It is so important that we know where every penny of our hard earned money goes and there are things that we are spending money on for no reason.  Have you ever called someone and heard classical music?  This is an expired Ringback tone (at Verizon Wireless).  The song that was paid for lasted one year, sure it only costs $1.99 to buy a Ringback Tone, but they expire and the service is 99 cents per month.  If you do not buy another Ringback Tone for your friends to enjoy, Verizon will switch you to some lame classical music and collect 99 cents a month (plus taxes) on your monthly bill.

It may not seem like much, but if just 1,000 of their 90 million customers are paying for a service that they are not using, it adds up to $11,880.00!  Call *611 and cancel your subscription if you do not want callers to hear anything other than a ring when THEY call you.  This is not for ringtones that play when someone calls you (which can be downloaded for free).  This is for people to hear music instead of a ring when they call you.  Since everyone texts and does not talk on the phone much, I suggest you check yours out and save a little money.

I would love to say that I am leaving town with just a few suitcases, but that is impossible.  I need my furniture.  It is not like the olden days anymore, when people moved they left the furniture and just loaded everything into trunks and strapped it to the top of the wooden panel vehicle and hit the road.

In today's world, I need to decide between a do it yourself move, a U-Haul move or a move done by professional movers.  There are certainly pros and cons to each option, and moving in December/January just adds another concern to the list.  The weather, what will it do?  Will it delay my move?  Will it shut down the move on the planned date?  That is the nice thing about being the weather, it can do whatever it wants.

Once the move is complete, I will be settled back in the area where I grew up.  I imagine I will experience a bit of culture shock.  I will probably walk a lot more than I do in the city, which is a good thing.  I will have to get used to people stopping by unexpectedly, and traffic nightmares may well involve 6 cars waiting at a stop light.  I am looking forward to all of these things, I will be sharing more about the experience as things progress.

First step:  finding a place to live.

To have asked this question ten years ago would have made absolutely no sense at all.  Imagine the look or response you would have received if you had asked someone "Is facebook down today?"  Puzzled faces for certain.

I am disappointed in myself for pondering the very fact that facebook may be having some issues today.  It is not that I care so much to sign in, but if it is just me having the problem I would like to know as I hate having computer problems.  My laptop recently crashed.  I am back to working on an old Dell desktop in the basement.  If it is something to do with my computer that I cannot access the facebook, I want to know.  If I have been somehow hacked on my facebook, I want to know.

Perhaps this will lead me to deactivate my account and not spend more time than I want to reading status updates that tell me of cat vomit, headaches or vague descriptions of woe.  It is not that I am saying these updates are of no value to someone.  They are just of no value to me.  I would hope that if one of my friends needed me to help in a situation, they would contact me personally.

I imagine when people write about an illness or a bad day, they end up feeling worse when no one comments.  The time we spend on facebook should be fun.  If this includes farming, racing cars or mafia wars have at it, please just do not invite me to participate.

So let's go back in our minds to before facebook (Bf)for a minute, I know it seems a bit impossible given that facebook is a huge part of most of our daily lives.  It is okay though, imagine having no facebook.  The time spent updating it, reading it and viewing pictures was used for something else, what?  Having a real book in your face?  Face to face communication with your friends?  Facing a task or issue head on?  I am not saying to give up facebook, or that it is a bad thing.  I enjoy seeing pictures of my family, friends and it is wonderful to see their children and pets.  Facebook is a good thing, just for a minute imagine life Bf.

We have become so used to hundreds of television channels with today's hi end cable services.  The on screen tv guides, the ability to rewind live shows and DVR services have spoiled us to no end.  I am the first to admit that I love my cable television service, but I am tired of paying for it.  The other fact is that even if there is nothing on, I am watching tv or at least have it on, but why?

There are so many other things we can do instead of watching television.  TV is for certain one of my favorite forms of entertainment.  However, I did some quick math on even a $50.00 cable bill over a 15 year period, and this adds up to a whopping $9,000.00.  I know I would have spent that  money on something so I will not beat myself up over the fact that this low estimate for what I have spent on cable in just the last 15 years is gone.  Going forward I will put that money toward other living expenses.  I no longer work a traditional job, so paying for tv is not something I elect to do anymore.

When the coupons for the digital boxes were offered by the government a couple of years ago, I sent for them.  I was able to purchase two of the boxes for about $9.00 each.  I was disappointed to learn that these boxes also require an antenna.  The government did not make that clear when they were running the digital conversion campaign, but when are they ever clear?  After some research, I found that it did not have to be a costly outdoor antenna, but a small indoor style unit.

I was lucky enough to have a friend who gave me an indoor table top antenna.  When I coupled it with the digital converter box, I was pleased to find that I get my three local channels and a few others such as FOX, a local weather and PBS.  I also found two other channels that so far are playing shows such as throwbacks like Adam-12 and The Rockford Files.  If I am really in need of watching the tube, obviously something will be on.

The older style televisions I have require the converter box, I do not believe the newer models do.  Hopefully, my old school televisions will last for many more years and my current set up will work.

For now, I will be keeping my expensive Internet connection and I have a card to my local library, so there will be additional options for me to watch the idiot box when I desire.  Mostly though, I want to focus on helping others and working toward my goals to enrich my life and fulfill some dreams.  Episodes of reality tv shows, reruns of old school favorite comedies, and reels of depressing news are just not doing it for me anymore.

I am so thankful that I have a little job at what appears to be a little rib joint.  It is, however, so not little, the joint nor the job.  I love the fact that I punched out and then went to help my boss catch a cat that had crept into her 5, 000 square foot banquet room.  Luckily there was no party going on.  The poor cat is beautiful.  As it was pathetically hunkered down in the corner of the bar, it had it's head resting on a basket.  All you could see was it's eyes and head, it actually looked like an owl.

