Excuse me, 'debt with disabilities'.

Since getting laid off at the end of July, I've been avoiding looking seriously at my financial picture because I was afraid of what I might see.

You see, thanks to my severance package and a lucrative consulting practice, my bank account has actually been healthier than it's ever been. And I like having that extra cushion. So I have been a little slow in paying some bills. That's not really new, but the beefed-up bank account has been helping me psychologically through an uncertain period of quasi-employment.

But the persistent and obnoxious calls from my creditors was starting to be too much to handle - there are only so many times a day I want to be interrupted in what I'm doing so I can hit the ignore button on my cell phone.

So I sat down tonight to look at my finances through the end of this calendar year. Turns out, I'll continue to be fine. I can afford to take that birthday trip, and I could also, as it turns out, afford to pay off one of my credit cards entirely. Combined with paying off my computer last month, I'm now back down to one credit card with a balance on it, and I may even be able to pay that one all the way off by the end of the year too.

Financial insecurity, which plagued me most of the time I've lived in Tucson, when I made far less than I was worth at a job I stayed at far longer than I should have, is now a thing of the past, at least for now. And I attribute this newfound freedom at least in part to my yoga practice, which has taught me the fine art of letting go and flowing with grace.

I should write a book.

(I am, actually, writing a book proposal, but that'll be on communications strategies for smaller non-profits)

Labels: finances, New York, personal, success, yoga