Heat Must Have Heat

OK the tantrums of the central unit led to turning the heat off in the middle of an usually cold winter. I'm sure we've had colder but I don't remember when. We would be dressing warmer. I must have jogging pants, they're warmer. Little bit needs more stockings, I have to layer her. She's small and likes to strip, the more clothes I have on her the warmer she will be. The half dozen comforters on her bed along with her little blanket sleepers seem to keep her nice and toasty at night. The only upside to not having the heat on is the lowering of the light bill is sure to follow.

Now to price space heaters and research the new safety features. Not that I would dare leave one on while I was sleeping or laying down for that matter out of fear of falling asleep. There are cats here, cats are curious and well they don't understand not to tip things over. I have also decided that there are too many televisions in this house. My living room has two, one for watching and one for the kiddo to play her video games on (the picture only cooperates for the games) and one in my bedroom. There are two more unplugged sitting in the floor of the spare room, one of those used to be in the little ones room so that she could have a show from her favorite DVD's at bedtime to put her to sleep.

That is just one of several bedtime rituals used to break a previous ritual that then had to be broken. Strangely it was one of the easiest to break. Now I need to go plan tomorrow's attempts at work and research space heaters. I also need to take some measurements. I may be in need of room dividers to keep the heat contained to specific areas that we are actually using.

Slow, slow, slow

That's how work is going but slow is better than none. I took the time to label some envelopes for various needs and wants. I don't know why but seeing a bank balance increase does nothing for me. Cash, cash does something for me. It's like math, it's just numbers to me but money I can see it I can feel it and I can spend it. I do much better figuring out how much money I need than I do with even the most basic math problem. The things I do to earn in my spare time (whatever that is), usually when I can't think to write is not being spent until it absolutely has to be.

There were envelopes for Auto Repairs, Household repairs, Vacation (like I'll ever take one), therapy supplies (yes we go through a lot of them and little one enjoys it), school supplies (uniforms are mandatory), clothes for me (desperate need), renovations, storage supplies, emergency expenses, the youngest two children's birthdays, Christmas 2012, and New Car. When the car envelope gets enough a new savings account dedicated to it, insurance and maintenance will be opened. That is the only way to keep up with it and not spend it since it has to be a rather large amount it is safer not to keep it in the house.

I need to make an investment in a fire proof lock box. I have a fire proof box but the lock is broken, not much good in the event of a fire. I know I can put off the purchase of anything major besides the new car since my homeowners insurance is non-existent at the moment. Now to figure out how much goes in each one. I get to make lists now. Each envelope gets its own list.

My well will get its own envelope too. I fear it needs an electrician or a miracle one. I'm hoping it's not in need of an electrician, they cost a lot. I'm just far enough out that even a typical visit is a bit high just for them to pull in my driveway.

How Much Do I Need?

Well, by now you'd think I would know the answer to this question. I need to know just how much money I need to get by each month. There are set bills and bills that only come up every now and then. What are the ones I can do something about?

My light bill is on the budget billing plan so I know how much it is every month. It is $245 per month at the moment and I am by some small miracle under budget. Christmas Day the giant leak in my duct work was found and now that it is located hopefully it can be fixed well enough to keep the bill from sky rocketing and throwing me over budget. Space heaters may be the temporary solution to that problem, I haven't decided yet. I could be going to portable air conditioning units if I can come up with the money.

Well, I need to have approximately $120 each month for three supplements that run out regularly. That's $365 right there plus another $20 for an old account is $385. Then there is my Internet so that I can work which is $50 a month which brings me to a total of $435? and that's not all of them........I'm tired of figuring out how much money I don't have at the moment so I'll be going.

Desperately Need to Work More

I need to get more work done in a very short amount of time. At the moment I only need $12 but that will soon turn to $47. You don't want to know. There are still two empty supplement bottles on my counter that are about to be joined by a third. The good news is that Christmas vacation has started, we only have three therapy sessions and one appointment to go to during that time. The bad news is that Christmas vacation has started. My darling little one is determined that mommy can not work during the hours that she is awake by the time she goes to bed my eyes are tired and in need of rest.

I am in need of more hours in the day or I will have to begin considering a daycare since she does not start going to school all day school begins next year. Although I am considering taking her out of school since the speech therapist there never sends her stuff home, instead she throws it in the garbage when my child that has a diagnosis that includes behavioral issues has a behavioral problem. I really don't appreciate that. I also did not appreciate when our private speech gave the OT a cookie for her as a reward only to have the OT throw it away when the child did not do the task instead of giving it to me to take with me. We do not waste food and had I paid for the $5 pack of cookies that came out of I would have required compensation.

I do believe these people think that I am made of money since I do not complain about it. The simple act of purchasing gasoline to get her to appointments puts a financial strain on the household budget which is fixing to get tighter if I do not manage to become more productive soon.

I began a book that I hope to finish and publish by the end of January. It is a short book because it does not need a lot of details to make it finished. I have another one in mind to write after it but I have to make sure that it is fine with some people first. I hope to at least manage two ebooks in 2012, once I meet that goal I'll set the next one.

I am filing for divorce in 2012, this marriage is over. I need $170 to file the papers plus the cost of the notary public before I can file them. This is going to be interesting. I am in debt once again but that's ok. I've dug out of this hole before and I can again.

Progress Against All Odds

I finished my copy of "How to Write Ebooks for a Living" and began my book. The first attempt vanished into thin air but the second attempt is going nicely and using the online word processor I email myself portions all along. The Table of Contents can be automatically put in when I finish it by simply marking my headings for it!!! I love that feature since my writing is free flowing. There is also a feature that will allow me to do my title page, I'm hoping the title comes to me by the end of the book.

And my kid is adding material for the next one as I type this. First things first, one book at a time. This is working out nicely. My phone is not getting answered to prevent having to put money on it until I am ready. There is enough time on it for an emergency. I can access my book from anywhere since it is online!! I like that, in the meantime I am writing articles to get a payday until it is done. I am going to have to market it myself but that's fine. I plan to write this one and have it published I hope by the end of the year but the end of January definitely. I plan to write at least six in 2011. I have ideas in my head so they will be put on paper. I think a couple children's books will fit too.

Well, I have to get back to work. I'm checking the local sales papers online. I figured out that I do better at the store alone with the kid than with anyone else. I tried taking a friend to the store but it was like she was purposely attempting to blow my budget for the month. She was hyper and wouldn't shut up.

Lots of Reading but Not Much Writing

Well, today I finished reading my copy of "Look Me In The Eye" and bought 'How to Write Ebooks for a Living. I even began to read the last one, and noticed that beside it in my Kindle for PC app was "Wife No. 19 that I started months ago and never finished reading. So I am going to alternate the two until I get both of them read. I am a long way into Wife No. 19 so I should set aside some time to finish it. I have other books to read some in ebook and others in traditional form. I had a reason for having all of them and I will finish them.

The books I was reading were for article ideas and my own information but those articles take longer to write since the only time I have to read is in therapy. At least for traditional books, other than that I'll be attempting to write other articles to earn my living. I seem to have a break although unplanned from private clients at the moment so I am taking advantage of it to write things that I want to write. I am not in a hurry this week. I am simply gathering strength to get through the holidays.

This week will be a short one as far as school and appointments go so I am going to be reading and working as much as I can in order to do what I planned to do this year next year. Oh well, it's time to get back to work. I'll be back later to tell you how well my plans for the new year are going. Hopefully they'll go better than this last year did.

Anyway, I'll be back later.

Long Weekend Ahead

I was up until almost 1a.m. and as a result didn't wake up until after 9a.m. this morning. That's 7 hours of sleep, and I still feel as if my eyes are not going to stay open. Of course I've only been up an hour and a half so far. The coffee is getting cold faster than I can drink it. I got some things done yesterday that were rather productive.

I wrote a couple of things yesterday. I even published one. I am now making it a point to once again include links in my writing to items that I have already published. I need to increase traffic and once again gain exposure. That means I am editing some older things to bring them up to where they should be. I would be once again going back to private clients.

