Fundraiser #1

Ya'll I am so excited.  The information I have been waiting for came in the mail today.  This is going to be my first fundraiser.  Not only do I hope over the next 3 weeks to earn a few dollars to go towards my school loans, I am so excited to help this organization - Jacob's Ladder.  Take a minute to read the information about Jacob below, you will be blessed!

The line of products is great and all orders you place will continue to help Jacob keep working.  Here is information about the Organic Lip Balm, Soap Pouches, Bath Brushes, and Handmade soap that you can purchase.  What great products!  Valentines Day is right around the corner, how fun would it be to purchase some pampering items for your mom, sister, friend, or neighbor.  Please let me know if you would like to place an order.  All of the products will be shipped to me and I will get your items to you ASAP once I receive them.  Thank you in advance for any order you would like to place.  I know I would appreciate it, but just giving Jacob the opportunity to pull more orders would make me so happy.  I have ordered from him before and I just love getting the lip balm and soap in the mail.  I bet you will too.

New Year - New Ideas

Well....2018 starts tomorrow.  I have done some thinking and praying and one of the things that came to my mind was to live out the title of my blog - paying off this debt, one penny at a time. I have gotten a large jar (it isn't a coke bottle, but it is a 5 gallon water bucket...it was cheaper), and I aim to fill it up.  Once it is full, I will turn it into a large payment for my student loans.  This could take awhile, because I don't usually carry cash, but I am committed to put every penny, nickel, dime, and quarter that I get in the coming year in this jar.  I have been finding pennies (and quarters) around the house and even picked up a few pennies on the ground while Christmas shopping.  This will be the first of many ideas I have to reduce this debt ONE PENNY AT A TIME.

Would you be willing to help?  Do you have any spare pennies laying around the house that you don't want?  Would you share this blog with your friends and family?  Would you pray?  I have a long way to go to get these paid off, but I am determined not to just keep paying interest.  I guess in 20 years if I still owe money, they will wipe the loan out, but I can't imagine carrying this on my shoulders for the next 20 years.  Thank you for reading this journey.  I will continue to update the blog and have plans to start a fundraiser for a really great organization within the next couple of days.  I will share more once I receive the information.

If you have made it this far, thank you for reading this.  Thank you for being part of my "friends and family".  Happy New Year to you and your families.

One Penny at a Time

I am going to try to focus on the "one penny at a time" portion of my Blog Name.  I am going to find a Coca Cola bottle like the one pictured below and once full, I will turn the change in and make a payment.  This might take me a long time since I don't normally carry cash with me, but I plan on reaching out to friends and family to help find spare change...from their sofa or from their own change purses.  This will be one of my first fundraisers for 2018.

I had one of these banks when I was a kid.  I don't know where it is now...but I am going to find one and start saving one penny at a time.

In January, I have talked to somebody about doing another fundraiser as well.  I love the concept and the work will help a young man with autism, so it is a win/win in my book.  For now, I will be working on filling up this bottle (once I get one) and trying to find a part time work from home opportunity where I can just put everything I make towards these loans.  Our car is paid off, but like I said in the last post, we got a new loan for our new car, so I will use my normal pay to work on paying that off early and anything I can make from a second job or from fundraising will go directly to my school loans.

It feels good to have a plan....now to find a bank....and a PT WFH opportunity. :-) Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2018!

Good News/Bad News...That is the Question

The good news is, I was able to significantly reduce my monthly payment for the school loans.  This has been a huge blessing and relief to us since we have taken on the extra car payment.  The bad news that goes along with this good news, is smaller payments means longer time to get it paid off and more interest being added.

This gives me some relief, but I want to try to still find something I can do from home part time to earn more money so we can get the truck and these school loans paid off sooner than later.

I am so thankful that we have a smaller payment to deal with, but I don't want to sit back and just pay the minimum.  So I am still looking and thinking, and maybe soon, I will even make this public.  I am embarrassed at how much debt I am in, so I am going to do the best I can.

The Idea

In 2005, I started taking classes at Strayer University and completed my Bachelors Degree in 2010.  In 2012, we weren't able to make the payments on my school loans, so I thought it would be a great idea to go back and get my Masters.  I completed the Masters in 2015 and I started making payments the beginning of 2016.  What I have found after paying for a year and a half is that I owe more now than I did when I started paying.  The interest on these loans is literally hanging on my neck as an albatross.  I used the tuition reimbursement I received from my job incorrectly.  We lived off of the money instead of putting it back towards the loans.  I know this is on me and now I am trying to find a way to get this paid off.  My hope with this blog is to find a way to earn money, possibly have fundraisers, and pay off my school loans ONE PENNY AT A TIME!

I have a personal blog that I have used since 2005 off and on.  Mainly it is just thoughts, pictures, a way to write about what is on my mind.  I have been trying hard to figure out how I can get these loans paid off.  I don't want to be saddled down with this payment for the rest of my life.  The payment amount just went up.  I am not complaining.  Like I said earlier, I know this is my problem.  I don't want to ask for handouts. I want to find a way to pay this off so I can get back to giving to people. 

Over the past couple of years, we have been faithfully helping other people because we truly believe it is what God calls us to do.  I don't want to stop, but with the increase of my payment, I can see that I won't be able to continue to help people until I can get these loans wiped out.  I don't want to stop helping but I am aware enough to know that I have to help myself get out of this hole right now.  So, we will continue to do what we have already promised, but we are unable to take on anymore.  So this blog will be the reminder I need to focus on this debt so once cleared, I can get back to helping other people.  Helping others is a balm to my weary soul, so making this decision hasn't been an easy one and probably one that should have come a long time ago.

I thought about getting a Part Time job, but with my on-call schedule being other week, I can't really work outside of the house.  I have been looking for other Work at Home Opportunities (especially doing Data Entry), but haven't had much luck so far.  So I thought, I would do something different and start advertising myself one person at a time.

I am willing to do almost anything to make money with the knowledge that everything I make through this blog will go directly to my loans.  I plan on selling some stuff, possibly having a yard sale and/or bake sale, looking into fundraisers, and offering my services (see list below). 

I would really like to do these tasks (from home, if possible):

• Data Entry
• Filing
• Customer Service
• Dispatching/Mapping

I am also willing to do the following tasks (but I am limited because of my on-call schedule):

• Cashiering
• Light cleaning
• Dog Walking
• Cat/Dog/House Sitting 

As I think of more tasks, I will update this blog and as I begin to figure out some fundraising options, I will update that as well.  This will not be an overnight thing, unless somehow Oprah or Ellen takes mercy on me (LOL), so I am in for the long haul.  Bear with me as we put our feet to the ground to get this debt wiped out.  What would be helpful is if you can share my story with your friends and family.  Please let me know what I can do for you!