Living Paycheck to Paycheck No More

I Joined Another Earnings Site

noreply@blogger.com (Not Living Paycheck to Paycheck Anymore) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 03:24:00 +0000

Here I go joining another site. I like it, but I'm not sure how it works exactly. Anyone who knows how to work on SwagBucks let me know.

Easy Ad Bucks

noreply@blogger.com (Not Living Paycheck to Paycheck Anymore) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 03:35:00 +0000

I stumbled onto another Pay To Click website that I wanted to share with all of you. Try it out. I did! All you do is click on the links provided on the site and it opens another window. Stay on the site for 10 seconds and get paid. It's not that much but I sure think it's easy to do for seconds of your time. Happy clicking.

Last Post For Tonight

noreply@blogger.com (Not Living Paycheck to Paycheck Anymore) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 03:55:00 +0000

I mentioned my eventful day and all the things that I want (merchandise, merchandise). I am just reflecting that nothing would be possible without the gracious love of the Lord. I thank my buddy Jerrod for bringing me and the kiddos back to church. I pray for everyone right now still without power. If you look at the picture above I still don't understand how I have electricity, I really don't. But, I prayed, the kids prayed and God answered our prayers. I am pretty lucky these days. I don't have all the flashy merchandise but I'm content with what I have. I also like giving back to others, so today I went to Bliss House and dropped off a boat load of clothes, movies and nick-nacks for them. I thought about having a yard sale when the weather got better but it was senseless. There are so many people who are not as fortunate. My daughter got on board and cleared her closet and little Gaby picked out toys he didn't like (I think he will regret it tomorrow, he's too young to realize what he's doing). I hope this will help someone.

Dr. Collier

noreply@blogger.com (Not Living Paycheck to Paycheck Anymore) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 03:21:00 +0000

Many people are trying hard to follow their New Year's resolutions, some are having more trouble than others. As a member of the medical field I understand that some people have different genetic make-ups that make it hard to lose weight. Some have reached the end of the rope and find that there is no hope in sight. I stumbled on this doctor who can assist people with their weight loss programs. What I know about Lap-Band is that it is much safer than Gastric Bypass Surgery. There is hardly any large incision marks and long recovery period for this procedure. My brother is morbidly obese and he is considering Lap-Band. He has asthma and finds it very difficult to do strenuous exercise. Once he loses the weight he can start participating in aerobic exercise since he won't be so constricted by his weight.
Dr. Richard Collier is a Lap-Band surgical specialist, who provides the premier, comprehensive Lap-Band®, weight loss surgery program as the alternative to more invasive procedures such as Gastric Bypass Surgery in The Woodlands, Conroe, Houston, Kingwood, and Spring, Texas areas. His acclaimed weight loss program combines his well respected 31 year level of surgical experience with a highly-praised aftercare team program approach for patients following their surgery. For more information follow this link.conroe lap band

Much Accomplished

noreply@blogger.com (Not Living Paycheck to Paycheck Anymore) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 01:43:00 +0000

Today was a hectic day. I made a list of the things I set out to do. The first was to call my Student Loan holders because they keep calling me all the time. I knew something was terribly wrong. So I call and they tell me I haven't made a payment in 5 months. Well as bad as it seems they couldn't access my account because the wrong birthday was listed. Since it was wrong they couldn't give me any information over the phone. So for the past 5 months they have been reporting that I have been late for 5 months on my credit report. Tomorrow is a new day for me to get on the phone again with them so get this fixed. I then proceeded out in the snow and ice to get my coworker a birthday gift. Lucky for me I love this coworker as a sister and I didn't mind handing $5.00 for it. So I had $65.00 total to spend. I think I came out very well. My friend is a frugal person herself so she didn't ask for a whole lot. Most of the things I got her were from consignment shops, thrift stores, and the Goodwill. She will be so proud of me. This is no joke, she likes that type of stuff. I am currently reading Confessions of a Shopoholic. I feel like that most of the time. Although my plan is to save money the idea of spending said money is very alluring to me. Spending other people's money for this birthday felt invigorating.
Next on my list was to call the school that I am eventually going to attend. I have to make monthly payments for my classes so I do not pull another loan. This is very exciting. I can't wait to go back to school. I cooked and cleaned as always. Then I did my PTC sites, which was boring but still productive on my part. So now I am winding down on the money I spent today out of my own wallet. $200.00 went to the electricity bill. I hated handing that money over to them but we don't have a fireplace, so we have incurred 3 space heaters. My husband was too lazy to put up plastic sheeting to help insulate the house. (Let me side tack a little. The reason I am disgusted is because I work as well as take care of the children, plus, I cook, do the grocery shopping, go to school and participate in community theater. My husband does work 13 hours a day, but he has to do some type of work in the house instead of sleeping all day. I even take out the trash, do all the laundry, bathe my kiddos, cook, and prepare for the next day. So please excuse me if I call my husband lazy.) I'm thinking of going to the Amish Country and buy one of those heaters that heats the whole house, that would be nice. I finally ended up in Kroger's and bought a marinade for dinner, an onion, and a bell pepper. That total was $5.96. So my total spent today was $205.96. I don't think that is too bad except I know where to cut down. I need the heat for these kids, other than that, appliances are unplugged and unnecessary things are off. Phew! More to do tomorrow.