I would need some things that I can not afford in my typical budget which makes obtaining them other ways vital. By other ways I mean by increasing my work load to the point that not only are my expenses covered by my savings account is reopened. I have a book in mind, and if I can find the file I can get back to it.

I have to have $50 to reopen it and I am determined not to sell anything off to do so. I am also determined to turn this house into a one television household. That way I can still watch the shows I want to watch without taking time out of working to do it. Eventually I'd like to get rid of the television again all together however. I'm not sure why but I would. Days seem longer without one, or maybe not watching television just makes me more productive. Not that I watch much I usually listen to music on my computer while I work.

Well, speaking of work I might as well get back to it. I intend to be up just as late tonight and hopefully more productive than I was last night when it came to working.

Minimum Work Ability

I have managed to get some work done and submitted during the last few days. I'm not sure how much more I can get done but that little bit makes me feel better than I did. I am working on some articles in my word processor only to discover that I prefer the use of Google Docs to write articles in which gives me the advantage of online storage. The one problem is that I can not check my grammar meaning I have to be extra careful. I guess that would help improve my writing if I am always responsible for my own editing as word processors do not catch everything.

I know I am going to have to purchase more internet to get by until the first of the month. I have a feeling that I will need to spring for unlimited access prior to the first of the month. I wish I had been able to afford it when I got my new device. I do enjoy once again not being tied to my desk however. I will get back to unlimited access I have to I have used up half my data allotment in the last three days. The end of the month is a couple weeks away. At least I can write offline until I get it back if I run out of data. I can resist the urge to over draw my bank account just to have Internet access and do without it as long as I have some way to write.

Well, I'm running short on time so I"m going to go get back to the work I'd planned to do online before I call it a day.

Dim at the Moment

My financial future would look rather dim at the moment considering I do not have a computer at home which means my ability to work is limited. I have a well that is in need of repair or replacement not sure yet. It has been touchy for months and now it is either coming apart or it pumps up sand. We should know by this afternoon although at the moment it is not pumping. My main goal at the moment is to have running water and get back to work on a regular basis. This two hours here and there at the local library is not cutting it in the least. By the time I get what I need my session is over. I am typing as fast as I can and it is not fast enough.

My television set went to the pawnshop this week so my four year old could go to the local Peanut Festival on special citizens day and be a typical kid for a few hours. It is the little things like that which bother me the most. She should not be deprived because we are broke. I need to get back to work it has been two weeks since my computer tore up and no one seems to understand that without it I am unemployed and may not make it through the month.

I did set some goals however. I need $50 to reopen my savings account and I also need my t.v. out of hawk. The opening of the savings account comes with goals to put at least six months of expenses and the amount required to buy a replacement for my computer in the event this happens in the future. That way I simply go replace my main source of income and do not have to ask anyone for anything. I have decided to work on some books in my spare time provided I ever get spare time again. Well, I have to check and make sure I am still in the market to earn a living so I have to be going.

Holiday's Causing Stress

I would be broke as usual but right now I would be worse off than usual. I am not only broke I am in debt. While typically that would not bother me as I have paid off a great deal in recent years the fact that I am farther in debt with the holidays approaching would make it worse. I would be in the process of writing or rather rewriting past articles just to have something to do during my child's tantrums since I can not acknowledge them because with Autism that makes them worse.

I am updating my blogs as she has her tantrums because I have to focus to do the timed work. Allowing timed work to time out is not a good time, it means that I wasted my time while I could have been doing something that earns a little income instead of ending up with none. I have four blogs that should be pretty well updated provided the weekend continues on the path that it is taking. I am not very good at keeping up with this one but I intend to get better. My "Odds and Ends" appears to be my favorite since I feel free ramble.

I have a lot of articles to rewrite and originals to write. The holidays are here and those articles appear to earn well close to the season and an earning boost is something I can use right now. Well, I have a few hundred dollars that I need to earn to make it until the end of the month and I need to get a head start on next month so I'm going to be going now. I do so love being in debt around the holidays, just proves I do everything backward. Most people get in debt because of it but not me. I start it in debt with an empty savings account.

Figuring It Out

OK I'm figuring it out now, I think anyway. I got paid for my project even though it's not done yet. I still owe him five rewrites, no problem. I can do those five provided he gets them to me this year. I am waiting on another project or two to come through. I think that I will bid on some projects while I wait. It can't hurt I figured it out and I can do at least three at one time and my own things without being overwhelmed as long as I schedule my day correctly. I have to find out how to pay for the little device to make my Internet portable all over again so that I can work anywhere though. My battery last for approximately two hours, so I need a backup battery in order to switch them out when I am going to be gone for long periods of time.

Wish me luck I am off to bid on anything I think I can do.

Frantically Working

I would be frantically working on anything and everything in hopes of getting paid for something, anything before Friday. I would be so broke that I literally can not pay attention. There are always extra bills at the end of the year but this year they seem to be taking more of a toll than they usually do. I need to get gas to take the kid to therapy and replenish her supplements. That's going to be tricky, gas is over $3 a gallon. I have $5 and a quarter of a tank of gas. You tell me is this going to work for five days of therapy?? I think not.

I'll have a whole $17 on Friday minimum and while that's better than nothing I fear that it is far from enough. I really should write a book or something. I started to type up some things that I had written so that I can edit them and turn them into short stories but I'm afraid that some of them were too painful and I had to stop typing them up to prevent myself from crying. Well, this isn't doing anything but complaining so I'll be getting back to work. Yes, I know I have more blogs to update but that can be done tonight and during my breaks today. I have to work furiously to make things improve and that is just what I intend to do.

Broke as Broke Can Be

Well, all the bills except for a couple are paid. I have the money for two of them and will have the money for part of the other as soon as I get paid. I have no idea how in the world to get by until then. I have yet to finish my last project, I have five more rewrites to do on it that I do not have the material for. The client was sick in the middle and offered to release the funds before I finished I should of made it clear that was fine with me but I do believe I was distracted.

At the moment I would be going back and forth between updating my blogs and promoting my writing. I have some old articles that require updating so I'll be doing that in hopes of finding a new angle on them to write new material from when the kid goes to school.

The 6th my soon to be ex-husbands check from the day he worked his new job will hit the bank. Next Friday provided I don't forget to request it I should get a small payout from Text Broker, the new weekly pay day will work well for me provided I can pay attention long enough to make it each week. The cost of everything is going up and it helps with a day or two or travel expenses for therapy or getting the baby a snack for the days she doesn't have time to sit down and eat her lunch.

I'm already thinking about the kid's Christmas and birthdays. It's going to be a tight budget this year but then again it is every year. I need to replace my Rodeo and pay for the divorce. This is going to be fun, I still have no idea how to figure out all of this stuff. I just wish that I could afford to move right now but I can't so I'm stuck with my soon to be ex and wondering if we're going to be able to get a divorce in time for the holidays.

I have to take him back off my savings account as soon as they deposit his check so that he can not take money out of it. I need to save some so we can move and stuff. I'm tired of being broke and I have the nagging feeling that without him I won't be nearly as broke as I am. It's as if he's drug me down with him over the years and I just can't take it anymore. I don't need everything that I see but I do need to meet basic needs without someone whining that they can't do what ever they want when they should know we can't afford it.

Stalled

OK I'm stalled in the middle of a project. What was originally 15 rewrites turned into 20 no problem. Problem, I have the first ten complete and they have yet to send the last ten. What is going on? I have no idea. My other regular client apparently does not realize a week has already passed or she is still adjusting to the new school year. I got invited to bid on a job but the buyer has only posted seven and three of those are in dispute. I can't find a suitable sample so I'll have to write one out real quick if I decide to pursue this opportunity but I can't afford for it to be in dispute I need the money so I'm considering declining the invitation and just write some of my own things.

