<$Tuesday, July 31, 2007$>
$25 ING Bonus Links Available
| I'm behind on everything I talked about doing last week. Not being online all weekend can be nice in terms of relaxation and quality time with the Husband, but as far as productivity goes, it's darned inconvenient. Although to be honest I still probably would have procrastinated everything in favor of reading Harry Potter even if I could have gotten online to write. I'm on the verge of a new venture that I'm excited about. Remember how I said I wanted to start trying again to earn money with my knitting? I thought of a niche market where I don't see a lot of competition currently, one involving small projects that should be fairly quick to knit (once I work out the design) and that has the potential to be lucrative if I do the marketing right (that's a big IF--I always fall down in the marketing stage). I don't want to give away any details yet, but expect my Etsy shop to get a makeover in the next few weeks. The other things I mentioned last week, including the wedding planning book contest, are still coming, but first I need to get some work done here in the office. In the meantime, Tricia at Blogging Away Debt has posted my $25 bonus ING Online Savings account referral links, which are currently all up for grabs. If you use one of them to open an account I get a $10 referral bonus, but YOU get a $25 sign-up bonus! In the immortal words of Rachel Ray: Too cool for school! Labels: affiliates, extra income |
<$Friday, July 27, 2007$>
"I was going to blog today, but..."
| I was going to post here today about the importance of small luxuries and how they make it easier to give up the big ones. But then I got all caught up in submitting a short story here. *hopeshopeshopes* Now it's about time for me to take off for a weekend filled with singing vampires and Transformers and quality time with the Husband. It will be the first weekend in a long time that hasn't centered around house hunting. I'm ready for the break. Happy weekend, folks. See you Monday. Labels: personal |
<$Thursday, July 26, 2007$>
Low Carbon Diet?
| Lazy Man points out something that never even occurred to me: buying and eating imported food contributes to carbon emissions. I mean, of course it does. That food doesn't just fly or float over here by itself. I never would have thought of this fact on my own, though. It's something I'll try to be more conscious of in the future. Although I doubt it will convince Husband to give up his love of imported beer any time soon. Labels: green, healthy living |
Zoned Thursdays: Making Up With Gym
| Earlier this year, Gym and I had a falling out. It wasn't Gym, it was me. I just wasn't feeling the spark, and that lack of passion was rapidly growing into resentment. I felt it best that we take a break. But this Monday morning, I woke up filled with self-loathing after an entire weekend filled with one-night-stands with the fast food establishments of my fantasies, and decided it was time to pack in my pride and go crawling back to Gym to give things another try. Gym welcomed me back with open arms and an empty pool. I suspected that Gym and I would get along better in the mornings when the day hasn't yet had a chance to discourage me and I'm still full of focus and optimism, and I was right. I also suspected that I would enjoy swimming better than any of the other available options, especially if I could get there at a time of day when the pool wasn't full of seniors doing water aerobics (or the locker room full of their drippings). I was right about that, too. On Monday, I had the pool all to myself. I swam until I couldn't stand to swim any more, and then I sat in the hot tub for a few minutes, which I also had to myself. Not a bad way to kick off a week, let me tell ya. I went back again on Wednesday. That time I had to share the pool with a couple of other people, but there was plenty of room for us all, and it was still pretty peaceful. And I still got the hot tub to myself. I'll go back again in the morning. I'm aiming for three times a week, and then I'll try to make myself go for walks through my neighborhood on the weekends. I'm already feeling more fit, and my sore muscles are already looking and feeling more toned. I'm sorry I left you, Gym. I think we can make it work this time around. ~~~ Quick & Easy Zone Breakfast This isn't so much a recipe as it is a concoction, thrown together out of convenience and surprisingly tasty: 1 packet instant oatmeal (I like Quaker's Weight Control in Maple & Brown Sugar) - 3 carb blocks 2 tsp natural peanut butter - 3 fat blocks 3/4 cup 1% cottage cheese - 3 protein blocks Follow packet instructions to cook oatmeal. Stir in peanut butter and cottage cheese. Enjoy. This is what I eat every morning for breakfast at work, since with my commute I don't have time to eat at home. It keeps me feeling full and energized all morning. People give me strange looks when they see me stirring cottage cheese into my oatmeal, but like I said, it tastes surprisingly good. Labels: healthy living, Zone |
