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. ;)

razor-sharp thinking

It is vain to do with more what can be done with less. --WILLIAM OF OCCAM (1300-1350)

 

see Occam’s Razor

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.

seeing red

Almost any man knows how to earn money, but not one in a million knows how to spend it. --HENRY DAVID THOREAU

Hmmm, not one in a million? I'm assuming that he meant spend wisely, although I could be wrong. And most of us are not taught how to manage money well at all, unless we've been fortunate enough to learn by example. But luckily, more schools are catching on that basic financial skills would be valuable to add to their curriculum, because it's certainly not an innate skill. 

Hey, remember that lamp I bought? Not sure what Thoreau would have thought of my spending in this particular case, but here it is:

The halogen bulb for the reading lamp part (it swings around the other way too) cost about $3.50, and I decided to leave the red floodlight bulb on top, because well, it's different, so for under $10, I got myself a floor lamp! Below you can see it turned on, but this was during the day. Try instead to picture a room with a burgundy carpet bathed in red light, and you might just get the idea! Hey, I wonder what it looks like from the outside?

a cheater post

Well, I was going to write about how you should always check your grocery receipts in case the clerk has made a mistake and how that can be to your advantage, when I had a sneaking suspicion that maybe I've written about that before. And sure enough, I have! Still, it's worth rereading if you like getting things free. But, to not make this post a total waste, here's a money quote for you:

Prosperity is living easily and happily in the real world, whether you have money or not. --JERRY GILLIES

Also, this will be my last weekend of work (woohoo!), so I'll report back before I get in the throes of packing and moving to the white house. No, not THAT White House, snort, THIS white house:

  

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!

giving it up

If you have a job without aggravation, you don't have a job.    --MALCOLM FORBES

Pretty much says it all I suppose. And of course in this economy there are many unemployed people who would love to have the problem of an aggravating job, so who am I to give mine up? But that's exactly what I'm about to do. Although I haven't blogged about it, some of you know the issues involved, the work conditions I've put up with, and the attitudes I've had to endure from both staff and residents. In short I would say that over the past year I have felt increasingly overworked, underpaid, and worst of all, unappreciated. So I have made the decision to chuck it all in by the end of April at the latest. I gave my employer lots of advance warning that I'll be giving formal notice at some point, and a few days ago, she gleefully told me that she's already found a replacement! So I guess I don't have to worry about leaving her in the lurch, snort. The residents already know as well about my upcoming departure, and I have to admit that when some of them expressed genuine regret and sadness at the news, it made me feel a bit better.

So what will I be doing instead? I'm moving back to the hometown of my childhood in order to be closer to my elderly and ailing parents. They'll be turning 93 and 82 later this year, and they're starting to require more help (even if they don't always think they do). There are a number of retirement homes in the area, and I'm assuming/hoping I'll be able to find a part-time position with one of them. Thus, a new adventure will be beginning soon! This also means that I'm feeling even less able to keep up with three blogs, a Flickr site, and some other online places where I participate. What I'll do instead in the meantime is post links to interesting articles so that I don't feel overly guilty about not contributing original content, and so that this blog doesn't lose steam entirely. I'll always be interested in personal finance (although admittedly animal welfare/rights is what I feel most passionate about these days), and I'm not prepared to give up this blog/baby yet. ;)

where has this month gone?

No idea. Sorry I haven't been around much, but I'm in the process of compiling a list of books on personal finance, simple living and creativity that I have found helpful and inspiring, and would highly recommend to any reader of this blog. They will be linked to reviews in Amazon, although as you can probably guess, I'm a huge believer in borrowing books rather than buying them, unless you happen to find them in thrift stores, garage sales, or at online discount book stores like BookCloseouts.com! Watch for it soon. But in the meantime let me leave you with this:

The safest way to double your money is to fold it over once and put it in your pocket. --KIM HUBBARD

Ha ha! :)

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.