~Too blessed to be stressed~

So even though me and my husband were finally able to buy this year we decided to rent again we found a much bigger townhome in the same subdivision for only $75 bucks more a month! We ultimately said "just because we can doesn't mean we should!" and left it at that. We both agreed to the fact that we don't care for yard work and the maintenance that comes along with owning a home and we'd rather be doing other things with our time things that are actually important to us and just having more time to spend together as a family and with each other! And with the kids getting older they will be gone before we know it and we don't want to be stuck with all that house to clean!

Last week my hubby called 911 I passed out getting out of the shower I was already sick getting in and shouldn't have gotten in in the very first place! Shame on me!(I learned my lesson) He was scared as heck and I insisted I was fine after he placed me over the toilet to throw up I told him I didn't need to go to the hospital that I just wanted to go to sleep.I was totally exhausted. The ER doctor gave me a clean bill of health and to follow up with my doctor in the next few days and that's what I did. My doctor said that my vagal nerve is extra sensitive and that what happened was called syncope in other words "Fainting" relating to my low blood pressure which I've always had just never had any actual syncopal episodes(only light headedness, dizziness, migraines and vertigo) up until now. So my new lifestyle changes include snacking all throughout the day, no full meals, staying well hydrated and no straining on the toilet as it could be life threatening for me! So lots of fiber or stool softeners as needed. What a shock to me because I always considered myself to be pretty healthy I guess age catches up with some of us quicker then others! Now that I'm doing extra well getting lots of sleep now I am beginning to awake with the chickens and the roosters! And in the mist of all this we are saving to purchase our first home, so excited! God bless everyone and always remember to take care of yourselves!(Thank God for emergency savings!)

When should one replace their silverware and should a lifetime warranty come into play? Most silverware from what I've seen comes with a 25-50 warranty with purchase, whats the purpose of a warranty on silverware? Just out of curiosity??? What is the most someone should pay on silverware and should the brand reputation make or break that purchase??? Thanks in advance!

Me and my hubby are making our first home purchase this spring and we are so undecided as to if we should go for a larger townhome or a smaller single family home as the homes in our community are going for dirt cheap now! (The only expense that I don't care for is that I don't wanna have to pay a association fee with the purchase of a townhome) We need some opinions please help us!!!!!!!Thanks in advance!!!

We are finally car payment free! Onto purchasing our first home this Spring with no debt! Our mortgage will be our ONLY debt! I don't consider items that you already plan on purchasing and charging these items to a credit card as "debt" because you would have to purchase these items anyways and as long as you have the cash to purchase them then to me its not considered "debt" I don't see any discrepancy with building credit the smart way! I wouldn't advise anyone especially anyone who doesn't have good self-discipline or self control to use a credit card if they are purchasing off impulse or cannot pay the full amount by the due date. So excited car payment free for a very long time until my car breaks down and doesn't run anymore its official I am the very proud owner of MY 06 Toyota corolla! So hyped no more car payments for me for a very long time!!! God is good!

When it comes to the terms "Budgeting" everyone just starts to shrink. That's why I prefer the word "Adjustment" It just sounds better! See budgets never do succeed at least that's what I've always noticed. When you use the terms "Adjustment" you can still accomplish goals and have the things you want and still have everything else under control as well when something needs fixing or something unexpected comes out of no where you simply make an adjustment to level everything out and it doesn't sound so much like torture or a dreaded chore for that matter! So that's why I prefer the word "Adjustment" I love hearing opinions from all takes, their always welcome! Good day!

I've never heard of wheat allergies before in my life(gluten I've heard of) well it seems as if I happen to be extra sensitive to wheat products. I have been on a wheat/gluten free diet for the last week with very much success! My stomach has always been sensitive just never thought wheat was the problem I was diagnosed with IBS last year and never thought of looking into it any further. Well since I've gone gluten free my symptoms are very minimal and the intestinal aggravation is gone! So I have to check all labels before making any purchase no matter what the size. Any info will be greatly appreciated! God bless! I'm just happy to be alive and that things aren't worse then what they could be!

