Saving Money at Stop N' Save

Stop N' Save is a convenient store in Colorado. If you live anywhere near a Stop N' Save you should like them on Facebook to save money. They send special promotions to there followers and you can get free items on a fairly regular basis. Here is a link to there profile Stop N' Save .

So Many Financial Issues at the Moment

Wow! Things had been looking up, but I am having so many financial issues at the moment. We moved up here, paid everything up until October, and had everything financially planned. My sisters husband had been paying child support on time before we moved, but he stopped. He is now close to three months behind and it is hurting us financially. I am working my behind off to take care of my son, my mom, my sister, and her three kids. It is overwhelming me at times. I am now looking for a second job to work full time, hopefully.

Life has so many ups and downs, and I have to find my way to get through it. God blessed us with the ability to move to a place this beautiful and I know he will bless us with the means to make everything work here.

To help my financial situation I have been putting in more time online to earn a little more money every month. I have learned from many experiences that every single penny does count when you are dealing with your financed. I have been trying to save money everywhere.

The other horrible thing going on is that my sisters Ex has decided to stop paying for the vehicle that has been taking the kids to school and me to work. Now I have to try and find a vehicle that is good in the snow, can get us around this area, and is not expensive. Living on a negative budget means nothing extra to go towards anything really, but we have to find something soon.

I Got a JOB

I have been in Divide, CO for almost two weeks, and I have gotten a job. It is at a local store, and the people there are great. I will start on Wednesday and it will be a full time position. I am so thankful for this job. One of the best things is that I will be able to get insurance after six months.

This is great for my family and I. I was so concerned that we would make this big move and we would get up here with me unable to find a job of any kind. It has been less than two weeks and I found one. It is still not enough to cover all of the household expenses, but it can cover quite a bit of them. In order for me to make up the difference I will be working on my online income more and maybe even getting another part time job.

I am concerned about my sons future and being able to take care of him financially, but I am also concerned about not being around him much. I know I have to work hard to make the money that I need, but he also needs to have his mom around for him.

I know that I have been blessed so far, and will be shown the way to go. I am making goals and big changes in my life. It will all work out, I just have to let God show me the way. It will be hard at times and I know it, but it will be worth every bit of it later on in life.

Getting a Job

Since I moved up here to Colorado I have been looking for a job. I have already had a couple of interviews and hopefully a couple of jobs by the end of next week. I know that I will have to work two jobs to take care of my family. I was asked tonight how I already had interviews lined up and only been in the area for less than two weeks. Well here is my answer.

Do not be choosy when you first move to a new area:

I have heard a lot of people complain about not being able to find a job, but when they are offered a job they feel they should earn more. I am sorry, but I would rather $10 an hour coming in to help with my family than nothing. I will work two jobs if I have to so I can make up the difference. While I am working those jobs I can continue to look for other opportunities that will pay more.

Talk to Everyone:


Yes I have only been in this area for close to two weeks, but I have talked to numerous people about who may be hiring. I have also talked to some of the business owners in the area. When you talk to a variety of different people you will learn about different job opportunities in the area no matter how big or small the town is.


Post Your Resume Online, and Apply Everywhere:

There are so many jobs sites available online and you should make use of all of them. Most cities and towns even have local job opportunities on a website. Don't stop at just job boards, look at business websites as well. Some businesses do not put there openings on job boards so check out there sites for openings. You can even go to the local places and put in personal applications. Some places no longer offer paper applications, but it will not hurt to ask. You may even be able to talk to a supervisor that can help you get a job.

Do Not Give Up:

Sometimes people get frustrated about looking for a job and begin to give up. Never give up because there will be something out there for you. Keep looking and continue to do these things. It may take a little while, but you will be able to find a job. It may not be your perfect job, but it will be something that you can help support your family with.

Signed the Papers on My New Home

I had a great day today, I signed the papers on my new home. It is a big and exciting move for me. The home is a lease with the option to buy after the 12 months. I was blessed with a great Realtor out of Woodland Park, CO. Her name is Karen Benenati with Remax. Her Website. She found my family the perfect home, and has helped us in every way possible to get us relocated from Dallas, TX to Divide, CO.

There is a lot to do before moving to Divide, and my family and I are pushing hard to get everything done on time. Financially I am more concerned than anything. I have been on maternity leave for the last 10 weeks, and have not found a job in the area just yet. I am very optimistic about the situation. I feel like God has blessed us with the perfect realtor, perfect house, and the ability to move. Now I have to find the perfect job.

Hopefully in the next year I will be able to purchase the home, have a good job, and be back in school. I have a baby to worry about now, and I have to make sure that I do everything I can to make sure he is taken care of. I also have to worry about my nieces and nephew, they need me to be able to make all of this work. I will do everything in my power to do just that.

