About a week ago, following a tip from moneysavingmom.com ,I signed up with Swagbucks.com. Swagbucks in an online search engine powered by google that provides swagbucks (digital bucks)when you do your searching. You can redeem your swagbucks for gift cards or othe items in their online store. So far I've earned 22 swagbucks.

I plan to use my swagbucks to get giftcards from Amazon.com to buy things for "La Sagrada Familia Daycare Center" in Guatemala. This daycare enrolls 26 children who would normally stay home alone while their parents try to earn enough money daily to buy food to prepare dinner. These children do not have breakfast and many times they suck on lemons for lunch, because there is nothing else to eat and believe me I'm not exaggerating. The daycare provides a safe heaven for these little ones. They get breakfast, lunch and healthy snacks before they go home. Hopefully, the daycare will be able to enroll another 25 in January. I'll buy coloring books, crayons, school supplies, socks, toothbrushes, diapers,etc. I'll post pics pictures of the items I get as I go along.

If you are going to check it out please copy and paste my referral link so that I can get more swagbucks to help these children. You would be helping without affecting your budget. Thank you and have a blessed and safe weekend.

My swagbuck link is: http://www.swagbucks.com/?cmd=sb-register&rb=1134247

I made banana nut bread with two bananas that would normally go to the garbage. I checked to see if I had all the ingredients to make it and so happens I did. The house smell so nice, especially since I baked the bread around 8:15 this morning. I got a nice melon, about two pounds of potatoes and a big onion from my neighbors (they left on vacation to Germany).

Back to the daily grind tomorrow. The board of Education approved 22 hours of home instruction for a student in my subject matter, so that means an opportunity to make $660 before Christmas. Yipee \0/ Have a great Sunday and work week.

banana nut bread

I am off today and tomorrow and I just want to veg out and rest. I'd been feeling a bit run down lately (as if I was getting a cold or flu). I am now doing home instruction at $30 an hour after work. I don't know yet for how long, but I'll take whatever I can get.

It looks like we'll meet our savings goal of $50K by the end of the year or so I hope (I don't include the summer fund). We have quite a few expenses coming up; son's college tuition for the spring semester and books and I have to pay for two graduate courses myself and of course Christmas. I've officially exceeded the amount of credits allotted for reimburement. I'm beginning to think of 2010 goals. I'm sure there will be home improvements, more savings, a possible vacation and the big one, paying down our mortgage.

Have a great day!