Pause for a Moment

I will be a quarter of a century in the spring and that realization scares me. I don't know if it's that I've had kids and been married for almost five years, but I am starting to feel old. And not in an aging like fine wine way. More of an Oh-my-god-have-I-done-enough-so-far-like-climb- a-pyramid-spelunk-or-visit-Ghana-way. What the hell have I learned from this whirlwind of life? Recently, there have been three tidbits that have surmounted my thick skull through my mixed bag of good days, bad days, and days that made me cringe and climb back under the covers.

Here's what I've got so far.

Good day: Making a green light is more satisfying than sex. Well, not really, but it sure feels good to arrive at a destination 30 seconds sooner than you would have if hadn't floored it through the intersection.

Bad day: Credit cards are evil. A $1000 limit doesn't mean you have that money to spend. Charging an 80 zillion inch flat screen tv and hoping you can pay for it later at a 30% percent interest rate is not a good idea. Really.

Cringing right now: Make a budget. Keeping close track of your money is not just a pesky piece of information constantly bombarded to you in financial links by yahoo and msn. I learned recently when I received notice that I owed my lovely bank $240 in overdraft fees. For eight purchases under ten dollars. I kid you not.

I'm sure there is more to impart but I've got to go drive through at least 10 intersections to make myself feel better after that last tidbit.