Mind you, no where on the application does it say my age. They based their judgement simply on a picture. I was crushed. Yes, I do look young and yes, maybe I sounded immature on the phone (I have always sounded 15 on the phone). Here is the reality, I was denied the position before I could even convince them of my talents, which I can confidently say I have. My cover letter was never passed on and my assignment, which took me seven hours, was never reviewed. What have I learned from this? I have learned that I am going to have to work twice as hard to prove myself. I have learned that I am going to have to work to always be the best version of myself that I can be. I have learned that hiring managers will judge me for how young I am, but I will judge them for not giving me a chance.

For those of you that are still reading and wondering how I responded. I politely thanked her for the opportunity and I let her know that she should never attach an email thread ever again, as it was inappropriate and unprofessional. If they were talking about me so casually, as a candidate, who knows what has been said about other applicants. Now I know that she will never let that mistake happen ever again and no one else will have to read comments like that.

I made sure to attach her boss.

 

-Till next time-

F*** Expectations

*Listening to Milky Chance radio on Pandora*

“Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.”

Dead Poets Society, 1989

I remember when I was younger thinking that everyone in their twenties (or even thirties) was so old, wise, and mature. I also distinctly remember when I was nine-years-old bragging to my babysitter’s kids that I was going to be ten, that meant double digits… which also meant I was somehow more wise than them. My babysitter overheard this conversation and to this day I have always remembered her sarcastic, yet true, response. She said, “Just wait, turning ten is nothing, wait until you turn sixteen and then twenty-one.” Life happens so much faster than you realize, as if each year comes and goes faster and faster.  I have surpassed turning ten, sixteen, and even twenty-one. I am twenty-three-years-old and it seems like yesterday I was begging my Uber driver to play Taylor Swift’s 22 in his car while my best friend and I sang as loud as we could on the way to the Highlands bars.

My expectations molded how I saw my future planning out, but they also ruined how I perceived my present day life. As if my life wasn’t living up to my ten-year-old self’s expectations. High school graduation came and went, four years later, college graduation came and went. I still have absolutely no idea where my life is going or what I’m doing, but isn’t that a feeling that most millennials have? I am on a constant hamster wheel of wanting more and expecting more. I jumped into a degree that has no clear path; it is not technical, it is not medical, it is not education. I have to remind myself that even though it has no clear path, it has an array of paths. I just have to create the path that is right for me.

I can strip all pride and admit that I am not as successful as I wanted to be at my age, I am not as wealthy, stable, or smart as I wanted to be at my age. I do not have the ability to go to brunches every Saturday or go to the hottest concerts in Atlanta. Those were my expectations though, the expectation of adult freedom. My life now? It is shaking the gas nozzle to make sure I got every last bit of gas and buying store brand items for the discounts.

I will be the first and most certainly not the last to say, “F*** expectations”. Expectations f****** ruin you. They tell you what you’re suppose to look like, how you’re suppose to spend your time, how successful you’re suppose to be. I certainly never thought I would get to travel as much as I have, but I would never trade it for the expectation of the fancy town home I always wanted. I am living my life, finding myself, and discovering what truly makes me happy. If my life happened the way I expected it to when I was ten-years-old, I would have missed out on some of the best experiences I have had. Never in a million years did I expect I would be in the same room as Elijah Wood, if you don’t know who Elijah Wood is I’m truly disappointed and you better be switching to Google. I fell into opportunities that I never expected to be given, met people who I never expected to meet, and those are the ones I cherish the most.

So here’s to my first blog and the start of many more!

– Till next time –