I have a dollar in my savings and my bills are more than normal for October but somehow I'll manage. I do believe that I still have time to be all right provide I keep working steadily. I recently deactivated my Facebook account for a while so that I would not be so distracted which is about to kill me. I never realized how dependent I was on that interaction during the work day. I will working on updating blogs today and writing a few articles of my own while I clean my house. I seem to have a lot to do.

It's Sort of Falls Into Place

Things are finally starting to fall into place to get my finances back on track. My nerves are another story but at the moment I have steady work which is good. At the rate I'm going since the deadlines were set farther out than I should need in reality on purpose I am right on track to finish up nice and early. My soon to be ex-husband finally got a job he's been wanting for a long time now and it should take a great deal of stress off me. That is once the bank takes the money that he owes them. I'm glad that will be taken care of.

He still has to call the hospital about the bill that came in from the emergency room visit he had a while back but that's not my problem. The car loan is less than $125 to pay off, my Internet bill is paid and the money for my phone bill is where it needs to be. No idea about his but mine is good to go. Now to keep working so that the light bill is paid next month. I had to add him to my savings account so that he could have his check direct deposited into the account. I'm wondering just how long it will be before we get everything paid off and caught up. I am running short on time but somehow I think that it's all going to work out.

A couple new tires would be nice but they have to be gotten before the end of the year and that's an expense that I dread. I also have to pay the auto insurance this month, it renews in November and I'm hoping to have the full six months then so that I don't have to deal with it every month.

Well, it's after six now and I got to run get a shower. The kid is awake but playing in her crib so I'm going to let her until I absolutely have to get her up from school since that is her way of relaxing before she goes.

Deadlines Getting Easier

I recently returned to private clients after taking the better part of a year off and so far it is going well. Well, enough in fact that I had time to stop to update this blog as to how things are going. I am working on earning the difference that I will need next month when the settle up light bill is due. We also have a car loan that even though we are getting divorced was partly my fault so I would be attempting to assist in paying that off. It is the least that I can do considering that I am driving his car because I am too stressed out to drive mine.

The amount due on the loan is still over $300 and it's due the 2nd of October, the good news is that you can make payments on it. The light bill that's another story, it's almost $300 over budget with the actual bill coming due you guessed it next month. There are other bills to pay in the meantime which makes this a difficult situation to get out of.

I would have managed $20 toward what I need for next month, at least $20 that I can keep. The worst part is yet to come the baby needs supplements refilled again. This is going to be a tight holiday season for my kids. Gas prices aren't helping my nerves any, $50 at the pump is $50 more than I have at the moment.

Right now I would be rather irritated that a grown man is playing video games while I work instead of looking for a freaking job to help cover these expenses. Especially since his own stupidity ensured that his pay is now half of what it was before.

Two Projects at Once and More Behind Them

At the moment I would be on my 8th article of ten for one project getting ready to finish up and go work on the one with 20 articles due in two weeks. This one and that one are both due at the same time but I will be finishing this one well ahead of schedule. I am waiting on clarification on the second one which means I have time to finish this one up today.

There are more projects behind both but this one is shorter so I'm doing it first and then will alternate the other current with the new. The other one at this time I will send in sets of five as to not get too confused or overwhelmed. I can not continue without clarification and the lady that has it is busy with family which I knew already so it is my fault for not noticing my slight problem earlier.

I managed a bonus on my last project so I think that even the fact that I am working weekends to catch up from the chaos of the week is worth it right now. I have to finish in time to get some personal matters taken care of.

Back to Work after Just a Day Off

I would be back to work now after just a day off. I am in the process of attempting to find the peace and quiet required to write 20 articles that I have two weeks to do. It should not take that long but I have other responsibilities as well so it just might. I also have a project to do ten more coming that should be set up by this afternoon and no idea how long I have to do those in.

I only have the first five topics for the set of twenty so that's good. I may not be thrilled with the topics at the moment, having a bit of trouble getting motivated to do them but I am thankful that I have a job. I need the money at the moment. I figure that with these two I'll still be a bit short unless I manage to finish them in half the time to be able to do something else before the first of next month. I have a feeling that money is going to be tight for a while.

I'm also getting the feeling that the kids birthdays and Christmas are all going to be a bit slim this year. Oh, well something will happen to make it right for them. It always does. I am having second thoughts about a lot of things I need to take care of. Actually more like worrying that I will be able to take care of them at the moment. The baby would need her supplements refilled, the light bill is working on being outrageous and I would need to do something about my vehicle.

Well, I have a project already in motion and one I will have the details for shortly so I best be going.

Work is Going Well

I just finished a job and am waiting for the funds to be released from a new client that has long term work. I am waiting for the new project from an old client to be funded so I can begin work. She would have long term work as well. I also managed to achieve the last bit of change for payout at TextBroker this morning while getting the kid ready to catch the bus. That seems too easy but I did it. Now to  leave it alone and see if I can fit in a few quick things before time to request payout. I am glad they have made the decision to go to weekly payouts so that I can take a moment between jobs to earn a little spare change.

Well I have promoting to do and a battery to charge, lunches to fix and an afternoon to plan so I'll be going. All in all everything seems to be falling right into place where it should be.

Small Miracles Can Make a Big Difference

I was praying to find a client to help me out of this bind and well, I found one with the possibility of long term work. I'm nearly finished with their project and early I might add. After all the stress and worry over storms ended yesterday I decided to check my email. In my inbox I found an invite for another project from a client that I haven't worked for in a year. She noticed I was working again and wanted to know if I would be interested in doing some work for her again! I of course said yes, now I'm waiting for her to accept the proposal I put in since I did it at her budget which is actually not too shabby for the time it should take me.

I lost my calender where my mark all my deadlines so I gotta print out a new one but that's all right too. This morning the school bus to take the baby to preschool was late so I'm a little behind but that's alright too. I don't have the start date for the second project yet so I'm still ahead. I have to get a move on, I got laundry to do, rewrites to finish, a new project to start, my own writing and three more blogs to update so losing my calender book came at a bad time but it's going to be OK. I can print one, I find the Internet to be my most useful tool most days. Well, all days since I make my living on it.

As long as I don't forget to buy the cat food there shouldn't be any rebellions today.

Distracted

I have a deadline of September 12th to finish up the last half of this project. I only have 12 left of the last 22 which is good and puts me ahead of schedule since I turned in the first half a couple of days early. My main problem is that I can not focus on these right now. The tropical storm came inland and we got the typical warnings and watches that result, the remains are still moving over us now. I've spent more time looking out the window than working.

I don't know why but the storms make me nervous and I just stare out the window looking at the winds and the rain. The distraction from the storm was not a welcome one, I'm all ready distracted enough and can't afford to be at the moment. Once again my savings account would be empty and I need to pay off a rather large additional expense next month. I also have to have money to finish making it through this month and more car repairs.

I would be in desperate need to replace my vehicle but I don't see that happening before the end of the year unless there is a drastic change that occurs. I am under too much stress as it is and it adds to the problem. I am working as fast as I can as I hold onto a fantasy in order to keep my mind off of everything that is going on around me. I listen to music and try not to daydream as I work on my project in order to finish it early and get some other work done before the next one.

Typing as Fast as I can

I would currently be typing as fast as I can and hoping that I do not have a million typos. I have to earn additional money in a short time and I'm attempting to allow my fingers to fly off the keyboard in order to do it. I currently have four windows open so I can go back and forth to write my articles and update my blogs at the same time so that I am not neglecting them. I am stressed out at the moment but I had a bright spot in my morning to let me know that in the end it is all worth it.

I did remember to open a window so I can schedule updates for the days and times that I will be away. The school bus will start back on Wednesday morning so I should have a less stressful time getting to work. I also just realized that I have a lot of old articles to edit for typos and silly mistakes that I should not have made in the first place. This is going to be a long busy week for me. I can feel the stress coming on and for once it's all right.

Have a good morning and a productive day. :-)

Fear of Returning to Private Clients

While I have no choice at the moment I have a slight fear of returning to private clients. I'm not sure why I would, maybe because they demand so much time to make a living. I know that I am not ready to go back to the traditional work force just yet. I still need a little more time home with my baby.

