Yesterday was certainly...interesting, to say the least.
Yesterday morning wasn't terrible. I got to sleep in before I had to go to work. I had spent the night at a friend's house and had to go back home for my uniform. Then I found out that my mom was sick and she wasn't sure if it was bronchitis or the flu, so I asked my friend if I could stay for a few days while she got over it. I definitely don't want to get sick and miss any time at work.
On my way to work, I'm sitting at a stoplight and I see a homeless man on the corner. I looked over at him and realized that I had a few bucks in cash in my wallet. I looked up and realized that the light was still red and we weren't moving at all so I quickly reached in my wallet, rolled my window down and called out to him. He asked God to bless me as he took the two dollars I gave to him.
A smile immediately came on my face and I turned my attention to the cars in front of me. I happened to glance up in my rearview mirror and see that the car behind me was also giving money to the homeless man. My smile got even bigger! How cool is that? One person does one good thing (even as small as two dollars) and it's a ripple. Someone sees it and thinks, "Hey! I can spare a few extra dollars too!"
That definitely put me in a good mood going into work.
Unfortunately the good mood didn't last. :(
Work has been a mess lately. We have had a REALLY hard time finding people who are willing to work hard and get the job done. I don't want to get too much into some of the other problems because I don't want to publicly trash people because that's just not good form. But let's just say there is one person who works for the same company I do that makes my job much more difficult (unnecessarily, I might add). This person is causing me great amounts of stress and unfortunately lashed out at me last night, causing my good mood to turn.
I was quite upset on my dinner break last night. But my bestest friend in the whole world heard I wasn't having a good day so he brought me a candy bar on my break. :) That put a smile back on my face and I was able to get through the rest of the night with a fairly even mood.
I think it's interesting how things can turn around so many times in one day. I went out to karaoke last night and am glad that I did. I got to see an old friend I hadn't seen since October. I had a great time and my sisters even came out for a little bit!
Now, I'm off to have lunch with my family and then spend the rest of my day relaxing and preparing for the six day work week I have coming up.
lindsayallison
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
financial freedom
I'm ecstatic to say that I finished reading Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover". It was a fantastic book and I'm really taking the message to heart.
For those of you who know me, I don't handle money very well. Think Becky Bloomwood from "Confessions of a Shopaholic" and that's about how I handle money. I can justify each and every purchase in some way that makes me feel better about spending money I shouldn't.
Ok, so maybe I'm not quite as bad as Becky. I'm fortunate enough to have a good enough head on my shoulders to have NOT gotten any credit cards. Even when the temptation to get one was great. But the problem I have is I like to spend money. I'm good at it. Whether it's my money, someone else's money, or money in my possession that belongs to someone else, I can spend it and I will. Money has always burned a whole in my pocket.
BUT no more! I've decided to take on the "Total Money Makeover" and live like no one else so that later I can live like no one else. If you haven't read this book, you should. Even if you are "good" with money, you should read this book. It will help you build wealth so that you can have financial freedom and security for the rest of your life.
One of my new year's resolutions was to be more financially responsible. I want to pay all of my bills on time so that I don't worry about money the way I used to. Well according to Dave, the first step is to get current on all of my bills.
This is going to be rough because there is one payment I'm two months behind on and another payment I'm one month behind on. But I am determined to be caught up on ALL of my bills by the end of the month. After I get caught up, I can start on Baby Step 1.
Baby Step 1 is to start an emergency fund of $500. (Well, $1,000 if you make more than $20,000 a year - which I don't.) I plan to try to start that a LITTLE bit this month, but I should really have it by the end of March.
After that, you start the Debt Snowball. Since I'm young, I don't have a lot of debt. All of my debt is to family members or in student loans. Today I was figuring out how much I owe and I found that I actually owe about $2,300 LESS than I thought I did in student loans! That really made my day!
