I haven’t really been trying to control my spending – I’ve just been tracking it for a couple of months to get a baseline of where my money goes. Now that I’m heading into lean times (4 out of the last 5 weeks, I’ve earned less than half what I normally do, which is scarier [...]
Filed under: Budget | 3 Comments »
I have a massage client coming on Sunday for a really long treatment session, as is his habit. He started off booking a 2-hour Thai massage that afternoon, and now wants to add a 1-hour foot massage. Um…I’ve never done a 1-hour foot massage. It’s usually 5 to 15 minutes, depending on the client. I [...]
Filed under: Work | 4 Comments »
Um…I feel like the new nerd on the block hovering on the outskirts of the In Crowd, so how did I manage to get Tagged by the illustrious Crystal at Brunette on a Budget?? She’s, like, a real live professional financial writer chick and everything, so I’m suffering a serious bout of “we’re not worthy”-itis. I [...]
Filed under: Silliness | 12 Comments »
One of my favorite things about Christmas time is wrapping lots and lots of presents. Back when there were more of us under one roof and I had easier access to aunts and uncles, I used to spend hours doing all of their wrapping – everything from jewelry to M&Ms to surfboards(!). I usually got [...]
Filed under: Charity, Sidelines | 6 Comments »
The only Hooters in Manhattan happens to be on the 1/4-mile route to indulge my 6x-a-week crack habit (a.k.a. chiropractor). While the UN was in session last month, their billboard read “Foreign Dignitaries Welcome!” – which made me snort-laugh. I once got a massage inquiry from the Chairman of Arab Affairs, and he’d definitely have been more [...]
Filed under: Silliness | Leave a Comment »
Whenever my immediate family has a cashflow problem, I get a call. I’ve only been screwed over once (by my brother, whose off-hand attitude towards this sort of obligation sends my blood pressure soaring up to…well, the normal range – my BP is ridiculously low). A sampling of what I’ve funded and been repaid for:
My sister’s [...]
Filed under: Family | 9 Comments »
I feel like sharing one of several defining moments of my family history with money….
When I was in college, all checking accounts had monthly fees of $5-10, so I refused to get one. I gave my mother my paychecks (3 weekly and 1 monthly from 4 PT jobs), and once a month I’d have her [...]
Filed under: Family | 1 Comment »
My youngest sister (not the one who’s getting married), “Starfish” **, is turning 29 in a few days, and I just can’t bring myself to buy her crap she doesn’t really need and will probably lose within a month. She has also recently felt her first real motivation to get a real career, and is planning [...]
Filed under: Family | 2 Comments »
My sister’s boyfriend asked her to marry him on August 11th. Although she said yes immediately, she has since been frustratingly indecisive about everything else – including the frikkin’ engagement ring. The boyfriend-now-fiance very thoughtfully did not buy her a ring so she could pick out her own and gave her a guideline of $10K, but she’s [...]
Filed under: Family | 4 Comments »
Let me start off by saying I’m not an eBay seller, but I do aspire to it. Perhaps what I’m about to describe is common knowledge for most of you out there, but I consider it a shortlist of things that work well as a sideline – at least, they do for the folks I personally know who are [...]
Filed under: Sidelines | Leave a Comment »
