Friendship around the world blogroll

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Rule:
1. Copy from ::Start Copy Here:: through ::End Copy Here::.
2. Add your blog to the list. Feel free to add all your other blogs. Just make sure to post this to each of the blog you added in the list.
3. Tag other online friends you know.You don’t need to be tag in order to join. If you want to join just post this one in your blog.
4. Let me know your blog’s name and url by leaving me a comment HERE. I will add you to the master list.That way, everyone is happy and can meet new friends too!
5. Come back once in a while to get the master list! Let’s see how this makes our Technorati and PR goes up!
6. DO NOT REMOVE THIS: scrap page made by Yen. Using alphas and tapes from Kate H., flowers from Ida,paper by Catrine.

1. Me and Mine 2.Creative In Me 3.Little Peanut 4. Pea in a Pod 5. Sugar Magnolias 6.Because Life Is Fun 7. Piece o’Kaje 8. Mon a Bric 9. Celebrate Life 10.My Journey11. Deeply In Love 12. Pink and Brown Diaries 13. Happyheart 14. Wilstop 15. Fun|Fierce|Fab 16. Nita’s Random Thoughts 17. Nita’s Corner 18. Thomas Web Links 19. Thomas Travel Tales 20. Make Money Online 21. Great Finds and Deals 22. PRC Board Exam Results 24. My Wandering Thoughts 25. Nita’s Ramblings 26. Just Me.. Eds 27. Etc Atbp 28. When Silence Speaks 29. Juliana’s Lair 30. Juliana’s World 31. Juliana’s Library 32. Blessed Chic 33. Can of Thoughts 34. Hailey’s Domain 35. Hailey’s Beats and Bits 36. ISL family 37. Arbitrary Thoughts 38. D’ Cooking Mudra 39. My Big Picture 40. Dancing in Midlife Tune 41. Blessings In Life 42. My Colorful World 43. Dare to Blog 44. Life Realities 45. WebGeek Journal DotNet 46. WebGeek Journal 47. Let’s Travel Philippines 49. MY DAILY THOUGHTS AND MOODS 50. A Sweet Taste Of Life 51. My Life in this Wonderful World! 52. Denz Techtronics 53. Denz Recreational 54. Surviving Deplyoment 55. Ester’s Raptured Dreams 56. Nipa Hut 57.Picture Clusters 58. My Wanderings 59.Maiylah’s Snippets 60. EuLehKulit 61. Life Quest 61.Being a wife. Being a Mom. 62. MoMie SPace 63.Woman Xplore 64. PinayWAHM 65. Agring’s Simply Digital 66. Agring’s Home & Garden 67. Agring’s Homecooking & Baking 68. Agring’s Electronics & Entertainments 69. Scrap Addict Sundays 70. Mommy Talks 71. Aggie Scraps 72.Teacher’s Corner 73. My Drift 74. lancernews 75. My so called Life 76. See Me for what You Will… 77. kathycot.com 78. buhaymisis.com 79. All about Mye life 80. Everything has a Reason 81. Life’s Impression 82. Some Thoughts I have 83. Life’s Lessons 84. Just Let Go 85. Pieces Of Me 86. Winding Creek Circle 87. BOTH SIDES NOW 88. Happy Life 89. Blessed Sanctuary 90.Confessions of an Army Life 91. moms….. check nyo 92. Mommy’s Little Corner 93. Wanna Be SuperModel 94. Gandacious 95. Jo-Jo’s Place 96.My Quiet Zone 97. Proud PINAY 98. Simply Jen 99. Jenny Said So 100. A Slice