Think Outside The Piggy Bank

permanent hiatus?

As you may have noticed, I haven't posted anything for more than two months, so I've decided that it might be time to retire this blog. It's certainly not because I'm no longer interested in money, or am no longer a "frugality freak", snort, but I suppose my energy has gone in different directions. My two passions these days can be summed up in the words vintage and vegan, and of course because money is tied to just about everything, finance is not far away from these two areas either. My latest vintage obsession is Pyrex, and you can be sure that I delight in finding thrift store deals as much as ever. But what I'm also doing is trying to sell some of the treasures I find in my Etsy shop Tins And Things, and you're welcome to visit me there.

As some of you know, I've been vegan for two years this summer (almost as long as I've had this blog), and in that time I've come to believe that if the love of money isn't the root of most evil, then certainly greed (whether for wealth, status or power) is the likeliest contender. Whether it's the grinding up of male chicks at birth because they're economic liabilities, or the skinning of cows while they're still alive because it's not cost effective to make sure they're all unconscious first, money is at the heart of a lot of animal cruelty. And when this cruelty is ignored, condoned, or even actively encouraged by both individuals and institutions representing commerce, science, medicine and entertainment, then as far as I'm concerned the acquisition of money can no longer be viewed as a positive or even neutral endeavour. And it's not just related to how we view and treat animals as property. Common to how we treat the environment (think BP), and each other, many if not most of the social injustices continue to exist because of the economic gains from them. As you can no doubt tell by my indignation, animal rights (which I view as an extension of human rights) is where a lot of my energy goes these days, so if interested, you can read more at my So I'm Thinking of Going Vegan blog.

But I'm straying from what I originally wanted to say. This blog is most likely ending, but for those of you who ended up here Googling Bell Canada (I'm now with Teksavvy by the way) or any other topic for that matter, I've put a search bar in the right hand column underneath the subscriptions, so search away! Also, there are separate pages for Maxine, money quote posts, etc., that you can access in the line underneath the banner. 

And in case this IS the last blog post, many thanks to everyone for visiting, reading, and commenting. It's been a fun ride! :)

7 links to keep you busy

I promised you links to worthwhile sites a couple of posts ago, and they're up and running now. Just scroll down the left-hand column until you hit Smart Reading. Here you'll find tons of ideas covering creativity, productivity, personal development, happiness, organization, purpose, passion, growth, and ways to keep more of your dollars in your wallets. There are of course countless blogs devoted to any one (or all) of these topics, but if you're like me and easily get overwhelmed by the sheer number of sites you could potentially follow, then these select few are all you'll need to get started. Enjoy!

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. :)

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.

Twitter, tweet, and retweet, no thanks!

Just as I had no interest in joining Facebook, I do not intend to become a Twitterite (if that's even a term). I don't see the appeal, which I guess, is no surprise given that I don't text, instant message, YouTube, use a smart phone (maybe I'm too stupid?), or even have a simple cell phone. Yep, no cell phone. Call me an old fart (come on, you know you want to), but I hate the damn things. Sure, they're good for at home, emergencies and the odd occasional relay of important information when you're out in public, but do we have to be connected ALL the time? Can people not shop for groceries without being in consultation with a significant (or insignificant) other? Can one not use a bus without informing some faceless being at the other end the exact location two minutes before stepping off? Bah! I'm sick of it all. And when will social networking fatigue set in? I know, I know, I blog and Flickr, so in a way I'm being hypocritical here, but still.

As for the Twitter question "What are you doing?" I say, who cares? I don’t particularly want to "follow" or be "followed" (I'm not doing anything THAT interesting most of the time), and I bet I'm not the only one who feels "Enough already!"

And what, you may be asking, did that have to do with personal finance? Probably nothing, but it's my blog, so I can whine write about what I want, snort.

welcome!

I'm glad you've stopped by. For those returning to this blog, you may notice that it looks a bit different (yay, orange!), and that's because I decided that if I was going to move to a new place myself, then I might as well give my blog a new look as well. Hope you like. And for those here for the first time, take a peek at some of the posts and make yourself at home.

I also want to assure all readers that I pledge vow promise believe hope have every intention of attending to this blog more regularly from now on. :)

money, veganism, and animal rights

As some of you know I turned vegan this past summer (no meat, fish, eggs or dairy), and am increasingly focused on trying to clarify where I stand when it comes to animal welfare and animal rights. That may help explain why posting has become more infrequent of late as some of my time has gone into developing blogs on those two topics (see sidebar for links if interested.)

But what does that have to do with money you ask? Why am I talking about that here on TOTPB? Well, money has more to do with it than you may realize. First, and to my delight, I've discovered that veganism has greatly lowered my grocery bills. Although it cost a bit to initially stock my cupboards with vegan fare, the basic staples of beans, rice, pasta, bread, fruits and vegetables (I picked up a 10lb bag of carrots for $1.50 the other day) are relatively inexpensive when you compare them to processed foods. Plus you don't have to buy them as often. Items like soymilk and soymilk coffee cream do cost more than regular milk and cream, but overall I definitely don't spend as much on groceries as I used to. And on a more macro level I'm convinced that if most people switched to a plant-based diet, then a lot of money could be redirected by feeding grains to hungry people rather than trying to fatten up about-to-be slaughtered animals first. Veganism could be one pivotal way to help combat both hunger and poverty. But more about that in later posts or on my other blogs.

