A Quote for Today: May

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain"! -- Unkown

Leaving for My Son's Third Grade Class Trip

I am leaving first thing in the morning with my son and his 3rd grade class, his teacher and six other chaperones for five days. At our school it is tradition that 3rd grade visit a working farm. We are driving six hours north to a 100 year old family farm called Emandal in Willits, CA. My kids go to a Waldorf inspired charter school and this trip is part of the 3rd grade curriculum; it is at most Waldorf schools. I am looking forward to this change of pace and the experience!

Successful Yard Sale

I had my yard sale today. I took a car load of stuff over to where the community yard sale was happening and I'd say it was quite successful. Nearly everything was sold and I have $300.00 in my pocket -- Yipee! I was done by 1:00pm. It feels really good to have less stuff and know that others are happy to have what no longer needed.

Random Blessings

I was on the internet looking up animal totems -- just something fun to do in the moment – when I came across someone’s idea for random blessings. I have heard different variations of this before but this variation sounds like it would be the most fun to actually do. One of these days (sooner than later) I will do it and let you know how it turns out! In the meantime maybe you want to try it!

So the purpose of these random blessings is to give and receive money. The amount you choose to give away is completely up to you. Remember to keep a light heart about it; spread the blessings because you really want to and expect nothing in return – just as would do when you give any gift.

On a sticky note write a blessing; maybe something like, “May your life be blessed with abundance”, or “May you always be blessed with all that your heart desires”, or you can be creative and think of something simple.

Write as many blessings on sticky notes as you want, then place one sticky note on one dollar or on a five dollar bill (or a higher denomination if you want to). Do this as many times as you wrote blessings. Then find random places in public to hide the blessed money. The key here is to hide the blessing so that people can really find them. If you drop them on the ground, it could look like someone ‘dropped’ or ‘lost’ their money. You really want people to find the blessing and have them feel the effect that it was meant for them.

Suggested places to hide a blessing: inside a newspaper, maybe in the employment section, between books on a library shelf, in a shoe box in the shoe department of a department store, you can carry a glue stick and glue the blessings to a bathroom stall door, a box of cereal or a bag of diapers. Place these blessings anywhere as long as others will easily find them.

Please be mature and responsible and most of all have fun spreading joy!

Looking for a Job ... part II

And this tops the email I received on Monday from a friend about a job!

So, I was at my kids’ school earlier today. It is “soup day” and I was there helping my son’s 3^rd grade class serve homemade soups to other students for lunch when someone from the office came down to the classroom to see me. She whispered that the person who was hired to take the office assistant job in July had just called to say she can not take the job after all and asked if I was still interested!

You bet I am still interested! As a single mom to be this is my interim dream job! I will work the same hours my kids are in school and have the same holiday schedule too!

I immediately contacted a member of the hiring committee and scheduled myself and interview!

Investment Club Meeting: May

I started a women's investment club four years ago. I had always wanted to learn about investing in the stock market and investing in real estate. So I decided to start a club. Three of my friends (after asking many) decided to join me and help start one.

The investment club meets once a month; the second Wednesday of each month. We are structured as a general partnership complete with by-laws. We do have club dues and currently invest in the stock market together with those funds.

Last night was our May meeting. We just started a journaling series (we do many activities around the theme of money besides investing) and I want to share with you the activity we did last night.

Last year, one of the club's members discovered a book called “The Energy of Money,” by Maria Nemeth. As a club we occasionally like to read books together. We have started to explore this book chapter by chapter together. Last night we each wrote and shared our "Money Biographies'. It was fascinating to write about and hear about the negativity around money that we each were exposed to while growing up. We each had positive ideas around money while growing up too. And our stories were so different from each others. Already I can see that the author, Maria Nemeth, is demonstrating that our ideas about money can be debilitating or empowering.

The club will work from chapter 2 at our August meeting.

Looking for a Job ...

So this morning I was pondering on what do to about finding a job. Well, that seems obvious; get the paper and look in the help wanted section, or go to Craigslist and see what might me posted, put the word out to friends that I am looking for work ... blah blah blah. But, I loathe the whole job hunting process; filling out applications and hoping for a job interview and then sitting through a job interview hoping I made the perfect first impression (of course I am qualified otherwise I would not be applying for the position). It is just not in my nature to jump through the hoops. I would rather create a business and my own hoops. I am doing that with my friend. We have Nature by the Drop as a budding side business that I have every reason to believe will blossom into something fabulous. But right now, this month and next and the one following that, I need cash flow from a "job" -- maybe for a year or two at the very most. I will do what ever it takes ... as long as the process to get there is "effortless and easy" as my friend Pam would say.

