Shopping with a cop is weird

My new friend is a police officer. It's really weird walking around with him when he's in uniform. The first thing people think is that I'm being arrested or something. Yesterday he had on one of those Galco Holsters with his gun in it and we're walking around the mall looking for shoes. I think people thought that I was shoplifting. You should have seen the stares that I was getting.

I told him next time we're getting his stuff online. Whether it's for work or his regular clothes. But I'm not going shopping with him in uniform any more.

I don't blog just for money

I just realize that my last post sounds like all I care about is money. Nothing can be farther from the truth. I started blogging before I knew that I could get paid for it. Now I blog because it's fun. Making money is just a side benefit.

Like I said in my last post, I don't depend on the money but it's nice to have. If I couldn't make diddly-squat I would still blog. I like voicing my opinion and just talking about my day in general.

My cousin is about to get a large settlement

And I hope he invests the money properly. He had an accident in a store when a shelf fell on him. The store refused to even pay his medical bills so he sued them. He has great lawyers like you would find from a Austin Personal Injury Lawyer. They handle cases like serious injuries, slips and falls, and other business lawsuit litigation's.

He was lucky that his wife has good medical coverage or he would have been in serious trouble. Like I said, I hope he invests his money wisely. With that much coming in it would be a shame to just waste the money and not put it to good use.

I need to make more money from my blogs

I won't be depending on the money but it's good to make more. My blogs don't get enough traffic to really make a ton of money but I'm trying to change that. I would be happy with a Adsense check or two. But my ads are weird on my other blogs so my hits don't count. That means I need more visitors to my other blogs.

I'll be posting like crazy within the next two weeks trying to get new readers.

I need to change my cell phone plan

I have a text messaging plan on my cell phone. I don't text nearly as much as I used to. The plan calls for unlimited texts but I don't even text 20 times per month now. That's only $1.00 or $2.00 instead of $10.00 per month.

It doesn't make sense to pay money for a service that I'm not using. I may as well put that money to better use.

Cutting business expenses

I have a small business at home. I'm able to deduct some things but not a lot since my business is such a small part of my home space. One way I can cut costs is by switching my phone service to VoIP phone systems. I can get unlimited calling within the US and free dialing to any other Nimbus VoIP phone in the world. Most of my customers are local but I do have some in other states.

I can also re-route my calls and manage my voicemail from anywhere there's a broadband connection. That means I can check everything even while on vacation. Hey what's a couple hours every few days. I can check-in then have a pina-colada.

Now I'm ready for a vacation.

I did pay for school on time

Last month I missed my deadline but I was able to get the late fee waived. The schools website was having problems accepting payments. Even though that didn't affect me, I was able to have my fee waived because it could have potentially affected me.

Now I make my payments before 3pm on their due date. I only have 1 payment to go for this semester. Then I have to start saving like crazy to pay for next semester.

Stocks made a come-back today

I know a lot of people are glad. Stocks made a rally and finished higher for the first time this week. I'm glad to hear it but in a way I'm sad. I'm sad because I wish I had more money to invest in the stock market while prices were so low. This is the perfect time to invest. Once those prices go back up, you make a ton of money.

Sigh, I guess it's just not my time. Not yet anyway.

Who knew that online schools are really respected

Most people always talk about online schools like they're some sort of pariah. You would think they were the worse thing going. One of my coworkers went to a accredited online university and now she's a law school student. And not at some second rate law school either. She attends one of the most prestigious schools in the city.

Capella is one of universities. There are over 109 graduate and undergraduate specializations and 15 certificate programs. The online university currently serves more than 23,400 students from all 50 states and 45 other countries. So you can rest assured that if you attend one of these online universities, your degree will be recognized by potential employers and graduate programs alike.

The best part is that most jobs will cover these classes under their tuition reimbursement programs.

This blog post is based on information provided by Blogitive.

My other blog is driving me insane

I can't do anything on it. I can't save anything and I can't post anything either. I had some old posts scheduled to post today. Those posts are ok. Now it won't let me save or do anything new. It's been like this all day.

I can't believe this. This is really super annoying.

Extra money for me is a myth

I said I would buy sports tickets with my extra money. That's funny to me because I don't have any extra money. Paying for school is sucking every last dollar out of me. I'll be glad when I'm done with school so I don't have to kick out the money anymore.

