A big win for Maureen Bishop. She is absolutely thrilled with the chance to play the Honda Classic and stay at PGA National Resort and Spa. Her win comes with several perks including a nice new set of clubs and hospitality suite tickets as well as free treatments at the world famous PGA National Resort and Spa, along with guest accommodations.

In the heart of the PGA National homes community, PGA National Resort & Spa host to the Honda Classic, revealed the winner of the 2011 PGA National Honda Classic Pro-Am Sweepstakes. The February/March 2011 event will be joined by one Maureen Bishop of Vail, AZ.

Thrilled with the chance to play the Honda Classic and stay at PGA National Resort and Spa, Bishop may be inspired to check out the homes there as well. Known for its infamous “Bear Trap” the course presents visitors with a true pro championship experience.

“I can’t believe I won,” Bishop said. “I’m thrilled about the opportunity to play in the Honda Classic Pro-Am and stay at PGA National.”

The PGA National Honda Classic Pro Am Sweepstakes will kick off next year’s start of the ‘Florida Swing. Maureen Bishop will join world’s finest golfers in what is sure to be an unforgettable experience.

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How To Survive When Your Income Is Cut by a Third

by Kristi LeGue

Your Financial Diva

I woke up about 4:00 this morning to the sound of rain on my window. I was having a difficult time falling back to sleep, but I didnt mind, I love listening to the rain. Living in California, we dont get nearly as much as the rest of you throughout the country, so I love it when it is here. Plus, is there anything better than snuggling up in a warm bed listening to the rain? Okay, maybe there is, but it is certainly one of my favorite things to do. But, I digress, the reason I am so focused on the rain is because as I was laying there I thought about how cleansing the rain is. Doesnt everything just seem cleaner (cars excluded) after the rain? Very purifying. That is when I decided to come clean about how I successfully maneuvered my family through a one third decrease in our income over the last two years. It has been a very painful, eye opening and cleansing process, but I am very proud now.

Yesterday I ran through my families estimated taxes, just wanted to make sure we didnt owe the IRS anything before the 15th of January. When I pulled the numbers together, I had to show my husband because I almost fell out of my chair when I saw them. Our income was the lowest since before I started my practice in 2003. No wonder last year was so painful, we have two more children since then! Ill explain more about why I was so proud later.

Some of you may know that my husband is an electrical contractor and he has his own business which he runs on the side. I have my own practice as a CPA. For the last five and half years we have been on the self employed financial roller coaster. With the economy the way it was last year, my husbands side business became almost non-existent. My practice definitely took a hit as well as the fact I hired a part-time employee. So, how did it all fall nicely into place?

• The Purge It all started in the summer of 2008. The poop was hitting the fan financially. That is when I started to realize we had completely over extended ourselves. That is when I accepted the fact that my very own actions had gotten us in some hot water. It was ugly. It was painful. But, once it was out, there was nothing left to fear. All my dirty laundry was out there for everyone to see and I was okay with that because now, maybe I can help others.
• The Plan Once all of the ugly stuff was out there, my husband and I made a plan. I bit the bullet and sold my one year old full size SUV for $7,000 less than I owed on it. Not to mention the $30,000 in depreciation it took in just over one year. Tell me that didnt hurt! But, the fact of the matter was, I could not afford the $726 per month payments, so I had to make it work. We went through our financials and cut back wherever we saw necessary.
• The Forgiveness - I cannot tell you how many times I have woken up in the middle of the night and lay there beating myself up about the decisions I had made in the past. But, there came a point where I realized that was not serving any purpose. As my husband always says, ” It is what it is. ” I cant change the past, I can only change how I choose to move forward in the future and beating myself up is just not smart. So, I moved on and started to look ahead instead of in the rear view mirror.
• The Execution No, I swear no one was executed in this process! This is the execution of the plan. My husband and I started to keep meticulous tabs on our financials. Being a CPA, I have always kept close tabs, but I am talking about having a weekly budget and following it. Saying no to things if we could not afford it. Absolutely refusing to break out the credit cards for anything. And, slowly paying down the debt we had accumulated. We got rid of our pest control, our pool guy and our housekeeper. We started shopping only at Walmart and Costco. We cut our monthly budget by almost $5,000. Was it easy? No. But, we did it and it was not nearly as bad as you would think it was.
• The Proud Moment Yesterday when I finished the numbers and saw how much our income had gone down, I felt a little deflated. But, then again, I think almost everyone is feeling that way right now. However, when I realized what we had accomplished, I was almost giddy. With our income as low as it was, this is the most in control I have felt with our finances since becoming self employed. I have plenty of savings, our debt is being paid down and we are not using any credit.

Should I have been more careful to begin withyes. But, I have learned some valuable lessons and I dont mind airing my dirty laundry if it means you learning something. I hope this gives you the momentum you need to finally take your financial life by the horns.

Mompreneur

Kristi LeGue is a Certified Public Accountant and the mother of three young boys. She has owned Kristi LeGue, CPA a public accounting firm for over five and a half years.

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Club Cottages, Admirals Cove | Jupiter, FL 33477

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Campus Drive, Palm Beach Gardens, FL. What can add to the value of homes in all of Palm Beach County that is nearly invisible to the average financial specialist? A library. The adage, knowledge is power is more relevant than you may think in terms of empowering the value of a community. A new library in Palm Beach Gardens is opening in October, 2010. The new facility will be the biggest in the Palm Beach County library system. This branch is actually a re-launch of a much smaller original library that features extra spaces for children and teens. The library will open with a total of 40,000 square feet of space.

Any time a community takes measures to enhance its long term value with improved or new services to its members, especially in educational value, the result is a wealth that is returned in unforeseen ways for a long time.

PGA National homes | Admirals Cove homes

What will it be? The $9.9 million home or the $9.5 million dollar home in Admirals Cove? Well, the cheaper home has a nice wooden frame around its main MLS picture. Hmmm… Let’s look at the price per square foot… The less expensive home is actually more expensive. House one is on .5 acres. House two is well, on well, a lot that is162x75x247x200. Huh? How many acres guys!? I’m a little rusty on the old trig or geometry. Number two is “back on market.” Why? was it the oddball lot or the price? Both homes have been on the market for almost two years. I guess the owners would rather just hang on in hopes of getting a (higher than) 2007 price.

The bane of seemingly every real estate agent, Zillow places the value of home #1 squarely at $4.25M Who is going to be convinced to pay more? Home #2 is in even more exaggerated value territory with its last sale at $2.68M two years ago.

Well, I sent a message to the agent asking why the home was so overpriced- and with no pictures of the actual home? I guess I just don’t get it.

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