My first paycheck

I'm still looking for a better job (or second jobs) but I got my first paycheck from my fast food job a week ago. After tax (including the employment tax for the township and all that mumbo jumbo) I ended up with about $130. I really wasn't able to budget anything for savings, and I'm already penniless again. I'm kind of disappointed in myself, but I also knew this was going to happen, and here's why:

1) I started working halfway through the pay period. As such, I had not even 20 hours on my pay check. When you only make $7.50/hour, that makes it difficult to do much of anything.

2) I had to buy a bunch of stuff for my son. I had to get him a "potty seat" as he's become communicative about going to the bathroom finally (side note, my son is 26 months old and can't really talk, he starts speech therapy in a week), as well as pajamas (here's where I wasn't smart, I should have gone to a thrift store but I was already at Walmart so I bought him clothing there) and dishes. These things accounted for about half of my paycheck immediately after getting it.

3) My parents were out of town for the week, so I had to take my son to his father's house every day so I could go to work. That's easily triple, almost quadruple the amount of driving I have to do when my parents are here to watch him, so about another quarter of my paycheck went to gas, far more than my usual expenditure.

4) Finally, and here's where it's all my own fault, I had the ability to spend more time with my boyfriend over the course of time my parents were gone, and I bought things I normally wouldn't have (i.e. wine, fast food, etc) that left me broke. Not a wise financial investment, but we got to do things we never get to do otherwise, and it was nice.

My next paycheck should be a bit more (closer to $200). $50 is already accounted for as the first payment in my loan rehabilitation program. That is obviously non-negotiable, as I've gone too long without paying my loans, and rehabilitating them is the only way for me to go back to school and get the type of job that will actually allow me the income to truly become financially independent.

I still have another loan company I need to work with to hopefully establish a similar plan, but if I manage to do so, both loans will be out of default and removed from my credit score, virtually being "reset" and I can then negotiate income-based repayment while also qualifying for financial aid to go back to school. A tedious process, but I've come to the conclusion that my current "degree" in cosmetology is virtually useless. It's not something I want to do for the rest of my life, and while I enjoyed going to school, it was basically a waste of my time.

I blew it this check, but I'll do better next time around. I'm starting from rock bottom, so there's really no where to go but up!

A little bit of background

Hey there! I'm Erica. I just wanted to give a proper introduction and background, so that there's something here while I set up and format the rest of this page.

First of all, I'm a 23 year old single mother. I currently live at home with my parents. I have full custody of my 2 year old son, and I'm currently working part-time at a fast food restaurant.

Sounds like I'm a free loader, right?

Wrong. I've never really learned how to manage money though. I'm realizing more and more how uneducated I am when it comes to financial matters. So I'm taking matters into my own hands.

This is going to be a personal finance and single parenting blog. These are two things that are important to me, and that I'm learning more about every day. I'm going to be writing about how to establish, balance, and follow a budget for a family on a single income, as well as stories about all the crazy things that happen with me and my son at any given time.

I'm new to money management, so I'll probably make a lot of bad decisions at first, but hopefully I'll learn from them, and also be able to help others to learn from them.

Here are some of my personal goals:

1) Increase income to minimum $20,000/yr (currently less than half of that)
2) Save enough money to purchase my own vehicle without financing
3) Begin paying off all my defaulted loans and debt
4) Move out with enough money in savings for at least 2 months of bills.
5) Finish paying off all my defaulted loans and debt

My first two goals have a "due date" of December 31st, 2013. Obviously I cannot actually make 20,000 between now and then as I lack a bachelor's degree, but I can find a job that gives me the ability to make that much in a 12 month period. If I find that job, since I live with my parents, I can very easily save enough money to buy my own vehicle, which would open up my work availability so that I can make MORE money and start paying off my debt and saving money.