WE CAN'T COME TO THE PHONE NOW BUT.........

Like HELL!! Sue me then, by the time I was 5 minutes into trying to pay my credit card to an automated phone service I was not only on the verge of snapping my fingers off in frustration but my hair actually meant my weave was almost a pile of mess on the floor from pulling it out. Technonolgy has its evils and automated services is one of them, first you have to sit through numerous painstacking options and when you finally hear the one you think you need you are put through another tedious incantation of Press1.........then Press 2,then 3 by then even the most patient of people is close to snapping point wondering whether these people want their money or not.

I guess the banks are just not happy with us paying those huge interest charges on the cards but they have to draw the last blood by making you sit through a very long phone call just to make a payment. I am at the moment trying to pay an amount double the minimum so I took the liberty of cancelling my direct debit as the option was they would either take the minimum or the oustanding which of course I can not pay at the moment. So I have decided to make a phone call a month to pay by card and boy this is going to take some serious patience ........which I am again going to earnstly ask for. Dear God when you grant me that cup of willpower, please add a barrel of patience too.

The excruciating bit of my first automated payment was not just sitting through a marathon of options but after listening and inputting all the required data I was unable to complete the transaction *Loudly kissing my teeth and doing the face thing too*

I have just taken some time to do a bit of bank account reconciliation and to my chargrin I happen to be out by the amount I tried but failed to pay to the credit card company. I have called my bank who are telling me to wait at least 5 working days and hopefully this transaction will pay back into my account if it had been wrongly processed.

And poor me had to sit through not just a phone call but I cannot get my money as it is not available. Oh this time the messy pile on the floor that was my weave is now now a little mound, I am now totally bald..........the frustrations!!!

GOD PLEASE GRANT ME.........

Yes Please! Please! Please! God grant me the willpower, the self control , the resolute strength to resist the compelling craving, the euphoric sensation, the tingling thrill I get every time I pass through Canary Wharf shopping centre. Oh Yes I need a huge dose of this, I do not mind even if my cup runneth over as long as I can tear myself away from the shopping pangs I get not only once but twice yes I am counting, twice!! every day of the week that I pass through this treasure trove of a shopping centre.

If there is any place, person or thing that makes me fall off the NO SPENDING wagon with a thud it is Canary Wharf Shopping centre. Every morning and evening of a week day I have to pass through Canary Wharf to get to work and believe me it is agony to pass through all those shop windows and not be tempted to at first just take a peek, then maybe try......you know trying without the intention of buying and of course the folly of these actions lends me thud off the wagon and deep into my pocket.

Now that most shops have the new season in store I cannot help thinking that I need this, and it feel almost hopeless with the magazines and even the free papers telling us the must haves for this Autumn and winter wardrobes.....Oh Please GOD!!!! I am sending you an SOS

OF GIFTS AND REFUNDS!!!

I am thoroughly thrilled to say in the past week I have banked 3 cheques which have have been refunds or reimbursements owed to MOI!!

The first cheque for £38.40 was from Greenwich Council which was a refund on my council tax from a house I moved out of 4 months ago (can imagine the glee at knowing that for once they owed me, thank God I made that phone call to tell them I would not be needing their services for at least a very long time)*Big Shrug and Sigh of relief*

The second cheque was of course my Reimbursement from HSA from the dental expenses I paid earlier and thank God here for small favours and contribution from my employer.   My employer contributes though small but significant amount to HSA a health provider on behalf of the employees to cover some treatments and this includes £50 per year for dental which I happen to have spent already.  Though i paid just under £200 I am happy to have received the £50 reimbursement and I am thinking whether I should put this back to my Rainy Day Fund or just look ahead now that I had put my mind to start the rebuilding.  Well I am tempted to deposit it to either my ISA or Alliance & Leicester internet account which earns interest every month.  Decisions! Decisions! Decisions!

The third cheque was the biggest relief and thrill when I finally received it, this was for the Sky subscription I cancelled 4 months ago.  I had to literally fight and claw with Sky to refund me this, and anyway without giving them any more space I am just sooooooooo happy I have finally banked the cheque.

