Donna Freedman

If life is the currency, I’m already rich.

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J. Money has started a “Million Dollar Club” at his site, Budgets Are Sexy. Nicoleandmaggie from Grumpy Rumblings of the Untenured isn’t rushing to join.

(I’m not really sure which of the two bloggers wrote this, so I’m going to guess that it was Nicole. I have a 50% chance of being right.)

Nicole and her spouse are making some smart choices, such as paying the mortgage off early, being canny about retirement funds and living on less than one salary. In this post she noted that throwing every extra dime and spare minute toward millionaire-hood would get them there faster.

But.

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Who would Jesus strafe?

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A relative has told me that the only way to secure our border is to allow the Border Patrol to shoot to kill. He honestly believes this is OK. He also honestly believes he is a Christian.

I’ve heard of prosperity gospel. Perhaps his church teaches hostility gospel. My church doesn’t.

Talk about immigration generally ceases to be talk and quickly descends into rhetoric. Porous borders! Welfare cheats! Low riders! Constantly pregnant Latinas! It’s easy to whip up hysteria and to present a convenient scapegoat: the Mexican drywaller who took away an “American” job, rather than the millionaire developer who hired him – and who even now is lobbying your congressman not to pass stricter immigration standards.

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My first Open Sky post: The EnviTote.

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Editor’s note: I am no longer an Open Sky distributor. However, I still recommend the EnviTote bag because it’s a terrific product. (More on that below.) You can buy directly from the manufacturer’s website.

When I decided to sign up for Open Sky, a site that combines social media and e-commerce, I swore I wouldn’t write about any products I hadn’t tried myself.

My first at-bat and I’m already breaking that rule. Sort of.

The inaugural product is the EnviTote, a washable canvas bag suitable for groceries, gym gear, garage-sale finds, knitting supplies, recyclables, diapers or whatever.

No, I haven’t used it to carry any of those items myself. But I have something even better than a personal recommendation:

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Blog carnivals: Art, labor and love.

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My writing is in three personal finance blog carnivals this week. “What do we want to be? A few thoughts on labor” was selected for the Carnival of Money Stories at Eventual Millionaire. “What’s with the shopping cart? Or: Art vs. commerce” is in the Carnival of Personal Finance at Sustainable Life Blog. Finally, last … Read more

Blog roundup: Income and outgo edition.

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Abigail at I Pick Up Pennies is frustrated by “We live on one income!” stories. The MSN Real Estate blog offers cheery news about pending rent raises. Liz Weston reminds us that you can run but you can’t hide from credit-card misbehavior.

But on the bright side, Financial Samurai offers hope to guys who still live in their parents’ basements.

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Getting paid to draw pictures in the sand.

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Becky Blanton wrote introductory letters to women who answered a dating ad. Kerri Hopkins analyzes names. Dimitri LaBarge shoots videos with titles like “How to Start a Glee Club” and “How to Play Bingo.” Stefanie Strobel will sells personalized messages drawn on the beach.

The one thing they have in common: All four found and/or deliver these gigs online.

Selling yourself on the Internet is the topic of my most recent Living With Less column on MSN Money. “Need cash? Make extra money online” is a peek at some, uh, unusual jobs as well as the usual writing and editing freelance gigs. (Edited to add: Those old MSN Money articles are no longer available online. Sorry about that.)

“Freelance” is often construed to mean “writing,” but it ain’t necessarily so. For example, Web design is a very hot skill right now. But you probably have something to offer even if you’re not familiar with Strunk & White or HTML. Somebody will pay you to translate a document from Danish to English, knit a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, act as a virtual assistant or roll around in public screaming his name.

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