Save, Save, SAVE! A Debit Card That Pays YOU!

I know that I have mentioned my inability to obtain a traditional checking account in the past, and all of the frustration that it has caused me, but I haven't really touched on how much it sucks not even being able to open a savings account.

Savings accounts allow you to save money while earning interest on your savings. I felt like I was really missing out! I want my money to sit somewhere and grow, but because of my banking history it just wasn't in the cards...

But then I stumbled upon Mango Money. This is similar to the way that other prepaid debit cards work, in that anyone is approved and you can use the card anywhere that Mastercard is accepted, but Mango has one HUGE difference!

Any money that you transfer into savings on your Mango account will earn an astonishing 6% APY! I'm not a financial guru or anything, but that is absolutely unheard of nowadays... Your typical bank will offer 1%, and that's only if you're really lucky. Because they are solely an online banking institution they don't have to pay for things that "brick and mortar" banks have to pay for such as buildings, thousands of employees, etc., and so they are able to pass the savings onto their members in the form of an amazing interest rate.

Want to learn more? Click here to learn more or to sign up... You're just a few clicks away from investing in your future!

Local Food Resources

I'm currently heading up a fundraiser that we're doing at my work for Second Harvest Food Bank. It's called the "Share Your Lunch" program, and the goal is to collect all kinds of kid-friendly food to feed the kids who participate in the Free or Reduced Lunch programs through their schools, who might not have enough to eat during the Summer when school is out.

In case you hadn't noticed, I really have a heart for helping people. I struggled for a large majority of my eight year old sons first few years on earth, and now that I am finally managing to get on my feet I feel like it's my duty to help out anyone who might be in the same position that I was in not all that long ago...

So, that being said, I came across all kinds of info, phone numbers and resources while I was browsing the Second Harvest website trying to gather everything that I needed for our fundraiser, and so before I do anything I wanted to be sure that I passed the info on to you. You can get all of the details on these programs Here.

No one should ever go hungry.

God bless all of you, I hope you're all having great weeks!

I Just Moved Into A Three Bedroom BMR!

I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted anything... You'll have to forgive me, it has been a CRAZY couple of months...

Everything is settling down now, mainly because I have OFFICIALLY MOVED INTO A BMR THREE BEDROOM TOWNHOUSE! Sorry for "shouting" but I can't express how excited I am right now. And the thing that I want to stress to all of you is that I wasn't on the waiting list for this complex, and that when I called and asked if their waiting list was open I was told that it was closed and would be for several months. They explained that even once the list did open, the actual wait to get into one of the units was several years... But here I am!

So how did I do it? Well this journey has definitely been one of trial and error, and the purpose of this blog is for me to be the guinea pig, and then once I find out what works I come back and share that info with you all in an effort to save everyone a lot of time, energy, frustration... tears...

So here are my top tips for getting yourself into one of these apartments:

• Don't ask if their "waiting list" is open - When you contact properties that you are interested in ask if they have any specific size units available, or coming available, within the time frame that you are looking to move.
• Know your stuff - Visit the websites that are provided in one of my previous posts and identify the complexes that interest you. Regardless of whether or not they are showing a "CLOSED" waiting list status, just call the office directly and ask the question above.
• BE NICE! - You would be really, really, REALLY surprised to find out the amount of pull that some apartment managers have at these places. When you call them be polite, friendly, and as non-irritating as possible. When trying to get yourself into one of these units always remember that someone in the leasing office can be your best ally.
• Be Prepared - The difference between BMR/HUD Housing units and mainstream apartments are the amount of documentation required to prove that you are in fact eligible. Before you start calling around, it might be a good idea to start gathering your documents so that once you identify an available unit you can be the first one to get in there and get them the info necessary to process your application.Some examples of necessary documents are: Birth Certificates for your children, most recent tax return documents, three to six months of pay stubs and bank statements... pretty much any piece of paper that you can possibly imagine them needing they're probably going to ask for. So get started now and it will benefit you in the future.

So I guess that is the extent of my advice right now. I hope to be posting MUCH more frequently now that I'm living in a place that I actually don't mind spending time inside of... and not to mention a place with wireless internet, which helps a lot when attempting to blog.

Best of luck to all of you on your housing search journeys, and as always, feel free to shoot me an email with any questions, comments, etc. mysingleseason@gmail.com 

Get on a Sunnyvale BMR Waiting List NOW!!!

So three or four weeks ago I posted about how the wait list for the Sunnyvale BMR's might not be as long as I had initially anticipated, well now I know EXACTLY how long they are!

Right around the time of that post I started turning in applications for these units. One of my top picks was Cherry Orchard Apartments which are AMAZING! Well, three to four weeks later and I get an email from Cherry Orchard telling me that they already have a two bedroom opening up!