And when it comes to animal welfare and rights, money actually plays a key role here as well. While I don't necessarily believe that money is the root of all evil, I do think that money is at the root of a lot of animal cruelty. Dog fighting, racing, rodeos, puppy mills, just to name a few, are all enterprises where making money regardless of the effect on animals is the bottom line (not to mention the mammoth dairy and meat industries who don't care how inhumanely animals are treated as long as they earn more dollars). Because they are "just" animals, some people believe that they can do with them what they like. Even in instances where cruelty may not always be at play, money is. Take the phenomenon known as foreclosure pets in the United States. Now while I have certain opinions about what level of commitment should be required before people provide a home for pets, the reality is that many are abandoning them because they believe they can no longer afford them. Money then, is not as unrelated to these topics as may first seem to be the case. So while I'll continue to post on the topics you've come to expect, don't be surprised if my three blogs overlap at times.

Have a good weekend everyone!

a clarification or two

Yikes! I lost 8 subscribers in one day? If my calculations are correct, that means that 80% of subscribers (I had 10) told me to go take a hike. At best that means you got bored, but at worst that means I offended you, and if that's the case I truly am sorry. As opinionated, and unwittingly tactless and undiplomatic as I may sometimes be concerning topics I'm passionate about, at heart I hate conflict, and don't like to unduly offend.

If it was Tuesday's post title that led you all to flee, yeah, it was probably in poor taste. But I love words, and wordplay, and sometimes get carried away without thinking about the impact. More likely, it was the post content, or maybe my tone? While I still think that in many cases how money is handled can be more important than the actual amount, I probably didn't word it well, and may have left the impression that people are always to blame for whatever financial state or predicament they're in. And that's not the case.

I also want to clarify a couple of things I mentioned in Monday's post. When I referred to myself as poor, I was basing that upon the fact that my annual net income of about $12,000 is over $5,000 lower than Statistics Canada's 2006 poverty line of approximately $17,500 for a single person in a city with a population 500,000+. Having said that, in many ways I don't consider myself poor because I'm able to pay my rent, cover my bills, indulge in a few "wants" now and then, put a bit aside, and am fortunate enough to carry no debt. In that sense, I may even be richer than most! And then there's the definition of rich. See that's part of the problem too, because we tend to throw those terms around not knowing what people actually mean when they use them. I guess for me being suspicious of those who are or want to be rich meant those having or pining for millions. That kind of money I can't even envision, and can't identify with those who can, if you know what I mean.

Like I said, if I've offended, I'm sorry. But it could also just be a lack of interest that drove you away. Have I mentioned yet that I tend to take things personally and have a bit of a thin skin? Guess I'll have to work on that.

how not to grow one's blog

(Warning: post to be read tongue-in-cheek. No cheating allowed!)

You may have noticed that I recently added the cute little orange RSS button to my page, and am now also proudly showing off the number of subscribers in the equally cute feedburner box. That got me to thinking that I should investigate how one "grows" a blog, and I'm glad I did, because according to a number of scallywag sources (see skelliewag's excellent post), I'm doing it ALL wrong. Snort.

Apparently no self-respecting blogger posts their count number until it reaches a number they can be proud of. This number could be 100, 300, or 1000, but definitely not 7. Seven, although considered a lucky number in many other respects, is decidedly not lucky in growing one's blog. I'm also guilty of not putting it in the proper place (where exactly IS above the fold?), am not letting people subscribe by email (okay, maybe I'll change that), am not welcoming people at the beginning of every post, and am not begging (er, politely asking) readers at the end of each post to subscribe.

I'm amiss in many other ways as well. My online social networking skills, as it turns out, are about as good as my offline ones. Hmmm, that's definitely not promising. I shall make amends and do more linking, commenting, and perhaps start a blogroll. My blog itself has key flaws too, notably that it doesn't have a well-defined target audience, and covers too many topics. Passion, purpose and creativity will have to be set free if I want the blog to be more focused. Even "fascination with all things money" is probably too broad. Oh dear.

My posts too, are problematic. Too long (Internet readers are NOT readers, but skimmers), not value-packed enough, lacking in content, and lacking catchy titles. The one thing I have done right I believe, is to keep my blog looking nice and clean. Although, it really does look like a regular blog, and not a website that would have readers think of me as an authority. A popular authority at that.

Which leads me back to my 7 (has it gone down already?!) readers. Even if you're not a number I'm supposed to be proud of, I actually am, because I value every person who makes me think that I'm not just writing into thin air. I appreciate every visit, every comment (I'm quite friendly, so come and join the backstage fun!), and every subscription. I will also continue to reflect and post on most of the topics mentioned in my bio, because they're all important, they're all connected, and I can't help but think that readers of this blog will be as multi-faceted as the blog itself.

So welcome, old and new readers. I look forward to getting to know you better. And because I really wouldn't mind a bigger readership, I may even award prizes to the 10th and 100th subscribers! So, um, click the orange button if you don't mind. Please?

a lazy beginning

The first post! And of course after planning this blog for months, I'm now drawing a complete blank. Not to worry though, I have lots of ideas for future posts. But for now I suggest you peruse the About page if you want to get a better sense of the who, what, and why. And how I possibly came up with the blog title.

Done? Good. Oh, in case you're wondering about the multiple income streams I mentioned, right now they include a part-time gig in a rest home, independent house cleaning, and selling on eBay. But more about that later. Let the blog begin!