of Life 101. My Blog 102. TIP OF AN ICEBERG 103. Coffee Cup Princess 104. Deranged Insanity 105. Just Another Day 106. Stev & Emz Journey 107.Runaway THoughts of Emz 108. Heart of Rachel 109. Nora’s Notes 110. In the Life Of Mne 111. In my Kitchen 112. Nyumix’s Blog 113. Everything’s Here 114.Out of Nowhere 115. My Simple World 116. Seek Health. Feel Great 117. Smile Puppies 118. Almanacqueen 119. The Life of an Outback Pinay 120. Dancing With Butterflies 121. My Treasures 122. Everything Green 123. 124. Memoirs of a Filipina 125. The Pit Gadgetry! 126. My Daily Life Experience 127. Married and Happy About It 128. My Discoveries 129. iCreate+iDeas 130. My Healthy Living Journal 131. Busy Moms Cook 132. Christian Weekends 133. Reflexes 134. Caramel Corn 135. Sunny Side Up Foodie 136. A Mothers Horizon 137. Bits and Pieces 138. Whats Up! 139. Simply Me 140. Life and Me 141. A Handful of Surprises 142. Anything and Everything in Between 143. from here and beyond 144. The Nameless Blog 145. Exploring Asia 146. Malaya 147. Swan Portraits 148. BUSYNESSWORLD 149. Sprawt 150. Thinking Consciously? 151. BLOGSILOG 152. Cherry’s Comfort Zone 153. DigiScrapz: Captured Memories 154. Buzzy Me 155. Thinking Out Loud 156. Wishing and Hoping 157. Jobs for Davao 158. Jobs for Cebu 159. Filipino Jobs Abroad 160. PRC Board Exam Results 161. Nakedminds 162. Personal 163. Interesting 164. squeeshies 165. Shenzee’s World 166. Geekyology 167. Swanportraits 168. Rumination Under the Clouds 169. In My Home by Ria aka Msculit 170. It’s my Party (and I’ll cry if I want to…) by Ria aka Msculit 171. Malaya 172. Cheese: Jherson84 173. Beans: Jherson 174. EP Treasures 175. Republic of A 176. Nora’s Family Treasures 177. Points of View (Discussion Blog) 178. Gala Tayo! 179. Lucky Peso 180. Buhay Pinoy 181. Pinay Mommy’s Love Blog 182. MOMEMO 183. OnlineBiz and Resources 184. Lourdes’ Mia 185. Pinay Mommy’s DigiScrap and Musings in Life 186. Pinay Mommy Online 187. ‘nna 188. My Sweet Escape 189. The Next Chapter 190. Painted Life 191. Petty Ramblings of a Petty Queen 192. The Real Deal 193. My Beautiful Life 194. Berry Blog 195. A Tsinay Blog 196. A Celebration of Life 197. My love.mylife.my everything. 198. Gamay and Dako Adventures 199. Ester’s Daily Thoughts 200. Choc Mint Girl 201. I AM KCAT 202. RanZ-Goodies 203. RanZ-Famous 204. A Time to Weep and a Time to Laugh 205. Surviving the Circus of Life 206. The Nook207. Allen’Wifey 208. Fern’s Backyard 209. Amor’s Blog - My Place in Cyberspace 210. The Other Side of Me 211. Stylishbabe111407 212. The Inner Shopper 213. TheGeneralInfoBlog 214. my angels world 215. Pinoy Raket Online 216. My Life 217. BloggingInMyPyjamas 218. Baby Shern 219. Mariel 220. So Real 221. Okay, I am Arms and this is my blog 222.Lucid Creativity 223. Read my Mind 224.A Simple Life 225.My debt blog 226.1stopmom’s blog 227.Mommy Gamer 228.YOUR BLOG!