The gift part of this post is some £120 I received from a friend who happens to be doing well back home and was on a business trip here and we met up.  I guess I should also elaborate that "He was the one that got away" but as it stands we still have very soft spots for the other and this was his treat to me to get my hair done *hanging my head in shame* as I should have been the one hosting him but anyway I am not going to turn down some free money ummm meant gift actually!!!

About the hair gift money I was thinking since I already put aside some money for my hair I am going to put it to my Internet savings account where it can prop up what is already in and earn me a little more interest.  I am also going to do the same with the cheques, my Internet account receives interest every month so I will at least see my money grow...........Oh Happy Days!!!!

A WEEK INTO THE BUDGET AND..........

Yes it has been a week into my September budget and I am slowly but surely slogging ahead.  I am happy with how well I am coping with sticking to it and hopefully this carries into the rest of the month.

My biggest challenge had been trying to stick to the food budget, but I guess this had been aided by the fact that I was not being realistic about the cost of food.  This month I budgeted £100 for the month spreading it to £25/week, I am happy over budgeting here especially taking into account my love for my 5 a day fruit and I will not apologise to say they have to be from Waitrose.  This is my logic and defence here, since I totally heart my fruits I rather the taste is what it says on the package and so far Waitrose has come up trumps on this.  I am happy paying for quality rather than pinch on this and end up throwing  food away or eating a bag of clemetines which on the package says "sweet and juicy" but on taste is totally opposite and you have to end up swallowing with a pinched face.

Anyway the short of it is my food budget   fell just under £20 and this means I can carry the difference to the following week(hippeee!!!!).

They say when times are tough every penny counts, I have also found out that doing a meal plan for the week docks any unnecessary spending and so far this worked a treat on the first trial and I am going to continue with this.  For this week I plan on having :

Monday:

• pasta bake and leafy salad (made the pasta this Saturday and froze 2 left over potions)

Tuesday:

• selection of cold meats and some potato salad (all from last week's shopping)

Wednesday:

• baked potato, baked beans and salad (potato from last wk's shopping, need to buy salad and baked beans)

Thursday:

• vegetable couscous and a roasted chicken thighs (chicken from freezer, buying the rest of the ingredients)

Friday:

• Last portion of the pasta bake with salad

I have at least one full meal a day which is usaully my lunch, in the morning I have some cereal or yoghurt, i have my fruit which are usually a pear, grapes, blue berries and a clementine spread throughout the day and every other day have a pot of biopot yoghurt.  In the evening if I am feeling perky its usually a toasted bagel with tea or a cob of sweet corn or snack or pop corn.

During the weekend it is all pot luck, might eat out, or at friends or fisnish off the left overs but I make sure it is within my budget  

 

MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL........

Actually let me rephrase it and say "Money is the root of all HEADACHES!!' I have finished doing my budget for September and Arrgh!!! though there were no adverse effects I should say by the end of it I had a throbing head. Well i guess if I am going to take back control of my finances a Budget is a necessary evil.

Now that I have chosen this path there is no hemming and hawing, I am finally taking everthing in stride and hopefully in the following months I will be properly adept at trimming all the budget fat and reach a point where I can live within my income and not splurge needlessly.


The template I downloaded for my budget is the American application Pear Budget, after trawling the internet I was happy to start with something free but comprehensive and though this is a bit busy on first impression it offers a step by step guide to sinking your teeth into budgeting and understanding a simple Excel spreadsheet even if you are not adept at this.

The principles of this budget template are that your expences fall under three catergories - Regular, Irregular and Variable expenses. The spreadsheet lets you keep track of your daily expenditure and you can also look at an indepth analysis of the budget. Its still all work in progres but my monthly spend is looking something like this:

Regular Expenses:

• Rent - £411.67
• Travel - £60
• Insurances & Hospital cash plan - £23.64
• Tithes & donations - £65
• Savings - £125
• Rainy day fund - £50

Irregular Expenses:

• Gifts - £30
• Family £75 (this is the onus of coming from an African family - need to help out)
• Hair - £20 (another weight, starting to put money on the side for when I get to take care of my african nap)
• Overdraft - £50

Variable Expense:

• Store cards - £140 (no more splurge purchase, its painful paying back for something that I am not wearing anymore*OUCH!!!!*)
• Food shopping - £100
• Mobile & Internet - £60
• laundry - £15

Well it's all still bare bones at the moment but I am making progress, and change is coming WATCH THIS BLOG!!!!

