Sunday, April 26, 2009

Hard financial times also hard on pets !


As we are all facing hard times, it not only affects people, but can also affects our pets as well. As more and more people are struggling to pay their bills and feed their families, more people are forced to give up their pets all as they are unable to pay for their pets needs, or many people forced out of their homes are unable to take their pets to an apartment or to live with relatives.


This means more pets are being left behind at vacant homes, or in the street or dropped off at animal shelters hoping someone will adopt them before they are put to sleep. I also, face issues with my 3 dogs where I am currently unable to pay for their annual shots or flea and heart preventative medications. I feel like I am being a bad mommy to my dogs, but I just don't have the money for shots. I can't imagine losing my pets and I have cared for them for years, so I will not give them up and I will find away to always get them their food, it may not be the expensive bags of dog food but I keep them fed, they are inside animals not subjected to the weather and so I am doing my best, but unfortunately I just can't seem to ever have enough money to afford shots. As credit card companies raised their interest rates I had to close out my accounts and so I have no back up money any where, right now I am out of work and my husband is working but his income doesn't account for more than half of our monthly bills.


So, I think its extremely sad that people have to choose to give up their pets, as so many are like family and like children. When you lose a pet its like a death in the family you go through a phase of loss and have to learn to get over it, but to have to give your pet to a shelter not knowing who will end up with your beloved pet or if it will be adopted at all, its really sad.


I can't imagine what the animals go through themselves, you are the only home and family they have ever known and to be thrown in a cage in a shelter with hundreds of other dogs barking and cats has to be a terrifying experience and very stressful for the animals. I think what has happened to our economy, is just an awful thing, as it affects business', homeowners, families and yes, even our pets.


To my babies, I am so sorry I can't afford your shots right now but I will do my best to keep you protected from illness, fleas, and heartworms until I can afford to get you all your necessary shots.. Is there anyone out there offering pets services to help families struggling to care for their pets if so, and they are in the Atlanta, GA area please let me know so I can see if I can get help for my 3 loveable babies, Gizmo 14yrs old, Oreo 4 yrs old, and Chaos 2yrs old..

Monday, April 20, 2009

Struggling economy means struggling families !


Are you like so many other people out there struggling just to get by each month, living paycheck to paycheck? So, many people in my own family have been affected by the down turn in the real estate industry and are just getting by, where as before they lived pretty good life styles.


My sister and her husband owned a flooring company and had just recently expanded right before the real estate industry turned south, and this past year they ended up having to close their business and now are both unemployed and like myself there are no unemployment benefits for people who are self-employed so when we are out of work we are just out of luck.


My cousin in Florida is a builder and out of work, my husband and myself own a home inspection and appraisal business and we lost 90% of our business causing my husband to have to take a full time job else where after owning and running our own business for 10yrs now. I am stressed out most of the time due to the finances and my husband is working all the time making less money than we made running our own company and the bills are falling behind. I have been cutting back anywhere and everywhere I can to try and save us some money.


I also, have family members in commercial real estate that have been affected, not to the extreme as people on the residential end of the real estate game but it just goes on and on.

I see people who had great lives, great homes, all losing it do to loss of jobs or having chose the wrong type of mortgage loan, with skyrocketing mortgage payments..It really is sad to see what has happened to our country and all over the world really in such a short time span of 2 years now I guess its been. It seemed like June 2007 is when things really began to change and it just went down hill from there and I just wonder when things will really turn back around.


In 2007 they said by mid 2008 we would be okay again, and as that didn't happen they changed it to end of 2008 and then it just went on and on with predictions of when the housing market would turn around and guess what? they were all wrong it still hasn't changed. So, I just pray that things will get better and I am blessed to still have my home and not be behind on my mortgage, we both have vehicles 1 paid for and the other will be paid off within 5 months, so I guess I am one of the luckier ones. Even though we struggle, stress and complain about our situation, we know there are other people out there in far worse situations than us and so I thank god that my husband has a job, that we can pay our bills, maybe not always on time but we still get them paid and I hope everyone else out there going through tough times can just hold on and keep pushing forward, it has to get better, it has to!!

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Working from Home !




Working from home, can have it's up and downs! One thing I really love, about working from home is that is has given me the opportunity to be home and watch me daughter grow up. Now that she is school aged, it allows me to attend school functions & be home when she's sick without having to explain, why I need to take time off to be with her. Not to say that she never attended anytime of childcare from someone else she did as due to my work in real estate I am not always able to be here every day all day as I have clients to see but for most of it, she has been able to be with mommy.