Spending that extra money

If I have extra money from food or utilities, it goes into my slush fund. Once the slush fund reaches a certain amount, I use the money for something that I want but wouldn't ordinarily buy. Something like Miami Heat tickets or Yankees tickets. Tickets to the games are so expensive that I can't afford to go. But when I do decide to go, I want good seats for all of the money that I'm paying. So I go online to a premium ticket broker and get excellent seats. I figure if I'm going to dish out the money, I may as well have a good seat.

I can get tickets to sports events, Vegas shows or even to the theater. I buy almost everything online. You get a much better selection than going to a regular ticket office. Who really wants to pay all of that money and sit in peanut heaven? I sure don't and if you want good seats, get online and get them now.

Going over on the grocery budget

Since I bought all of that extra food this week, I went over on my grocery budget. It wasn't a really big deal because I just used the money that I had saved from the previous weeks. That's why I use the slush fund method on my account. That way if I'm over one week and short another week, it will all even out.

I'll be glad when I'm under every week. That will be nice.

I have so much yogurt

I went shopping and yogurt was on sale this week. It's normally 6 for $4.00. This week was 20 for $10.00. If you bought all 10 you could get an extra $1.00 off. Of course I bought the 20. Now I don't have to buy yogurt for at least a month.

For the next 2 weeks I don't need yogurt, juice or soda. That will save me some money on those weeks shopping bills.

Getting coins

I just talked about diversifying into coins. I'm thinking of going to a company like Monaco Rare Coin who can guide me against the pitfalls that a lot of people make when they go to a coin dealer. When you invest in coins, you need the rarest and highest quality coins available. Of course, you want the best prices available. A company like Monaco has dealers and contacts all over the world so you can get the best possible price for your coins should you want to sell or trade them.

It's never too early or too late to get into the rare coin market or to diversify.

Buying more bonds

I'm talking about savings bonds instead of treasuries. The bonds really aren't for me. I'll be the co-owner along with my nieces and nephews. As long as they use the money for school related purposes like tuition, there won't be any taxes due.

It won't be much but we all know that every little bit help.

Up and down goes the stock market

Thank goodness because I would lose my mind. The stock market tanked again today. It originally tanked Monday, made a comeback Tuesday and tanked today. What a roller-coaster ride. I do feel bad for those people that are retiring within 7-8 years because the bulk of their money is in stocks.

Hopefully, they will make a comeback.

Cashing out for profits

The stock market is in the toilet right now. Stocks are dropping like flies. People are panicking and that's making it even worse. I'm not thinking of selling because of that. I've made some good profits on my stocks and I'm ready to diversify. I'm thinking of buying some gold new dollar coins to round out my portfolio. It's always a good idea to have your money spread around instead of all in one type of asset class. I have stock, bonds, and cash. But no gold or precious metals in general.

I would rather be safe than sorry. Especially with the way the stock market is going now.

Speaking of vacation

I wish I had more of it. I only have 2 weeks right now. There are women on my job who have 4 and 5 weeks. One woman has to be forced to take her time off. We're not allowed to carry it over so if she doesn't use it, she loses it. Heck that's like losing money. I'm not going for that.

I use all of my vacation and then some.

Vacationing on the Isle of Wight

This would not be a normal vacation for me and that's for sure. I'm usually a beach and/or cruise person. Preferably both if I can pull it off. I love the beach and the sunshine. But I had never considered the Isle of Wight. While researching my 2009 vacation, I saw an advertisement for Isle of Wight Hotels. I had never really thought of that. Until I saw one of my favorite words...Sale. That changes your mind pretty quickly. Especially when it's quite a nicely discounted rate you're getting.

Now you may be asking yourself what's so special about the Isle of Wight. Well here are a few quick facts about the island. The Isle of Wight is an English island and county in the English Channel between three and five miles (8 km) from the south coast of England. It is situated south of the county of Hampshire and is separated from the mainland by the Solent. Popular since Victorian times as a holiday resort, the Isle of Wight is known for its outstanding natural beauty and for its world-famous sailing based in Cowes.

Cowes is a world-famous centre for sailing, playing host to several racing regattas. Cowes Week is the longest-running regular regatta in the world, with over 1,000 yachts and 8,500 competitors taking part in over 50 classes of yacht racing. In 1851 the first America's Cup race took place around the Island. Other major sailing events hosted in Cowes include the Fastnet race, the Round the Island Race[17], the Admiral's Cup, and the Commodore's Cup.