SOMEONE CALL THE FASHION POLICE REAL QUICK !!!!

Holy Moly!!!!! Michael Jackson that definitely aint "Smooth criminal" but well I guess that it definitely is thrillingly "BAD" Seeing this latest picture of the "King of Pop" who turns 50 tomorrow if you are like me are left to wonder why there is no end to his eccentricity. We all know the millions have been drying up but honestly you should still have the hundreds of thousands to buy yourself a decent pair of pants because those are so Hammer Time!!!

Well in all earnestness I hope some of those rich friends of yours get you some nice fitting trousers for your 50th. MANY HAPPY RETURNS MICHAEL!!!!! May your future years be filled with closets full of decent fitting pants/trousers/pantalon, oh Michael just get some clothes that fit the crown

TAKING CONTROL OF THE PURSE STRINGS

There is no good time like the present especially with payday looming tomorrow to take charge of my finaces. As already stated in my previous posts I am revisisting my goals, coming into the last lag of the year it is with huge dissapointment to know I have not fared well in one of the most important of goals. I let myself down big time, it's enough knowing my mistakes but being a perpetual offender shows how lightly I take the responsibility of things that are important like securing my future.

Its well and good to get that reality slap on the face now and agin but its time to stop all the whimpering and get back to the drawing board, hopefully by the end of the year I will be singing a new song. Thank goodness I am beginning to understand that financial discipline is about finding a balance between necessities, luxuries and saving for the future. As of today I here AGAIN!!! pledge to make conscious decisions on how every penny in my wallet is spent.

I have downloaded a budget template, this is my first step to reigning in all my improtu spending. I have lso found some bit of inspiration from fellow bloggers on tightening the purse strings. As of September and hopefully for all the remaining months of the year I will be daily tracking on what I spend my money on. Heart on hand this is going to be a huge task but one that has to be put in place all the same.

They say wobbling always precedes walking and as of now these are the two baby steps I am taking, I am going to grapple with them and once I am comfortable with my wobble there is nothing that is going to stop me from walking and what do you know might follow it with running and before I even know it Usain Bolt might be looking in front to see me sprint right ahead.

PENNIES MAKE POUNDS !!!!!!!

Rewind to only a few days ago I would have been thoroughly embrassed to chase after or wait around for a penny if I went into a shop and bought something and my change was anything less than 10 pence. Since I am on this mission to sort out my well being includingmy finances I am learning no pound let alone penny should go unaccounted for. Today I put this into practise, lately I have had such an unyielding pang for Cadbury' s Twirl chocolate (by the way I will pretend I did not learn anything from my recent visit to the dentist)so yesterday after work I decided to pass through Woolworths and they had this offer to buy 3 for a pound.

I think I did sing a few halleluiahs to have found this bargain, so I took 3 to the counter paid for my purchases which also included a tupperware container with my debit card. Only when I got home did I look at my receipt and saw that they had charged me the full price for the 3 chocolates. My earlier elation for having found a bargain evapourated as quickly as it had come. The old me would have just let it slide, what is a mere 65 pence but of course the new thrifty me would not let it go and first thing before going to the office I passed by Woolworths, unabashed went to the till and graciously demanded my discount be credited back to my card.

Not only was I happy that I did not just walk away from my money but there was no way I would have bought 3 bars of chocolates at once even if my life had depended on it unless of course if it was a BARGAIN which it was and guess what I am now done with chocolate, I guess it was that time of the month...............Blame it on the boogie.

PLAN YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE

I have been feeling really despondent about alot of things, getting that feeling thatI have made a mess of my life. I know this is a bit of an exageration, I am being overly hard on myself but I cannot help but think that I have been bumbling through life with no clear set goals and no compass for the direction I want my life to take. Going through some of my favourite blogs I feel really inspired to start empowering myself to live a life that is well balanced socially, financially, professionally and spiritually.

