Personal
Dear Daddy
Feb 28th
Robert Joseph Macaulay Jr.
June 3rd, 1966 – February 28th, 2010
This is the third or so time I’ve tried to begin this post. I’m at a loss for words and I’m not sure exactly what it is that I want to say. I’m still in a bit of shock. Although my father has been battling cancer for most of my life, it still doesn’t make it any easier to deal with the fact that he is now gone. His health had seriously deteriorated over the past year or so and I am so thankful that I was able to see him one last time before he passed.
Dear Daddy,
I just want you to know that I love you so much. You were a fantastic father even if I didn’t show it all of the time. I wish I had spent more time with you and told you how much you meant to me and how thankful I was for you. So many memories come to mind and my eyes are filled with tears. I am happy that you are no longer in any pain but at the same time I am so sad that you are gone. I’m going to do the best that I can to be strong for everyone and help them cope.
We all miss you so much already. You will never be forgotten. You will live on forever in our hearts and minds. I can’t wait till I get to see you again on the other side. Please give hugs and kisses to Andrew and Poppy for me.
Rest in peace knowing that I will always be thinking of you and how much we all love you.
I will forever and always be your little girl.
Seaside Orthopedics – Ocean Isle, NC
Jan 6th
If you ever have to visit an Orthopedic Doctor, I recommend that you stay as far away from Seaside Orthopedics as possible. They have an office in Ocean Isle, NC and North Myrtle Beach, SC.
So here’s the back story:
Yesterday, we went outside to simply move the horses into another pasture around feeding time. Somehow, our biggest horse Oscar, got excited and kicked backwards. My Mom was standing just close enough that his feet clipped her arm. I took her to the hospital and she has a fracture in her arm (ulna to be exact). They created a make shift cast and sent us on our way with a referral to see Dr. Young, an orthopedic specialist.
So today began:
I called Dr. Young’s office at about 9:00 a.m. and told them I needed to make an appointment for my mother to get a cast for her arm. They asked if we could get there by 10:45 a.m. and they could squeeze her in. I thought that was fantastic and that we could get her taken care of today instead of sometime next week. Little did I know that their office was in Ocean Isle, NC so I had a 40 minute drive to get to their office (even though they have an office in North Myrtle!).
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Get Out Of Debt: Steps to Change
Jan 5th
Getting out of debt is not only making payments. In order to stay out of serious debt, you must change your mentality on spending and learn how to manage your debt behavior.
Take it slow.
Its impossible for you to make all the changes you want to at one time. If you try to take them all on at once, you are bound to fall back into old habits discouraged. Paying off debts is not an instant fix; its a lengthy process towards a new financially stable. Take a few weeks to monitor your spending to find where your habits lie. Take another few weeks to try and curb your spending and form a budget that will benefit your lifestyle. Once everything is in check, then you can take all of your new found knowledge to begin your debt busting regimen.
Don’t forget to be realistic in your thinking.
Short term goals are extremely beneficial. Once you accomplish these you will have new found confidence in yourself and you will push yourself even harder to accomplish your long term goal of paying off all of your debts. Stop accruing debt first and then begin paying it down. Depending on the extent of your debt situation, it could take a few years to be debt free. Reward yourself every time you achieve one of your goals so that you can encourage yourself to continue. How happy will you be when you can open your credit card statements without a shock, or you can answer the phone without wondering who is on the other end of the 800 #?
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Get Out of Debt: Wants Vs. Needs
Jan 5th
Discretionary Spending is key to eliminating debt.
*Wants* Anything that you would like to have to increase your quality of life, but you could survive without. Jewelery. Nights Out On The Town. Makeup. Video Games. ETC.
VS.
*Needs* Anything required in order for you to survive. Food. Water. Shelter. Clothing. ETC.
Always set realistic goals for yourself. By setting easier goals for you to accomplish at first, you will keep yourself from becoming discouraged. For example, if you have a habit for purchasing clothes a little too often, cut back to buying one article of clothing each week and work yourself up until you only buy one piece of clothing per month.
Based on past trends in spending, food seems to consume most families income. It’s the same old story: You spend quite amount of money stocking your refrigerator with healthy delicious foods. After a late night at work, you are too tired to cook anything and decide to just pick something up for dinner.
Did you know that the average family of four can spend up to $50 on just one meal at a fast food restaurant?
So although food is a NEED, eating out and spending a weeks worth of groceries on one meal is not necessary. So the next time you plan to stop and pick some chow for the family at McD’s, ask yourself if making an extra payment on your car note or a cheeseburger is more important to you!
Get Out Of Debt: Let’s Get Started
Jan 4th
I NEED HELP.
I’m in debt.
I want to get out of debt.
I’m going to make the changes necessary to get out of debt.
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Question: If you make approximately $40K a year, what is a reasonable amount of debt for you to have each month?
