Jana at Daily Money Shot invented a game that I absolutely love - Money Shuffle. Here’s what she says about how to play:

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.

You guys have no idea how much I’m in love with this game! Here are my five songs, along with the financial stories I thought of when I heard them:

“Cherry Pie” (Warrant) - Naturally this song makes me think of food. Specifically, I thought of the time I met a friend from college at Applebee’s and my credit card was declined. She and her husband were living on one income, WAY less than my ex and I made at the time, and I was completely humiliated to have to ask her to pay for my food. I was supposed to pay her back the next time we went out to eat, but there never was a next time. Probably because she was scared she’d have to pay again. Sorry, Kathleen!

“If We Ever Meet Again” (Timberland w/ Katy Perry) - This song makes me think about the lamps I desperately wanted from Crate and Barrel (read more of the story in my guest post at Daily Money Shot), only to find that they’ve been discontinued. I’m sure I could find other lamps, but I’m pretty sure I would buy them if I could find them anywhere. It’s definitely not for lack of trying!

“Don’t Bring Me Down” (ELO) - Wow, I couldn’t have shuffled to a more finance-related song if I tried! I relate this song title to my credit card balances, which I finally paid down to ZERO in July. Maybe I’m a lunatic, but I can picture my cards dancing around (a la the chickens in the Sledgehammer video from the 80s) begging me not to pay them off. Yes, I know. This song also makes me think of some of my friends who spend like crazy and try to get me to spend with them - leave me alone, I’m trying to get out of debt here!

“We R Who We R” (Kesha) - This song makes me think of my fear and trepidation when I started blogging about my finances. (I posted more about this in my Yakezie member post.) Basically, I’m no finance expert. I do stupid things. And that’s just me. There’s no point trying to act like I never make mistakes - I make plenty of them, and if people want to read posts from someone who knows more about money, I completely understand. But if they want tons of ideas about what NOT to do, they can hang out right here with me.

“Ms. New Booty” (Bubba Sparxxx w/ Ying Yang Twins) - Okay, I’m totally embarrassed to admit that I have this song on my iPod. Did it really have to show up right now of all times? I also have no idea what money story I could tell that relates to it in any way…. Ummm….. Yeah, I have no idea. I can’t even BS my way through this one. A gold star to anyone who can tell a money story related to this song!

So there are my first five songs for Money Shuffle. Thanks again to Jana at Daily Money Shot for coming up with this idea. Anyone else want to play?