Since it was cornered for removal technique to be determined, I left.  I am sure that it all ended well because they were being so nice to the cat.  I think that is why it did not want to come out, it wanted to hang out in a nice environment and chill.  I think it wants to be a house cat.  I will update you with any new pussy cat updates in the future.  You can also follow me on twitter @ lorispall.  I will also e-mail Tom Jones.

I should ask my other boss who lives across the way if it is her cat.  If it is not adopted by now.

To give a pet a good life, you need at least $20,000.00 to support it throughout it's life.  Please take the cost of owning a pet into consideration before getting a pet.

In honor of 10.20.10, National Do Not Hit Any Buttons Day, I am stopping the unlimited text and picture messaging on my phone.  I enjoy it, but I can save around $15.00 a month (x12 = $180.00).  I know many people may not know how they would stop texting so much, or they may not want to.  That is great because we should all do what we want to with our money, so long as we do not live beyond our means.  

I have told the people who share the funny jokes with me, and they are all cool with it.  I must say, I have received some pretty hilarious funny pictures.  I have also been able to keep in touch with my friends and family.

I however, am not so mobile that I can't check facebook, or twitter.  Those who I message with to chit chat are going to reroute the messages to my e-mail.  I am usually working from home these days, so I am still connected.

My nephew mainly calls me, he is twleveteen so you would think he would be a texting maniac.  He can still text if needed, I mean I will have a small messaging package before I would ever block it all together.  I just need to save both time and money, and the text feature is somewhere I can scale down to save on both.

My sister, and other busy mom friends will probably still just text me and vice versa because what mom has any time to be on the phone these days?

I hope that my plan to scale back works, but I want to have the option because a text could save a life.  God forbid that anyone I know, or I am in such a situation, but wow I said, technology is a wonderful thing.

You can follow how I stop texting so much at @lorispall at www.twitter.com

Yes To Carrots is one of the cutest product names I have heard in awhile.  I have a feeling it does not smell all that good though.  I have not used or purchased any of the products, but if I do I will be sure to update this article.

I just wanted to write something on Yes To Carrots, if you have used Yes To Carrots Lotion and beauty products feel free to comment.  We promote discussion at www.spallacity.com

Feel free to follow Yes To Carrots Lotion and Beauty Product updates on twitter @lorispall

I did it.  I quit my job in Corporate America.  I have some big plans for myself, and I know I will be okay.

I tried, I really did try.  Tried to follow my dreams and commit to what someone else wanted me to be for 40 hours a week.  Not to mention the preparation time, travel time and unwind time from an abnormally stressful work environment.  I actually spent around 60 hours of my 168 hour week, on the job, traveling and lunching.  I want to spend that time and energy on being who and what I am suppossed to be.  

The decision did not come easily, I would have nightmares over situations at this place.  But it is over, I am gone and I do not regret it.  I do regret filing for unemployment due to working conditions.  I mean if I was a different person, that may be worth pursuing.  A lot went on, and really I was unable to perform the job any longer due to situations that literally were wrong.  However, I am not going to claim the unemployment or pursue getting it paid out to me.  For me, I cannot follow my dreams and work for myself and collect unemployment. 

I have the confidence that if I need to go back into Corporate America for pay and the fabulous benefits of health insurance, a 401(k) I will be able to apply for and get a job with another company.  I appreciate the benefits that companies provide to employees,  Corporate America takes care of a large number of people in our country, can you imagine if it did not exist?  I am happy to have worked for all of the ones that I did.  My analyst does not think I need to be off for medical reasons, mentally.  I guess that is promising.

The energy given to the working situation is now available for me to use.  I have a couple of really good business ideas that I am working on.  Little, if any start up cost for either of them.  That is a good thing because I am a tightwad, and also very poor now that I have severed my ties to The Man.  I am also going to write and write, and perhaps perform a little.  I also want to help others, we really need to start needing one another and helping each other.

I am now working at a rib joint and doing a phone solicitation job from home and some other side jobs to pay the bills.  My house is up for sale.  I have merchandise to liquidate, which is the inventory for my one business.  Follow me on Twitter @lorispall.com

My dryer is over ten years old, and has been used frequently throughout that time for my one person household.  I check and clean the lint trap after each use, no exceptions.  I remove the front and vacuum and clean the lint from the unit on a regular schedule.  I am probably due for a major clean out, maybe that is what is going on with my dryer.  It is still drying the clothes, so I have some time.  I never leave the home with the dryer running, so chances of a fire are slim.

I think it is probably broken, and I need to call in a professional.  Luckily me being without a dryer for a few days is not earth shattering, now for my sister and her laundry load, it is a potential catastrophic event.

I have been trying to sell a couch via word of mouth for awhile.  Inquiries, but it still sits in the house that I am going to move from and have no intention of taking the purple couch.  So I decided to put it on Craig's List.  I have sold one other item an air conditioning unit that was in the garage.

The purple couch sat idol on the list for near a week.  I got an email from a girl who wanted to buy it.  She sounds nice.  I think she is a college student.  The purple couch is in the living room, so they will have to come inside the house to carry it out.  I am sure all will be fine, most people are good people.  I told a friend that Summer is coming over to buy the purple couch.  Also, if I never post again…you will know that inviting them in and accepting her cash may not have been a good idea.

Make sure to have your items outside of your home, or meet the person in a public place.  It is sad that our world is so wacky that I have even written about this.  Follow me on twitter @lorispall