Answer: You should spend no more than 30% of your take home income each month on housing (rent or mortgage). Additional debts (i.e. credit cards, car payments, etc) should only account for, at maximum, 10% of of your take home income. Using the $40K example above, that means that you should spend no more than $990/mth (approx.) on housing and $330(approx.) on additional debts.
The 4 Things You Need To Do To Get Out Of Debt:
* Pay Attention -> Look at your income and monitor every expense. Before you swipe your debit card, contemplate if the purchase is a WANT or a NEED. If it is a NEED, is it possible to get the purchase somewhere else at a better price? Do you really need the high quality version at this time?
Simple Trick: Pay for as much as you can by personal check. Paying by check allows you to have exact records of everything you purchased so that you may look back and see exactly what you spent most of your money on.
Get Out Of Debt: The Beginning
Jan 4th
I don’t like the term ‘new year’s resolution’. If there is something you want to accomplish, it is something that you should be working on every day, not just at the beginning of a year. If you keep the resolution mentality then you will most likely fall off the band wagon after a few months if not sooner.
In an effort to help change my lifestyle and assist many others who have the same goals for this year, I’m going to begin a series on getting out of and/or drastically reducing debt. ?Based on the information that I will be researching through books, mentors and counselors, I am going to discuss the information here on my blog. I would love active participation from my readers!
Whether you are in debt or not, please stick around and get advice or even give advice to those who need it.
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“I consider myself out of debt when…?”
First off, Congratulations in accepting the fact that you have a debt problem and you wan’t to overcome it!
I will consider myself out of debt once the only payments I owe are for “good” debts. I consider mortgage payments, car payments and/or insurance as good debts. What does being debt free mean to you? Will it be when you only have “good” debts to pay? When you don’t know anything to anyone? Defining this question starts building a great foundation for your debt free journey.
Before you begin you also need to consider and identify the reasons you got into debt in the first place. Is it due to you living beyond your means? Is it due to a job layoff, a divorce or a time of emotional distress? By identifying the reasons you are in the place you are today, you can do your best to prevent the situation from reoccurring. I am in the situations I am today because I was living beyond my means, I was infatuated with material possessions and my addiction overtook my wallet.
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Dear Me..
Dec 31st
@oubipaws was talking about putting up a blog post about what he would say to himself 10 years ago..and I just loved the idea so much that I’m stealing it right here. 
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Dear Ms.Caesi @ 12-
12 years old…wow, what can I say that is appropiate for you at your age? Maybe you should tuck this away and read it in about five years when your world completely changes…for the better and worse..hmm…
The next ten years are truly going to be some of the best times of your life. So many people, so many big events and so much to live through its just crazy for future me to look back and observe. You are going to meet so many great people and run into plenty of bad ones.
Trouble is an indefinite part of the next decade, but I can tell you now that even at your lowest points when you think you can’t make it through, you will survive and be so much stronger on the other side. You are going to get into crazy scenarios and make amazing memories with hundreds of people. No seriously, hundreds, I tried to make a list once..I got to page 5 and were too tired to go on. Take your time and study hard but don’t forget to live. Happiness and laughter are the spice of life.
Get Involved.
Nov 1st
“Love others as you love yourself“. I heard that on the radio today. I try my best to be a good person and help those in need when I can, but I definitely could use some improvement.
So I’ve decided..
I want to help people do something in their life. I can rake a few yards or help handout food (which I’m hoping to do this Turkey day)..I just want to be a part of something positive..something life changing to someone that could really use my help and effort.
I jumped onto VolunteerMatch.com hoping to find some fantastic opportunity. I came across a few hospice care facilities looking for people to spend some time and offer companionship to some older folks (Who wouldn’t love having extra grandparents?!), local disaster relief with the American Red Cross, Food Bank help, etc. I am more than happy to get involved with these groups, but I am especially interested in groups that are benefiting children specifically or animals.
I just really want to help out! Any ideas?
Hiatus–Like Woah! Vacations, Family, Weddings
Jun 30th
I’ve been so overwhelming busy for the past few weeks.
I just got back from vacationing in New York and visiting a lot of my family. I hadn’t seen them in almost 6 years and Nicholas only knew a few of them.
</begin trip rundown;>
I started to get really detailed and type out this really long post and then I realized it just wasn’t that exciting and I had some laundry to do, lol. So all in all, we were out of town for 10 days.
We visited:
- Waterford, NY/Troy, NY/Latham, NY/Menands, NY
- Plattsburgh, NY/Chazy, NY/Canadian Border/Vermont State Line
- Manhattan/Brooklyn/Queens/Jackson Heights/Chinatown/NYC, NY
- Salem, Massachusetts
Nicholas met the rest of my family that he hadn’t met yet and the general consensus was that he is a really great guy (yay!) and we decided that we didn’t want a big wedding like we were originally planned…we are opting for a simple oceanfront ceremony in the next few weeks.