There are a ton of bills left to pay this month, well maybe not a ton but enough to make me rather nervous that one of them will not get paid. Oh, well that's life, and now I'll be heading off to wade through job postings to determine by most viable option.

Praying for a Client

I seem to be fucked, er in a bind this month and I'm praying for a client to get me out of it. Now to find that client. I have no idea how to find a job that will pay me in the time frame that I need but I'm hoping that it's possible to do. I actually need to go back to private clients full time, at least until I can return to the workforce outside the home. There are a million things that have to fall in place to do that.

I'm up to my ears in stress and have no idea what to do. I think that saving money is a priority right now but I have to have work to save that money and today the well ran dry. I have no idea what to do. The other half goes back to work tomorrow! I'm so happy I could scream!!

OK I"m going to search for work.

Will Today be Peaceful?

Saturday's are a bit hectic since we never have weekend therapy and there is a ton I need to do. I need to find some work to do but it's been slim lately. I'm it doesn't stay this slim, I can't go back to work outside the house yet it's not possible to hold down a job, take Theresa to and from school and keep her therapy schedule at the intensity that it is now. I don't know just how much it's going to cost in gas each month to get her to school but I have a feeling if gas prices keep up at the rate they are I'll be dropping a day or two of therapy to make up the difference.

I've decided that since Mturk takes so little time that I can do a hit or two there first thing in the morning and each evening before I go to bed. I plan to use that as a back up for gas money until I get everything else figured out. I want to move and actually I need to move, the cost of living where we are now is too high. I really need it to be lower and the city/town rather that I was born in has a lower cost of living. I actually like it better too.

The other day I ran into someone that I used to see weekly when our kids had therapy at the same time. She lives in the town I want to move to and said the cost of living is ridiculously cheap there. The land taxes are apparently very cheap too. I know the sales tax is less and she said they have speech therapy services there. I know what I have to come up with to move I just don't know the cost associated with moving that far away since we'd definitely need larger vehicles and the ability to pay the bills for a few months without having to spend anything else but groceries and gas to run errands.

Costs to Move
Well, we'll have to pay off the light bill here. The town I want to move to is in another county and I know for a fact it's a different power company so I need to come up with a new deposit if we move there. They do budget billing as well. I know because I have a friend that lives there and does it. I have no idea how much Internet services are there or cable. I can live without cable a bit longer if it means I don't have to live in this city anymore. I can't stand it here never have been able to.

I need somewhere that takes pets. I have no idea what my aunt did with my grandmother's place. I'd love to live there but I want a house and the last time I was out there a trailer had replaced the house. I have no idea why I want to go back there so badly but I do. I actually regret leaving it at all, could be that I was so busy dreaming about things I didn't have I never realized just how happy I was there. Or could I just be dreaming about something that I remember wrong?

I hope today is peaceful but Gene is home so I'm sure it won't be.

Playing with My Schedule

The upcoming school year has caused me a bit of concern over my ability to go back to working as a freelance writer full time. The Head Start program (provided she stays in it) is Monday through Friday from as early as 7:45 and as late as 8 in the morning until 2:30 in the afternoon. I'm hoping that I can rearrange her therapy schedule not to have to pull her out early but it's probably not going to work that way. So far we have therapy five days a week all before the 2:30 pick up time. Which means if I have to get her out early but first I need permission from someone that I can't figure out who is yet.

I was originally intending on spending the time she was in school working until time to pick her up. If she goes back to PHP that's only four half days and I'd save money on gas because they provide a school bus to transport her. At least they did in the past. That would give me four days of guaranteed working time unless Theresa gets sick. I'd be able to leave her Friday speech spot alone. I'm a bit confused because they told me once before the after school spots were for kids that could not get out of school at all and I know for a fact that a child Theresa's age has a 3p.m. speech spot.

I'm thinking of asking about reducing her speech appointments to once or twice a week so that I'm not pulling her out of school any but there would still be a problem with ABA therapy scheduling. I'm hoping that the new facility has a wifi connection that I can use to work but I won't know that until next week.  I'm also thinking about going back to the "traditional" workforce so that I can write on the side to earn additional funds. The problem is that I have no idea how to write out an application after being at home for so long working for myself.

Well, so far I figure I have to get up at 5a.m. to be awake and claim assignments before taking Theresa to school. I know I can work while she's at school but I'm not sure about during therapy. I can work a couple hours after she goes to bed. I still need to find time to figure out where we can afford to move.

Setting New Goals

I've decided to set new goals for myself for all aspects of my life. Working, saving money and even the bills that I pay each month. I know I can lower them or at least I can tailor them to suit our needs a little bit better. Therapy and getting the kid to school have to fit into these goals since I work around them but that's not that hard to do come to find out. I just have to get all my ducks in a row to see what's going on.

Cash Back- While taking cash with me when I go shopping helps me save money it's more convenient with a small child to use an option that lets you pay at the gas pump. Recently my bank offered cash back on gas purchases that I paid for using my debit card since that's an expense I have regardless I decided that I would continue to my card for it and get money back. So far while it's not a lot of money at only 5% back with a maximum of $10 per account but it's still enough to buy some more gas in an emergency. So I'm continuing to look for cash back offers from the bank for places that I shop at anyway.

I've decided to go over my expenses and figure out just how much they are now. Then I have to figure out which ones I can reduce. I still have to figure out how to take care of moving expenses but that shouldn't be too much of a problem when I have a little bit of time alone at night to figure it out once everyone is asleep. My first goal is to be able to take more time off so I can spend it with my baby girl.

Trying to Move

I'm not only trying to work enough to help cover the bills and save a little bit of money for emergencies but I'm trying to move as well. My roof is about gone which became apparent when my husband went to re-secure the antenna and realized he was trying to put approximately five inch screws into the overhang. The wood was so rotten that they were splitting it and he couldn't get deep enough to find wood that wasn't rotten. That's what happens when you put shingles on a trailer instead of a metal roof it seems. With all the other repairs that need to be done it is past time to call it a loss, problem is that when I moved out here I was sure I'd never have to move again. Oh well shit I mean life happens.

So far I have a $1 in my savings account and $5.40 in my change jar. That's not much but it's a good sign that the money in the change jar hasn't been touched so the total is going up instead of going down. That's a good thing the bad thing is that the total isn't going up fast enough to make a difference. I was kind of hoping to use some of it to help pay the overage on the light bill I have coming due. We're $200 over budget and that has to be taken care of along with the actual bill in order to be able to do anything about moving. We're going to have to either pay a fee to transfer the lights or put them in my husbands name and make payments on the other bill. The problem with that is it's a $35 transfer fee (at least I think that's what it  is) versus a $100 light deposit. Now I have a $150 deposit with the city of Dothan that I could leave with them which at the moment would leave us a $50 overage. Then the actual bill plus that is what I have to pay. I'm hoping to send some extra to help cover the overage next month but we have a $300 loan to repay first. This is about to get interesting.

The regular monthly expenses plus the loan repayment, light bill overage and catching up the child support that fell behind during the summer while my other half was off for two months is going to put a strain on us. I have a plan sort of. I can still cut some expenses and I can work a little bit more to tuck money away to help cover these expenses. We're going to need new furniture but that can always be new to us, used furniture. We don't need that much just a few places to sit and somewhere to sleep. My futon mattress, Theresa's recliner and the space savers for the closets are moving with us. The dishes, her toys, my laptop and a few other luxuries that will all fit in the back of my rodeo and trunk of the car to save on leasing a moving van.

I have google voice that I can make outgoing calls with but they do not have a local number in my area at the moment to allow calls to come into me. When they do I"m going to re-evaluate my cell phone plan and attempt to find one of the actual phone set ups that works with it to reduce that bill so that it's only used for emergencies. Well, my computer is trying to tell me it's time I went to work so I"m off to find music to listen to as I try and think of a topic to use as today's theme for my submissions.

