William Thomas the III ( Affectionately called Trey) is like any other 7-year-old he likes bikes, playing in sandlots, and going on adventures with his best friends, Miguel, Dakota, Hakim, and Bai (BaHee). Although Trey’s adventures, sometimes get him into trouble, Trey always finds a way to make things right. Through Trey’s adventures, he and his friends discover that family, faith and friendship are very important.
About the Author
Tracy Scott, has a Bachelors in Human Service Management, with a minor in communication. She is a speaker, author and Life Coach. Her passion is to communicate and connect. She is the mother of two young adult children.
Cooka-Mamma-Fobio
Author Givon Wayne has written an amazing piece of literature with his newest release “Cooka-Mamma-Fobio”. This E-book is a humorous collection of 10 fanciful stories that children and adults will love.
Givon’s book is loosely based on the early childhood of Givon Wayne and his younger sister, Trena Kay. They spent a few years growing up on a small farm located on the outskirts of Odessa, TX. Life was much different in 1973.
There were no cell phones, seat-belts or video games. Freedom and boredom were the seeds of creativity, and these two kids had plenty of opportunity for both.
This book is a must read that you are sure to recommend to friends and family. It is available now via Amazon.
Karma Kyle the Crocodile
Karma Kyle the Crocodile- What goes around will come around. Karma Kyle, the lovable little boy crocodile, is always getting into trouble. Thank goodness he has his meditating crocodile family to keep him in line.
In the first of the Karma Kyle the Crocodile series, his parents give him a job to do and he sets out on his adventure with all the right intentions. Along the way, he is confronted with Bad Apple, a very convincing but troublesome apple that steers him in the wrong direction.
As Karma Kyle deals with greed, disappointment, and loss, he learns that lying and stealing always lead to a bad ending. With support from Wise Owl and after a series of spectacular events, he finally learns that performing good deeds does bring rewards, and comes out smiling and winning in the end.
In a clever blend of rhyme and rhythm, author Frank Navratil presents Karma Kyle´s adventure in an easily readable manner. 32 illustrated color pages. For ages 3-8
Kyla McKenzie, age 5, is the co-author along with her mother, Monique McKenzie, of the newly released children’s picture book, My God is Awesome! The great work illustrates the wondrous creations of God through the eyes of five-year-old Kyla.
Through breathtaking watercolor hand-paintings by world-renowned illustrator Dr. Jan Spivey Gilchrist and emotive text authored by the mother-daughter team, children and adults are reminded that God’s awesomeness should be appreciated and respected in life’s most simple pleasures.
This work is important because:
The book was showcased at the American Library Association Conference in Las Vegas, NV this past June.
Kyla is one of the youngest published authors on record.
The book is inspirational for children and adults.
They were intentional in selecting children of all nationalities and backgrounds as models.
The artwork by Hall-of-Famer Jan Spivey Gilchrist is simply awesome!
Cowardly dinosaurs! Cockney pirates! Alien Dogs! Vertiginous squirrels! Time-traveling slugs! Fish in spacesuits! Hedgehogs disguised as fish! Cows disguised as ants! Disco-dancing horses!
This book of wacky bedtime stories places your child at the centre of each crazy adventure by making him/her the central character. Containing heavy doses of humour which can be enjoyed by parent and child alike, and with a whopping thirty-one stories, this collection is designed to last a month. But can you leave it to just one story per night?
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
Stress is a killer and becoming the number one killer of women (heart attacks anyone?).
What is Stress?
Stress shows up as:
Sleepless nights
Anxiety
Eye twitching
Irritability
Stomach aches
Migraines
High Blood Pressure
Weight gain/loss
and much more.
It affects our work and family life. It affects our romantic relationships. It affects our health, weight, and sexuality.
Whether it is because of the job, long commutes, or personal tragedy, the stress is still the same. You cannot afford to live much longer with this silent killer.
How long will you let it take over your life and make you miserable? How much money will you spend on binge eating or prescription drugs to ease the symptoms?
Aren’t you ready for an alternative that does not just mask the symptoms but completely destroys the stress?
Would you rather suffer the side effects of prescription drugs like weight gain, low libido, or even suicidal thoughts than find the cure?
I was where you are. I was dealing with such extreme stress that it affected my mind, body, and spirit.
I was a walking time bomb!
