Living Our Dreams

I have had dreams that I want to accomplish throughout my life. Since I have become a mom I have become more driven to reach my dreams. In the last three years I have accomplished a few dreams, and have decided on more dreams that I would like to reach.

Dreams that have become a reality:

• Made a huge move to Colorado when my son was two months old and I was unemployed.
• Started my associate degree program for business management (will finish in December 2014)
•  Purchased a newer, more dependable car
• Started savings for my sons  College education

Dreams that I want to accomplish:

• Finish school
• Have a decent savings put away
• Start my own business
• Purchase a decent sized piece of land for my son and I

One thing I have realized about dreams are that they change, but we need to have dreams to keep us motivated in life. I have kept some of the same dreams throughout the years, but they change in ways. Sometimes we meet people that help us see that we belong in different places then we think. Last year I just new that I wanted to be in South Dakota. I met my boyfriend and I realized that I belonged here in Colorado. Even though he died, he helped me realize so many things about my life.

Losing him made me feel as though I did not want to go on. I realize now that knowing him is what makes me want to go on. He showed me more in the few months together about living our dreams and being happy then I had ever seen in my life. I thank him for the experience and I know he is still here with me as I strive to reach even higher in my life.

Do not let anything hold you back from reaching your dreams. Shit happens in life that makes you want to stop, but these experiences all make you stronger. Keep reaching for what you want in life and do not let anyone tell you that it is impossible.

Saving money?

I have been in Colorado for close to three years now. During this time I have been focused on school, work, and being a mom. I have not shared a lot about my online life, so most do not know that I have over 1000 articles published online. Most of these articles are about saving money.

A couple of days ago a friend of mine was asking if I used coupons, or if I knew about these sites that give you gift cards to use their coupons. I sent her links to a few sites that I have earned money and gift cards from for a number of years. I have been saving money and making money online since 2009. At one point I was making over $1200 a month by just writing money saving articles. I am sure I could get back to that point if I made time for it, but for now I want to use this as a part time income and way to share my experiences with saving money.

Here are sites I truly trust, and I have made money on since the beginning:

Inbox Dollars The minimum payout is $30 but I usually make that without a problem. You earn by doing surveys, searching the web, printing and using coupons, and other things. You also receive money by referring others.

My survey This site is just surveys. You can cash the points in for merchandise, paypal payments, or a check. There is not really a referral program unless you have a website that has a lot of views. I have been a member since 2009 and have received merchandise to test, and many payments from them.

My Points My points is a site that you can print coupons, shop at online retailers, read emails, search the web, and much more while earning points. You can use these points for many gift cards, and I have received a lot of them. There is a referral program, but it requires you to send emails to your friends.

I highly recommend all of these sites to anyone wanting to save money. It is great because you can save money and make money at the same time. Even with very minimal effort over the last three years, I have taken advantage of these sites.

One of my first articles on Yahoo was about saving money. I read it today, and it is still good tips. 50 Real ways to Save Money

Purchasing Land and a Home

My boyfriend and I (prior to his death) were looking for land to purchase and considering where we would want to live. I told him I would be happy with a tent as long as I could have a shower. I would have ran away with him and my son without a second thought. Now that he is gone I still want to continue with our plans. I am looking to purchase about 10-20 acres of land. The home is optional at the moment, I can use a small RV until I can get a home built if necessary.

The problem with my plan is my income. I am a single mom that makes about $25000 a year. This is a small income when considering purchasing something like this. I am planning it though, and pray for the best. What am I doing?

• I have increased my credit score from 420 to 670 in less than three years (I will share how I did this later on) , so I want to continue this increase for another year before making a purchase
• Look at different locations to determine where I want to live
• Look into local programs that may help
• Find state and federal programs that may help
• Work as much over time as I possibly can to increase my yearly salary for this year
• Pay off credit cards so that I increase my credit score and decrease my debt
• Evaluate every aspect of my life financially. I want to be fairly secure before I purchase something of this magnitude

Making a purchase like this takes planning and perseverance. I will be working hard on reaching this goal and I will b sharing my progress.

Thank you all for reading!

 

Combining Blogs

I had been posting to a number of blogs over the last couple of years, but as of today this will be my only blog. I will post tips, money saving advice, live events, working online and more to this blog. Having too many blogs distracts me from posting quality content. I am also hoping in the next few months I can start a website that I can share more with everyone.

Thank you all for reading my blog. I know it has been a long time since I have been seriously involved with blogging and even making money online, but live has changes and this is a great form of income for me as a single mom. The income I earn from home will go towards the property I want to purchase for my son and I.

Where has time gone?

