I got a credit of $11.58 on my car insurance premium for the remainder of this policy period for belonging to a professional organization that Geico recognizes as a discount.

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Also, the direct deposit for my one Saturday job has been initiated. That was deposited today. I am still missing one week's worth of pay. I will have to call them and perhaps they can cut me a check for the week that hasn't been accounted for.

Have a great Friday!!

Yesterday, I got an email confirmation from Pinecone stating that I will now be getting compensation via Paypal. I signed up for that several weeks ago. I can't imagine getting paid quicker from Pinecone, as they are very efficient at sending out checks in such a timely manner...usually with in a week.

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The direct deposit at my Saturday job hasn't kicked in yet. I should have received my pay in my account on Friday. I guess that takes a few weeks to activate it in the computer system. It is a small business, so I wouldn't think that it would take nearly as long as for a big company but who knows. The first week I was given an office check for my pay. I don't know what happened this week no paper check and no direct deposit.

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Tomorrow I want to get some items ready to list on ebay or craigslist. I need to get rid of some of the clutter around here.


Have a great weekend!

A few weeks ago I filled out the membership application online for a professional health care providers organization. In the 11 years I have been in this field, I have never been able to justify paying over $200/yr to belong to it. (I am still wondering if I should have done it or not.) I should be able to use this as part of my itemized deductions for my income taxes. I'm trying to help myself rationalize this expense here! Oh well!

Part of the reason I enrolled is because of the need for continuing education credits. It seems like there is a lack of courses to participate in unless you belong to an organization. If you don't then, you pay more to go to the session. So it is advantageous to be a member due to discounted course rates and increased selection of classes. It is a requirement between the two states in which I have a professional licensed to complete 50 credits every 2 years upon license renewal. I am able to do some online courses and submit a test online to earn some credits, but I still must physically participate in actual courses for the remainder of the requirements.

So anyway, yesterday I got my membership card in the mail. Listed on the card are a few businesses which offer discounts to members, one of which was Geico. Since I am already a policyholder for my auto insurance, I called to see what discount they would offer to me. The Geico representative stated that I would save an additional $30+ every 6 months on my insurance, so $5 a month. While it isn't great, every little bit helps.

Now I'm patiently waiting for the organization to send me some information on courses being held in my area.

Today I started my new Saturday job. The hours are 8-2 so the worst part was getting up at 5:30 AM when the alarm went off. The commute is 65 miles one way, but it pays very well since it is located in a large city in a nearby state.

The other staff members were really nice and the day went very well. The time went by quickly also, which was a plus.

At my current Saturday job which I will alternate for now with this job, my boss is very arrogant and frankly I am getting tired of his demeanor. Since we are professionals, I would think that even though he has a higher degree than myself, he would treat me as a colleague and respect my opinions more than he does. Anyway, this and the fact that I always need to initiate the topic of pay increases may make it easier for me to make a decision between the two Saturday jobs. I am extremely reliable and feel I am good at what I practice. Sometimes I feel like I'm taken for granted since I am so readily available for my boss with picking up extra Saturdays. In this profession I should be making more money on Saturdays than I do at my M-F full-time job; however, I do not.

Anyway, sorry about rambling. I guess I should be satisfied and thankful that I have a great profession that so far hasn't been greatly affected by the economy.

Yesterday and today were NSDs for me.

I finally got the temp pay from working in an office a couple of weeks ago. I will add that $503 to my savings account. Normally I get it that same day, but the office manager who writes the checks was on vacation when I worked those days.

Starting Saturday, I will work an additional 2 Saturdays a month. So for a month or two I'm thinking about working every Saturday alternating with the job which I've had for a year now. Since I think that will be too tiresome to do for a long period of time, I will save up some extra money and decide which job to keep and cut back to only 2 Saturdays a month. I don't know, I just don't want to get burnt out. Maybe I can use the extra money to save towards my Home Depot CC that has 0% interest until Jan 2009. I put replacement windows on that CC last year and definitely want to pay it in full before the offer expires.

I was initially concerned with spending hundreds of dollars to get another professional license in a nearby state. By working 2 temp jobs within the past week in that state, I have regained all the money plus some additional money.

I guess it was well worth it, but at the time I was hesitant in making that move within my career.

Last week I had an interview at an office for Saturday work only. Yesterday, I received a call from the office manager stating that I received the job. I will initially work every other Sat. there because I am already working the opposite Sat. in an office where I've been for over a year now. I just need to decide if I want to switch to working every Sat. at this new position because the pay is so much better. I will test it out for a few months, then make a decision.

Anyway, I start in two weeks. I have to decide what I will do with the extra money.

Well, only one more day of temping tomorrow then we leave for vacation for a few days.

Have a great holiday!!

I didn't spend any money today. I also didn't cook any "new" meals. I'm trying to clear the refrigerator of leftovers.
The children and I are leaving Wednesday night to go to my sister and BIL's cabin until the weekend and I don't want to waste the food that was already prepared.