The Isle of Wight Marathon is the United Kingdom's oldest continuously held marathon, having been run every year since 1957. The course starts in Ryde, passing through Newport, Shanklin and Sandown, before finishing back in Ryde. It is an undulating course with a total climb of 1,505 feet (459 m).


There are less than 132,000 residents on the island. Meaning that it's a small tight-knit community. Consider the Isle of Wight for your next vacation. While you're at it, check out the sales where you can get a great vacation for a fantastic price.

I need a new computer accessory

I've upgraded my computer now I need to take care of it. I have a laptop and sometimes it gets so hot on the bottom that I end up turning it off. I thought about getting a fan but I think I need a cooling plate. I've seen them online starting at $20+.

I need to start comparing prices and buy one as soon as possible. I don't want my computer to overheat and start acting up.

I'm upgrading my computer

Almost 2 months ago my computer crashed. It was awful. I couldn't do anything on my computer at all. I had the dreaded "Blue screen of death" for almost a week. Then one day I tried to boot up my computer as usual and it worked. To say I was surprised is a understatement. I was going through some serious internet withdrawal.

I can access the internet at work but all of my favorite sites are blocked out. I don't visit crazy sites either. Just message boards and online radio stations. They also block out all internet email sites. I could go to the site, but not pull up my email. I can't even get my school email at work. Needless to say, after that I was convinced that I needed to work on my computer.

I started backing up all of my files, which I hadn't done before. This time, I made sure I did it. I also upgraded to Windows Vista from XP. There are just some great features that Vista offers that XP doesn't. I run a home-based business and I need my internet. Vista also offers customer support for small businesses like mine. I've already talked to them twice since upgrading and they've been available. Even at 2am when I had insomnia.

Even if I wasn't running a small business again, I need my computer. I keep up with the news through the internet. Of course I keep up with my sports teams and school is always right there in my top 10 sites. I would lose my mind if I was without a computer for any length of time again. I'm doing everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen.

I need somewhere cheaper to shop

My local grocery store is so expensive. I went shopping and just because I know prices of some other stores, I know they're too expensive. WalMart is so much cheaper but it's further away so I don't go there as often.

I have to wait for sales just to be able to buy every day grocery items.

Thank goodness I'm not sick

I was feeling awful yesterday. The weather is up and down and it's driving me crazy. I slept with the windows open and I felt pretty bad when I woke up yesterday. It wasn't like I had Acute Sinusitis or anything like that. But I did feel sluggish and warm. I went right out and got some juice and some over the counter meds.

Then I called my pharmacist and asked her if I could take some of the old meds that I had from my last bout with the flu. Since she's a first year pharmacist, she isn't very confident with herself sometimes. So she went online and looked up my meds to make sure they wouldn't interact with what I had already taken. Then she told me I was good to go. I'm glad she was had that tool at her disposal. I was off of the phone in less than 10 minutes.

The best part is that since I already had meds at home, I didn't have to go out and buy anything else. And I feel much better today.
This announcement was paid for by Epocrates.

I am eating better

I'm losing weight but I'm eating better as well. I still don't understand why it's more expensive to eat healthy than it is to eat junk food. If I buy healthy food, it's costs a fortune. Cheap food on the other hand, is literally cheap.

Oh well, I just have to deal with it. I don't like it at all though.

Permanent weight loss results

I'm definitely starting to lose weight but it's going so slow. I can get better more permanent results if I get cincinnati weight loss surgery. Cincy is not that far from me. It's further than Cleveland but not really that far.

It's something I need to look into. The sooner I lose this weight, the better.

My books weren't that expensive

They only cost me $45.00 for 3 books. That's not bad at all considering I've paid much more than that in the past. One of my coworkers spent $170+ on 1 book. Just 1. And she had to buy 2 additional books for another class.

Books are way too expensive. Especially since most people just use them for 1 semester and sell them or give them away.

Show off your political pride

How are you showing off your political pride? With a t-shirt, button or how about a good old bumper sticker. You can get Gigantic "See-Thru" Obama Stickers if that's your candidate of choice. The stickers are one-way see through. So from the inside of the car, they're invisible. But they show up loud and clear on the outside of the vehicle.

Show off your political pride today!

I saved money at the reunion

We didn't go out a lot during the time that I was home. We basically went to the reunion and came back home. There was so much food there it's ridiculous. The only problem I had was that there was a lot of repitition. We had a ton of pulled pork and beef but no corn on the cob. We didn't have a lot of ribs but we had a ton of desserts.

At least I know to save more for next years reunion so we can have more of a variety of foods.