Saturday, August 30, 2008
Are There Any Lenders Out There???
Friday, August 29, 2008
Hubby is Happy, but Tired
My Favorite Time of Year is Comin Near
Have you all started saving yet. Tomorrow my hubby and I plan to open up our Christmas account to get started early. I am truly excited. I can use some of the money I save and starting shopping at this website.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
August Goals Revisited
- Get my kids savings accounts opened. I am so proud of my daughter. She saved $6.00 to put towards her 1st deposit. I promise I am going tomorrow and getting this done. Plus my husband and I are combining accounts as well.
- HAVE A YARD SALE! I have been fuming on this for a month and I hope to get this done. It will do so much for me financially because I can get rid of 2 storage bills which are ridiculous. If I think of how much I spent it would be $2000 in storage fees for 2 years. That's stupid. Still working on it, I can't stand that I haven't done one thing on this yet.
- Get my raise and put it in savings. Supposedly I will get my raise in August. I have my fingers crossed on this one. If I put my raise in savings I won't miss it because I will live on what I'm being paid right now. Good idea? On our meeting Tuesday we were told that we will be having our evaluations and know if we are getting our raise. Our raise will be on our next paycheck. Cross your fingers, this will determine whether I quit or not.
- Pay double on my car and change the due date. This is a big one because the mail system is working against me. I will mail my car payment 3 days in advance and because it gets there one day after the due date I am slapped with a 30 day late payment on my credit report. This ticked me off because I was one day late and I sent it off early but the envelope didn't get to the office by close of business. I think they never opened the stinking envelope. I am fighting this big time. DONE!!! I did something.
- Stock up on groceries. I need to have the necessities and plan meals. My kids are still eating me out of house and home but if our meals are structured I can save money, and give them a healthy meal. Half done. I stocked up on cereals (my family is big on breakfast food) I just need to fill my freezer with meats and buy a few side items.
- Quit smoking. This is my vice. I smoke when I am stressed out and when I have a cocktail. These days I've been soooooo stressed out about finances. I just did an analysis and I spend $123.60 a month on cigarettes ( if I smoke a pack a day). That's crazy, not healthy, and again stupid. Quitting sounds great and my insurance will pay for the smoking cessation prescriptions (they average $150.00 with no insurance). I got a prescription for Chantix and I put my quit date the beginning of the month.
- Be a part of Pay Per Post. I had to wait one long month to reapply for Pay Per Post. I want to be a part of the IZEA team and I have been very patient. Hopefully they approve my blog this time. I am part of Pay Per Post but I still had no opps for the whole month. I have no Google score so that prevents me from doing anything!!! I still don't get what an Alexa score is so I hope someone can help me.
So far I am doing okay. I will more goals for next month, I like making realistic goals. That way I know that something will come out of it.
What Am I Going to Cook?
Looking
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Dreaming
Monday, August 25, 2008
ALL YOU
I have to rave about this magazine. It is so good. It is written by women who are going through everyday dealings from kids, to work, play, and relaxation. The best thing that they started to put in their magazines are a bunch of coupons. My coworker's son is having a fundraiser and a subscription for 14 months is going to cost me $12.00. I thought that was a good deal. In stands they are $1.97 which is a good deal too if you are not willing to get a subscription. Some of the women in her are mothers too, and they write tips on how-to do household cleaning, find a dress that fits you and great budget friendly recipes. I thought I would share what I read.
Little Girls Can Be EXPENSIVE!!!
When I was a little girl, my mother worked all the time. My friends were into their activities like piano lessons, dance, temple (I grew up with a lot of Japanese-Americans), or baseball. I wanted to join a team, but my mother either had no time or money (she had money, she decided to do other things with it). So I swore that when I had a daughter I would give her some of the opportunities that I wasn't lucky enough to get. I want to boraden her horizons sort of speak. When my daughter was only 4 months old I put her in pageants. She won most of the time but I saw mothers out there get psycho over the dress. They spent thousands of dollars on a dress and all my baby wore was a cute white dress. I quit putting her in pageants because I didn't want her to become a Jon Bonet Ramsey. Since that my girl has not done much of anything. She didn't want to join the soccer league at the YMCA because she frankly didn't like the sport. She did dance for a year and lost interest after her second competition. It snowed when they had softball signups last year so she didn't join that. This year she has decided to join cheerleading, and Girl Scouts. We will see about this. I hope that she will find her nitch. But she has no idea how much classes, dues, and outfits cost. I am so excited about Girl Scouts, but I am also happy that her uniform is not so expensive as I thought. She only has to buy a sash for her badges and that's $5.00. Her dues are $3.00 every other week. Don't forget the cookies I'm going to buy (I am a sucker for Girl Scout cookies). Cheerleading cost me $60.00 this year, which is okay. Her uniform is all provided and all I have to spend is gas to get her to the games. I am very proud of my little girl but I am dreading the teenage years when she's going to want new outfits, and a CAR!!! I am saving now and hopefully this weekend we can open her bank account as promised. Little girls are expensive, just think about it?
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Developing a Meal Menu
Organizing the Closet
I am really embarassed about my closet. It is a complete mess. The deal is to get this organized today and also do my other household chores like laundry. I have been putting it off for a while now. I am trying to stay motivated because I cannot believe how messy things are. My house is very disorganized because my little two year knows how to open doors, closets, anything... he also likes to climb every single thing from couches, chairs, and counters oh my. My assignment today is to somehow get this place in order. This little project of mine will allow me to see the things I use and don't use. I can start getting rid of more "stuff".
Saturday, August 23, 2008
First Time Home Buyers Seminar
Friday, August 22, 2008
I'm Glad I Know People
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Staying On a Path
- Spend $40-$70 in groceries a week. I am trying really hard to get this down weekly but my children love to eat. I have started obtaining coupons and using them on great deals. Sometimes I come up short and stray from my grocery list but I'm getting better each time. One day I hope to only spend this amount of money monthly.
