One of the biggest challenges for us when we bought our new home was buying new furniture. We had some old hand-me-down furniture that we both owned when we lived on our own, but we thought that they wouldn’t fit too well in our new home.
So, we wanted to buy some new furniture for our new house, though we were very strapped for cash. On the brighter side of things, we did have a little bit of savings, but not enough to buy the set that we wanted.
My wife decided that we shouldn’t give up on our dreams, but instead find a way to save money. She went online to see if she could find some furniture coupons that would be able to help us out.
She was able to find some online coupons that would allow us to buy the set that we wanted, and we ordered promptly. Sure, we wouldn’t have furniture for about a week, but with the money that we saved, it was all worth it.
Posted July 31st, 2008
by Marc
One of the things I wanted to do when I got married was to give my wedding party something special to remember my special day. My wife to be had already picked out something for her bridesmaids, and I thought I should do the same for my groomsmen.
Some people would have just let them have the neckties and silver cufflinks that we had ordered especially for the wedding but I thought that was being a little bit cheap. I wanted to give them something above and beyond what they would get for participating in the wedding.
What I ended up doing was getting each of them a set of engraved cufflinks on which I engraved a special message tailored to each one of them. Not only were they impressed with the cufflinks, but I felt good about giving them something special that thank them personally for their participation in our wedding ceremony.
Posted July 30th, 2008
by Marc
When I was building my house, I ran into a lot of headaches because I had not planned very well in advance. When I was ready for the shingling, I called every single Rhode Island roofing company in the yellow pages and I got the same story every time. They were booked for months in advance and I was going to have to wait.
I finally had one company take pity on me and they came to do my roof on a Saturday morning, which was usually their day off. I paid dearly for it and I was stuck finding someone who would do Rhode Island gutters, as they did not have time to do those. The task was a bit easier than finding the roofers, though.
The other problem I had was finding Rhode Island deck builders. Contractors did not want to take on such a small job in such a busy housing boom, but I needed to have it built and I certainly could not do it. I eventually hired my out-of-state nephew to come and do it.
If I ever build a house again, it will be far too soon.
Posted July 30th, 2008
by Twyla Norris
Dieting has never been easy for anyone. It is something that people do when they see no other alternative to making the lifestyle change that is needed in order to achieve the results they are looking for. It is no different when it comes to debt diet plans.
When people realize that their debts have built up out of control, the start to seek information on how to reduce credit card debt. As with a typical diet to lose weight, a debt diet also takes a lot of self control and determination. In order for it to be successful, one must be totally committed to making it work.
It is better to realize that there is a problem that must be dealt with before it comes down to poor credit debt consolidation. At that point, it is hard to come up with a plan that will work, as one would have to completely lower their standards of living.
Posted July 29th, 2008
by Twyla Norris
It took me a long time to admit that we had some serious morale issues in the office. There was way too much gossiping and backstabbing going on and way too little actual work being done. I knew I needed to do something about it, so I started looking into company resolutions.
I started going through all of the business forms that we had on hand to see who was hired for what and whether or not they were doing their jobs effectively. I knew that there were a few employees who were the main cause, but I could not afford to let them go.
I also went over the recruitment documents to see if there were people that I could hire that could effectively take their place. I decided on a less drastic measure to begin with. We had a motivational speaker come in and work with different groups of people. It has helped and I continue to look for new solutions, such as splitting up the lunch break.
Posted July 28th, 2008
by Marc
When we go on holidays, I like to go somewhere where it’s not really busy, but offers a relaxing getaway. This rules out many of the cheap holidays that are promoted by many travel agencies as I don’t want to be going where all the crowds are.
One of my coworkers just returned from Icmeler Turkey and he had a blast. He spent all of his days out there relaxing on the beach and having a great time without a bunch of tourists around.
My wife and I decided that it would be worth checking out, so we went online and did a search for cheap flights to Turkey and we were pleasantly surprised that there were some available when we would have our holidays.
We are leaving in just a couple of weeks and I can’t wait to relax on the beach - is about time for a break.
Posted July 25th, 2008
by Marc
My daughter has a favorite Mickey Mouse book that I read to her every night before she goes to bed. When I am finished with it, she always asks me to read more. One night, after the regular routine, she told me that she wanted to meet Mickey Mouse more than anything in the world.
As a single mom of two little girls, I knew that it would be a stretch, but I decided to look into what it would cost me for Disney tickets. I found that if we went when it was not peak season, than I would be able to afford it for them.
My mom decided that I should not go alone and she came with us. She treated the girls, by upgrading our tickets to Hopper tickets. When Jamie saw Mickey Mouse, the way her face lit up made all of the hard work and saving worth it. They are good girls and I was happy that I could give them something that was long deserved.
Posted July 25th, 2008
by Twyla Norris
When my husband and I were trying to decide where we wanted to go for our holidays last year, we discovered that there were several Las Vegas hotel specials for that time of the year. As neither of us had ever been there, we decided that it would be a great place to go.
We started making arrangements and our travel agent told us about several of the Las Vegas hotel promotions that we would qualify for. There were so many of them and we knew that it was going to be tough to decide where we wanted to stay.
I was surprised at the list she had given us. It seemed like there were Las Vegas hotel deals at every inn in the city. We wanted to stay somewhere fancy and it was great that we would be able to do that, even on our tight budget. We finally decided on the Mirage and we were certainly not disappointed with our choice.
Posted July 24th, 2008
by Twyla Norris
I was recently traveling in Iraq, doing some research for a weapons company that I work for. It was devastating to see, firsthand, the turmoil going on over there. I was going to make a call to my wife one night and was advised that I go down to the embassy and make a secure call.
I was told that was the only place that I could be assured of gsm security, as if my wife said the wrong thing and it got back to the wrong person, we could both be in a lot of trouble. I had never thought that something as simple as a phone call could put my family in jeopardy.
After that, it was something that I did not take lightly. I made sure that I had a secure gsm phone every time that I called her. My family is everything to me and I am just thankful that I received the good advice about phone calls when I did.
Posted July 18th, 2008
by Twyla Norris
When my fifteen year old daughter asked for LASIK surgery for her Christmas present, I nearly fell off my chair. Who ever heard of someone wanting an operation for a gift? When I saw that she was serious about it, I decided to at least sit and hear her out.
She made some very valid points and I decided it would not hurt to take her in and talk to a professional about it. I had my doubts that they would do it on someone so young. Much to my surprise, kids her age make up almost a quarter of the patients. The surgeon suggested that we go with LASIK Wavefront.
When I found out the LASIK surgery cost, I knew it was more than we would spend on her for the next five Christmas presents. I did, however agree to pay for half of it and said if she came up with the other half, we would do it. She has worked very hard for her new eyes, but she is thrilled not to wear glasses anymore.
Posted July 17th, 2008
by Twyla Norris