Also, working from home allows me to set my own schedule and I can choose to take time off when I am sick or want to go on vacation without asking permission. The down side is that I am self-employed and so there is no sick pay or vacation pay, so when I am not working that means I am also not making any money.


Another thing is that when business slows down as it has over the past year and a half or so and there is no business, I don't get a paycheck like I said before if I am not working, I am not making money.


Working from home can be great but it can also be very isolating as you don't have an office full of people to communicate with and so you have be very self motivated to work from home. Also, I found that I gained weight do to lack of movement, I mean really I walk from my bedroom to my office and around the house throughout the day but it offers little to no exercise. So, ladies and gentlemen make sure to set aside time to workout before you end up like me, out of shape and struggling to get back in shape...But over all I can't complain as this is what I wanted to be able to do all along and so I am blessed that I have been working from home for almost 10yrs now!


If you want to share your work from home challenges please leave a comment!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Losing weight or losing my mind?

Ok, I am a work at home/stay at home mom and I have put on weight over the past few years and have been trying to lose it just as long. I suffer with Fibromyalgia, which is a nervous system disorder and have other medical issues and it seems like since I have developed the health issues I have just ballooned out of shape.

I keep going through phases where I workout for weeks and see no results, not even a pound comes off and it makes me crazy, and then I get rebelious and stop working out and I start eating poorly all over again. Why can't I stick with it? and when in the heck do I not lose weight? I will work out about 1 hour at a time, sometime longer and I do it about 4-5 days a week and nothing helps, I did it for months and never lost a single pound. So, it makes me feel like I am losing my mind, because I can't figure out why I can't lose the weight.

I have begun a journal to track what I am eating and how many calories I am taking in and trying to make sure I work out at least 1hr if not 2hrs to try and lose some weight..I don't have the money to do Nurtisystem or any other program, so, I just don't know what else to do..but I will keep you posted as to my progress..!!!

Advice is always welcome, or if you want to share your experiences please feel free to!!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Financial aid and how to get it ?

Ok, I have been trying to look at different school's so that I can go back and finish getting my degree in Business Management but I don't have any money to get started. So, I have been thinking of applying for financial aid and seeing how that works.

I guess I am unfamiliar with financial aid, is it a loan or is it money that will not have to repaid? I have been looking at schools and some schools cost $20,000 or more and I don't want a loan like that it would take me years to pay if off.

Can anyone tell me how financial aid really works? and what is the process to apply and get it?

Please, help me out with this!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Private school,public school or home schooling

Ok, this is for all the moms out there! What are your opinions of private school, versus public schools, versus home schooling??

My daughter goes to a private school but due to the economy, I have been debating if I should consider public school or even home schooling..but I am not sure I am brave enough for home schooling and I am not happy with the public school in our district..

So, tell me what would you recommend or what are your experiences?

My daughters school is not super expensive like many private schools out there, and she loves her school so it breaks my heart to take her out. But who know's we may be forced to make that change and so I want to get your advice..let me know your thoughts!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Stressed out due to the economy ?

Ladies, are you stressed out due to the economy? Many families are affected by the current economy, some have lost jobs others have lost homes or both and marriages are being tested like never before.

Chime in and tell me, what is causing you to stress out! For me its the bills and loss of income, as I am a real estate appraiser and own a home inspection and appraisal company and I have watched our business lose about 90% of its past income. So, I know what it is to be stressed out so if you need some support or just want to release some stress. Please, feel free to post what's going on in your life that is causing your stress, sometimes it's good just to put it all out there!

So, ladies I hope you will take the time to add to the blog and thanks for stopping by!

Work From Home Opportunities !

Currently out of work, and looking for a new path? Well, there are plenty of real work from home opportunities out there, but beware of the scams.

I have compiled a list of companies that offer work from home opportunities. No, they won't make you tons of money, they are not get rich quick schemes, but they offer some stability when right now there is very little out there.

Please feel free to check out each of these sites and let me know if you know of other companies we can add to the list, but so far I have come across the following companies that offer virtual customer service jobs:

*http://www.alpineaccess.com/
* http://www.liveops.com/
*http://www.workingsol.com/
*http://www.arise.com/
*http://www.customloyal.com/
*http://www.acddirect.com/
*http://www.westathome.com/
*http://www.convergysworkathome.com/
*http://www.hirepoint.com/
*http://www.telereach.com/
*http://www.intrep.com/
*http://www.vipdesk.com/

Join in on the discussions and help grow Ladybuzz!

Ladybuzz was created to reach other women interested in sharing their stories, I hope you will join me in growing the Ladybuzz community, by sharing a little bit about yourselves and your ups and downs and reach out to others for advice.



Please join Ladybuzz and share it with your freinds and family and let's begin to grow together!