November 11, 2014
Over the past couple years I’ve accumulated several different subscriptions to various magazines from family and friends, quite a few of them are business and financial magazines like Money, Fast Company, Entrepreneur, etc. Often at times it’s difficult to understand the topics written, having no past experience with really taking care of finances or planning for a stable future. Many words and abbreviations have complicated the entire article for me, with no one to turn to, or ask questions about what I’m reading. My parents tried to teach me about the importance of saving money, making investments and preparing for the future growing up, but of course I never listened, I thought I had all the time in the world to figure this stuff out and now I deeply regret it. Over time, reading through every magazine consistently slid under my cell door each month I began to grasp the lingo, abbreviations, company names, stocks and bonds and so much more became more familiar to me, each article became more interesting because I could better understand what was being talked about. Now better understanding finances and necessary preparations for my future has become just as important as my sobriety. Not only do I want to be able to live comfortably and maybe even acquire a few luxuries down the road, but more so I want to be able to leave behind something for my children. The last thing I ever want to do is pass from this earth with nothing left, or even worse, a debt. I’ll be 36 years of age when I’m released from prison, no money, no car, no nothing, only a debt full of bad credit and child support. You could say that it’s like I’m an 18 year old kid all over again, but I’m not. An 18 year old kid doesn’t have bad credit like I do, or years of unpaid child support. I have to come up with something amazing to find a success that will not only allow me to dig out of this pit of debt that I’ve created, but also prepare for my future. I don’t have as much time left as some kid starting out, I’m about fifteen years late and that is a very scary feeling. For quite some time now I’ve had a few good business ideas brewing in my head and the ideas get better as time goes by, but like any person trying to start a business it’s a gamble, a huge risk with one of two outcomes, success or failure. I have hope and faith that I’ll become successful, but like any business it takes money to get it off the ground. I have no idea how I’m going to be able to get a job as a felon that’s good enough to support myself and my family, make payments towards recovering from debt and save money at the same time. The thought of trying to accomplish this can be overwhelming at times. I just have to have faith that God will take care of me and show me the path to a better future for myself and my children.
Steven Dybvad
