What is my excuse?

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go. In these simple words, Dr Seuss summed up my weekend.

I will read. I will learn. And I will find a new place to go.

A holiday weekend is normally filled with shopping (oh, the sales!) and hanging out with friends. While the friends are still in the plans for me, I am taking a vacation from shopping. First of all, I dont actually need anything....except potting soil but thats another story. What I need to do is learn. Learn why finances scare the hell out me. Understand the basic language of money. Discover simple things that I can do daily to get me to a better place financially, for myself and my family.

And so, on a trip to Borders, I picked up a book, Make Money, Not Excuses: Wake Up, Take Charge, and Overcome Your Financial Fears Forever by Jean Chatzky.

C.S. Lewis once said "We read to know that we are not alone". And that is exactly what I am learning lately. I am not alone in messy finances. I am not the only late-20s woman who has no clue how to handle rising gas prices when the salary stays the same. And I am definitely not alone in my struggle to maintain a family budget while staying somewhat independent.

I wonder what I will learn this weekend.