A photo of your truly, because I know you miss me.

1. Financing the Journey

As mentioned, financing college is very important. The good news is that there’s no one single way to do this. There are a lot of possibilities, and you can even mix and match, so to speak. Even though college is expensive, there are a number of options you can look toward to pay for classes, books, lab fees and so on. Some of the most popular and convenient ways to pay for college and schools supplies include:

• Starting a college fund, which can be done at birth or even a mere few years before your child is ready to further his or her education.
• FAFSA, which exists to provide students with the financial aid, loans and grants for which they qualify.
• Private loans, like personal installment loans, which can really ease the burden of paying for classes.
• Scholarships, which can come from your child’s high school, the college he or she will be attending or private institutions.

2. Always Encourage Your Kids

Encouragement is always vital, of course, but there are several ways you can do this. When you urge your child to go to college, it’s about more than letting him or her know you’re proud. You also need to make sure your child is taking the right high school classes, especially if he or she has an interest in a particular major already. Focus on complementary extracurricular activities too and always make sure you know about your child’s interests and goals.

3. Take Lots of Tours

Touring prospective colleges is crucial. If you don’t, your kid could wind up at a really huge campus and feel completely lost. Conversely, he or she might end up at a school with a small campus and feel boxed in, which can be detrimental. Taking tours will also let your child know what kind of college he or she wants to attend. Maybe an online university will be best at first. Perhaps a community college is the ideal choice. You never know until you experiment and explore.

Getting your child into college is such a high priority. It can be difficult for parents, because in the midst of preparing your kid, you’re also preparing yourselves for letting go. When you know you’ve done all you can in terms of finances, encouragement and planning, it gets much easier. How are you preparing your kids for college?

The family

My girls

The boys. Megster and the Husband.

My little model. She wasn’t smiling because she said models are supposed to be serious.

Now that’s the Sandy that we know.

Finally, a decent shot of Meg.

Sandy watching her video message from Santa. Priceless. You can watch it here too.

From Santa

Chirpy, her favorite toy as of today.

Amazing how much you can save if you have the time and inspiration to create things like these. I’m all for creativity myself – it’s what I do for a living after all, but at the end of the day, I’d rather buy these pieces in a shop at a reasonable price.

Don’t give up hope yet, you can find another way. Selling stuff from around your house, finding a part time job online or getting an installment loan can help you get that special gift sooner, even without good credit.

Selling Stuff Around the House

Going through your stuff (DVDs, video games, books and such), you’ll be surprised how many things you can sell. Selling your extra stuff on eBay, Amazon and other online market places is fairly simple. Try to at least match the lowest price (as long as it’s reasonable) and you won’t have trouble selling.

Selling items from around the house usually isn’t enough to fund an engagement ring by itself, but it will be a big step towards it. If you happen to have big things around your house like an extra TV or barbecue, it can add up quickly.

Making Online Jobs

Blogging, making funny videos or opening a hobby website with ads can also help you save for a special purchase, but like any job, it takes awhile to start getting paid. If you have time to save up, making an online small business or finding a part-time job online is a great option. Here are a few job ideas:

• Professional blogger. Talk about something you love and link related advertisements to it.
• Video blogging (vlogging) is also becoming popular. People who prefer to talk instead of write about their favorite topics tend to do videos with advertisements.
• Make a hobby website. Websites educating others about a hobby are always fun and can easily turn a profit if well maintained.
• Make something and sell it. When someone is hunting for a cat-shaped bottle opener or something unique that you can make—they will buy it from you.

Installment Loans

As mentioned above, sometimes you don’t have the time to spend making money — you need it now! If the store won’t give you a finance plan, check for installment loans online. Many online loan companies offer loans despite low credit scores and have excellent rates comparable to regular store financing.

Another benefit to getting an installment loan online is that you’ll know if you’re approved instantly. Then you can start planning for that special day sooner rather than later.

Have more budgeting ideas? Share your idea below in the comments!

It was the first time that we got to use our mobile studio outside the house too. I just had to push for that since everyone took extra effort in dressing up. Of that, you will soon see on the photos below.

My friends are just too competitive words! They were all holding out on us – secretive on what they are doing, who they were going as, etc. The party turned out really great which is always the case when you are surrounded with good friends.

US: Cher of Clueless, Elwood of Blues Brothers, Danny Zuko of Grease, Holly of Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Moi as Holly

Elwood – Blues Brothers

With Bart

Mi bebes

Cher – Clueless

Big and Small Mafia

Super Family

The Simpsons

GI Joes

Gawd, I forgot her character!

Star Wars and Chicago

Incredibles



These guys are just great. It was indeed, a Merry Christmas to all.

You may be able to refinance your loan with more interest and perhaps a longer payment schedule, but the re-payment costs escalate, and if you are unemployed, you can be in real trouble for not paying back these loans.
Whether you own your house, or rent it, you should find out if there are items you can sell to pay for the pay day loan and in the process feel healthier and happier.

1. Get Rid of Television

Frankly, if you are in such dire situation that you have to resort to payday loan, you should consider getting rid of Cable subscriptions and your television altogether.  It is possible that some people may be so addicted to television that they cannot even consider getting rid of it, but growing body of research has shown that television is directly responsible for both childhood and adult obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and other ailments which exacerbate the overall health of the individual and the family.

Getting rid of your cable subscription will cut your operating costs and selling your television either online on Craigslist or through a yard sale will yield dollars which you can immediately use to paying back the loan.

2. Get rid of expensive handheld or portable gadgets

If you have an expensive smartphone like an iPhone or a computer, do you really need it when you are severely cash strapped? You can always sell the smartphone and computer online or to a local electronics store and buy a super cheap used phone from that shop, if at all possible, to communicate with your family and friends.

3. Get rid of your vehicle

If you own a car, that is the single most important thing you can consider selling, and if you have a bicycle or a motorbike, that too can be sold.  See if you can walk to the grocery store, or ask for a ride from a friend, family member or an acquaintance to go to your appointments such as a doctor visit.
Become a minimalist and run your household as lean and uncluttered as possible during financial emergencies.

The Prey:

After a quick Google search, it rapidly became apparent that there are several Websites devoted to helping people find the latest casino bonuses.
It also became obvious that there are several different types of bonuses and that not all of them were created equally. Some bonuses gave “credits” for playing specific games, which could be turned in for cash. However, the conversion rate was not very high (100 credits for $1 is not unusual) and you only got 1-3 credits per hand so that it seemed impossible that self-respecting bonus hunters should pursue this type of bonus. After all, although a 1-3% discount for playing their game is a nice gesture, you still probably won’t actually make money from it.

A more promising trail led to no deposit slots and other bonuses that gave the player real money, or free spins, to work with. Most of the time, when an online casino offers bonus cash, you see the words “sticky” or “phantom.” If you see either of these it means that, while you can play with the bonus, you can’t cash it. This makes some sense because, clearly, if they simply gave people money that they could simply walk away with many people (and certainly this mother bonus hunter) would simply take the money and leave. However, even though you can’t cash out the bonus, you can cash out any money you win with the bonus, which means, if you didn’t deposit any of your own money, you can make some money with very little risk. Similarly, no deposit slots allow you to either have free spins or a certain amount of free playing time and in either case you get to keep your winnings.

Good Sportsmanship

However, there was also a warning that signing up for the same site over and over to keep using the same bonus is fraud. This too makes sense. Good sportsmanship is as important in bonus hunting as in any other sport! the goal is to have fun, make money, and play fair! After all, we have to set a good example for our children.