<$Wednesday, July 25, 2007$>
Applying Talent to Debt
| So apparently the internet really did crash yesterday, or at least the parts of it hosting LiveJournal, Typepad and Craigslist. It also happened to be the part of it that currently hosts the stylesheets for this blog, which explains what the what happened to my template yesterday. If you stopped by during the outage, I'm sorry you caught me without my clothes on. *blush* Elsewhere, the lovely and constantly clad Blogging Away Debt is featuring a guest post on how to fight encouragement about debt. It's good advice, and relevant, seeing as how fighting discouragement about my own debt is pretty much a constant for me these days. One way I fight discouragement is to keep plugging away at my novel, and entertain fantasies of how much our lives will change if this turns out to be the one that sells. Even a crappy advance would be enough to eliminate our consumer debt, thereby dramatically altering our quality of living and opening up our choices. I'm not pinning all of our hopes on that possibility, though, and so I'm constantly looking for more practical and immediate ways to raise extra money to throw at those credit cards. Earlier this year I was determined to start making money from my knitting, but somehow that project fell by the wayside. I think it's time I took it up again. By the end of the week I plan to have my Etsy shop stocked with some new made-to-order items. I also went through my yarn stash recently and weeded out an entire 13-gallon bag's worth of yarn that I can sell on eBay. I don't expect these things to bring in a lot of money, but every extra bit helps, and at least this is something I'm already spending time on anyway. Also in that vein, I'm creating a goal for myself to write at least two Associated Content* articles a week. The first one I'm planning to do is a review of Bridal Bargains*, a book that proved incredibly useful and more than paid for itself when I was planning my own low-budget wedding last year. Once I'm done with the review, I'll be holding a contest here to give away my copy to another frugal bride-to-be. So that's a plan for action, at least. Whether it actually works out the way I hope or not, at least it makes me feel like I'm doing something to take back control of my finances. This is giving me some much needed encouragement at a time when I'm weary and tempted to lie down and give in to minimum payment limbo. *Affiliate links Labels: credit cards, finance+blogs, goals |
<$Monday, July 23, 2007$>
Carnival time!
| Happy Monday, folks. This week's Carnival of Personal Finance is hosted by Fat Pitch Financials, and features my Speaking of, we spent Friday on yet another unfruitful rental-housing hunt. We checked out a townhouse that I quite liked, but Husband was concerned that, it being an older property, it would leak energy and cost a fortune to keep cool. I was ready to put up a fight about it, but even though it had some great features, it was also lacking in some that were pretty high on my priority list (such as laundry hook-ups), and what I mostly liked about it was its location. I was ready to sacrifice a lot of practicalities for the sake of living in a trendy neighborhood, and that's just... not smart. So we let that one go. After a heart to heart, we decided that we might not be as ready to move as we think we are, anyway. We need to get the cars taken care of, and that will put a big dent in our savings. With Husband getting ready to start classes again, it's probably for the best if we focus on car repairs, and then on rebuilding our savings, while he focuses on his classes. Come winter break we ought to have a better idea of what we can realistically afford, and maybe by then we'll have better luck finding something that suits us. Of course, this means six more months of commuter hell, which I'm definitely not looking forward to. At least gas prices are on a downswing, so that's something. Labels: house-hunt, personal |
<$Thursday, July 19, 2007$>
Cross-blog administrative note
| Tomorrow is my day off, so I'll be offline for the next three days. Have a good weekend, folks, and I'll see you Monday. Labels: site maintenance |
Zoned Thursdays: Healthy Chips & Queso