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Please NOTE that you are not allowed to change the “HERE” in number 4 to your own blog url. I am making this so that everyone can enjoy the benefit of higher technorati rank and who knows more PR! And being the author of this one, I’d appreciate if you respect that.

 

Finding deals before you go grocery shopping

I am sure there are a lot of people who are looking near and far for ways to save money. Groceries are usually the first stop when you want to cut costs. It is one of the few expenses you can control if you really work at. By working at it I mean taking the time to check your local store flyers and clip coupons. This can be overwhelming at times because it is hard to know where to begin.

Well, I found this site that may be one of the keys to helping me to get organized when saving money. It is called My Grocery Deals. This site is really easy to use. You have to register to become a member but don’t worry it is free. After you register you can start your sale searching journey. First you enter your zip code. Then you choose what stores you shop at and you are done. There are at least four way to search for deals.

1. Search by individual items
2. Search by category
3. Search by store
4. Search by your starter list

The starter list is really nice. You can customize to the products that you buy most often. If there is a sale on it , My Grocery Deals will show it. You can even filter deal if you have allergies, need low fat or cholesterol free products.

There are a few other bonuses this site offers. You are able to print coupons for some of your favorite products, the ability to print a shopping list (that you can email if needed) and a free ebook, Grocery Saving Tips. I can’t lower gas prices but I can share any useful information I find that will help to stretch money a little further.

I am super excited to have found this site. The site is simple to use and makes looking for deals quick and easy. I tested it out by searching for a few things like water and miracle whip. It worked with no problems.

 

I haven’t forgotten

Please excuse my short little absence. I have not forgotten about my debt blog and will be returning to my regular posts Monday. It is so hard to find time to do everything you need to in one day. By no means have I stopped with my goal of trying to get out of debt. I am just trying to get a little more organized. And I lots to tell!

Talk to you soon!!

 

New Mortgage Update!!

Our prayers have been answered. As you may know for the last couple of months we have been trying to refinance with no luck. We have gotten screwed by at least 2 brokers who did nothing for us except run our credit way too much. As a result our credit score went down even more.

I honestly thought all hope was lost. Then a miracle happened. Ocwen actually reached out to help us. They actually have a program to help homeowners who have adjustable rate mortgages. It is called a loan modification.

Well it was a two week long process but we made it through. We were approved for the loan modification. We had to make a payment that was equal to 2 mortgage payments. We also have to make our June and July payments on time (on the 1st not the 16th). If we are late the loan modification is no longer available to us. After we make those 2 payments on time, our loan automatically changes from an adjustable rate to a fixed mortgage for the life of our loan.

Our interest rate went up half of a percent and our mortgage payment went up $100. We are very happy with that. My plans are to pay our June and July mortage payments ASAP. I do not want to screw this up at all. I am going to make sure I make every payment.

One of the best things about this loan modification is there were no additional costs. It is not a refinance so we did not have those costs which in the past were easily $3000 or more.

Unfortunately we had to go into our little emergency fund but that is ok. I just have to build it back up. It is strange, I did not realize how important our home was to me until we were on the brink of losing it.

We are so happy that the people at Ocwen were able to help us out of the very deep hole that I dug. The reps were so nice and polite. They definitely took those extra steps to help us keep our home. You hear so much about mortgage companies taking people homes and I am glad Ocwen is not want of those companies.

So, if you or someone you know is in danger of losing their home, please advise them to talk to their mortgage company. I know sometimes when you are so behind on payments you just want to avoid the mortgage company. You know what I mean. Not answering the phone and ignoring the notices that come in the mail. Just take the chance and ask for help. You really have nothing to lose by asking. You have to be honest about it and see if they offer any type of help. You just may be surprised at the response.

Tags: mortgage, ocwen, refinance, debt, what i am learning, adjustable rate mortgage

 

National Teach Your Children How to Save Money Day

I was watching the news while getting my kids ready for school this morning and heard about National Teach Your Children how To Save Money Day which is tomorrow April 29, 2008. I have never heard of this before but that does not really mean anything. I never was this serious about my family finances before so it could be that I just was not paying attention.

So of course I started looking around the internet for more information. I found a lot of stuff.

Over at ABAEF I found a nice list of resources full of tips to help teach kids (and a few adults) about personal finance.

Next I found myself over at Family Education where I found a list of 15 ways to teach your kids about money. I can’t wait to start using some of these tips. Luckily my 14 year old has already started saving money she earns and my little ones are catching on.

My next stop was Bankrate.com. 9 tips for raising money smart children may have been written a few years ago but the advice given still holds true in my opinion.

The last site I visited was Money Savvy Generation.
This site offers resources which include a sample allowance contract. Now that is something I never thought to use.

 

Saving money - medical expenses

Let’s see, with the rising costs of um everything, I am constantly searching for even more ways to save money. These are some suggestions my husband has come across that I would love to share.