Worried About Expenses

It's not my immediate expenses that I'm worried about but the ones that I have coming up in just a couple of months because I have no idea how to cover them. August starts in another week and the tag on my truck is due, the front of the car is shaking something awful. I have to get that fixed and the front of the truck well that I'm told is my imagination so I really need to start driving it again.

When I drive the truck I can make a tank of gas last a month just going to therapy and back. That's pretty good considering it only gets fifteen miles to the gallon. The big problem is that my light bill is consistently over the amount set for budget billing. Right now I'm looking at having a $200 overage. That means I'll have approximately a $300 to $400 bill at least the month the overage plus the actual bill is due. I'm going to do.

At the moment I have $6 to make it until the end of the month and I wouldn't have that if I hadn't put some things on hold. Well, I'll be going I can't earn any money to help me out of this bind if I don't get to work. Today I have to take our house guest to meet her mother so she can go home and Theresa has two therapy sessions that are an hour apart so I may just take my computer so that I can work while we're there.

Broke as broke can be

Well, today is payday which would normally make me happy but not today. It's already gone before I even get it and I can't seem to make enough to make up for anything that I might have to spend. I've still got bills to pay this month and while I have the money to cover them I don't have money for anything else. I'll be starting next month in debt.

I owe $25 for babysitting which was for four hours while I ran errands thinking it would make it faster. Then I'll have to repay the money I'm going to have to borrow in order to make it until the end of the month. Next month we go back to school which means it's time to find more school clothes or at least a new pair of shoes for the little one. She'll be happy to ride to school with her friends once again. One day a week I have to go pick her up from school to get her to therapy on time but that's only one day and it won't be too hard on the budget.

I'm thinking of transferring money from my savings account to checking and leaving just enough to keep it open in the account so I can make it until I get my loan. I can always put it back later. At least that's what I like to tell myself.

So Far So Good

I may be stressing over my deadline but so far the client is happy with what I've done. I'm going to send the next set as ten articles to buy a bit of time, then send another ten and the final five to him. I'm glad that he is happy since I was amazingly nervous after not having done a project in a year for anyone but myself. I think that once I am finished with this I'll write an editorial on the choice to go back to private clients.

I have until Monday June 20th to finish this project completely to get paid. The 21st Theresa goes for her labs and I have to figure out if I have the money to pay for the test medicaid does not cover. I also have to get a referral for the new OT. They can guarantee her a spot until the start of the school year. They are the same therapist that she sees in school so at least they'll be on the same page.

Well, these articles aren't going to write themselves so I'll be going back to work now.

First Private Client in over a Year

I have decided that with recent events I have to take on my first private client in a year. I have a week from today to have all thirty of these articles complete and hopefully get paid a few days after. I can send them in smaller sets so I am really hoping that means I can get them approved as they are submitted.

I'm a bit paranoid that something will go wrong and I will miss my deadline or have the project cancelled in the middle. I have three more to finish of the first set of five that I intend to send off. After that they are broken up into two sets of ten and a set of five to finish them up. I suppose I could just do sets of five to keep my focus. These appear to be a bit harder than I thought but once I get into them I do believe my pay rate will compensate me.

OK I've got to get back to work. I also need to do the budget for the rest of the summer. I'm hoping that there are no more unexpected expenses that come up.

Savings Account Reopened.....

and already having to make withdrawals. I opened the account with the minimum and turned around to withdraw all but $10 so it stays open. I had to have the account but I also had to have money to make it through the rest of the month so that's how it had to work.

I've managed to put some change aside and it seems that for a while change will be all that I manage to put aside. I managed to get Theresa's OT changed so that it's at the same place as the rest of her therapy so that saves a little bit of gas each week. The problem? There are no spots open close to the appointments we already have so we have a bit of a longer stay in town than I would like at times. I can handle that, but the waits that are more than an hour or two we drive across the street and go walk around stores which opens the door to temptation. I did good today, the only thing that I bought was lunch stuff at the grocery store.

We looked around the clothing store, I realized that it's time to start saving some money for next years school clothes and I need shoes. Provided I can ever find the time I'll have a few vegetables planted. I just need Theresa to cooperate to help take care of them. I think watering them could be good for her. Picking vegetables would be good for her too, sort of if she follows directions. That would cut down on my grocery bill, I just don't want to try to dig up the yard because I don't have a tiller. I'm still waiting for fruit trees I may just scrap up some money and buy one or two this year. I like fruit and I need shade. I just won't put them where the house'll be if we ever come up with the money to replace this place.

I have a plan to get it but I don't know how I'm going to. I do have some repairs to do here before we can take care of that plan though. I managed to get enough work done so far that I'm satisfied with my next payout but it's time to begin thinking about the summer and the fact that we'll be missing one income. I have to make up the difference and I haven't been motivated since school started. I still need $100 to cover a test for Theresa. I've almost figured it out.

Reopened Savings Account

Well, I finally managed to reopen my savings account. The problem now is that I really need the money that is in it. I am trying to earn enough right now to make up for that $50 initial deposit that I can not access until the paper work gets here and gets send back in to them. I have to stop and buy pull-ups and baby wipes tomorrow afternoon because Theresa uses pull-ups at night. She isn't to the point she sleeps in a regular bed yet so getting up to take herself potty in the middle of the night is kind of out of the question.

I have to buy multivitamins for her too. As soon as I get the money I'll be buying her the chew-ables. I have $15 in gift cards at Amazon, now if I can just get enough to get the washable overnight underwear for Theresa I'll save a small fortune on pull-ups. I need to buy at least three pair since from the reviews I've read that while they work well they take a long time to dry. I'm hoping that I can hang them on the line to dry and cut down on the drying time. 

I'll be glad when I can keep the laundry under control so I can wash it by hand. I'm thinking of getting another plunger specifically for the laundry so I can wash it in a bucket and cut down the electricity use in the house. It'll use less water too. I just have to buy a ringer to go with it, then hang them outside unless I can get enough water out to hang them in the house.

Ok that's about it for now so I'll be going.

Less in Sunday's Paper ?

I went to get a Sunday paper this morning. $1.50 because I haven't had a regular newspaper in a while and I wanted the sales ads and the inserts. Well it's nice to know the Sunday comics are still in the paper with Peanuts at the top but I could have sworn there used to be more coupon inserts. The sales papers I'm having trouble following it's been so long. There' a recipe for spring rolls which will come in handy. There were coupons for products we use that I always miss the sales for so having those means they cost me less and I can go ahead and buy them. I used to plan shopping trips, I'm attempting to get back to it. It's going a bit slowly but it's coming along.

I was going to try and shop only on a double coupon day but with that being a Saturday and gas prices back to $3.69 this morning from the $3.65 they were Friday. (Gas station closest to me) I don't see that happening because in the event of an emergency I'd like to be able to leave. That brings me to the need for a storm shelter. There were 17 people dead from the severe weather and tornadoes that traveled across the state as of yesterday morning and the storms were not through traveling to the east of the country.

I have some writing to do if I plan to meet my earnings goals for the rest of this month and I have to begin on next month as well. I'll be going for now.

What did I do today?

Well I began working on a new website today. Dazed and Confused which basically sums up my life at the moment better than any of these three do at the moment. I wrote two articles and published them, then I finished one and worked on another one. The last two need editing but I"m letting them sit for a while. I'm though editing as I write because of this article on increasing productivity by eliminating wasted steps.

I think I'm going to rearrange the living room. I never did finish cutting the grass because my other half never got the gas out of the lawnmower with the dead battery for me so I could finish. I was planning to save my Amazon gift cards back up and purchase a new battery for my laptop so that I could write two of the five days we're in therapy but it looks like I'll be saving them to help cover the costs of supplement now. They just went up and not by a little bit.

I have no idea just how much they'll be total or how often they'll need filling. I have a feeling that one of them is about to come off the list because Theresa doesn't seem to have a problem with constipation at least not for now. I may just cut down on them, I thinking of asking about only giving them every other day.

Well, I'll be going now.