Well I recently purchased a netbook(as a early bday gift to myself)I am an artist by nature and love to write but have trouble with writing due to Dyspraxia/Dysgraphia caused by early life trauma and prematurity. I've been wanting one for a very long time now and have been shopping around for price comparisons for a very long time as well)This netbook was way below my budgeted amount for buying one try 65% less!In other words I managed to pick this baby up for only $129.99 brand new and in the box! It is windows xp but it can and will be upgraded sometime later next year as well as the memory!(my next project) Which by the way I'm starting to love way more then my desktop! I needed something portable and that's easy to transport back and forth with me to town meetings and groups that I attend on a monthly basis I'm always the one asked to "take notes" for the teachers. I prefer a keyboard over the whole touch screen thing! My brain travels over a mile(probably much more,lol) a minute and a touch screen could never keep up with my thoughts on that level. I like the fact that my netbook has a memory card reader as well as an ethernet hook up which a tablet lacks and that advantage with a netbook is that you can use the wifi as well use it at home with your current ethernet connection. What if one doesn't have wifi at home and personally doesn't see the point of paying extra for it if its free at thousands of locations? Why pay for something that one can access for free? Well thanks for taking the time to read my post and please don't forget to post your answers and opinions on this topic! And thanks ahead of time! God bless!

Well about a week ago my computer crashed on me, being that its only 2 years old I ran the system diagnostics test on it, low and behold it was the hard drive! Totally unexpected! So with it being a Dell system I called Dell and with very little to no help from them online or over the phone I took it to a tech that I know in the area and he replaced the hard drive with a new one by the way I opted out for western digital and chose the samsung with a much faster processing speed! Its amazing how computers are much like ourselves with a mind of their own! So there you have it for only $150.00 bucks I came out with a brand new computer for less then the cost of purchasing a totally different system! Very satisfied with my decision! So friends always remember to always expect the unexpected!

I'm just so elated 2 more months and my car is gonna be paid off! Finally! No more car payments for a very long time until I can pay all cash for it next time,,,,So liberating. Such a sense of financial relief as well as financial freedom! Cant wait, Any suggestions for a small celebration will be greatly appreciated and thanks ahead of time!

Kentucky church bans interracial marriage:::

A small Kentucky church has chosen to ban marriages and even some worship services for interracial couples. The Gulnare Freewill Baptist Church, located in Pike County, made the vote in response to a longtime member who is engaged to a man whose birthplace is in Zimbabwe.
The small congregation, which usually hosts about 40 members each Sunday, held the vote after longtime member Stella Harville, brought her fiancé Ticha Chikuni to church with her in June. The couple performed a song together at the church in which Chikuni sang "I Surrender All," while Harville played the piano.
Chikuni, 29, who works at Georgetown College, is black--and Harville, who was baptized at the church but is not an active member, is white. Dean Harville, Stella's father, said he was told by the church's former pastor Melvin Thompson that his daughter and her fiancé were not allowed to sing at the church again. However, Thompson recently stepped down and the church's new pastor, Stacy Stepp, said the couple was once again welcome to sing.(He stepped down due to his ignorance)
Stepp's decision prompted Thompson to put forth a recommendation saying that while all members are welcome at the church, it does not "condone" interracial marriage, and that any interracial couples would not be received as members or allowed to participate in worship services. The only exception? Funerals.
The Harville family has formally requested the congregation to reconsider the interracial ban, and Thompson has also said he would like to resolve the issue, the area CBS affiliate WYMT has reported.
A copy of the recommendation, obtained by WYMT, reads in part:
That the Gulnare Freewill Baptist Church does not condone interracial marriage. Parties of such marriages will not be received as members, nor will they be used in worship services and other church functions, with the exception being funerals. All are welcome to our public worship services. This recommendation is not intended to judge the salvation of anyone, but is intended to promote greater unity among the church body and the community we serve.
Members of the church held a vote on Thompson's proposed language, with nine voting in favor and six voting against. The other members in attendance chose not to vote.
Gawker notes that Pike County is 98 percent white and home to the infamous Hatfield-McCoy feud.
The Harville family doesn't see Gulnare's new policy promoting anything like unity or civil peace. "They're the people who are supposed to comfort me in times like these," Stella Harville said.
And Stella's father was much more forceful in his denunciation of the interracial ban. "It sure ain't Christian," Dean Harville said. "It ain't nothing but the old devil working."

I know this has nothing to with finances but I am following up on an older post that another member had raised pertaining to topic of racism. That concludes as I stated on that earlier post that to some WE(including myself) will always be "The color of our skin" This proves that on some instances US colored folks are still not accepted and in total proves that ignorance, lack of education and misinformation along with the refusal of an OPEN mind is very much still existent in this world today and I being of color find this extremely redundant and purely unacceptable!

