My Breakup Letter To Debt.. First Guest Post.

April 17, 2016September 26, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha43 Comments

Yay! My very first guest post is from Pamela of ‘My money counts – money, modest living and enjoying life.’

I met Pamela in the blogosphere several months ago and I have totally enjoyed our interactions. Her posts are insightful, fact-filled and very hands on approach.

Her witty letter to Debt is a personal relationship with being indebted and how she got out of it. I enjoyed reading it and I am sure that you will 🙂

Dear Debt,

It’s been a roller coaster ride with you, but it’s time we part ways. I don’t know how much more uncertainty I can take from you. You said you would always be there for me. I thought you had my back, but you lied to me.

There were so many secrets and lies you kept from me. How can a relationship grow that is built on lies? Like the time you said you had my back and convinced me to buy my living room furniture on credit. You told me we could afford it. You said we would be ok, so I listened. Or when you told me that you would take care of me once I was done school and encouraged me to spend the little I had and more without giving a second thought. But I am done school now and your words were just empty promises. Where is the help? Where were you when I needed you, debt?

Why am I even surprised? You were never satisfied with what I could give you. You always wanted more and more from me. The more I got for you the more you wanted. I felt like I could never do enough for you. Like the time I got us the big screen T.V and game system, but that wasn’t enough for you. You wanted the new laptop and cell phone too.

Was it ever enough for you? Did I ever make you happy? You used to make me happy. I used to get so excited to see you. We had some of the greatest times together you and I. Like the time we went on the road trip together or bought all those cool things together. You used to whisper sweet nothings in my ear. You had me wrapped around your finger. Then the trips, gifts and promises stopped coming. Then you stopped coming around. Now when I look at you, I can’t trust you anymore. You deceived me…so I am moving on.

I will just come right out and say it, I met someone else. His name is cash and he is so good to me. He never lies to me or deceives me. He always has my back and is satisfied with what I can give him. We are building new memories and going on our own adventures together cash and I.

I want to say, thank you, though because if it wasn’t for you, I would never know how great a healthy relationship could be. Cash is the love of my life and I have you to thank for it.

So long and have a good life. Please change your ways so you don’t mess up the next girl’s life. Oh and don’t forget to lose my number.

Your Ex,

Pamela

Image credit: Pixabay.com

An excerpt about Pamela in her words. She can be contacted through this link: MY MONEY COUNTS.

Hi I’m Pamela. I am 30 years old African Canadian personal finance blogger that likes to help other millennials eliminate their debts. My professional and educational background is in accounting / finance, but I was not always good with my own money. After some life lessons learned, my husband and I embarked in a journey to pay off $120k of debt in 2.5 years. We now live debt free and our building our wealth. This letter is a comical relief on my experience with debt.

If you are interested in guest posts, you can contact me through my contact page on my blog or through this email address: JacquelineObyIkocha@gmail.com

Midnight motivation and musings · Self Help

Midnight Motivation and Musings 51

April 5, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha20 Comments

The journey of self-help is what it is. SELF-HELP!

We need to take conscious steps ever so often and just be with ourselves, this could mean just a half hour of sitting in quiet reflection and not necessarily in a ritzy place.

Take that time to outline those reminders that your heart and mind should focus on each day.

Starting out might be difficult, but as the days go by, it comes easier with practice.

No guru, expert or counsellor can practice our self-help tactics for us. They would probably give us insights and tell us what to do, however, the work of walking through it still rests on us.

Midnight motivation and musings

Midnight Motivations and Musings // 48…

April 2, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha23 Comments

Opportunity is taking the situation that you are in and turning it around on its head to make some sense out of it. Opportunity is not going to traipse lazily and knock on your door begging you to pick it up.

Opportunity is not going to traipse lazily and knock on your door begging you to pick it up and it’s not everyone that will have a Cinderella story to tell. Some will have to work their way out of the grate of cinders with all the smoke and never a pair of dainty slippers to lose or Prince galloping to the rescue.

Some will have to work their way out of the grate of cinders with all the smoke and never a pair of dainty slippers to lose or Prince galloping to the rescue.

Adapting to the situation that life presents us is the first key to getting ahead.

Finding the positives that such a situation has to offer and tailoring it to serve some worthwhile purpose in your life is turning an ordinary occasion into a great and well-optimized opportunity.

Your story is an opportunity. Your life is an opportunity. Your art is an opportunity. Your photos are opportunities. Your speaking strength could be an opportunity. Your baking is an opportunity. Your cooking is an opportunity. Your parenting is an opportunity.

Opportunity abounds. Use them as well as you can.

Family · Humor - Bellyful of laughter · Life · Personal story · The Daily Post

Twiddle Dee…Truant Me…personal

December 6, 2015December 6, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha24 Comments

Mum, now that I have grown old enough to know better, I am sorry for wasting your funds in the past; this apology was long overdue. Thank you WordPress for reminding me.

You painstakingly paid for several sessions of holiday piano classes with my primary school music teacher, but it seemed like a waste of precious childhood vacation time in my eyes, not when some of my playmates were busy playing hopscotch next door.