Increase in Expenses

Expenses are going up suddenly. Supplement costs are going up by at least double each month. My complete powder is $60 to have it delivered to the house, not including the cost of the ice pack to have it shipped to me. Shipping is free. I'm checking the prices of the rest of the supplements but the fish oil and complete powder together come to at least $120 per month that I don't have.

So at the moment I'm planning a grocery trip around coupons from Swagbucks. I think I'll print as many as I can of the ones that have longer expiration dates so that I don't have to hunt them down twice. So far if my trip goes as planned I'll earn an additional 80 swagbucks the next time we go to the store. So far all I have are cheese, mustard, snacks and cereal for the baby on the list. $7.60 in savings so far, now for the second store b/c the first doesn't sell frozen veggies and stuff.

I have no idea where the extra money is coming from. I know I have to purchase a battery so I can write on the go, and eventually upgrade or replace my laptop. I plan to take it and have all my files transfered to the new one professionally if I ever manage to get that part done.

OK. I'm off to work. Turns out couponing is a hot topic at the moment so I'm off to see if I can turn out a few articles on it. Hope my memory is good or I'll never get done.

Standstill and Rock Bottom

I'm exhausted, this is Spring Break for Theresa but she's still got therapy four days of the week. Her daddy is supposed to take her so I can have a much needed break. I have figured out that I will be writing articles the entire week. Well when I'm not cleaning house and planning a trip to the store Friday so we get groceries. I have to make a small trip to the store before then, I miscalculated and we have a choice for the rest of the week if I don't.

We can eat eggs, popcorn, muffins, tortilla shells or dry cereal. I think we have some corn and one pack of frozen vegetables as well.

Extreme coupon-ing ? how much time would it take?

OK my expenses are starting to outrun my income so something has to be done about that. I was reading a few websites of extreme couponers and plan to watch the premiere of extreme coupon-ing on TLC I just don't remember what night it is. I was wondering just how much time and effort these people put into finding these coupons and spending pennies for hundreds of dollars in items. I know that often the generic items are cheaper than the name brand with coupons but what if I managed to catch the sales? It could be worth it. If nothing else it'd give me an article or two.

I have access to online coupons, but I no longer subscribe to the newspaper. I grew tired of only getting it occasionally for whatever reason. I also noticed that the inserts I want are usually mailed out separately. I used to match my coupons to the sales faithfully, now I wonder where I find the time to make it to the store much less organize the trip. Each store has a different policy, of course I'm not sure why some of them take specific coupons and some do not. I can access the stores papers online and plan trips around them. One store doubles coupons up to 70cents on Saturdays. The problem is that by Saturday the items that I want might be gone.

I think I'll figure out a personal challenge for my family. I know I can save the amount I want, and it may be time to get creative with it. Some of those people make a living telling people how to do these things.

worrying

OK so my grocery budget for this month is gone, the good news? There is food in the house and a new month begins Friday. That means that all the bills are due once again, they seem to come in back to back in a never-ending stream that often makes me wonder if I'm losing my mind.

I have to reduce the expenses that we have but I'm spoiled and Theresa will be the one suffering if we cut out the luxury of the television and her movies so that's an area that has to be examined carefully before anything is done.

I haven't gotten much work done lately which is putting a strain on the budget as well. OK I'm going back to worrying and attempting to get a little bit of work done. We only have a half hour of speech today during which I'll read my book for a while to take a break.

Repairs, repairs and repairs

Lovely fixing the pipe will cost just a little bit more than it would have originally. Seems that it helps to get all the parts before you crawl under the house. So until tomorrow I have water just not running water because some there are no cut offs under the house. This just means that I have to make up the difference to buy the one supplement that Theresa is gonna run out of this month or hope that she's got just enough to last until the next payday.

I actually wish that my other half had spent some time trying to get the riding lawnmower to work. It's like he doesn't understand the grass actually needs cutting and he refuses to push the lawnmower around; it's too much for one person to do alone. Alternating or maybe running two lawnmowers at once would be the best way to get it all cut.

I tried to reopen my savings account online a few days ago but I didn't have any luck. It seems that this time I actually have to find the time to go to the bank and open it in person. Fun, fun, fun. I have yet to give into the temptation to turn the air conditioning on and be super cold until the reality that it's not working properly kicks in.

Increase Gas and Grocery prices leading to habit changes

Gas prices are ranging from $3.33 to $3.76 in Southeast Alabama making lower income homes feel the increase drastically. A two car family is likely to feel the impact instantly at the gas pumps; at least my two car family has. The prices at the pump and the prices in the grocery store are outrageous. My last trip to the grocery store I managed to spend approximately $91 in a half hour, either I was really hungry or the prices have gone up a great deal. I think it was both.

A half gallon of milk is over $2 and the gallons are almost $4, being on a budget this week I bought the smaller of the two. Now it gets rationed out to use until the next trip to the grocery store. A gallon would be gone in two days so I’m not sure how that half gallon is still almost in tact from yesterday. The worst part is that the groceries that I bought yesterday should last about a week for full means with a little bit leftover to make meals when I go back to the store.

There are numerous changes occurring daily in this household. I still attempt to work at least some each day. The biggest difference is that more time is taken to do things by hand and from scratch in an effort to lower cost. My clothes dryer has not been used at all in over a year but the washing machine has; now I’m working to eliminate the washing machine from my life. I am slowly but surely getting in the routine of hand washing almost everything.

I sat down and thought about the concept of hand washing, and since my washing machine is no longer doing the job that it’s supposed to I decided to do a little experiment. Each day I do a few items by hand in addition to the items that are put in the washing machine. Yes, it is strange but there is a method to my madness. Even though my family is small we go through a lot of laundry since our youngest member is only four years old. I have noticed that my washing machine is not working correctly to the point that the clothing I wash by hand is getting cleaner than the ones I place in it.

As a result I’ve decided that my next purchase with my Amazon gift cards will be a new scrub board for the laundry in addition to the new battery for my laptop. My utility bill recently took a jump of around $80 which led to some immediate changes and repairs that could no longer be put off. Out utility usage is now averaging right at $207 each month which is more than just a little bit out of our budget. The simple change of washing at least half of our clothing by hand will keep the washer from running at least three times a week. That should bring the bill down enough to help make up at least a little of the cost of gasoline.

The largest problem with the light bill is that is is on the budget billing system. At the moment the rate is $200 a month, which isn’t actually in my budget. At the rate the rates are rising it’ll be more than that when the cycle for the billing begins again. I’m hoping to get the bill low enough that the monthly budget amount drops some to make more room in the budget for everyday items and repairs as they come up.

My savings account is empty and the car insurance renews in a couple months. That means that once again we pay it by the month, and we will pay more for it than if we paid it off at the beginning of the cycle. Hopefully the rate will not increase this time. I’m not sure how many more price increases I can take. My income is going down instead of up although I am working on fixing that issue.

I am doing some research to aid in improving my writing. It’s been a while since my high school graduation and there are a few areas such as punctuation that have been neglected too long. I find that new guidelines mean I have no choice but to study citations the way they were done long ago for research papers. I have no memory of how to do them.

While I would like to ramble here all day without the pressures of work, I have a lot to do. I need to do yet another editorial on how much work it’ll take so that I have my goals in a public place to force me to work harder for them. I also need to work on something that has the potential to earn a payment today.

One Article for a Tank of Gas

I sold an article today on "Coping with your child's Autism Diagnosis" and it'll cover a gallon of gas. Oh well, it's got my name on it and I kept rights so I'm happy with the little bit it got. Since I have first hand experience with the topic it didn't take that long to write.

I'm still waiting for an article at another site to be reviewed. I've decided to try my luck with Constant Content to see if I can work less and make more. I have some articles in mind to write and there are some on the requested content list that I want to try. I'm still trying to save money with rising costs and an idiot that doesn't understand money.