What is really the difference between an OPEN and CLOSED mind? Well an OPEN mind sees situations from all angles despite the differing in opinions, Is able to respect others opinions and accepts that all are unique with little to no discrepancies, as oppose to a CLOSED mind the CLOSED mind only sees their view as the only view with lack of ability to truly empathize with others, the closed mind lacks the ability to really SEE accept and embrace the difference in others due to their lack of compassion and ability to see others as God sees them but most importantly the OPEN mind sees the capacity and ability in every human being to be the best that they can be despite any obstacles that they've had to face in their lives. One being able to SEE beyond what others say and do is what truly makes an OPEN mind. Understanding in that very moment that there's more that meets the eye and totally accepting that person for who they are, not what they do, For one's behavior is strictly a manifestation of how they feel about themselves and has nothing to do with you.When one does not feel good about themselves they will often overcompensate somewhere else in their lives..could be in the area money,drugs,sex,pornagraghy,gambling,hoarding and this list goes on. In the end it always consists of that persons lack of ability to make sound choices,have realistic expectations and goals, and their love respect and confidence in themselves that reflect from the inside out. Feel free to add your take as well! God bless!

Last week I was out and about doing some "window shopping" as I sometimes do and came home later on that night(In the middle of the night might I add)something was urging me to get up and check my purse? I had planned on stopping at my jewelers to have a link replaced on one of my other watches(I only have 2 that I alternate)So anyways I check my purse and no luck, so I wake my poor hubby up(thank God for a long weekend due to Thanksgiving!)He goes out and searches my car and again no luck. Well I know I had placed my little ziploc baggie along with my fossil watch(which is my all time favorite)along with all other links to my other watch in this baggie in my purse in a side pocket that by the way zips(on the outside of my purse) and Its a habit to always keep these pockets zipped! I immediately started crying I felt extremely violated. Well anyways my lesson learned was to never carry a purse with side pockets(or to keep the pockets facing you at all times) its easier for pick pockets and it makes their job easier and I had to realize then thank my lucky stars that my wallet,my cellphone, my car keys and all other items were still in place and that "things" can always be replaced!YOUR LIFE cannot!(Of course my hubby then went out and replaced my fossil watch as an early xmas gift)Happy holidays to all of you and be on the lookout It is holiday season and people are desperate!

Well last Saturday while backing out of our garage I accidentally knocked my drivers side rear view mirror off my car due to the fact that my teenage son was too close to the driveway were I was backing out I(thought)I was gonna hit him and didn't want to hit him as I was reversing my turn was a little too sharp(my husband always tells me my sharp turns would come back to haunt me someday,Lol!) and boy was he right! So I call Toyota for an estimate on the left side rear view housing assembly unit and they quote me at $264.00 bucks! WHAT! ARE YOU CRAZY OR SOMETHING??!!*&^%(yes they are, at least in the realm of selling parts they are)I decided to do some further research and came across the same exact part on Ebay for only a merely $33bucks with free shipping nicely painted and in box! Yippee! I just love a good savings! And my husband will install this himself so we will also save on labor costs as well, its a fairly simple repair and yes since I am a S-A-H-M it will be coming out of my personal stash of cash for this week(I have already budgeted this repair from a few other areas that are in the safe zone) What a bummer, but I'd rather have my car fixed!(I don't do the duck tape thing!)

Lets discuss the importance of surrounding yourself with positive people in your life. The main reason why one should surround themselves with positive energy oppose to negative energy is due to fact that the negative energy drains a persons mind,body and soul, negative energy doesn't have the ability to cause or feed anything good to anyone it constantly feeds off others because it cannot survive on its own its like a leach that sucks all your blood and leaves you dead and limp!Its like weeds in ones garden that no matter what you do you just cant get rid of!Negative energy obstructs a persons view of their life's calling and sole purpose in life. When you get to that point a person has no energy for themselves or what they want to do, it can severely place a huge burden on ones life and be a huge hindrance and possibly destroy ones hopes and dreams and when that happens the person being used and imposed upon has no aspirations for their life's purpose, I feel that its critically important to weed ones life before it gets too late so that you can live YOUR dreams not the dreams of what others want for themselves but push them onto you because they are too coward to reach for the stars themselves, Each one of us entitled to our own hopes, dreams, and capacity and ability to live up our fullest potential and until we do some serious cleaning and nonstop weeding of OUR gardens we will all stay stuck and be too busy caring about what others think of us and want for us instead of what we want for ourselves, start weeding I believe in you, you can do it!

We just received our annual healthcare costs for 2011 and I was astonished at the amount we've spent this year only $182.00 so far for the whole entire year! Wow! That's amazing thanks to all the vitamins we take and God's grace none of us have been sick, at least nothing that a little homemade chicken noodle soup and some 7up wouldn't cure! Now with the health insurance changing we don't have to worry at all we already have a separate HSA through BOA and soon a FSA through my hubby's work! We will be all set and ready for the next year with no problem! Boy am I excited! God is good!