Since I am off this week at my full-time job because the office is closed, I am working M-W doing temp jobs in two different offices. I will be getting a week paid vacation from my regular job plus extra from the 3 temp jobs. I plan to just put the extra money in my savings account. It makes it easier for me to relax knowing I added a bit more to my "cushion". It seems I always have and always will have difficulty justifying taking long vacations!! I feel like I should work a lot since I don't get any financial support from my children's father. I'm trying to compensate for the portion that I was receiving per month due to his disability.

This should be a fairly low cost trip since lodging will be free. I just need to allow gas and grocery money for vacation.

In last Sunday's newspaper I saw a help wanted ad that I responded to by faxing my resume on Wednesday. It is a position for Saturdays only, which is what I'm currently interested in. I received a phone call that same day asking if I could come in for an interview. So I set it up for this morning. Right now I'm working 2 Saturdays/month in an office separate from my full-time position. I either want to supplement that by working 1 more Saturday/month or quit the other job since the pay would be much better in the nearby state where I recently got licensed. Anyway, the commute is 70 miles as opposed to 20, but the pay range is $10-15/hr. more there. I'm thinking even with the rise in gas prices, it may be worthwhile to pursue working in the metro area since I have an economical vehicle (Honda Civic). So the interview went well, and she said it is difficult to find people in the field to work Saturdays. She gave me a tour of the office and introduced me to the staff. She said she would call me back in the beginning of next week to see if my current Saturday schedule would work with when they have an availability. So we will see what happens.

Yesterday, I received a Citibank Reward Check for $63.54. Today I got a TMF Refund from Organix Shampoo for $6.99. I will add both of those to my savings account.

It has been difficult tracking my expenses/income this month (since I've never accounted for every cent), but it's almost the end of the month and it wasn't too bad once I got into the habit of it. Hopefully I can formulate a doable budget since I have a better idea of where all of my money has gone!!

Well, have a great weekend everyone!!

Yesterday, I received a $100 check which was refunded from the total professional license application fee of $375 that I applied for last month. I will add that to my savings account.

Also, I completed two online surveys today.

Have a great weekend everyone!

I received my stimulus payment on Friday by direct deposit into my savings account for $1200. Yesterday, I received a check from Walgreen's March Easy Saver Rebate for $33.75 which will go to my checking account.

Earlier in the week, I received the professional license that I applied for last month. This will allow me to work in a larger city in a nearby state at a higher salary. Initially, I plan to just temp an extra Saturday or two a month for extra income. I already have a permanent Saturday job where I work every other Sat.


I got a letter from my attorney regarding the settlement of property with my ex-husband. Even though I have been divorced since July 2007, my attorney bifurcated the actual divorce decree from the financial aspect of the divorce. In April 2008, the Divorce Master sent my ex a recommendation on how she felt the property should be divided based on all the facts. It stated that I should receive the house and he is responsible for paying my attorneys fees/court costs. Since we were only physically living together for 1 1/2 years after we purchased the house, I have been paying on the mortgage for over 5 years with no input from him. Even when we were together, he didn't contribute that much to the mortgage due to his poor work ethics. Anyway, he had 20 days to appeal this recommendation. Now the time has expired, since he didn't take any further action. The letter from my attorney demands that he sign the deed and forward to him a certified check for $4700 in attorney fees. I seriously doubt that I will see that money. He currently is unemployed once again and has not paid any child support that he has been ordered to starting from the end of March 2008. I will just be satisfied with being able to refinance the mortgage to free up some extra money each month. The current mortgage rate is 8.5% on my loan, but I haven't been able to move forward with this since it was marital property.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Currently, I work full-time in one office Monday-Friday. For about 4 yrs, I have also worked at least 2 Saturdays/month in a separate office. Well, the Saturday job may be ending in a few months. I am not aware of other offices in the surrounding areas that have Saturday hours. Even if there are, I'm not sure if they would have job openings.

For a few months, I have been thinking about whether it might be beneficial for me to get licensed in a nearby state. I live about 40 miles from a major metro area there. It will cost a bit of money upfront (for fees and such), so I wanted to be sure it would be a good decision financially. So a couple of weeks ago, I called a professional health care temp agency there to see what demand there is in my profession. He assured me that a high demand exists and there is a shortage of professionals in my field in that area.

Some of the fees included are: non-refundable application fee $375, jurisprudence exam fee $50, National Board Written exam score report $25, Regional Board clinical exam report $25, letter of good standing from current licensing state $15, official transcript for proof of field-related education $3, plus notary fees to get the documents notarized. The fee for licensure every 2 yrs is $185.

I thoroughly researched salaries in the nearby state for both permanent and temporary positions by using the internet and by speaking to individuals in the field. There is a potential for me to make $10/15 more per hour than I currently make at my Saturday job. Maybe eventually I could get a full-time job in that area as well.

I think if I have a dual license it would make me more marketable in the field. Plus I should be able to deduct the fees on my income taxes next year.

One of my projects for this weekend will be to complete all the paperwork so that I can take it next week to get the documents notarized and mailed out.