Wednesday, April 25, 2007

The Dangers of Shopping Addiction Part 2

The Treatment:

There is no “standard treatment” for Shopping Addiction. But the first thing to do when you notice a problem is talk to somebody, preferably a professional. But anyone is acceptable. Tell someone, get it out in the open and start relying on other people to help you get past it.

There are however some changes in behavior that need to be made to start the process of overcoming the Addiction.

Changes that need to be made to overcome a Shopping Addiction:

  • Admit that you have a Shopping Addiction or are a Compulsive Spender, whatever you call it, realizing it is half the battle. Like I have said before, I had heard it talked about but I never associated it with myself. I finally looked around my house and realized that I had so much stuff that I didn't need. That's when I realized I had a problem.
  • Get rid of checkbooks, credit cards and debit cards which fuel the problem. Make it more difficult on yourself to fuel the Addiction. Just like an alcoholic is not going to walk around with a beer in his pocket, you should not carry your checkbooks, credit and debit cards. I tell everyone that my husband should have taken my checkbook away years ago. (Hence, not willing to take responsibility for my actions.)
  • Tell someone, tell everyone you feel comfortable telling. Creating a support network will greatly increase your chances of overcoming this. I will tell everyone I meet. I am not ashamed as there is nothing to be ashamed about. This is a legitimate addiction and one that can be overcome with the help and support of friends and family. I even told my children, as they can be a great source of strength.
  • Don't shop by yourself because most compulsive shoppers shop alone and if you are with someone you are much less likely to be spend. When you do go shopping, take a trusted friend and a shopping list. Your friend will be able to help you stick to the list. I will take my husband and he is useless in helping, he agrees to everything I say and hates to tell me no. I have found however that my 10 year old son is great in helping me stick to my goals and list. He has no fear of telling me to put something back and he can read, so he knows what is on my list.
  • Make shopping lists and stick to them. If you have a hard time sticking to the list, send someone else to do your shopping with your list. Often I will send my husband to the store for me. This is very, very hard for me because I just can't imagine him getting the right stuff. However, it has been very therapeutic to allow him to do it and giving myself that freedom from control.
  • Find other meaningful ways to spend your time. Ask someone else to do your shopping for you while you read a book or take a bicycle ride. I find that during the day, when I am between errands is a really difficult time for me not to go shopping. It's just me and the babies and it is so easy to just wander through stores to kill the time. However, I have found that almost anywhere I am, there is a park nearby for the kids to play at and it doesn't cost me a dime.
  • Set goals and limits for yourself. A goal is great and can be very helpful in many ways but make goals with limits. Say I have $100 this week and that is all I am going to spend. That's your goal. Then set limits on yourself to achieve that goal. In that week go shopping only once and carry only cash. This will help you not only to reach your goal but to prevent you from falling back into the same patterns of the addiction. I talked in an earlier post about our new checkbook registers. That is our solution and so far it is working well.
Remember that behavior change is crucial to recovery and so is reaching out for help. There is no quick and easy answer that will immediately cure a shopping addiction. I am still working on the problem myself. I will still go into a store and see something on sale or something that I really want and my heart starts to race and my breathing becomes quicker and it is physically painful to walk away and not buy it. I will even pick it up and put it back down and pick it up again. Sometimes, I will even walk around with it in my cart. But the key is to keep telling yourself that it is not on your list and force yourself to put it back. Again, this is physically painful for me but the feeling of walking out of the store with nothing but what was on my list is enlivening!

Keep in touch for updates on my progress and other helpful tips to kick the Addiction!

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

The Dynamics of Step-Families

Being in a Step-Family situation myself I have realized that there are few resources for Step-Families wanting information, instruction or support. I will attempt to answer some of the questions, offer advice and most importantly, offer support. I will post on this subject once a week, every Tuesday, as time and information permits. If there is a question you have, that you would like answered, please leave me a comment. I will pull questions from the comments to base the posts on.

So this being the very first post on The Dynamics of Step-Families, I want to spend alittle time talking about what makes a Step-Family special.