If you guys haven't done so already I seriously suggest getting on these waiting lists now, before the lists get longer. If you need the application, just send me an email at mysingleseason@gmail.com and ask me to send you one. I suggest filling it out and then making several copies and turning each one in to the different participating complexes.

God Never Ceases to Amaze Me...

This Sunday I attended church for the first time in four weeks. The main reason for my lack of attendance was my second job as a waitress on the weekends. The shift made it impossible to go to church, get the kids to day care and then get to work by 11:30.

Within about two weeks of this I was starting to suffer spiritually and emotionally, and I requested that I no longer work on Sundays... Kind of a bold move for someone who had only been working there for two weeks, but I decided beforehand that if they weren't willing to budge I wasn't willing to sacrifice going to church, and that I would ultimately need to quit. Well, the manager agreed to the schedule change and my Sundays are now free...

So on January 1st, in an effort to start 2012 off on the right foot, I made sure that I spent it at church. While I was there the pastor approached me and slipped a piece of paper into my hand. When I opened it I realized that it was a check for $150! It made my day!

Fast forward to last night, realizing that my rent was due this morning I spent the evening trying to square away my finances and trying to recover from my December long spending spree. Well, as I went down the list I felt confident that when everything was said and done I would have enough to pay my largest expense, which is the rent. Unfortunately that didn't end up being the case though... I came to the sickening realization that I didn't have enough to pay my rent for January...

But then I realized something else... the amount that I was short. Would you believe that the exact amount that I had been unable to hang onto was the exact amount that my pastor had felt compelled to give to me just the day before? Yes, that's right! Exactly $150!

It made me think about the fact that even though I have been stretching myself to the limit with my two jobs and everything in between, I still didn't have enough to provide for me or my family. GOD on the other hand recognized what I needed, and then addressed (and solved!) the problem long before I even noticed that there was an issue...

What a blessing... And what a great way to start out the New Year!

God bless you all!

Another BMR Apartment Program

The city of Cupertino also offers a BMR Unit program. While I am not familiar with the length of the waitlist, or the amount of the rents on these units, I did want to make it available to anyone who might be interested. You can find information on the program here.

One thing that I do know is that the two participating complexes are extremely nice, and the Cupertino school district is supposed to be exceptional! Keep me posted on what you find out about this program!

Looking For One More Single Mom!

So, if you keep up with the blog at all, you know about the Mom2Mom program that was rolled out earlier this month. The program was designed for moms in the Bay Area to connect with eachother to see about becoming roommates or swapping childcare.

Well, through the program I actually met an awesome mom who has two children close to the age of my sons, who was looking to live in Sunnyvale, like me. We both were interested in swapping childcare, and our schedules synced perfectly to where we were available to watch eachother's kids on the times and days that we needed, it couldn't have worked out better!

So we were talking and both of us agreed that if we could find another mom who is looking for the same things as we are, then the three of us could afford a house as opposed to an apartment, and it could just be a great opportunity for everybody, all around!

So, if you are a mom who is interested in living in the Sunnyvale/Cupertino/Mountain View area and looking to move around February 1st, shoot me an email with what you're looking for and how much rent you can afford, and I will get in touch!

Hope to hear from you soon!

mysingleseason@gmail.com

Time For New Year's Resolutions!

New Year's Eve is upon us, and I don't know what that means for you, but for me it means: NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS!!!

I LOVE making my list of resolutions, and I love the feeling of a fresh start at the beginning of the year. I'm really hoping that 2012 can make up for 2011... and especially 2010, which was the worst year of my life...

Four days into 2010 my brother Ryan committed suicide. It was the most awful thing I had ever experienced, and it essentially set the tone for the 12 months that followed. I developed a drug habit as an attempt to cope with the pain and then it was all downhill from there...

So today, just four days away from welcoming 2012 with open arms, I am anticipating my best year yet. Here are a few of my mile long list of things I plan to do differently in 2012:

• Start saving money
• Get back on the diet that I let fall by the wayside as soon as Thanksgiving rolled around
• Have my kids in bed by 9 (or 9:30, if I'm being realistic)
• Have myself in bed by 10:30
• Avoid Drive Thru restaurants at all costs
• Develop and stick to a routine
• Blog at least once a day
• Exercise
• Think about quitting smoking
• Buy a more economical car
• Move out of our one bedroom "cottage" and into a place where we're not tripping over eachother
• Get back into my couponing groove
• Stop buying scratch off lottery tickets

I would keep going but my lunch break is over and I'm already exhausted from realizing the big job I have ahead of me in even reaching three of the above mentioned goals...

Do you have any helpful resolutions that I may have left off my list?

Here's to making 2012 the BEST year so far!!!

