Search results for family
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Posted
Dec 14 2007, 10:39 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
I'm superannuated enough to remember penny candy. Finding a cent was cause for celebration, because it would buy Squirrel Nut Zippers (the candy, not the band), Smarties, Pixy Stix or a host of other treats.
I still pick up pennies. Also nickels, dimes and any other American paper or specie I see on sidewalks, in parking lots or pooled in the rejected-change bin of those Coinstar change-counting machines.
All "found" money goes into a vase my daughter gave me when she was about 8 years old. (She got the vase from the "free" box at a yard sale. That's my girl!) Each December, I donate my finds. This year, $24.14 will go to PetSmart Charities.
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Posted
Jul 16 2008, 09:31 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
As I walked home from doing errands on Monday, I saw an older man standing near the entrance to a shopping center parking lot. He looked wrinkled and weary and underfed, and he held a cardboard sign: "Homeless, anything will help." I put a dollar in his hand and said, "Take care of yourself. I wish it could be more." He replied, "God bless you."
Then a silver SUV roared up, sunroof open to let the summer rays strike the male pattern baldness within. The driver wore pale blue sunglasses so I couldn't see his eyes, but I could read the sneer on his face. "Sucker!" he yelled as he drove by.
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Posted
Sep 11 2008, 03:44 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Hank's friend, a father of three, faces a difficult decision: He's been offered a job in Iraq that will pay $290,000 for a year's commitment. Like most big decisions, it's very complicated. But we'll tell you right now that most readers who commented on Hank's post said, "Don't do it."
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Posted
Feb 01 2008, 04:46 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
News reports of people abandoning their pets in their repossessed homes or dropping  them off at overburdened animal shelters have prompted outrage across the blogosphere. "What is wrong with these people that they just leave them in the home after they have moved out? What is the reasoning behind their thinking?" wrote Texas real estate professional Stephanie Hansson at the Active Rain blog. "I am heartsick and just can't understand." Some bloggers are urging readers to take action as the foreclosure rate climbs. Deanna Raeke at For the Love of the Dog asked her readers to check the yards and look in the windows of vacant houses to see if pets were left behind. You also can adopt a "foreclosure cat" or dog from your local shelter.
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Posted
Apr 23 2008, 05:45 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Shades of World War II: Two warehouse-type retail chains in the United States are rationing rice as anxious customers stock up because of a worldwide shortage. It's the most startling sign that the world food crisis is making itself felt in the United States. But, despite rising food prices here, we've still got it good compared with some developing countries, where food shortages and price hikes have sparked deadly riots.
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Posted
May 21 2008, 06:24 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Want proof that stay-at-home moms would be earning a pretty good income if they were getting paid for their work? A report by Salary.com says the time SAHMs spend on 10 "mom job functions" -- including housekeeper and psychologist -- would bring $116,805 in the work world. Full-time moms work an incredible amount of overtime at their jobs -- 54.4 hours a week above and beyond the normal 40, the Web site says.
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Posted
Oct 08 2008, 10:06 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Not that long ago I had about $130 to my name. I was struggling to balance a handful of part-time jobs with re-entry into college after 30 years away from higher ed.
Going back to school terrified me. But my life was already turned upside down: I'd left a long-term marriage and run through most of my savings to support myself while I dealt with health problems and also to help support my adult daughter, who is disabled. Why not throw college into the mix? As scared as I was, I knew if I didn't do it then I'd never do it.
Fast-forward to now. I managed to get through both logic and algebra, was accepted to the University of Washington on full scholarship, was awarded short-term alimony and was hired part time to write for this blog. I paid off all my divorce debt, started a Roth IRA, and have been able to help family members who are in financial trouble.
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Posted
Sep 14 2009, 02:38 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
How tacky is this -- or is it? You're invited to a wedding and reception, and you're expected to pay for your meal.
We've never encountered this, and neither has Mike at Clever Dude, although he considered it briefly before he got hitched. However, a friend of his was invited to a wedding for which she was asked to pay for the meal and also bring a gift.
Not cool, Mike said: "The wedding is for YOU (bride and groom). The reception is for US (friends and family)."
He added, "If I'm going to plop down $50 to $150 on a present, the least I should expect in return is a decent meal."
It's tradition, sure enough. But in these economic times, can't we all tweak our expectations a bit?
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Posted
Sep 22 2007, 05:06 PM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Re-used any dental floss lately?
All together now: Eeeewwww!
Yet a reader of the Smart Spending message board knows a guy who did this. "There’s nothing grosser than dental floss hanging over the towel rack," said the reader, who posts as "Willowtears."
Sure there is. How about the folks who flush their toilet only once a day? Or the guy who would re-use wash water "until it was black"? Or the woman whose mom strained and re-used cooking oil regardless of pedigree: "Doughnut-flavored taquitos, yum."
All this came from the "Most Extreme Savings Tactics" thread on the message board. I’m pretty extreme myself, but I flush my toilet each and every time, thanks.
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Posted
May 14 2008, 08:19 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Wouldn't we all love to have this dilemma? Inspired by a letter to the editor at Money magazine, "Flexo" at Consumerism Commentary wonders when it's appropriate to tell your boyfriend/girlfriend that you're wealthy. The letter writer apparently had been burned by some guy looking for a sugar momma. Flexo says, "It's probably not appropriate if you're on the first few dates, but if you're starting to pick out rings or talk about living together, I don't see how these decisions can be made without full financial disclosure."
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