What you do is list all debt from smallest to largest. You make minimum payments on all but the smallest debt. You attack that smallest debt with every spare penny you can find until it is completely paid off. Once it's paid off, you use the money you were using for that debt and apply it towards the next one on your list and do the same as you did before. Every spare penny to that debt until it is paid off. Luckily for me, I don't have much so this shouldn't take me too long.
The third step is to complete your emergency fund so that you have enough to cover 3-6 months of expenses should you lose your income. I need to figure out exactly how much that will be, but it should be a few thousand dollars.
The fourth step is to start saving for retirement. You should put 15% into a retirement fund with an interest. I don't know much about investing so I'll have to talk to an expert about how to do that exactly.
The fifth step is saving for college. Whether it's for you or your kids you start putting money towards college educations. I don't have any children and I'm not entirely sure what I want to go to school for or if I want to go at all. Luckily this step is further down the road so I don't need to worry about it just yet.
The sixth step is paying off the mortgage. I don't have one of those yet, but I do want to buy a house. So this step for me will be saving for a down payment on a house. The closer I can get to 100% down the better off I will be.
The seventh and final step is to build weath. Start having fun, investing my money in secure places and start giving it to those less fortunate than me.
I can't wait to get there. I'm so excited about this because I have hope. I'm not too bad off to start with and now I have hope that by the end of 2012 (conservatively) I will be completely debt free and on my way to getting the things I want out of life.
I hope that anyone who reads this will do the same. I haven't won yet, but now I know how to play the game and I WILL win. I will be financially fit and free from debt before I'm 30.
I couldn't be happier!
lindsayallison
PS - ok, maybe I'll be happier when I actually finish, but that's not what's important right now.
For those of you who know me, I don't handle money very well. Think Becky Bloomwood from "Confessions of a Shopaholic" and that's about how I handle money. I can justify each and every purchase in some way that makes me feel better about spending money I shouldn't.
Ok, so maybe I'm not quite as bad as Becky. I'm fortunate enough to have a good enough head on my shoulders to have NOT gotten any credit cards. Even when the temptation to get one was great. But the problem I have is I like to spend money. I'm good at it. Whether it's my money, someone else's money, or money in my possession that belongs to someone else, I can spend it and I will. Money has always burned a whole in my pocket.
BUT no more! I've decided to take on the "Total Money Makeover" and live like no one else so that later I can live like no one else. If you haven't read this book, you should. Even if you are "good" with money, you should read this book. It will help you build wealth so that you can have financial freedom and security for the rest of your life.
One of my new year's resolutions was to be more financially responsible. I want to pay all of my bills on time so that I don't worry about money the way I used to. Well according to Dave, the first step is to get current on all of my bills.
This is going to be rough because there is one payment I'm two months behind on and another payment I'm one month behind on. But I am determined to be caught up on ALL of my bills by the end of the month. After I get caught up, I can start on Baby Step 1.
Baby Step 1 is to start an emergency fund of $500. (Well, $1,000 if you make more than $20,000 a year - which I don't.) I plan to try to start that a LITTLE bit this month, but I should really have it by the end of March.
After that, you start the Debt Snowball. Since I'm young, I don't have a lot of debt. All of my debt is to family members or in student loans. Today I was figuring out how much I owe and I found that I actually owe about $2,300 LESS than I thought I did in student loans! That really made my day!
What you do is list all debt from smallest to largest. You make minimum payments on all but the smallest debt. You attack that smallest debt with every spare penny you can find until it is completely paid off. Once it's paid off, you use the money you were using for that debt and apply it towards the next one on your list and do the same as you did before. Every spare penny to that debt until it is paid off. Luckily for me, I don't have much so this shouldn't take me too long.
The third step is to complete your emergency fund so that you have enough to cover 3-6 months of expenses should you lose your income. I need to figure out exactly how much that will be, but it should be a few thousand dollars.
The fourth step is to start saving for retirement. You should put 15% into a retirement fund with an interest. I don't know much about investing so I'll have to talk to an expert about how to do that exactly.
