My Finances are Better than They once Were

Looking over finances takes time, dedication, honesty, focus, and a bunch of other things. You must be willing to bear all and open up about the money you make. While writing on My Financial Success I have realized that yes, I have wasted money over the years. Now, I am willing to make a difference with the money I bring home. Once upon a time, I couldn't tell you where my money went. All I knew is that it was all gone. No more and there where still 15 days left in the month. Truly, I got tired of living that way. The material items and that instantaneous thrill will only last for a moment. The financial value will have depleted over time, no longer being worth the amount that you spent.

No longer will I finance anything. All of my purchases will be with cash, check, money order or cashier's check. The interest rate and fees are ridiculous that are charged when you finance or take out a loan. What is the point? The extra cash you spend payin on that could be going to something else.

As for my cable, I got rid of Showtime. I am slowly cutting the extra channels. The phone and Internet can not be cut. I am sure there is something that could be done about my fews. To total I believe my monthly pay out is about $400.00 a month. That really isn't that bad. Working toward cutting more costs.

The tax lien has to be paid separately, so I am going to pay $450.00 for July and August. Those two payments will pay for the Ford Explorer. In September, I will pay $1,000 a month to get the Escalade paid for. Never let anyone use your SSN for anything. I can admit my ignorance. Also, if you purchase a vehicle out of state the sales tax is not included in that purchase. The SSN thing I knew that and I thought the person would handle responsibilities, I was wrong. Purchasing a vehicle out of state and tagging it in another county was new on me. You live and you learn.

These are my serious debts
Wachovia $3600
Tax Lien $6,000
US Dept of Education $13,000

In order to pay off my debts, I will put all of my extra cash toward the above listed challenges. Figuring out other avenues where I cut corners on spending. $24,000 will be paid off by August 2o1o. I will say it over and over, the money I make is not mine if I owe a collector. I will pay off these debts and have them behind me. In the mean time, I will save cash too. No longer will I waste the money that I make. I have a goal to retire by 40. Doing the things that I have been doing in the past have not been successful. Changing my money habits will benefit me and my family in the long run. Building generational wealth is my goal.

Haven't heard anything from my appeal letter for reinstatement of my financial aid. Will call tomorrow to find out what is going on. They said it would be 2 weeks, it has been 15 days.

The other day, I went to Barnes and Noble and looked over some personal finance books. They really motivated me to get back on track. Really tired of wasting money.

It takes a person to finally get tired of things to really make a difference, well I am tired.

Principles of Distance Education

As you all may know I am in school at Walden University. Currently, I am taking two courses. One course, Principles of Distance Education is allowing us to use our blog to discuss our assignments. We have been placed in groups. My group consists of 3 members including Peggy Creighton and Erin Mitchell, and me.

Assignment
After reading the three articles by Moller, Huett, Foshay, and Coleman, and watching or listening to the Simonson videos, compare and contrast the reasons these authors believe there is a need to evolve distance education to the next generation. Do you agree with their positions? Why or why not?

My Response
Moller, Huett, Foshay, Coleman, and Simonson believe there is a need to evolve distance education to the next generation because as time moves forward learners become more advanced. Coleman stated that distance education has been around for centuries or decades. For instance, the matchbook covers (be a detective online), correspondence schools, and distance education have offered e-learning to assist those people that want to learn other than using a conventional system.

Simonson says, today, distance education is widely adopted and approaching critical mass in society. With this growth, education is going to have to fit the learner. As a society, we are moving toward individualized learning, and distance education will provide that for the individual. In the k-12 environment, years ago there were no computers in the classroom, now each room has at least five. The education has to be geared toward the learner. The youth of today have the Internet, cell phones, video games, just to name a few. Having the variety of technologies, the education will have to adapt on order to meet the needs of the learners.

I do agree with their positions. The students that I teach are somewhat advanced and in order to grasp their attention the education needs to fit their interests. These student use the Internet and cell phones to interact with one another. Why can't they use these mediums when it comes to education?

Distance Education: The Next Generation

Resources
Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008, May/June). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 1: Training and development). TechTrends, 52(3), 70-75. Use the Academic Search Premier database, and search using the article's Accession Number: 33281719.

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008, May/June). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 2: Higher education). TechTrends, 52(4), 66-70. Use the Academic Search Premier database, and search using the article's Accession Number: 33991516.

Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Coleman, C. (2008, September/October). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 3: K12). TechTrends, 52(5). 63-67.

More Money More Problems

It's a rainy morning here in Columbus, GA. That doesn't stop the fact of bills having to be paid and life moving on. Regardless, things are constantly moving forward. It is how you handle situations. Stress doesn't make anything change, maybe your emotions and some physical aspects of yourself. The stress will not make the bills or problems go away. Maybe this seems to be somewhat gloomy because I may be tired, but really there is nothing wrong.

