When life hands you lemons ...

 



...you make lemonade ice cream! Its been a week of brain freezes for sure. And in the end, I learned an important lesson that I sometimes forget.

I am horrible at saving money, Ill be the first to admit that. But now that I'm earning enough to be able to save, I've been trying to put money aside in case of an emergency. Ive never before made enough where I had leftover for savings. Since I moved here with basically a couch (I didn't have a bed, or other furniture - I mainly brought personal items and clothes), I spent a lot of money making my house a home - and I'm so glad I did! And yes, I treated myself to some fancy Kate Spade purses...and I'm not going to apologize for spending money on that. 

So last week I was thrilled when I had more money in my savings account than ever before! I was going to apply for a credit card. I had worked hard all year to get my finances in order - pay all my bills early, when able, and save some along the way. I had gotten denied the year before, but surely after a year of being a financially responsible adult, a credit card should be given to me. WRONG! I got denied again! I called the bank upset that I had once again not qualified for a credit card. The financial advisor directed me to a website where I could run my credit. He told me the score the website gave me was pretty bad and instructed me to scroll down the page to see where the problem was. As it turns out, I had debts that had gone to collections from as far as 7 years back...from right after I moved to the States! I got off the phone with the bank and just broke down crying. After working so hard for a year, I probably only ruined my score more since another year had gone by without me paying these debts I didn't even know I had. They totaled almost $2,000!!

When I first moved here and started paying bills here, I wasn't aware of the ramifications of not paying bills on time. It literally takes years to work this off, and get my credit score up to a decent number. I right away made a plan to pay off the debts I owe. The night I found out and next day, I paid off 5 of the 7 debts! It made me realize that I am so blessed and fortunate to be able to pay them. I could have easily been in the same position as last year where I didn't have enough to pay it back.

All my debts will be paid by June 15th and I will finally be able to restore my credit. I am feeling super lucky, that even though my bank account has been completely drained of my emergency savings, I was able to pay off as much as I did. I love when I find the positive in something...even though this one was a tough one :) Its hard to find the silver lining - but SO worth it!!

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
           

Im a broker

image taken from google

(disclaimer - some buttons on my keyboard are not functioning properly. Apologies for any spelling errors)

Feels weird to say that...I'm a broker. I was telling someone the other day, who asked what I did, that I was a broker. Lynne said, Isn't it so cool to tell people that? And it is...it sounds cool. But I also think that 75% of the people have no idea what I do (and up to 10 months ago...I didn't even know brokers existed). I figured it be fun to explain exactly what it is I do.

I work for a 3rd party logistics company - meaning we have no assets of our own (no trucks, truck drivers or containers). I have held 3 different positions since starting in July of 2014, the one I have now is my favorite. My title is Intermodal Representative/Broker (intermodal means multiple modes of transportation - a truck will pick up an empty intermodal container at the rail yard, drive to the shipper where he will be loaded with whatever product we are shipping, drive the loaded container back to the rail yard where it is placed on the train. Once it arrives at the final destination, another truck will take the full container to the consignee and unload the container). I have tried to explain this in an easy way, and say: I work with trains - but the girl I was telling this to, asked if I was the conductor...NO I don't actually get to operate the train :)

Here is what I do in a nutshell. My company is divided in operations and sales - I work in operations. The sales team will find a customer, say Target (we don't actually have Target as a customer), who needs to ship their products from their warehouse in North Carolina to Los Angeles for example. My team (the intermodal department consists of 2 other brokers and 2 coordinators) will reach out to large intermodal carrier, often via email or online, and get rates to see how expensive it would be to move Targets inventory from point A to point B. Once that's all done, and we have agreed on a price and won (often times there are more 3PLs fighting for the same customer or particular lane) we then have to make sure everything goes smooth and gets delivered ok.

I mainly spend my days quoting and solving problems (things go wrong with trains - shipments get delayed, containers accidentally get put on the wrong trains, and last but certainly not least - trains derail, which is really not good).

I never knew that this side of transportation existed and will never look at trains or trucks the same way ever again. Being a broker wasn't anywhere on my list of jobs I thought I would one day like to try considering Id never heard of it. Like any job, its not always fun - days are long and sometimes they get mundane. But I love my job - it has allowed me to feel like I am making it on my own, I'm able to do fun things, save and pay all my bills. I am so glad I kept working my butt off and trusted Him along the way. 

What do you do?