Family Portraits

A couple of weeks ago, the whole family got together and took our pictures. It is a family tradition and we had 2 new additions to our family. One of our cousins took the pictures so we were getting a good discount, about 46% off. I wish it was more but it's going to cost me $90.00. Yikes! I can't believe how much pictures can cost especially when we got a discount. It makes me want to become a photographer myself.

School Days

I think it is great that my daughter is back in school. She is so excited for the new school year. With her going into another grade means more things for her to do. She has signed up for cheerleading, and Girl Scouts. I am happy that my daughter wants to be active. I also didn't know how expensive things were going to get. She will need 2-3 uniforms for both these activities. I know that her cheer outfit is going to cost $60.00 and that includes everything but shoes. Girl Scouts have 1-2 outfits to choose from, and I don't know how much this is going to be. So, I have to budget for these things soon. I wish there was another way I can raise more money.

Donating Plasma

This morning the hubby and I decided that we are going to donate our plasma. We used to do this in california but I was unaware that they had a donation center here. It is such a good cause plus they compensate you for your time and donation. I will give you all details about our trip. Plasma donations help those who have trouble with their blood clotting. Plus they do alot of research to aid in looking for cures for diseases. I am happy to help, but I also like the comensation as well. You can earn $200.00 a month from donating. I think that's a nice treat. Look for a plasma center near you.

Grocery Trip 8/15

I had a wonderful time at the grocery store. I had told you all that I received $60.00 in free groceries from Kroger. Well, in the morning I made my first visit and picked up a few things that I had coupons and I was going to get some good deals. I proceeded to the check out and they bypassed by rewards. I was not very happy. I alerted the clerk right away and she told me to go to the service desk and they will refund me the money. Well, they did just that and my rewards still reflected $60.00. So, I basically got my stuff for free. The hubby wanted additional groceries later that day so I had to head back to Kroger. I had coupons again for what he wanted. This time the clerk asked me if I wanted to use my rewards and I said yes. No bypass. For some reason my coupons would not scan. The clerk took my coupons and gave me the cash difference plus the double coupons. So I received $16.00 back. Now, I am no theif and that is an error from the computers, I was told by the service desk. They gave me the okay and thanked me for my customer patronage. I feel really blessed. Yeah for computer error.

No Opps Yet

Since joining PPP, I still have not received any opps. I know I have a lot to work up to, since I just started blogging, but how long does it take? Does anyone have any recommendations? How can I get more exposure? Right now, I will be patient and work hard. I know that it's not simple.

More Responsibilities, Not Enough Reward

I was tacked on with more things to do at work. Like my life isn't filled with more. I got a little bit more upset and put my foot down and made it known. I don't get paid enough nor do I have the patience. I work very hard, and I know others do. I do more than what is expected, so I think that's why I get tacked on with so much. It can be a bit frustrating and I let my boss know. I told her it wasn't fair. She then countered with that I was a fabulous worker (of course that pads my ego), and I am well respected by my patients (again, I like that my patients like me too), and they know they can count on me (So why do I feel so overworked and under paid). I WANT MORE PERKS!!!

Big Score

Today, one of my coworkers gave me a couple of Kroger coupons. I thanked her for her genrosity and looked at one of them with wide eyes. It said earn $60.00 in Free Groceries. All I had to do was transfer my prescriptions to Krogers. I know that this is not a new thing to do, but the offer is the biggest that I have ever got. I immediately went to Kroger and they credited my Kroger Plus card. I have never been so excited. Fortunately, my prescriptions are covered by insurance (FREE), and then I got $60.00 in free groceries (again, FREE). Total spent today $0. I have now gone 2 days without spending any money. Yeah me.

I Wanted to Add

I just wanted to say that I didn't spend any money today. I am really proud of myself. I have no cash in my purse (on purpose). I didn't run any errands today, so that prevented me from spending anything. I was also too tired so that's a great excuse.

Exhausted

I am sooooo tired. My buddies from Iowa left today and I can't believe how many things we were able to do in such little time. I really hope they had a good time. What do you all do when out of town guests come to stay with you? How do you entertain?
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.

What a Weekend!

The reason I am barely writing about the weekend is because it ended officially this morning when I went back to work. I had a great weekend. Friends from Iowa came to visit and they are staying until tomorrow. So we had to take them to see everything. The only problem is that we only had $100 to spend. We ventured out first to do a cave tour. It was so much fun and very interesting. We watched how they made candles and soap too. We even mined for FOOL'S GOLD. The tour was expensive but I told my husband to flash his military I.D. and we got one ticket for free. The next day we had to cram 2 events. We took a trip to a bat museum and watched how they made baseball bats. We even received a free little bat at that (it rhymes). Unfortunately I was not around when the hubby was paying so he didn't flash his military I.D. After the tour we decided to get to the zoo before it closed. I was there when the hubby paid and we got another B1G1 free ticket in, plus I had a free coupon for a child's admission. We did pretty well. Our big downfall was gas and food. We crammed so much and I'm glad we did. I needed to see the sights too. Does anyone have any good mini vacation stories?

Veterans

As a former veteran, I try to support every decision that the military makes. We defend this country and make the U.S. and our allies safe from our enemies. I get very nostalgic about things that go on in the Dept of Defense. Veterans have some perks, a reward for the job they have done. Since my blog is about personal finance I decided to list some perks, that maybe some vets do not know about.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.

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.

Husband is getting on the Bandwagon

For a long time (almost three years) I have been the sole earner for our family of four. It has been a long time since I have been able to spend my money the way I want to. Things have been tight and also with prices increasing I had to shave our expenses tremendously. We had no room for fun money at all. Today, my husband told me he filled out his supervisor papers for part-time. That means he will be making double at his part time job. I was very pleased. It is only 5 hours a night so he decided to apply for another job. HE GOT HIRED! Unfortunately he will be working 14 hours a day (or shall I say night) we will finally get out of the debt hole we are in. I am so proud of my man for taking charge. Now I am trying to emphasize to him, that although we will gain money towards income we shouldn't be adding more debt. Since the news of the possibility of owning a home came about, the hubby is ready to kick this debt out of the way. I am very inspired about his motivation and now I will be able to share the expenses with somebody. He needs to follow the money rules and I am making him read Dave Ramsey's book. He is beginning to realize that we need to take some action and today is the day. Yippee!!!

Babysitting Blues

Since I am in the community play, I have to have a lot of rehearsals. We open our first show the first week of September. It is very exciting. My issue with this is that I have to spend money on a babysitter. My poor mother in law has the shingles so she is unavailable. Well to be neighborly I hired the assistance of my neighbor's daughter. She has experience babysitting and I needed her in a pinch. I asked her what a going rate a babysitter charges these days for two children? Since this was my first time enlisting the help of a teenager, I didn't know what the going rate was. Does anyone have any ideas. I joked around that she could not make more hourly than me :) Well I had to make the decision because she was indecisive. So I paid her $6.00 and hour for two kids. I thought that was pretty reasonable because she didn't have to feed them, just entertain them. She loves my kids and they are fun, sometimes rowdy. I ended up paying her $12.00 each night I had rehearsal. This week it ended up being $36.00. Yikes!!! I now have to readjust my budget to help me keep on track since this is an unexpected expense. Luckily I had the money. My question is, how much is reasonable? Did I pay too much, or too little. FYI minimum wage here is $7.15 so I think she did alright. I also think I may be overpaying her, but I could be wrong.