The realisation that I need to map my life brings me such a relief but also an even greater responsibility of planning and defining my purpose and goals. When faced with so many of life's puzzles to piece together getting a foothold of what is important can become blurred but I am always happy to let one of my favourite life coach managers dr Grace Cornish hold my hand and assist me cross that road. Her compass points are a guideline that I feel will help steer me in a forward direction, and I hope as of today I rid myself of all the "Eyeore Attitude" steer as far away as possible from some of life's pitfalls that for most of the time is perpetuated by my self defeating behaviour. Below are some of the points she lays out in her empowerment books and seminars for enriching women's lives

One needs to have:

• A sense of self - knowing who you are
• A sense of value - knowing what you are worth
• A sense of direction - knowing where you are going
• A sense of being - Knowing why you are important

By looking at the Who, What, Where and Why of my life I hope to start living a life that is productive, wholesome, happy and well lived................

THE CROWN SITS HIGH & PROUD!!!

Today marks the first week since being fitted with a permanent crown on one of my top molar teeth. The whole dental expirience was as perfectly put by Ogden Nash " Some tortures are physicalAnd some are mental,But the one that is both is dental".

I should also hasten to say that not only was it a mouthful of silver for me but it was definitely a pocketful of gold for my dentist. I should count my blessing though for finding an NHS service that is still registering new patients considering the shortage of such and the extotionary amount of going private. After the initial jaw dropping and the numb wearing off*pun intended* I am honestly relieved that the 3 fillings, 2 root canal treatments and the crown came just under £200 and to sweeten it (Oops should not have that) they allowed me to stagger the payments during the course of the 5 week long treatment.

I had not budgeted to have this much drilling on my teeth nor on the pocket that I had to use money I had built up in my "Rainy day fund" well funnily enough after all the teeming of tears from the pain and from being chided by dentist like some rugrat caught with my hand in the candy jar it was definitely that.

Well after all the melodrama which it usually tends to become once you sit in that dentist's chair and you are told to "RELAX" and "OPEN WIDE" that i am happy to sit back and smile at the beautiful job well done, the crown especially fitted like a glove and it sits all hail, mighty and proud.

Like they say every cloud has a silver lining and from this I have learnt to set one's teeth to honouring all my future 6 monthly appointments in the chair!!

MIA IN ACTION YET AGAIN!!!!

Oh please help me God!!!! I guess I have not just been missing in action, my abscence has not been a slight pause,interval, hiatus DAMN call it whatever but more like this blog has been knocking at death's door. All things considered I really love writing so needing the least bit of incitement I have promised myself to endeavour to rescucitate this blog, hopefully one fine day this journey that is my life will be a good read for all.

HE LOVES ME, HE LOVES ME NOT!!!!!!!!!

I bet you remember those playground antics of taking apart the petals of a flower and hoping by some strange miracle the last one would be "he loves me". Oh!!! the thrill and excitement of it all and and the tinged hope of the petal dropping translating into a budding dalliance over the fence or behind the mulberry bush with "Little Tommy" I am afraid though that this seems to to be the story of my life even in adulthood, this seems to be the presage of the state of my relationships at the moment. I hate to admit it though that I seem to be quite impudent to this and am not the least bit red faced about it. If all hearts were ruled by our heads what a boring state of affairs relationship dramas would be.

I am not even sure whether my current connection can qualify to be called a relationship, there is definitely been a hell lot of amorous toying about, flirting as if my breathing depends on it and of course thank Mark Zukerberg for facebook I have been kissed, hugged, spanked and waved at.

OH DARN!!!!!!!!!!!!

An exact portrait of how my life feels like as of now, every aspect of it seems to be in shreds at the moment. I have had a major relapse in my spending, this being triggered by a love or rather should I say unrequieted attraction to the first guy i have really felt a tinge of emotion for in God knows AGES!!!. My family situation is not helping things either, I keep feeling like I am carrying the weight of the world on my tiny shoulders and I just need someone to give them a bit of a lift.

