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!