Think Outside The Piggy Bank

so where was I?

This is my official, but short, catch-up post. I've tweaked the design a little bit, so that I now have three columns instead of two, and have added a calendar in order to shame myself into posting more often. Okay, briefly:

1. I know, I made fun of Twitter and following, but you can follow me now if you like. Who knows, you might even be able to tweet me one day, snort. Just click the link in the right-hand column if you want.
2. Still hate Bell Canada, and promise that a wonderful new Bell-bashing column will soon appear.
3. The boob tube now lives in my computer. I'm not kidding. I can't believe the number of shows that I can watch via the CBC and CTV (Canadian TV network) websites. And because I have addictive tendencies and no self-control, I'm still watching way more TV than I should, even without a TV.
4. The perfect job? I did get a response, but yeah, I was too far away and too car-less. Ah well, I guess that made it a not-so perfect job.
5. At some point, I WILL be adding links to financial books and other worthwhile sites. And I'll try to make sure that more orange numbers appear in that nifty little calendar. :)

you know you've been unemployed too long when...

Yep, that little book I wrote, and mentioned two posts ago, is now part of this blog. Click on Humour Book up in the navigation bar (top right), or over at the left under More Info. Sorry I've been absent. Hope to catch up soon!

moneymoon: marriage and money

After the Honeymoon comes the "Moneymoon".

This phrase was part of an ad I saw for a marriage and money seminar held by a local church last month. I didn't go, in part because I'm marriage-phobic, LOL, and because I hope I already have the common-sense approach to money matters that they promised. But I wish I had as I think it would have been interesting, and I'm curious as to what they advocated.

I'm assuming of course that they talked about the need for planning, budgeting, saving, avoiding or reducing debt, and how to distinguish between needs and wants. They probably covered the importance of talking about money (which can sometimes be even more awkward than talking about sex), and the difficulty that arises when one party is more of a "saver" and the other more of a "spender". Money is one of the biggest sources of conflict in relationships, and no wonder as it's often much more than just about money itself.

I'm hoping though that what they particularly stressed is the importance of women having access to their own account even if married. While I imagine that few contemporary relationships are still based on the sexist model of men being in charge of the finances, I'm sure that they still exist, and that's pretty scary. All women in any type of relationship need to have access to their own credit card, personal and joint accounts, bills, and knowledge of all financial and legal issues that pertain to the couple. Anything else is an invitation to a control and power imbalance, and potential financial abuse.