I am also struggling in my faith, it is supposed to be at these bleak times, these valley moments that my faith should be a bridge. I feel like I am in this desolate place, seperated from God and trying but failing to clear the darkness surounding me. A part of me is angry at God, I cannot bring myself to having a one to one with God as i struggle understanding why life and opportunities have to be unfair. I feel I have to struggle some before anything works, the bible talks about "seeking first the kingdom of God and all else will be added unto you" but why then does it look like those that donot seek or yet again believe in God have all their needs met. At the moment I am in a deliberate defiance of God, and this is a place i do not want to be in but i cannot seem to have the strength or will power to dig myself out of.

I am not going and try to mend all the other parts of my life together until i have set my faith, my spirit, mind and heart in tune with God. I am praying and thanking God for his abundant grace and mercy

BE BETTER NOT BITTER

My heart did miss a bit and my eyes did a double take when i spied the above phrase from one of those random tedious pass on to millions emails that people so often spew into your inbox. I usually strike such emails straight to the trash bin but with this one email there were a few tidbits that i thought would definitely make good reading for my blog. From that one simple phrase "Be Better not Bitter" It was like great burst of light to a room that had been blanched in darkness, i could feel it speak to the depths of my soul. From first glance it is one of those phrases that seem like some banal, overused meangingless incantation.

What then did it speak to me you might ask? for one if the human race was to practise less bitterness and improve on building up rather than knocking down this world would definitely be a better place and we would not only live fruitful lives but we would also leave a standing heritage for future generations.

Looking closer to home that is to my family it reminded me of the most recent conversation I had with my mother who is thousand of miles away. Her situation is not of blissfulness, I am originally from a country in Africa where at the moment things can only be said to be nothing short of bleak, desperation, extreme poverty without an end in sight, it's a country where the people have looked on hopelessly as every form of survival, dignity, pride, has been cruelly stripped away from them by a despotic leader.

Presented with a situation where inspite of your education you are forced to beg and hustle your way just to get your next meal you would think think my mother and so many like her would sit on their laurels and be bitter about how far down the gutter their lives have gone. No way for my country folks, they are actually looking at this time as an era in their lifetime to prove their mettle, they stand strong before all this adversity which even now I fail to fathom such livelihood.
I am thinking come this Sunday it's Mothering Sunday this part of the hemisphere and i will be saluting the courage of all women in my country who have not let bitterness steal their passion to live. I will be paying tribute to my mother who despite all that is going on is soaring rather than staying on the ground. When I speak to her over the phone, the peace and joy that cracks through is almost tangible. She tells me how her eyes have been opened to a world that would have not been possible if it were not for the strife back home. She is grappling with everything, grabing every moment to thank God for where he has brought her. As the song says "This too shall pass", the stumbling blocks are for her stepping stones.

I hope one day to have the same fibre as that of my mum and all those other women in my country whose sole assurance rests in knowing that he is a God that provides abundantly and exceedingly according to his riches. And when i embrace that lesson may his grace teach me be better and not bitter even when the die is cast against me.

MIA

I am afraid I do not fully know where to start with this Blog, when I started i honestly hoped i was going to be diligent in writing it but i find myself remiss in this. It's not even for lack of something to write because the past couple of weeks and especially the last few days my life has been turned inside out, upside down.

I have done a self diagnosis of my tardiness and the only ailment i can come up with is; I do not know whether i am prepared to bare my all on a forum that might one day be read by many, I know i originally wrote that this blog was going to be the warts and all about my world and for now i am not too sure if i can hold my hand to that. There are times when i might get heavy hearted and withdraw into my protective shell, where my thoughts might become guarded, but i hope not to shirk my duties, as i feel this is that "PLACE" that at certain points in my life I shall always revisist and contemplate retrospctively. For the moment to quote Shakespeare from Hamlet "Brevity is the soul of wit" i hope to be courageous and honest in my writing from hence forth.

KNOCK SOME SANITY BACK !!

I hate to admit that with all that Shoe debacle earlier today I was almost tempted to jump off the Money Sense wagon and run leg first into a shoe shop. Like weaning off any addiction, at the slightest tinge of distress all the emotional havoc of wanting a fix came flooding right back and all thoughts of not spending unnecessarily and without a budget was lost so I can feed my habit and try and reverse the trauma caused by the oil spillage on my beloved shoe. Its almsot now silly to realise the feelings we attach to somethings, when all they do is bankrupt not only the bank account but also our emotional banks.