• When you call to make a appointment, ask for an estimate of what the costs may be for your visit.
• If certain charges are not covered by insurance, ask for a discount. You will be surprised at how many doctors will actually work with you. I used to work for one.
• Explain to your doctor if prescriptions cost too much for you, he/she may have samples. All you have to do is ask.
• Ask what procedures may be performed during your visit. Then double check with your insurance company to see if those procedures are covered.
• Some insurance companies have “nurse lines”. Call the nurse and discuss whether you need to go to the doctor or not. I have started using ours. We have had it for years, I never paid it much attention.
• If you need to see a doctor right away, but it is not life threatening, consider going to urgent care instead of the emergency room. Most times urgent care will be cheaper, especially if you have an emergency room co-pay.
• When you get prescriptions, make sure you ask about the generics as a option. I have been doing this for the last few months and it makes a huge difference!
• Usually insurance plans cover annual physicals. Make sure to keep up them. Preventive care can save you tons!!
• Keep in mind where you get your prescriptions. Places like Walmart offer a majority of prescriptions as low as $4 !!

If you have any suggestions, please share. I love tips on saving money!

 

Meal Ideas -3

Cheapskate Stew - made with leftovers you already have on hand

Mash potato soup - easy and quick, ready in 15 minutes. Uses leftover mash potatoes

Chicken pie - inexpensive and easy

Yum Yum green beans - different and easy

7 minute dinner - are you thinking what I am? Show me how :)  Only 3 ingredients

Pepperoni Rolls - kid friendly and quick (17 minutes)

Broccoli cheese bites - easy and bakes in 5 minutes

 

 

Birthday Freebies

Ok, I found out about this cool site back in February on 5minutesformom. Of course I lost the link before I could post about it. But I found it again. Yayyy! The site is called freebirthdaytreats. It is full of local links where you can get free stuff on your birthday. Another cool feature is the links are separated into categories; adults, kids, and pets. Freebirthdaytreats even offer gift ideas, birthday e-cards and fun facts. I think this is one of the coolest sites ever. So head on over and share the info with everyone you know!!! Make sure you don’t celebrate another birthday without getting your treats.

 

Frugal craft ideas

Today I was on one of the many mommy sites I love to visit, Mommykaboodle.com, and found a post full of great ideas. The post was basically about craft ideas that you can do with your kids that will not cost you tons of money. Some of the crafts used magazines, coffee cans, milk jugs and paper towel tubes just to name a few. This is something I will be adding to my Lifetips book since summer will be here in a blink of an eye and I plan on being prepared this year.

 

Updates on bills

Well, first off we still have not heard anything from Ocwen about the loan modification. We hope to hear something this week.

I was able to pay some bills this morning. I am sad to say I did not do too good. So here it is.

•  His discover      due on 4/20 I paid on 4/19. In order to not be charged a late fee, I paid a $15 rush fee. Balance $1887.71
•  My discover       no payment due. balance $1574.12
•  HSBC #1            due on 4/15, paid $39 on  4/21  late fee!!
•  HSBC #2            no payment due, next payment due 5/15 $30 (will try to pay this Friday)
•  HSBC #3            no payment due
•  HSBC #4            due on 4/15, paid $30 on 4/21 late fee!!
• JcPenney            due on 4/15, paid $33 on 4/21
• Juniper               ALL GOOD! No payment due, account up to date
• Providian           due on 4/11, paid $122 on 4/21 late fee!!! ($39)
• Capitol One-1   payment due 5/6, paid $15 on 4/21
• Capitol One-2   payment due 4/28. paid $30 on 4/21
• Paypal                due 4/20, paid 4/20 late fee!! ($29)

I don’t know what happened this month. There is no excuse for why I messed up those 5 times. But I I am not in this big funk about it. This is a totally different feeling for me. Usually I am beating myself up for doing such a stupid thing. Next would come a migraine followed by a really bad mood. Well, not this time. Ok, it happened, this month. I will do my best so it will not happen next month. See, I am slowly learning.