The fifth step is saving for college. Whether it's for you or your kids you start putting money towards college educations. I don't have any children and I'm not entirely sure what I want to go to school for or if I want to go at all. Luckily this step is further down the road so I don't need to worry about it just yet.
The sixth step is paying off the mortgage. I don't have one of those yet, but I do want to buy a house. So this step for me will be saving for a down payment on a house. The closer I can get to 100% down the better off I will be.
The seventh and final step is to build weath. Start having fun, investing my money in secure places and start giving it to those less fortunate than me.
I can't wait to get there. I'm so excited about this because I have hope. I'm not too bad off to start with and now I have hope that by the end of 2012 (conservatively) I will be completely debt free and on my way to getting the things I want out of life.
I hope that anyone who reads this will do the same. I haven't won yet, but now I know how to play the game and I WILL win. I will be financially fit and free from debt before I'm 30.
I couldn't be happier!
lindsayallison
PS - ok, maybe I'll be happier when I actually finish, but that's not what's important right now.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
long days and bad movies
What a long ass day.
Work was fairly dead and so it just seemed to drag on and on and on and on and on...I was more than ecstatic when the other girl came in to take over at 4. I was ready to get out of there.
I then spent the afternoon cleaning up my room and organizing it. It looks so good right now. I'm quite pleased with myself. Now I just have to finish up a bit more laundry and I'll be completely done with my cleaning chores.
Now I'm sitting here, trying to figure out what I'm going to do next. I'm hungry, I think. I also am considering doing a little writing because I've been struck with inspiration lately. I think it'll help if I stop watching bad movies. And when I say bad, I mean baaad. "Center Stage" is completely awful...I mean...just awful. So why am I watching it?
Well, I'm off for a midnight snack, a bit more laundry and maybe some writing. I have a good copule of hours before it's bedtime!
lindsayallison
Work was fairly dead and so it just seemed to drag on and on and on and on and on...I was more than ecstatic when the other girl came in to take over at 4. I was ready to get out of there.
I then spent the afternoon cleaning up my room and organizing it. It looks so good right now. I'm quite pleased with myself. Now I just have to finish up a bit more laundry and I'll be completely done with my cleaning chores.
Now I'm sitting here, trying to figure out what I'm going to do next. I'm hungry, I think. I also am considering doing a little writing because I've been struck with inspiration lately. I think it'll help if I stop watching bad movies. And when I say bad, I mean baaad. "Center Stage" is completely awful...I mean...just awful. So why am I watching it?
Well, I'm off for a midnight snack, a bit more laundry and maybe some writing. I have a good copule of hours before it's bedtime!
lindsayallison
Monday, January 31, 2011
sleep, bad drivers, and rainy days
It was a dreary day today.
I actually happen to like Mondays for the sole reason that I work a 7-3 shift. I know that most people flip at the idea of having to get up earlier, but I love it. It means that I get off an hour earlier than normal and for some reason, that makes all the difference in the world when counting down minutes until I can go home.
Unfortunately today my coworker was ill and was late arriving to work. He still wasn't there when I left, but I had to leave. I thought that a 7a - 4:30p shift was long enough. Not to mention things were pretty dead at the store. I blame the dreary weather.
Going home was an adventure in itself. As I was attempting to turn out of the parking lot (left, I might add) there was someone across the street trying to turn right. This person stops, as he should, and then sits there as no cars are coming before he turns. I know that he has the right of way so I don't make a move because I know if I do, I'll cause an accident. But he just sits there! Finally he turns and I turn after him. Then he decides that crawling would be the better thing to do instead of driving at the speed limit.
Unfortunately this douche bag won't let up. I can't get around him because I'm on a one lane road. It's just irritating the mess out of me. As luck would have it, I have to follow this loser onto the high way. He tries to get onto a high way of 60mph going only 30mph. I really thought he or I was going to cause an accident.
