Queercents

Or more likely the cost of your subscriptions getting you down… just got the annual renewal for The Economist… $109… Ouch!

I think most everyone has subscribed to a magazine or twelve in their life and while it is much cheaper than buying individual copies on the news stand is it really worth it?

Sigh… another question with a yes and no answer… don’t you just love Grey? There are so many different shades of it.

Being old enough to predate the Internet I remember when magazines were the source of specialized information about just about anything.

The internet hasn’t done away with them though… it’s probably made them more widely available as people read about them on Google and order a sample copy… they might even then subscribe. Read the rest of this entry »

What I’m meaning is sharing at, say, work pretty much on an everyday basis… not the once-a-week or once-a-month potluck everyone is used too.

In many cultures it is considered a mark of hospitality and friendship to share food… and considered an insult to refuse such an offer. This can make life a tiny bit difficult for those trying to diet!

It happens that a good number of my co-workers are from Latin or Caribbean countries with all the diverse ethnic backgrounds and customs they encompass… we even have some from Morocco and one from Ethiopia…. and sharing of food seems to be more or less a custom in all of them.

Most of the time if you even glance at the food it’s “Would you like some?” and before you can answer food is scooped onto your plate.

The guys from Morocco who are unable to eat now during the day because of Ramadan go to a nearby Mosque after dark where free food is passed out after the last prayers of the day and they have been bringing lots of it back to the office to share… this is even encouraged by the Mosque… and a lot of the food is spectacular. Read the rest of this entry »

Or rather does your life revolve around recharging… batteries that is.

It’s one of the hassles of modern life that people are always looking for an outlet to plug into… for the cell phone, the computer, the portable DVD player. Just about anything made today has a battery powered alternate… Black and Decker even makes a rechargeable blender so there is no excuse for not having a margarita after a 20 mile hike into the woods. (Puuuhhh…..llleease!!!)

A lot of things though take the ubiquitous AA or AAA batteries. Most of the things I carry use them… from a small Short Wave Radio (5 AA) to an LED flashlight (3 AAA). And I’m old enough to remember when there was no such thing as rechargeable batteries and how everyone griped about the cost of buying new ones.

I gripe about the cost of the rechargeables too… they average about $2.50 apiece at the warehouse club… and I seem to have a single outlet in the house dedicated to their chargers… between the remotes and keyboards and other items I think I have a good 50 batteries (about $125 worth) to keep charged and I think I’m on the low side compared to most people. Read the rest of this entry »

Yeah, Yeah, I know… Halloween’s not even here yet and here he is talking about Christmas… how commercial.

Christmas cards are one of those expenses that people seem to forget about… I don’t even think people really budget for them unless they are of the type that send out hundreds of cards..

It is a big deal for the card printers though…they are already printing and stockpiling cards and lots of stores have already ordered the inventory that shortly will go out (or may already be) on display.

And a lot of people like to order those cards that are “imprinted” on the inside..(not for me though….I like hand signing and maybe a little note on how things have been going)…..imprinting takes time to do and get delivered let alone again the time it takes for them to be delivered by the postal system after you mail them to your friends. Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes despite your best efforts to save money while still enjoying the little things in life you hit a wall or have to backpedal.

This train of thought was brought on by the necessity of me having to replace a French Press. For those of you who aren’t quite familiar with them they are the funny looking, usually glass, beaker with a plunger mechanism that has a wire screen on the end.

You take course ground coffee or loose tea and put it in the beaker. Add near boiling water, stir, and put the lid on with the plunger retracted. Wait the requisite number of minutes then push the plunger down.

This pushes all the coffee grounds or tea leaves to the bottom and stops the brewing process you then pour grounds/leaf free beverage out to enjoy.

Much better than using a drip pot (and no need to waste money on filters) or a percolator… besides it being non-electric and hot water from a dual temperature system office water cooler is just about the right temp so you aren’t chasing an electrical outlet. Read the rest of this entry »

If a lot of you are like me you don’t get to cook all that often, so it’s large quantities and freezing if time permits. Fresh from the farmers markets on the way to work and a few other places fills in a lot, but a lot of us rely (maybe a bit too much) on the Dollar Menu.