My best friend was really worried about me when I began to strip off my clothes in the middle of a department store. I was literally pouring sweat even though it was 32 degrees outside. The stress had taken such a toll on my life and body that it was beginning to shut down.
The doctor told me that I was having menopausal symptoms brought on by premature ovarian failure. The hot flashes and night sweats I was experiencing at age 32 was the result of stress.
My bone density tests came back borderline osteoporosis at age 37. I gained weight and lost weight like a yo-yo. I ate when I was anxious and starved myself when I was depressed.
My blood pressure was rising and I had migraines.
I knew I couldn’t go on this way so took myself off all prescription drugs and went on a radical journey to wholeness and stress-free living.
The results have changed my life. At my last blood pressure check the measurement was 110/73. I’ve lost weight (still getting more off), and I no longer have hot flashes.
Overall I am happier and more alive than ever.
How did I do it? It was a combination of things including mental, spiritual, and physical changes. Being an ambitious person and over-achiever drove me to excellence in everything. I could not turn my mind off so I learned meditation.
I could not stand the prescription drugs so I turned to natural solutions.
I was trying to work on my businesses and trying to work a full-time job so I said goodbye to the corporate job and hello to my bliss.
The changes were not easy but I did not want to continue living with the alternative…Stress.
Ready. Set. Breathe!
If you are at the point where the stress is affecting your health and relationships it is time to do something else.
If you want to feel alert, alive, and available while you go through the process of stress elimination you have to let go of the prescription drugs. The natural alternatives are the best for you and are non-addictive.
Are you ready to begin your journey out of stress and into joy? You do not have to do this alone. I’ve been where you are and I know the path to amazing joy and clarity without depending on a pill to mask the symptoms.
I want to help you move from stressed out, depressed, and ready to give up on life before you crash (if you haven’t already). I want to help you live more abundantly and create the life you’ve been craving.
Enter your name and email address to access the FREE Stress Management Training and download the stress relief guide.
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
Affordable vacations can be difficult to plan. Maybe you have a dream destination, but you can’t quite save up enough for travel costs. Or maybe you can get yourself there, but you’d have to live on bread and water for the entire trip.
If your vacation expenses are just out of reach, a few adjustments can help you put aside more cash and reach your goal. Here are seven ways to save more for your upcoming vacation.
1. Start a Monthly Budget
If you don’t currently have a monthly budget, it might be time to take a hard look at your spending. Evaluate how much you spend each month on necessities like rent and discretionary purchases like movie tickets. Then, set a reduced monthly spending budget and put the money you save in your vacation fund.
Even after you take your trip, you might want to stick to your budget and keep saving.
2. Open a Bank Account
If your travel fund is mixed in with your general savings account or is simply a wad of cash under your mattress, you should open a dedicated savings account just for travel. It will be easier to put aside money specifically for vacation, and you’ll be less likely to dip into the fund for other expenses.
3. Stop Dining Out
Whether you prefer fancy dinners or fast food lunches, eating out is far more expensive than preparing your own food. Cook your meals at home, pack your lunches, and kick the money you save over to your vacation fund. It might hurt now, but you’ll feel better when you’re having a steak and cocktail by the beach.
4. Get a Side Hustle
If you need to boost your vacation savings quickly, a temporary side hustle can help get you there. You can drive for Lyft or Uber, rent out a room on Airbnb, or use your professional expertise for some freelance work. Just make sure to funnel your extra earnings directly to your vacation savings.
5. Sell Your Stuff
Spring is the perfect time to do some cleaning and sell your clutter. You can host a yard sale, take clothes to consignment shops, or list your unwanted stuff on eBay. If you value experiences more than things, let your old property help you get to your destination.
6. Ditch the Gym Membership
Ironically, hitting the gym to work on your beach body might be preventing you from getting to the beach. Cancelling an expensive gym membership will free up some extra funds for your vacation. You can still exercise outdoors, at a friend’s home gym, or make use of the thousands of free workout videos online. Before you do cancel, check your contract to make sure you won’t have to pay an exorbitant cancellation fee.
7. Get a Credit Card
With travel credit cards, your everyday purchases earn rewards that can be redeemed for airfare, hotel reservations, car rentals, and other common travel expenses. Many cards even have huge signup bonuses worth hundreds of dollars in travel redemptions. While you shouldn’t sign up for a credit card for a single vacation (especially if you have trouble managing debt), it’s worth a look if you’re already in the market for some new plastic.
