Thanks for visiting Ultimate Money Blog! If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. It’s been way too long, and I owe you guys an update. -Mr. Money got a job! He is the chef of a restaurant again, working noon to midnights, but he has benefits! It is awesome.  We are so, so thankful.  We were able to spend Thanksgiving with my family and my sister came to spend Christmas with us so that was nice. -Penny celebrated her first birthday last month.  I cannot believe my baby is a year old!  She is now walking and babbling and busy being cute. -I’m hoping we get a tax refund this year.  Hopefully with my lack of income and us having Penny will help.  I’m confused on how many exemptions Mr. Money should claim, so I’m trying to figure that out. I have so many things I’d like to blog about, but it is so hard to find time when caring for a baby basically by myself.  I’m so thankful that Penny is such a [...]

2012 is already here, and I’m a little behind on our financial and life goals.  I’m a little uncertain about what I should aim for, as we’re going to have a brand new baby and will have to adjust to the new expenses and life with a child.  My goals this year will be attainable (I hope!) and I am crossing my fingers for the best year ever.  It certainly will be interesting and a lot different than past years!  Here are some of the goals I’d like for us to accomplish: 1. Set up a savings account for the baby. The baby has not even been born yet and already has a stash of money.  I’m going to open a custodian savings account for the benefit of the baby.  I will also have to research 529 plans in case that’s the way we want to go.  I’m thinking it would be easier just to open the UTMA (Uniform Transfer to Minors) account and wait until the money accumulates and then go from there.  We’ll see. 2.  Figure out life [...]

Right now my cell phone is a five year old pink Motorola Razr. I bought it new five years ago and it’s served me well. However, the battery life is awful and sometimes it will tell me I am roaming when I go to answer it. So annoying! I’ve been considering buying an iPhone, but the monthly cost has been deterring me. Right now, I pay $38 a month for my cell phone bill. That includes all the taxes and fees, so I’m super happy with that! I get a 20% discount off my bill since my employer participates in a special program. I only use my cell phone for talking on the phone, and no text messaging or internet. I do have an iPod touch that I use at home to play games, but that’s about it. My husband recently got a new iPhone from his employer and they also pay the bill for him, which is nice. I’ve played around with his phone and I really like its features, especially the texting and the fact that you can [...]