So how am I going to do that?

The job I really would love to have is the office assistant position that begins in July at my kids' school. That could very well be the dream job of any single mom of elementary aged children -- It is definitely my interim dream job! Well the day I turned in my application I was told they had just filled that position. I was bummed but asked them to please keep my resume because you never know what might happen.

Anyway, I did mention to one of my friends who is a doctor just building her practice that I could help her out in her office ... she is thinking about it ...

So how am I going to do create myself a job effortless and easily? I just will!

* * * * * * * * * *

So you are not going to believe this! I am so excited (I get excited easily, but this is pretty cool)! I left this blog entry about two hours ago to runs some errands. I came home and checked my email. There I find an email from a friend I have not talked to since October so she doesn't even know I am looking for a job or even getting a divorce and someone she knows is looking for a stay-at-home mom who can help sell ad space for her local radio show. I can do that! You bet, I replied to that email! I called her on the phone too -- job sounds very interesting and very flexible. I've got to have flexibility in a job while I have two young children . I am meeting with Deborah on May 27 to talk more about what she is looking for.

Now that was effortless and easy! Yay!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!

My nine year old son made scrabbled eggs and orange juice and served me in bed! My six year old daughter brought me flowers from the garden and drew me a picture! And they each presented me with a gift they and made in school!

We went for a bike ride; rode along the bike path which follows the shoreline of the bay.

I truly felt honored and had a wonderful day!

I hope yours was just as blessed!

Today I "Pray to God and Row to Shore"

Some days only appear to be bigger challenges than they really are.

Fact: Today I woke up with a little anxiety knocking at my door. I have $30.26 in my checking account and I do not have a job lined up. What am I going to do about that?

There are others facts about today that I am acknowledging and am grateful for: Today I have a roof over my head, food in the cupboards, PG and E is paid, my children and I are healthy and I am resourceful. And if I really think about it, I am even grateful that I have that $30.26!

But I still need to do something about it! So I choose acknowledge the anxiety, and tell it to go away. It does not serve a purpose today to have any anxiety.

I walked in my first half marathon (13.5 miles) in Sand Diego June 2007 with and organization called Team in Training. I was walking down the highway about 4 miles from the finish line when I looked up to read a huge banner hanging on an overpass. It read: "Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal". Wow! It struck me! Could life really be that simple? Do I focus my attention to the hot air, tired feet, the chitter-chatter in my head that wants to doubt, those around me who are struggling or those who are passing me? Or do I remember I have been trained by coaches, I have plenty of water, electrolytes and some carbs with me, I am in a rhythm at a comfortable pace, doing great and with every step I am closer to my goal? It was amazing to experience the two perspectives in an instant. It was a learning moment about perception and attitude. Obstacles are there if I look at them, pay attention to them, focus on them. And they really don't appear to be so important or intrusive if I focus on the goal and the good things around it.

Today all is well – really! I will “Pray to God and row to shore”. This means, I will go through my household belongings and have a garage sale to generate some cash. Meanwhile, I will go look for a job!

Purging and Sorting

I have never liked clutter, yet it has always seemed to build-up around me. I went through a bunch of our belongings. I took four loads to St. Vincent de Paul! I took some of the kids clothes and toys to a local re-sale shop. I found some items I think are worth selling on Ebay. I have sold things before on Ebay it is fairly easy. It is a hit or miss on getting a good price, but at least I don't have the clutter and the items are being enjoyed by others. And I will have some much needed cash in my pocket!

I signed up for a community garage sale I heard about from my friend Holly. The garage sale is set for Saturday, May 17.

Then there is Craigslist, what ever doesn't sell that I think is worth $5 or more I'll put on Craigslist.

No job yet. The job I really would like to have is a part-time office assistant position at my kids' school. But the HR committee told me that they filled the position last week.

Organizing My Household Budget

I pulled out all of my bank statements and receipts all the way back to January 1, 2008 and over the course of three days entered everything into Quicken. I have version 2004. It was installed on my laptop when my laptop was purchased. I knew I needed to take an overview look at my out-going expenses. Remember, I am not employed at this time and I need to know how much money to earn to cover my living expenses: Cash flowing in and cash flowing out; it is like the breath of the household.