By habit my first compulsive thought was " I need to replace my Shoe and I do not care less if I am late for work as long as my feet have been taken care of" I even started to feel better about an early morning shopping spree, thank God for my DD assets good sense stepped right back in and the addiction was quashed for that moment.

Call this funny or crazy but by some strange coincidence one of my favourite blog The Simple Dollar was sharing on the issue of "Emotional Fulfilment" and "Finacial Success". This was like an answer to my distress call for help!!

Its only starting to sound petty now, but in the morning the emotional tango that played over the shoe spillage was wild enough to send me spiralling down one slope I am strongly trying to climb back onto. I can honestly laugh at the absurdity of it all now. Some sanity was knocked right back and I am happy to empty out my emotional bank on receipts such as my good health, my family and knowing the faithful provisions of my heavenly father who at some of the most selfish times allows me once in a while to feed my spending addiction on some silly pair of shoes!!!!!!!!!

NEVER COME BETWEEN A WOMAN & HER SHOES

Major Strope I threw this morning as I was about to leave for work, not withstanding the horrible weather we are having on the English shores today I had to deal with a major disaster. Yes you may think it is only something material, something that can be replaced, its not the end of the world, or the world has bigger problems than me fretting over a shoe.

Well this is how it unfolded, here i was all dressed up suited and booted in my grey leather boots and all set to hit the pavement and face the challenges of not only the horrid weather but another long tedious day at the office. And what happens juggling a hot oven tray I accidentally tip oil and guess where this landed right on a pair of my cherished Boot. Well before you even utter it, and of course you thinking whose fault was it, at that point in time I did not care.

I am bearly managing not to keep looking at the spots, (tut tut) my heart is sore and i am almost tempted to chuck resolution #2 out the door and go and spill my guts over some poor Shoe Shop Assistant's shoulder...............................

DOUBLE D.............

I have been really excited about Resolution #2, my sole mantra this year will be Savings, Savings, Savings. Not having something to fall back on in terms of financial security can be such a stranglehold and I am trying to unknot myself whichever way I can out of this. I am gnawing at everything I can get my teeth stuck into to achieve my goal. I am realising that my means to this end will only be achieved by my Double D assets, not what your depraved mind might be thinking but my Drive and Discipline.

I hate to admit but I am one of those people who find themselves buying into lifestyle gadgets for no necessary reason than the fact that it happens to be the latest accessory to hit the headlines. Take for example my Blackberry I have had for just over a year and I pay extra charges outside of the standard tariff. I never have any pressing need to receive my emails long enough for me to get to my PC at home or work. This is definitely one expense that I am throwing out and putting money back into my pockets.

I will be doing my budget shortly and I am sure a lot of nip and tuck is going to be required, I am really looking forward to this and by the way I have just opened my E Saver account which will be my main savings account. With this Drive and Discipline my finacial woes are soon to be something of the past.

CHANGE OF THE GUARD ??

Heads must have been rolling and definitely there were gasps of surprise or maybe relief as Roger took his own last gasp out of the Australian Open.

I am such a Sports fanatic especially Grand Slam Tennis that i have had to wait and sit through this Year's Austrlian Open despite the fact that it was being screened live after midnight and i still have to go to work in the morning. So much for the time difference.

Do we now dare hope that it might finally be "change of Guard" in men's tennis. Not begrudging Roger's talent on the court, it should not go unmentioned that the Men's tennis had become as predictable as the wet, cheerless weather at SW19 on a certain June afternoon. My boy Nadal was also sent crushing out by the unbelievable Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who was virtually unnoticed until he sent Andy Murray, hair and all out in the first round of the Open.

Back to my question, is this the beginning of the end for the Goliath of Men's Tennis, all things considered though, there were a few cracks in Roger's game not the perfect 10 we have come to expect of this man. Nadal on the other hand must still be reeling and wondering how his first chance at an Australian Grand Slam final could have been fashionably and brutally snatched away by Tsonga who before this was ranked a far off 38 in the world rankings.

Well whom am i routing for now, the little David(Djokovic) who has brought down the giant Federer or go for broke with the man who has won so many fans including his President Sarkozy. For this final i am happy to sit back and for once let the volleys and swings decide the NEW GUARD!