| So much for showing some restraint. Today's diet lapse wasn't so much Frugal Brain's doing, though, as it was simply a complete lack of will power. If I can just go a couple of days without very much sugar or processed carbs, I pretty much stop craving them. But man, once I indulge in them, I can't get enough. So in order to help get myself back on track, I'm starting a new regular feature here: Zoned Thursdays, wherein I'll discuss my diet progress and share tips and recipes. Every Thursday. Obviously. This week, my progress has been nonexistent. To get my mind off cookies and cake and get it to start craving healthy goodies again, I give you my recipe for my favorite healthy, Zone-friendly snack: Zoned Tortilla Chips & Queso 1 small (fajita-sized) low-carb, whole wheat tortilla (1 carb block) Canola spray 2 wedges low-fat Laughing Cow cheese (1 protein block) 1 tbsp salsa (more or less, to taste) 3 whole black olives or 1 tbsp guacamole (1 fat block) Pre-heat oven or toaster oven to 450. With pizza cutter, cut the tortilla into 8 small wedges. Spread on cookie sheet or toaster oven rack and spray both sides with Canola spray. Bake at 450 until crisp (about five minutes). Meanwhile, place Laughing Cow cheese in small, microwave-safe bowl and microwave until soft (30 seconds should do it). Stir in salsa. Either crumble olives and stir into mixture, or have guacamole on the side. Dip your chips and enjoy! Counts as 1 Zone block. I love this stuff. It takes about five minutes to throw together. It tastes as good as Velveeta & Rotel queso I used to make, without any of the trans or saturated fats. The homemade baked chips are surprisingly yummy, too. I haven't played around with seasoning them, because I like them just fine as is, but I'm sure you could get creative and try some different seasoning. If you do, drop a comment here and let me know how it turns out! Labels: healthy living, recipes, Zone |
<$Wednesday, July 18, 2007$>
When Freebies Kill!!!
| Okay, that subject line's a tetch overdramatic; but it got your attention, didn't it? Euh. I'm not dead, but I'm sitting here bloated and miserable. There was a big client meeting today at the office, and that meant food, and lots of it. The trouble here is that my healthy eating mindset, which I'd finally managed to make my default setting, can be automatically overridden by my frugal and thrifty mindset, which simply won't allow me to pass up free food. "It's okay that the cherry cheese danish isn't on your Zone diet," says Frugal Brain. "Eat this now and that's one less breakfast you'll have to buy in your entire lifetime. And hey, look, breakfast burritos! Those have protein. Better have one of those, too." And that was just breakfast. Then came the Rib Crib bus, bringing with it the oh, so delicious smoked brisket and carb-loaded sides by which I brought about my current state of misery. "I'm not hungry," Health Brain said. "It's free!" snapped back Frugal Brain. "Shut up and eat!" And then, there was cobbler. *dies* Clearly, I have issues. One of those issues is that I need to convince Frugal Brain that it's okay to pass up things that aren't really good for me--be they unhealthy foods, activities I won't really enjoy, items that will only add useless clutter--even when they're free. These things may not cost money, but they definitely cost in other areas; in this case, both my physical and emotional well-being are paying for it. Not only do I feel physically miserable, but now Health Brain has tons of guilt. Tomorrow's another free food day. I think Frugal Brain has learned her lesson. Tomorrow I expect she'll show a little more restraint. Labels: frugality, healthy living, personal |
<$Tuesday, July 17, 2007$>
Freebies & Greenies
| In my perusal of the personal finance community, I've noticed a general interest in keeping things Green. I've also noticed a propensity for liking free stuff. Well, yes, of course, because who doesn't like free stuff? Like free graphic design, for example? The Thinking Blog, run by graphic design artist Ilker Yoldas, is holding a contest: review Ilker's blog for a chance to win a free re-design for your own blog. Now I don't know about the rest of you, but my template could use a pick-me-up, and I have neither the time, tools or know-how to do my own, nor the dosh to hire someone to do it for me. So this is one prize I would be beyond thrilled to win. As for the blog itself, The Thinking Blog is an interesting and ecclectic mix of posts on topics ranging from science & technology to the environment to Web 2.0 socialization, all designed to make you think. Ilker also offers up info and reviews on environment-, wallet- and declutterer-friendly sites such as SwitchPlanet. Best yet, if you love to get in on the ground floor and beta-test new start-ups (or if you just like the bragging rights associated with being among the first users), she also freely offers invitations to hot new start-ups. Besides looking fabulous, with a design that's clean and readable while still being visually interesting, The Thinking Blog is a neat resource for finding some pretty neat stuff. I'll definitely be adding it to my daily reads. Even if I don't win that free blog do-over. ;) |
<$Monday, July 16, 2007$>
This Is Your Life On Consumer Debt