Increasing Prices Call for More Creative Savings

Prices are going up at an alarming rate and my income is decreasing at just as an alarming rate. I have no idea how to keep up. I have a number of things that costs can be cut on. Theresa is small enough that she can wear diapers instead of pull-ups at night for less money each month. The cost of her supplements is about ridiculous. I've decided to do articles about each one of them individually and the uses when it comes to Autism. That's going to take a little bit of work but that's fine too.

My daily work schedule is getting increasingly hectic. There is a ton of housework to do and I have found that I've grown to like TLC's Sister Wives show a great deal. I'm not sure why but the sister wives and all those children seem to make life a bit more fun. How do you manage to spend as many as 16 years with three wives when most marriages today end in divorce? It's fun to watch how they all manage to work through the issues. The best part is that none of them have to spend 24 hours a day with the husband. Well, in my opinion that's the best part.

OK it's time to start working for the day. I have a budgeting editorial and need to begin the supplement articles.

Tax Refunds Don't Alway Spell R-E-L-I-E-F

Well, my tax refund or rather what's left of it arrived today. So far it's gone as soon as it came. There are six months of auto insurance to pay in May to prevent having to pay approximately $46 each month which makes the total premium a bit higher. Last time I paid it for six months it was only $258.30. Paying it each month is a total of $276 or more since the monthly premium tends to go up and down slightly without rhyme or reason.

The last two light bills have been in the high range. They were $420 and $381 which is kind of two high. My budget billing amount is $200 so those two put us over budget by $340 and some change. The month of October is when the settle up bill which is the overage plus the actual bill is due. That's 7 months away. There was a water leak under the house where a pipe broke? I think. Hopefully the bill will go down some since the pump won't be running constantly now.

We need oil changes, I have no idea when the last ones were. We need a tire fund too. It won't be long before we need new ones. OK I'm confused so I'll be going, math is the thing that confuses me the most so I'll be going to sleep soon.

Need More Hours in The day

Recent events have hit my household rather hard which has led me to attempting to add more hours to the day in order to get as much work as possible done. It would seem that the gas prices aren’t the only thing on the rise. Food, utilities, Internet and almost everything else under the sun is seeing a rise in costs. I took some time off recently because I was exhausted and while I enjoyed my vacation it’s over. The next vacation is a mere dream as I struggle to keep with the costs.

I require more hours in the day to get everything done. As you know by now I have an Autistic toddler and work from home as a freelance writer. I re-evaluated my income needs and the amount of work I would have to do. Currently I’m using approximately four writing sites on a regular/semi-regular basis. I also have five days a week of therapy to take my child to.

I’ve decided to use my Amazon gift cards to replace the battery for my laptop. This will allow me to take it with me two days a week and work while my youngest is in therapy. That will give me an additional 2 hours and 20 minutes to work that I did not have before. The other three days we only have a half hour session which makes hauling the laptop a bit of a bother. The other days I’ll take that hour and a half to rest. We usually run errands those days so I’ll feel more comfortable leaving my laptop at home.

Why would I need more hours in my day? In addition to working from home I have to clean the house or we might as well move into a tent and get rid of everything. Call me crazy but I like the ability to walk around without falling over things. We have expenses beyond the normal for most people. Remember my Autistic child? She has about a dozen supplements and with her behavior lately we may be putting her back on a strict diet. Recent events have hit my household rather hard which has led me to attempting to add more hours to the day in order to get as much work as possible done. It would seem that the gas prices aren’t the only thing on the rise. Food, utilities, Internet and almost everything else under the sun is seeing a rise in costs. I took some time off recently because I was exhausted and while I enjoyed my vacation it’s over. The next vacation is a mere dream as I struggle to keep with the costs.

I require more hours in the day to get everything done. As you know by now I have an Autistic toddler and work from home as a freelance writer. I re-evaluated my income needs and the amount of work I would have to do. Currently I’m using approximately four writing sites on a regular/semi-regular basis. I also have five days a week of therapy to take my child to.

I’ve decided to use my Amazon gift cards to replace the battery for my laptop. This will allow me to take it with me two days a week and work while my youngest is in therapy. That will give me an additional 2 hours and 20 minutes to work that I did not have before. The other three days we only have a half hour session which makes hauling the laptop a bit of a bother. The other days I’ll take that hour and a half to rest. We usually run errands those days so I’ll feel more comfortable leaving my laptop at home.

Why would I need more hours in my day? In addition to working from home I have to clean the house or we might as well move into a tent and get rid of everything. Call me crazy but I like the ability to walk around without falling over things. We have expenses beyond the normal for most people. Remember my Autistic child? She has about a dozen supplements and with her behavior lately we may be putting her back on a strict diet.

Expenses are outrageous. The last two light bills alone were enough to make me want to cry. The mornings are the time when I’m the most likely to get work done; unfortunately they are also the time when I’m less likely to be awake. Once the little one gets up getting work done becomes harder even when we’re home from therapy. Her father’s idea of watching her is to sit in one spot and yell across the room for a child with communication difficulties to stop what’s she’s doing.

I think I can manage to stay up later at night. Thursday night is my t.v. night but that doesn’t mean that I can’t work while I watch. I just have to focus on what I’m doing more.  As I’m rambling away I could be working so I’m going to get back to it now.

Expenses are outrageous. The last two light bills alone were enough to make me want to cry. The mornings are the time when I’m the most likely to get work done; unfortunately they are also the time when I’m less likely to be awake. Once the little one gets up getting work done becomes harder even when we’re home from therapy. Her father’s idea of watching her is to sit in one spot and yell across the room for a child with communication difficulties to stop what’s she’s doing.

I think I can manage to stay up later at night. Thursday night is my t.v. night but that doesn’t mean that I can’t work while I watch. I just have to focus on what I’m doing more.  As I’m rambling away I could be working so I’m going to get back to it now.

Thinking About Rising Gas Prices and Increasing My Work Load

The beginning of the summer saw changes to my work habits and approach. The biggest change was not taking private clients anymore. At the time it was a much needed and relaxing change that allowed me to focus on other things that had been neglected. I was planning to work less and get by with what I had on hand until I could get something I needed replaced or purchased. Well, it almost worked.

I managed to make it through the summer of 2010; money was tight but I managed. Now I’m facing summer of 2011 wondering if everything will be caught up in time to enjoy the summer. There have been changes in the payment methods of the various writing sites that I utilize to make a living in recent months which makes earning a living a bit more difficult. I can only imagine that the increased difficulty is caused by the fact that for me working from home was a way to do what I wanted when I wanted.

It’s been months since I wrote an article on how much work I would have to do in order to keep up with expenses. I managed to keep up with the expenses without working as much as I thought I’d have to. No, I did not find a magical solution. Instead I cut costs drastically by making more of a lot of the items that we use around the house each day. I’d played with making what I used in the past and even drastically removed chemical cleaners; the removal was more of a safety issue than a savings issue. I’m just not that comfortable with chemicals.

The cost of gas and the amount of work I’ve been able to accomplish lately means that there will not be any vacations this summer. The five days a week of therapy are going to be fun especially since we have to make it a point to run all errands between here and there. I have no idea what I’m going to do during extremely stormy weather since I prefer to be in a safer place for it but I’ll figure it out. I have a feeling that at least part of the yard will be cut with an old fashioned reel mower provided I ever find one.

I have no idea just how much more work I'm going to have to do each month to make it through but I'll be working a lot more. I'll continue to attempt bread making. The next time I won't rush it though so that I come out with something resembling bread instead of a doughy center. I'm using Amazon gift cards to order a hand mixer so that it's easier for me to use. I'm also going to get another hand held can opener b/c I hate electric can openers. And with that I lost my thought so I'll be going now.

just saving a little money today

So far this year is not going anywhere near as well as I had hoped it would when it began. Although considering we began the year in debt I'm not all the sure why I'm surprised that it's not going as I had hoped it would. The loans that were took out at the end of the year and the beginning of this year require less than $190 to pay off at last count; the problem they keep getting interest charges so while that my be the payoff now left alone it will be a lot higher and we're running out of money before month. See a problem?

