Donna Freedman - Surviving and Thriving

Declaring my freedom.

February 29, 2016July 5, 2012 by Donna Freedman

On Wednesday I read “A message of freedom” over at DailyWorth. It pointed out that “happy Independence Day” could also be read as “happy freedom day,” i.e., the freedom to live the way you want if you take responsibility for your finances.

“Happy freedom to dream differently, choose carefully and slow down a little right now day,” wrote site founder and CEO Amanda Steinberg.

“Declare it. What is your freedom?”

Steinberg’s statement jibed pretty well with what I’ve been mulling over for the past few days: Frugality made me independent and it keeps me that way.

Back home, still busy.

July 2, 2012 by Donna Freedman

This is what happens when you don’t allow enough time to breathe: You turn blue, albeit in a vaguely artistic way.

I haven’t posted much lately, mostly because I was in Alaska. Meeting deadlines and spending as much time as possible with friends and loved ones sucked away most of my hours and all of my energy.

Last week I was so distracted that I never even posted a giveaway. More on that below.

Got regrets? Read this.

November 10, 2015June 22, 2012 by Donna Freedman

I’m a little tardy in recapping what I’ve been doing lately, and I’m sorry about that. But I won’t be for long.

Yep, I’m over it. That’s because I re-read my June 5 piece at Get Rich Slowly, “The statute of limitations on regret.”

Giveaway: “Tundra” comics collection.

June 15, 2012 by Donna Freedman

Many years ago, cartoonist Chad Carpenter had just a few syndicated clients. One of them was my then-employer, the Anchorage Daily News, so I actually know the guy. (Well, if “know” is the same as “I used to bug the crap out of him every chance I got.”) These days his daily strip is syndicated in just over 500 newspapers and other publications, mostly in the United States and Canada but in some other countries as well.

At first I wondered how some of the humor would translate to, say, a Norwegian or Jamaican audience. Then again, I guess jokes about outhouses, snowmen and the Grim Reaper are pretty universal.

Which is why I’m putting another Carpenter collection up for grabs — who wouldn’t snicker at a drawing of people being forced to wear life jackets while heading across the River Styx?

Got finance questions? Get expert answers.

June 12, 2012 by Donna Freedman

Bring your money queries to the table on Thursday, June 14, when Kiplinger.com hosts a live web chat with a trio of experts from the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA).

The session is part of Kiplinger’s “Jump-Start Your Financial Plan” series. Here’s the beauty part: It’s free.

A spicy read.

June 9, 2012 by Donna Freedman

This week’s giveaway is a sweet/hot read paired with a sweet/hot treat.

The book is Alaska author Jennifer Bernard’s romance novel, “The Fireman Who Loved Me.” Let me say right up front I am not a reader of romances. The genre doesn’t do a thing for me. On the other hand, I like mysteries and some people disdain those.

The importance of midnight movies.

March 20, 2015June 8, 2012 by Donna Freedman

I went to a 12:02 a.m. screening of “Prometheus,” one of the most unsettling films I’ve seen in a long time. Not horror-movie scary, sci-fi-movie creepy. It left me so jittery that when we got home at about 2:45 a.m. I couldn’t go right to sleep.

Instead I added video codes to today’s MSN Money post, cleaned up my e-mail inbox and finished tidying the scene of an earlier kitchen mishap involving overboiled blueberries (apparently I have something against my friend’s stove).

It was 4 a.m. before I finally went to bed, which probably isn’t the healthiest sleep habit. The kettle corn consumed at the theater wasn’t so smart, either, no matter how much I try to convince myself that popcorn = corn = daily vegetable intake.

But damn, it was fun. My friend’s got me hooked on midnight screenings. We’ve seen five since I got here.

Couponing for idiots.

June 1, 2012May 31, 2012 by Donna Freedman

I’m not calling you an idiot if you coupon. I do it myself. (I also remember the day when “coupon” was a noun, not a verb. Ditto “journal” and “parent.”)

What I’m doing is promoting this week’s giveaway, “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Couponing.”

Planning summer travel? Take this kit with you.

May 25, 2012 by Donna Freedman

Your summer plane trips will be simpler if you go carry-on only. This week’s giveaway can help.

On the road to Homer.

May 14, 2013May 22, 2012 by Donna Freedman

Sorry to have maintained radio silence for so long. I’ve had to take some time to grieve because my daughter had a second miscarriage. She found out she was pregnant while I was visiting last month, and would have been due close to Christmas.

That was May 11 – their fourth wedding anniversary and two days before Mother’s Day.