I am starting to get excited about what this bankruptcy means for me: an extra $600 or so that I can save, invest, and spend on myself. I’ve decided I am going to take my finances seriously. I’m going to build an emergency nest egg and and begin investing for retirement.

My financial to do list:

1. Change banks I hate my current bank, Wells Fargo, and want to fire them. Part of my hatred for Wells Fargo comes from the fact they charge me $6 a month for online bill pay when I know I can get that for free at other banks. Part of it has to do that they charged me a fortune in bounced check fees and I just want to be rid of them. Too many bad memories.

So I’m starting two new bank accounts this week: Washington Mutual with free checking and online bill pay and IDG, who pays more than 100 percent higher interest rates on savings accounts than most other banks. The Washington Mutual account will be where my direct deposits from the university will go. I’ll keep enough in there to pay bills, and the rest I will withdraw for cash and transfers to my IDG savings accounts.

2. Begin investing immediately: I scoured the internet looking for information about what a first-time investor should do to begin investing. I researched investment strategies and investment brokers. I live on a pretty limited income (only $1,500 a month from the university plus money from second jobs) so definately needed a discount broker.

I looked at quite a few reviews, and finally decided on Sharebuilder. With their $12 a month standard investment plan, they give me 6 buys a month–just $2 a trade. Plus, they will administer my Roth IRA for free. Sharebuilder really specializes in serving beginning investors who want the benefits of automatic investing and low costs. They make mass buys on Tuesdays, and won’t allow you to buy on any other days. This allows them to save a lot of money, and they pass it on to the customers.

3. Make a budget: Probably the hardest part, but still a necessary step.

This morning I went to my lawyer’s office to sign the papers. The forms totalled about 20 pages long. They asked for a complete inventory of my belongings and my debts, and my income. bankruptcy trustees can take your belongings if they think they are too valuable 9called non-exempt). Fortunately, when I inventoried my belongings, I realized I own next to nothing of value, so I won’t have to give anything up to go into bankruptcy.

Kathy, the paralegal who filled out my forms, was really nice. She asked me a few questions, then had me proof her forms. We finalized the forms and then explained my next steps. I’ll need to go to a creditors meeting and sign some more papers. The lawyer’s office will take care of all the details and keep my informed about what I need to do.

I signed the papers. I declared myself financially bankrupt. And I felt a little better.