My car needed some new parts, it failed in the annual inspection so we had to fix it. 380 Euros (+/-590 US$) was the bill and it only included the price of the parts, the handwork was for free.

Well…I guess I need a drink. See you…

I write posts because I love to write about my daily life as well as about products and services that can be useful to my readers. The interesting thing is that each day more and more advertising companies are willing to pay me to write about those products and services. Great isn’t it? Bloggerwave is one of those companies, they help me make money online with my blog.

How does Bloggerwave work?
You just have to enter the Bloggerwave site and sign up for one account. You then have to add the urls and description of your blogs and wait until they are approved by Bloggerwave staff. The approval only takes one day or two.

After your blogs are approved you can check the jobs available for each of your blogs. Select the job that interests you and read the requirements carefully. Html links are provided for you to insert in your post. After the post is written and published, copy the URL of the post and insert it in the space provided within the task requirements.

Payments are made through Paypal.

Sign up for an account and see what jobs are available for you.

Sometimes there are good news, fortunately, and regarding my old car issue it seems that my mechanic who happens to be my FIL can fix it. We have 5 more months to decide what we are going to do regarding buying a new car. We hope to get it fixed next week and I hope it will last fixed for a few more months.

On one of my previous posts I mentioned the fact that I did not expect extra bills from May, then I posted about my teeth and the extra bills that were coming ahead. Now, my husband’s car broke yesterday and once it is veeryyyy old probably it can’t be fixed. We don’t know how we are going to manage to get another car…….

A new car is out of the question once we can’t afford one nor do we have the chance to ask for a loan, so the only option is to buy an old car in “good” conditions that can be used for a few years. I still don’t know how we are going to do this.

On Sunday my tooth situation got worse and I was able to get an emergency appointment with at the dentist clinic. The broken piece of my tooth was removed and I was told that the tooth broke already in the root, meaning, probably I’ll have to remove the tooth. I’ve got an appointment for tomorrow and the dentist is going to decide what to do.

Once bad luck doesn’t walk alone, I have two more teeth that were treated some years ago, that need to be treated again. Why did I fool myself by thinking that May was not a month with extra bills?

Today I’m going to start taking my anxiety pills because dentists are not my favorites doctors and I hate when I have to go there. I hope to treat the two teeth and remove the other one tomorrow (all in one). If one teeth has to be devitalized I have to go there two more times.

Have I already told you I hate going to the dentist? Yeap…it’s true.

I’m having a little trouble in controlling my son’s cell phone money. When he has money to spend he sends messages to his friends especially to his girlfriend. Even being both at school, (of course they don’t date, they’re 9 and 10 years old) and they even barely talk so they send SMS messages. Can you believe this? Of course this is a curious situation once they are so young but it’s getting annoying to me.

Another unpleasant situation is that he calls me 2, 3 or 4 times a day while I’m working. I usually cancel the call and call him from the office phone but sometimes I’m so busy and the bosses are next to me that I’m caught in a difficult situation. I already explained this to my son, he understands but he just wants to say Hi or make a silly question.

My big problem right now is the real use of the cell phone: emergency situations or really important ones, once he gets out of balance too quickly he’s not able to call me if something happens. We’ve had several conversations about this, he says he understands but he keeps sending SMS and calls his friends. He was grounded 4 days without cell phone but he keeps using the cell phone and spending money.

I’ve read some articles regarding teaching our children how to use money but although I know he’ll get there it’s complicated. I’ve been having a hard time with this situation.

Here are some articles I found and read about this subject:
http://life.familyeducation.com/money-and-kids/personal-finance/34481.html
http://life.familyeducation.com/money-and-kids/parenting/36332.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/pfg/e37children/
http://www.essortment.com/all/kidsmoney_revb.htm

If someone has written posts about this subject please leave the link, your personal opinion is welcome.

Portugal is a small country by the sea that happens to be in Europe and I live there, or better here. I’m Portuguese, writing in a foreign language in blogs that are not Portuguese.

Why you may ask.

I’m not ashamed of being Portuguese but I happen to live in a country where SEO, Page Rank, paid posts and blog advertising are unknown subjects for most people. I found all this “paid blog world” in March 2007 while reading and commenting in English blogs, it was the rainbow gold coin pot for me. Having huge financial problems at the time, the opportunity to get paid for doing something I liked (blogging), was a dream come true.

Being a full time worker, mom of two kids and a house to take care of, it was really tough to find time (still is) to write but I couldn’t let go this great opportunity to earn some extra money. I started writing for PayPerPost (now IZEA, Inc.), but my mom “job” came first so I lost a lot of opportunities for not having the time to write them in the period of time given. I reduced my sleeping time and lunch time to blog.