  1. You have children in your lives that have more than one set of rules. It is hard for them to remember or distinguish, which rules go with which home.
  2. The newest and most fragile relationship in this case is the Marriage. The kids have been around for awhile. Your Marriage has not.
  3. Emotional feelings are usually running high. Pain, Anger and Jealousy are very real and very strong.
  4. Children have a new Adult figure in their lives and can be unsure of this New Person's place in the Authoritative Chain of Command.
  5. Adults have new Children in their lives and can be unsure of where these Children expect them to be in the Authoritative Chain of Command.
It is a hard transition to make. There are alot of people involved with different personalities, different ideas of how things work and different opinions. Combining all these differences can lead to conflict and misunderstandings. Stay tuned to find more information and solutions on they Dynamics of Step-Families.

I Love Hats!

I just wanted to share this website I just found. They offer Designer Hats and Accessories with free shipping over $75. They have some really, really cute hair accessories and a lot of great hats! Unfortunately, while I love hats and I love the way they look, the unfortunate thing is they never look right on me! Yet, I continue to buy them and try them! But that is beside the point. This site has a darling line of crystal hair accessories and even hand bags and purses! You have got to see their Helen Kaminski Palmero Bag, it is to die for! If you get a chance to check it out, take a look at their line of Spring Hats as well! There is a Helen Kaminski Hat that matches the Palmero bag! I love it!

Monday, April 23, 2007

Make Money With ZacJohnson.com

I found this site called ZacJohnson.com. It's all about making money. Something I am totally into of course, so I checked it out. It looks like the intent of the site is to promote money making tactics. I think he has a really great idea going. I love the idea of a site dedicated to helping people make money and grow their assets. However, I do find it hare to understand at times and a bit long winded. But then so is my Sister's blog and that's not always a bad thing. He is very good about making sure you have all the applicable information like in the post Make Money With Neverblueads he give alot of background that he has with the company and a little bit about how it works. He links you to their site so you can find out more and get started yourself. He keeps it interesting so you want to find out more.
Check out his post on Mad Money's Jim Cramer, it's just like an introduction to "Let Mad Money's Jim Cramer Help You Make Money". He gives you everything you need to get on board with Jim Cramer. Information on accessing his weekday nights T.V. show on CNBC to how and where to buy his book and even how to get hooked up with his online "Action Alerts Plus".
ZacJohnson, who I am renaming the Money Making King, since he hints at his royalty on the subject on his site, is really great at explaining things and laying them out there.

Heartattack Information For Women

I received this in an e-mail. I do not know the author or the source, but I found it informational enough to pass on. This is something that I feel every woman needs to read! Please take the time to do so!

Here is a more detailed article on Heart Attacks for women, written by
one who had one:

