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.