$hortcomings...

I'd like to think of myself as a relatively intelligent guy- I have a professional degree, I know how many chromosome pairs the normal human should be, and hell, I'm responsible for calculating the tab when I eat with coworkers (ok, this last one is b/c we're all unbelievably math-averse, with me being the one willing to enter digits in to a calculator.)

So it comes as no surprise that when that bravado is challenged, I naturally get defensive. So, generally, I try to be as honest with myself about all my shortcomings.

The one that I have a hard time owning up to, however? PERSONAL FINANCES.

I know it's lame, but I have all these romanticized notions of my maternal grandfather, who, as the accumulated stories would indicate, was reckless with money. As in would just spend on whatever. I think I try to emulate that sometimes, either subconsciously or otherwise, without realizing the following:
1. My saint of a grandmother was likely pulling her hair out and making sure that bills were paid and my mother and her siblings were clothed and fed.
2. He made considerably more than I do.

I also think that I grew up in an era where it was easy to leverage things like equity in your home and accumulate a lot of debt. I'm certainly not saying that this justifies or excuses my behavior, I'm just trying to pinpoint where my lack of financial acumen originates.

And with the help from people that are much more savvy with their finances, including someone who was able to buy a house in her twenties and still do awesome things, I've decided that for my future sanity I need to be more proactive.

Which leads me to my plug for the day:
Mint.com

Mint.com is a website that takes your financial information, including how and where you spend your money, and does it's best to budget for you, and make recommendations, including recommendations based on goals. It's totally free, and totally helpful for those that get weighed down in the details.

I've just started, and with the full knowledge that an "app" won't solve all my financial debts, I am excited to start to be better about moola, so that maybe someday I can appear to be reckless with money, and still have a comfortable amount stored away.