A person's attitude will either make them or break them, it's critical to each individual that we take personal responsibility for our own attitudes as well as our own lives. It is not your mothers fault or your dads fault that you turned out the way you did, they gave you all they knew how to give with what they had with what they too had been given by their parents. For the most part these vicious cycles repeat themselves for generations!The most beautiful thing is that YOU have the ability to finally break that cycle and YOU can if you really want to! YOU were born with all the strength you will ever have or need your entire life! Dig deep and search wide, don't let anyone tell you what YOU can and can't accomplish, set your own standards and YOU will succeed! And always remember to check yourself if need be, keep your attitude in line IT IS YOUR BEST ASSET!(Being angry with the world never got anyone anywhere.) My love goes far and runs deep so I hope as I'm writing this that someone is catching it! Good luck to all!

I have only 6 more car payments before my car is paid in full! I am so excited about it, I have NEVER been without a car payment my whole entire adult life! Since I started driving at 20(I'm now 31) I have had car payments for a little over 10 years now. I have certainly learned ALOT in those 10 years especially when it comes to finances! My friends always come to me now for financial advice or credit issues I love guiding them down the right path with their finances or general life questions. It is always a pleasure to me to be able and willing to help others! What am I gonna do with myself, and just how should I celebrate?(I recently started making bread from home and I'm soon to start canning and preserving as well) I kinda feel like I don't need to celebrate as I have everything a person could ask for in this life,a wonderful supportive husband, 2 beautiful children and lots of good friends! Good day to you all!!!!!!

My hubby recently bought me a kindle and I love it so far! I love to read, I read at least a couple hours every night, at what point does a person know that their purchase was well worth the money? I feel that when you calculate how many times you will use that item in the course of a year then it was well worth the money speaking on a per use basis! I consider myself a conservationist and I'm huge on recycling as well, and the fact that I can utilize free books as well as save trees that pretty much makes tons of sense to me! I feel that in the long run it will save me the money on books and free up the much needed space that all the books take up in my home library!(I'm down to about 25-30 books now)As well as save me tons on gas! I'm interested to know what others think too. Please feel free to let me know what you think. Thanks! And as always God bless!

Everyone "CHOOSES" their own choices in Life, If you don't like your Life then make different choices, its as simple as that! Thinking inside the box is for sissies, just my opinion I have always thought outside the box since birth that's where your "real life" can be found.

Why would anyone prepare for an emergency to happen? Doesn't make much sense to me, I mean I understand to always expect the unexpected but if you are living right and well below your means you will have available cash in the event of an emergency but to tell others that they should "prepare" for emergencies is just completely out of whack! To me "TO PREPARE FOR EMERGENCIES MEANS TO ALWAYS EXPECT THE WORST" now maybe that's just me but I'd rather differ to "THINKING POSITIVE AT ALL TIMES" and if God forbid an emergency comes up I'd rather deal with it accordingly! To believe these folks went to college and they're going around instilling all this fear in individuals is just complete nonsense! Now whoever wants to "Roger that" can!

Last week my hunny's car was overheating we had to stop at least twice to release the pressure in his radiator we managed to get it to a firestone repair center right down the street and we come to find out first his radiator cap is not holding any pressure and his fan motor has decided to retire on us! So the salesman quotes us $597.00 dollars WOW! I just about fell outta my chair! I told him I will not pay that much no way no how I will pay that much to replace a few fans and a motor and a new radiator cap! So I started going around working my price haggling skills and finally found another car repair center to fix it for only $320.00 Woohoo! Over half off the original price quote! I brought the quote over to firestone for price comparison and they matched that price for us and had our car out and running in 2-3 hours! It pays to price compare when it comes down to who's spending who's money! We were 2 happy campers! And we decided to go half cash and half credit card for payment! I always pay half and half for all bigger purchases its alot easier and conveniant for us to pay a smaller balance back oppose to a larger one!

I have noticed that when a person is upset or down(depressed)they tend to spend more then what they would if they weren't. Strange as it may seem some of us dont even notice this pattern. It could be related to chemical imbalances as well as just plain and simple lack of control and self discipline. Cortisol,Serotonin and Dopamine play a huge part in this matter, It's the same as drug addicts needing that one last hit. I've found that when you start weeding out the negative influences in your life, start loving yourself, alot of these bad habits tend to start to fade. Replacing negative people with positive people as well as negitive habits into positive habits, doing this overtakes the whole Dopamine factor raises your Serotonin levels naturally you come to a peace within yourself and from that moment on we might as well say you will never hit reverse or tolerate certain "things" in your life EVER AGAIN! Remember to always surround yourself with only the most positive influential "things"(meaning people or possessions)! As always God is good!

