New Goals

Well now that i have regrouped (i.e. lost the boyfriend) I can focus on my goals and dreams. WI ho am I kidding it is 2 am I am tired and I miss that man. But not going to put up with his mess. I hope I can be strong when I see him tomorrow.

Money goal for today is to not spend not one single $1.00. I will bring my lunch and make my coffee at home.

Getting What You Want

Hello friends sorry I have not blogged in a long time. I promise, promise, promise again.....I will start to blog more consistently. Any who allot has happened since then. My hot and steamy romance has become a cold and frosty freeze. At least on my part. Things were going well up until about June. When I began to feel like we were not progressing. Don't get me wrong i an not ready to go skipping down the isle to marriage again but dude has become to boring and complacent. He never wants to do anything unless its on his terms and he is not really emotionally available. I discussed my feelings a few times and he said he would work on it but nothing changed. After spending several years in a bad marriage I have no intention of doing the same in a relationship so I called it quits. I must say that I do miss him but at this point in my life it's about getting what I want and being happy.

Back to School Shopping

Today I started back to school shopping for my daughters. I love back to school shopping it reminds me of when I was a little girl. My girls are with their dad this weekend. So when they get home they will be very surprised. So far I picked up two outfits each from this new consignment store in town. I also bought them some socks and undies. I layed them on their beds just like my mom used to do. I cant wait to see tier faces when they go into their rooms. When you are a single mom you have to learn how to do things early because you never know what crisis may arise. And if you are a single mother like me you don't have many people to turn to for help.

What would You Do.

If you had a friend that was having financial difficulties move in with you? What if you have been friends with this person most of you life. What if they had young children. What if you knew that they would not be able to contribute to your increased household expenses once they move in with you? What would you do?

Office Gossip

In most offices there is office gossip. Whether it's true or not has the potential to be damaging and hurtful. For the most part it centers around who is about to get fired and /or demoted. But sometimes the Head Gossip takes things to far and like in my case which I will discuss in future blogs. Any who I have learned that you must cut it off at the past. here's what i did.
I'm uncomfortable talking about Tim when he is not present to tell his side of the story. Lets hold this conversation until he can be with us.

You could as "Is this something that Latonya wanted you to tell me? If so, I'll be sure to let her know you filled me in.

This throwns them off guard and lets them know that you are not going to participate with that type of behavior.

ZUMBA

Today I took my second Zumba class and let me tell you I am hooked. I have been stuck a a plateau for about 4 weeks mainly because I have grown bored of my regular work out routine. Well let me tell you this class is CRAZY....it is a combination of high energy moves, motivating music and a motivating teacher. The class is so popular that participants have to arrive 30 minutes early to get a spot. My goal is to lose 30lbs by the end of he week. This is week 1. So far so good.

Making Ends Meet

As a recent single mother I have reading allot about the relationship between single motherhood and poverty. For most single mothers their earnings barely put them over the poverty level. According to the US Census Bureau report, in the US the percentage of households headed by single parents has remained fairly steady between 1994 and 2006 at about 9%. In another study published by Families and Living Arrangements: 2006, there were 12.9 million one-parent families in 2006 – 10.4 million single-mother families and 2.5 million single-father families. That is a tremendous amount of single parent households. With the changes in welfare reform and the current economic climate single mothers like myself are finding it more difficult to make ends meet. To get a better picture of what I was spending I recently drafted a very detailed budget sheet. Much to my surprise I have more money left over after all of my bills are paid. But my mistake is that I do a lot of impulse shopping. Well no more I am taking my finances more seriously. My goal for April was to draft a budget which I have done. My next goal is to track all of my expenses and work towards cutting costs. This may mean cutting out my weekly trip to the hair dresser. EEEK .... the highlight of my week but at $25 - $40 dollars a visit depending on what I get this is an expense I can afford to cut in half.