Part One
It happens every year at tax time. On Facebook, on twitter, in the newspaper, you see and hear it everywhere you go.
"I NEED MY $ NOW."
"WHERE'S MY REFUND?"
"IT'S MY MONEY!"
And my personal favorite........
"I AM GETTING EVICTED/ELECTRIC/GAS/PHONE SHUTOFF! I NEED MY REFUND TO PAY MY BILLS!"
Ok seriously folks- can I ask you? How in the heck do you pay your bills the OTHER ELEVEN MONTHS out of the year??? Why is EVERYONE SUDDENLY BROKE- at tax time???
I can't wrap my mind around it.
I have a family of 5 that lives on $2,400 a month.
Oh wait.....
That's GROSS PAY.
What do we ACTUALLY SEE month to month???
$1,644
FOR A FAMILY OF 5!
We paid off a car loan of $11,000 in just six months a few years back.
Last year we bought our own home. 4 Bedroom, 2 bath, and 1,800 square feet PLUS full basement.
Here's the trick.
NUMBER ONE:
Live on less than what you earn.
Your Bills should be no more than 60% of your income
Do your bills come to more? Get rid of something.
Examples:
Our cellphone contracts were $200 a month.
Pay as you go is $100 a month (savings $100 monthly)
Cable TV and Internet was $178 a month
Internet and Netflix is $50 (savings $128 monthly)
Land Line to our Home? $74 a month
VOIP Magic Jack landline $100 for FIVE YEARS (savings $4,340)
Look- I didn't even really get rid of anything- I just got by paying less!
If you can't possibly cut back your bills~ you need another job. It's that simple.
You should be able to now put 30% of your income into savings.
In our case and you might think this is strange.. we did this in a unique manner.
My husband claims ZERO deductions on his forms at work- so the government takes the MAXIMUM. We NEVER EVEN SEE 30% of his income until it's time for taxes!
This leaves you 10% of your income- THIS, this is your fun money. If you make $600 each week, you have $60 to "play" on. I wouldn't recommend it though. You never know when you might need an emergency car repair, or extra gas $...
Your weekend trips to the bar??
Oh honey, it's cheaper to drink at home. Do you really NEED to drink anyways??
What about socializing with your friends?
How about inviting them over for popcorn and watching a Netflix movie on that brand new smart TV you were able to purchase this next tax time using my tips?
Yes- we do have a few nice things, a plasma television, a couple of Ipods, some nice camera equipment. We allow one or two splurges out of the tax refund. This year I got a new stainless steel dishwasher and a stainless steel over the range microwave- and I am giddy over that.
Learn how to balance your budget- and you will be a LOT happier for it.
For more tips- contact me. I am happy to help.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Welcome to Adulthood Sweetheart.
Oh my word- I shouldn't be allowed to read the news.... stupid is abundant!
With that I bring you.... young "adult" stupidity....
Ok- so let's just give you the gist as the parents see it... then we will have some fun.
Daughter refuses to follow house rules. You know, clean up after yourself be polite.
I imagine this conversation followed.
Parental Units: "If you don't want to follow our rules~ you don't have to live here, but as long as you do live here, you follow them."
Daughter: "I'm 18 and I can do what I want! I'm leaving!"
Ok- so they didn't technically throw her out- she had an option right? She moves out and moves in with her friend.
Now- let's take it from her side:
Parental Units: "You don't like our rules??? GET OUT! We don't WANT YOU HERE!"
Daughter: "I am just going to go live at my friends! You are SOOOO MEAN!"
According to the article- she says she was thrown out, they say she left of her own volition. She left 2 days before she turned 18.
Does this matter? Well not in a "normal" person's perspective. She was nearly 18- so kick the birdie out of the nest. Big deal....??? Yes..... let me explain further.
Said Daughter has not taken parents to court to sue for.... get this....
CHILD SUPPORT!!!
Not only that but she wants her private school tuition paid, and college as well!
WHAT IN THE WORLD?????
I thought about this- I think I have a solution.
First- she wants child support of $654 a week. She was only technically a "child" for two days.
So $654 a week / 7 days in a week * those 2 days = $186.86
That covers child support.
Now we have the question of Private School Tuition. The parents paid that through December, she left their home in October. So they have paid that 2 months AFTER she turned 18. Solution? Sweetheart, either get a job or go to public school for the last half of your senior year. Your other option is to go kiss your parent's butts hard and move back home!
College? Get a loan like the rest of us. Then get that job to pay for it.
Being emancipated isn't easy now is it???
Oh- and if you are wondering about who's paying the lawyer... well that particular idiot is her friend's father.... and he has her suing for court costs too.
Welcome to the real world.
