Gratitude 4/23/10

I actually thought about what I was going to be grateful for several times today. I dealt with paying bills today so most of these are money related. I think for most of us paying bills can be a downer but I do admit, thinking about my gratitude journal helped me stay as positive as I could today. Here's what I'm grateful for today:

1. My babysitter-She's not the best when it comes to working with the kids on pre-school stuff, but she pays good attention to the kids. My work pays for my daycare but they do not pay her usual full asking price, one thing that makes her awesome is she does not charge me the difference between the rates my boss will pay and what she actually charges. She saves me about $450 a month...after paying bills today. I'm very grateful for her.
   
2. Illegal downloads-I know it's naughty...I did saw I wasn't the most upstanding person in the world. I enjoy a lot of music and movies and decided today most of the shows we watch on HBO and Showtime I can download. I told hubby today we can cancel those premium channels and save $35 a month. Lord only knows how much I've saved in free music. BTW if there is an artist I really love, or a movie that is really great, I do go out and buy a good quality version...so I'm not a total leach.
   
3. The learning co-op- my youngest son has speech problems. In cheapville USA there are several programs that are free to parents...no matter how much money they make. The learning co-op has speech therapy for my 3 year old for no cost. This program has helped his behavior because he is verbalizing instead of getting frustrated, throwing a fit and hitting people. Thanks to the learning co-op it's like he's a totally different child. If they did not offer that service for free, who knows where we would be right now.
   
4. Quicken- it has really helped me stay on track, plan a budget and learn how to plan ahead. I am just starting out learning how to be more financially responsible but that program has made things a lot easier. (BTW this goes back to #2, I'll admit...I downloaded Quicken Illegally)
   
5. Earbuds- I know I'm grasping for straws now. But I love my earbuds because I can tune out everything and listen to music and focus on my work. Today at work..listened to music to drown out the band. (I work in Higher Education and my office is in the building that houses the music program, their practices are not always easy on the ears) As I type this now I am listening to music while hubby watches wrestling...yay for drowning out his soap opera. So yes, I'm truly thankful for earbuds.