Over the last year, besides earning some extra money, I also met wonderful bloggers, some working mothers like me struggling to have some free time to blog.

If you are a mommy blogger you can also earn some extra money and if you haven’t started yet, now is the right time.

Have you heard about SocialSpark? SocialSpark is still is Alpha and only a very restrict number of blogger have access to it. SocialSpark gives you the opportunity to write about products and services and earn money for doing so. Join the mailing at SocialSpark and you will get a notification when it goes public. You’ll then meet other moms like you making money online without even leaving home.

Saturday my son received his birthday present (a little late but worth waiting for) from his grandmother and grandfather (my in laws). It was money and together with the money he already had on his piggy he discovered that he could buy what he has been asking for for a long time, and we have been denying for a long time: a cell phone.

Since the age of 6 that my nephews have cell phone but I always refused to give one to my son. I didn’t think it was something essential for his daily life and he was too young to know the real purpose of a cell phone, that for me is essential calls, emergency calls and little more.

Now he’s 9 years old and he has enough money to buy the cell phone he wants. Well, he had enough money and we bought the cell phone.

At the age of 9 he already has the notion that the cell phone is not a toy but on the other hand:

• It has games
• It has radio
• It has MP3 player
• It has camera
• It has video
• It has more than I have.

I have a very basic cell phone and right now it’s enough for me. My son now has, and this is my point of view, an excellent cell phone and I truly hope he treats it well. If he loses it or damages it he knows that for a few long years he won’t have another one.

The question is: Does a 9 year old boy needs a cell phone?
Negative points of view:
No he doesn’t. It spoils him, makes him a show off. I’m going to have problems with cash control, he’s going to call all his friends (I hope I’m wrong), he’s going to receive messages with those abbreviated words that I sometimes have difficulty in understanding; he’s going to call me everyday just to use the phone.

Positive points of view:
I don’t have to go to school on my lunch break to know if he’s better from his tooth ache;
If he forgets something at home I can send him a message saying I will bring him that at school, so that he isn’t worried about it.

OK…I need more positive points of view…
The reality is that I still think he’s too young for a cell phone. He already has internet at home, friends in MSN messenger, PS2, GameBoy, MP3, why a cell phone that is better than mine?

Oh more positive points of view:
Now I can take pictures and make digital videos with his cell phone ( I don’t have a video digital camera).
I can use his calendar for birthday reminders

I’m really afraid that he will ruin the cell phone by taking it to school and daycare. The first day is going to be critical because he’s going to show it to everybody. I know…I should trust more on his care for his things. I hope he can prove that to me with the cell phone, because with other stuff he’s a “head in the wind”, he never knows where he leaves his stuff.

My boy is growing and I have to let him grow. He’s not my baby anymore and although a pleasure seeing him growing it scares me.

Here is an article about this subject: Talk to Your Kids About Cell Phone Use

Did you let your children have a cell phone at what age? Or when do you think you will let your children have a cell phone?

My son’s birthday is next week and I pop up the question: What do you want has a birthday present? The answer: Ratatoulli PS2 game and go to Disney World. For those living in Europe, like we do, going to Disney World in Orlando - Florida is only in dreams.

I made that comment with my new co-worker and she told me that with Dialaflight a UK company a cheap flight to Orlando is easy to find. I checked the site and I was really impressed with the amount of information they have available. We can book flights, hotels or even hire a car.

Going to Orlando would be a dream come true, see Disney World, all the theme parks, night attractions, restaurants…but we are a family of four meaning a very expensive holiday. The future will tell…

If you’re looking for a holiday or even a weekend break, check Dialaflight, you’ll find a lot of solutions for you at great prices.

My dream is to have my own business, the problem is the initial investment we have to make and the risk of failure. Yes, I’m not a very optimistic person and I always think more about the “no” things than the “yes” things.

Some months ago I started making decoupage, for those who don’t know what it is is a craft technique. We use napkins and decoupage them in soaps, t-shirts, glass, wood, etc. It’s a low maintenance business and the investment is not very big. Paid posts came in the way and I ended up doing only a few articles for me and to offer as gifts for friends.

Right now, with my full time job, blogging and shortage of money, a business of my own is a mirage, a high risk investment right now. With a house to pay and two kids to feed, risk to start a business in the dark is out of question.However there are companies willing to help those wanting to start their own business or actually expand the existing one.

EZunsecured.com is a company that handles Small Business Financing issues we might have with our business or future business while we take care of other important matters regarding the management of the business itself. We don’t have to worry about getting a loan, credit line or credit cards, they will do it for us with no upfront funding fees. They have an excellent service provided through an easy process to get fast founding. This is a good solution for those with a project and ready to start a small business.

For now I will continue with my dream and who know, one day, I will get the courage to invest and start my own business.