A Second Chance at a Bank Account

As I mentioned before, I am in ChexSystems and unable to have a traditional bank account at a bank like Bank of America or Chase. For the most part it's okay because there are other options available, such as AccountNow which I talked about here, but if you ever find yourself in a position where you need to rent a car, for example, it can be nearly impossible without a debit card from a "Brick and Mortar" bank.

If you are in the same position and unable to open a checking account for whatever reason, you should register for Bank on San Jose. The program is run by United Way of Silicon Valley, and if you sign up and attend one of their financial classes you will receive a certificate that you can take to one of the participating banks or credit unions and they will help you open a "Second Chance Account".

Opening an account at a credit union is a great idea, especially if you anticipate trying to get a car loan in the near future. They usually have the best rates on loans, so I would suggest signing up for this program at yout earliest convenience. The website has the class schedule (they are all held in the evenings for the most part), the list of participating institutions, as well as the answers to just about every question you might have.

Make 2012 your year of financial independence!

Merry Christmas!

I just wanted to take a moment to wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas! I know my postings have been pretty sporadic (or non-existant) lately, but it's only because of the holiday chaos. I plan to be updating regularly again once things have calmed down. So stay posted, bare with me, and have a great Christmas everyone!

Waitlist Open For Ohlone Court Apartments In South San Jose

If you are looking for affordable housing in San Jose the Ohlone Court Apartments have opened their waitlist. Ohlone Court offers 1,2,3 and even 4 bedroom apartments, and based on the information I found online the rent for a four bedroom starts at just $1,323 a month.

If you are a single mom and feel like you could benefit from living with another single mom, you could probably qualify for one of these units and only pay a very reasonable amount of rent every month. If you want to meet other single parents you can always leave a comment with a little info about yourself on this page and if everything goes as planned another mom will see it and the two of you can start communicating!

Another Site Dedicated to Helping Those In Need

If you are struggling with a problem that other services listed on this blog can't really accomodate, you may want to check out ModestNeeds.org.
It is similar to 2hands.org, the site that I mentioned earlier today, in that it offers a platform to express a need to people all over the country who may be willing, and in a position, to help.
I was browsing the site today to get an idea of the types of assistance that they generally help fund, and I saw everything from financial help in order to get utilities restored, assistance in paying next months rent, assistance for car repairs and even purchasing a car altogether. There are also a lot of requests for help with costly medical procedures.
Sites like this always require patience on the behalf of the person requesting help, but if you have a genuine need people will realize that and there are people out there who want to help.

Just In Time For Christmas - This Program Sounds Amazing...

Since I have spent the majority of my twenties scouring the internet trying to find websites with information on programs and resources I sometimes feel like I have seen them all... So I am always really excited when I come across something new that I can share with the people around me.

Last night I received an email from a reader suggesting that I look at 2hands.org. I checked it out and was immediately blown away at this program, along with the fact that I had never heard of it!

The site describes itself as a "platform" for those in need to reach out to those in a position to help them meet that need. I read through some of the success stories and was almost brought to tears. Apparently this website is run by three volunteers, and naturally they are very busy this time of year, but they do say that they are dedicated to addressing every person who contacts them.

So whether you need a little help getting that one toy on your child's Christmas list, or God has really blessed you this year and you are in a position to do the helping, go ahead and take a look around the site, it's pretty amazing!

**A special thanks to Debbie N. who forwarded this information along, I am always open to suggestions!!!***

CoAbode - Interesting Resource for Single Moms

The other day I happened to stumble across CoAbode , a website dedicated to pairing up single moms with the same preferences, lifestyles and incomes to become roommates. The website claims that the program can cut living expenses by as much as 50% and that two single moms raising their children together have a much higher chance at success than those struggling alone...

So I just wanted to throw that out there, it may be something worth looking into!

Tips For Finding Housing on Craigslist

If you have spent any amount of time on Craigslist looking for your next apartment, chances are you have encountered at least one fraudulent ad. These ads are usually believable, in that they provide beautiful photos, and in a lot of cases a legitimate address that you could drive by and look at. They are written in perfect English and can even offer details on school districts that the home is located in.

The point of these ads is to get you to respond expressing your interest in this unbelievable deal. Once you have responded the poster will get back to you explaining that the unit is still available and all you need to do is send them money to some faraway land that they happen to be located in because of some misfortune that they are experiencing. Once you send them the money they will send you the keys and the place will be yours. How AWESOME is THAT?!

Just thinking about the people who post these ads makes my skin crawl. The worst part about it though is that people are falling for this every day! I have actually met people who have sent thousands of dollars to some friendly stranger and then been shocked weeks later when they realize that they not only don't have a place to live, but they just got cheated out of the money that should have gone to finding a real place.

