It's never too late to make a change

Sometimes I wonder where my life is going. I'm back in school studying economics and sociology while still working at a bank. I've worked in banking forever. My last job was at a bank. It's been almost 14 years in one industry. I think that I can't make a change then I read about Kevin Koss who is now a San Francisco Real Estate Agents. But that's not where he started.

Kevin starting working at a restaurant in high school. This lead him to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park NY. He graduated and worked in nationally recognized restaurants in a variety of cities finally settling in San Francisco. Then after tiring of working opposite schedules as his partner, he went in a new direction - real estate. Now how do you go from food to real estate? He had interests in both his whole life. If you read his bio you can understand his journey better.

Reading that just made me see that if I have the drive and determination, I can branch out into another field and be successful. I just have to graduate school first.

When free isn't free

I saw an ad to get a free bathroom cleaning product. I was excited because it looks like something that would work well. I went to the site to order it and after I hit submit it asked for cc info for shipping. The product is $9.99 and shipping is $4.99. I shop online all the time, for a product of that size, the shipping should have been less than $3.00.

I went back to the ad and looked and it said you had to pay for shipping in teeny tiny print, but it was there. I unsubscribed from those emails. I wouldn't have minded paying shipping if it had been blatant that it was expected. Don't hide it in the fine print and spring it on me after I place my order.

Build instead of buy?

Would you rather build a house or buy an existing home? I'm not in the market right now, but I am leaning towards building my own. First of all, I can get exactly what I want. If I want 3 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms, I can get that. Ok, that's a bit extreme with but you get the idea.

Sometimes you're constricted in the amenities available unless you design the home yourself. From cabinetry to carpentry, all of the decisions are yours. Do you want wood or laminate flooring? How about glass or ceramic tile? It can be mind boggling with all of the choices that are out there. There are places online like Floorzbuzz that can help with your decisions. Because they sell products wholesale, you'll save a ton of money and you have a variety of products to choose from.

That's one of the main reasons why I'm trying to save all of the money that I can. I know that building a home will be expensive and the last thing I want to do is cut corners. Save money and keep prices low, yes. Be a cheapskate and buy cheap materials? Definitely not.

I broke one of my piggy banks!

I just wrote a post yesterday about my piggy banks. 2 are ceramic and 2 are plastic. I broke the tiny ceramic pig from Toronto. That was really my favorite of the 4. It had my birthstone as a accent on the front plus it said Toronto. Who knows when I'll get back there to get another pig.

I doubt if I'll be able to buy that exact same bank. I just wanna cry.

Backing up your computer

Do you back up your site? I backup all of my sites weekly. It can be a pain because I have to transfer the information off of my computer to a neutral site. I figure if my computer goes down, it won't help to have the backup info on that computer. I'm looking into something like Anytime@Anywhere online backup that will make it easier and more convenient for me to save my data.

My computer and all of it's info is important to me because it contains a lot of financial info as well as my means for making extra income. I have to protect my investments.

Piggy banks to become extinct

Oh no. I love my piggy banks. I read an article where they predict the top 10 things that will be extinct in 10 years. Piggy banks were number 8.

I have 4. 2 are really tiny souvenirs banks from Canada, 1 from Niagara Falls and 1 from Toronto. The other is a small bank from my job. The last bank is a big blue plastic pig that I got from a dollar store.

Only 2 are full. One of the tiny banks and the small bank from my job. The biggest pig is about 3/4 full. I can't wait until they're all full.

I just hope I can continue to find them. I love piggy banks.

My first economics exam wasn't bad

I was scared to take the test. I've spent so much time studying for that stupid math class that I really never studied for my economics class. I ended up doing all of my studying at the last minute. But I feel good about my grade.

There were some tricky questions but only 2 that I was totally unsure about. I guess I'll find out how I did next week.

I can not afford to get sick

Ugh, I don't feel well again. I'm run down and stressed out. I was coughing, hacking and sneezing all day at work today. I also had to get a warm cup of cocoa because I was so cold. I just got over the flu back in September.

I can not afford this. I don't have any sick days left so if I miss a day of work, I don't get paid. I'll be there hacking all over everybody. I know that's bad but I can't afford to lose the pay.

Stupid I-Phone Commercial

I don't like this newest commercial. It tries to make the I-Phone seem like the best thing since sliced bread. I know it's a cool phone, but it's not the end all to end all.

First the guy is talking about how he needed a ipod, phone, camera and texting device but the I-Phone is everything. Umm, you can get a camera phone with texting abilities so you would only need a seperate ipod.

I don't even use the music player on my phone because it drains the battery. I don't want an important call to have to get cut short because my battery dies. I know Apple needs to make their product seem like the best on the block but it really isn't. Especially when you need to pay a mint for all of the features of the phone to actually work.

How am I going to pay for school?

I don't know where the money is going to come from. I dropped my math class so I won't get that money back. I was planning on using that money to help offset the next semester. I would take a student loan but the first time I went to school I took more money than I was allowed to.

How does that even happen? If I took too much, the school should have denied me the additional funds. I could go to my bank to get a private loan but I may not get that either. I may take advantage of a student loan consolidation loan and then try to get a private loan.

I have 3 months to figure something out.

Tracking your net worth

Do you track your net worth? Do you post it on the internet? I do on my other blog. I actually messed up this quarter. I added the amount I paid my loan for the quarter instead of subtracting it. It was almost a $500 dollar difference. Right now my net worth is pretty low, but I'm working on it.

What about you? Are you happy with where your net worth stands right now?

Would you ever take a payday loan?

I know several people that have. They can really help you out in an emergency. All payday loan companies are not the same. There are some really bad ones. There are some that aren't that bad.

You can even get a payday loan over the internet now. I believe that each individual should do what's right for them and their situation. But if you look at the website offering the loan, all of the information that you need is right there to make an informed decision.

I'm dropping my math class

Well I'm actually withdrawing from the class. I don't even remotely understand it. When I get home and study, I think I understand what's going on. Then I get to the next class and see the exam. He takes the hardest questions from the homework and uses them as exam questions.