A Day Off Work

noreply@blogger.com (Not Living Paycheck to Paycheck Anymore) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:30:00 +0000

There's a lot for me to do on my day off but I have been lazy. I did make a list and created a monthly budget for February. But, I am still bored. So I started check out WAHM sites. I am not a stay at home mom but I would like to be. There are some cool sites that have a lot of useful information. I also started online shopping again. Since I'm trying to be frugal with my money I just browsed. I made another list of things that I want to buy. These are "wants", not necessarily "needs". Below I have listed a few of them and the reasons I think I want them.
1. A new laptop. This will give me the easy access I need to the internet when I am away from home. When I do community theater and have a lot of down-time I can flip my laptop open and do either school work, write an article, or surf the internet. I want one so bad because I find that the hubby likes to hoard the home computer to play his video games. Cost for said laptop $450.00.
2. A Wii game system. This is a total want just for the shear fact that it is fun to play and it gives me some family time with the kiddos. Plus I hear that they have a Wii fit board that shows you how to do yoga moves. Have you ever played a Wii. It's a great workout for your arm. The first time I ever played it, my arm was sore for two days. Cost for Wii system plus Wii Fit $350.00
3. lia sophia jewelry. Because of the icestorm I had to postpone my party. But by having a party I am earning free jewelry for all the friends that I invite and who purchase jewelry too. I am addicted to this stuff. Jewelry is like the icing of a new wardrobe and I want lots of frosting. Cost for jewelry FREE if enough people buy, but I plan on spending $60.00.
As you can see I really don't have a huge list. But if want these items I have to work hard to save a little bit more each payday. I think it's doable.

So Long

noreply@blogger.com (Not Living Paycheck to Paycheck Anymore) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 01:59:00 +0000

It has been so long since I have been on my blog because of all the ups and downs that life has thrown at me. I read that the last time I wrote on here was when we had a large windstorm. Now we are going through a major snow/icestorm. It's funny to see life come full circle again and again. I have been involved in many activities and haven't been very vigil about my budget but I have started again the 1st of the year since my electric bill was a whopping $300.00. It was a big slap in the face and I was so disgraced by the whole thing I had to start keeping myself accountable again. Luckily my husband has finally jumped on board to help me out. My job is stable in this crazy economy but not as fulfilling as it once was. My children are getting older and with that they have more needs (expenses). So now I am back on track and still saving for a house which has not left my mind yet. I started buying the Sunday paper again and sifting through deals. I'm going back to school and taking advantage of the time to myself. So much has happened and I'm glad they did.

Don't Take For Granted

noreply@blogger.com (Not Living Paycheck to Paycheck Anymore) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 01:17:00 +0000

I have been talking about this windstorm like it affected me so much. I was one of the lucky ones who didn't lose power but so many people around me did. People had to throw away good food because there was no way they could store them. It was a shame to see all that go to waste. At our morning meeting we talked about thankfulness. I am thankful that I was not affected but I pray for those who were. I do not have a budget to replace food. Most of the community lived in the dark. We depend on electricity so much we take for granted some of the good things in life. My co-worker commented on how the storm brought her family close. They played board games in candle light, they walked through the parks during the light hours. They talked to their neighbors. It was strange to talk to my neighbors who I thought didn't like me to find out they thought that I was a hermit *grin*. We talked about how much money they would be saving for not having a weeks worth of electricity. It was one of the most funniest conversations I ever had. We as a community got together and had cookouts for those who could not cook food. We stopped those who were going to McDonald's three times a day for a decent meal. Now with the power back on everyone went back to their NORMAL routines. But we do not forget how good we have it made.