| As mentioned previously, the husband and I are searching for a home that's closer to my work, and we're still having no luck. Our hunt for a rental house or duplex has been so dismal that we've decided to expand our search to townhouses, four-plexes, and even apartments, if all else fails (we've both had scary fire-related experiences in previous apartments, so we're aiming to share walls/floors/ceilings with as few neighbors as possible; neither of us is too keen on trusting the common sense and fire-safety skills of strangers to keep from destroying everything we own or, y'know, killing us in our sleep). Even so, our hearts' desire is to find a house. More accurately, our hearts' desire is to BUY a house, but with our consumer debt being what it is, that's just not possible right now, and won't be for several more years. That's just one of the things we can't have because of our debt. I'm not whinging here; insert clichéd idiom about lying in made beds. We're not victims of anyone or anything other than our own poor impulse control and lack of wisdom and foresight (I'm sure my husband would appreciate it muchly if I would point out that by "our" I mostly mean "my," seeing as how I racked up the majority of our debt all by myself before he ever even entered the picture). My intent is to share this as a cautionary tale to anyone who might be thinking it's not such a big deal to carry a credit card balance (or multiple balances, as the case may be). Having said that, I should also cop to the fact that this post's inception was a big ol' whine-fest, held in the midst of a pity party, hosted by yours truly, where the guest of honor was Sulky McPoutsalot. After a weekend spent crunching numbers and figuring out that no, we can't afford a house right now, and no, we can't afford a vacation this year either, and by the way, those cars that you can't afford to replace need some major TLC if they're going to last as long as you need them to, and we can't really afford that right now either…my own darn fault or not, I was bummed. Even worse, I've got my husband in this mess with me. HE can't afford to do any of this stuff, either, because of MY credit card debts. That, dear readers, is depressing. So let's recap, and have a look at all of the things that, thanks to only about $7,000 in credit card debt, are out of reach to a thirty-four year old, married, childless semi-professional with a pretty decent job and a few alternative income streams: This is not even to mention the fact that I haven't updated my work wardrobe in almost a year, I've taken to cutting my own hair, ditto cutting my poodle's hair, we only go out to the movies or out to eat once in a blue moon and almost never both in the same month…. The point is, while frugality can be a satisfying, and even fun, challenge, forced frugality bites. Especially when you feel like you're so far behind your peers that you might never catch up. So take heed, boys and girls. Credit can be a good thing in responsible hands; but carrying a balance could very well screw up your life for years. It's bad! Don't do it! Labels: credit cards, evil, personal |
<$Friday, July 13, 2007$>
Pardon Me for Not Blogging
| I had technical difficulties that kept me from being able to post the last couple of days. I fixed the problem this morning and was all set to blog about the limitations in life bestowed upon me by my debt, but then work got in the way. It's still in the way, in fact, and once it's done, I'm going home and spending the weekend off-line. At least I'll have something to talk about come Monday. |
<$Tuesday, July 10, 2007$>
Mom Reviews
| I'm not a mom (regardless of how much I think care of my high-maintenance pets should qualify me for mom-hood), but even so, MomReviews is a blog after my own heart. This stay-at-home mom of three uses her spare time -- what little there is of it, I'm sure -- constantly on the look-out for bargains and freebies, which she's happy to share with her readers along with product reviews. Seems like a pretty good resource for the frugal parent. Or pet-parent. |
<$Monday, July 9, 2007$>
Frugal Knitting: Yarn Bargains Can Lead To Great Gifts
| First things first: my post on Financial Housecleaning made the list in this week's Carnival of Personal Finance, hosted this week by Broke-Ass Student. ~~~ Over at Get Rich Slowly, Mrs. J.D. guest-blogged about How To Escape the Gift Trap and listed several solutions for the gift-giver on a budget. This topic has a lot of relevance for me right now, because I'm working on planning out my gift list and budget for the rest of the year. Yes, I'm planning my Christmas list in July. No, I'm not really one of those people--at least, not typically. But my solution to coming up with gifts that fit my budget that my giftees actually appreciate (or at least claim to...) is to knit for them. It doesn't always save money--knitting can be a pretty expensive hobby. It does, however, allow me to enjoy one of my favorite pastimes while creating something beautiful for someone else's lasting enjoyment. Although, that doesn't mean I can't do that and save money. By shopping around, I can find bargains on yarn, tools and notions that allow me to work