The race is on. Christmas is now less than four weeks away. Officially, we will be surviving on my income at the first of January. My office is getting smaller as my jobs continue to multiply. But the more I face, the more I am determined to overcome. 1.     Less is more this Christmas. We…
Growing up with a big brother can be tough – especially when you are a girl. I am 3 ½ years younger than my brother. That means when he was a senior, I was a freshman. To make matters more difficult, he ran around with several of the guys from the football team. Technically, I…
Patience for budgeting is what makes budgeting difficult for many. A budget simply requires making a list with numbers. Sticking to the budget requires patience, wisdom, and determination. Ic can be tough waiting for something we want. I wanted my husband to be it when I first went out with him, but it took us…
This morning I re-evaluated my budget. It wasn’t planned to happen until January (I review my budget once a quarter), but with the income situation taking such a shift, and with the finances falling squarely on my shoulder, I want to know EXACTLY what I’m facing. Many people would completely panic in my position. That’s…
My blog is still not paying my rent. It isn’t even buying me a pack of gum now and then. It is one year old, and there are days when I feel like a monetized blog is as much of a myth as Jack’s magic beans. The truth may not show in the dollar signs…
The public library is an amazing wealth of information – some of it even useful. On my quest to get out 7 queries (for a novel) by Monday, I made a trip to the library to check out Steven King’s On Writing. I came out of the library with a HUGE stack of books on…
Find reasons to be thankful. It’s time to give thanks. According to experts, people who focus on the things they are thankful for will live a longer life. Even if it’s not accurate, the truth is that when you focus on the good, positive, and uplifting you will live a better life! 10 Ways to…
The holidays will NOT overwhelm me this year. Money will not mysteriously float out the window. Time will not vanish at the blink of an eye. Everything will fit neatly into my plan and schedule (or else I’ll just ignore it until it goes away). Start today planning and preparing holiday goodies for friends and…
When trouble shows up, you may have to shift things around and develop a budget during a crisis specific to the moment. There is one way you are sure to never successfully overcome a problem and that is to try and ignore it. Even if you can bury it for a while, it will find…
Either I have completely lost my mind, or I have grown in ways even I didn’t know. My ten year old son and my eight year old son are cooking Thanksgiving Dinner (with some assistance from mom). The Plan Each of the boys will be responsible for two side dishes and one dessert – not…