I don't expect him to use the easiest questions. But damn, not the hardest ones either. We practice working out the problems but they're not similar to what shows up on the exam.

I'm not mad that I'm withdrawing. I'm more mad that I'm totally losing the money that I paid for the class. It's past the time where you could get a partial refund and since I won't get a grade, there won't be any tuition reimbursement either. I could have done a lot with money too.

Online gaming

I love online gaming. I win frequently too. Much more than in regular casinos. Once I started with less than $25 and won over $500 playing slot machines. I didn't play card games or roulette even though I would like to.

I think it's a shame that you have a hard time playing at a online casino anymore. But you can go to onlinecasinobluebook.com and find casinos that still accept U.S. customers. You can find regular casinos, bingo halls, pokers rooms or my personal favorite, sports books.

The best part about online casino bluebook is that they have a list of the top 10 online casinos with 8 out of the 10 having a online review available. You can find a list of casinos with any promotions that are available. And you can read stats of certain games. The stats include odds, tips and strategy.

If you like online gaming, you should definitely check the site out.

Use due diligence when using online auctions

Research the items you plan on buying online before you buy. There are stories out there about some of the sellers on online auctions selling old, out-dated and expired merchandise. They are also selling items that have been recalled by the manufacturer.

Read the fine print before you buy. Some of those sellers are shady and some just don't know any better.

I found cargo pants!

Yes! This is a major coup for me. I'm average height but I have long legs. Most women's inseams are 30" to 32". I need at least a 34". I found them at MetroStyle catalog online. I always shop online because it's cheaper and I get the clothes delivered right to my house. Plus, I found some great coupon codes that will save me a lot of money.

For Christmas I'm telling my mom to buy me clothes or stuff for my house. I need new sheets and towels. She can shop at Overstock.com because they sell really nice sheet sets. You can find sales there and get really good deals. I saw a set of satin sheets for less than $20 one time.

I hate shopping for the holidays but I love getting presents. I'm giving my mom my list early.

I need to study for my exam

Blah. I have 6 exams in my math class. Yeah, 6 exams in 14 weeks. It's an exam every two weeks. It's always on 1 chapter but some of the chapters are a lot shorter than others. For example, my last exam was on 6 topics. This exam is on 3 topics.

Hopefully I'll do better on this exam than I did on the last exam. I got a horrible grade. I need to pass this class with at least a "C" in order to move on to the next class. If I don't get this, I surely won't understand the next class which will be much harder.

Did I mention how much I hate school?

Study for your exam

I'm studying like crazy for school. Anything worth having is worth working for so you have to study for it. Even if you study in a non traditional manner like for the real estate test. You could always go to compucram to get a real estate appraisal test. They have different programs and each one has a free trial download.

I wish my classes had a download. Sometimes I think they make the classes a lot harder than they have to be.

I upgraded my theme

It's the same theme colors and all. I just updated the blog to the newer version of blogger. I know I'm missing some of my widgets and links. I'll have to go into my old blog and dig out the ones that I really want. Some of them should have been deleted eons ago so I won't bother.

This newer theme is easier to navigate.

Business blogs

I love reading different blogs on the internet and I've found some good ones. The newest one is the XML Aficionado blog. The best thing about this blog is that it's run by the CEO of Altova, the company that made XMLSpy. Now how's that for getting into the mind of a genius. The actual CEO of a company writes his own blog.

I think I can learn a lot from this blog. Alexander discusses technology and trends and breaks down geek speak into something I can understand. You should check the blog out and see for yourself. Plus he just bought a pinball machine. So I think he's extra cool.

Another reason why mega-banks suck

No not normal banks. I'm talking about those huge honking banks that take over every other bank in site. What now. There's a issue of what they're doing with trusts. Say you have a large estate and leave it in trust to be distributed to different charities.

The large banks are controlling the trusts and using them to generate fees. They're also not paying out the endowments as the trusts really wanted them to. Big banks are all about making money. They suck.

I may have found my new bank

I've been researching banks to invest in. I think I may have found one. As soon as I went to the website the first thing I noticed was that there is a 6.49% interest rates on deposits. The rate is guaranteed for one year.

That's not the only thing that got my attention though. There is also a deal where you can earn rewards on your purchases made with your credit cards. For example, there is a travel card with travel rewards points. I love to travel so that would be awesome for me.

Of course I need to read the fine print and decide which would be the right accounts for me. It's looking promising though.

Work is unbelievably busy

It's ridiculous. We're short-staffed by 1 person so that's hurting us. On top of that, we just merged with another company so we've had an increase in the volume of our work. Management set aside a position for the increase so we need 2 people now.

They've hired 1 person but between the background check, security screenings and drug testing, she won't start for at least 3 weeks. They're interviewing for the second position right now.

I hope they find somebody quick. I'm losing my mind.

I don't like the new Pepsi game

I thought I would love the game. But I'm not having any luck with it. The worse part is that I keep seeing the same plays over and over. Stupid losing plays.

I wish they would bring back the older games where you collected points or codes and were basically guaranteed to win something. I got nice prizes from those games.

This promotion is the pits!

I'm not buying anything right now

I won't be making any large purchases anytime soon. I won't even be making any small purchases. I just looked at my slush fund and it's pretty anorexic. I had to use most of the money to replace the money from my paycheck that I lost.

Now I have to start replenishing my slush fund. I like having a decent amount of money in there. I can decide on Tuesday that I want to go away on the weekend and if my slush fund can cover it, I can go. I don't like not having any extra money.

I guess it's belt tightening time.

Coin offers in the newspaper

I always see offers to buy a gold coin in the newspaper. You don't have any commitments and it's a one time deal. I'm afraid to take advantage of the offer because I'm afraid the quality of the coin will not be what I expect.

I think gold coins are more of an investment than just something pretty to look at. The value of gold rises each year. So I don't want to get coins that are scratched or won't get graded well. The grading of coins determines the value.

