Help me... I'm Poor

I am very careful with my money. I don't balance my checkbook on paper, but I am sort of like Rainman with my accounts- I know how much I have and what I have to spend, what I need for bills etc.

I always give myself a buffer of a couple of hundred dollars when paying bills, just in case something comes up. It's been a very long time since I've had to use any money in my overdraft- we aren't living paycheck to paycheck.

Anticipating a check to clear, I had been checking my account on my cellphone app- Imagine my amazement when instead of the $500 I was expecting, I see -$200 available in my account.

I get up and check my account online- in the space of an hour, five different transactions in three different countries equalling over $700 had been made to my debit card.

After the initial shock and cancellation of my card- I got weepy and then mad.

How dare you, stranger.

Who the hell are you to steal my information and use it for your own wants. I say wants because once I looked up the companies that my card was used at I was livid- it wasn't for gas or groceries- something I could console myself with by saying "Oh, they needed it more than I did"... It was spent at a shopping mall in South America, a spa in Italy and an online store in China.

Well, this is who you stole money from stranger.

A first time mom trying to save money for a safer car, someone trying to put together a nursery for her unborn son, someone trying to pay down her student loans- SOMEONE who is responsible with their money and doing their best to live right.

I'm over the seething rage, which swept in quickly after the wave of despair and tears.
I do, however, hope you get caught. I hope that you are held accountable for your horrible actions. I hope that you never have this happen to you, I hope you never have to worry how you will get through until your next payday because someone took it upon themselves to spend YOUR money on their wants and desires. I hope you never have to worry about bouncing a check to the power company because someone else spent your money on a shopping spree in another country.

Grammar Lesson

There are not a lot of things that frustrate me more than people's awful grammar- Especially now that social media is so popular. If you want to tell me all about how much you hate "blah, blah, blah" I just ask that you spell check yo'self....okay? Thanks!

If you want to SELL your shit online, make sure it is for SALE.
I would rather be over THERE by the smart kids because THEY'RE not making me stupid with THEIR misuse of words.
If I went to the LIBRARY a few times a year, I would know there is no such effing thing as a LIBARY
I would rather walk on nails THAN read people's misspellings THEN listen to them bitch when I correct them.
YOU'RE sure to look like a jackass when YOUR use of the English language is worse than a child's.
Those pants will fit LOOSE if your fat ass would LOSE some weight.
If your dog needs a BATH because he smells like poo, you should definitely BATHE him right away.

There are tons more... these are just a few that came to mind... I may add to this list as I remember more...

Birthday Miracle!

I turned 27 on September 30th. Since we just wanted to do something at home we had family and friends over for carne asada and carnitas tacos. Chips, salsa, guacamole, Spanish rice, and birthday cake rounded out the menu. I was really glad that so much of my family and a lot of our friends were able to make it.
I don't do it for the attention of my birthday, I don't do it so that people will buy me presents- I have a job if I really want something I will buy it myself- I really do it because it is a good reason to get people together. Just inviting people over on a Saturday to gather and hang out- maybe half of the people will show- You tell them it's because it's your birthday? Your percentage goes up significantly :D
I was super happy that my bestest friend and her family were able to come and hang out all night- our lives have changed since we left high school and so we don't get to see each other as often as I would like. Everything went well and fun was had by all... The real miracle happened on my real birthday the following Monday.
Since I am a planner, as soon as I found out I was pregnant I have been trying to maneuver everything at my job. FMLA paperwork, PTO and maternity leave. Well I was sadly mistaken that I worked for a company who cared about it's employees when I went and visited HR and they informed me that we DON'T HAVE MATERNITY BENEFITS. Wtf Iasis?!? You are a healthcare company and don't provide maternity benefits to your staff?
So... As it was, I would work up until this little bean makes his debut and then I would burn thru all of my paid time off, short term sick and long term sick that I have accrued... at day 61 I was eligible for short term disability and would be receiving 40% of my normal pay. Sounds great right?! (Sarcasm inserted here) Well the thing is we accrue time at the slowest rate possible and I wouldn't have enough time to cover the 60 days between going out and disability kicking in. I would basically be going about 40 days of NO PAY and then getting only 40% for the remainder of my 12 weeks. Eff.
On September 30th Iasis changed it's PTO policy and for once things were in my favor. We no longer had separate PTO and Sick- it was all lumped into one bank to draw from- we were given 3 more days a year and best yet.... Short term disability kicks in at 30 days rather than 60!. If I don't use any PTO until I go into labor I will have almost the entire 30 days covered before disability kicks in- HUGE WEIGHT LIFTED OFF OF MY SHOULDERS!
I know we would have been fine- budgeting a little tighter and not going out as much- but it is nice to know that at least some money will be coming in whilst I am home with the little one.
Walgreen's had better benefits when I worked there, 8 weeks of full pay and 4 weeks of half pay...another 4 weeks at half pay if you had to have a C-section.
My husband has better benefits at Kroger... He gets two weeks of paternity leave and has 240 hours of vacation to use however he wants. I let him know that 'he wants' to stay home a good month with me to figure this baby thing out :)