Money Smart Moms

My Neat Stacks Means I’m Putting Off Work

My poor desk area looks like a bomb went off. I promised myself it wouldn’t get this messy, but the stacks are slowly piling up. I think I’m going to take some time today and sort through the stacks. I need to organize and get rid of papers I no longer need. It’s an icky job, but I guess it’s my job.

It’s so easy to create a neat looking stack, and think it’s organized, but I’m only lying to myself. I know that it’s me putting it to the side so I don’t have to look at it until later. Today, it’s time to sort through and clean up.

Safety First

If you’re looking for self defense products, one place you may want to check out is AAA-SafetyFirst.com. They offer pepper spray, stun guns and many other items for self defense. As always check your state guidelines, because while something may be legal in one state, it may not be in another. Maybe you’re looking for a personal alarm, a pool alarm or an auto dialer. They have a huge selection of items to check out. You can also order a catalog if you’d like to have a print copy to look through at home. Remember the name, when you’re ready for self defense products, AAA-SafetyFirst.com.

I Substituted a Kid’s Pad

I was looking for a large pad to use for some projects I’m working on. Ideally, I’d love a giant white board to work with, but seeing as my office is in my living room, a large white board doesn’t really fit. We came up with a brilliant idea. We bought a huge art pad that I can lean up against some drawers I have near my desk. Now I can jot some things down that need to be spread out on large sheets. I have a regular organizer, but one or two projects I’m working on, I’d like to fan out and etch my outlines.

Anyway, we thought we’d check at Michael’s and get a big art pad. Guess what we found instead, for $3.00 at Target there was a giant kid’s drawing pad from Crayola. It’s a floor pad and was perfect for what I need. The sheets of paper are 16 inches x 22 inches, so I was tickled….and hello, three bucks!

One Trip Turned Into Three

I’m not sure if I mentioned my summer vacations here or not. I have a couple of blogs, and sometimes I forget what I say where! I should get better organized, eh? Anyway, if I’ve mentioned it, please forgive the repeat. If not, I’ve got a summer packed full of fun. I was torn on what I wanted to do, because I have a timeshare. I can use it in different places through out the country, it’s just finding out what I want to do.

I was online for a long time, searching everything from Branson hotels, to cabins in the Poconos, to Disney and things like the tropics. I just couldn’t make up my mind. Well, it’s finally all done and decided. I’ll be heading to the beach in early June off season, heading to South Carolina in July, and heading to Florida in September! It’s going to be a lot of fun heading off in so many different directions. I hadn’t planned on taking three trips, only one, but it worked out the way it did.

Busy Weekend

We had a full day today. We ended up going all over the place. We did lunch out, hit Target, Lowes, the grocery store, and a little pet store we go to. We went one direction, then turned around and went the other! I’m not sure what we’re doing tomorrow, but all our errands are done, so we’ll either catch a movie, or go for a drive somewhere like the shore. We like to play in the arcades off season. We play air hockey, skee ball and video games.

What did your weekend look like?

Gather Your Records

I hope your checking accounts are in order! Tax time is upon us, and all those little details need to come together. I did my taxes for years, but now my husband does them. It’s time to get records on savings accounts, checking accounts, W-2’s, expenses and more together. If you’re looking for a new place to open a checking account, you may want to check out WAMU.com.

The WAMU.com website is easy to use. Go to their site, click on checking, then click the state that you bank in. Once you’ve done that, you’re given different options for your area. For instance, in my area of New Jersey, they offer a free checking account or a Platinum checking account. Check them out if you’d like to learn more about what they offer in your state.

Tabasco and Cheese Steaks

My son is starting to like hot and spicy foods! He loves buffalo sauce, and today he put Tabasco on his cheese steak when we went out to lunch! I’m not sure where he gets that from; certainly not me! I prefer it bland over spicy.

It’s interesting how individual we all are. We’re all cut from the same cloth, but each of us has our out unique things. I like that about people. I know it sounds silly, but seriously, wouldn’t it boring if we were all the same all the time?

…but Tabasco on cheese steaks? Blech!

Investments in Precious Metals

The feds are about to cut the interest rates again. They’re trying to boost the economy. Lots of stocks are taking a fall, and Yahoo just posted they had a loss and are laying off 1,000 employees. Each day I read about another company posting a loss. I think Kraft was the other one I read about today. When you’re investing, there’s no guarantee stocks will hold their value. One place you might want to consider investing is in precious metals. I’m talking about gold, silver and platinum. Precious metals are a value that everyone in the world values, so while some local stocks in the US may be falling, there’s world market out there. Precious metals are valuable to everyone, so everyone wants to own them. They are a great asset to your portfolio. If you’d like to learn more about investing in precious metals, along with getting great prices, than make your first stop Monex.com.

I’m Ready to Start

I’m starting a body challenge that kicks off on Thursday officially. We had the meeting last night, so I’m all ready in full mode in my head, but because some people are new to clean eating and exercise, it allows a few days of prep. I’m excited to measure and see what I can do in 12 weeks. I’ve been working out the past 16 weeks and the changes have been nice. I’m all ready following clean eating, but now I’ll be changing one or two things, and I’m hoping it will keep me going.

Wish me luck, because I’m ready to take this thing on head first and be victorious!

Time Keeps Moving

My mom has been feeling achy all over lately, and other things she mentioned had me thinking of fibromyalgia. I had a friend who had fibromyalgia and she spoke of her body always being uncomfortable and continual aches and pains. Since my mom is in her 60’s the other thing that came to my mind was an arthritis. It’s something she needs to go to her family doctor for if she doesn’t find relief. As my mom is inching to the middle of her 60’s, I always worry more and more about her health.

My dad died at 63, and though that was early, it’s in the back of my mind. My mom turns 65 this year, and she’s basically in good health, so she should be with me for another 10 years, I hope. It’s life, our parents worry about us while we’re young, and then we end up worrying about our parents as they get older.