Did you know that a coin that has never been touched by human hands is worth much more than a coin that was handled by human hands? The oils on your hands remain on the coin. When you buy coins from reputable dealers, those coins have never been touched. I don't know too much about the dealers in the paper so I won't buy from them.

I know there are reputable companies out there for me to buy from. I'll have to research them and make a good solid decision.

I almost bounced a check

I only balance my checkbook once every 2 or 3 weeks. I save up all of my receipts and write everything at once. Well tuition was due 3 days before payday. And I had a bill due and withdrew lunch money from the mac machine. Luckily, the bill took 3 days to clear. If it had cleared the same day, I would have gotten hit with a bounced check fee.

I know I need to balance my checkbook more often but after looking at numbers all day at work, I don't even want to think about balancing anything else.

Win free advertising?

I've noticed a lot of bloggers offering free advertising on their blogs lately. Some offer it as a prize, some offer it for links. Is this just link bait? What does the blog owner get from giving away free space on their blogs? Or is it just to get their blogs in front of new eyes?

Now that makes sense.

My hair is a mess

Why is this personal finance related? Because it costs an arm and a leg to get your hair done that's why. I only get my hair professionally done twice a year. I might go to a salon once every quarter for a hair cut but not all the time. The last time I had my hair cut was April.

I'm thinking of going to a hair school to get my hair done. All licensed hair dressers have gone to hair school at one point or another. You have to pass a test to get licensed. If a person doesn't have a license they shouldn't be working in the salon. At least not in PA anyway.

I need to find somewhere near me. I know there's a school close by, but I need to make sure they accept walk-ins.

Waiting for my car Part II

In my last post I talked about waiting to get a car and not rushing. What I didn't say was that I went car shopping with a friend today and she got a car. It's a cute little sporty car. Of course, being on a car lot around all of those brand new cars made me want one even more.

When the salesman headed my way, I shook my head really fast. Then I said the magic words "Don't waste your time, no money, bad credit". He started laughing and walked away. Man it's easy to get a car. I would probably get screwed with the interest rate though.

I'm waiting. Impatiently, but waiting.

Waiting for my car

I don't want to rush out and get a car and put myself in worse financial shape than I already am. I have bad credit so that makes getting loans harder for me.

It's easier to get a car loan than any other type of credit because the car acts as collateral. I've been researching loans and rates and I've decided to wait a few more months. I want to look before I leap.

I also want a much larger down payment than I have. That will make the payments lower and show the dealer that even though I have bad credit, I'm serious about the car.

Saving a little here and there

I need to start saving for a computer since mine is acting loopy. I don't have any real wiggle room in my budget to allocate to savings. I'll have to find a dollar or two here and there and put that to the side. It won't be easy but I'm sure I'll manage.

Getting a hotel in Orlando

The company that I work for is having a conference in Fl. The conference is near Orlando, but I'm not sure how close. I notice a lot of companies in Fl. will say that they're near the biggest city that's either close to them or that they think people have heard of. In fact, the place might be miles away.

Anyway, a bunch of us got together so we could get group hotel bookings. That way we could save money on our hotel. We also looked over the internet to find restaurants and clubs that we could go to while there. You can get better deals over the internet than if you just show up in the city.

Hopefully, the conference won't get rescheduled again. I have that weekend off of work, so right now I'm able to go.

My computer is goofy

My computer started right up today. No hesitation or blank screens. I was surprised. I still plan on starting a new computer fund though. I don't like the fact that my computer is acting up and I don't know why. Even if it doesn't stop working for 6 months, I want to have the money to buy a new one.

My computer is acting up

This is the worse possible time for this. I have a very limited amount of money and can't afford to buy a new computer right now. Right now I have a notebook because my desktop blew up. That was horrible. I was without a computer for over a month.

I decided right away that I wanted a laptop instead of another desktop. So I used my friends computer to start looking at different stores looking for cheap laptops. In the end, I chose a computer that was mid-range priced but had all of the features that I was looking for. Unfortunately now it keeps going to a reboot screen and I don't know how to make it stop. It stops after a few times but it's nerve-wracking. I haven't added any new programs or devices so I don't know what's causing it.

I guess I better start another computer fund.

I didn't get the credit card

I found out yesterday. I was a little sad but not really. I wasn't really expecting to get the card. Especially once I saw that it was a Platinum card. They usually have tighter requirements than other cards.

I have a credit card and a personal loan that I'm paying on. I'll just pay them on time and build my credit back up slowly. Maybe I'll apply again in 6 months to a year just to see if my credit has improved.

Making insurance a piece of your portfolio pie

Everybody knows the normal investment strategy. Stocks, bonds, cash, and mutual funds. But insurance? Yup, you bet.

You should have enough insurance coverage equal to 4 to 5 times your annual salary. You never know when you will need that coverage. It's always better to be safe than sorry. It's also wise to shop around for insurance rates. They can vary widely amongst insurance companies. You should also check out some of the great sites on the internet to get information applicable to your situation.

Most people don't like to think about insurance because of it's morbid connotations. But it's always better to plan ahead and be prepared than not have the money when you need it most.

School is getting a little bit easier

My math class is so hard. Today, most of the information seemed to click. I wish it would have clicked earlier in the class while I was taking my first exam. I know I tanked that thing. That was one of the hardest exams I ever took. I'll be doing homework all day Saturday to make sure I'm actually retaining the info.

My economics class is not bad at all. I'm taking macro-economics this semester. It's much easier than micro-economics was. That class was awful. It just seems like the material is easier to read and understand. Thank goodness, I need at least one of my classes to be easy.

Check out my newest widget

It's for BlogRush. When you sign up and add the widget to your site, it presents relevant posts on your widget. If you sign up under someone, their posts get access to extra blogs etc. I think there are something like 10 down lines. Since this is my personal finance blog, you should see finance types of posts in the box.

The purpose of this widget is to help drive extra traffic to your site. Extra traffic is always good.

If you're interested in signing up, here's my referral link: http://www.blogrush.com/r99179327

Would you ever use the services of a telemarketer?