Okay, I have calculated that currently a comfortable life style for me and my kids requires earning at least $4,000.00 a month. I will get some child support, but at this point I do not know how much that will be. I do need to find another place to live. The house I am in now is a rental and the owners are putting it on the market. I'll be looking for a new place and decreasing my rent. I need to move by June 30, 2008.

Although my mother taught me all I know about budgeting and I feel I do it very well, I picked up a few books to read up on the latest and greatest in budgeting and financial planning. So over the course of the last six months or so I have been reading. I'll write reviews and tell you more about those books later. And I will also tell you now that I started a women's investment club four years ago ... and I will tell you more about that later too. The books I read were very helpful in planning my monthly household budget. I came up with seven (7) basic groups: 1) Income, 2)Must Have Essentials, 3) Important Essentials, 4) Amusements/Luxuries, 5) Savings, 6) Investments, and 7) Giving Back.

In summary, what this means is that after I entered all of my deposits and receipts, I took a look at my spending habits and determined which expenses are Must Have Essential; the absolute musts like rent, groceries, electricity, auto insurance and so forth. Then I determined what was an Important Essential; important enough to keep, but if I absolutely had to I could eliminate like the cell phone, education costs, gifts during the holidays and birthdays, recreational fees for my kids to play sports and things like that. Next, I determined the Amusements/Luxuries. These things are all about having fun which is very important, but in a crunch I can go without for several months like, dining out, going to plays, weekend outing, vacations, pedicures and so on ... Now you might really feel a pedicure is an Important Essential rather than an Amusement/Luxury or an automobile is an Important Essential rather than a Must Have Essential. Then you would determine what works best for you; what suits your personality and life style. The group called Savings is for saving for those big ticket items that I dream of having like a newer car or taking the kids to Hawaii. The group called Investments will be used for future investing. This is my path to financial freedom and I'll talk about that later. And last but not least is the group for giving back. I want to donate to causes and programs I believe in on a regular basis.

Please note that I am all for and have the mind set to generating more income rather than cutting back. But it is crucial to know where the money is coming from and where the money is going to in order to set goals and plans in place to generate more income.

In an upcoming article, I'll talk about how I divide up the income to feed each group I defined today and share a little about financial goals.

Nature by the Drop

I would like to share with you that I have a little business venture brewing with a good friend of mine, Holly. Holly is teaching me all about essential oils. We have teamed up together and are hosting blending labs each month in my home. People come over for a few hours to learn about essential oils and then get to make personal products with them. Holly and I have been doing these blending labs since last November - just 7 months. We are having so much fun! I am learning a lot from Holly. She is the client educator and I am the business systems woman -- making a great team. Although we are not drawing an income yet, the dream is big and plans are rolling!

We call our blending labs Nature by the Drop. And we are having two labs back to back today!

Won a Raffle Today

Guess what? Today I won the 50/50 raffle at my kids' school’s May Faire celebration! Our school hosts a May Faire every spring and there is always a raffle of some kind. This year I bought $10.00 worth of tickets for the 50/50 raffle and won half the cash in the pot -- $187.50!

And my daughter won a free pass to our local roller skating rink and my son won a pass to play miniature golf!

What a fun day we have had!

First Steps to Grasp the Changes Ahead

I am creating a new life. I am looking forward to it, yet it is change.

I am getting a divorce after 16 years of marriage. My husband moved out of our house about three weeks ago. We decided that he is going to take most of the furniture. I just don't want what we have accumulated over the years. He has moved out but most of his belongings are still here. My kids and I have to move out too. We rent and the house is going to be placed on the market. The kids and I have until the end of June to find a new place (and I may have some opportunities to be creative with that 'deadline'). Anyway, during this transition of dividing up the household, my main my goal now is to spend some time calculating how much money I will need to create each month to run my new household and set a budget in place.

I have my own checking account -- we have already closed all of our joint accounts a few months ago. The bank I bank at offers online banking and I love that feature, but I want to keep track of my money using a program. So another goal I am setting now is to set up my checkbook and track my spending on Quicken.

So that is where I will begin: #1 Set time aside to determine how much money my kids and I need each month to live #2 Set up my bank account information and budget plan on Quicken.