I am a new MOMMY

I am officially a new single mommy as of the 10th of June. I have been recovering since then, so I have not been able to update my blogs in the last few weeks. I am doing great, and feel like a new woman. I am tired as can be, but I know what my purpose in life is now. It is to raise my son the best I can and give him the life that I want him to have. In order to give him a better life I have to work my behind off. I can't go back to work for another few weeks, so my online income is my top priority. I know I am not going to have time to work online constantly, but I can work when he is sleeping.

In addition to being a new mommy, I am in the process of trying to move to Colorado Springs, CO by the end of June. It is my mom, sister, her three kids, my son, and myself trying to pack up a house and move to a complete other state. This is the biggest move I have ever done in my life, and i am a little worried, but I know God has it under control. If we stayed in Texas there would be nothing good coming from it, so it is time for all of us to start over.

Officially on Maternity Leave

I was trying to work at least one more week, but that is not going to happen. I was in the hospital with contractions 3 minutes apart. I have continued to have contractions since then, but I am just waiting on the baby by to decide when he wants to come out :).

I have figured a few things out about trying to keep my finances in order during maternity leave. I sold my articles on one website for $700. I will get half of that amount in June, and the rest in July. $700 will help a lot during the next two months. I have also began working on another site that I can work on and get a little extra money. I am figuring that I can make an extra $30-$50 a week on Mturk. It is fairly simple, and I work when I can. I will even be able to make money after the baby gets here, because the work is something that I can do when the baby is asleep. $120-$200 extra a month in addition to the $350 for the next two months will pay my bills, and give me some extra money for things for the baby.

I am going to try and enjoy my time off of work without worrying about my finances. These things have helped a lot, and I think I will be able to relax a little more. I am ready for the baby to come, and hopefully be able to go back to work a few weeks later. I will make more money working, but the extra income is great at the moment.

Snowball Your Debt

I have been reading a lot about "snowballing" your debt, and I completely agree with this concept. What you do is start paying on your small balances, pay off that debt, then start with the next. You do this until all of your debt is paid. With this process you do not necessarily have to pay large amounts on your debt all the time. Set up a payment system so that you can send your debtors a little at a time, even $10 a month will help you accomplish you goal of paying off your debt.

I think a lot of people continue to put off paying there debts because they cannot pay large lump sums on there balance. Do not let this hold you back, start today paying what you can. In time you will be able to pay more, then you can pay off the debts you have. In essence it is a snowball effect on your debt.

Making a Promise to Myself

I know that I have had problems really working on my financial journey for the last few months, but the baby will be here soon and I will have to worry about both of our futures. I have to make a change after the baby gets here so we will have a positive financial future. I have decided that I have to make a promise to myself, and keep that promise.

My Promises to Myself:


I know that I can not do much to change my financial future at the moment, but my son will be here within the next 5 weeks. I am only taking a short maternity leave, so I should be back to work full swing within the next 2.5 months if everything works out. I am making these promises to myself so I can make sure that my son and I are financially prepared for our future. It was not as important to me when it was just me, but my son is the most important thing in my life.

Here are my promises to myself

1. Increase my income by going back to school, working more hours, and getting another job if I have to.
2. Keep track of every dollar coming in and out of my home
3. Save money everywhere, and no splurging on things that are not necessary
4. Start a savings account for the baby ASAP (He has to go to college)
5. Always remember that my sons financial future is the most important. Doing all of these things will guarantee that he has a good future.

These are just the large promises that I am making to myself at the moment. After I am able to go back to work I will make more detailed short term promises to myself. I am hoping that making goals, and promising myself that i will go by them will help me seriously help our financial future.

Increased My Credit Score

I have updated my credit score on Credit Karma, and I have increased my score by 15 points in the last month. I am learning so much more about how my score is calculated using the site, and it is making a difference in my credit score. I made this small increase by simply decreasing my credit card balance from 80% to 70% and paying my credit card bill on time. My credit score is still in the poor, but I love seeing an increase. In the next month it should increase even more due to my paying my student loans on time, and paying my credit card down to less than 50%. I am hoping to have my score up to above 600 in the next couple of months. I am so happy that I am starting to see a difference.

Check Your Credit Score

I came upon this site today that was saying they can give me my credit score for FREE. I looked into the site, Credit Karma, and they actually can give you the score. I am sure that it is fairly accurate, because they have accurate balances on things that I noticed. I am hoping that they are very accurate, if so I have increased my credit score by about 100 points since the beginning of 2010.

The site also has a lot of interesting articles, and helpful information for anyone trying to improve there credit score. You can also check on the best rates for loans.

