Is it really March 5th already?

This week has been REALLY busy. I worked with the temp agency M and T and have another assignment this morning. I'm working all the days I can while the flu season is in full swing because who knows what will happen later.

I finally got the missing paycheck tracked down. It turns out they never sent it!! They are sooooo lucky that today I am working at the school that's just a few blocks from them so I don't have to drive all the way across town to get it. I have a fine from my auto insurance company for late payment and when I told this to the HR person I talked to yesterday all she could say is "It's our normal procedure to mail out paychecks to those who have termed employment with us". I don't have $15 just sitting around these days to pay for this, I want them to pay the fine. I know in the grand scheme of things $15 is almost nothing but I've been doing so well and to have someone else screw it up is maddening.

On Monday I had to mail a package. I stopped in at a PostNet store to send it off. The girl working there didn't know much if anything about mailing a package. She told me it was going to cost me $32 to send a 2.5 pound package to Mobile, Al via Priority mail. She said that the post office didn't deliver parcel post there. I took my package and walked out of there. There is no way on God's green earth it costs $32 to send. So, I took it to the post office yesterday and it ended up costing me $10.82 for Priority Mail with delivery confirmation.

Well, I need to get going. It's another long (but good) day.

I am SOOOOOOOOOOO ticked off

Ok, a few weeks ago I started training at the printing company job but quit when I found out I was not getting the hours promised (I would have had to find something else anyhow because the fumes from the machines and ink were making me sick). Yesterday was payday so I went up there to get my check. I was told that they mailed it to me. Well, no check yesterday and no check today.

I needed that check TODAY in order to save my butt when my car insurance payment comes out of my account on Monday. I have enough cash to cover the payment but of course they can't take cash over the phone. I can put the money on a pre-paid visa card and call them with the number, but the card costs $10 to activate. By the time I drive to where I can get the card and all the hassle involved it will cost me $20 to do that option, then I have the problem where I have no money to buy gas to get to work. Lovely.... So as it stands right now I think I am going to go with the $35 fee from the bank. It's not the best option in the world but neither is losing two very good jobs and my vehicle and my place to live.

I am going to have a few words on Monday with the human resources people at the printing job. I was willing to let go of the fact that they lied to me about my hours, but when they screw up getting me my paycheck, that's where I draw the line. I am going to request they pay me for the fees incurred as a result of their screw up.

Yes, I am alive!!

It was a LONG, but good, week. I had so much I HAD to do Friday that I didn't work with the temp agency (it was either work or get my vehicle repo'd for not making a payment today). I will be working with the temp agency on Monday, they already have an assignment for me. I went in today to drop off my time cards and apparently I already have a reputation in the office. Thankfully it's a good one! Apparently many of the paraprofessional subs are wishy washy about when they will and will not work and I am not. Plus, one of the teachers I worked with two days this past week is requesting me every time she needs a sub. The combination of being available on a regular basis and the comments from the teacher have put me at the top of the list for assignments (meaning on days when they don't have many assignments available I'll still get one).

My regular full-time job is going really well too. We had another test tonight and I scored 95%. Two more weeks of training then I start my overnights.

Before work tonight I had some spare time so I stopped in at the thrift store to look for pants. I only have 3 pairs suitable for work and needed 2 more so I don't have waste my precious sleep time in the middle of the week to laundry. Guess what? I found 2 pairs for $2 each!!!

One thing I learned this week is I need to find ways to maximize my sleep time. I've come up with a few things so far. On Sunday night before I go to bed I'll get my clothes ready for the next week. Meaning pants and shirt on the same hanger and a bag attached with socks and underwear so I can get dressed without thinking. Also, I need to get meals prepared in advance as much as possible. Hamburger helper (actually I use ground turkey most of the time) will do lunch and dinner for two days when I add some veggies. Frozen pb&j works well too for lunches when I am unsure about access to a microwave. I have the fixings for some simple (the way I like it) tuna and chicken salads I could bring in a small cooler with an ice pack.

I'm going to put my laptop down, roll over, and go to bed now (gotta love wireless internet).

Woo hoo, I'm working another 16 hour day!!!

I just got a phone call from the temp agency and I have another 16 hour day ahead of me. This time I'm subbing in an elementary school that's a few blocks from my house (which means no trips to McD's due to starvation between jobs). Yesterday. I pretty much sat on my butt and only actually did something for a half an hour or so. Today, I have a feeling will be different. I'm making sure I take hand sanitizer and ibuprofen with me.