Now before you have a fit, hear me out. Telemarketers actually serve a valuable purpose. How you may ask. Well first of all they do all of your market research for you. If you ever need statistics or leads for your business you can go to a Telemarketing Lists Broker. The broker has a database full of consumer information. If you're a business-owner you'll need every competitive advantage you can get.

The database can help you because they have qualified leads of consumers. You won't waste your time marketing products to consumers who may or may not be interested. You can request a list that's in the same niche as yours so you know these people are interested in your products.

I wish something like this was around when I had my online store. I would have done so much better.

Nobody hit our football pool

I had crappy number but worse, I have a crappy block. I don't even know how I ended up with the block that I got. When I called my friend, I gave her a list of numbers of which block I wanted. Of course, my first number was 86 followed by 36, 43 etc. I ended up in some awful numbered block. We don't even have a player with that number. Ugh. Next time, if I can't see the pool to literally write my own name in the block, I won't take any.

I guess it's a good thing that nobody hit, the money now rolls over to next week.

Are you looking for a roofing contractor in South Florida?

Then you should look no further than Tri-County Roofing. They are a South Florida Roofing Contractor with over 25 years experience. Not only are they a residential company, but they do commercial work as well.

This is the time of year when everyone is concerned about their roof. Hurricane season is in full force and storms pop up often without warning. Tri-County specializes in metal roofing. While metal roofing may be more expensive initially than shingle or tile, you will save money over the life of the roof. Another benefit of metal roofing is that some systems have a wind rating guarantee in excess of 170 MPH. Tile and shingle roofs can't make that same guarantee.

If you're in the South Florida area, check out Tri-County Roofing. It's a local company based in Hollywood Florida and they are members of the Better Business Bureau, The National Roofing Contractors Association and the Metal Roofing Alliance.

My checkbook is out of whack

As usual my checkbook is a mess. I haven't balanced it in 2 weeks. I've noticed that I only balance my checkbook when I get paid. Then for the next two weeks, I just write down the transactions until payday when I balance again. The bad thing is that sometimes I go overboard with incidental purchases.

This week I know I overspent because I bought extra health related items. That's why I always keep an extra $25 or so dollars in my slush fund.

I paid my friend some of her money

It's not really her money. It's money for the football pool. I gave her $25 and the blocks are $5 per week. I'm covered for the first 6 games. The Steelers have a bye week 6 so I won't owe her anything for that week.

Once I have to pay again, I'll probably give her $20 each time to cover a months' worth of games. I hope I win, I was just thinking that I haven't won in almost 2 years. Talk about being due.

Testing the credit waters

My credit is not the best right now. My credit score is really low and I've been trying to raise it up slowly. I applied for a credit card last week to see how far I've come. About a year ago, I would have gotten a automatic rejection. I guess the fact that they're going to actually review my credit is a plus.

When I was looking for a credit card to apply for, I went to a website where I could search through the different types of cards offered. You can get cards specifically for rewards, cash back or even a Small Business Credit Card. I even saw cards for people like me with bad to average credit. The card I applied for has no annual fee and a average interest rate.

I guess I'll get a answer one way or another some time next week.

My tuition is due tomorrow

I just looked at the post I wrote about consolidating my student loans. As I was reading over it, I realized that my tuition is due tomorrow. Pitt changed their payment pay plan from 4 payments to 3 payments per semester. But since I paid the bulk of my tuition in the first payment, the balance becomes due in the second payment.

Now to make sure I pass the classes to get my moneys worth.

I need to save money on my student loans

I thought my job was going to deny my tuition reimbursement. I have a coworker who is also in school and the department only has so much reimbursement in the budget. I was sweating bullets waiting for the acceptance paper to come back. Luckily I go it today.

I also had to call my bank to get student loan consolidation papers. The payments are way too high. If I consolidate my student loans into one payment, I cut my payments in half. I need that money to pay for the classes that I'm taking now.

The best thing that I read about consolidating my loans is that I can get a reduction in the interest rates for using automatic payments and for making so many consecutive on time payments. Hey every little bit helps.

I won something else from Pepsi

This time I won a hat. Pepsi has a new game running. This one is NFL related and it's the "Call Your Play" promotion. You get to decide which type of play to run. The more difficult the play, the better the prize. For instance, the top prize is a truck. You have to use the hail mary play to have a chance to win.

There are 4 types of plays to choose from. 4th and goal, red-zone, trick play and hail mary. I won the hat on a 4th and goal play. Now I'm running the red-zone plays trying to win a better prize.

This game is hard though. I've already played a bunch of times and only won once. I plan to keep trying though.

I may decide to dabble in real estate

I'm always looking for other ways to make money besides my job. The more income sources you have the better. I've considered taking real estate classes. One reason is because I can work around my schedule. It's flexible and it pays well.

Besides that I can take the classes online. So it wouldn't interfere with my other activities. I looked on fastclass.com and I can find schools that offer only online classes as well as traditional classes. And I can look up the requirements to get my real estate license in every state. I always say I want to move, so it's wise to have a back-up plan before I go.

I finally got my math book

I had to go pick it up from UPS. Luckily one of my coworkers is cool and he took me over there during our lunch break. I'm behind in the class since I didn't have the book.

I still need to go buy a scientific calculator. I totally forgot about that. Right now all I have is a regular 4 function calculator and that's not going to cut it. And I forgot to take that to class yesterday. So imagine doing pre-calculus work trying to add up everything in your head. Not fun!

I almost made up some of my lost pay

I'm not getting paid for 4 days because I was sick. I was only sick for 3 days, but I missed the day before the holiday. Anyway, we had overtime because the one of the other teams is really behind. My supervisor asked us to work some overtime to help their team catch up.

When I went back to her later in the day to see if they still needed people to stay, she said no. I was hoping to get an hour or two. I'm taking the money out of my "fun" money account. Now that account will basically be zero until I can get my hands on some more money.

Pepsi has a new game

I did pretty well on the last Pepsi game. I won a total of $75.00 from that game. All you had to do was enter the cap codes online and enter the sweepstakes daily.