Article found at:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/03/05/new-jersey-teen-sues-parents-for-support-claiming-was-kicked-out-home/
With that I bring you.... young "adult" stupidity....
Ok- so let's just give you the gist as the parents see it... then we will have some fun.
Daughter refuses to follow house rules. You know, clean up after yourself be polite.
I imagine this conversation followed.
Parental Units: "If you don't want to follow our rules~ you don't have to live here, but as long as you do live here, you follow them."
Daughter: "I'm 18 and I can do what I want! I'm leaving!"
Ok- so they didn't technically throw her out- she had an option right? She moves out and moves in with her friend.
Now- let's take it from her side:
Parental Units: "You don't like our rules??? GET OUT! We don't WANT YOU HERE!"
Daughter: "I am just going to go live at my friends! You are SOOOO MEAN!"
According to the article- she says she was thrown out, they say she left of her own volition. She left 2 days before she turned 18.
Does this matter? Well not in a "normal" person's perspective. She was nearly 18- so kick the birdie out of the nest. Big deal....??? Yes..... let me explain further.
Said Daughter has not taken parents to court to sue for.... get this....
CHILD SUPPORT!!!
Not only that but she wants her private school tuition paid, and college as well!
WHAT IN THE WORLD?????
I thought about this- I think I have a solution.
First- she wants child support of $654 a week. She was only technically a "child" for two days.
So $654 a week / 7 days in a week * those 2 days = $186.86
That covers child support.
Now we have the question of Private School Tuition. The parents paid that through December, she left their home in October. So they have paid that 2 months AFTER she turned 18. Solution? Sweetheart, either get a job or go to public school for the last half of your senior year. Your other option is to go kiss your parent's butts hard and move back home!
College? Get a loan like the rest of us. Then get that job to pay for it.
Being emancipated isn't easy now is it???
Oh- and if you are wondering about who's paying the lawyer... well that particular idiot is her friend's father.... and he has her suing for court costs too.
Welcome to the real world.
Article found at:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/03/05/new-jersey-teen-sues-parents-for-support-claiming-was-kicked-out-home/
Underage and Obvious Consequences.
Ok so here it goes- Santa Lucia is a restaurant here in Fargo, North Dakota.
They failed a compliance check for serving alcohol.
The reason? It's unbelievable.
Do you know what's more unbelievable? The owner wants the fines for failing waived
because her servers weren't "trained" how to use a calculator to determine age!
Read this article for yourself... it's just scary!
https://secure.forumcomm.com/?publisher_ID=1&article_id=425587&CFID=505660282&CFTOKEN=83013029
UPDATE:
The city of Fargo refused to waive her fines. Gee... I wonder why? I laughed remembering
that the servers couldn't use a calculator to determine a patron's age... and as it stands- they never needed one! Underage ID's are OBVIOUSLY DIFFERENT LOOKING from someone is of age...
Ok- now I really can't stop laughing.
Read the continuation.. seriously... this is good. YAY
http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/428251/
They failed a compliance check for serving alcohol.
The reason? It's unbelievable.
Do you know what's more unbelievable? The owner wants the fines for failing waived
because her servers weren't "trained" how to use a calculator to determine age!
Read this article for yourself... it's just scary!
https://secure.forumcomm.com/?publisher_ID=1&article_id=425587&CFID=505660282&CFTOKEN=83013029
UPDATE:
The city of Fargo refused to waive her fines. Gee... I wonder why? I laughed remembering
that the servers couldn't use a calculator to determine a patron's age... and as it stands- they never needed one! Underage ID's are OBVIOUSLY DIFFERENT LOOKING from someone is of age...
Ok- now I really can't stop laughing.
Read the continuation.. seriously... this is good. YAY
http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/428251/
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Child Protection Services and Department of Human Services (A Broken System Part Duex)
I have wondered for a long time... why is it that children are taken away from good families all the time and yet the people who are actually beating children bloody- breaking bones- raping them- those are the people who are allowed to keep their children?
When I was a teenager I was placed in a foster home. I do not know what agency ran it. It was a long time ago. My foster parents were church going people. They were farmers and all in all decent people. HOWEVER, they did employ a hired hand. I was 15- he had the bedroom upstairs next to mine, and he was on his own account a child molester. He bragged to me many times in the barn about sleeping with the other girls that had been before me. Being afraid of my stern foster parents, I said nothing. I should have said something. Had my mother not raised me with a half a brain- I probably would have been his next victim. I instead locked my door each night and pretended I was asleep when he knocked in the early morning hours.
My own daughter is now looking at possible foster care. This terrifies me greatly. This puts her deeper into a system that I believe is undeniably BROKEN. Who will protect her if I am not there? She is only a child- not even a teenager as I was.
