Life Update & Mindless jibber jabber

Hello everyone,

           Longtime, no write, I know but life has been utter ciaos let me tell you. I lost interest in the 'saving' and 'paying bills' aspect when my bills went under control. I am still working at it but things are consistent and working out for the better these days. Today, I am going to give you a little update on my life recently. Let me warn you, some things will shock you. Let me start....

Around April, my 70 year old father was admitted into a long term care facility due to dementia and other diseases. This was not easy for anyone. Prior to his admittence, he was getting into everything, falling down stairs, soiling clothes and his bed and such. My mother suffers from her own illnesses and disabilities and this made things extra difficult for myself and my sister. When he was admitted, I think we all went through a little guilt over the fact that people accused us of "shoving him in a home". Some people (including family members) thought it was a way of reliving ourselves of the responsibility. It's easy to feel like maybe deep down inside that is the reason. After talking to eachother and praying alot, we came to a conclusion. No one knows the circumstances of our life. Some family member even turn their back on the fact and pretend that we are the ones with the wrong ideas. Trying to explain our feelings to people is like trying to decribe the color green. Unless you see for yourself, nothing will make sense.

Now, prepare yourself for the story of the summer. Many of my friends already know about this story but here it is for those of you who may not know. The beginning of July, my sister, mom and myself decided to head to the beach. The beach we go to is about an hour from where we live. Now my car was never in the greatest shape but we never though things would go this bad. As I drove up the highway about 30 minutes from house, I see that my battery light is flickering. I make the executive decision that I am going to pull to the side for fear that my car will break down in the middle of the highway. So, s I check my rearview mirror to get over, I see billowing smoke coming from the back end of my car. as I put the car in park and turn of the engine, smoke beins to seep through my air vents. That was clear sign that we needed to get out. We all got out and as we walk away from the car, I notice flames sitting at the base of my car. For some reason my first reaction was the pop the hood and just as I was abut the run for it, my mom grabs my arm and says we need to run the other way. I listened and I am glad we did because at that moment the car consumed with flames. My heart sank! I had left my cell in the car and starting panicing because someone clearly needed to call the fire department. I started frantically waving people down and no one would stop! I mean no one! People are real jerks sometime. Like they see three frantic women and a car on fire and they wont stop. I have a word for people like that but lets keep it PG. Finally a lady stops, rolls down the window and tell us to get in. She starts reversing....and as we move away, my car is engolfed. I think at that moment, I wanted to cry but the tears werent coming. Partly because we could have been killed if we had waited a moment longer to get out of that car. And also because my car was in flames and I was helpless. That car was alot to us. It was the first reliable car my parents could ever afford, it had been my mode of work transport for 7 years and now it was gone. Alot happened that day, but this post would go on for days. First there was panic, then shock and then tears. I miss my old car and the bus life sucks, but i am glad we all made it out alive.

Also, we moved! After 23 years in our town house we moved. It was crazy leaving that old place! There were so many memories in that shack. I was not as upset leaving as I thought I would be but at one point I did have a nervous breakdown about how small my room was. But that was it.

Anyways guys, that's all for today. The last 6 months have been a journey but I always remeber this, life will get crazy but sometimes the crazier the life, the better the stories. ;)

Love,
Sarah

When Good Paydays Go Bad

Yah, I know it's 1am but I am just too exhausted to sleep, if that makes sense. But what I am trying to say is, I am just too stressed out to even hit the pillow yet. You know those nights when you can actually feel the bags under your eyes? Yeah, that is totally me right now. I know I need to get some shut eye because I have to get up for work at 8am. But today was a bust. Well, I guess what I should say is, today was a good day until this evening and then it turned into a stinker.

So, I got my pay check today and I had my budget all worked out. After all my bills were paid, which included a visa payment and paying back all my family members the money I owed them, I only had two plans, to go buy some makeup and then to purchase a new pair of glasses (the website that I order my glasses off of was having a good sale). After that I would still have a good amount of savings and some left over cash for the week. After accomplishing my budget and my calculations coming out correctly, it seems like I was ahead, which means I was in a good place financially and I wouldn't be completely poor for the next two weeks. I even went to Ikea and didn't buy one item! I know its Ikea but I usually find something to buy! But life thought I was having too much of a good time and then yelled 'Syke!'. I was on my way home tonight and I noticed my cell phone was acting up. Turned out that my phone company disconnected me because I went over my spending limit! I saw red!My car is not reliable and most of the time i am on my own, so I need my phone for emergency purposes. I had to dip into my week money and now I am going to be living off of my sad savings for the next two weeks. I was going to treat myself to a movie this weekend but it looks like life thought that was too wild for me this week.

To be honest, payday is the best and worst day of the week. You are so happy that you have a replenishment of money and that you may be able to buy some little things here and there. Maybe you can go out with your friends and party a little or you can finally buy that dress that you have been eyeing for a week. But it's also the worst day because if your like me and most everyone on the planet, you have bills and by the time you pay all those bills, your down to nothing in just a few short hours. You work a whole two weeks to make a $600 check, but it seems to disintegrate in a matter of hours. Ahhh...such is life I guess. Just hoping I can survive the next weeks on my 'savings'. :|

What does money looks like again?

Holla everyone,

As you can see, my blog has changed a bit, including the title and layout. The reason for this change is because when I first started this blog, I was unsure of what I actually wanted to write about so I kind of just picked something easy. So, in essence the name and layout were a temporary fixer. I knew I wanted to blog about all the shenanigans that seem to happen around here but in light of recent events (my recent debt struggle) I decided to write about all my efforts to pay off my bills and trying to find ways to save money but still enjoy the life I'm living, perhaps in a zombie-esque way, but living none-the-less.

I made alot of mistakes when I was a teen, but one of those major mistakes was getting a credit card. What the hell was I thinking?! And more importantly, What were THEY thinking when they gave me to credit card?! I guess they assumed that since I was 18 and technically considered an adult that I could handle a credit card, but they forgot to consider the 'teen' part of 18. Yes, I handled it well for a while but you know the term, 'your eyes are bigger than your stomach'? Well, you could say that it relates to this too. I got a little greedy and decided to ask for a credit limit increase. Stupid, stupid me. I willingly went from a debt I could afford to a debt that would change my life. Now, life seemed to get better at one point, I was working in a salon and it seemed that I had a career. So, I applied for a second credit card, Do Not Ask Me Why! I was approved.

The rest is history, I guess and now my bed is made. I am too terrified to even enquire as to my credit rating and I am working on keeping the creditors at bay. But what happens now? Well, I make payments, wait for naggy calls, work, sleep, eat and try and find a way to fulfill my lust for shopping without breaking the bank, perhaps I will have to take up some thrift shopping. I do have a guy friend who loves to thrift shop, so he may have to show me the ropes to looking' incredible in your Granddads coat'. Plan on taking a hike this weekend so hopefully going to keep it simple and cheap by enjoying nature. I look forward to getting out of the hole I've dug for myself, but hopefully I'll have fun exploring on the way out.

P.S- This blog will still relate the crazy and sometimes, unbelievably true events of my crazy life.