Help, Please!

I am collecting information for a story I am writing. I am hoping people will comment or email me with a list of 3 to 5 of their top values and priorities in life.

Having fun

I am enjoying my money free weekend. Well, I did scrounge up some money for cat food, and I am craving some Shiraz, but I will persevere!

Changes

Well, the Bulls are now done for the year, having lost to the evil, awful Miami Heat, and so it is time to get rid of cable. I decided I am going to go with DSL from AT&T for internet (only 20 a year for the first year). Of course, with taxes and fees it will be around 35 most likely, but it is still cheaper than mediacom. Right now, my mediacom bill is $72 for cable, and 55 for internet. Of course, internet is "only" 45, but they now charge 5 for the modem and 5 for a "line" use. Whatever. I will just go back and forth between the two every year, if that's what it takes.
Activation isn't until June 2nd, so I suppose I will keep cable until Karl gets the DSL set up. I just hope it works well with the wireless router we have. I don't want to have to buy another.

Since we have a wii, netflix is a great cheap buy. Sometimes it requires a little patience (it does take a movie two days to get here), but so many interesting shows and movies are instantly available.

I suppose it will be hard to fill long summer nights without the benefit of a baseball game, but I will survive.

Desperate for Cash?

I was searching for some quick ways to put some cash in my bank account. Since a few weeks before I had Liam, I stopped driving the cab on weekends, and the bite to my budget has been quite hard.

Wallet Pop had this article
25 (unusual) ways to Make Quick Money

To be honest, most of them weren't really that unusual. I thought about a parttime job, but I am so looking forward to summer, I just don't want one. I had already been thinking of a yard sale to get rid of some baby clutter. But since I woke before three today, it is unlikely I am going to have the energy to pull it off this morning. Maybe next week.
Another option was to offer to babysit. After Karl goes through training at his new job, he will be working Friday nights. I might be able to do Friday night babysitting for parents who want and can afford to get out. I figure I could charge $8 an hour. It wouldn't be steady, but even an extra 25 or 30 here and there would help. I could either do it here, or bring Liam with me to the people's house.

Another suggestion I had forgotten is selling plasma. Now, it is not my idea of a good time to go sit around for hours to make a few bucks. But...it's summer, and if I had Tierney to watch the baby, it might be worth looking into. 
.

Definitely a "money free" weekend.

I am overdrawn on my checking account. Somewhere in my head, I thought I had at least a couple hundred (and I was worried about that being too little). I forced myself to check, despite the queasiness in my stomach something akin to checking my grade on a college paper. And there it was. It isn't an enormous amount. I will have money to deposit from Karl next week. It's frustrating, though. I keep thinking of what I shouldn't have bought for the students this week And the tickets to the movies I shouldn't have got the kids last week. And so on. But, what's done is done, so now to make the best of it.

First, I am not going to drive out to get my milk this weekend. I emailed the guy. I am embarrassed, but seriously, raw milk is a luxury I can forgo until I have more money.
Second, I am going to scrounge up change wherever I can find it to put gas in the van.
Third, I am going to use the tips from a previous posting to have a "money free" weekend.

Here is what I want to do:  Plans

Am I Out of Touch?

I am watching HGTV (I think?), where they are showing first time homeowners what they can afford to buy. What I want to know is, are these people normal? Does everyone go into buying an "used" home with the expectation that they must upgrade immediately? What would happen if they lived with plastic counters for a few years before putting in the apparently necessary granite?
What would happen, if they left the original bathroom tiles intact.
I guess as long as they have the money, it doesn't matter, but...I don't get it. Why does everything have to be brand spankin' new? Or is it just because they know they are on TV and have to impress their friends?

Dunno. I'd love a formica topped, big wood cabinet kitchen from the 20's.

Things to do this weekend

I was trying to find something "meaningful" to do this weekend (because everything I do must be meaningful or lead me towards my "life's purpose" or some other high-falutin (?) nonsense, and came upon this site:

100 Things to do on a Money Free Weekend

Maybe I will find something new and interesting.

Baffled on Health Care Reform

Call me crazy, but wasn't the whole idea of health care reform to make it cheaper and easier to get health insurance?
I wanted to look for lower premiums for Liam. He doesn't qualify for shortterm care until he is two, and that can only be renewed for up to 36 months (I am unsure if you can get another plan from a different company after that), and without a parent he cannot go onto another plan. Luckily I got him on last year before all the changes took effect. But now, I am stuck with Aetna, and the 159 dollar premiums for a healthy kid are driving me crazy.
Taryn is in temporary for six month, because you have to be insured to be in cheerleading, and hopefully I will be able to renew it for awhile.
Work insurance is something like 300 for one kid or 650 for my whole family (but I don't think I can add them now that I have working there for so long). I only take home 1800 a month.

I am just so pissed off. How is it better if healthy kids can't get covered at an affordable rate?

Boo...Money woes.

A house I love love is on the market, and interest rates are really low. The problem? My credit score is low as well. In fact, just having my student loans hurts me, even though right now I qualify for income-based payment, where I wouldn't need to pay any back at my income.

So...no house for me for awhile.
Also, I was playing with the tax books, and when we get married, Karl and I will lose thousands of dollars. Right now I "pay" about 1400 in federal taxes, but I get several thousand in credits back. So I make out with about 5000. Karl gets about 3000 back. But when we get married, we lose all credits, and have to pay about 4000 a year in federal taxes. No wonder people become republicans. It is going to hurt. Personally, I would rather not get married, it just doesn't seem logical, but I doubt Karl will agree to that. He would rather lose the money and be married. Sigh.

I guess someone has to pay for all these things...and I do believe in programs such as food stamps and medicaid, because gosh, we would have had to line up at the soup kitchen while I finished college otherwise. I just wish...I don't know. I just want more money, lol.

The Garden

I had a vision. Rows of green goodness, that I would can into a colorful variety of nutrition to nourish my family throughout the winter. In reality-my dad only wants to give up a 20 by 10 portion of  his yard to the garden. And even more disheartening? I do not have a green thumb. I started my seeds. They sprouted green shoots, happily growing towards the window from the shelves and counter in my house. I dug and fertilized my garden. I attempted to harden the plants. It was a warm and WINDY day and I think it may have harmed then.
I waited a few days, and finally carefully placed the tiny budding plants in the soil of my backyard. And they died.
At the same time, Karl dug and prepared soil in a shady spot along our fence. He literally poured the seeds out in small areas. His garden is doing wonderfully.

Fair?