Think Outside The Piggy Bank

charity and pets

The problem with after Christmas sales is the lack of after Christmas money. --MAXINE

Don't know about you, but Christmas seems like a loooong time ago already. And while it's a tad late to talk about Christmas gift-giving, I came across an article that I had clipped that I still want to share. The holiday season is a time when we are more likely to donate to charity and here in my hometown this past December a few local organizations got together and came up with the idea of including pets when asking for donations. A veterinary clinic hosted a 'Fill My Tummy' drive and collected pet food, leashes, collars, treats, toys and litter for clients of two area food banks. Given that there has been a 15% increase in surrendered pets here over the past year and that people shouldn't have to choose between feeding themselves or their companion animals, this venture was a good idea, and I hope, a great success!

and so a new year begins

May you have a prosperous New Year! I may need to borrow some money. --MAXINE

Ha ha, I'm sure she's only kidding. But can you believe 2010 is here? Hope you've all had a joyful holiday season with no need to borrow, then or now. Sorry I haven't been around much. Will explain later. Or not. ;)

the perfect job

I'm thinking about getting a job as a bus driver. The idea of getting paid for telling people where to get off really appeals to me. --MAXINE

Snort. But seriously, I saw an ad in the local paper the other day for a job that excited me. I know, the words job and excited in the same sentence is a rarity for me, but as they say, wonders never cease!

The ad in question reads like this, Writer needs part-time assistant. Typing, internet, research, some marketing. Please fax one page to....

Now the location specified is not close to me, and there's no bus going to that area so technically the job isn't perfect, but to see something like this advertised gave me hope. And I'm going to reply anyway because what do I have to lose? The neat thing too is that I figured out pretty quickly exactly who this writer is (how? by being a smart cookie and doing some research), and I'm pleased to report that this guy is a humour writer! So those who know me well enough will realize why this job is perfect on so many levels. I'm also aware that the chances of getting this job are lessened by the fact that he'll prefer someone with transportation (needing someone to type means he may write in longhand), but at this point I don't even care because the ad made me realize that other writers need assistants too, and that there are possibilities for doing almost all of the tasks he mentioned online.

The other direct benefit is that I looked over some of my own previous writing material last night, and have decided that my short humour book You Know You've Been Unemployed Too Long When... is still darn funny even though written a number of years ago, so I'm going to be posting it on a separate page right on this blog! I mean, why not? Even though never published, it should still be enjoyed and exist right here in my own space.

hot, hot, hot!

   

Although I'm not really complaining because it's only THIS week that the heat and humidity has begun. The summer has been far harsher in other places, and given that September is only two weeks away (what a scary thought!), I'm certainly not going to bother installing the air conditioner now. I don't have to pay for hydro myself, but I imagine that people here in Ontario have saved themselves oodles of dollars the past couple of months by not having to run the air most of the time.

Now excuse me if you will while I soak my feet in cold water and um, take off a few things. :)

speaking of light...

Ha ha. Actually, I really AM in the dark most of the time. I abhor artificial light during the day, and even though I'll have a lamp on in the evening for certain tasks (like reading), I find that the cozy glow of the screen is all I need when I'm on the computer. Strange as I crave natural light most of the time (one can never have enough windows!) and get cranky without it, but seem to have little need to illuminate my place once the sun sets.

tax time

  

I tried paying my taxes with a smile. They wanted money. --MAXINE

Snort. So, done yours yet? I always do mine early (as soon as the slips come in), and received my refund back in March already. Now they say you should be sensible and reinvest what you get back instead of spending it, but I put mine towards paying last month's rent on my new apartment. Which in a way is a good investment itself!

it's all about chocolate

It's Valentine's Day for all you romantics. For me, it's the day before chocolate goes on sale. --MAXINE

Now before you ask me how I can be posting this when I should be at work, it's because TypePad allows me to postdate my posts! Handy. And a feature I'll have to use more often. So am I going to rant about how commercialized this holiday is, and how it's all about making dollars by forcing you to buy stuff for someone you may or may not love? Nah. Because you know all of that anyway. As for chocolate, I bought some for myself yesterday (ha, who needs a sweetheart to do it for you?), but mine was on sale already. Lindt's extra fine dark chocolate with 85% cacao solids, because if you're going to indulge in sinful stuff (and by all means do), then indulge in the healthiest version possible. Yum.

stre$$

It's been an odd week for me so far, and kind of a stressful one at that, although luckily it's had nothing to do with money or family as such. But is Maxine right? Certainly these days all you seem to hear about are the economic woes that are plaguing more than one country, and yet I'm starting to wonder if there isn't a bit of economic fear-mongering going on, especially here in Canada where things are set up differently than in the States. Also curious I thought was the sudden focus on the economy in the last part of the recent federal election, which seemed to me to coincide with the massive amount of media attention paid to the financial troubles next door. Okay, maybe I just wasn't paying attention before and I realize that most things have global implications these days, but I don't think an economic meltdown is here quite yet. Like I said, systems in this country are not the same as in the States. And, if your own personal finances are in order (as they should be), then there's no need to go into panic mode. Right?

garage and rummage sales

Garage sales: Ultimate proof that you can get nothing for something. --MAXINE

Sorry Maxine, but I gotta disagree with you on this one. Besides the fact that garage and rummage sales are just plain fun (oh the thrill of the hunt!), you CAN get good bargains. In fact, my only major regret in taking on a weekend job is that I've had to sacrifice going to these sales. So what did I do this past Saturday on my first weekend off in almost a year? Yep, sales, sales, sales! Well, only two because it was raining like crazy, but at least I got to feed my former addiction a little bit. And I actually planned last weekend off to coincide with my favourite rummage sale, which is held in a local church every first Saturday of the month.

This time I ended up with three Tabi t-shirts at 50 cents a piece, and two old-fashioned kitchen implements at 10 cents each for a total of $1.70. Not bad eh? I must say though that this church has spoiled me completely because I'm now used to paying rock-bottom prices for clothes. When I was unemployed I got ALL of my clothes there (I obviously don't care about fashion much), and would make people laugh by insisting that paying $4 for a T-shirt at Value Village was simply insane. Can you imagine my reaction then if I ever tried shopping at a regular clothes store? Snort.

I've been very fortunate too in picking up things dirt-cheap and reselling them on eBay for prices that has amazed even me. My best find so far was a T.G. Green egg cup that I bought for less than a dollar and resold for almost fifty bucks. It's true! And a couple of ceramic Melitta coffee filters that someone gave to me for free I turned around and sold for nearly $30 each. As they say, one man's junk is another man's treasure. But I've also kept a lot of what I've found because I happen to love old things, and even though my decor can best be described as shabby shabby chic, visitors usually use words like "cozy", "warm", and "inviting" when they see my place for the first time, so I figure I'm doing something right.

So no Maxine, this time you're WAY off the mark! :)

the price of air

I'm going someplace really expensive this summer. The gas station. --MAXINE

As mentioned in a previous post on gas, I don't drive anymore, so am not feeling the pinch like auto drivers are, but what does annoy me is the price of air. Yes, air! Once upon a time, and not even that long ago, you were able to fill up bike or car tires for free. Because you know, it's not like air costs a lot to manufacture. Now however you have to shell out two quarters (which I try to save for the laundromat), and it sort of pisses me off because air should be free for Pete's sake. I suppose I shouldn't complain, as I can't compare the cost of biking with driving (bike sales have gone way up, by the way), but still. What are they going to charge for next? Parking the bike?