I only need 4 more shifts or so and I'll actually be able to pay March's rent before April and pay April's rent on time!!! YEAH!!!! The big crunch time for me is until mid-April when I get my vehicle payments caught up, then I can really concentrate on getting some debt paid down.

YEAH!!!!

Schedule for the day:

7:50am-2:55pm work at elementary school
3:oopm-3:45pm make hamburger helper, eat some and bring some to job #2
4:oopm-12:30am work at job #2
1am CRASH

Thank God for weekends where I can do nothing but sleep. With working so much I can't even think about spending money. I find time to do things like figure out my budget and make my grocery list at my evening job while I'm waiting for other people to finish their assignments.

13 min.

I have 13 min. until I can leave work and go home to bed. Ahhhh..... It's been a long, but good day. I'm going to sleep well tonight.

Picking up change

I read something last night about picking up change you find on the ground. Some people won't bother with it while other people hunt for it and pick up every last penny they see. I am one of those who picks up anything the vast majority of the time. Since I don't go out shopping much and pretty much just drive to and from work my opportunities to pick up change are few and far between.

So I thought about other ways I can pick up pennies in the internet world. I looked at my e-mail inbox and found a perfect example. I read e-mails and get $$ for each one, usually $.02, but it's $.02!! What I do is let the e-mails pile up for a week or so and then "read" a bunch at one time while I'm watching TV. I figure this is going to bring in around $50/year, nothing to sneeze at....

I admit it, I spent money today

I brought food with me today for meal times at both jobs. By the end of job #1 I was ravenously hungry and at that point I had two choices. I could go home and get something else or I could go to one of the two McDonald's on my way to job #2. Both options would cost be about the same amount of money, but because time was a factor I went to McDonald's (I had cash) and spent $4.

So yes, I broke my no spending rule but I had to do something right?

Only 6 hours till I get to go to bed.....

I never thought I'd be thankful for....

My roommates blender. My roommate has recently taken up smoothies in the morning and it usually wakes me up. I didn't set my alarm this morning figuring if I woke up to call the temp agency I would, and if I didn't wake up that was ok too. I called and guess what, I have work today!!!!!!!!!

So, I'm pretty much working from 8am-12:30am today. 16 hours of work is gonna seem strange after not working for over a month.

I gotta run!

Insert clever quip about Tuesday here, maybe

I'm not quite sure I'm liking this theme of the day thing, it seems too forced for me. I'd rather keep it free form. It's my blog and I can do what I want right?

Not much of note happened Monday. I TRIED to sleep after I called the temp agency and the bank but the sleep was fragmented by several phone calls. Lovely.... I know my body and I know I have to get a good night's sleep tonight or else I'll succumb to the nasty crud that's going around (I can tell my body is really fighting it) and/or I'll get a migraine. So, that being said, I may not call into the temp agency in the morning. Yes, I need the money but I also can't afford to miss a couple days of work due to being sick.

I did work on refining my budget for this paycheck. I am making a well planned grocery list. I am also making a detailed list of errands I need to run on Friday (payday). If I don't make a list I will probably end up wasting a gallon or two of gas. Efficiency is key here.

I found out a little more about the benefits at my new job. I was only able to look at one option for health insurance and it's cheap but it really only meant for routine colds and flu type of doctors visits, maybe a broken bone or an uncomplicated appendectomy. The major positive side is it's only $19/month for a $250 deductible. Routine preventative care is only a $15 copay. This plan looks like a very viable option for me, especially since my primary form of health care is acupuncture. Hmmm, the more I write about this plan the more it's making a whole lot of sense to me. Even if I go to my acupuncturist once a month for $50 and health insurance is $19 it's still cheaper than a traditional employer sponsored insurance plan. Let me fill you in a little on how acupuncture has helped me. I am still in debt to several medical establishments for multiple tests that never showed anything (I was tested for multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis and had a shoulder injury). ALL of my symptoms went away after two or three sessions of acupuncture. So, $150 to solve the problem vs. THOUSANDS and no results; you do the math and figure out which option is more budget friendly.

Managing Money Monday

It's 2:50am and I am still awake. I royally screwed up my sleeping schedule this weekend. If I get work through the temp agency today it's going to be one very long and rough day.

So, today's topic is managing money. Friday is payday!!! YEAH!!!!!!!! I'll be getting about $400. $175 goes to my vehicle payment ($15 of that is stupid tax). $110 goes to vehicle insurance. $50 goes into my gas tank. $35 for an overdraft fee that's going to hit (totally not my fault either, stupid bank), $4.25 for ebay fees, $20 to pay back someone for the money they gave me for gas last week, for a total of $394.25. Then there is my SIL's babyshower on the 8th. My mom is sending me $20 for gas, which won't totally cover the trip up there with gas prices the way they are.