Luckily he sped up (but just barely) and I only had to follow him for another mile before he got off the highway. I know it's a rainy day, but it wasn't even raining when I was driving home! There was no need for the ridiculously "cautious" driving.
Gah, anyways.
The 2010 fiscal year is finally over. Yesterday started the 2011 fiscal year and I couldn't be more excited. I crunched all the numbers for last year and it's a proven fact that I was the best performing head of my department for last year. We had three experts in my department during last year and I out performed the other two. I was pretty happy to find that out. I'm really excited to start this new year and see how well we can do.
I only have a few screws to tighten up before we're running at maximum efficiency and full speed. :)
Now I'm working on some notes for the story that I'm currently working on. That will probably take me all night. I only got three and a half hours of sleep last night but it doesn't really bother me. I actually feel pretty great. Getting up this morning was hard, but once I got going I was fine and barely felt tired at all!
I've come to the conclusion that I don't require a lot of sleep. Actually, I really don't like to sleep. I feel like it's such a waste of perfectly good time where I could be doing something constructive. Sleeping is not constructive, not in my book. To me, it's the ultimate lazy act. Now, I do know it's required of humans to sleep so that they don't die, but I don't think it should be used as a favorite pastime.
Gah, I've spent enough time on this thing. I've got to get back to work.
lindsayallison
I actually happen to like Mondays for the sole reason that I work a 7-3 shift. I know that most people flip at the idea of having to get up earlier, but I love it. It means that I get off an hour earlier than normal and for some reason, that makes all the difference in the world when counting down minutes until I can go home.
Unfortunately today my coworker was ill and was late arriving to work. He still wasn't there when I left, but I had to leave. I thought that a 7a - 4:30p shift was long enough. Not to mention things were pretty dead at the store. I blame the dreary weather.
Going home was an adventure in itself. As I was attempting to turn out of the parking lot (left, I might add) there was someone across the street trying to turn right. This person stops, as he should, and then sits there as no cars are coming before he turns. I know that he has the right of way so I don't make a move because I know if I do, I'll cause an accident. But he just sits there! Finally he turns and I turn after him. Then he decides that crawling would be the better thing to do instead of driving at the speed limit.
Unfortunately this douche bag won't let up. I can't get around him because I'm on a one lane road. It's just irritating the mess out of me. As luck would have it, I have to follow this loser onto the high way. He tries to get onto a high way of 60mph going only 30mph. I really thought he or I was going to cause an accident.
Luckily he sped up (but just barely) and I only had to follow him for another mile before he got off the highway. I know it's a rainy day, but it wasn't even raining when I was driving home! There was no need for the ridiculously "cautious" driving.
Gah, anyways.
The 2010 fiscal year is finally over. Yesterday started the 2011 fiscal year and I couldn't be more excited. I crunched all the numbers for last year and it's a proven fact that I was the best performing head of my department for last year. We had three experts in my department during last year and I out performed the other two. I was pretty happy to find that out. I'm really excited to start this new year and see how well we can do.
I only have a few screws to tighten up before we're running at maximum efficiency and full speed. :)
Now I'm working on some notes for the story that I'm currently working on. That will probably take me all night. I only got three and a half hours of sleep last night but it doesn't really bother me. I actually feel pretty great. Getting up this morning was hard, but once I got going I was fine and barely felt tired at all!
I've come to the conclusion that I don't require a lot of sleep. Actually, I really don't like to sleep. I feel like it's such a waste of perfectly good time where I could be doing something constructive. Sleeping is not constructive, not in my book. To me, it's the ultimate lazy act. Now, I do know it's required of humans to sleep so that they don't die, but I don't think it should be used as a favorite pastime.
Gah, I've spent enough time on this thing. I've got to get back to work.
lindsayallison
Sunday, January 30, 2011
I'm Back!
I'm back everyone!
I had honestly forgotten that I had started this blog, silly of me really. I had gotten so busy with work and life that I just never even saw the "Blogspot" link under my favorites...even though I look at them every day.
What's going on with me?