with quality materials on a Red Heart budget. Today, for instance, I needed to shop for materials for a sweater I'm planning to knit for my sister. If I simply bought the luxe yarn specified in the pattern, at $8.95 a ball, the sweater would end up costing me over $160! I love my sister, but, as if! Instead, I did a little shopping around and found a comparable yarn for only $2.49 per ball, which will bring the total sweater cost (minus notions) to just under $45. Still more than I would normally spend on my sister (or she on me), but like I said, it also feeds my habit, and this particular birthday gift doubles as a congratulatory new baby present as well. I still get to work with a high-quality yarn, and better still, my choice is machine washable, which I know will mean much, much more to my sister than the brand name of the yarn. What second-time-mommies have time to hand wash their delicate fabrics, anyway? Of course, considering it took me about four months to knit my husband's Christmas sweater (which I naively waited until October to begin), and considering I've still got a whole list of Christmas knitting to do once this sweater's out of the way, I'd better get started. In July. But at least I won't get caught in the middle of the Christmas rush this year. Do you have any hobbies that can double as gifting alternatives? If so, I'd love to hear about them in the comments. |
<$Friday, July 6, 2007$>
Update: Payday woes not so woeful
| I just finished doing my bills and my budget for this half of the month. Last month, I asked for and received a year-long forbearance on my student loans (don't worry, I still plan to make payments to cover the interest), so that we could focus some extra money on building savings and reducing consumer debt. Of course, this time didn't leave us with any extra to do any such thing, but thankfully that was one less bill to worry about. Between that and cutting back (way back, albeit still more than the minimums, so go team me!) on what I normally pay to the credit cards, we still had plenty left over to live on for the next two weeks, without needing to touch our savings. I'm going to take that as a victory, and decide to be happy with it. I'm just immensely grateful that all of our needs continue to be met. Labels: money management, personal |
Score one for the emergency fund!
| Thanks to some wacky hijinks that ensued with my time sheet last week, my paycheck today is missing an entire day's worth of pay. Considering that this was already an unusually short pay period, and hence was already to be an unusually small paycheck, this is double-plus ungood. I'm talking myself down from panic by reminding myself that this is not a tragedy. It wasn't all that long ago that my financial situation was so precarious that this sort of thing would come very close to ruining me; but now, it's okay. It's frustrating that we won't be pulling ahead this half of the month, and may have to accept a minor setback in our savings efforts by dipping into our savings to tide us over. However, as much as it would break my heart to do so, it's an enormous relief to know that we do have savings, and that I don't have to wonder where I'm going to get money to cover my bills this month, or make any choices between paying said bills or buying frivolous whimsies such as groceries. And best yet, I don't even have to think about breaking out the credit cards. In a word: Phew! Labels: money management, saving+investing |
<$Tuesday, July 3, 2007$>
Financial Housecleaning
| Every few months or so, I try to remember to look over all of my statements with an eye toward "cleaning up" and doing away with any financial chaff--cancelling services we're no longer using or getting our money's worth from, negotiating lower fees and interest rates, etc. This past week has been one of those times. I haven't had a lot of success this round, but even so, here's what I tackled this time around: Credit cards - Both of my credit card companies have been bombarding me with checks and balance transfer offers. I plan to shred the checks, of course, but first I thought I'd see if they were willing to negotiate. First I called Discover. That account is currently 0% interest, so I have no reason to transfer it elsewhere, and it's the lowest priority on my list of debts to eliminate. We originally opened this account because it gives us a 5% rebate on every gasoline purchase, and intended to use it solely as a gas card. But then we got greedy with our honeymoon cruise excursion packages and ended up maxing out the small limit I requested when I opened the account. Now I make a payment large enough to cover our gas budget each month, and by the time we've bought all of our gasoline for the month it's usually maxed out again. So I called Discover and told them I would be thrilled to give them all of the money I'm currently giving to Citibank, if they would increase my credit line enough to accommodate