That Blozzz

As you have read by the contest post, I am in the mood to celebrate! I even changed my header to reflect that mood! I am excited That my blog is celebrating its first anniversary! I want to keep this celebration off with a bang. I know many of you love give aways so here is where it begins.

Starting tomorrow, I will be giving away 50 Entrecard credits per day.

How do you win?

All you have to do is answer the question of the day and I will randomly pick the winner and announce it here. I will put up a post with a question of the day and all winners will be listed on the question of the day post for the next day. Once I announce the winner, you just need to contact me through Entrecard and send me a message that you are the winner for that day.

Let’s make this a fun lead into the big contest.

Does this sound fun?

Look for the first question of the day tomorrow.

I recently heard this on the Dave Ramsey Show and I thought with recent events and to go a long with what I have been posting about, this would be most fitting!

This is what America is all about. This what our fore fathers wanted and this is how we did what we did in our short history as a nation. Do we still want it? I know I do!

I Do Not Choose to Be a Common Man

It is my right to be uncommon—if I can.

I seek opportunity—not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me.

I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed.

I refuse to barter incentive for a dole. I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia.

I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat.

It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to think and act for myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say, “This I have done.”

By Dean Alfange

source: http://daveramsey.com

*Originally published in This Week Magazine.
Later printed in The Reader’s Digest, October 1952 and January 1954.

I have heard all the campaign promises from both parties. I have seen the same false hopes that run from politicians mouth like chicken poop. I still want to know where the help is for honest Americans who pay their bills work a full time job and sometimes two or three jobs to just stay a float?

I am getting feedback both on my blogs and in regular conversations from real people who are losing their jobs and there is no help to bail out them. If they do not pay their electric or heat bill or house mortgage, what happens? They are shut off or kicked out. These average hard working Americans are the ones who know that and they do whatever they can to stand up and pay their bills. No Bail outs, no free lunch, just honest work.

Where do we, yes I include me and Karen in that group, stand in the Bush policies? Where do we stand in the Obama policies? I can tell you, we stand in a pile of huge Government spending that we are going to have to pay for. We stand by as our nation is ripped apart at the core by an ever growing Government who wishes to reward those who are too lazy to help themselves and those companies that are mismanaged because they know the tax payer will foot the bill.

It is time for the values and attitudes that this great nation as founded on are brought back to life! We need to protect our freedoms and restore out core beliefs before the monster Government devours our individuality and replaces hard working Americans with a welfare state where a hand out is much better than doing for yourself.

I said it before and I will say it again, I will go kicking screaming and fighting all the way. Our founding fathers signed a document that could have been a death warrant on their own lives. That document was the declaration of Independence! To me and many others that still means something; there is still the America we love and are proud up but it is fading fast. Are we going to allow it to fall?

The following is a sponsored review:

I have written many times about avoiding bad credit. However, people do some stupid things when it comes to credit and end up over their heads. They then want to figure out a way to fix that credit in order to purchase a house, buy a car, or obtain another kind of loan.

I checked out a site by the name of Bad Credit Loan Shop. This site is set up to provide informative articles explaining how to obtain loans if you have bad credit. They also direct you to places to obtain those types of loans. If you own a home and are looking for a Bad Credit Home Equity Loans or you are looking for a Bad Credit Personal Loan or any other type of loan, this site can provide you with the information you need. This is not exclusive to loans; they also offer credit card information as well.

Bad Credit Loan Shop is a well set up site with small articles about each type of Bad Credit Loan and what a person needs to do to achieve success with getting those types of loans. The sidebar navigation is easy to follow and one can find the type of loan they are looking for with an easy click. The design of the site is simple but fits the niche quite well.

The information is good and it is a quick way to find all the information you need if you are looking to get credit after ruining it the first time around. However, be aware this site is set up as an affiliate site which means that the site gets paid for each referral. There is nothing wrong with that and what I have seen, some of the offers they direct you to are quite competitive.

I am not a big proponent of credit but I am aware that many people use it and most people need it to purchase a home. This site provides enough information to achieve your goal of improving your once good credit. Check out BadCreditLoanShop.com if you are in need of help and good luck in fixing the credit mistakes of the past!

Karen and I are not rich. I am struggling to find a quality job. Karen is a hard working teacher who shows up everyday and puts in 120%. We pay our bills on time and have never been late on a single bill. We have no hand outs. We ask for nothing but the right to live our life free and do what we can to improve our lives for ourselves.yet we face all the price increases and raising taxes along with every other honest hard working American family. Where the hell is our bail out?

Bush along with the help of the Democratic Controlled Congress has written a blank check to thee Henry Paulson. The purpose of this check, any damn thing he sees fit to do. All the giddy girls and those who voted for Obama thinks he will save us from all this. Did we forget, he voted for this very plan. Now he is on board in a plan to offer another bailout to the big three auto makers.

This is fast becoming a welfare state not only for the really poor but also the rich corporations. As much as these companies were mismanaged, do we really think Government involvement will do any better? Where is all the money coming from? I can tell you, it comes directly from taxes of honest hardworking Americans who suffer the economic downturn by doing what they always have. They pay for what they borrow, they pay their bills, and they pull themselves up by the bootstrap. This is the American Way!

If the back bone of America does not regroup and stand together to fight and fire these morons in Washington who are selling our futures down the road, we will soon find that it is no longer a free nation of hard working people. It will be a welfare government owned state where “we the people” are now “us poor sheep.”