To put it simply: A LOT!
First, I'm losing weight at a rapid pace and I am loving it. I love how I feel about myself, I love how my clothes fit. I can't wait until I can fit into some of the clothes I wore in high school. I'm so close and I know if I continue keeping an eye on my portion control, I'll be there before I know it.
Second, I've dedicated 2011 to writing! That's right! I'm working on my own pieces, I'm doing more reading, and I have taken up journaling again. Well, I've taken up journaling again - ish. I write when I need to, but it's not every day. I'm hoping that I can bring the blog up to an almost daily basis. I mean how cool would it be to have a small following of friends here on my blog?
I've decided to really put myself into this. I invested in some filing items of sorts. Just a place to keep all my different stories and ideas until they are all finished to perfection. I can keep all of my notes and ideas about one story in one place so I don't have to constantly go digging for them amongst a dozen notebooks and binders.
Third, I've recently (within the past two months or so) started an actual relationship with my older brother. I have an older half brother by my dad and despite the fact that I'm almost 24 years old, he and I have never had a relationship. Well, I found him on facebook and friended him. We've had a fairly regular contact ever since and it's been nice. We don't always see eye to eye, but we do have some common ground. It's been fantastic feeling like someone's younger sister for the first time in my life.
My holidays were fantastic. The best I've had in a few years. I was beyond ecstatic about the gifts I both gave and received. I was shocked and pleased that everyone behaved themselves this year. It was definitely a wonderful time.
I was saddened at the loss of my great-grandmother, Margaret "Memere" Gallant on the 28th of December. She was 98 and had lived a good, long life and was ready to go home. I was fortunate enough that when my mom and I went up to Boston in November, she remembered us long enough for us to say goodbye. We both knew that we'd probably never see her again.
This new year has done wonders for me. I'm reading a fantastic book, "Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey so that I can learn better financial responsibility. I am doing something that I love and I've been trying desperately to have a better outlook on life in general (especially my dumb ass job - ok, so I'm still working on that one). I feel better this year and it's been amazing.
I will do anything to make sure this feeling lasts.
lindsayallison
I had honestly forgotten that I had started this blog, silly of me really. I had gotten so busy with work and life that I just never even saw the "Blogspot" link under my favorites...even though I look at them every day.
What's going on with me?
To put it simply: A LOT!
First, I'm losing weight at a rapid pace and I am loving it. I love how I feel about myself, I love how my clothes fit. I can't wait until I can fit into some of the clothes I wore in high school. I'm so close and I know if I continue keeping an eye on my portion control, I'll be there before I know it.
Second, I've dedicated 2011 to writing! That's right! I'm working on my own pieces, I'm doing more reading, and I have taken up journaling again. Well, I've taken up journaling again - ish. I write when I need to, but it's not every day. I'm hoping that I can bring the blog up to an almost daily basis. I mean how cool would it be to have a small following of friends here on my blog?
I've decided to really put myself into this. I invested in some filing items of sorts. Just a place to keep all my different stories and ideas until they are all finished to perfection. I can keep all of my notes and ideas about one story in one place so I don't have to constantly go digging for them amongst a dozen notebooks and binders.
Third, I've recently (within the past two months or so) started an actual relationship with my older brother. I have an older half brother by my dad and despite the fact that I'm almost 24 years old, he and I have never had a relationship. Well, I found him on facebook and friended him. We've had a fairly regular contact ever since and it's been nice. We don't always see eye to eye, but we do have some common ground. It's been fantastic feeling like someone's younger sister for the first time in my life.
My holidays were fantastic. The best I've had in a few years. I was beyond ecstatic about the gifts I both gave and received. I was shocked and pleased that everyone behaved themselves this year. It was definitely a wonderful time.
I was saddened at the loss of my great-grandmother, Margaret "Memere" Gallant on the 28th of December. She was 98 and had lived a good, long life and was ready to go home. I was fortunate enough that when my mom and I went up to Boston in November, she remembered us long enough for us to say goodbye. We both knew that we'd probably never see her again.
