Nice quote!

"Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end"

- quote taken from a friend's wall on Facebook

Thankful for Gift Cards

I am thankful today that I won a $25 Target Gift Card from our office. I also won one last week. So that's $50 all together! Not bad for doing a day's work! My office mates have commented that I am lucky in raffles.

What is the Difference

Happiness and Optimism
Some people believe money leads to happiness. Not true. Once you're living comfortably, more money doesn't buy more happiness. The reverse, however, is true: Happiness leads to money. And success. Likewise, so does optimism. Both enable you to solve problems, conjure ideas, take long-range consequences into consideration and come back and try again if you miss the first time.

Resilience

People who have moved from a bad financial situation into comfort or wealth have resilience. They can overcome—on the job, in their personal lives, with their finances. They don't deny the bad things that happen, but they're able to turn their focus to things over which they have control with the belief that they have the ability to effect change. The good news is you don't have to be born with resilience—you can learn it by controlling the things you can control and letting go of the others.

Gratitude
The Karma Kickback. The people who get rich—and stay rich—are not just grateful. They practice gratitude by giving back to their communities, to organizations they believe in and the people they care about. Even if you are thinking of something you view as mundane—like your job—when you think about it as a gift, you focus on what life might be if you didn't have it.

Passion

It is a key element that moves people from a life of financial struggle to one of financial success. The wealthy, simply put, want it more than the rest of that. Some want it in the form of money, but most are quite passionate about the careers they choose to pursue. And, at a time where doing what you love may seem not so possible, it's important to know you can learn to love what you do.


Habitual saving
The wealthy people in our study certainly have the funds to be crazy spenders, but most are not. Both wealthy and financially comfortable individuals say that saving more money has been an "absolutely essential" financial goal as an adult. If you're not a habitual saver already, The Difference will show you how.

Invest in stocks

Jean did the research for this book when housing prices were cratering and the markets were falling out of the sky. Yet, one lesson emerged again and again: The wealthy understand the need to take risks in the market—in good times and in bad—in order to make their money work as hard as they do.

Excerpts from this article and pictures courtesy from this website

Grocery Day

Went to the grocery after work 3 days ago to buy the stuff we needed for dinner. Husband wanted to cook burgers, so we needed some burger buns, cheese, lettuce, etc. When I got there, guess who I bumped into? Husband! He was buying exactly the same things I was supposed to buy. I thought we talked about it and said I would buy it. What are the chances that we would be at the grocery at the same time, and in the same isle?!? The universe is helping us save!!!!

Anyway, to cut a long story short, good thing I bumped into him because I had coupons! With all the stuff we bought and some FREE stuff from the coupons (pasta sauce, shell macaroni), guess what our total bill was?

Total Bill after club card savings and coupons = $13.46!!!!

Wooohoooo! We saved $12.79!!!! That's almost 50% off (original bill was $26.25!). I love coupons!

New Career

Spouse is looking at going into a new career now. He was laid off last November, and at his age, is seriously thinking about starting a new career. He wants to become a real estate broker. I know this may sound stupid to some people given that the real estate market is so bad right now. But I'm trying to keep a positive attitude because I want him to do something which he will love doing, and not have to have too much stress as he did in his former job. I think he will be good, because he is good with people.

Look at What You Have

This article is courtesy of an Article in Suze Orman's website. Step 5 really made an impression on me and can really help me in trying to get through this tough financial patch. Things will get better!

Step 5: Look at What You Have, Not What You Had

How much longer should we expect times to be tough? "Things will get better, get worse. ... [In] the next two or three years, it will start to turn around," Suze says. "But I'm so sorry to say it will be, in my opinion, 2015 until every single person feels hopeful again."

Which is why Suze says it's so important to look at what you have and be grateful, instead of looking at what you've lost and feel angry. "If you continuously look in the rearview mirror while you're going forward, you're going to get in an accident. And the victim of that accident is going to be you," she says. "Don't compare. You'll feel stronger, you'll have more energy and you'll be able to turn this around."

Be grateful for the savings account you do have or the family that has helped you through. Although she knows it isn't easy, Suze urges everyone to see what they've been through as a kind of blessing. "When you are grateful—when you can see what you have—you unlock blessings to flow in your life."

Where does one get $25,000?

We went to our accountant last week to do our taxes. We are planning to short sell our condo. This was a condo where we lived in, and we got stuck when we bought another place in 2006 to live in and our realtor told us, "don't worry, I will be able to sell this condo in 3 weeks, 1 month tops". Guess what? That was the start of the real estate meltdown and we got stuck with this condo. Its been hard because spouse got laid off last November and we have been trying to make ends meet. So we decided that it was time to let go and stop the "bleeding".

Anyway, when the short sale goes through, our accountant told us that we might owe 30% of the difference of what we owe the bank and what the condo generated in the short sale. Everyone knows that the housing market is dooooown and the condo was bought at almost the peak, so depending on the price agreed on, the difference might be between $85,000 to $100,000. Guess what? 30% of that is between $25,500 to $30,000. Where oh where will we get that money? This is the reason we are short selling, because we do not have that kind of money....

Keep thinking positive, keep thinking positive. Spouse will start earning soon, spouse will start earning soon!

Happy Valentine's Day

Today, my spouse made me cry. But it was tears of joy/ gratitude. He first gave me my valentine's card. Then when I was on my way to Costco to load gas, I opened my purse and saw that he had put another valentine's card there. I went back in the house to thank him for for that sweet gesture! Then I went to Costco and loaded $14 worth of gas. I only loaded $14 because I only have that much until payday which is still on 02/19.

When I got home, I told him that I had already loaded gas, but not full tank. He asked why not and I reminded him it was because I only had $14 left until payday. He said "are you sure? Didn't you check your account?" Just to let everyone know, I am the type of person that updates my checkbook as soon as soon as I do a transaction, so I know exactly what I have, so I told him, "of course I know how much I have, I always update my checkbook". But he was adamant. He said, "did you balance your checkbook against your account". I became suspicious. I went up and checked my account. Lo and behold, unknown to me, he had transferred $200 last 02/10/10! It was his early "valentine's gift" to me. I started crying. Not because I was so happy to get $200, but because he was laid off 3 months ago, and I know that money is also tight with him as he tries to look for work. He gave me not from his excess but from his heart. I told him that this $200 meant so much more to me than the higher amounts I have received from him for my birthdays (when he was still employed). He said he wanted to show me his appreciation for all the overtime and hard work I've been doing to earn extra money while he is looking for a job. I am so lucky to have him as my husband! So lucky that he recognizes my efforts and more importantly acknowledges it and show me how appreciative he is. It is truly a great Valentine's Day!

Snowflake # 1

I had my first snowflake of the year. Well actually second, if I can count the chair that I sold 2 weeks ago for $10 (I got the chair for free and re-painted it, but had no more use for it).

We sold our treadmill yesterday for $375. We got it for about $420 about 2 years ago. We sold it because we don't really get to use it. We are planning to buy a stationary bike, but not really doing that soon.

I'm just really excited that at least we were able to get money for something that we were not using anymore. =)

The Journey Begins

I read something in my email today that has inspired me to start this blog "Hakuna Matata". I'm going through a lot right now, but the email "The Journey" put things in perspective. I will be striving for a life of "Hakuna Matata" which taken from the Lion King means "no worries for the rest of your life". We all know this is unrealistic, but what I want to change are not the circumstances but my attitude. So please be patient as I go on this journey...."The Journey: Life isn't about getting to the destination. Its about the journey. So don't think that you have to rush to get to the destination. The journey is the important part, what you take time for, the people you're with, what you learn & experience along the way. Enjoy the journey".