the transfer. The custserv rep I spoke with put through a balance increase request, but it was declined. He promised to push it through the appeals department, and told me to check back in twenty-four hours to see if my request was approved. I checked back. It got approved--for a fraction of the amount I requested. Boo. At least now I don't have to worry about going over limit if I have to fill up my car before my next payment posts. Next, I called Citibank. I thanked them kindly for their balance transfer offer and pointed out that they are my highest interest card, even at the transfer rate they're offering, and it sure would be nice if they could just lower my interest rate. They told me they didn't have a lower rate to offer me at this time. Again, boo. Looking back, I should have asked for a supervisor, told them about the offer from Discover, and informed them that if they didn't lower my rate, I would go ahead and transfer as much as I could of my Citibank account over to Discover. Maybe after I finish this post, I'll get up the nerve to call back and try that tack. Maybe. Success Score: Cell Phone: Next up, I realized that my husband and I are both relying almost solely on our unlimited text-message package to communicate, both with each other and with our friends, and most months we barely touch all of the minutes that we're paying for. So I called T-Mobile to point this out and ask if they had any dual-line plans with fewer minutes. This rep sounded genuinely regretful as she informed me that we already have their cheapest dual-line plan, and that it would cost us more to switch to two of their lowest individual plans. Again I say: Boo! However, she went on to hint, imply and otherwise inform in as roundabout a way as she could without coming straight out and saying so and raising the ire of her supervisors, that I might have more success if I wait until my contract is up, shop around for better deals with other providers, and then call back with that information as leverage. She also mentioned that I should keep an eye on their web site, where they occasionally offer better, limited time deals. So at least now I have a plan, and hope for cutting down that bill in the future. Success Score: Cell Provider - 1; jeanjeanie - Half a point, for at least ascertaining some useful info. Internet Access: A year ago, I signed up to a deal with Netscape offering a year's worth of accelerated dial-up for $9.99. Shortly thereafter, our computer up and died. I held onto the account hoping we'd replace the computer fairly quickly, but that didn't happen, and eventually I completely forgot about the account. Until a couple of months ago, when I noticed it showing up on my Citibank statement. I called to cancel it then, but they reminded me that I signed up for a full year, and couldn't cancel it without a steep fee. Having only a couple of months left, the fee outstripped the remaining monthly charges, so I let it set. But today, I realized that the year is up this month, so I called back to cancel. This time, after having to answer a lot of questions, insist that we really, truly, honestly and deeply don't want, use, or need the service, and that no, I don't want to pay to use it as web mail, thank you so much, I got them to cancel it. So that's ten bucks a month we'll be saving from now on. Every little bit helps, right? This one gets a Yay! Success Score: Internet Provider - 0; jeanjeanie - 1 Banking: Several months ago, I opened up a high yield savings account with Citibank, lured to them by the siren call of a $20 sign-up bonus if I kept my account open for 90 days. At the time I intended to do just that, get my $20, and find a better rate elsewhere, so, not having memorized my husband's SSN and not wanting to bug him, I didn't add him as the account's beneficiary. Since then, we've actually saved up a nice little fund, and the fact that he can't access it has been bugging me. I also realized that, shockingly, Citibank doesn't have any branches or ATMs in our area, so it's not going to be that easy for me to draw the money we need once we find a new place to live, either. Even so, I kept procrastinating on moving the account. Until today, thanks to Blogging Away Debt, who posted a reminder about some ING referral links she still had available that would get me a $25 sign-up bonus. So I opened a joint account with my husband and initiated a funds transfer, and got rewarded with my bonus right away -- I didn't even have to wait 90 days. Thanks, Tricia! And also: Yay! Success score: jeanjeanie - $25! Disappointed as I am with the credit card and cell phone results, I'm still better off than I was when I started. In a couple of months, I'll re-evaluate everything and try again, and this time I'll be a little more savvy when it comes to the credit card and phone companies. Labels: credit cards, evil, money management, saving+investing |
<$Monday, July 2, 2007$>
Disclaim! Disclaim!
