Hi, and welcome to another edition of Money Shuffle (you can view the first edition if you’d like)! This time, in honor of the Labor Day holiday, all financial stories will be related to a work experience I’ve had.

As always, the rules are the same: set my iPod to shuffle and note the first 5 songs, regardless of how much I may actually like that song, then relate a financial story to that song’s title but not necessarily the subject matter.

Let’s get ready to shuffle!

Song #1: The Boys of Summer by the Ataris–this is actually a really good cover of the Don  Henley song. It reminds me of all my summer jobs as a camp counselor. I’ve worked at day camps and sleep-away camps and I loved each and every one of those jobs for various reasons. The pay was low (really low), the tips were good (really good) and the experiences were incredible.

Song #2: A-Hole by Bowling for Soup–easiest song to relate to work, hands down. I spent 3 years working for the most heartless, soulless bitch on Earth. She stole my ideas, plagiarized my work, and made me feel worthless and incompetent at every turn. The only good part of this job was the raise that came with it. Lesson learned here? I will never again compromise my self-respect for a paycheck.

Song #3: One for the Razorbacks by Green Day–talk about a song I had no idea was even on my iPod! This one hurt my brain as I’ve never had a job involving pigs or Arkansas. So I thought and thought and thought and I came up with…nothing. I’ve got nothing on this one. Deduct 100 Schrute bucks from my total.

Song #4: Burn It to the Ground by Nickelback–I know I may lose some point with a few of you for having a Nickelback song on my iPod but any song that has the phrase “batshit crazy” is OK with me. I’ve never worked in food service nor have I ever had a job that dealt at all with fire. However, I did spend one semester working at a Hollywood Video and I frequently wanted to set the place on fire. You know that scene in Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle where they’re at the drive thru and the worker starts screaming “Let’s burn this motherfucker down!” That’s how I felt during every single shift.

Song #5: Count on Me by Default–I absolutely love this song. It doesn’t necessarily remind me of a paying job that I have. It reminds me of my most important job–being a mom. Everything I do, every decision I make is for my daughter. I need be there for her no matter what because when everyone and everything else may seem like it’s failing her, she can count on me to help her through it.

That’s for playing this edition of Money Shuffle! I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I’ve enjoyed writing. And remember to spay and neuter your pets!

If you’re also playing Money Shuffle, post a comment or leave your link in the comments section.

One of my most favorite possessions is my iPod. I love the entertainment it provides and I relish in the escape I get from music. I appreciate all kinds of music (with my favorite being the overall rock genre), and my iPod reflects my eclectic taste.

I also am a regular listener of Preston and Steve (for those not in the Philly area, this means nothing but they are, hands down, the best morning show I have ever heard) and have been for about 10 years. They play an assorted amount of on-air games, one of which is…well, I don’t exactly remember the name of it but it involves their iPods and 5 songs. So I decided to play my version of this game. I’ve named it “Money Shuffle”.

The rules are simple. I set my iPod on shuffle and wrote down the first 5 songs (yes, the actual first 5 songs. I didn’t skip if I didn’t like the song) that came up. Then I thought of a financial situation that I was in that was related to the song title but not necessarily the subject matter of the song. And now, the results:

Song #1 “Where Were You” by Journey–This one gave me some trouble but I eventually realized that this applies to every time I lose a coupon that I planned to bring with me on a shopping trip. I have a terrible habit of misplacing coupons right before I need to use them. I will often find them a week later and think “where were you when I needed you?!”

Song #2 “I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack–The easiest one of the 5 as it was the song my husband and his mother danced to at our wedding. I was then prompted to think of the cost of a wedding, and how ridiculous people can get. Going into debt for a wedding is so not worth it!

Song #3 “Your House” by Jimmy Eat World–Buying my house was both the smartest and dumbest decision I have ever made. I love that I’m a homeowner and have learned so much about budgeting and how to afford to take care of a home as a result but I really wish I’d waited to purchase a home. Lesson learned from that scenario: never let your emotions dictate a major financial purchase.

Song #4 “On Fire” by Switchfoot–This song reminded me of the time I melted our kitchen floor and was fortunate enough not to actually set my house on fire. It speaks to the importance of not only kitchen safety but the importance of having insurance and a home repair fund because let me tell you that replacing that floor was not cheap.

Song #5 “Desperately” by Slaughter–Oh, how many situations does this apply to? Too many to count. But I’ll tell you about the time I was so desperate that my then-boyfriend (and now husband) were a day away from payday and were were literally down to nothing to eat in the house. Literally, nothing. We went on a virtual scavenger hunt for any sort of loose change we could find. No stone was left unturned (seriously, no stone. I think we even were looking on the ground). We finally collected enough and went to nearest grocery store with a CoinStar. We made about $20, even with the 8.5% fee that CoinStar takes. We bought a box of pasta, some sauce and English muffins for breakfast the next day. That cost about $5. What did we do with the rest? We went drinking! How’s that for priorities?

Well, that’s it for this edition of “Money Shuffle”.  Thanks for tuning in!