It's Never Too Early For Christmas

I talked to my new mother in law that I love very much. She told me that she is done Christmas shopping. My jaw dropped and I asked how she could be, and her reply was, "I started shopping the day after Christmas." This woman is amazing. She has shopped for 18 people in the family. She bought clothes on clearance, toys for rock bottom prices. Everywhere she went she found a sale. I thought to myself that there are only a few months until Christmas and I don't want to panic scrounging up change to buy trinkets for the family. So I decided to put $25 each payday away for my Christmas Fund. I am so excited. With 4 and 1/2 months left I would be saving $250.00. I think this is an awesome start. I will usually include my Christmas bonus and I should have a budget of $500.00 for shopping. I just have to start making a list of who I have to buy for, figure out sizes and look for the bargains, just like my MIL (Mother In Law). I thank her for motivating me. This is going to be great and I'll let you all know what I find.

Work

I still didn't recieve my raise yet, and no word. I wonder if there is light at the end of the tunnel. To make matters worse, we hired a new girl. I am VERY open to new staff but this girl rubs me the wrong way. She had experience, which is a plus but her demeanor drives me mad. I am a big threat to her, but she is already stepping over toes, making recommendations on things she knows nothing about. She even had the nerve to tell how something was done when I have been doing it for years. It took a lot for me not to back hand her because I am not that type of person. She has made many mistakes and I tactfully put her in her place. She does not get reprimanded for being late to work. She gets time off for appointments, leaves early when she can even thought there's work to do (she does this everyday), doesn't ask anyone else if they need help, and she's been late about four times in a two month time frame. We ended up letting a coworker go who had the same experience but was tardy to work all the time. So, now she is becoming the same way with a know it all attitude. I know we need the help around work, I get that, but why should she get away with it. I think that's why I'm heated.
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!

Credit, the Poor Score

My journey to look for a home is getting exciting. I have learned that I no longer have a poor score, but a FAIR score. Some things I have done is pay off some of the small debts I incured. Some websites on credit say not to settle for an amount and pay it off because it may damage your credit report even more. I think within due time since the balance is $0 instead of the previous amount, it shows that you are trying to better your scores. I don't know for sure, but it seems to be working for me. Are some of you out there having a hard time with your credit report? You're not alone.

Good News

I am so ecstatic right now. I waited 30 long days and nights to be part of the Pay Per Post family. Today I went into my inbox and saw about 26 meassages. Half of the emails were junk and I start clicking the delete button instantly until I read, 'YOUR BLOG HAS BEEN APPROVED'. I think that this is a wonderful opportunity. I plan to get a little bit better and join IZEA fest next year.
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?

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

It's my 30th birthday. No big deal, just another day. The office staff and I celebrated with cake (my favorite, yellow cake with chocolate frosting), and I got some cool gifts. I got a coupon organizer (they know me so well) 4 blouses, a pair of socks, wall hangings, the slide I wanted from Lia Sophia, and a $6.00 gift certificate to the nearby coffee house. They did good because they knew I needed some new clothes, I was saving for the slide, and I've stayed away from the coffee house for 3 months and brew my own coffee. I am very grateful. I have no other plans because my birthday falls on a Tuesday and there's not much to do since the hubby has to go to work and I have play rehearsals. I love my coworkers. They did a good job. Other than the mishap at Walgreens, I had a good birthday.

So Mad

I was all geared up for shopping at Walgreens. I was geared up with my coupons and made a list of the things that I wanted. I did participate in the register rewards that they had for Kelloggs. I could rip the cashier in half. There is an asterisk in the ad that claims one register reward per promotion. I did that, but I participated in 3 different ones. So I get one register reward for $5.00 off my next purchase. I got the manager right away. He then proceeded to get huffy... he never said a word, handed me the other two rewards and walked away. He nor the cashier apologized for how they behaved. I was not trying to cheat them out of merchandise. They promoted it in their ads so why get so huffy puffy? This Walgreens gives me grief when I go in the afternoon. I vow to go only in the wee mornings because they are much cheerier. One time they had a BOGO on shampoo. I had a coupon for BOGO on the same item. Now am I wrong. If the promo was not BOGO I can still BOGO with my coupon. Well they told me to keep my coupon, I had a good deal already. Technically the items would be free. Can someone enlighten me? How is this done?

Waiting For the Love

I am a couple of days away when I can apply for Pay Per Post again. I am so excited. I have read many good things and what I want to know is how do people qualify for opps. This is something that I don't understand. I am a member of social spark too but most of my opps really don't appeal to me or pay me. I have met a lot of other bloggers so that is a plus. I wonder how long I have to hang in there to get opps that pay me? Hmmmm.