Me and my hubby started using a portfolio for managing our finances about 5 years ago and boy was it one of the best decisions we have ever decided to make! I jot down what our monthly expenses are for the next month proir to the current months end, then we go along and cross out every expenses as we pay it we always update it every week depending on our expenses if we had anything unexpected come up. Its trully been a life saver when it comes to finances and sticking to a healthy budget!(THE SMALLER OF A LIST YOU HAVE THE BETTER!) First things first as follows:

1)RENT OR MORGAGE AMOUNT $$$$
2)CAR NOTE AMOUNT $$$$
3)CAR INSURANCE AMOUNT $$$$
4)NICOR GAS AMOUNT $$$$
5)COMED AMOUNT $$$$
6)WATER BILL AMOUNT $$$$
7)CELLPHONE AMOUNT $$$$
8)ANY CHILDCARE/SCHOOL RELATED EXPENSES AMOUNT $$$$
9)ALL CREDIT CARDS SHOULD BE LISTED LASTLY ONE BY ONE AS WELL.(AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LIST)
THE BEST BIT OF ADVICE REGARDING MANAGING OUR PORTFOLIO/FINANCES WE HAVE EVER RECEIVED WAS TO USE OUR END OF THE MONTH PAYCHECK TO COVER THE RENT/MORGAGE THEN THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH CHECK TO COVER ALL OTHER EXPENSES! THAT HELPED US DEVELOPE THIS SYSTEM THATS BEEN WORKABLE AND EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL EVER SINCE!(ALL YOU NEED IS A GOOD PORTFOLIO AND LEGAL SIZE PADS, A CALCULATOR AND YOUR GOOD TO GO!)

ANYTHING EXTRA/UNEXPECTED NEEDS TO BE LISTED SEPARATELY ON THE SECOND HALF OF THE LIST DUE TO THE FACT THAT ITS NOT A FIXED EXPENSE.(REMEMBER LADIES BUYING A PURSE AT THE SPUR OF THE MOMENT IS NOT CONSIDERED UNEXPECTED IF YOU HAVE ONE THAT WORKS JUST FINE!LOL!!) FIXED EXPENSES ALWAYS COME FIRST THEN EVERYTHING ELSE. DONT FORGET TO CROSS THEM OFF AS YOU PAY THEM! YOU CAN ALSO LIST YOUR SAVINGS AS WELL BUT WE CHOOSE TO KEEP OUR SAVINGS SEPARATE FROM OUR EXPENSES ITS EASIER FOR US THAT WAY. HAPPY BUDGETING! BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY HAPPY LIVING! GOD BLESS!

I have to admit I am a huge fan of coupons but there is a right way and wrong way to using them, as follows: The right way is always remaining respectful and kind to the store employees! Having patience because thats the same way you would want to be treated. The wrong way is yelling and having a tantrum(by the way is for terrible twos) because they are out of stock or you have to get a rain check now due to the fact that the store employee intentionally purposefully allowed another tax paying consumer to come in and clean the shelf not thinking about anyone else!Now thats usually not the case but sometimes it happens, it's called life, it's not fair it's not suppose to be, didn't your mother teach you that? You will never catch me in a wrestling match over using coupons or arguing with another consumer because they just took the last item thats on sale and I have a coupon for that item that I just realized expires today(In that case I will get a raincheck!) Thats too petty. Life's too short should'nt you be at home cleaning anyways? Or possibly practicing yoga? Remember your manners people! Always treat someone with the same respect you would want them to treat you with. Enough said.

The purpose of any credit card to me is simply conveniance! The conveniance to use it as needed then PAY THE ENTIRE BALANCE BY THE DUE DATE! NOT AFTER!!! Interest rates only apply If you FAIL to pay your entire balance in full by the due date. I have 4 credit cards and never pay a dime in interest!EVER!If you have to carry over a balance make sure its less then 10% off the limit and certainly make sure that the card has low interest rates! Happy credit carding! God bless!

After digging our way out of debt me and my hubby decided we were not going to purchase paper towels anymore as well as windex and multipurpose cleaner we decided to go cold turkey! Boy did we make one of the best decisions we could have ever made! I now make all cleaners by hand(natural) with vineger and baking soda and we have saved literally hundreds maybe more of dollars! Its very easy to do a gradeschooler can mix these items up! Very easy tips for saving money! God bless!