This game is similar except you enter the code and play the NFL game. It's called Call Your Play. The type of play you call determines which prizes you can win. I always call the red zone pass. You can win xbox games, memorabilia and other prizes. The really cool thing is you get to watch a Madden play. I hate when I see certain teams on offense because I know they won't score.

I figure it's no skin of my back, I drink a bunch of Pepsi everyday anyway so I might as well play the game and try to win something while I'm at it.

Weddings are expensive

One of my coworkers got married recently and she spend a ton of money on her wedding. She hosted it as a backyard bbq so one of her major expenses was food. The food was delicious by the way. Almost all of it was homemade.

To cut down on expenses Susie made her own wedding invitations. She created them on the computer and bought colored envelopes to put them in. There weren't any bridal shower invitations because this was a 3rd marriage for both the bride and groom. She did go to a store to buy save the date cards. Susie and C are both very religious so their cards had a religious theme to them.

I've always joked that I wanted to run away to Vegas and elope. Whenever I hear how much money people spend on their weddings, it becomes more of a certainty instead of a joke. Well, first I need a groom though. At this point, it's more wishful thinking than anything else.

I'm glad I never let anyone host my blog

I've been reading about a hosting nightmare. Someone who is a horrible host has shut down a fellow blogger.

Angie wrote that she might give her daughter Benadryl on a long road trip. She didn't write that it was suggested by her daughter's pediatrician. And she shouldn't have had to. Administrator A decided she didn't like what Angie wrote and suspended her blog. Not asked her to explain and/or remove the post, just suspended her. Her blog is now "suspended" for two weeks. Angie can't even get to her old posts.

As a fellow paid blogger, I feel bad for her. Her paid posts are being rejected because someone else is on a power trip. The administrator could have just locked her out of the blog as a suspension instead of taking it offline. That just sucks.

If you don't learn anything else, don't let anyone else host your blog. Yes, even blogger. Both of my blogs started and remain on blogger, but they also have their own domain name. Once my domain names get as highly ranked as blogger, I'll totally shift away from blogger.

Edit: I took the link out of this post. The offender shouldn't be rewarded with a link. The site is www (dot) rainbowofwords (dot) com

I need to give my friend her money

I owe my friend money for the football pool. We don't see each other very often so I have to pay for multiple weeks at one time. I'll probably give her $20 each time. That way we only have to adjust our schedules once a month.

Unless of course I win, then she can just take the money out of my winnings.

My major is still undecided

It's supposed to be Economics but the way the classes are offered I may have to change it. I need 3 upper level classes to get a degree in econ. Pitt only offers 1 upper level class every year. Sometimes it's the same class for 2 out of 3 years. It could potentially take me 4 years to take 3 classes just because they aren't offered.

The only reason I'm unhappy about this is that I want to move when I graduate and this will severely push me back. I know patience is a virtue but that's the one virtue I'm lacking.

Would you buy a house in Hawaii?

Of course this would be determined by whether or not I ever win the lottery. I don't know if I would though. I like Hawaii but I don't know if I would like to live there.

I saw the price of homes on a real estate blog and let's just say I was blown away. I know real estate is expensive but I was amazed at the price. It was ridiculous. I mean who can really afford Hawaii real estate? Rich people of course, but how do retirees manage it?

Maybe when I finally retire I can find out what the fuss is really all about.

I'm still waiting for a book

I got one of my books for school in the mail on Tuesday. It's the economics book. Unfortunately, it's the math book that I really need. The seller sent it UPS so I have to wait until they attempt delivery 3 times, then go pick it up on Monday.

Of course the math class is hard so I need the book asap. I guess I'll have to spend all night Monday and Tuesday doing math. Yuck!

The housing bubble is about to burst

It's horrible to try to profit off of other people's tragedy. But that's what a lot of people are going to do when a rash of Foreclosures are likely to take hold. There are so many hybrid mortgages out there that people aren't going to be able to afford the new payments and will lose their homes.

The worst part is moving from the homes that they know. They will need Moving Quotes as well as Insurance Quotes. They majority of people will have to move back in with family or friends, or rent tiny apartments just to get by.

The American Dream shouldn't turn into a nightmare. It's really sad, but you can't help but wonder if people didn't try to live beyond their means would this happen. You can't just borrow, borrow, borrow without wondering what might happen tomorrow.

What I hate about holiday weekends

I always get thrown off by long weekends. I keep thinking today is Sunday and I'm going crazy. I keep looking for the Sunday shows on tv. I also went looking for mail today even though I knew there was no mail service.

I also have to keep track of my school schedule. I go to school on Wednesday and Thursday and I don't want to forget and miss a day. I can't afford that. I have a feeling I'll be struggling with school this semester. So I don't want to miss any days.

I might need a mid-semester break

This semester is not starting off so well. I'm already stressed on the personal front and school looks to be a killer this semester. I just got back from a not so relaxing vacation so I'm looking to get away and really relax.

I might look into Miami beach vacation rentals. I was thinking about Orlando vacation rental homes, but I decided I would rather be on the beach. Florida vacation rental homes are a good idea for me. That way I can spend some time relaxing but I don't have to be in a crowded hotel with a lot of other people.

The best part about going on vacation in the fall is that there won't be a lot of people there. The normal tourists, but not a lot of young kids and college students. I wish I could go now. I need to get away.

I got the weirdest comment

Someone sent me a really weird comment. I deleted it as soon as I saw it. It was on the post where I talked about how much my books cost. They said that nothing in life was free and that people in institutions got free educations.

Well I never said that my education should be free or that my books should be free. I don't like paying for school but I realize that I have to. As far as the institutions comment, I don't even know how to answer that. I'm not in a institution and I never have been.

I just think that person was wacked!

Spending money to redecorate my apartment

Do I really want to spend money to redecorate right now? I don't know, I'm really torn. I plan on living at my apartment for at least 2 more years. That's how long it will take me to graduate from school.

Right now my apartment is black and white in the living room and wood in the little nook where my computer desk is. The bedroom is a mess and has no theme to it. I saw some Rustic stone home decor and some furniture made out of stone and onyx. I think that would look cool in my apartment. Especially since it's just me and I don't have any kids to worry about breaking it.

