Something Catchy

As I think about the upcoming holidays and our never ending list of birthdays, we have 13 family members/friends birthdays coming up in the next three months, it is clear that I need to get more extreme with our budget. A couple weeks ago, I jotted down some ideas about how much I am willing to spend on gifts for both birthdays, holidays, and our anniversary. It soon become clear that I should have started saving up back in January! My grand total came to around $1700. I am someone who thoroughly enjoys buying and giving gifts to friends and family. And please remember this number includes 13 birthdays, our wedding anniversary, and gifts for Christmas for our family and friends: a bargain, really! I know that some people, when on a money/budget journey, tend to do homemade gifts or they simple tell family and friends that they are cutting back. I am not going to be taking that route at this time. I don't feel like our personal finances are so extreme that I cannot continue to do ...

I am a sucker for a typical teen romance book. A setting where the main character has endured some type of traumatic event and is now facing a life with a new set of challenges, sign me up. Does that character seem to also find another person, perhaps a potential romantic interest who is going to help them along the way and then they will fall deeply madly in lust/love? I'm in. Perhaps it will all fall apart in some horrific way. I am ready to be hurt. The author of Tell Me Three Things , Julie Buxbaum did not disappoint. Quick synopsis: Damaged teen Jessie Holmes and her father make their way to Los Angeles, California to start their new life. Her dad elopes and then completely uproots them from their life and home in Chicago. Jessie is of course caught off guard because her and her father were both still grieving for the passing of her mother, who died a couple years before after a horrible battle with cancer. Quickly Jessie must adapt to her new life, home, high school, and fi...

In most recent days, I have realized that teaching is such an interesting job when it really comes down to it. A lot of people think that they want to be a teacher and there is no denying that there is a lot that's appealing about the job. At first glance, the perks almost seem too good to be true. You work from 7:30-3:30 Monday thru Friday and have all major holidays off. Plus you get a fall break (1 week), winter break (2 weeks), and a spring break (1 week). On top of that you also have summers off! Most, if not all, teaching jobs have benefits as well (retirement, insurance for you and your family, and accrued time off). There is both job availability and job security. The other perk that might be appealing is that you're shaping the youth of America. Each day is new and exciting and presents in itself a sense of variety/adventure. You will feel like each day at work matters and means something. Another bonus might be that you like kids! Or that you're particularly inves...

Do I subscribe to all things astrology? No, I do not. Can I deny that when I read my sun and moon sign traits that they don't fit me to a T. Also, no I cannot deny it. And you might be wondering why I am bringing up my astrological sign during a discussion about budget, but it is because my sign and my spending habits actually align perfectly. I am someone who has always thrived off of consistency, but also enjoys the finer things in life. I like to indulge, but I will never do it outside of my comfort zone because I also like to feel like I am control and nothing bad will happen. This means that I have gotten myself into a fair amount of debt throughout my life, but nothing beyond what I thought was unreasonable and didn't allow me to still have some sense of control over my money. My husband and I seem to have fairly stable jobs. We enjoy spending time with each other and go on vacation typically once a year. We don't seem to live pay check to pay check, but now and...

A few months ago my brother-in-laws girlfriend, now fiance, mentioned to me that she was interested in starting a book club. We will call her Em for short. I jumped at the idea because for years I have wondered how to start and maintain an actual book club. It seemed to me that it would impossible to find more than one person who would be willing to regularly partake in book club. I find that people may say they enjoy reading as a hobby, but rarely do they actually do it with regularity. She also sought out a few other people, but soon it was clear that our circle was small. It took some time, but we finally got four of us together. There were a few others who were "interested", but it was quickly clear that it was more of just a general curiosity than actual commitment. And with June fast approaching, our first book club meeting began. After our first meeting, one of our members was clearly going to be too busy to actually read and join regularly. The first book was sele...