I know for a fact that my refund if we end up with one has been reduced because of an offset. Depending on the amount of the offset I still have to come up with money to cover six months of auto insurance, the overage on the budget billing and a few repairs to vehicles. Door handles on one, two oil changes so we know how long it's been between them and an overall inspection of the front end on mine. Then I need to put some money away for tires.

I have found that eventually I'll have to go back to private clients but I'm putting that off for as long as I can. I was thinking of starting a website but at the moment I'm just too unorganized. I'm doing a quick internet search of the topics I want to write on to see just how many results come up and thinking I'll focus on the ones with the fewest results for now.

The only thing I know for sure is that at the moment I'm saving some money on the light bill. My heating and air have been off for the last few days. It's been pleasant enough that if the windows are cracked at night it's comfortable all day long. I've managed to get nearly all the laundry caught up because it's been warm enough to hang them out and my clothes line holds three to four loads at a time. That's all for now.

Out of Ideas

I'm running out of ideas. Nothing seems to be unique anymore, original content yes, unique content no. I've done short and sweet news as fast as I can which isn't very fast chasing a four year old. Then there are the editorials, diary pages and articles that are submitted for upfront payment just to see if they will get one before I submit them. Lately it's a hit and a miss on which ones I should wait out and which ones I should go ahead and submit.

Tomorrow I have to mail my other half's check stub as proof of income, the state tax return and a child support payment. We get an entire $18 back from the state this year, last year we broke even. At the rate gas prices are going up I'll be able to buy a gallon with it by the time it gets here. My other half's car has a digital gas gauge that I'm beginning to hate  dislike because it goes crazy from time to time. The only time I'm sure how much gas is in the car is when I first fill up and when the low fuel light comes on.

I need to write but I keep stopping and trying to clean up this and that. The last time everything was in its place at one time was before we moved in and everything was in boxes. At the moment there are a number of boxes by my front door full of clothes that the little one has outgrown to give to charity since my mother-in-law isn't coming to get them it would seem.

OK I've lost my train of thought and I need to put a hyper child to bed. Goodnight world.

Supplements and More Supplements

This morning we had labs drawn. We refilled supplements and got another one. The total cost of the supplements today? $107 that I'll be paying for the first of next month. The good news is that they won't all run out at the same time again.

New supplement for speech -DMG =$18
Magnesium citrate = $6
L-Carnosine = $26
Acetyl L Carnitine = $15
Complete powder (probiotic)= $36
zinc (30mg)=$6
Total $107 that I get to pay next month because I'm out of money before month.

The other day I made a gallon of homemade dish soap following Annie's recipe. I have to get some lemon juice. I made a gallon of hand soap tonight. I'm wondering if I can use it as a body wash too. I'll be making a gallon of laundry soap instead of five gallons next time. I'm re-purposing gallon jugs at the moment. I don't seem to have anything in 1.5 gallon containers and the five gallons of detergent seems to be too much. I have trouble getting it out of the bucket and stirring it seems to be an issue since I don't have a long enough handled spoon.

OK that's about it for now, I'll be back later.

An Expense and Work Update

It’s not even 10am and I’m already tired. I just started drinking my second pot of coffee to ensure my daily dose of caffeine is gotten. I managed a load of training pants and put up the whites that I washed yesterday. I also have three article pages open right now to finish up for submission.

I managed one short and sweet news article this morning and didn’t see anything else that I wanted to write. I plan to finish up these three articles today and submit them for consideration to get upfront payments. I’ve gotten some ratings lately that were not what I would like because of careless errors so I’ll be focusing on my own writing to see if I can not correct these problems with punctuation that seem to have appeared out of nowhere.

I’ve got supplements to purchase. The L-Carnosine is $26, Complete Powder $35, Fish oil $62 (online) and I’m not sure what else we’re out of at the moment. I have to check her list. We’ll be needing $6 Magnesium Citrate soon. That comes to $129 plus whatever else we run out of in the next week.  I found the Complete Powder online for $60, I’ll only be buying that one if I run out of money and have that much in gift cards to purchase it with.

Last night I watched a video on making a gallon of homemade dishwashing liquid. I’ll post the link to the video as soon as I figure out how. I currently have four articles waiting to be reviewed that will help a great deal with gathering supplies again. I have two articles to finish up and another one in my head to put on paper. I’m trying to step up my efforts this month and get a decent payday that will keep us from running completely out of money before the end of the month.

OK I’m done rambling for the day and off to work again as soon as I hit publish on this.

Tax Time

Not my favorite time of the year but they have to be done. I've managed to do half of them. My federal return has been electronically filed and accepted by the IRS, now to find time to do the state return when I have peace and quiet to think as I fill in the form. The federal government will be sending us a small refund compared to previous years but I was expecting that.

The part that I was not expecting was to see that our income has gone down approximately $5,000 a year over the past year. I have to get our income back up, since I control or at least am supposed to be in control of my income that would be my area. I have sat down and figured out that I have to stop taking so much time off without scheduling it.

I spent the weekend resting because I was exhausted. I don't feel much better today and have only managed one article. I have managed to open the three articles I was working on and add a little bit to them so that's a start. I'll be working this evening for a little while.

When the sun comes back out I'll be doing some work outside in an effort to bring down the light bill until we can do something about the decaying areas of the house. The driveway has to be fixed as soon as possible so that it doesn't get any worse. I'm going to search Amazon to see if they have any repairing items I can use my gift cards to purchase.

Learning New Guidelines

It's hard to adjust to new guidelines, you think I'd be used to it by now. Every time I write for someone they have specific guidelines to follow depending on what they want me to do. So why is it that reading the guidelines for Constant Content is taking me so long? Could it be the three strikes and you're out thing? I'm betting that it is.

I've grown fond of Textbroker even though at first I avoided like the plague because the instructions didn't appear clear enough for me. Well, turns out that they are and it takes fairly little time to write the articles and have the clients accept them. I managed to get my balance up to $81.65 since I requested payout on the 18th of January. That's not bad considering this is the 31st which means I've managed to average almost $7 a day with therapy, potty training and cleaning the house. The bad news?

There are a number of things that I have to buy this month most of them supplements. Complete powder, L-carnosine, magnesium citrate and pro-omega fish oil. Then there are the ones that I'll have to buy the next payday. To top it off my other half's loan that he didn't bother to consult me about is coming due and he can't pay it and put gas in the car to get to work.

It's 60 degrees in an effort to keep the light bill from reading so high again.

What's the point?

I was happy when my $25 from sidetick finally came in so I could put toward a phone bill and have the rest of my payments for the 31st and 10th to help pay off a loan so we could come out of the red. This morning my other half shattered that when he asked me for gas money. I have $63.67 at Textbroker and another $37.49 at Helium. That brings my incoming total from content sites up to $101.16 - 21.80 for a phone bill will leave me with $79.36. A good deal short of what I actually need when you consider that I have to buy a $60 bottle of fish oil out of that. The bottle will last for one month. I need to put her back on the melatonin so that she sleeps at night. The money I gave my other half this morning was for supplements.

I'm going to have to begin taking his check and giving him an allowance again or making him walk to work. I'm tired of his always causing problems. It would be cheaper to divorce him that to put up with him but then my child's grandparents would butt their noses in more than they do now and cause all kinds of problems because that's just the way that they are.

Days off to a good start but........

I wish I knew more about online games. If I did I could make up to $126 on one article.  That would put me well over my goal for one site's next payday. I set a goal of $100 for one site b/c of the work that I do there and I'm over half way there now. I did five short and sweet articles this morning and just submitted a review of toothpaste to another to get myself a bit closer to payout there. I intend to make this payout my last one there so I'm sort of in a hurry to get it. 

I'm not doing too badly today seeing as I managed to get the kid on the bus, do some dishes, get the laundry down and lay out dinner for tonight all with an ear ache. I'd really rather be in bed crying right now but there is no rest for the wicked. I'm wishing for a hot water bottle to lay on next time I feel this way.