I'm going to try and talk some sense into the bank in the morning and see if I can get a fee they charged me reversed so the overdraft fee won't hit me. Or see if they can take away the fee and recharge me for the fee later. The fee came from the fact there was not an automatic deposit into my account the last billing cycle.

I somehow have to get some money for the perishable food I can't get through the food shelf. My income for March is going to be too high (just over the limit) so I can't get any food stamps. I pray I can get work with the temp agency this week because they pay on a weekly basis.

It's all so overwhelming. This is the point the anxiety kicks in....

UPDATE: I was up to call into the temp agency (no work through them today) so I decided to call the bank. My bank does not have a reputation for being nice, but I had a totally different experience with them just a few min. ago. I explained the situation and told them direct deposit was going to be re-established soon. Thank God they had a heart and reversed the fee! YEAH!!!!!! So that's $35 I have back to pay down some debt.

Suze Sunday

I'm going to try to do a theme post everyday. Sunday's are going to be the days I post a youtube video, quotes, comments ect all surrounding Suze Orman.

In her book Women and Money Suze list the 8 quailities of a wealthy woman. The quality I feel I need to work on the most is #7, Cleanliness. Suze defines cleanliness as "a state of purity, clarity, and precision." As I look around my immediate surroundings there is nothing pure, clear, or precise about it. She goes on to say "In India, women sweep the front entrance to their home each morning as a way of welcoming Lakshmi, the goddess of material and spiritual abundance, into their home, for there is a belief that she resides at the threshold of every house. In order for her to enter, she must have a clear path." There is no path around me, I just know where to step and where not to step.

To start things off I have just changed the wallpaper on my laptop to a picture of Lakshmi. Next I am going to wash a load of laundry and then work on cleaning up my space. If I don't post Managing Money Monday by sometime Monday evening send the dogs to come sniffing for me.

Wish me luck!!!

What got me in debt?

Yes, I know spending more than I made is what got me in debt. But, what was the reason behind that spending.



I'm not a compulsive shopper, I don't do drugs, I don't drink, and I don't gamble. So what did I spend all my money on. I have one word for you, FOOD. I used (and still do at times, but not nearly as much) food to stuff emotions. My particular weakness was/is fast food. McDonald's, KFC, Taco Bell, McDonald's, Burger King, and McDonald's. Yes, McDonald's is a HUGE HUGE HUGE weakness for me. I even worked there and was not turned off by all the grease. Hmmm, I just thought of something. McDonald's was a very special treat when I was growing up. McDonald's is where my dad and I went a week or two before he died (it was VERY rare to even talk to him as he worked two jobs and spent the rest of his time at the casino). I always paid rent and made sure I had transportation (had to get to the drive-thru and work somehow) but beyond that everything else was negotiable and food usually won out. I usually didn't pay other stuff until it reached a crisis point, such as the electricity getting turned off (only happened once but came close many other times). There were times I would get breakfast at McD's. Then for lunch I'd get Taco Bell. Then my friend would call and we'd go to the Chinese buffet. Then there was supper. This was not an unusual scenario.



I'd spend so much money on food that I didn't want to face the music and I never looked at my bank balance. I kept a mental note of my balance, but in the fried food induced haze I usually made a miscalculation and ended up paying through the nose in overdraft fees. So I got stressed and you know what happened next....



Even when I've been unemployed I've risked everything for that next french fry or double cheese burger or sausage mcmuffin with egg. I know I've pledged to not spend money on anything that is uneccessary but at times I'm so good at rationalizing. Now, it is MUCH better than it used to be, but it's still a huge struggle. I'm down to once or twice a week instead of twice a day (or more).

100%

I had a test at work tonight over the material we learned this week. I got 100%!!!!!!!!!!!!

They let us have our notes, the power point presentations, and whatever cheat sheets we have. during the test. Their reasoning is we are going to have all that information accessible to us when we are working with live customers, so we might as well get used to where it is.

I am quickly finding my groove. I don't feel overwhelmed, which is a huge thing for me. The trainers are giving the class big hints on how to get things done faster. They are also making some of our in-class assignments harder than the standard so we know our stuff better. I brought all my training stuff home this weekend. There are some things I really want to study and get down.