How do you feel about the bailout mania and the future of America as it stands now?

I am not sure how long you have been reading my blog but I wrote a blog post a while back about one of my Spring born chicks had a twisted beak. I called her twisty and did not want to kill her because she was healthy and was eating fine.

She became the friendliest chicken right down to sitting on my shoulder. I was often annoyed by her antics that including jumping on my back anytime I bent over. One thing was sure, when I went and opened the hen house up for the day, she was the first one to meet me at the door.

That was before this morning! I went out to let the chickens outside and no Twisty. She is missing! I can find trace of her anywhere. I called the neighbor, who also has chickens, to see if Twisty went over there. I searched all over my property and there is no sign at all of her. Normally if a wild animal gets one, you will see signs. This is part of raising chickens and I am use to losing chickens but Twisty was a special chicken. At times, I wanted to ring her necck; however, I hate the fact that I have no idea what happened to her. I guess Twisty is gone for good and the Chicken Coop will never be the same!

I have been laughing my ass off since the Presidential Election at all the blogs that are posting about Obama. I have seen some of people who have broken down in tears that finally someone has come to save the world. Guess what! No politician is going to save you. He is not going to put money in your pocket. He is not going to lower your taxes. Most of all, he is not going to change the entire workings of the United States Government.

Let’s first look at his first two major choices. His first major pick was Joe Biden for his VP. This man has been a U.S Senator since 1972. Damn, I was only six back then. Wow, talk about a Washington outsider. He only has been at it for 26 years. I am sure that Obama’s next big choice was going with his “change philosophy.”

His second choice was for White House Chief of Staff. He chose Rahm Emanuel. OK, now we are getting to the nitty gritty, he is a Washington outsider right? OK, he has only been in Congress since 2003. I guess that could be considered an outsider. Oh wait, he started his career helping Paul Simon get elected in 1984. Oh let us not forget, he also served as a senior advisor to the Clinton administration. These two sure do not look like change to me.

I have to be honest, I did not vote for Obama and still do not think that his lack of experience and his charm is what this country needs right now. I also do not believe or think that the big change is coming. His socialist ideas from the campaign is not much different from the extreme liberal ideas of past Democrats. His plans to spend lots of money to buy our way out of a economic slump will fail much like it did for George Bush.

His plan to raise taxes on the rich will trickle down. If he succeeds in taxing those making over $250,000, this will result in job losses, lower wages for those in lower income brackets , and higher consumer prices. His plan to bail out everyone will result in a negative balance on the tax payers that has been unheard of in history. Trust me, Bush did a great job so far. Do you really deep down believe he will save us all?

Listen, it is your job to look out for you and your family. It should not be the role of the Unites States Government to bail out a mess you got into. It is also not their role to send billions to banks and other businesses to do with as they please. The American People have survived well for many years because they were tough and took the initiative to do what it took to better them self. Now that is being punished because they make too much.

I wish Obama well and I hope he can help America in the next four years. However, I have my doubt about much change. The only change I see is the skin color of the President of the United States. Sorry to disappoint you but Barrack Obama is not the anointed Messiah you have all hoped for.

On December 7th, That Blozzz will be one year old. It has been a great year and to celebrate, I am planning a contest for all our readers. This contest will features a variety of prizes and will run for thirty days.

I am looking for sponsors who would like to donate something in exchange for a link on the contest post. The post will be permanent and your prize will be listed along sides your blog title and URL. Donations can be advertising space, text links, money, design services, blog post, or anything else you feel like donating.The prizes and sponsors will be listed from top to bottom in order of value.

If you wish to sponsor the contest, please use the contact us tab on the top of the page and send us a message. If you are offering a non-monetary prize, please send value of the prize.

There are many people who live paycheck to paycheck and always wonder where there money goes. I have always been one to write down all my major monthly expenses each month. However, up till a few weeks ago, I never wrote down our dining out money, gas money, or any monthly left from paying the bills.

I am now a huge proponent of writing down everything. Karen and I have devised a budget that includes a weekly allowance for both of us, grocery money, eating out money, miscellaneous money, and gas and car expenses. With the exception of gas, which we pay at the pump with our debit cards, everything else is cash only. I carry an envelope for each kind of money and pull the right one out each time we need to purchase something. Dave Ramsey says it is harder to spend cash and he is right. It is much harder to part with money than with a debit card or credit card. Every dollar is earmarked and we try to stay with in our budget.

We are not perfect but we do seem to be more conscious of our money. We know how much we have and if we run out, we have to wait till the next payday. We both get paid bi-weekly so we fill the envelopes every two weeks. We do borrow back and forth but if we borrow from one envelope, we know that that category is short for the two weeks and we do not go and get more.

I am here to tell you that if you budget out every dollar before the month begins, you will have more money than you thought you had. Any excess goes straight for debt payoff. It also causes you to avoid high price stuff and look for the bargain in everything. No more value meals at McDonald’s, we go straight for the dollar menu. Drinks in diners are now water not the $1.50-$3.00 sodas. It takes some getting use to but we are working toward a long term get out of debt goal!

The key is for the whole family to be on board and stick to the plan. If the the plan is not discussed and agreed on by all, it will not work. Communication is key to successful money management and it makes a much healthier marriage.

Get on board and get a budget done. it will be the smartest decision you ever make!