Search results for love and money
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Posted
Mar 17 2008, 09:21 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. Check out the latest super-anti-counterfeit bill to hit the streets: It's none other than the fiver, and it debuted last week with much fanfare over its added security features and that humongous purple "5" on the back.  Many of the added security features -- more watermarks and a security strip -- were already on higher-denomination bills, and I was surprised that they would revamp the $5 bill with them, but what do I know.
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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
Mar 03 2008, 03:30 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This shocking bit of news on a radio talk show this morning got the attention of one of our partner bloggers: Nearly half of British men surveyed said they would give up sex for six months to get a 50-inch plasma TV. The survey -- done, incidentally, by an electronics retailer -- found that only a third of women responded in kind. Also, 25% of the 2,000 respondents said they would give up smoking, and about 25% would stop eating chocolate. This talk show blather would seem like a testimony to the power of marketing, but Jim at partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity found a lesson in personal finance in the exchange. (This is also the blogger who detailed the PF lessons contained in Monopoly and Scrabble.)
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Posted
Nov 24 2008, 06:57 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly. In "The Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets" (which I recently reviewed), author Peter Schiff provides a list of the best jobs to beat the economic collapse he predicts is just around the corner. "I foresee the following as the 10 strongest professions and industries over the coming decade and beyond," he writes. His list:
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Posted
Jul 27 2008, 12:43 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
The headline on JW's post at We Need To Be Debt Free says it all: "What's the use?" He's been working hard to aggressively pay off about $41,000 in non-mortgage debt, and then his wife revealed at a marriage-counseling session that she's been hiding -- and using -- two credit cards. "When she mentioned it, I felt completely broadsided. It was like being run over by a truck," he wrote. The damage to his debt-reduction plans? Just over $4,300.
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Posted
May 12 2008, 09:45 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Yesterday my only child, Abby, wed her sweetheart, Tim. Today they are frolicking in Florida. They achieved both happy states without breaking the bank. I recount this to encourage other young couples who wonder if they can "afford" to get married.
Well, of course you can afford it. Marriage licenses are cheap and so are civil ceremonies. If by "afford" you mean "can I go into debt to satisfy other people's expectations" -- well, that's a question that only you can answer.
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Posted
Mar 27 2008, 12:46 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Guest poster Emily Starbuck Gerson at Sense to Save had a revelation not uncommon  among new pet owners: "I love my pets, but I had no idea they would be so costly."
The cost of pet ownership has been discussed by many personal-finance bloggers lately, and we'll share a lot of their ideas here, starting with one of the most expensive and emotionally difficult issues. My Money Blog asks how much you would pay to treat a pet with a serious illness or injury.
He writes: "For us, we would give up just about all of our luxuries before withholding health care for our dog." But, he adds, if treatment will merely extend your pet's misery, "there is a time that palliative care is the most humane choice."
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Posted
Mar 02 2009, 04:08 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Lots of once-routine spending decisions are undergoing scrutiny these days. Should one of them be who pays for the engagement ring?
"Miss M" posed that question at M is for Money. She knows what she wants in a ring, but her intended, "Mr. M," can't afford it. "If this ring is so important to me, then why don't I buy it for myself? Why should I burden Mr. M's finances with something he can't afford?" she wrote.
Here may be the crux of the matter: "If I wait till he can afford a ring, I may be waiting forever," she added. They've been together for six years.
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Posted
Jan 12 2009, 12:19 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
What did Paul Williams of Crackerjack Greenback do to keep from crying after he was laid off? He prayed and then told family and close friends. "Those two actions will give you the energy you need to keep going forward," he wrote.
Being upfront with those close to you about your unemployed state is essential for your mental well-being, many bloggers advise. On the other hand, screaming at your boss may give you some momentary satisfaction, but don't do it. "Now is not the time to burn bridges," says an excellent post at Destroy Debt called "What to do if you get laid off."
(Maintaining composure may be all the more difficult if you're laid off by mass e-mail or IM, or read about it at your boss's blog -- all true stories, according to Linton Weeks' post at NPR. So much for the human touch.)
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Posted
Feb 05 2008, 07:11 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. Coffee, cigarettes, alcohol, bottled water, manicures, car washes (full detailing), weekday lunches, vending machine snacks, interest charges on credit cards, and unused memberships. Do you know what these items have in common? They are the top 10 money sinkholes, according to Bankrate.com. You could try to commit that list to memory and see if you can cut out any of those items to find a little extra cash. For instance, cut out a pack-a-day smoking habit and gain, on average, $1,660 a year. But what you should be doing is looking at that list and seeing what else those items have in common: They are all wants, not needs, and they can all be reduced without significantly impacting your standard of living.
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