Got Something New and Flashy, and it Rings Too

noreply@blogger.com (Not Living Paycheck to Paycheck Anymore) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 01:10:00 +0000

Cell phones have been a craze. They blink and flash, you type on them, you can take pictures with them. Some of the phones now let you watch movies on them. Sometimes I wonder if they are ever used for speaking to another individual on the other end of the line. I submitted myself to get a cell phone. I was very reluctant to do it but I got a plan that made it affordable. The only reason I got this phone was so that I can keep in contact with work when I traveled outside the office. Since the windstorm here, many of the surrounding cities were out of power. I was stuck in traffic and sat in a parking lot (the freeway) as I watched two accidents happen beside me and across from me. I had no way of contacting anyone and it scared me a bit. So I bit the bullet and got myself a flashy slide phone that takes pictures. I paid nothing for the phone (yeah) and I am keeping my bill under $40.00 a month. Which is pretty good. I still condone cell phones when people are driving. I wish they would get a blue tooth or other hands free device so they could could concentrate on driving. That is my opinion on cell phones. FYI the accidents on the freeway were caused by people who were on their cell phones and not paying attention to the craziness around them.

Still On Board

noreply@blogger.com (Not Living Paycheck to Paycheck Anymore) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 21:54:00 +0000

Do you ever have the feeling that you want to give up on a good idea? I did have that feeling but since left it in the back of my head. I was thinking of stopping this whole nonsense of living paycheck to paycheck and that I was doomed to never get out of the hole. Well that's not good thinking and I now have the giddy mindset of getting out of debt again. Today I received a letter from one of the credit bureaus that I had written to. I had written letters for them to delete some of the erroneous things from my past and guess what? They did and I'm happy, and even more motivated to keep on going. Ever since my purse was stolen I thought that the world ended. My tip to all who think of giving up, don't. It's too exhausting and not worth it.

Say A Prayer

noreply@blogger.com (Not Living Paycheck to Paycheck Anymore) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 03:03:00 +0000

We experienced a devastating event here. They are calling it Windstorm 2008. It was horrible, we watched trees snap while winds of 50-60 mph blew. It was crazy. I almost flew away literally. Signs on the McDonalds shattered, bricks were flying, it was mother nature on PMS. Hurricane Ike moved over us barely. Right now businesses are losing money with all the power outages here. People are without power about 150,000 are still without. I was fortunate. My big old tree in the front yard only shook a couple branches. Other people had their trees uprooted and into their homes. I want to say a prayer for all of the people whose homes are demolished. I pray for the business owner who cannot open their shop, and I pray for the people who cannot get into a hotel because the hotels power is out. We only got the blunt side of Hurricane Ike while people in Texas have lost a loved one or more. So far I have only heard of one death, a ten year old who was hit in the head by a large branch off a tree. I am so thankful that my family is safe and that we have electricity. Right now my place of work has no electricity. They are saying that it may be till Saturday. It is horrible. We depend on electricity so much. I walked into a Kroger who was being powered by generators. People rushing in to get a bag of ice to salvage their frozen goods, only to be turned away by store after store from the shortage of ice. Can you imagine. A prayer goes out to all the families who are suffering.

Where is the Money?

noreply@blogger.com (Not Living Paycheck to Paycheck Anymore) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 11:58:00 +0000

Since my husband started working two jobs, it has been an ordeal. He didn't get paid yet for his two weeks from his other job and now we are starting to fight over money. I don't want to but he needs to get on board here. We have acquired a new expense which is daycare. I'm not happy about that and I don't think that my son is either but my husband sleeps during the day and having a 2 year old run around the house aimlessly is not good. So we have added $100 weekly to our expenses. My hubby has promised one of his checks to pay down some of the bills and debt that we are in. So far I have not seen a penny. Although he did give me money for the groceries. With all the price gouges, I have to be extremely careful with what I buy. I won't gripe about gas although it is a pain in the neck not to think about it. I am wondering where the money is going. I have been away for 2 weeks buried in the little theater. It was a break for me. I hardly spent any money nor did I do any grocery shopping. We lived off of what was in the cupboards which was a great switch. Since my purse was stolen I have to start over in clipping my coupons AGAIN!!! I just wonder why this is happening. I am going to do a lot of praying. I know that this bad situation will somehow get better, but I have to let it go and put it in someone else's hands.