Check out the site:

Credit Karma

Fundraising for A Family in Need

My sister, Denise Wade, has been through a lot in the last few years. Now she is faced with an even bigger obstacle in her life, being a disabled single mom of three. Her husband recently left her for someone else, and lost his job. She received a letter telling her that she is about to lose her home, in addition to everything else that she has going on. I need my online income, but I am donating all of Aprils income to her family. In addition to that I am taking the next two months to try and raise money for her, it is The Denise Wade Family Fund. Everything I raise will go directly to help her with medical, living, and to save her home or move to a more affordable home.

I have a website set up in her honor for donations, Denise Wade Family Fund. In addition to that site all of my April earnings from all online earnings sites will go to the family, and I will be posting a donate button on all of my blogs. Every penny will go to help the family. Thank all of you for reading, and for any help that you can give.

Stop Creditors From Calling You

If you are anything like me you probably have a few creditors that try to contact you continuously. This can be very annoying, and can endanger your job if they call you there. Some companies have a big problem with creditors calling, and can lead to problems for you if the calls continue to come in. There are ways for you to stop them from calling you at work, or contacting you in any other way. I wrote this article a while back, and I know the method works. If you are interested in Stopping the creditors from calling your job just read HERE.

Credit Repair Update

A few weeks ago I pulled my credit, and disputed a few items. I did receive the results back from Experian, and I had a couple of things removed completely. I am happy about that. Even having a small inaccuracy removed from your credit report can increase your FICO score.

I will also be sending my April payment to my student loan holder, and they will all be moved to a positive by the end of April. This should greatly increase my FICO score. I will have a car payed off, three student loan accounts, and a secured credit card all on my positive and payed on time. I know that does not sound like a lot to some, but it is a big improvement since last year at this time.

My financial journey is far from over, and I am taking gradual steps. Increasing my FICO score is a very big part of my journey. I am hoping to have a car financed in the next six to eight months, and hopefully have a house in the next year of so. I have to sit down after the baby is born and make a complete plan for mine and his bright future.

Times Getting Tough

I am now in my 28th week of pregnancy. I have been having contractions for the last few weeks, so my Dr and employer are worried. My job has actually been cut back to only 2 days a week, and maybe 4 hours during each of those days. I am trying to plan for maternity leave, but how can I seriously do that when I have very little money coming in. I am thankful that I have been trying to plan for a few months, so I do have enough put away to take 4 weeks of maternity leave if I do not have to get into it before the baby is due.

I am getting worried, and this is not helping the pregnancy. Times are getting tough now. I still have 12 weeks before my due date, and I would love to take at least 8 weeks off for maternity leave. How in the world am I going to be able to do that? I am a fairly positive person, so I am trying to find the positive in everything. Since my employer has reduced my days, I will focus on trying to find more work at home opportunities. There is a lot of single moms that work from home, so I just have to find the best ways. Wish me luck everyone, and if you have any suggestions please let me know.

Credit Repair

I pulled a copy of my credit report from each credit bureau a couple of days ago. I am actually surprised by how much has been removed from my credit in the last few months. I did not get my FICO score because I am waiting until April. In April my student loans will be moved from a negative to a positive, so I want to know what it will be then.

I will be disputing a couple of other items that are on my report due to inaccuracies, and hopefully have them removed.  The disputing process is fairly easy, and I do not mind taking the time to do it if it is going to help. Since I have began working on my credit report I have had about 7 negative accounts removed from my report. I am now down to 10, which 3 of those will be a positive in April. With those 3 my positive will out weigh my negative accounts.

My secured credit card is already on my credit report, and it is positive. I know it will increase my score due to the fact that it is the most recent, and it is being paid on time. I am trying to keep the amount owed down to half of the available balance because it will make the score even better.

I know that repairing my credit is a process, and will take time. I am on a good path, and feel I will be where I want to be within the next year. I still have three months before the baby is born, so I am putting up every penny I can during that time. After that my focus will be on my baby, and getting our finances on the rite path for both of our futures.

Owe the IRS!

I received the news the other day that my EX and I owe the IRS for our 2009 taxes. I was beyond upset. I was with him for 6 years, and this was the first time I had allowed him to do our taxes. I am doing what I have to to take care of the taxes owed. I have tried to get him to sign the paperwork, he refuses. Since he refuses I called the IRS to cover my behind. I sent them a letter explaining my situation, and giving them all of his information as well. I am hoping that this will get worked out. I was planning on using my return this year for my maternity leave, but I would rather get this paid off.

If anyone has dealt with anything similar to this situation, or have any tips, please let me know.

Happy New Year!

I want to take time out to wish everyone a Happy New Year, and wish you all a blessed year. I am taking steps to make sure that 2011 is going to be a good year for me financially. Since the baby will be here in June, I have to prepare quick. I am hoping I will start school in the next couple of months, and that is the biggest part of the change I am wanting to make.