Reading old financial blog posts

I have been reading some of my old finance posts here on blogger. One of the blogs that I had was Saving Money and Home Finances, I had posted a lot of helpful articles and tips for everyone on this blog. One of my favorites is "We have to change our financial future" Read the intro below and check out the post if you are interested.

In the last few months I have been doing research, and trying to discover new ways of improving my finances. Saving money and other things work great, but I have to make more changes if I truly want to change my financial future. Doing the research is a great tool to help you with your financial future, but you have to choose to make changes in your life. Continue reading

Diagnosed with hepatomegaly (enlarged liver)

Last week I ended up in the hospital with stomach pain, flu like symptoms, and upper respiratory issues. I was not sure, but thought they were all some how associated with each other. The final diagnosis on that day was a UTI and some infection, found out later that I didn't even have a UTI. Well yesterday I received a message that my final results for a CT scan that I had was posted, so I went to check it out.

On this results page I was able to see that I have an enlarged liver, measuring 20.5 mm, a cyst on my kidney, and ovarian cysts (I get those regularly). Even though I have never had a cyst on my kidney, those did not bother me much. The enlarged liver, hepatomegaly, scared me. I have not drank more than a couple of beer a year, in about nine years. Even before that I was a social drinker maybe a couple of times a week if that. So what is causing the hepatomegaly diagnosis? At this point I have no clue. I have not heard from the hospital, I have called my Doctor, but no response. What do I do in this case? I am worried that there is something going on. Looking at the CT scan you can see the liver bulging out of my ribs. Even to me, someone without much knowledge on CT scans, you can see how large it is. 

For me I go to the worse possible outcome generally. Do I have liver disease? Do I have cancer? Or is this just a bad affect from the infection that I had? It could be the horrible food I eat as well, but working in the environment that I do it is very hard to change those habits. So my personal plan of action so far is to cut back on energy drinks, I usually have one or two a day, try to cut out some of the sugars, getting back into drinking the Crazy Water I used to from Mineral Wells, TX, and making small changes in my every day habits. I also want to focus on losing about 50 pounds. Since I had my daughter last year I have put on quite a bit of weight, and this is something that is pushing me to look at my life a little differently.

I have an eight year old son, and a one year old daughter. I want to be there for my babies for as long as I can. This diagnosis, no matter what is causing the issue, has made me look at things differently. I know I cannot change all of my bad habits at once, but now is the time to start taking baby steps to improve my life. If anyone has any experience in this situation, please share some advice. I am open to hear any suggestions or tips.

Some steps I have used to organize clutter in my home

Organizing clutter in your home can seem overwhelming once it has taken over. Clutter does not mean that your home is dirty, but it may feel like it is taking over your life. Going into different rooms and seeing things everywhere can make you feel as if your things are taking over, but there is a way to fix the clutter problem in your home. I will not say that is will be easy to do, and it will take time and effort, but it will be worth the effort.

Begin by making a plan of action to organize clutter your home. I recommend making a small map of your home with all of the rooms marked in order of least cluttered to worse, or first room that you want to work on to the last. Beginning with the least cluttered room first may help you get motivated and help you to not get the feeling of defeat.

Next, gather four boxes and place them on the outside of the first room. Use a box (or a bag) for trash, sell, keep, and things that belong in other areas of the home. These boxes will save you time and prevent you from running around your home putting things away. You may need additional boxes as you go, but four is a good start. The only box I recommend emptying when it is full would be the one that has things that belong in other rooms. This could save you some time in the end.

Now, begin at the left side of the room and work around. Go through everything including drawers, cabinets, and closets. To truly organize the clutter in the rooms you need to do a thorough job of getting things together or getting rid of it.

Continue with each step until you have organized the clutter in each room of your home. Remember to include all hall closets, linen closets, basement and attic.

Once you organize the clutter in your home plan a yard sale. You can sell things that you no longer needed to make money for your time that you spent on organizing the clutter in your home.

As a mom, clutter is one thing I struggle with quite a bit. I have used this method many times and it does work. You can adjust this plan to your personal preferences as you go through all of your things in your home but take this as a beginning step to organize your life. Getting your home organized can help you calm yourself and be more productive, or so I have read. I am still trying to master keeping my home organized.

Making Money on Hubpages

I have been a member of Hubpages for a while now, back when it was Squidoo. I make a few cents a month at the moment, at one time I was making quite a bit more. I kinda put working from home on the back burner, but I wish I would have continued to focus on it so I could be home with my family more.