Not A Dull Moment, but A Serious Consequence

noreply@blogger.com (Not Living Paycheck to Paycheck Anymore) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 11:54:00 +0000

I'm back and ready to focus on what I set my eyes on. I was bummed a couple of days ago because my purse was stolen. It has been a nightmare. I have to get a new driver's license and my rent money was stolen. I was able to get my rent in on time with the help of a friend who loaned me the money. I have no family and having a good friend help you out in a pinch (more like a slap in your face) is a blessing. I was taught a very good lesson. Do not carry so much stuff you don't want anyone to take. I even lost my coupon stash. You would think I would be disheartened about losing my rent money but the time I spent clipping those coupons was more devastating in the long run. Now I have to start over and find my identity as well. Never a dull moment here.

Missing In Action

noreply@blogger.com (Not Living Paycheck to Paycheck Anymore) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 01:36:00 +0000

I wanted to let you all know that I have been away for a couple of weeks due to the play that I am in. I just wanted to say that it is a fabulous experience. I have met many new people and have made more friendships through this. I have practically lived in the theater for the past 2 weeks. My time was crunched and there was no worrying about money. Although it was in the back of my head. I am glad to be back and I will be on here more after this week is through. We have 3 more shows to run and then I have to get back to serious business. I miss blogging.

September Goals

noreply@blogger.com (Not Living Paycheck to Paycheck Anymore) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 03:14:00 +0000

I did very well on my August goals and completed most of them. I need a lot of work to do. The whole experience of trying to buy a house right now has left my mind. I received some great advice, and I plan to implement them slowly but surely. Here it goes, another month and more money to spend.

Use extra money to pay off 3-4 things off of my credit report. My husband is giving me one of his whole paychecks from his other job so I can pay down some debt. I have a few that need to go away, and fast. I'm tired of looking at it.
Give my daughter a weekly allowance for doing her chores. Only if she does it. She is so stubborn but I am trying to teach her that if she wants something she will have to start working for it, just a little bit.
Pull my credit report at the end of the month. Since I had to say good-bye to my dream home for now, I am curious to see what my credit report is saying. I am really ashamed that it is in the 500's.
Dispute with a few creditors. I love to tell these collection agencies that they're in the wrong. I remember that I did this one time and had 3 things removed from my credit report.
Go over a new budget with my husband. This is going to be a new thing for us. For years we had separate accounts because we don't trust each other with each others money. I think that's why we got into so much money trouble. We are making an effort. We combined our accounts and now are working towards a common goal.
Save for emergency fund. I added some more stuff on my side bar to show how much I am putting away and to what. I think it's a bunch of junk on the side but it's keeping me accountable.

Those are a few things that need to be done. It seems like it all revolves around credit, but I can't help it. I NEED a better credit rating.

Finally I Got It!

noreply@blogger.com (Not Living Paycheck to Paycheck Anymore) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 03:07:00 +0000

Since July I have been in total turmoil due to not getting my annual raise. It took some time and finally it came today. It wasn't what I expected but it was more than $.50 an hour. Am I complaining? Just a little bit. I also received my annual review and one of them was to get along with the dreaded coworker who drives me up the friggin wall. First of all I TOLERATE this girl even though she has more baggage than anyone checking into the Hilton. I don't condemn her nor do I tell her she's a *&%$#. I know how to seperate my personal feelings and my professional atmosphere, so having said that I thought it was very unfair that my boss knows me in a personal light and had the nerve to put that in my review. That is my personal opinion of the person and it shouldn't have been used against me.
Well I'm over it, I am okay with the raise and I plan to do with it as I said, put the extra money towards savings and paying off debt. I am still in the mindset and will keep pushing. I'm just glad that this doesn't have to loom over my head anymore.

Are There Any Lenders Out There???

noreply@blogger.com (Not Living Paycheck to Paycheck Anymore) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 23:39:00 +0000

Today we looked at the house that I had my heart set on. I was so excited and so were the kids. I know that this is the house I want. I sent out for a pre-approval loan a couple of days ago. I had not heard back from them. It is a beautiful maintained home. Something that my family can grow in. My realtor said that I should put an offer out there because it may get taken away from another person. So I did. It was $8500 below the asking price and guess what? The seller approved it. So I got more excited and giddy and then the lender called to tell me that my credit still is poor and they're sorry. SORRY!!! I have never been excited one minute and let down the next. My heart hurts right now that I cannot catch a break with these banks. I know that in the past I have been late on payments but I have paid most of it off. My credit is close but not cutting it. My realtor told me not to give up hope and we will find something we can afford. But we CAN afford this house is the problem, but my younger years screwed it all up. *Breathe* I still have hope and I have not given up. I am sure that there is someone out there who will loan me the money. I have been diligent on my debt repayment and am working my knuckles to the bone to know that I can afford this home. Anyone out there who can help me. I have bad credit I will not lie, but I have the money to afford this home. I will continue to have faith, believe that all things are acheivable.