I've meant to send this to my women friends to warn them that it's
true that women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have
when experiencing a heart attack...you know, the sudden stabbing pain
in
the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest & dropping to the floor
that we see in the movies.
Having had a completely unexpected heart attack about 10:30 p.m.
with NO prior exertion, NO prior emotional trauma that one would
suspect
might've brought it on, it was this past April,'06, about 1-1/2 hours
after I'd spent a pleasant 2 hrs. rehearsing with the Note-a-Belles.
I was sitting all snuggly & warm on a cold evening, with my
purring
cat in my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and
actually thinking, "A-A-h, this is the life, all cozy and warm in my
soft, cushy Lazy Boy with my feet propped up." A moment later, I felt
that awful sensation of indigestion, when you've been in a hurry and
grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it down with a dash of water, and
that hurried bite seems to feel like you've swallowed a golf ball going
down the esophagus in slow motion and it is most uncomfortable. You
realize you shouldn't have gulped it down so fast and needed to chew it
more thoroughly and this time drink a glass of water to hasten its
progress down to the stomach, which doesn't do much good, as your
esophagus and throat muscles are in spasm and it hurts to swallow.
This was my initial sensation---the only trouble was that I
hadn't taken a bite of anything since about 5:00 p.m. After that had
seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little squeezing motions
that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it was probably my
aorta spasming), gaining speed as they continued racing up and under my
sternum (breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when administering
CPR). This fascinating process continued on into my throat and
branched
out into both jaws.
AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening. We all
have read and/or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals
of a heart attack happening, haven't we?
I said aloud to myself and the cat, "Dear God, I think I'm
having
a heart attack!" I lowered the footrest, dumping the cat from my lap,
started to take a step and fell on the floor instead. I thought to
myself, "If this is a heart attack, I shouldn't be walking into the
next
room where the phone is or anywhere else...but, on the other hand, if I
don't, nobody will know that I need help. And if I wait any longer, I
may not be able to get up in moment."
I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly
into
the next room and dialed the paramedics. I guess when one reaches
them,
your address automatically flashes on a screen, as the operator
verified
my address immediately and asked my symptoms.
I told her I thought I was having a heart attack due to the
pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my jaws. I
didn't feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts, ma'm. She
said
she was sending the paramedics over immediately, asked if the front
door
was near to me, and if so, to unbolt the door and then lie down on the
floor where they could see me when they came in. No, I didn't take an
aspirin, as I'm allergic to it, but I did take a 100 mg magnesium oxide
capsule...which bottle I keep handily in reach on the kitchen
counter...which is a small detour on my way to the front door...with
about a 3/4 glass of water to get it dissolving ASAP into my
bloodstream.
Magnesium relaxes blood vessels as it dissolves to get them
expanded to let blood get through the constriction of the vessels. I
then laid down on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness, as I
don't remember the medics coming in...their examination...lifting me
onto a gurney or getting me into their ambulance...or hearing the call
they made to St. Jude ER on the way. But I did briefly awaken when we
arrived and saw that the cardiologist was already there in his surgical
blues and cap, helping the medics pull my stretcher out of the
ambulance.
He was bending over me asking questions (probably something like
"Have you taken any medications?") but I couldn't make my mind
interpret what he was saying, or form an answer, and nodded off
again...not waking up until the cardiologist and partner had already
threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral artery into the
aorta
and into my heart where they installed two side-by-side stents to hold
open my right coronary artery and now was being taken into the CCU, and
looking up at the three anxious faces of Karen, Mark, and Wendy. Since
I'd been a patient at St. Jude in 2002 for my TIA treatment, they had
my
emergency info in their system and had called my kids. I spent two days
in CCU and two in general ward, and then was discharged.
I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must
have taken at least 20-30 minutes before calling the paramedics, but
actually it took perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire
station and St.
Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was
already
to go to the OR in his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart
(which had stopped somewhere between my arrival and the procedure) and
installing the stents.
Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail?
Because I want all of you who are so important in my life to know what
I
learned firsthand, as a Certified Medical Back-Office Assistant in
Internal Medicine Clinics, and as one who has lived through a heart
attack due to:

1. Being aware that something very different was happening in my body
...not the usual men's symptoms, but inexplicable things happening
(until my sternum and jaws got into the act). It is said that many more
women than men die of their first (and last!) MI because they didn't
know they were having one, and commonly mistake it as
indigestion...take
some Maalox or other anti-"heartburn" preparation...and go to
bed...hoping they'll feel better in the morning when they wake
up....which doesn't happen.
My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like mine,
so I advise you to call the paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly
happening that you've not felt before. It is better to have a "false
alarm"
visitation than to risk your life guessing what it might be!

2. Note that I said "Call the Paramedics," Ladies. TIME IS OF THE
ESSENCE!
Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER. You're a hazard to others on
the
road, and so is your panicked husband/friend who will be speeding and
looking anxiously at what's happening with you instead of the road, and
so are your kids or friends a hazard as well As sure as I sit here,
they
will get the attention of a cop who will pull you over for
speeding--more wasted time.
Do NOT call your doctor--he doesn't know where you live and if
it's at night you won't reach him anyway, and if it's daytime, his
assistants (or answering service) will tell you to call the Paramedics.
He doesn't carry the equipment in his car that you need to be saved!
The Paramedics do--principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP. Your Dr. will
be notified later.

3. Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack because you have a normal
cholesterol count -- I did, and do, too. Research has discovered that a
cholesterol elevated reading is rarely the cause of an MI (unless it's
unbelievably high, and/or accompanied by high blood pressure.) MI's
are
usually caused by long-term stress and inflammation in the body, which
dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into your system to sludge things up
in there (and, of course, family genetics can be a factor. I qualify
for
the latter, and the years 2005 and 2006 have been the most stressful of
my life since Jack died in 1981.)

4. Read on for the e-mail I received today that prompted my above
lecture to you:

SUBJECT: Drinking ice water at mealtime (which I've always done until
now.)
Noting that neither Urban Legends nor Snopes has anything to say about
this one, it must be true. Interesting, if you've read it before,
re-read it.
It may save your life. Send it to your friends and family. It may
save
their lives....

This is a very good article. Not only about the warm water after your
meal, but about ladies and their heart attacks. This makes sense...the
Chinese and Japanese drink hot tea with their meals...not cold
water...maybe it is time we adopt their drinking habit while eating!!!
Nothing to lose--everything to gain...

For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to
you.
It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold
water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will
slow down the digestion. Once this "sludge" reacts with the stomach's
hydrochloric acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine
faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon,
this
will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or
warm water after a meal. (Make it green tea--a great antioxidant!)

A serious note about heart attacks: Women should know that not every
heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting. Be aware of
intense pain in the jaw line, or even pressure there and under sternum,
or "indigestion" symptoms, especially if you haven't eaten in several
hours.
You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart
attack, but heaviness /pressure under the sternum is common.

Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms, but not
necessarily in the women. 60% of people who have heart attacks while
they are asleep do not wake up.

Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and
be
aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive.

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Pay Per Post

I have been working with Pay Per Post for 3 months now and I can tell you I absolutely love it! I am totally hooked! Pay Per Post is a company that pays you to blog. That's right, they pay you to do something you love doing anyway. The way it works is, Advertisers decided how much they want to pay you to write a review or advertisement for them and post it on your blog for 30 days. After 30 days Pay Per Post pays you through PayPal. Like I said, I have been doing this for 3 months and have made $1200. Not bad for 3 months, staying at home, blogging when I like. No baby sitter, no work clothes, no set schedule and no gas money required. It is a really great experience for me! If you are interested in trying it out, click the button below and sign up. Then you'll have full access to all the information you could possibly need to make your decision. Plus I will get paid for everyone that I refer, so thanks in advance! Now go! Get started earning your money!

Click Me! --------> <--------Click Me!

Friday, April 20, 2007

My Technorati Profile

Well I finally have a Technorati Profile. For those of you that do as well, add me to your favorites list and leave me a comment on this post and I will return the favor. Thanks!

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Quote of The Week

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. ~Rajneesh

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

The Dangers of Shopping Addiction Part 1

Shopping addiction is a term that is fairly new and unheard of to many people. I had heard of it but never, ever thought about it in terms of myself. It was something that happens to other people, not me. Besides, I didn't have enough money to have a Shopping Addiction. Boy was I wrong! Wrong on so many accounts and on so many levels. I indeed had a "Shopping Addiction".

There is just so much on Shopping Addictions that I will take this one step at a time. I am going to start with the "Warning Signs"