McDonalds, Wendy’s, and Burger King have the things down pat, and unless you pay attention, they are really good at getting you to spend a lot more than a buck. Buy a dollar burger and by the time you add fries, drink, and dessert you just spent six or seven dollars.

Here’s an example from Mickey D’s breakfast menu: Sausage McMuffin (English muffin, sausage patty, cheese slice) is $1. Sausage McMuffin with Egg is the exact same thing with the addition of a scrambled egg – it’s $2.59. You pay $1.59 for an egg. I can get 12 large eggs for that price at the store. Most people have been trained since childhood to expect egg in their breakfast sandwiches, so they buy the one with the egg. It’s truly smart marketing and you have to hand it to them. Read the rest of this entry »

Well, I just got home from the Courthouse… No, I didn’t go to jail… I got that little piece of paper in the mail that said, “Congratulations!! You Are Summoned For Jury Duty.”

Happily I went as the foundation of our country and the equal application of its laws are dependent on those people sitting in the jury box.

A lot of people though find it a financial hardship… and I can see why… many employers don’t pay your wages while serving (they should!) and the vast sum of $15 the court systems pays really only covers the cost of lunch in the overpriced courthouse cafeteria.

Should they pay more?

Loss of one day’s pay makes little difference to most people but could be devastating  to some living paycheck to paycheck let alone if empaneled for a multi-day trial.

Honestly, I think by imposing such a hardship that the courts should reimburse at least at a minimum wage rate for those who otherwise can’t afford the “day off.” Read the rest of this entry »

What brought this train of thought about was Nina’s post and then Alex’s post on the “Cash For Clunkers” bill… and a bit of a rant too… sorry… but I really hate it when our elected idiots don’t think things through.

The idea is not even a good one… unless you’re a bank or love owing everyone and their brother money, living paycheck to paycheck… and I’m from a family that had new car dealerships for over 40 years and we’ve had a dealer license for over 50 so you think I would be in favor of it.

Beyond the quote “good” it does in the short term the costs down the road have not been looked at.

First and foremost it is being paid for with our children’s and grandchildren’s money… it will be clawed back in the form of higher taxes in the future.

Secondly it is a lot of fluff, smoke, and mirrors… a billion dollars seems like a lot but up against the scale of the auto industry in the US it’s NOTHING. Read the rest of this entry »

…One way ticket yeah! And I do hereby apologize to the Beatles!

Not everyone can get the time (or afford) to take off a week for a little relaxation.

Nor can one always afford the three day weekend away of which profiling a different one used to be a mainstay in the New York Times Travel and Leisure Section on a weekly basis. While pretty inexpensive all things considered, they also relied on cheap airfare since they were hops to other cities and weren’t all that cheap in the end… (though the one to Paris, France… sigh)

Me? Once in a while I like to do something different (odd?) and spend little money doing it.

Quite a number of years ago… late 80’s…. a series of books sadly out of print but a precursor to some other fair were published by Joan Lundquist Scalpone called Mini Day Trips.

Each of them (more than 16 books) had 150 Free or Very Low Cost trips and while specific to the Sunshine State offered some interesting things to do… from Ferry Boat Rides to Ghost Towns to Rooftop Vistas for viewing. Read the rest of this entry »

I wonder how many of you get pressured to spend money by (actually well meaning) friends and relatives.

Lets start with a bit of background. I’m retired but am back to work because I got bored out of my mind in a very short time period….and they have semi-reasonable health insurance and I have to have WAGES to keep contributing to my IRA’s plus I’m a LONG way from Medicare.

BUT…and its a big one….even though I am just a driver BECAUSE I worked my butt off for decades I am more “well off” than just about everyone at this company’s branch, including the General Manager.

Even though I try to keep it more “low key” it still tends to show up, particularly in my personal effects. I will NOT make any apologies (nor loan out) any of my Fountain Pens or apologize for digging out real sterling silverware just like I use at home to eat with because I hate plastic disposables. I worked my butt hard to be able to acquire these things over the years and am not going to hide them or apologize for owning them.

So more back to the point. There is a small group of us who go on cruises (one of them more than the rest of us) and they are planning a December Cruise.

For my vacation this year I was thinking more of the “staycation” idea, though I haven’t ruled out an overseas trip yet or even a two week Road Trip on the bike. Read the rest of this entry »