Hubby is Happy, but Tired

noreply@blogger.com (Not Living Paycheck to Paycheck Anymore) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 01:31:00 +0000

I have a lot of respect for my husband. We don't have a lot of time to spend together now that he is working so much. It has been two weeks and he's very exhausted working 14 hours a day and then coming home and sleeping to turn back around and go back to work. He knows that this sacrafice is temporary until we can find something permanent that makes as much money. All in all my husband is happy. For two years he didn't work and I griped about this situation the whole time. Although I miss him, it's giving back his sense of purpose to his life. I think it's great and it's starting to strengthen our marriage. Does anyone have any stories on dual working families? Has it strained your marriage or are you having a good relationship? Let me know.

My Favorite Time of Year is Comin Near

noreply@blogger.com (Not Living Paycheck to Paycheck Anymore) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 01:03:00 +0000

I have mentioned before that I am trying really hard to start saving for Christmas Early. Black Friday is one of my favorite days to acheive Christmas bliss with my family because that is how you can grab the best deals on merchandise. For those of you who are not aware what Black Friday is, it is that day after Thanksgiving. I usually dote around the ads during Thanksgiving with the family and watch that paper travel everyone's hands. Sometimes I never see the paper again. I discover that this link black friday ads has a great opportunity for us shoppers who do not like getting up and waiting in long lines. They have a bunch of sales ads from Circuit City to Best Buy, Toys R Us and Kohl's. The best thing about this website is that you can purchase these sales on Thanksgiving Day. You don't have to stay in any line and you get those wonderful Black Friday discounts. Just get online and sit back. This is fabulous. I plan to use Kohl's Black Friday ads frequently. They also offer email alerts when new ads have been upsated on their site. What more can you ask?
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.

August Goals Revisited

noreply@blogger.com (Not Living Paycheck to Paycheck Anymore) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:07:00 +0000

We are winding down August and I decided to take a look at my goals for the month. To tell you the truth I forgot about them. Let's see how I did.

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?

noreply@blogger.com (Not Living Paycheck to Paycheck Anymore) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:03:00 +0000

I have been racking my brains on what I should make for dinner. I usually come home for lunch but I decided to do lunch with co-workers (spent $9.00, I am so ashamed). So I forgot that I had some vegetable beef soup in the refrigerator and I decided that we are doing leftovers tonight. Tomorrow is a busy day so we will have to get food on the go. There seems to be not enough time in the day to do everything I want to do. Errr!

Looking

noreply@blogger.com (Not Living Paycheck to Paycheck Anymore) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:00:00 +0000

Well my dreams are coming true all through the grace of God. I scheduled for a showing of the house that the hubby and I want to buy, on Saturday. I am really excited to see what house buying is all about. I have a friend who is also trying to buy a house but she has given up on that. I am trudging along. I have not heard from my loan officer in a while so I have to call her soon. I have to pay bills soon too. I have been so preoccupied with all this dreaming that I have let some of my responsibilities slide (bad Caren). I will let you know how it goes. I am trying to get a loan ASAP with my 600+ credit score. Cross your fingers and say a little prayer for me.

Dreaming

noreply@blogger.com (Not Living Paycheck to Paycheck Anymore) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 22:13:00 +0000

I have been daydreaming a lot today. I could not concentrate on work. Why am I so excited? My hubby started his two jobs, and got promoted and I'm excited because we can finally get rid of this debt looming over our heads. Then I started daydreaming about the house I want to buy and a realtor called me today to schedule for a little looksie. Things are looking better and not so bleak. I thank God for this and what he has created for our lives. Ahhhhhhhhhh!

ALL YOU

noreply@blogger.com (Not Living Paycheck to Paycheck Anymore) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 01:16:00 +0000

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!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Not Living Paycheck to Paycheck Anymore) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:27:00 +0000

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?