  1. Your budget is suffering and you don't keep track of your budget. I would buy something, knowing full well that the money was not there to buy it. After awhile I was regularly bouncing charges. In three months time I had spent $1500 in insufficient funds fees. After a time I stopped keeping track of how much money I had and how much I was spending. For years, I carried and kept no checkbook register at all. I just relied on the "Grace of God" to keep me within budget, knowing full well that I wouldn't.
  2. Compulsive or Impulse buying. A BIG one for me! I would go in for a gallon of milk and spend $100 or more on groceries and just general stuff. The worst for me was the "Sale" and "Clearance" items. I felt like I could not pass them up. The "what if I find myself needing it later and can't afford it?" question almost always won out. I can't tell you how many times my husband has heard, "But it was on sale!"
  3. Justifying The Spending. I would tell myself all the time, "I was buying it for my kids, so it was okay" or "I was buying food which is necessary". But I would have totally overspent and I knew it. There were so many times I would justify the spending with, "But we need it". Fast food even became a problem. I still have a hard time being in the car without having something to eat or stopping to pick something up.
  4. Denial. I was not always willing to tell my spouse how much I had spent and after awhile that I had spent anything at all!
  5. Juggling Spending Accounts. I started to notice myself trying to juggle my spending accounts and bills to allow for the extra purchases I had made as well as to give some "extra" spending money. The bills were not getting paid, I would have the money spent before I sent out the check. Then I would have to wait for the next pay check to pay that bill.
  6. Spending Becomes a Chronic Problem. When it is not just a Christmas Spending Spree, but an After Christmas, a March Madness, a Presidents Day, Easter, Spring, 4th of July and everyday thing. I would spend like it was Christmas every month of the year!
  7. Guilt. Guilt is another big one for me. I would start to feel guilty for having bought it and intend to return it or even manage to return it. But it got so bad that I was always keeping the receipts and the boxes and the tags for everything. I even bought something once intending to take it back later! "I just needed to own it. "
  8. Spending Money as a Result of Being Angry, Depressed or Hurt. After a hugely emotional situation with my Husband, I took my sister and we went shopping. Anytime I would get down, I would go shopping to make myself feel better. For some with Shopping Addiction, this actually works, others like me are left feeling even worse because of the guilt.
  9. Feeling Lost Without Some Means of Spending Money. I would get so anxious without my credit or debit cards that I would break a sweat, I would start to panic. I needed to have my credit cards, in case something happened. (Like I got hungry!) but it was a legit panic that would set in.
  10. Excessive Debt. This also includes bills not getting paid, and the creditors calling you regularly. Your utilities getting shut off before you pay them. Your bank accounts getting closed due to insufficient funds. I have been there too. All of it, the water shut off, the gas shut off, the bank accounts closed. I even had my husbands account closed that he has had since high school.
  11. Lying and Blaming Others. Then comes the lying to cover the problems. It was something else that caused it. There was a power outage. That company promised me they would not cash my check until such and such a date and they cashed it early, resulting in all the insufficient funds fees. I didn't know the account was that low. Blaming others, why didn't you tell me the account was low? (like it was the banks job to call me!)
  12. The Cluttered House. Here is the one that first clued me into my having a problem. I saw other peoples homes, nice and neat looking upper class and I desperately wanted their home. So I would go out and buy stuff to decorate my home or furnish my home and it would get even more cluttered. Then the next time, I would do the same thing until my home is filled, wall to wall with clutter. One day, as I was sitting in my living room, I realized that it was all the "stuff" that made my house look worse than someone elses. I had so much stuff that nothing had a place anymore. I had mismatched decorations and it looked a mess. Clutter everywhere. That's when I realized that I had a shopping problem. I was buying stuff to make myself look like I had money when if fact I didn't have the money and the effect was just the opposite. I looked poor and messy.
I have said it and done it all and my husband has been SO good to stand by me and not run screaming in the other direction. I have alot of reasons why and from where my Spending Addiction came. I have done alot of soul searching and discovered the point in which it started. And now, by the "Grace of God" I can see that I have a problem and I have started taking steps to correct the problem.

Keep an eye out for Part two of "The Dangers of Shopping Addiction" I should be posting it next Wednesday.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Get Yourself Published

If you have ever wanted to get yourself published, here is an idea. This site can be a great asset in assisting you in publishing your work. AuthorHouse is the leading the leading self-publishing company in the world and has been helping Authors achieve their publishing goals since 1997, with over 27,000 books in print.