On Hubpages, you simply compile quality content into Hubs based on your choice of topic. Once they are publishes, there are individuals that will look over your work and give you tips to help you improve your Hub, or to let you know that your Hub is featured on the site. You do want the Hub to be featured, it helps you get more views. Then you earn money on views, Google adsense, etc.

Hubpages is a site that you can make money on. It takes time and effort to build up your Hubs and to make them successful. I know I would never make a full time income on Hubpages exclusively, but it is a great addition to other home income ventures. Check our my profile and see what it is about if you are not already a member. If you are a member on the site, check out my profile and let me know what you think.

Nona Weeks on Hubpages

Know your Score, Credit Score that is!

Your credit is your personal number. It is the number that will give you a great deal on a vehicle, purchase a home, or simply use a credit card to buy groceries if you absolutely have to. The credit score is between 300 to 850. With the majority being between the range of 600 to 750. To purchase a home most lenders like to have a credit score of at least 700. So where is your score?

I personally like using apps to monitor my credit score. I use Credit karma and Credit Sesame . I can also use a couple of the credit card apps that I use, they provide a free monitoring service. Knowing your score and where it falls can save you a fortune, or give you something to push for.

FICO credit score range according to Credit Karma

Poor 300-579

Fair 580-669

Good 670-739

Very good 740-99

Excellent 800-850

Knowing your score can prepare you for future purchases. I have found for myself that the biggest impact on my score a few years ago was not having it diverse enough, now it is the credit card utilization. Use the apps to determine what is impacting your score. If there are inaccuracies on your reports, dispute them. Take the time to build your credit to where you want it to be.

Do not hesitate to work on your credit. My biggest regret is waiting until I was 30 to really care about the score. It took a lot of work to repair the damage I had done to my credit by the time I thought it was important. 

My personal ebook 420 to 700 A Credit Score Journey 

Home schooling or road schooling

Ok, my son started 3rd grade today. Up until now he has been advanced in most aspects of school, now the school made a huge change. They have combined classes. So my son is in a 2nd and 3rd grade class. I have been willing to give this a try because I try not to jump to conclusions, but I am ready to pull him out of school. The sent home his folder, which has the exact same plan as last year. He said he feels like he failed or something because he is repeating 2nd grade. For anyone that knows me, my children's future is more important to me than anything. That means doing well in school and continuing to excel above expectations, I just do not see it happening in the school system he is in now. So what do I do?

I have been looking into different options for him and us as a family. Homeschooling is definitely an option, but a lot will have to change. He will need me home to help teach him. The other option is to sell everything and do road schooling. Now this would be a huge change, but something I would love to do and have been wanting to do it. My entire life I have dreamed of just traveling. I have traveled a lot in my life, at least in the US and Canada, and I want  my kids to be able to experience it as well. Just this Monday and Tuesday we took a road trip across Colorado seeing the Sand Dunes, The Million Dollar Highway and Monarch pass, as well as a lot of places along the way. We also try to travel to Louisiana and Texas every year and make a point to see different places each time we go. My son loves it. He gets antsy, but he loves the learning experiences. So why not do it full time?

Torrie and I, Bottomless Lakes New Mexico, 2018

Torrie, Delila, and Mom, Great Sand Dunes 2019

Delila's first time swimming, near Dorango, CO 2019

Torrie, Delila and myself swimming, Montrose, CO 2019

There is a lot to think about. Right now I am making about $50,000 at my current position and my fience works part time.My mom is disabled, and my niece works full time. We do everything as a family to be honest. So what can we do for an income? I could sell my home right now and make about $30000. I have 3 vehicles I could probably sell for close to $10000. As far as personal items, most would have to go into storage because they belonged to my deceased sister, brother, and grandmother. It is just items we cannot let go of yet.

Looking at the pictures I have shared on this post, I do believe it would work. The real question is, How to do it? I want it done right and I do not want to make a bad decision for my kids.

Stocking your pantry to save money

 The pantry is somewhere you keep most of your food, and food is something that a lot of people waste the most money on because of not using it. If you are stocking the pantry improperly you may be losing money. Stocking your pantry properly can save you a lot of food, and money.

You should begin by cleaning out your pantry completely. Take everything out, clean your shelves, and throw anything that has expired away. This will give you a good idea of what you have, and what you waste.

Now you can put everything back into the pantry. Group items together so you can keep track of what you have. You should always put items in order of expiration date. The items that will expire soon should be used first.

Take regular inventory of what you have in your pantry before you go grocery shopping. You do not want to purchase items that you have a large quantity of that you will not make use of.

Stock up on items that are on sale, but be sure you will use them before they expire. You can also use coupons and other money saving tips that can help you purchase in bulk and save money.