I have not posted on here for over a year, but life has been crazy. I have been going to school full time, and working 50+ hours a week. I put my online work on the back burner for a while. This is an update of how the last year has been full of ups and downs with my life.

I am finally down to one class to complete. Unfortunately I failed the class last semester, but it was a very hard semester.

Last year I met a great man. He was a customer of mine, and we became fairly close. He finally asked me for my number and we started talking. We would talk for hours each day. Once I finally began going to his house, and he to mine, we were inseparable.  Him and I had everything in common. We would sit and talk for hours and if I was unable to see him on a certain day, we would talk on the phone. He always texted me and called me, he would even stop by my job every day, some days two or three times. I finally found true love, and I knew it from the first kiss.

On April 12, 2014 I had spent the night at his house. The next morning both of us was feeling very bad, but we thought it was the weather. I left his house to go to work at 2pm, and then I had to be back to work at 6am the following morning. I received a call from the police department telling me there had been an accident.

Hearing this, I knew he had died. They met me and told me the he died during the night between the 13th and 14th from carbon monoxide poisoning. This ripped my soul out. It hurt even more when I heard that everyone knew he was the happiest in the last few months then they had ever seen him.

Since this has happened I have been on this horrible emotional roller coaster. We had so many plans for the future, and he wanted to raise my son. His parents sent me a portion of his ashes, and they signed his truck over to me. I made a promise to them and my boyfriend, Justin, that I would continue with our dreams and plans. The biggest thing we wanted to do was purchase some land here in Teller County, CO and make it completely self sufficient. This is what I am working on now.

The death of my boyfriend, Justin, was the hardest thing I have ever been through. I know if my work schedule was any different I would have died with him, and I have had days where I wish I would have. I know my son needs me, and I know God has other plans for me. The way I have been dealing with his loss is planning for things that we wanted to do. I am helping his memory live by my actions. He will always be in my heart no matter what the future holds for me.

Plans for the next year:

• Finish my degree
• Enroll my son in school
• Pay off my credit cards, which will increase my credit
• Find the perfect piece of land in Teller County, CO
• Purchase the land and put a small home on it until I can build the home I want. Nothing fancy, just something I can raise my son in and we both be happy.
• Evaluate my career path. I love my job, but would love to find something from home so I can spend more time with my son. As a single mom going to school full time and working full time, I have not seen him much.

No matter what my future holds, Justin will always be a part of my life. I will eventually move on, but I know God and Justin will let me know when the right person comes along.

"Where is my smile", "You even me out, you are always so optimistic about everything" Both of these quotes are from my boyfriend, Justin Gibbons, and they will keep me motivated. I love him always.

Anyone that has read my last posts know about my past plans to move to South Dakota, well God has ways of changing our plans and showing us where we really belong..

On to the Third Semester of School

I have finally gotten well enough to return to work full time, and still going to school full time. Today is the last day of semester two, and it feels good to get through. Semester three starts May 26th.

School has gotten very difficult through the first two semesters. I think it is because I have had so many things going on, but school is hard. You have to work for your degree, no matter what personal problems you have in your life.

The best tip I can give any single mom on going back to school is to schedule your time and study hard from the first day. It is hard when you have a little one knocking at the door or yelling in your ear, but you have to figure out times that work best for you.

Personally I work until 10:30-11 p, then I study until about 2am. Some days it is even later. Nights are the best time for me to study in quiet. I can do a few things during the day, but I cannot grasp anything with the noise in my house during the day.

There have been days that I wanted to just give up, but then I think about my life. I would be stuck in a minimum wage job and never be able to move up. My business management degree is what I need to make me and my sons future better.

NEVER GIVE UP! It will be worth the hard work.

Thank God for the motivation and the opportunity.

First Semester is Almost Over

WOW, it seems like I just started school and now the first semester is almost over. I am really enjoying it. I was so scared at first, but I am passing all of my classes with A's. OK I have on 89, which is a B.

Tomorrow starts the next semesters registration. If you have read my posts you know that I was thinking about moving to South Dakota, well I have decided to take that step after school. Since I am doing that I have to take on a lot at school. I will be taking 5 classes this semester, 4 classes during the Summer, then two more semesters of 5 classes each. This semester I took 4, and it has been a lot of work. Even though it has been work, I have learned a lot of time management skills. That will help so much the next few semesters.

To all the single moms, or women in general, take the step to get your education. It is very intimidating at first, but you will be surprised at the things you learn that you can use in your everyday life. I had went back to school in 2005, but I chose a technical school, DO NOT MAKE MY MISTAKE. You can learn so much more if you go to a community college or university.

Good luck to anyone furthering your education. If you ever need support, there is always people around you for that. Friends, families, teachers, or other students.