Writing is a great way to earn money while enjoying the benefits of a stay at home lifestyle, however it is not easy! Publishing a book means alot of work, many late nights and stumbling blocks along the way. But with AuthorHouse you'll be guided by author advocates who are serious about writing and publishing. They can help you choose the best options for publishing your book and help you determine the most effective marketing tools for you. At AuthorHouse, you will retain the rights to your work. You will determine how many books are published, when and what your royalty schedule will be. You will remain in control of your own work!

Great Way to Balance Your Budget

I have tried many, many different ways to keep my budget balanced. The fact of the matter is I have a problem. Admitting the problem, that is supposed to be the first step to recovery, or so I have heard. Well I hope that I can not only recover from my problem but help others to do the same. I have an addiction to shopping. I know it sounds strange, I almost laugh out loud just typing it, however, it is very, 100% true. I finally realized it after our bank account went into the negative for the third time and got took us for $500 in bounced check fees, again! Yes, I said again. Three times I took it into the negative numbers and three times, it cost us five hundred dollars, in bounced check fees.

After many prayers and lots of soul searching I came up with a few answers. First was the realization that I had a problem. Second came in the form of a wonderful friend of mine. I was talking to her about it and she choose to share with me her solution. I can imagine that this would not work for everyone, but it works for her and it has been working for me.

Here's what you do: You'll have three Checkbook Registers. One for you, one for your spouse and one for your house bills. You will need to sit down and figure out how much you spend each month. Figure out all of your house bills, i.e. Mortgage, car payments, utilities etc... At the beginning of the check register, give each it's own line with it's amount. Total the register and at the beginning of each month, add that amount into that register. I usually do it on the 5th, since that is when we get our first paycheck. Then you will want to figure out how much each of you spends in gasoline for your vehicles and add that into your individual registers. Then add in some play money. Make sure you give yourselves enough to eat out once in a while. This should all total less than you bring in on a monthly basis. The rest will never be added into a register and will just be allowed to sit in your bank account and earn you interest. I personally have about $500 or more going into my account every month that is never added into anyone's register, so it never gets spent.

Here are some key ingredients however.
First of all, this is best to start if you have a cushion of some sort. I used my tax returns.
Second, all my bills are on auto pay so I don't have to take the time or remember to pay them.
Third, all bills that have the option are on equal pay which keeps the payment predictable.
Fourth, this takes alot of discipline. If you run out of money in your register, you are done for the month. You cannot dip into another register. If you spend all your gas money, you are walking!

I hope you can find some help in this.

Fun and Easy

Few things in life are fun and easy and can earn you money. Even less have the opportunity to earn you a great deal of money. I have blogged before about the great opportunity Pay Per Post is and how much fun it is. Well, it just keeps getting better!

The first of April they started a new promotion called 1K Tuesdays where they release $1000 worth of opportunities. These come as five $100 dollar opportunities and one $500 opportunity. The great thing about these are they are open to everyone regardless of page ranking or scores.

These are sponsored by a wonderful company called Zoodoka which is an e-mail site that can help your blog by driving traffic to your site with e-mail newsletters.

If you have not signed up for Pay Per Post yet, what are you waiting for? Where else can you help out your monthly budget, in your spare time, at no cost to you and enjoy every minute of it? All you need to do is manage your blogs, keep them up to date and add posts from the advertisers occasionally. This really is a great opportunity and I do not regret having gotten involved in it at all and I promise, neither will you! If you haven't checked out Pay Per Post yet, you had better do so before 1K Tuesdays become a thing of the past.

Quotes

Live to Love and Love to Live!

This is one of my favorite Quotes and I have used it as a signature line on most everything I do. I thought it would be appropriate to add while I was sitting here waiting to see if I can grab $500. I have learned that if I try to love everyone and everything, no matter how bad it gets, I love my life!
I do not know who, if anyone coined the phrase before myself, so I am not taking credit for it, I just use it on a regular basis.