House Project

I had mentioned before that my credit score is in bad shape. Well, I pulled it and it isn't as bad as I thought. I am in works right now with a loan officer to help me prepare in owning my first home. This is a big step and I'm not jumping into anything yet. I am fixing my problems slowly but surely. It feels good to know that I am able to do this. I have a few things to dispute on my credit report so I will have to hang tight, but this is a step in a good direction. I went from being all the way to the bottom to floating to my neck. I can breath for air just a little bit more.

Researching

I have told you all that I am in the medical field. As I am exploring my options on secretly job searching I am also researching going back to school. I know Dave would disapprove me getting another loan that will add to my debt, but hear me out. I have been researching becoming a Medical Transcriptionist. Some have done it from home and that's what I would like to some day finally accomplish. Right now, I am looking for a school that won't take me that long to finish and that is online (I want to save on gas). Since I am on the computer so much I thought maybe I could do something substantial. You may not know this about me but I like to try things. I like to get my hands on good offers, good deals, and adding more to my accomplishments. During my whole research I learned that my GI Bill will help me pay for the school I have chosen, up to $1100 a month, so therefore, I do not need a student loan. SCORE! This is very exciting because I am taking advantage of my benefits and it's like going to school for free. The only thing I have to give up is my time. There isn't much time to sit on my fanny and wait. I am going to take advantage of this opportunity and hopefully hold another job for my efforts. I am really excited. Any medical transcriptionists out there? How did you go about getting a job at home?

Stockpiling

There was a time in my life when I used to stockpile the foods I bought. Since I am on a mission on coupon clipping, and saving on our food budget, I thought it would be a good idea to start my stockpile again. I used to play http://www.thegrocerygame.com/ but I didn't feel like paying the fees. I also use http://www.couponmom.com/ which is fabulous because she doesn't charge a fee. You can look up their forums and get in on the coupon craze. I have a small stockpile of paper towels and Pantene Shampoo/Conditioner (I am picky about my shampoo because I have eczema on my scalp, plus my hair is almost down to my butt). Anyhow I plan on taking a trip to the grocery store on Wednesday and I'll post what I was able to do. Payday is Tuesday and I am doing a final draft of my budget tonight. I am still motivated to get myself out of the hump that I'm in. Hope you all are doing well on your quest.

Great Time Last Night

The local church next door to my daughter's school, had a back to school event for the children. It was such a wonderful gesture and it makes me love the community I live in even more. The kids got to enjoy snow cones, popcorn, hot dogs, drinks, games, face painting. The law enforcement even came by to do free finger printing I.D's for the children. My daughter even received a backpack full of school supplies, colored pencils, scissors, crayons, rulers, notebooks... the whole thing was free. All of it. The church got together to bring the kids in our community all this free stuff. I cannot rave more about how wonderful everyone has been. I wish all communities could be so open. They are taking care of the children. I just thought I would share. I know that I never had any of this treatment growing up in California (no offense California).

Early Sunday Morning

I woke up very excited this morning. I had a dream about the Sunday paper and what good coupons they have inside. Isn't that hilarious! I am waiting anxiously for the rest of the family to get up so we can go get a Sunday paper ASAP. I have already looked online at the circulars and sales for the main stores I shop at. Right now I am trying to make a menu and a list of what I will need. Whoever told me to make lists is really great. They make life a little bit easier.

Exploring a New Career

I love my job, I really do. Here's the but... I don't get paid enough. I live in Indiana which I know the cost of living is much lower than when I lived in California by all means. I finally make as much money as I did four years ago. This is a tragic story. Although I love my job and some of the benefits are nice (get time off when you absolutely have to, paid vacation, and free medical attention) I find myself looking for more. I have a military background so I started searching for government jobs. I found a job that I was well qualified for and guess what, it pays 6 times what I am making now. It is a desk job, something I thought I would not like, but the pay is so fabulous, and so are the benefits. I currently work in the medical field. I did not finish my nursing degree (I have 2 more years to go but I had an unexpected pregnancy). I decided to give more of my time to my family but it is my family who I need to make this career change for. I love medicine, I love what I do but right now it is not paying my bills. I am worth a lot more and if I am highly qualified I will take this job. I hate to do it, but I can't deny myself the best things in life.

Gotta Sell!!!

I have been browsing on Ebay. I felt like I was window shopping. What I was actually doing was research what people were selling on there. I was quite surprised what people were bidding on. One good idea that I saw for sale was coupons. How many times have we clipped coupons to save on our food bill? Now on Ebay people are selling their coupons before they expire and others are bidding on them. I got a bit excited at the whole concept. I think I can give it a shot. I have many coupons. Most of them that are expired I send overseas to our soldiers and their families. So, if you have coupons you clip but never use them, maybe selling them on Ebay would be a good idea too.