I guess the biggest decision I have to make is whether I can stand to look at this apartment for the next two years or if I want to make a change.

I got my books for school

They set me back $170, just about what I thought they would. I got the econ book used for $70 with shipping. The campus bookstore wanted $92 for a used book and $120 for a new book. I'm not sure if the math book is used or not but it didn't come with the cd they offer so I'm assuming it's used. Anyway it cost $101 with shipping. If I would have gotten it new, it would have cost $151 so I saved $50.

The cost of books is outrageous. The thing that really ticks me off is that they only use the books one semester and then order a new edition so you can't even sell it back.

My neighbor is a speed demon

My neighbor went home this past weekend. He's originally from NJ too, but he lives in Jersey City which is north of where my family lives. He was going to New York to hang out and was driving like a madman and got pulled over. He claims he slowed down just before he got pulled over so he wasn't speeding when they clocked him.

Now he has a ticket and points added to his license. I told him to fight the ticket. Most people don't bother fighting the tickets so the odds may be in his favor. Since he doesn't want to go to NJ to fill out paperwork, I told him to go to the Jersey City Municipal Court online. That way, he can get what he needs done without another trip.

You can find out everything you need to know about the area on this site. For example, Jersey City is the second largest city in the state of NJ. Also, it's a very diverse community with 30% African Americans, 28% Hispanic and 17% Asian. If you're not interested in Jersey City, you can find information about any other city in NJ that you may need.

Meanwhile, I told him to slow down. Maybe his girlfriend needs to confiscate his keys.

Speaking of shopping

I need to buy my books for school. I am not looking forward to this. I've priced them and for 2 books I'm looking at $175 minimum. And that doesn't include the scientific calculator that I need for my math class.

I'm off to find a cheap online book seller. So far I have 2 that I work with. I just hope they have the books that I need.

I'd rather be shopping

Do you like to save money when shopping online? Of course you do, who doesn't like to save money. Well I have a site for you to check out, it's the Rather-Be-Shopping.com Blog. There are coupon codes for over 450 stores on the site. And if you're looking for a particular coupon, you can email the author of the blog, and they will email you back with an answer.

There are all kinds of stores online. Most people know the big stores, but even places like the Gap, American Eagle, and Old Navy have coupon codes. If you shop a lot online like I do, check out the site and save yourself some money.

Keep up with your affiliate links

Are you an online affiliate? Do you have badges or ads on your site? If so, make sure your links are up to date. I know some affiliates are changing the links that you use. The email you get looks like junk mail, so most people don't pay attention to them.

The worse part is that you can see that people are clicking on your links, but you aren't getting credited for it. I know at least 2 companies that I work with have recently made changes. Read all of your email or alerts on the sites carefully.

School is gonna drive me crazy

School starts tomorrow. Actually today. I'm registered at Pitt, but I'm trying to save some money by registering at the community college. There's only 1 class that I can take and it's pre-calculus. It won't count on my transcript at all. I only need it as a refresher course before I take regular calculus. So why not save some money.

I just have to make time to get over to the community college and register. I hope they're open late this week.

Do I really want to buy a car?

Right now may not be the best time to do so. I am slowly rebuilding my credit and I do mean slowly. With large banks tightening up their credit requirements, I'm looking at getting bad credit personal loans. The downside of that is that my interest rate will be through the roof. Interest rates on car loans are generally lower than on personal loans but still.

I really want my car payment to be low. Low to me is under $300. I would prefer a lot cheaper than that but I know that's not realistic. Most of the cars that I've been looking at are between $13k-$15k and I'm looking at cars that are known for being low priced cars.

I'm leaning more towards a sedan to have more room. My last car was a suv so I'm used to having lots of room. I also don't want a 2 door car because I don't want to have to get out of the car to let someone else in.

I guess I need to work on getting my down payment together before I do anything else.

Wedding present dilemma solved

A bunch of us from work chipped in and got the couple a gift card. Since the bridge shops at JC Penney a lot, that's what we got.

They have a house full of people. Between the two of them they have 6 kids, but they're all grown. We figure they can always buy some more stuff for the house. Especially towels. They have a pool and people are always coming over to go swimming. They go through towels like crazy.

Apple IPhone Uh-Oh

A teen from NJ has found a way to unlock the Apple IPhone. So what does that mean? Well, now anyone on any network can get the IPhone. T-Mobile, Nextel, Alltel...no problem now you can use the IPhone too. Even overseas carriers can use the phone.

I bet Steve Jobs is crapping his pants right now!

Would you move for your job?

Now if you're an average person making less than $40k per year, you're probably thinking heck no. But what about those people making significantly higher salaries? I'm talking in the range of $75k-$100k per year. I think a lot of them would consider it.

My uncle definitely falls into the latter category. He's moved several times in the last several years following the money. He's a computer systems coder and his skills are in demand. Right now he lives in FL but they're thinking of taking a job and going back to NC. He's looking into wilmington nc real estate. The thing they like about NC is that they can get a house starting from $150k-$400k for an average house. It's way more expensive where they are now.

As long as they get enough bedrooms for me to visit, I don't care where they move to.

Heck no I don't have a lot of money

I am thinking about opening another bank account. In another country no less. But no, I don't have a lot of money. I'm just an average Jane with average Jane money.

I don't expect to put a lot of money into the account either. Just enough to get me through vacation. I'll put some of my savings money into the account. If I'm on vacation and need it, it'll be there. If not, even better.

If I do use the money while on vacation I'll replace it before the next year. I always keep a few dollars in reserve, so that's what this will be. And if you're a family member, no I don't have no money for you.

Would you consider a career in real estate?

Selling houses isn't as easy as people think it is. Especially with the housing market cooling off. But if you are interested in a career in real estate, you can take Real Estate Classes online. You can take classes dealing with mortgages, appraisals, home inspection, or any other aspect related to a real estate career.

I personally find the real estate market fascinating, but I would not be a good realtor. I mean I can talk to anyone about anything but I am no good at selling. So I wouldn't be able to convince you to see the house or bid on it. I know what my weaknesses are and that's one of them.