Travel credit cards also frequently offer built-in benefits like car rental insurance, free foreign transactions, and trip cancellation coverage.
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
Managing your finances is never simple, but a divorce can make it far more complex. In addition to the emotional turmoil a divorce can cause in a person’s life, it can also cause a lot of financial upheaval. By establishing a plan and relying on professional help where necessary, you can ensure your best possible financial outcome and avoid damage to your credit score during this tumultuous time.
If you are facing a divorce in your future, these 20 tips will help you to maintain some sanity when it comes to navigating the financial aspects of divorce.
1. Consider both parties.
This can seem impossible in the midst of the emotions of a divorce when tempers are high. Still, it’s important to remember that making the best financial decisions for both parties will benefit you in the long run.
2. Don’t heed unsolicited advice.
Whether it’s your best friend or a co-worker, there will be no shortage of unsolicited advice from people you know during a divorce. They’ll be all too happy to share a story of a nightmare divorce, or an amicable one and tell you what you should — or shouldn’t — do in your own situation. It’s best to heed only the advice of those you trust. Always remember that advice is just that, and ultimately the decisions you make are up to you.
3. Don’t tell everyone your business.
When emotions are high we often wear them on our sleeves. In these times, we may find ourselves blabbing about our divorce to everyone, including the grocery store clerk. But because there is so much personal information — financial and otherwise — tied up in the divorce process, it’s best to keep the details of your situation private and confidential.
4. Leave advice to the professionals.
It’s important to only take legal and financial advice from a lawyer and a trusted financial professional. They will be able to objectively help you through your particular situation with the most effective and beneficial advice and strategies.
5. Focus on finances.
A lawyer can help you through the legalities of things like separation agreements and child visitation, but when it comes to finances and managing joint debts, it’s best to work with someone who specializes in finances. If you don’t know where to start, ask your divorce lawyer or mediator to recommend a financial planner they trust or have worked with in the past.
6. Close joint credit accounts.
Once you have filed for divorce, it’s important to cease accruing debt in both of your names. By continuing to rack up joint debt you could end up doing more damage to your credit scores and credit reports and subsequently complicating the divorce process.
7. Open separate checking accounts.
It’s important to remove your spouse’s name not only from your joint credit accounts, but from checking and savings accounts as well. Once you’ve filed for divorce, joint bank accounts should be closed and new, individual accounts should be opened.
8. Keep track of income and expenses.
This is always a smart idea, but particularly during the stress and chaos of a divorce, it can be helpful to track and document financial details including child support and alimony payments, and shared medical and other expenses. There are many personal finance apps available that can help you keep track of these details.
9. Create a budget.
Going from a two-income household to a single income is a major transition. If you haven’t adhered to a budget in the past, a divorce is a compelling reason to start doing so immediately. Make sure to outline everything, including both daily and monthly expenses (groceries, utilities, mortgage and car payments, scheduled maintenance on appliances and vehicles), and long-term expenses including retirement and tuition funds. This will help you avoid overspending as you adjust to your new financial norm.
10. Update your records.
Once your divorce is final you will need to change your marital status on things including tax records, utility bills, health insurance, and property titles (homes and cars, etc.).
11. Secure your own health insurance coverage.
For many couples one spouse is the main policyholder on the health insurance coverage for the entire family. When you get divorced, there will be a grace period for one or both of you to find new coverage on separate policies. Make sure to talk to your employer to find out when the next open enrollment period is coming. If you do not have employer-sponsored health insurance available, you’ll need to research individual health insurance options.
12. Consider adding more health insurance coverage options.
Relative to the previous item, it’s important to carefully consider the potential coverage you will need on your health insurance policies. You may need to add things you didn’t have previously, such as counseling coverage for yourself or your children if they will need it during this difficult and transitional time.
13. Decide whether or not you will change your name.
If you legally assumed your spouse’s last name when you were married you will need to decide whether you’re going to keep it for legal purposes. No matter what you decide, it’s important to make sure your legal name matches the name on any credit and loan accounts. Otherwise you could end up with errors or multiple names or accounts on your credit report that you’ll have to dispute later. This can cause damage to your credit and ultimately even lower your credit score.