Inexpensive Mini-Vacation

There is not much to do in Wendover if you do not gamble. However, It does make a great Mini-Getaway for a couple. They have some really great Restaurants, it's not too far away, they have a Concert Hall and a Spa and Salon. And to make things even nicer, if you sign up with the The Wendover Nugget Players Club, they will send you coupons for a free nights stay, some weekends even! Unfortunately you cannot sign up online, you actually have to go down there to do so, but it is well worth it.

The Montego Bay has a great spa and the Peppermill has a concert hall with some big names playing. So in actuality there really is alot to do in Wendover, even if you don't gamble!

Own Your Own Business

If you have ever thought about opening and running your own business, one of the biggest problems you can run into is finding the money. There are tons of benefits to owning your own business, working for yourself, setting your own hours, managing a company and controlling your own life. But, the money can always be an issue. Well I hope this helps you just a little bit.

I found this website that focuses on small business loans, mostly for retailers and restaurants. They say they will work with you, even if you don't have top notch credit and that their rates are the most competitive in the industry. They also make this statement, "Since the working capital you will receive is a loan, the interest you pay is tax deductible, further lowering the net effective rate you are paying for your funds." From what I get out of it, you will effectively be paying less over the course of the loan, because what you do pay is tax deductible. They claim to be Cheaper, Simpler, more Flexible. They even offer equipment leasing to help you get your business up and running. It seems like a great opportunity for anyone wanting to start a small business.

Friday, April 13, 2007

Helping Others

Most of my posts on this blog are intended for the sole purpose of making the lives of mother's easier. However once in awhile I come across something that I find so wonderful and interesting that I feel the need to share it.

I received an e-mail today from a friend of mine and it talked about helping to feed abused and neglected animals. Something about every click earns them proceeds which they use to purchase food for these poor animals.

Now it really doesn't matter from whom I receive these types of e-mails, I will always check them out on Snopes, which is an Urban Legend website. Seldom do I come across a true one, so you can imagine my amazement when this one, of all, was listed as TRUE! Not only that, it gives more in depth information in to the how's and whys and even lists other sites that employ such strategies. I have listed them below. Just think, you can click on 1 website and 6 buttons a day and actually be making a difference!

The Animal Rescue Site

Once you have clicked on the link above it will take you to The Animal Rescue Site. At the top are 6 tabs.

The Hunger
The Breast Cancer
The Child Health Site
The Literacy Site
The Rainforest Site
The Animal Rescue Site

If you click on each of these tabs you will be taken to a new page with a new button to click to send assistance to these causes. Again, I checked this out on Snopes and they are legit. They are not non-profit and they do keep some of the proceeds, however, they are legit in sending a portion of the proceeds on and it costs you nothing.

Make Money With Your Blog

Here is a great opportunity for stay at home mom's to make some extra money quickly, without the need for a babysitter and in the comfort of their own home.

Almost all mother's keep a journal of some sort, I happen to keep mine in the form of a blog. I do this for a couple of reasons. First: I have family in other states that I am not able to talk with as much as I would like and this gives them the opportunity to find out what my family and I are doing on a day to day basis. Second, I spend alot of time at my computer and it has become much easier for me to just type it up. There are more reasons but those are the most important two.

I started this blog with the intention of helping mothers. I am constantly asked how I found out about something or how I knew something. Well this is an outlet for all that knowledge. So with that being said, I have found an excellent new way to earn a little extra cash in your spare time.

Bloggerwave, is a new company that pays you to put posts or advertisements on your blog for companies that hire them. The way it work is they have a list of advertisers and the opportunities the advertisers have available. The payment amounts will vary by what the advertisers are willing to pay. You take the opportunity and type up the post according to what the advertiser requests, which usually includes a link. Then after the post is approved and has been present on your blog for 30 days Bloggerwave will pay you and you can drop the post from your blog. It is really that easy and that simple. Give it a try!
Bloggerwave

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Quote of the Week

Anyone who has never made a mistake
has never tried anything new.
-Albert Einstein

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Work at Home

In my disclosure I tell you that I will not ever tell you something is great if I haven't personally tried it myself. I mention this because I went into this job with ALOT of scepticism. I have tried a myriad of pyramid schemes, work at home hypes and in-home "party" companies. Those of you who have been there know all about what I am talking about!