So, I hopscotched away my time and never got past clumsily tapping little ditties and the ‘do re mi fa so la ti do’ of piano things.

In simpler terms, I played truant with my piano lessons and I received a thorough telling off, a note-worthy smack and cancelled piano lessons since it appeared that I had no appreciation for the fineness of music.

Who knows, maybe if I had stuck to it, I might have struck the right chord and become a musical child prodigy.

Please don’t dare chuckle when I say that I am now expending my own money trying to play catch up with the piano lessons that I should have learnt back then 😃

However, I am not totally a lost cause, I did learn how to play the flute quite well and it’s not such a bad thing, just that it leaves me breathless.

The Daily Post prompt Strike a chord.

Do you play an instrument? Is there a musical instrument whose sound you find particularly pleasing? Tell us a story about your experience or relationship with an instrument of your choice.

Creative Writing · Love · Poetry/Poems · Quotes For You

To Read, To Love, To Laugh, To Live…

December 5, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha8 Comments

As we lay basking
Under soft gentle breeze of the day
I beseech you, my love
To read to me some more
That your words may give me life

♥

Read to me, my sweet one
That your soft words
May wash over me
Flowing through my veins
Embedding themselves
In the core of me

♥

Mesmerize me with
The flow of your words
That drops from your pale glossy lips
That I may drink in each syllable
To nourish and satisfy
The deep yearn within

♥

Enchant me with
Your expressive eyes
That I may find myself
Ever caught between
The reflections of your pupils
And there shall I remain

♥

Embrace me with your love
That it may cloak my being
With serenity and with warmth
And I may taste it’s sweetness
Like honeydew even when
The days fail to look bright

♥

Read to me my sweet love
That these words may empower my mind
And put laughter on my lips
That I may go places with you…
Where I have never been before

DAY 5

Jennifer at INK and QUILL has invited me to participate in 5 day photo story challenge.

Challenge Guidelines:

Post a picture each day, for five consecutive days. Attach a story to your image.

*can be fiction / non-fiction
*poem / short paragraph
*each day nominates another blogger

I invite Sam at Starlit Octave Band a fabulous blogger and poet, to join the photo story challenge. I look forward to reading from you if you choose to participate. Enjoy 🙂

Hope · Quotes For You · The Daily Post · Travel

Travel Itch…

December 3, 2015December 3, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha36 Comments

Having been fortunate to have wandered a bit around the globe, both as a footloose and single chic and presently as a married lady with a husband who also has a nomadic spirit; as a matter of fact, his loose feet are far worse than mine, I must say without any hesitation that traveling is an education in itself.

It is a worthwhile venture, though it can be expensive to do so.

Something that I realized is that some of the things which we spend money on, and which we forget as soon as that expense has been made, can be given up and the money set aside for a bit of exploring.

These days I noticed that I am keen to go discovering, but for shorter periods at a time. The hassles involved in migrating are no mean feat and I speak from vast experience.

Maybe my nesting senses are kicking in as I grow older and with the children growing older as well, it gets a bit disruptive to up and go because it entails a whole lot of changes, from accommodation, to mobility to new school, to a new culture etc.

It surprises me at times, at how my children have blended into the various societies that they have had to live in and how they make friends so quickly, that most times before I can say hello, I am having friends mothers call my phone to invite them for one do or the other. We are rolling stones but we tend to gather a lot of moss as we go along 🙂

I believe that the opportunity of having lived in very diverse environments definitely gives one a broader sense of understanding, exposure, knowledge, adaptability and so much more.

That said, there are some places that have been on my mind to visit for a good vacation time and I hope that in the near future, I will be able to scratch these travel itches.

I would love to visit so many places and see so many things but if I were to start right now, these would be my first five:

The Fiji Islands
New Zealand
Prague
Morocco
Scandinavia – Sweden, Finland, Norway

Visiting a lot of the ancient and World Heritage places all over, like the Great Barrier Reef, The Wall of China, Machu Picchu etc. would just be awesome.

Time will tell how these things go.

“Traveling leaves you speechless, then it turns you into a storyteller.” Ibn Batutta

”I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” Susan Sontag

”Once a year, go some place that you have never been before.” Dalai Lama

The Daily Post prompt The Wanderer

Tell us about the top five places you’ve always wanted to visit.

Musings · Quotes For You · Writing

My Best Material Possessions…

November 27, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha33 Comments

Whenever someone asks me what the best purchase I ever made was, I wonder why my mind simply drifts to the books that I have read and those that I look forward to reading?

Books are such ordinary things to call prized possessions, yet no gemstones like them have I found. Does this happen to you too?

My mind traces back to those books that have imparted valuable knowledge and fed my eclectic taste and senses.

I am always hard pressed to think of other material belongings that give me as much pleasure as my books and my Kindle does.

Is it my diamond encrusted ring? I do love it so and it always glows on my finger and makes me smile.

They say that diamonds are a girls best friend but I am still not yet so sure if it is truly mine. I appreciate it’s value but it is yet to speak to me.

