hotlilmama2208

Breastfeeding my daughter has been the best accomplishment and experience in my life! I remember the first time I held my daughter after she was born and her first latch was so rewarding!I am not going to lie, in the beginning it was a little uncomfortable for my nipples but because I was so determined to succeed in this i stuck it out(thanks to prayer and support from my husband and family) I plan on doing this for as long as possible!

TOday I am going to start to read a chapter a day starting from Genesis right before going to bed/ Along with reading it I would like to actually meditate on what i read. I think of the Bible as a letter from God to his children. Everything in it is beneficial for us. I want to try my best to live my life by how God wants me to set out in the Bible. In no way do i find it outdated or impratical. I think if everyone reads the Bible daily and apply what they learn, the world would be a better place because they are allowing Jehovah God(that is God’s name according to PS. 83:18) and his Word the Bible govern their lives! And thats what I want to happen to me!

I know how important it is to save money in case of an emergency.So I opened up an online savings account that accumulates interest every month. There is no monthly maintenance fees and the minumum balance to open an account is $1 On 10/04/07 I deposited $50.00. Before the feds cut interest rates,the interest rate at the time was about 4.63% So by Nov 1 I accumulated .18 interest which brought me to $50.18.Then I accumulated .18 more the next month which brought me to $50.36. Then here is where the meaning of “savings” went out the door. In the beginning of Dec i withdrew $42.50 for a purchase plus they charged me a $2.50 ATM fee. I guess they are trying to help you avoid actually withdrawing money from your “savings” account by charging you that fee. But that didnt stop me.I felt so bad. My husband insisted on paying for it for me but i really wanted to avoid asking him for money. So it left me with $7.86 :( I know that sucks!! Then the interest rate went down to 4.53% so for that month I accumlated only .04 which brought me to a total of $7.90. Fortunately, with the bank that i am with they gave me a rebate for the ATM fee so I got my $2.50 back..YAHHH.. Also my interest rate went up to 4.62% Unfortunately it didnt make that much of a difference in my balance being that it was so low. So the .04 interest plus the $2.50 rebate brought me to $10.44. Now I really wish I didnt make that purchase out of my savings account. Well cant do nothing about that now but only add to it! For the month of Feb the Feds drastically cut the rates down to 3.68%...ARGGg STUPID FEDS STUPID ECONOMY MY balance is already freakin low enough and this is just making it worse! I accumalated interest for that month of only .03 which now brings me to $10.47 MAnn my account looks pitiful! I decided to read some books on saving money and living frugal so that i can potentially build up my account. One of them is called Living Fiscally Fit-1,000 Ways to Get Out of Debt and Build Financial Wealth. I am not in any Debt but I certainly want to build Financial Wealth! So far its been interesting its particularly veered to women. It mentioned that if your emergency savings doesnt cover your living expenses for at least three months(which mine definitely does NOT) you should increase savings. It mentioned how you shouldnt let a budget slave or deprive you,but it is crucial to know where your income is going. Right now I’m trying to lower the costs electricity,gas, cleaning supplies to save money. So far I have cut back on electricity by having windows open when its hot inside instead of turning on the AC; having the fans on full blast especially during the day (when it is the hottest). When its cold instead of putting on the heat we just put extra blankets on the bed or turn on the oven for a little bit. As far as gas and with the price of it steadily increasing, we shop for the cheapest gas in town. Also I stay at home with my daughter working from home thats cutting the cost of gas and daycare expenses. Sometimes I would have to use the car to go to playgroups with my daughter or take care of business so I would bring my husband to work and use the car. Unfortunately he lives way on the other side of town. After thinking about it we may have been wasting more money doing that; first we have to BRING him to work on the other side of town, then I have to drive BACK HOME on the other side of town,take care of what i need to take care of,then PICK HIM UP on the other side of town and finally DRIVE back home on the other side of town! Wow thats alot of gas being used up this ONE day! Imagine doing this 2 or 3 days a week. So i decided to forget about using the car and taking the BUS everywhere! Its been fun for my 10mo old daughter getting around town plus we are saving money! We just purchase a day pass that will take us anywhere around town all day for just $2!! Cant beat that!!! Also i have been trying to clip out more coupons to save more money on groceries. In the book I am reading it made an interesting point. It said for the amount of money you save items on, put that amount in your savings account. For instance lets say you purchase a few items and it was on sale or used coupons and the total you actually saved came to about $10. Well since you actually didnt have to fork out an extra $10 toward that purchase you can contribute that $10 in savings to your savings account! I havent implemented that yet but sounds like a great idea! Also that can apply to paying off bills as a whole instead of monthly payments; the actual payment you would make each month, rather than going towards that bill can go towards your savings.It may seem like your still paying a bill but at least you know its going toward something worthwhile like a savings account that accumulates interest! Also I want to start making my own hair products which comes out cheaper than buying it at the store. I have been cutting back on the type of cleaning supplies i purchase. Instead of purchasing products with alot of chemicals( which are not healthy for you or the environment) I use things like bakings soda,cornstarch,vinegar,lemon,and peroxide(instead of bleach plus less harsh) I was so amazed at how effective they clean and how CHEAP those products are.I have been looking online on how to make my own products such as laundry detergent(considering the amount of laundry I do and detergent I purchase),deodorizing house sprays and so many other things to save money. I look forward to trying these new things out!