Thursday, April 29, 2010

OT-Schmoty!

Whoever said OVERTIME is great because of $$$, I so don't agree right now! This warehouse job requires mandatory OT on the weekends and a minimum of 2 hours a night!

My quality of life, shot! I am so blessed to have older children that can take care of themselves now. A husband so supportive and sweet, I think I have a toothache! LOL

My ears, bleeding! Between the vulgarity and blatant "cultural shut-out", I'm begging for earplugs!

My body, total Jell-O! I've lost some inches and pounds, but I also lost the ability to get out of bed on my own unless I have a very good reason to- like making sure the kids get to the bus stop! Up from 5:45 AM to 2, sometimes 3AM, not a good mix by Day 5!!!

*sighing loudly to relax*

We'll see how this job fares in the next few months... The upside, I got my first paycheck- all messed up, but still I got one, after 14 long years of managing my hubby's paychecks, it was quite gratifying to see one in my name again... ;-)

Ooooohhhhh! We finally have a new front door lock! Yes, it's a big deal for this "I'd rather save the money" lady! And I found EXACTLY the one I want, for $100 less on clearance! Yeah! Mr. Man installed it last night and it was such a great feeling to see it on our door that he also had to fix properly. Now that it's all planed out to make the lock fit flush, I can't wait to go to the paint section of Lowe's or HD and change out the whole door! Woohoo!!!

Saturday, April 24, 2010

After 14 Years...

... an AA degree in Elementary Education and Motherhood, I find myself in a CEVA warehouse as a shipping clerk for 5 days a week plus occasional OT for a few hours and on the weekends.

Do I like it? Yes. I love the challenge of learning something new and being able to keep up with the rigor of the job after only 9 days.

How's the environment? Full of vulgarity coming from nice people. The drama is awful, but I keep to myself and am polite and try to be as efficient as I can be so that I don't have to answer to anyone, especially not my boss. During break times, we're all equal so I try to tune out the vulgarity and offer prayers in the bathroom. LOL

How's the pay? I don't know. I was offered a fair hourly rate, but I haven't received a penny of it yet. I've been there 2+ weeks and we get paid weekly by the Temp Agency who hired me, but their PAY CARD system is not working for me, so I'll have to make sure they do DIRECT DEPOSIT. The downside, it can take weeks, the upside, I'll see my money when it's all setup. Until then, I need payroll to cut me a check. The waiting game can be summed up into one word: aggravating!

These blogging moments are gonna few and far in between, but hopefully, not too much... 'Til next time!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Homeownership- A whole new fun!

Sorry for not being around much (but then again, who's reading this, right?)

Well... 3 weeks into being a homeowner and we've already encountered:

-door knobs and locks that need to be adjusted and changed.
-dead garage door motor due to a stripped out gear
-carpenter ants in the Master under a window sill
-tons of debris from the ceiling re-texturing
-window screens that have holes or not square any longer
-changing out the lower kitchen pulls to save our clothes from getting ripped
-having the master ceiling fan break and needed to be replaced
-needing to change out one of the kids' bedroom carpet because the previous owners' dogs peed on it and when we cleaned the spots, the smell is now worse!
-needing to change out the Master Bath window to one that can be opened since the fan and the vent don't dry out the air as well as we hoped.
-the shower leaks on to the tub and need to be re-caulked.
-the yard needing immediate attention because of the weeds. (thanks to my in-laws and friend Amy who gave us their lawn mower, it looks great now!)
-saving up for a new front door knob/lock set for obvious safety issues.
-pricing out security alarm systems for the same reason.

*dizzy* from all the responsibility, but *giddy* from knowing this is our house...

Oh yeah, I'm working now, too! That's for another post...

Til' next post!

Monday, April 5, 2010

I Not Only Save Money, I Find it, too!

(Photo courtesy of Finance with AFP)

When it comes to money, I prefer earning and saving over spending anytime. Am I a miser, some may say that but of course with a family, even being a miser is not always feasible.

So... I've made sure that I find money, too! Yep, I find them! Meaning, I look at all the deals and promos out there-not ignoring any mail that comes in with offers.

For example, in mid-March, we've researched and researched the price ranges of the style of refrigerators (french doors, freezer bottom) I wanted. When the time came, I even considered buying the classic style (two doors, freezer top) to stretch our budget, but by sharing this idea with a good friend of mine, she referred me to a Sears Outlet Store that mainly dabbles in appliances.

We looked around the refrigerators and making sure not to resort to "need to pee-pee" dance like movements, I quietly approached MY fridge. The one that I've been hoping to be able to afford for years now. Brand spanking NEW! As in "just came from the manufacturer assembly line, but got rejected so it ended up in the outlet NEW!" The inside smelled of styrofoam, plastic and tape because the whole inside was filled with them! So cool!

And for $1,000 LESS. SAVED MONEY!
I was able to use that money to pay for NEEDS that popped up like new clothing for school and work and shoes for school and prom plus AP tests, my graduation pictures, Spring pictures, lunch money and various moving expenses AND NOT BREAK THE BANK!

Then, we came across a bank offer of $125 for opening a new account with a minimum and direct deposit. So we did. In 3 weeks, that account will be $125 fatter. FOUND MONEY!

Kohl's had a TAX-FREE, 20% off for $100 or more purchase AND $10 for every $50 spent promo from April 1-3. We took advantage of that and saved tons of money for clothes and shoes, plus earned $20 in Kohl's Cash for me! FOUND MONEY!

Tonight, while picking up the mail from our house, we came across a store offer of $5 giftcard to invite my business. Then we realized that we haven't checked our apartment's mailbox. Sure enough, there's one there, too! Mr. Man "dumpster dived" to see if there are more that others foolishly threw away. Yep, three more! A total of $25 giftcards. FOUND MONEY!

The kids all had great report cards and high A's in their recent TAKS practice tests, homeworks, and projects so we treated them to Souper Salad. I had a coupon! One for "Kids Eat FREE (normally $6.39 each) for every paying adult" and the other for, "$5.99 AYCE (regularly $7.25)". We made sure we all ate "well and healthily" and... made room for some soft serve. We saved a total of $14.05! SAVED MONEY!

In the same mail stash at our house, was the new debit card for our new account, in it was an offer of $30 cash just for enrolling the card number into a program to get you started in online bill pay. And you only have to pay 3 bills to earn it! Guess what?! I have three bills to pay by the end of the month! So before April 30, that new account will have an additional $30! FOUND MONEY!

How are you doing with your money hunting? I hope you'll be as lucky as I am!

Friday, April 2, 2010

The House is Up and Running... Somewhat

All are running now. The fridge is cold with ice waiting to be used, the water gets hot, the gas is ready to cook and the lights turn on, but... we still don't have a ready ceiling.

*sigh*