Is it my latest pair of LV slippers? Yes they are certainly popping beautiful feet candy but not my prized possession.

Is it the fantastic new perfume of mysterious origin that I discovered at the Souk?

I have no idea what the name of the perfume means, since it is written in Arabic, but I must tell you that the fragrance is divine.

The list could go on and on but if the truth be told, none of these other things gives me the depth of satisfaction that books I have read gave me.

When I buy a book, it’s like I found a new friend. I usually can’t wait to curl up on my sofa or bed to get acquainted.

I always think that the cover of a book is like a door. Which gives me delightful glimpses of where I have not been before.

Sometimes it casts a spell, tickles, teaches or chastises. I always wonder when I knock what welcome there will be.

This little poem I wrote a while back will tell you more of my thoughts about books.

So what’s your best purchase of recent? Do share the fun, whatever that may be 🙂

NaBloPoMo prompt – Friday, November 27

What’s the best purchase you ever made?

Blogging · Humor - Bellyful of laughter · Musings · Quotes For You · Weave that Dream

I am Jacqueline Of All Trades and not a Boring Bumkum!..

November 25, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha25 Comments

How would you feel if you are at a cocktail party or any social gathering, where several chit-chats are going on in small circles and you are stuck with a Mr/Ms Know-it-all, who is busy spouting boring bunkum over a singular topic that would probably put you to sleep at the get go; no matter how much you try to steer them into a more interesting topic?

Your ears will twitch and strain in a giraffic eavesdropping attempt to catch morsels of discussion going on across the room, where every body looks animatedly engaged, while you nod in mindless agreement to phrases and lip movement’s of a conversation that lost your attention 2 minutes after it started

I bet you, once you think it is polite enough, you would definitely find the quickest and possibly a dumb excuse; usually a visit to the rest-room always comes in handy, then make a fast get-away, only to slink back in and go over to join the merry crowd who are laughing off their heads and having a swell time.

I definitely don’t want to be that boring bunkum that you want to escape from!

I love to know bits and pieces of this and that, even if I don’t know all of them with the proficiency of an expert, at least let me know enough to hold a sensible, intelligent and entertaining discourse.

Certainly, there are people who are designed to be experts in physics and geology and what not but, I am simply not one of them!

My interests are so diverse that sometimes I wonder when on Earth I am going to be able to experience doing them all!

Serious consideration on making a bucket list as long as ever, is currently on-going on my part, so that I can start prioritizing those things that I want to do or learn to the best of my ability and for my own pleasure.

Maybe it is due to my spirit that seeks to find beauty and fulfillment in everything that I see that pushes my desire for a bit of knowledge of diverse things.

I would rather have a spicy and flavorful life of bits and pieces of knowledge than a staid, cold custard of expertise.

NaBloPoMo Prompt – November 25, 2015

Do you think its better to be a recognized expert for one thing or known to be really good at a lot of things.

Blogging · Family · Writing · writing ideas

What’s your Expertise?..

November 24, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha19 Comments

Though the Business Dictionary defines an Expert as: The basis of credibility of a person who is perceived to be knowledgeable in an area or topic due to his or her study, training, or experience in the subject matter, the word expert connotes more meaning for me.

In my layman’s opinion, an expert is that person who is able to teach me something that I need to know and he/she knows it better than I do.

In my place, there is a proverb that says that “what one does not know is bigger than that person” which highlights the truism that knowledge is indeed power.

My young children seem to be more abreast with the electrical gadgets in the house than their mother and they are always amused when I have to call one of them to ask for help in fixing or putting on the new-fangled plasma screen TV etc, in return they get called praise names by me, like ”my Bobo genius, Mummy’s Champion” or any name that pops into my head and you can see their glow in proving valuable, so in such little instances, they are my experts.

During my growing up years, I believed that my dad was a genius and an expert.

He tinkered and fixed just about everything that got broken in his spare time, even those of our neighbours.

It occurred so often that it became the norm to see an honorary auntie or uncle come calling with a broken iron or kettle or car issues and you would hear them right from the entrance of our house saying ‘‘Jay, Jay Martins (that was my dad’s alias among his friends) biko/please can you help me look at this thing? I wonder what is wrong with it?”

He would collect it, fiddle around and in a lot of instances, he got it sorted. This was done freely.

It was just a hobby and not his job. He was not a trained engineer. He studied and worked as a crop scientist, yet his interest in knowing how things worked not only made my mum and his friends happy, but it put a lot of joy and smiles on his face.

Personally, I do not view expertise in the literal sense of the word of just being knowledgeable in a field of study, but the appropriate application of that knowledge to achieve required results.

Prowess in a particular field of knowledge may not be a subject of interest or a need to know information for me and therefore at that point in time, it is almost irrelevant.

On several occasions, I have asked other bloggers how they were able to do something that I found admirable and as I go on, I keep my eyes and heart open so that I may glean off the expertise of others while still working on developing the muscles of mine.

What areas of your life would you consider that you have sufficient prowess to be deemed an expert? Have you ever given it a thought?

NaBloPoMo Prompt – Who is an expert you admire and why?

Wednesday, November 25

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