The thought of working for myself is very tempting though.

I need to buy a wedding present

I'm going to a wedding on Saturday and I still haven't gotten a wedding present yet. I have no idea what to get. The wedding is very casual, jeans if you would like. I plan on wearing a pair of khaki capris, a blue shirt and a cute pair of black patent leather shoes.

That still doesn't help with the present situation. I'm thinking of going with the old standby of a gift card. That way, they can buy whatever they want.

I might get in a football pool after all

I wrote a post a week or so ago lamenting the fact that nobody at my new job does football pools. Well my friend called me this past weekend and told me that there are still blocks available on their pool.

They play $5 per block and fill less than half of the blocks. That way if no-one hits the money rolls to the next week. So some weeks the pot can be quite large.

Now to just figure out which block I want.

My mom just gave me some insurance papers

I have to say I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I know it's a good idea to have insurance. On the other hand, it seems kind of morbid like I'm just waiting to get my hands on the money.

My mom has several policies. They were cheap and affordable. I'm the primary beneficiary on all 3 of them. I don't know why she has 3 separate policies instead of 1 larger one. Having several smaller policies was not the cheapest option that she had. I do know that her agent is trying to get her to consolidate them. It will save her a little bit of money every month to just have one policy but my mom is so stubborn that I doubt she will do it.

Like I said, I have all of the paperwork here at my house. I should probably put them in my safe deposit box for now. You never know what might happen.

Should I buy a new ipod?

I've been debating this for a while. I have an older shuffle. The newer shuffles are tiny. Mine is still small though. Well I want a bigger ipod with a screen and video playback.

I'm debating though because how often do people really look at the screen. It's also a lot of money to put out right now. I guess I'll continue to sleep on it before I make any decisions.

Would you like to be the next Internet Millionaire?

Are you a reality tv fan? Do you want to learn how to make money online? If so, the internets first reality show The Next Internet Millionaire might be for you.

12 people compete for a $25,000 cash prize. Now I don't know about you, but $25k would be awesome for me right now. I could go to school full-time for 2 years and not have to worry about where tuition money is coming from.

I'm going to keep a close eye on this contest. It might be something to enter in the future. And you never know, I might actually end up being a internet millionaire. How cool would that be?!?!

I hate car commercials

They make you think you're getting this great deal when in reality you're not. If they even have the vehicle that they advertise in stock, it's totally stripped and you have to add everything. Or it's a lease.

I don't know which is worse getting a stripped down car or a lease. If a lease works for you, that's great. I prefer to buy so leases don't work for me. Yeah they have low monthly payments but then they kill you with the fees and charges when you turn the car in.

I can't wait until I'm in the position to buy a car. Then I won't have to worry about these commercials.

Why I would open a bank account in another country

I talked about this a little in my last post. I spend a good bit of time in another country. Only once or twice a year, but I always need money when I'm there. Paying those fees to get money from the atm is ridiculous. On my cruise, I was charged $5.50 just from the atm owner. That doesn't count what my bank will charge me.

There are two different banks where I travel to that I can open an account with. I just have to decide which one I want to go with.

The internet is changing the face of banking

But will it make traditional brick and mortar banks obsolete? I don't think so. Not in the near future anyway. However, in 10-15 years, I could see traditional banking going by the wayside.

The younger generation seems more likely to do internet banking than most older folks. As a matter of fact, I've been contemplating opening a bank account from a overseas bank since I spend a lot of time there. Needless to say, I would do almost all of my banking online. Then when I go to that country, I would have access to my money without having to pay fees.

So what do you think? Would you bank online only?

Football pools

I miss football pools. Yes I know we shouldn’t have done them at work but we did and it was fun. No it doesn’t enhance the game in any way. But for gamblers, it’s a blast. We used to play 2 bucks a block and fill the whole pool. But my favorite was the 5 buck pool where we only filled 20 or so blocks so the money could roll over from week to week. We had the pot up to over a grand once. Needless to say we were extremely jealous of the winner.

I wish we had those at my job now.

I'm ready to buy a condo

Buying a condo is a scary proposition. I've been looking at prices and my head starts spinning. I can't believe some of the asking prices that people are asking. The asking prices aren't out of the norm, they're just expensive. I'm only looking for 2-3 bedrooms and 1 to 1 1/2 bathrooms. I don't expect to pay anything less than $100K. I think I should point out that I don't live in a pricey area.

$100K for a condo has me shaking my head. I don't want the maintenance issue with a house which is why I'm looking for condos. I've already starting researching properties as well as mortgages. I spend a lot of time reading a blog that offers mortgage tips. There's a lot of great information available on the site.

One of the things I learned is that subprime lenders are running scared. They're not offering mortgages to just anyone anymore. They've tighten up their standards once again. Piggyback loans are also on their way out. Mortgage lending companies are taking a hit and losing money left and right. They want to weed out the potential problems.

My lease for my apartment is up in March which is a horrible time to move. My management company has agreed to let me sign a 6 month lease instead of 1 year so I would be moving in September which is a much better time of the year. It'll be hot, but a lot easier to get around and recruit people to help me move furniture. Hey, if I'm paying all of this money for the condo, I sure want to save on the moving expenses.

I won another $25!

I wrote this post a little over a month ago about winning $25 from Pepsi. I said I had hoped that lightning could strike twice. Well, it did. Even though I was talking about winning a trip, I'll sure as hell take the cash. I'm really happy about this.

Now I'm bummed that the contest officially ended yesterday. I would love some more opportunities to enter. But I'm not mad, I've won twice which is a lot more than a lot of other people can say. Besides, I'm sure I can find something to spend my winnings on!

Other uses for gold

In my previous post I talked about investing in gold. I had a old coworker who used to collect gold. He would go to estate sales, yard sales or flea markets and buy cheap scrap gold. Then he would take it to a jeweller and sell it. Then he could spend the money any way he wanted to.

And what's better than having cash?

How did I forget I was owed money?