Here are some no fail guidelines to using Craigslist to find your next dream home without getting robbed by these disgusting thieves:

1. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. There is no such thing as a 5 bedroom for $900, no matter how pretty the pictures on the ad are, simple as that.
2. If there is no phone number listed, don't bother. This is one rule that I stick to pretty religiously. Anyone interested in legitimately renting their home out is not going to limit their inquiries to people with email access.
3. If there is a toll free number, I usually don't bother... This one isn't so much related to the scam as it is to another problem on Craigslist which is people trying to get you into a "Rent to Own" property which ends up costing you more in the long run, or they try to sell you a list of foreclosed properties that they claim you could buy with the amount you would be spending on rent.

So yeah, I guess those are my three main tips on avoiding wasting time on Craigslist. It can be a valuable tool in locating your next home, but only if you can dodge the scammers.

Know Your Rights As A Renter

I think that the majority of the people who read this blog probably currently rent their living quarters. Some people have great relationships with their landlords, and some only dealt with them when they were signing their lease and then never had to deal with them again since. Regardless of your personal relationship with your landlord, property management company, etc., there may come a time when an issue arises and you suddenly feel like you're fighting a giant.

For me this was the case back in March when my roommate moved out and we no longer had the number of occupants necessary to stay in the three bedroom apartment that we were renting. There were other issues as well and long story short I came home one day to find a Three Day Notice to Vacate.

Three days is not enough time to do ANYTHING, let alone find a new place, pack up your old place, and get everything moved from one location to another. I was so stressed and I had no idea where to turn for help.

I contacted Project Sentinel in Sunnyvale and went in and talked to them and explained my situation. They explained that one of the services that they offer is "Tenant-Landlord Mediation". They contacted the leasing office of the apartment and managed to get them to give me until the end of the month (an additional three weeks in this case) to find somewhere else to live. Not only that, but they also negotiated the whole incident not to be reflected negatively on my credit report. They helped me out a lot!

So regardless of what the issue, if you are having a problem and you are a renter, contact Project Sentinel to find out if you are being treated fairly and see how they suggest you resolve the situation.

Got Free Time?

If you like to help people and have some free time on your hands, volunteering is great. Not only does it give you a great feeling, but it can actually benefit you during a job search because volunteering can (and should!) be added to your resume.

While I was between jobs I spent two afternoons a week volunteering in the kitchen at CityTeam Ministries in San Jose. They always have plenty of spots available, and the people there are absolutely amazing. I don't think it's possible to leave there in a bad mood!

So if you are looking for a constructive way to pass your time, could use some more "meat" to add to your resume, and like to help people in need, CityTeam Ministries is a great volunteer opportunity!

Another List of Affordable Housing Providers in Santa Clara County

I came across another list of affordable units today while I was browsing around online. You can look at the list Here .

If you haven't already taken advantage of the original list of available housing resources in our area, you can see the first post about it Here .

Need a New Car?

Who doesn't? I am definitely in the market for a new car... I have a Jeep Grand Cherokee that I love, but it's pushing 250,000 miles and it's a V8 which means gas alone costs me about $100... Ugh, I don't even like thinking about it...

If you are looking for a newer model car and can commit to pinching your pennies until February 8, 2012 then the California State Vehicle Fleet auction might be the answer! These auctions are held in Davis, CA every six weeks (except the next one is a little ways out, two months, but it gives us time to save up!) and they feature "retired" state vehicles. They are mainly American made cars (Chevy's, Ford''s, etc.) and the majority of them are pretty recent models... These cars were once owned by such departments as the Department of Fish & Game, correctional officers, and other state agencies.

Here is a list of the cars that are going to be available at the auction in February, and to give you an idea of the unbelievable prices that these cars go for I've included the list of the results from the most recent auction Here .

A 2002 Chevy Cavalier for $2,100? I'll take it! A 2009 Dodge Charger (once owned by the CHP no less!) for $4,800? Can't beat that!

Not many people are aware of these auctions, but they are open to the public and anyone can go! Just show up at 7:30 on the auction day with your money in hand and be prepared to drive home your new awesome ride!

Another Random Deal You Should Get In On This Week...

I drink a lot of coffee... Like a LOT... So any time a good coffee deal presents itself, I just have to share it in case there are any other coffee fiends that might benefit from it.

Right now at Target, if you buy three bags of Starbucks ground coffee in one transaction you get a $5 Target gift card. What makes the deal even better though is that you can go online and fill out a redemption form Here and you will get a $5 Starbucks gift card in the mail! $10 in gift cards for buying some great coffee...

I bought three bags of the Caramel coffee and have switched it for our regular coffee here at the office... Just my way of doing my part to brighten the day of my coworkers!