Like I stated in my previous post, I did receive my tax return. I paid off several bills, this put me a month or so ahead. School is another thing. There are so many things to do and all of the time in the world. 24 hours just doesn't seem like enough time to do anything especially when you work from 7:40 am-4 pm daily excluding Saturday and Sunday.

Bills
US Dept of Education $13,709 + (putting $25 a month)
Wachovia $2,795.34 ($168.00 a month until paid off, depends on other obligations)
Walden University $2,810 ($2,000 I have to withdraw $ from other account)
Tax Lien $8,000 (this is some bull, don't have anything to say, but I may have to take care of this on my own)

No Grocery Shopping for Me
Due to all of my financial issues, my other half went grocery shopping for me so that saved about $200 for the month. That is a blessing in disguise, thanks for all of the support!

Spring Break
Friday will be the last day before spring break. Really thinking about going somewhere that I will not have to spend much money. Medieval Times in Atlanta. If we go there we can stay with one of my friends and just pay for gas and the tickets. It all depends. Will sort out plans today! As a matter of fact, right now, my main thing is paying off school. I must register for my classes. Can not be left behind.

Thankful for Progress
I am thankful for all of the progress that I have made. Reading PF blogs has really been a support for me. If they can do it I can too. Multiple streams of income is what I am striving to achieve.

Flood Insurance
I did get the flood insurance on my property which I may never use. The city did some rezoning. Last year was the first year of needing the insurance. I didn't get it on my own, so SunTrust got it for me. The policy with them is $700 for the year. State Farm offers it too, that policy costs $580 a year. I faxed the policy to SunTrust last night. I will get an updated mortgage payment. Having a cheaper policy will drop my monthly mortgage payment some. That is a good thing.

Taking One Day at a Time
There are so many things that I want and need to do for this blog. I will take my time and get things together. Maybe I will help someone with their finances. It is hard, but overall it is worth it, seeing financial and personal growth. I am glad that I decided to start my blogs.

The World Keeps Turning

Good morning,

Everything is everything! Been working on getting finances organized as usual and paying off bills. Many things have been going on, but for the most part, I have been doing homework and staying focused on main goals.

Started tutoring a kindergartner for $15 an hour once a week. I also started working the after school and Saturday program getting my hourly rate. Overall, this will be 5 extra hours a week of my hourly pay! That is great! Even though I have the lien still, my taxes were not taken so I have that money too. I went ahead and paid some of my bills early. I paid $90 on the water bill, I will not have to pay that until June. My goal is to get ahead.

Still have to pay for school. All of that is figured out. Overall, I have my best foot forward and I am looking forward to doing the right thing with the money that I have been given.

Large Debt

US Dept of Edu $13,734 + ( send $25 a month until other bill paid)

Tax Lien $8,000 + (rewrite letter to credit bureaus if doesn't work will get a lawyer)

Wachovia $2,953.34 (paying $168 a month)

Walden University $4310 (pay $3260 end of March)

There are other debts too, but these are the ones that I am focusing on.

Cut Backs

I did get rid of HBO and Cinemax as I stated, that will save about $300 a year. Via Facebook, there was this application that started charging me $10.00 a month to receive messages on my cell phone, got rid of that.

I also went to Sam's to do my grocery shopping for the month. That made me feel grown. I have food for the next few weeks still. The only things that I need to buy are some vegetables.

Things are looking good and I can see the forest for the trees. This money thing is really not that bad. Its just a matter of staying focused on putting your money in the right places.

With my tax return, I now have an emergency fund that I will keep in case of emergencies. I don't and will not waste this tax return. It is crazy how you get that money and it goes through your fingers like the sands of an hour glass. I refuse to waste that money. A part of my tax return is going to pay for school ($1500 to be specific). School will not be paid for until the end of March. At the end of the month, I will pay $2500 to Walden and owe I $1810 that has to be paid by the end of May in order for me to register for the next term. I also paid Knology, Mediacom, the water bill, my braces, and Wachovia ($531.94).

School

I will have it paid for by the end of May so that I can register for the next term. I went ahead and applied for financial aid too. The reason I have to pay for school on my own is due to being on academic probation. Once I get off of that I should be able to get financial aid.

Tenants

One of my tenants is moving out at the end of August beginning of September. I am losing money at this house. I want to maximize my profits. Been thinking of turning that house into a Personal Care Home. Got the application off line filling it out now. I know it will take dedication and hard work, but I am all about doing what I can with what I have. Having a personal care home will give me more money for the house. I will be able to employee people and be a manager. Anything worth having is worth putting time and effort into.