14. Begin establishing your own credit.
Once you’re divorced you may find that your credit score has taken a hit thanks to removing your name from accounts and losing some of your established credit history. While it’s not advisable to run up a bunch of new debt, you can benefit by establishing new credit and opening a new bank account and credit card in your own name.
15. Update wills, medical directives, and powers of attorney.
It’s not uncommon for a spouse to serve the role of power of attorney, medical power of attorney and beneficiary to a will. If you have designated your spouse as any of these things, it’s important to update all of these to reflect the new person or people you’d like to appoint to fulfill these roles.
16. Change beneficiaries on retirement accounts and life insurance policies.
Similar to the the previous tip, make sure that your life insurance policy, 401(k), IRA and other retirement accounts are updated to reflect the change in your marital status.
17. Ensure your children are covered.
If you have minor children that should benefit from your retirement accounts or life insurance policies, make sure any changes you put in place account for that. For example, if you have a $200,000 life insurance policy that you would like your now 6-year-old child to receive at age 25, make sure the person you appoint will fulfill your wishes pertaining to the amounts you designate and when. It’s a good idea to get these details in writing and notarized as well.
18. Get savvy in managing your finances.
In many marriages, one spouse acts as the financial manager. That means they handle things like paying the bills, setting the budget, balancing the checkbook, filing annual tax returns, etc. If you are not the spouse that handled these things then you may have little or no knowledge of how to manage these things day to day. It can be helpful to establish a relationship with a certified financial planner, a banker, and a professional tax preparer. It can also be helpful to sign up for an online course on basic financial management.
19. Establish a savings account.
It may seem counter intuitive to try to save money at a time when your financial situation may have significantly changed. However, when it comes to saving money, even small amounts add up. And you never know when an unexpected expense may arise and you’ll need a little extra.
20. Take it one day at a time.
Divorce is never something we plan for, and it can feel completely overwhelming when tending to all of the decisions and details that need to be worked out. But by slowing down and taking things one step and one day at a time, you will find that both you and your finances will adjust to this life change. And you may just make the transition a lot more seamlessly than you think you will.
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
What does a single mom do when she is sick and has small kids? That is the question that was asked on Honoree’s blog. The mom in question was sick and didn’t have anyone to help her. She says her poor kids were being ignored all day but she couldn’t do much for them because of her illness. She wanted suggestions about how to prepare her kids for life’s curve balls, like being too sick to care for them. This is the comment I left:
“Wow! I’ve been there and done that so I know how torturous it is. I think that single moms have to start training their kids to follow instructions for times like these.
When my daughter was four I began training her to do simple things like fix a sandwich, pour milk, answer the phone, and give her baby brother a bottle. By making her a little helper she willingly did what I needed her to do (within reason).
Isolation is a big problem for single moms and it’s so important to be able to call someone. It could be a matter of life and death (or at least days of sickness). We feel so proud and don’t want to burden others but that is counter-productive. You may call a daycare provider, a co-worker, the landlord’s wife, or anyone you deal with everyday for a quick favor.
Tell the kids that you are sick and encourage them to read, watch a DVD, or play quietly. Try to keep plenty of individual snacks, juice boxes, and easy to reach cups for water. Also teach them to clean up after themselves. That will cut down on the mess you will have to clean up later.”
I think it is very important for single moms to be proactive in training their kids to take care of themselves early. It is the fallout from being the child of a single parent, but the payoff is priceless. You will end up with very capable kids who know how to take care of themselves.
I started the practice early with my kids so now they do the basics without much prompting from me now. They both can prepare a basic meal (yes even my 8-year-old son) when they get hungry and I am swamped with work or doing other household chores. I decided early on that I didn’t want them to be crippled with dependence on me. I also knew I would never get anything done if I had to do everything.
In addition to preparing a simple meal, I’ve taught my kids how to clean their bathroom, do the dishes, wash their clothes (or at least put them in the washer), and iron. These tasks have progressed in difficulty as they’ve gotten older. I make sure they do age appropriate things.
I am just about ready to send my daughter to the store now but she has four more years before she can drive. So I’ll just settle for letting her run in for something quick while I wait in the car.
How do you prepare your kids for life’s curve balls?
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
Hi! Welcome to RichSingleMomma.com. I started this website almost a decade ago because I couldn't find any blogs back then that helped single moms with money. I was having some success in that area so I decided to share what I knew about side hustles, making extra money, and managing money. Read more...