I have seen CPS/DHS take children away from good parents. I have seen abusers have their children returned to them time and again. I know of children personally who were potty trained when they were taken by CPS and returned with issues as if they had never been trained at all... some of them were over the age of 8.
My children are blond hair and blue eyes... according this article the most sought after children by CPS to take are.
http://techiesgofarming.org/2013/04/27/children-being-kidnapped-by-cps-for-adoption-bonus-money/
Sites like this make me sick... it's like looking at a mall for a new shirt... only it's kids. What I want you to notice is this is another site entirely- this one "advertising children". Please notice that children are listed as Caucasian. But if they have blond hair and blue eyes- that is noted... so do the other children have green eyes and dark hair? I think this just reinforces that our blond hair and blue eye babies are more desirable and salable to CPS/DHS
https://sites.google.com/a/fcjfs.org/fcjfs/waiting-children
CPS a friend of the court not the family. The sound is not great... but I think it gets the point across well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arVPZHgTcmA
When I was a teenager I was placed in a foster home. I do not know what agency ran it. It was a long time ago. My foster parents were church going people. They were farmers and all in all decent people. HOWEVER, they did employ a hired hand. I was 15- he had the bedroom upstairs next to mine, and he was on his own account a child molester. He bragged to me many times in the barn about sleeping with the other girls that had been before me. Being afraid of my stern foster parents, I said nothing. I should have said something. Had my mother not raised me with a half a brain- I probably would have been his next victim. I instead locked my door each night and pretended I was asleep when he knocked in the early morning hours.
My own daughter is now looking at possible foster care. This terrifies me greatly. This puts her deeper into a system that I believe is undeniably BROKEN. Who will protect her if I am not there? She is only a child- not even a teenager as I was.
I have seen CPS/DHS take children away from good parents. I have seen abusers have their children returned to them time and again. I know of children personally who were potty trained when they were taken by CPS and returned with issues as if they had never been trained at all... some of them were over the age of 8.
My children are blond hair and blue eyes... according this article the most sought after children by CPS to take are.
http://techiesgofarming.org/2013/04/27/children-being-kidnapped-by-cps-for-adoption-bonus-money/
Sites like this make me sick... it's like looking at a mall for a new shirt... only it's kids. What I want you to notice is this is another site entirely- this one "advertising children". Please notice that children are listed as Caucasian. But if they have blond hair and blue eyes- that is noted... so do the other children have green eyes and dark hair? I think this just reinforces that our blond hair and blue eye babies are more desirable and salable to CPS/DHS
https://sites.google.com/a/fcjfs.org/fcjfs/waiting-children
CPS a friend of the court not the family. The sound is not great... but I think it gets the point across well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arVPZHgTcmA
Valley News Live... My thoughts this evening.
Valley News Live Posted this on their Facebook page today.
http://www.valleynewslive.com/story/24568086/buried-fire-hydrants-are-a-real-concern-for-local-fire-departments
I was reading a lot of the comments... and I was surprised by how many took a complacent attitude about the fire hydrants in Fargo-Moorhead being buried by snow.
Has society really become so lazy that they just "expect" someone else should take care of it?
Has society really become so self-entitled they can really believe it's not their problem?
This is a terrifying thought to me!
Some said that "prisoners should do it."
Prisoners could do it- I suppose....
But do you realize if it's in your yard in the summer- it's your job to mow around it too... so perhaps this job lands on the homeowners living on that lot????
I also think the response of, "it's the city's job....." is ridiculous.
As far as it being the city's job.. seriously- they don't mow the boulevard in front of your home- in fact they (the city workers) bury it in snow every winter too..... if you want it beautified or useful... you do it.
The fire hydrant problem could also be solved on a rotation basis between all neighbors in a 6 house circumference?
I for one can't afford to take a $150,000 loss on my home (not to mention my family's belongings) just because, "the city should take care of it."
So I dig out the one closest to my home regularly, much to the chagrin of the homeowner on that lot- they DO NOT like me walking along "their yard" to shovel it out. I like to think that IF their home should ever catch on fire- that they will appreciate the work- albeit too late.
But you know shoveling it out isn't the only problem... they also tend to freeze closed... I can't imagine worse than your house being on fire- the firefighters waste precious time shoveling it out... find out it's frozen and have to shovel out the next closest one too BEFORE they can ever get to your home.... take the preventative measure... clear out the one closest to you.
In our area- we tend to be very cold... and this year- about 6 blizzards in as many weeks with up to -60 windchill temps.... I don't blame the fire department for not wanting to shovel in that- and if you feel it's their job- perhaps they feel like you should put out your own fire.... and they won't have to freeze. I bet you don't like that option now do you?
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