Back from the Wedding in the Wild West

There are people who love weddings and people who hate them. This is only the 4th one I’ve ever been to, and the score is even between love and hate. This one, I loved – and that’s despite constant altitude sickness (migraine-like headaches, nausea, moments of gasping breathlessness, fatigue). I had three drinks the entire [...]

Bye bye, landline – Hello, $70!

I’ve actively dithered over it for nearly a year, passively more several more than that, but when I checked my bank balance online yesterday and saw that the monthly price for my cable TV/internet/phone package had not so much crept as JUMPED up by $14 to $148, I got a little pissed and called RCN. [...]

My ‘hood is the biggest bull’s eye on the planet right now

Every year, Bill Clinton holds his annual Global Initiative conference at the Sheraton New York across the street from me in a timeframe that overlaps with the big pow-wow at the United Nations. Well, our current prez was in the ‘hood yesterday afternoon for the Letterman taping, and now he’s back – along with all the other Heads [...]

Sorry for my Inconsistency

I really want my blog to be directed towards personal finance, but I’m not doing a whole lot of weighty stuff because it’s a little hard to focus when my work patterns have disappeared and taken massive chunks of my income with them. I’m a little freaked out that we’re a year into the financial [...]

One year into my Whole Life policy

Last month I coughed up my 2nd annual premium, which I set at a level I could sustain paying even if my income took a 10% hit. Sadly, that decision was made just weeks before the Manic Money Panic (my infinitely more accurate term than “economic downturn”) struck. No, this is not another post bleating about [...]

Because so many of you are sending me coupons…

I’m branching out with my donation activities. Okay, so I’m also branching out because I need a distraction from the complete nosedive my work has taken in the last 3 weeks (pretty sure it’s seasonal/temporary, but still, the fear persists), but this post is dedicated to the many readers who’ve been printing, clipping, and mailing [...]

Would you want to know if you had a ticking health bomb?

As I may have mentioned, Bridezilla was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis a few months ago. She just saw a specialist and found out she’s got the worst possible case – something to do with blood markers (genetics?) that indicate she will never experience remission. Eventually, she will end up on Enbrel – a $1200/month prescription.
I’ve [...]

Supersizing a deal: Sale + Coupons + Rebate + Free Gift

I buy massive amounts of cereal. I only eat it a few times a week, but as most of you know by now, I’m fond of donating it. I get asked a LOT how I get this stuff for a net cost of free, better-than-free, or like 25 cents a box. What they don’t know [...]

Swag-Thanks!

Just wanted to send out a THANK YOU to A.P. and J.P. for signing up for Swagbucks through the link in the left column of my page. Every time you earn a buck, I earn one too for your first 100 Swagbucks. I will happily use those SBs for the greater good
I’m not sure [...]

Swagbuckers: Can I borrow a $5 Amazon gift card?

A couple of weeks ago, I told my beloved readership about a mom-of-9 from the Bronx whom I’d helped out with a care package…and then met up with again a week later to give school supplies. Well, today she emailed me about her 6-year-old with a bad case of canker sores, asking if I thought [...]