Put newly purchased items behind other like items. This will help you use items before they expire. You can use the same process that grocers use FIFO (First in First Out).

Mark the food items that will expire in the next month, so you will make sure to put them in your monthly meals. There are quite a few people in that throw money away each month by not stocking there pantry properly. Using this method will help you make use of every food item that you have, and save money.

This link has a great pantry checklist to help you keep track

https://www.thespruceeats.com/pantry-master-list-1389303

Simple ways to save money on groceries

Saving money is a big thing for most families in today’s economy. Groceries tend to be one of our biggest expenses, and saving money on groceries can make a big difference in our family’s budget. There are some very simple things that anyone can do to save money when grocery shopping.

Begin by keeping a regular inventory of your grocery items. This will prevent you from purchasing items that you do not need. It will also help you use the groceries that you purchase without wasting.

Start to plan out your family meals for the week, or even longer. Planning your meals will give you a better idea on what items you will need to purchase at the grocery store.

Keep a running grocery list where your family can all use it. This will help you remember items that others need, and will prevent you from purchasing groceries that you do not.

Clip coupons and use online coupons. Some people believe that this is too much trouble, but it can save you a lot of money when grocery shopping.

Compare prices at different grocery stores before you shop to see which one has more of the items you need on sale.

Always eat before you go shopping. You tend to purchase more groceries if you are hungry.
Finally; avoid quick buys at the grocery store. Quick buys are items that are in convenient locations such as eye level, end caps, and center product displays.
Always walk every isle to find the best prices, and remember to look up and down. The least expensive items are usually not in your direct eye sight.

Is Debt Settlement the Choice for you?

Debt settlement was something I had not wanted to do, but I got myself in over my head. At one point I was actually taking out cash advances to pay other credit card bills. Until I could not borrow any more. We I happened to receive a post card from one of the debt repair companies, Americor, and gave them a call. I was so hesitant because there is a lot of fees involved in the process, but I was out of options. Well I signed up and they paid off about $15000 in debt for me. The process is scary because you have to be so far behind before they can make deals with the card companies, but within a couple of months, the calls stopped.

I signed up with Americor in 2017, and had all of the cards settled within about three months. They offered a loan program if you paid on time for 15 months, so that is what I pushed for. Now all of the debt is paid. My credit score went from 700 down to about 500 before the loan, but it is now is is around 660. It has been about two years, and it is finally looking up. I have a payment of $200 a month for about 4 years, but I am paying more and will have it paid in full by the beginning of 2021.

I would possibly check into other companies if possible. I am not completely happy with how Americor does their payments. It used to be I could send an email to add extra to my payment, but now I have to call and wait on hold for a while. This is so frustrating, because if I have the money I want to pay this debt down as soon as possible.

I do still have debt, and have been working hard at paying everything off. I will have my vehicle paid off by the beginning of the year, about a year and a half early, and I am paying down a $15000 credit card that I did not want to put into the program.

I do not recommend doing debt consolidation, but there are times when we hit a wall that we cannot climb. The biggest step to avoid this would be make a plan of action before it gets to the point of no return.

Organize your Home Office

How to Organize a Successful Home Business

For all of us that are trying to run an at home or internet business it can be difficult. I have thrown together a few things that I have done that have helped me succeed. An at home business can be ran successfully, just keep working at it. 

Keep your work space completely separate from the rest of your home. Whether it be a separate room, or a corner of a room. Keep your work time and your home time apart. Schedule all of it, and go by your schedule. When you do this you tend to concentrate more on what you are doing at the time, not worrying about the other. 

The main thing I have learned is you have to be organized. The first thing you need is a organizer. Shop around and check out the different styles and designs. Find the one that works perfectly with your business. Organizers can offer a lot of different things, and can be very useful. 

Buy yourself 2 different filing cabinets, or designate 2 drawers if you have a large cabinet. Make sure you have a file for everything, and be sure that it gets filed ASAP. This way when you need it, it is there. This will also save you time when you need it. We all need the extra time. 

Clean your desk. Take everything off. Start putting things back in order of the most used to least used. If you don't use your tape or stapler all the time, why have then directly in front of you. Always keep you a notepad handy. I have found that I always have to jot things down.

If you sell merchandise from your home keep up with your inventory. Your inventory is what you make your money on, so make sure you keep up with what is coming in and out of your stock. If you have orders that you prepare, do it as soon as you find out about it. That way you are not trying to get everything together at the last moment, and it saves you a lot of time. 

We can all run a great business from home. Whether it is online, a service, or sales from home try to make your life as simple as it can be. Good luck with everything.