How I am going to raise $10,000 in four months

 Chest freezer       $50 Rolled up change  $57.00

 Most of the expenses I have every month is a fixed cost. The house payment, the internet, insurance, heating and cooling and credit card debt. There are two expenses I can control to an extent, the heating and cooling, and to an extent, credit card debt. I keep my heat at a consistent temperature, with having children that are medically fragile, I can't turn the heat down at night life other people do. The cost is worth ensuring the kids don't get sick.  The house payment, internet service and my cell phone bill. The only monthly bill I have that I have some control over is the cost of energy. It's been a few years since I have done an energy audit in my home. I have been working to control that cost this week. During this last week I have unplugged any item in my house that requires energy. I have heard conflicting advice about if something is plugged in and not being used, that it still costs some sort of energy, and then I read, it doesn't cost anything. I would rat...

 Start with what you know, and I know books! As a very young child, my mother gave me the love of reading. I started with Clifford the Big Red Dog and graduated to the boxcar children series in no time. I must have read all the books in the series dozens of times. Over the years I have accumulate hundreds of books, most of them I have read more than a few times. Some, aren't all that special to me (who am I kidding, every book is special to me!). As hard as it was to think about selling a single book, I know at this point, any extra penny or dollar will be put toward my roof /car fund.  I started posting  books yesterday on Ebay, at first, I was a little sad, thinking of the books going to a new home, but then I remembered, I have a goal and I cannot fail. My three adult children that have a disability are counting on me, an only me.  I looked through each page so I could list the imperfections, taking note that I needed to put myself in the buyers place. I also post...

 My mother taught me the value to saving change. She had a glass jar that she would throw all her loose change in and when it was full, she would give it to me so I could roll it up for her. After I was done with my task, she would let me take enough rolled change to buy an ice cream cone. As an adult, I picked up that habit of saving change. You never know when an extra quarter or penny will come in handy  A few yeas ago I bought a glass change holder and the top says "Goal Tender". I tend to be goal oriented, so it really spoke to me. Up until now, it was just a novelty item for me, now, it will motivate me to save every penny I can, literally. As I was relaxing last night, trying to get some sleep, I spotted my change holder, it was almost 1/2 full. As I thought about my current situation I wondered just how much change was in it. The more I looked at it, the more I wondered just how much change I had in there .Since I couldn't sleep, I got out of bed and rolled up the...

In our culture, we are taught there are things in our lives that shouldn't be talked about. Personal finances are one of those things. Debt is a taboo word that no one wants to talk about, and yet, it's something most of us have. When we take on debt, we are confident we can make the monthly payments. Then something unexpected happens, for example,  loss of a job, or in my case, the death of a spouse. Monthly bills, home repairs, car repairs and unexpected expenses just keep coming at us and we wonder how to make it through the month. It's a snowball of misery that we are just expected to suffer in silence. Hello anxiety! . I am no longer going to suffer in silence and neither should you. Debt is something most people have.  I am in a pretty big hole that I am going to dig myself out of. I have no choice but to succeed, failure is not an option. There was a time when I looked forward to paying the monthly bills. I liked seeing the balances on the two credit cards I had goin...