This new year has done wonders for me. I'm reading a fantastic book, "Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey so that I can learn better financial responsibility. I am doing something that I love and I've been trying desperately to have a better outlook on life in general (especially my dumb ass job - ok, so I'm still working on that one). I feel better this year and it's been amazing.
I will do anything to make sure this feeling lasts.
lindsayallison
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
with LIBERTY and JUSTICE for ALL
The fourteenth ammendment of the United States of America's Constitution states in part: (and no, I'm not picking and choosing parts of this ammendment to put together like forcing pieces of a puzzle together that do not match in support of my argument.)
1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law; nor deny any person in its jurisdiction the equal protection of law.
... (section 2 talks about appropriation of representatives of states and that each male of the age of 21 who is not a felon or has given aid or comfort to a rebellion against the United States or aided the enemy should be considered one whole person - a change in the fact that one black man was considered 3/5 of a person since the founding of our country.
(section 3 talks about how you can't be voted into office if you've been a part of a rebellion or given aid to a rebellion or enemies of the United States.
(section 4 talks about how the United States government will not pay off the debts the south incurred during the Civil war.)...
5. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
The Pledge of Allegiance says in full:
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands; one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Today, Judge Vaughn Walker ordered that Proposition 8 (which was voted into California state law during the November elections in 2008) was unconstitutional. I would like to say it's about damn time. It is unconstititional to deny rights to any United States citizen based on race, creed, gender, or religious belief.
It saddens me that California thought it could vote on the rights of certain citizens. Rights are undeniable and inarguable. You can not deny someone right simply because they are different from you or because they believe in something you don't or live a lifestyle you don't.
I don't care what your beliefs on homosexuality are. I really don't. I'm not going to preach about my beliefs on homosexuality. The fact of the matter is that every citizen deserves the same rights since we all live in the same country and under the same Constitution. Matter of opinion is not a statement of fact and cannot be used in a trial in a United States court as evidence. I'm sorry, but "it should be illegal because I believe it's wrong" is not a legitimate legal argument.
I can't wait to see where this case goes. We all know that it will be appealed and will more than likely end up before the Supreme Court. I am very excited to see that gross injustice that was signed into law is now being overturned.
lindsayallison
1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law; nor deny any person in its jurisdiction the equal protection of law.
... (section 2 talks about appropriation of representatives of states and that each male of the age of 21 who is not a felon or has given aid or comfort to a rebellion against the United States or aided the enemy should be considered one whole person - a change in the fact that one black man was considered 3/5 of a person since the founding of our country.
(section 3 talks about how you can't be voted into office if you've been a part of a rebellion or given aid to a rebellion or enemies of the United States.
(section 4 talks about how the United States government will not pay off the debts the south incurred during the Civil war.)...
5. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
The Pledge of Allegiance says in full:
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands; one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Today, Judge Vaughn Walker ordered that Proposition 8 (which was voted into California state law during the November elections in 2008) was unconstitutional. I would like to say it's about damn time. It is unconstititional to deny rights to any United States citizen based on race, creed, gender, or religious belief.
It saddens me that California thought it could vote on the rights of certain citizens. Rights are undeniable and inarguable. You can not deny someone right simply because they are different from you or because they believe in something you don't or live a lifestyle you don't.
I don't care what your beliefs on homosexuality are. I really don't. I'm not going to preach about my beliefs on homosexuality. The fact of the matter is that every citizen deserves the same rights since we all live in the same country and under the same Constitution. Matter of opinion is not a statement of fact and cannot be used in a trial in a United States court as evidence. I'm sorry, but "it should be illegal because I believe it's wrong" is not a legitimate legal argument.
I can't wait to see where this case goes. We all know that it will be appealed and will more than likely end up before the Supreme Court. I am very excited to see that gross injustice that was signed into law is now being overturned.
lindsayallison
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