I just realized that one of the get paid to try sites that I used to frequent still owes me money. I haven't visited the site in several months but I found a piece of paper that I had wrote on estimating how much money I was owed and what I planned on doing with it. I went to the site and logged in and sure enough I have enough to cash out.

I just missed the deadline, but I put my request in for the end of the month payout. At least I know I'll have a little bit of extra money in September.

Diversify your portfolio with gold

I've been investigating buying gold to put in my portfolio. The problem is that I don't have a lot of money to do it with. The price of gold keeps going up, so I need to make a move soon. I don't want to rush out and go buying anything willy-nilly. I want to do my research into the company I'm working with. Well, I've been looking at Monex for a while and they seem to be a worthwhile company to work with.

I'm thinking of buying gold coins. They're small and portable if I need to move them. Since they're portable, I can keep them at my house and if I want to sell them I'll have them on hand. They're available in multiples of 10, so I can buy a few at a time.

Now all I have to do is put them in special packaging, so I don't go trying to spend them.

Work wasn't much better

I'll be glad when I get over this. There's just a lot going on in my life right now and I'm not dealing with it very well. At least I didn't almost cry at my desk again.

Work majorly sucked today

I just wanted to come home put my head under a blanket and just cry. It was that bad. I think at one point I was ready to start crying at my desk. It wasn't one specific thing just a culmination of things. I'm not really under pressure at work, but I am stressed out. So every little thing is getting to me.

I just read a quote "When you're going through Hell, keep going!". I just need to suck it up, put on my big girl panties and deal with it. But man,when it rains it pours!

I need to make a shopping list

It's time for me to go shopping for stuff for my vacay. I need to make a list of all of the things I need. If I don't, I'll go in the store and buy a bunch of stuff I really don't need, and I'll forget to get something important that I really do need.

I know I need sunblock (I burn instead of tan), pj's (cause I don't own any), and disposable cameras. I'm still not sure if I need clothes or not. Or at least one or two pairs of shorts or capri pants. I'm not buying new sneakers because the ones I wear every day are still pretty good looking.

But I'm not going anywhere without that list.

Is there a stigma associated with having a tutor?

If there is I don't see why. My niece is having trouble in math and her mother wants to get her a tutor for the upcoming school year. I know what it's like to struggle with math. I had a innovative tutor when I was in 7th grade for my algebra class. I just didn't understand it at all. I worked with my tutor for 2 quarters and my grade went from a low C to a solid A.

I told my sister-in-law to go ahead with the tutor. If my niece is not happy, she can just introduce the person as her study partner. But if she's struggling with math now, it will only get worse so she needs to act on it before it becomes a bigger problem.

The checkbook is done

Yeah it was a mess. It took me an hour and a half to balance everything. Did I mention I have 3 checkbooks to balance? That's why it takes so long. Add to that the fact that all of my money is goes into separate categories and that's why it takes so long.

I'm glad it's done and I don't have to balance them again for another 2 weeks.

My checkbook is a mess

I usually only balance my checkbook once every 2 weeks. I work with numbers all day and I don't want to do it when I get home. But I haven't balanced my checkbook since the weekend after July 4th. I've been paid twice since then and paid several bills. I know I need to get it together but I just don't feel like it.

A welcome gift for our cruise

I'm looking to buy a gift for my aunt for our cruise. Me, my mom and my aunt are all going. My aunt and uncle are paying for it. It's a birthday present for me and my mom. I'm thinking of buying breakfast gift baskets so she will have something nice when we get there.

If I decide against a breakfast basket, I can send a chocolate or sweets gift basket. I can only imagine her face when we walk into that room and she sees it sitting there. I'm going to make sure there are some balloons too. I know she'll love it.

I'm not really worrying about getting my mom a gift. Her gift from them is the cruise. Her gift from me was new clothes for the cruise. This is gonna be so much fun.

The stock market dropped 300 points today

I'm not happy about it but I'm sure not panicking either. This is an excellent buying opportunity. I have 2 individual stock accounts that I send money to. I figure my money will go a longer way and buy more shares. Now if I can just find the money to buy some stock.

I might be able to get a higher paying job

We have several people leaving my area. Most of them are going to higher grade jobs. One person is just quitting. She doesn't even have a new job yet, she's just leaving. 2 of the jobs are a higher grade than I am. Technically, I don't qualify because I just got a "promotion" but because it's the same area my boss will let me apply.

I don't expect to get 1 of the jobs because someone else is more qualified. I am qualified for the other job. The only drawback? The supervisor for their team is very hard to work for. She stays on her employees backs. I don't know if I can handle that. My supervisor is laid back and mellow and this person is uptight.

I guess I should wait to see what they decide as far as letting me apply. If I get the job and it's a decent raise, I'll just have to deal with it.

Looking outside the box for ways to make money

I've thought of many ways to make money. I mean I have a regular job and I'm looking for additional sources of income. I need the money to pay for school and help pay down debt. All of my debt is school related. Student loans to be exact.

I've investigated a lot of work at home plans or multi-level marketing campaigns but they don't seem right for me. Something that seems up my alley is doing something like multivend. Multivend is one of the leading bulk candy vending machine manufacturers in the U.S. It is a 100% cash business and has a profit margin of up to 80%.

Now I know people are wondering why I would consider something like this. First I live near a couple of small strip mall shopping centers. I could put the machines up and bring in some extra cash. It would be close to home so no long commute. And I could do this around my schedule. It's not like I would have to be there for certain hours. As long as you keep the machines stocked, you should be cool.

Like I said, it's something I'm looking into. Hey, a few dollars here and a few there really add up.

My tuition reimbursement is in jeopardy

My paperwork for tuition reimbursement is due in the human resources area 20 days before my class starts. Well, my manager and her boss are both on vacation and won't be back until 7/31. There's no one in the office to sign the paperwork until they get back. They would have to sign it and mail it that exact same day in order for me to meet the requirement.

I have the papers all filled out and ready to go. On the day they get back I'll run into their respective offices and get them to sign right then and there. I don't want to take the chance that they might get lost.