My THOUSAND Dollar experiment....Day 35

Today is the 35th day of my experiment. I am going to give $3500 to St. Lucy's in Newark for saving my Dad's life. He was a Nicky Newarker and from a very large family of 7 children. His Dad was not around much and my Dad spent a lot of time in the streets with his gang. One of the solid forces in his life was centered around this wonderful church and its Drum & Bugle Corps. Through the miracle of music, I think Dad's soul was lured to the Lord. So, this is where I am putting my 2 cents in today. They will appreciate the money coming from someone who, as a little girl, was their little confessor. It is just a tiny gift to repay them the good that they did for me and that they still do today.

The rest of the money is going to go to pay for the downpayment on my Pocono home. When I was a little girl, my parents used to take me to 3 different places: Ecuador (about every 7 years), the beach (every year we did not go to Ecuador) and last, but not least, the Poconos. I have always been very at home in the woods. (More so than the shore....) The prices of houses the way they are, I should be able to secure the home and pay the downpayment in a vacation area so that we could have a place to retreat to if we wanted, whenever we wanted. It would have to be several rooms so that we could have many guests come and stay with us. We would probably have 6 bedrooms with 2 sets of bunks in at least 3 of the rooms. It would have to be near a lake, probably close to my friend Anne, who I adore. It would have to be in a community, near a church and close to fun things, like skiing, and water slide parks. I can't wait to show the kids how much fun it is to spend time in the woods and all the fun things you could do. I miss the Poconos already. I have not been there in a long time. :) Now, with my own home there, I could go anytime. Oh, and I would have a video surveilance camera put in to make sure the kids did not have crazy parties there....they will never have to know. :)
All the best,
Alicia
ps- Here is a shot of a home from http://www.poconomountainbuilders.com Looks like something I would buy.

My THOUSAND Dollar experiment....Day 34

On day 34, my share money will go to a scholarship fund for my grammar school, which used to be Holy Family, but now it called Good Shepherd Academy. I want to give a kid the chance to go to Catholic School if their family so desires. It may change their life for the better as it did mine. I loved that school and have been having a fun time connecting with my friends on FaceBook.
So $34oo to a scholarship for a GS Academy student in need, $30,600 left to spend.

I have been giving it a lot of thought during the day and this money will be going to pay for my son's culinary education. My 2nd son wants to be a chef and I will put this money aside for him. He wants to build a restaurant, which I am sure I will help fund at a later date! He wants to attend the best school, so as long as they accept him, he will go! It has been such a delight to put my thoughts to places where I could spend instead of thinking always how I don't have enough. It is freeing and I believe has been key to how my financial situation has been changing in a very positive direction. I know that another's gain is not a sign that I am missing out and that there is enough for everyone. I have every faith that this experiment will lead me to more and more good things coming my way. Have you started your experiment yet? See how it can change your life.
All the best,
Alicia

My THOUSAND Dollar experiment....Day 33

It is now the 33rd day of my experiment and it is becoming clear to me that my expectations needed to be a LOT bigger than I originally thought! Today's tithe is going to a place that I find so much peace in. I am going to give the money to help maintain my local town's Country Club. I know you might be thinking...country club? What do they need your money for? This Club is different. It is owned by the town and not the kind you are used to hearing about. It is more of a humble Country Club and who doesn't need a boost these days. I once heard that the best place to give your tithe money to is a place that feeds you spiritually and this place does that to me. I do not belong to the club, but I do frequent the course to walk in the mornings when the weather is nice. It is one of the most peaceful places I have ever been to. It just lets me think and I love it. My kids call it Mommy's golf course and I don't even golf! So $3300 donation to the Mount Tabor Country Club.

The rest of the money will be spent joining the club, and buying the whole family clubs, outfits, lessons, and a golf cart of our own. We will have to rent space out for all our stuff! (lol) Maybe they will let us. You never know! I will get a cute golfing outfit for all the kids except, of course, the littlest one. She could use the hand me down clubs for her sisters. It will fun to have a sport to do as a family and we could travel to different courses together. Since the course is 2 blocks from our house, it will be hard to make too many excuses not to go. At the worst, it will be something that Dan and I could do....alone! I am figuring that the total of all the golf equipment would be about $12,000, which leaves money left over...($17,700) Dan and I would then take a trip to South Carolina where we could use our new equipment since it is too cold to try it out here. Of course it would be on a weekend when we would go because of work and the kids at school. Speaking of school, some of the money would go to pay for a tutor to keep the kids on track of their school work. I would set aside the money to pay for the annual salary of my tutor and give her bonuses based on the kid's grades! Awesome! No more homework stress for me....money well spent!
All the best,
Alicia