| I haven't exactly been thrilled with some of the content showing up in some of my Google Adsense banners, but at least so far they've been mostly finance-related. Today, though, I feel especially compelled to point out that Google chooses the ads, supposedly based on content (although I'm hard-pressed to figure out exactly what The God Movie has to do with any of this blog's content), and that they do not reflect my personal views and should not be viewed as personal endorsements. For the record, I'm a Christian, and although it's not the focus of this blog, it does inform the choices I make and the way I choose to represent myself here. I'm not offended by the "Jesus Didn't Exist?" banner that keeps popping up, and I'm not going to run to try and get it censored or pulled from my blog, but I feel it's important to point out that I don't hold with the views about God that the ad or the movie it represents are putting forth. Just so's you know. Labels: affiliates, personal |
Carnival Time! Also, Eight Things.
| I love it when other people provide me with content, thus saving me from having to gear up my brain and think too hard on a Monday morning. First up, let me point you to the 107th Carnival of Personal Finance, hosted this week by Blogging Away Debt, and which includes my post from last week about pet health. It also includes much more in the way of personal finance goodness, including this highly relatable article on money anxiety at My Money and My Life. Eight Things Secondly, I've been tagged! Weirdgrrl over at Things That Make You Go Huh? has tagged me for that Eight Things meme. This one is going to actually require some brain power, which, being that it's still before noon on Monday, is going to prove a challenge; but let me give it a whirl. The Rules: "Each person posts the rules before their list, then they list 8 things about themselves. At the end of the post, that person tags and links to 8 other people and then visits those peoples' sites and comments letting them know that they have been tagged, and to come read the post, so they know what they have to do." There you have it. And here are eight things about me: 1. I have a bachelor's degree in social science, with an emphasis on psychology. I like to bring this up from time to time, since this degree has not a blessed thing to do with either my current job or with my future ambitions, and people tend to not realize that I actually got myself a colluj ejumacayshun. 2. I played the saxophone for about 15 years, starting in grade school and continuing well past high school, and by the end of that time had gotten pretty good at it. Then about ten years ago a spring on my sax broke and, not being able to afford to either repair or replace it, I put it away and haven't played since. I still hope to get it fixed and start playing again one day. 3. Meanwhile, I'm learning to play the guitar. I'm still new and not very good at it, but I can strum a pretty mean Kumbayah. 4. I originally majored in journalism. One semester in this major helped me figure out I'd rather make stuff up than report the bare facts, so I switched to English. After a couple of frustrating semesters of not being able to handle the reading lists (this was before I even knew I had ADD, let alone how to manage it), I dropped out entirely and didn't go back to school until I was twenty-eight, when I started working on that previously mentioned psych/soc degree. I still minored in English, though. 5. I married my first boyfriend. This doesn't seem all that unusual until I point out that I didn't meet him until I was thirty-one. 6. I once wrote an entire original (by which I mean not fan fiction) novel. It wasn't very good, but it was novel-length, and I finished it. This is helpful to remember when finishing my current novel begins to feel like an impossible feat. I did it once, and by God, I can do it again. 7. I once worked a temp gig as a production assistant behind the scenes at a teen beauty pageant. I will never do such a thing again, ever. 8. I spend an embarrassing amount of time secretly obsessing over whether people would still appear shocked when I reveal my age and insist that I look ten years younger if I stopped coloring my hair, or whether I could pass off all of those white hairs as highlights. And now you know my secret shame. Now it would seem I have to tag somebody. Normally, I would cop out and just say feel free to consider yourself tagged if that's your thing, but it occurs to me that this is an opportunity to spread some linky-love, so if I've linked you below, consider yourself tagged: Bad Kitty A Cowboy's Wife Broke As a Spoke C.Whyte's Blog And that's lunch. Labels: finance+blogs, fun, personal, random |