IF YOU KEEP YOUR POCKETS FULL OF COINS, YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE SMAL CHANGE

Money or should i say a lack of it is a sore subject for me and i would like to believe for a whole lot of folks too. Like many of us whose last pay cheque was way before Christmas if you happen to get paid last day of the month, January must surely be one hell of a month to be in. Some of my favourite blogs are those of people trying to get themselves Financial Independence, i have become an avid reader of these blogs in a quest to find out how some are managing this or at least keeping a rein on their money matters.

This brings me to Resolution Number 2. I am totally guilty of spending without a budget, obssesive overspending and impulsive buying. With all the talk around about an economic melt down, don't think i am anyway close to buckling at the knees. This is definitely something that i need to keep in check and address as its one of those choices that without a doubt ruins us.

I am making this year, a year of getting rid of debt and unneccessary spending, this is going to be my one shot at getting Financial Security and hopefully a path towards empowerment and peace of mind. I am going to make it my quest not to have loose change in my pockets but a healthy savings account that can stand even the tide of an economy meltdown.

To achieve this end as from today and my first pay cheque of this year I am going to put aside a quatre of my salary towards this and i hope to come back at the beginning of 2009 to report one resolution achieved.

16 DAYS INTO THE NEW YEAR !!!!!

Day 16 into the new year, God only knows how may of us have sloggeg on with all those resolutions we made as the clock struck 12 signalling the start of the new year and of course a right of passage for a lot of us to set our selves on a new course for the life we hope to live in the new year.

I am one not to jump on the wagon and sit, reflect and write about the warts i would like purged out of my life on the 1st of January, rather i gradually build into resolution making as day unfold into another and today being day 16 in the new year i am taking little steps at not being afraid to look at what has not worked thus far in my life.

Each start of the year I look into inspirational messages from people like T D Jakes, Iyanla etc to hear their take on how I can change and improve things in my life and I am glad to say this year my first inspirational message which will be my first resolution is from one of my favourite books. "Daily Cornbread : 365 Secrets for a Heathy Mind, Body, and Spirit"

This is a daily motivational book that aims to feed your mind, body and spirit with scriptures, tidbits and suggestions that go a long way to creating a healthy you. On January 1 the author decides writes about putting "God First" and i should say i have been struggling with this for quite a long time now.

Upon reflection and deep regret i seem to put God on the agenda when i am in that palce where things are bleak and God seems to be the only one who can put things into perspective. The author gives these suggestions to how we can achieve this:

• Make prayer your first activity of the day
• Put the word "God" in your computer code, ATM pin, or voicemail passcode
• Do something God-like today.(Treat someone lovingly)

I am hoping that this is one resolution i put to practise and not slack on, as even the bible commands us to seek God in all things, be they joyful, sorrowful, tearful.

I truely look forward to waking up everyday shouting "HAPPY LORD'S DAY"

NEW YEAR NEW BEGINNINGS???

Do we not just love the thrill of a new year springing before us, for the majority of us this provides yet again an opportunity to right the wrongs of the year or rather should i say the years gone past. After a bit and for some major reflections we always manage to work into the proverbial concept of "new year new Beginnings!!". We all go out making the same resolutions we have made the past number of years but have never managed to fullfil, so here I find myself asking yep! it might be a new year but beginnings i very much doubt it.....


Take myself for example, i have been telling myself for the past couple of years that i should sit my fanny down and start putting my thoughts to paper or rather should i say "cyberspace" well i think i can finally glow in the knowledge that one resolution is finally getting a headstart though i am not sure how diligent i am going to be on recounting my thoughts, escapades, longings, whinings and stropes about the goings on of my little world.

This blog is my journey through life in a country away from home, the challenges of embracing a new world whilst holding on to the memories of the life and familiarity of a totally different world i left some years ago.........

When i decided to leave my country a few years ago it was with the hope of finding greener pastures in a counrty that was not only continents away but where all familiarity was thrown out the plane window the minute i boarded my flight away from what i had been born to and knew. It was and has been a blessing and priviledge that I can share with you my life in a country that has become my home away from home.