Not that kind.
This is the “Better Living Through Chemistry” package that I put together entirely with items that my freebie-lovin’ daughter obtained from tables at BlogHer 2010.
Here’s what you’ll get if you win:
Donna Freedman
Think you’re broke? You probably aren’t.
Recently I linked to Laura Rowley’s excellent column, “Why the rich don’t feel rich,” in which she wrote about University of Chicago law professor Todd Henderson’s struggle to survive on a combined family income of more than $250,000. The column was a stark contrast to something that happened while I was in New Jersey last month.
I frequently stopped by to see my Aunt Dot, who’s 87 and very frail due to several medical issues. She and her son live on Social Security and disability plus her small pension. One evening I discovered that they had exactly one dollar in the house. Her check was due the next day and she planned to walk to the bank to cash it.
The bank is at least a mile from where Dot lives. And did I mention that she’s on oxygen?
Why you need renter’s insurance.
Water is an incredibly destructive force. I saw this three times during my five-year stint as an apartment building manager.
- An ice dam on the roof, which hardly ever happens in Seattle, caused water to leak into a couple of units.
- A flash flood caused by days of heavy rain and a sewer-system failure dumped five feet of muddy water into the underground parking garage.
- A backed-up toilet overflowed for about three hours, leaking into several apartments and the basement laundry room.
None of these situations could reasonably be anticipated. Then again, most of us don’t get hit by uninsured drivers or diagnosed with rare illnesses — but most of us consider car and health coverage to be necessary evils.
You also need renter’s insurance, to cover that which comes out of the blue — or from the apartment upstairs.
Blog roundup: Poor little rich prof edition.
The blogosphere sizzled, both pro and con, over a post in which University of Chicago law professor Todd Henderson claimed he and his physician wife are not rich.
Sure, they have a 4,700-square-foot home, two cars, a gardener, several kids in private school, a full-time nanny for their new baby and someone who comes in to clean a few times a month.
Wonder what that particular brand of poverty feels like? (Also, why two cars if he lives within walking distance of the university?)
Laura Rowley did a swell blog post called Why the rich don’t feel rich at Yahoo! Finance. You need to read it. You should also follow this link within her piece and enjoy economist J. Bradford DeLong as he scores points off Henderson, whom he designates an “unreliable narrator.”
Ain’t no schadenfreude like scholarly schadenfreude.
But do find time also to look at:
Giveaway: Godiva is back.
It’s been a long time since I gave away any chocolate.
Is the TV-free life for you?
That’s the question I ask in my current Living With Less column over at MSN Money. “Can your life be richer without TV?” refers to wealth both actual and abstract.
Non-watchers told me they save money (sometimes a lot of money) on cable costs and tend to spend less (sometimes a lot less) because they and their kids aren’t bombarded with ads and product placement. They find their lives are richer in other ways, too.
And they get more sleep.
A couple of carnivals.
My work is in two blog carnivals this week.
Unemployed? Market yourself as a ‘caretaker.’
My extended family has loads of skill sets and garages full of equipment. They’re either professional electricians, plumbers, carpenters or mechanics or else they know enough about it not to wind up in the ER.
They’ll drywall or paint or landscape or bring over their log-splitters. They’ll help you wrestle a heating oil storage tank into place, or wire a surround-sound system for your man-cave. They’ll cut down a tree or spread bark mulch or dig a hole right where you want it.
It’s a loose system of favor-trading. You need something, you ask. The guy or gal who can do it will eventually ask for something in return. Nobody keeps score. It all evens out – and even if it isn’t strictly “fair,” everyone is pretty happy with the arrangement.
I miss that kind of networking. Then again, I’m the one who moved away. It’s my own fault if I have to hire someone to do the kind of thing cousin Denny would have traded for.
Giveaway: The EnviTote has a new home.
Congratulations to lostAnnfound, she whom the random number generator loved this week. She gets the EnviTote, a reusable canvas shopping bag that is both rugged and eco-friendly.
Ann: Please respond to my e-mail requesting your mailing address. I’ll put it in the mail before I fly back to Seattle on Thursday.
(I’ve been here just over one month. It seems to have gone so quickly.)
Thanks to all who entered. Be sure to check back on Friday, because it just might be a chocolate sort of day.
Blog roundup: Not enough time edition.
Still in New Jersey, still feeling squeezed and sad – yet still finding joy in life. And, occasionally, time to read.
Americans are getting deeper in debt at I Pick Up Pennies
Shari’ah law is coming! Lock up your daughters! at Still Small Voice