So what does all this have to do with getting out of debt? With this job I get paid by the phone call, email, or instant message. I have a guaranteed base rate but if I earn above that rate I get whatever it is I earned instead. The more I know my stuff, the faster I get through a call, and the more I get paid. Also, my pay per item goes up significantly if the quality of my service goes up. I can get paid nearly $15/hr if I have a quality score of 5 for the same amount of work I would get paid $10.50 for if my quality score is a 3. So yes, my study time at home is unpaid now, but in the future it will pay off big time!

Until I get out on the floor and start working with live customers I am vizualizing how I want my workspace set up, what programs I'll have open on the computer, and how I am going to answer and end my calls. During my free time I've been browsing around on the intranet and finding all kinds of resources that have helped me to form these visualizations. I found the score sheets the quality people use to grade phone calls and emails, so I know what elements they are looking for (it's the scores I get from them that influence my pay).

That was a close one

I'm trying to juggle all the bills and avoid late payments, overdraft fees, and ect. My big deal was my car insurance due on the 24th. I don't have the money in my account to cover it. So, I called the insurance company to see if I could delay payment until the 29th, but no can do. While on the phone I updated my address and new phone number, as a result of the new zip code my bill went up a few dollars a month. Well, the good news in all of this is because of the billing change my payment date was changed to March 2nd!!! YEAH!!!! I am avoiding an overdraft fee and a late payment fee from the insurance company!

I am excited to see my visit counter going up. I've had around 400 hits this week!!! Thanks for all the link love!

Tomorrow

I'm don't know yet if I'll be working through the temp agency tomorrow or not. If I do I'll be working in one of the public schools and I'm not sure what I'll be allowed to bring in for lunch and if I'll have access to a frig or microwave seeing as I'm a temp not regular staff. Hmmmm.... a challenge.... Maybe I'll just try to bring PB&J, chips, and a bannana. But that means I'll have to get bread and bannanas on my way home.

One advantage to getting my stuff done early at work and having to wait for the people in my training class to finish up the worksheets is that I can do all my e-mails and blog updates before I get home. Then, I can go straight to bed when I get home.

Thursday updates

Well, I got the position I interviewed for yesterday. So now I have to call in to the staffing agency at 7am every morning I want to work. With this place I get paid weekly so that will help out a ton.

I did that side job today. I put on my Craigslist ad that I would work for a minimum of 5 hours (to avoid the flakes). So I ended up getting paid $50 for 2.5 hours of work, plus I got a bunch of free stuff I've wanted for quite a while (modular bookshelf entertainment system) and some super cute baby clothes for my little niece (who will be born in a few weeks). And I got a bunch of those super soft flannel reciving blankets that I'm going to make into reusable cloth pads. What an awesome day!!

Got a side job tomorrow

I posted an ad on Craigslist about a month ago offering my services to help people clean out their garages ect. Well, tonight I got a phone call and someone wants me tomorrow morning!! I'll get $50!!!! $20 of that is going in my gas tank, $20 is going to my friend for the new cell phone, and the last $10 will go to groceries. YES!!!! I so needed this right now.

If it were only real

I looked in my junk e-mail to see if anything good had slipped through. In the last two days I've gotten 13 $250 Starbucks gift cards. Now, it's very rare I ever go there, because #1, I like to support local coffee shops, and #2, I don't like coffee. So if these were really real I would give one to my brother who loves Starbucks, I would keep one for myself to buy the tea I like, and the rest I would sell on E-bay.

Also a couple of weeks ago I won the British lottery (that I didn't even enter) TWICE!!!

I can only dream.....

Job interview #1 done

My interview was at 10am. I got there at 9:40am to take an assessment and fill out paperwork before the interview. The interview didn't start until 10:45! UGGGGG. And I saw the person chit chatting with other people while I was waiting. They expect you to show up on time but why can't they be on time? I would think that a staffing agency that staffs anything from industrial to semi-professional positions would dress at least semi-professional. Nope, not this office. The person who interviewed me looked like she was going out with her friends in her jeans and tight t-shirt.

Anyhow, as long as my background and references check out it looks like I'll get the position I interviewed for.

When it rains it pours

When I first moved back I could barely get an interview but this week, after I started a full-time job, I have THREE! Job interview #1 is tomorrow morning and is for several positions with a temp agency. Job interview #2 is Thursday morning for another temp agency. Job interview #3 is Friday afternoon for a hostess position at Perkins. If it all works out I'm hoping to get one of the jobs from tomorrow morning because it's M-F morning/early afternoon and the hostess position if it's mainly weekends. Three jobs would get the bills paid really quick.