Life Without Limits Review

Life without Limits is by Nick Vujicic who was born with arms or legs and became an international motivational speaker. 

He travels the world sharing stories of his life, giving hope to others when they are ready to give up.  We may be going through difficulties and wondering why, but there is always someone that is suffering more than we are. Many of the challenges we face are temporary, unlike Nick’s disabilities that have affected his entire life. 

It is an inspiring book that shows if Nick and others going through tough times, there are reasons we are given the circumstances we face. 

In return for this review I received a copy of the book from Waterbrook Multonah Publishers as part of their Blogging for Books Program.

Check out other books I have read this year.

Purex Buy 1 Get 2 Free

This week through Saturday, June 22 CVS and Walgreens both have Purex laundry detergent on sale, Buy 1 get 2 free. The price at CVS is $6.49, so it comes to $2.16 per bottle.

Vacation photos into Wall Art

Today I stopped at a thrift store looking for something and instead found these plate racks.  I have been looking for racks like this to display my photo books from my vacations.  They were $1.50 each so I got 4 of them for less than the regular price of one.  On Amazon I saw they were $7 each.

I have four of them so I put two on each side of the door.

By doing this, I can display and enjoy my photos regularly instead of storing them on a shelf.

Checking the Bank

With direct deposits and auto payments that are available now, you may not be checking your accounts like you used to.  It is important to either check your bank statements monthly or check it more often if you have online access to your bank accounts.

This morning I happended to check my bank account, after making a deposit of my paycheck yesterday.  I was surprised to see it had not been posted yet.  I called the bank to check the balance to make sure it was right.  The deposit had not been recorded yet.

After some research they did find the deposit and it had not been posted.  It is also important to check your accounts to make sure debits are not taken from your account also by mistake.

Several years ago, there was a quite large deposit made to my savings account.  It turned out that it was supposed to be added to someone else's account.

If a deposit it not posted to your account, you may be writing checks or making other purchases that will casuse your account to be overdrawn.  If it is the bank's fault, they may refund overdraft fees but it would still be a hassle.

Even if you have bills paid automatically, it is also important to take a look at your monthy statement to make sure you are not being billed for items you no longer need or use.  There may be membership fees on your credit card that you know longer use but are still paying for.

The Four Week Financial Turnaround

I recently read The Four Week Financial Turnaround.  It is currently $2.99 for the Kindle version and $8.98 for the paperback on Amazon.  As the name suggests, it is broken into information and tasks to go thru your finances in four weeks.  It contains several worksheets to help you manage your spending and savings.  The kindle version shows the worksheets and includes links to PDF versions of the worksheets on his website.

I have written several posts about watching your spending and how small expenses can add up considerably.  One of the paragraphs that struck a chord with me follows.

"If you received a bill at the end of the month from 7-Eleven for $120, Quickie Mart for $87, and Starbucks for $118, what would you do?  Would you get angry and call them up right away to dispute the "false vill?"  I would.  But they would turn right around and respond by providing a record of the facts, proving beyond a doubt that you do in fact owe them.
Things would be different if convenience stores sent their customers a bill at the end of the month instead of charging at the time of purchase.  Those smaller amounts are easier to absorb.  All the spending adds up unnoticed."

It doesn't mean you shouldn't spend money on these things, it's just to pay attention to how much you are spending and can afford to spend each month.

On one blog I saw a post from a lady that she had spend $500 or so at Target in one month, $50 each trip and making several trips throughout the month.  Fifty dollars may not seem like a lot, but if you end up making several trips it can add up over the month.

The book seems like a good resource to get your finances in order and is also a good refresher for those that do not currently have debt

Getting Ready for Summer

With our weather now, it may seem like summer is a long way off.  I stopped at a second hand store near my house on the way home this afternoon and ended up finding 5 pairs of Studio Works capris.  They still had the original price tags ($28) and were marked $2.99 each.  On the way into the store I saw a sign that the white tags were half off.  So each pair of capris were $1.50.  So I ended up getting $150 of pants for $8.01.  I got 2 khaki, 2 black and 1 blue pair of capris.

This is one example of not knowing what you will find when shopping at thrift stores.  It is not as much of a guarantee of finding specific items as shopping at other stores, but in many cases you can find a deal on brand new or almost brand new items.

Chicken Stock in the Crockpot

Today I redeemed the certificate for the Sam's Club membership through Living Social last week.  The coupon for the pizza was valid.  The coupons for the chicken and cookies is not valid until March 20.  Just a notice for those of you that purchased the deal.

I did buy a rotisserie chicken today.  I had some for supper, made a sandwich for lunch tomorrow and will use the rest in other meals. 

After I removed all of the chicken from the bones, I decided to make chicken stock in the crockpot.  I put the bones in the crockpot and covered with water.  I added a little minced garlic.  Some recipes call for carrots, celery, onions and spices.  I have done it before with just the bones and meat on the bones.  Cook on low for about 8-10 hours. 

When it is done cooking strain to remove the bones and pieces of meat.  Cool and freeze in containers or freeer bags.