- Stop buying coffee every morning. I calculated how much I spend weekly on coffee if I continued to buy it. $23 a week/$92 a month. This was hard to swallow. I brew my own and now save bunches. That's crazy to think I used to spend that much.
- Stocking up on beauty items/cleaning items. I have been to the dollar store a lot and they have some things that I use daily for such a minimal price. This saves me $40 every two months.
- Reading personal finance blogs. This is the best thing I can do. All the writers are human and have made mistakes. They too are making a difference in their situation. I think we are doing what we do for the good of our pocket books.
These are a few things, I have a few more and a ton more I need to work on. Join me in my journey and we'll have fun keeping each other accountable.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Loyalty
You Gotta Give In, Just A Little
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Good Day
Payday 8/19
Monday, August 18, 2008
We Wish For Things We Can't Have
- Have a yard sale. I have till the end of the month to do this. If my hubby does not help me get the crap out of storage I am going to make him stay in storage. There is no reason I should have 2 storage units and pay out of my behind. Savings for the month $200.00 in rental fees.
- Donate plasma 1-2 times a week. They pay $40.00 for your first donation and $25.00 for consecutive visits. Earnings for the month $100.00 realistically.
- Turn off the air conditioner. This is a money sucker. I don't get hot unless I go outside. My house is pretty insulated and I am not fat, so I can't hide from the elements. Savings for the month $30.00
- Get my son potty trained. The little booger is soooo stubborn. This may take awhile but I am done with diapers, pee and poop. Yuck. Savings for the month $50.00.
- Continue to blog when things are bad. I like to let my feelings out, having them pent up for so long makes me sick.
- Implement the law of attraction. I have read The Secret twice. I want to attract money so I am allowing it to come to me TODAY!!!
Why am I so obsessed with money right now? Well my hubby took one whole week off and I did not know he was not going to get paid for the week. So now I have to play catch up all over again. It upsets me terribly that he took vacation without pay. This is one big mistake to learn from. I remember having my second child and instead of recuperating from a C-section I was back to work in 2 weeks because we would have no income at all. It sucked and now I have that sick feeling in my stomach again.
Communication is important in a relationship. Make sure that when you have a plan EVERYONE is involved.
Yeah Walgreens
Family Portraits
School Days
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Donating Plasma
Grocery Trip 8/15
Thursday, August 14, 2008
No Opps Yet
More Responsibilities, Not Enough Reward
Big Score
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
I Wanted to Add
Exhausted
Work was a big bummer today. I am a big control freak and I have to be aware of what is going on in my departments all the time. I have a coworker who is pregnant and she wants to leave us ASAP. I am trying to encourage her to hang in there. I've been pregnant before and have had gumption to try and leave and be a stay at home mom, but I couldn't. Others can do it, but I am an extremist when it comes to my work. I love my children, but I work to provide them with what they want. If I didn't work it would be disaster.
With that said, she made me think of my situation at work. I wonder if I am going anywhere with it. I am well respected and knowledgeable in what I do, but I wonder if that is enough to advance in my field. I don't know, I am confused.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
What a Weekend!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Veterans
- Use your Montgomery GI Bill. For those of you who contributed to the GI Bill, you have a wonderful opportunity to go to school and have the GI Bill pay for you to go to school. Full-time students now receive up to $1321.00 a month as of August 1st, 2008. Another way to optimize this benefit is if you served after 9/11. The VA has given an extension to service members up to 2 more years of benefits. Every year the amounts go up. Make sure you sign up.
- VA Home Loans. For those who have fair credit, you may use your VA home loan that covers up to $450,000.00. This is great if you are looking for a home and want to use this benefit. You do not have to put money down and the rates are great.
- Going to theme parks, get a discount. It is great to know that most theme parks recognize the hard work of a service member. Disneyland and others have given free tickets to families to go to their parks. This weekend we went to go look at some caves. I asked the tour guide if they gave discounts to vets and they said YES. We saved on the price of one ticket.
Those are some things that I have utilized in my life that some veterans forget they have. I remember that when I enlisted the recruiter painted this fancy picture and you know what, you can see this picture if you go after what is due you. I believe that the men and women who serve for our country should get more for laying their life on the line for our well being. So to all of the Veterans, I commend you for a job well done.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
The House
I hope the picture turns out okay. So here it is, the house that I plan to purchase. With housing rates lowering I am getting my hot little hands into some real estate. My hubby is helping me every step of the way and we intend to move right away if everything goes well. I am so excited and even more pumped for all the people who thought that they were living paycheck to paycheck could not acheive this dream. It takes a lot of work to get to your goals. For motivation realize that you should never give up. This is the home I want to grow old in, and have my children grow up in. I will give more insight on the whole process as a first time home buyer.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Husband is getting on the Bandwagon
Babysitting Blues
Thursday, August 7, 2008
It's Never Too Early For Christmas
Work
I have been working Saturdays for the past 6 months to increase my income a little. She knows why I do, but she stepped in and asked to work my Saturday. Since this is a great opportunity for people to be trained and not all the same people are working Saturdays, my boss thought it was a good idea. I have never been so angry. I am not financially set for this. I am at a great disadvantage because I will be losing some overtime. She won't because she leaves early all the time. What can I do to not be so mad? She knows my situation and is really looking to outshine me. Am I jealous? No, but I need this job more than she does. I won't get into details but she can do without a job. Urggggghhhhhhhh!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Credit, the Poor Score
Good News
Right now I am not eligible for anything big as far as opportunities, but I have all the patience in the world. Does anyone have a good story as a newbie? Any tips on how to go further?