So here is the ONE legitimate, work from home job that I have found. I work for a company called Alpine Access, they are based out of Golden Colorado and were founded in 1999, I believe. In 2001 they were the fastest growing company in the small-business category and by 2003 it had jumped to third in the large business category having experienced a 194% gross revenue increase in those two years! Read the full article about it in The Denver Business Journal.

This is a legit company that you can really work from home. However, they are very picky in whom they hire. They only hire 15 to 20 percent of all who apply. Most people I know that got stopped up, got stopped at the recorded interview portion of the interview process. If you would like to apply and would like some support in getting through the interview process, you can add me to you yahoo messenger as utahsavvymom and we can chat more about it.

Some of the great things about this company are you tell them the times you are available to work and they schedule you according to that. Take my schedule for example. I have to pick my kids up from school late on Wednesdays so I set myself available to start working at 3:30, off at 4:30pm and back available from 5:15pm to 6:30pm. Giving myself that 45 minutes in the middle to go pick up my kids. Since I have told them I am unavailable during that 45 minutes, they will never schedule me, ever. I will usually work from 6am to 7:30am and then sign-off to get my kids ready for school and I will take the rest of the day to play with my little ones. Then I will usually sign on at 4pm when my oldest son is home and can watch the kids and I will work until 6pm. In the not-so-busy season, I will usually only get 10 to 15 hours, but there are other agents that get closer to 20 hours. During the busy times, I can get as many as 60 hours if I want them, which I don't. And I get paid $9 per hour.

When I found this company I was looking for another company that pays $0.25 per minute that you are on the phone, so if you are scheduled for a shift and no calls come in you have wasted all your time. With Alpine, they pay you if calls are coming in or not. They pay you for the entire time you are sitting at your computer.

I work on the 1-800-Flowers program, taking Customer Service and Sales calls for 1-800-Flowers.com. And I love it. However, there are many, many other programs that you could get on. All programs pay differently, for training as well. But there all sorts of programs. 1-800-Flowers is a year round and/or seasonal program with operating hours of 6am to 6pm during the off-season and 24 hours during the busy seasons, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day and Christmas. There are other programs that are seasonal only or only year-round. Some have limited hours like mine others are 24/7. Some are only part time positions, many ask for full time 32 hours per week. It is very flexible.

Now, it gets even better! They have just recently started offering medical insurance through Atena as well as dental, life, disability and others. The great thing about this, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE EMPLOYED FULL TIME TO GET THESE BENEFITS!!!! Like I said, I am working part time and I was able to get myself and my children signed up for medical insurance! That is a huge benefit for me. Of course the $9 an hour to work from home, need no babysitter, no commute, I can get up 5 minutes before I need to be to work and my work clothes consist of comfy jammie's and slippers, well that all influences it too. This really is the best job I have ever had!

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Quote of the Week

The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook.
-William James

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Easter Egg Hunts

Saturday, April 7th

9am Easter Candy Hunt At Wheeler Historic Farm. FREE

9am Easter Eggstreme at Thanksgiving Point.

10am Salt Lake CVB Sponsors Egg EASTER EGG HUNT AT DOWNTOWN VISITORS CENTER
90 South West Temple, SLC 84101

10am
Breakfast With The Bunny at the Hogle Zoo.

11am EASTER BONNET PARADE At the Gateway. FREE

11am Dinosaur Park Easter Egg Hunt at the George Eccles Dinosaur Park

11am Easter Celebration and Egg Hunt at Antelope Island. Activities FREE w/ admission to park.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS JUST A SAMPLE LISTING OF SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT I FOUND INTERESTING. PLEASE VISIT THEIR SITES FOR FULL INFORMATION. ONLY THE ACTIVITIES I HAVE LISTED AS FREE ARE FREE. THE OTHERS WILL REQUIRE A FEE.