Blog

In which I cop to some odd habits.

by

thJust read a lovely, raw, real piece called “Sometimes” written by a woman named Arnebya at a site called What Now And Why.

It’s lovely because it’s honest: Sometimes, I am jealous of my children. They have so much time and opportunity and I feel like I’ve wasted so much time and opportunity.

It’s raw because it’s, well, really honest: Sometimes, when I pull up to my house, I don’t want to stop; I want to keep driving.

And it’s real because she exposes herself fearlessly: Sometimes I want a drink so badly I consider leaving work early to sit in a bar alone, read my book, and catch a virus from the peanuts being eaten by many unsanitized hands.

Read more

Giveaway: “Inspired & Unstoppable.”

by

bookcover-IU-tilted1Want to change careers but fear you’ve already invested “too many” years in your current one to give up?

Or needing to focus on what’s happening right now while still hoping for change?

Maybe you’re trying to follow a dream but beset by setbacks and naysayers. Or you’re either on top of the world or at the depths of despair.

If any (or all!) of this is true, you might want this week’s giveaway.

Read more

Thursday: Your financial questions answered, for free.

by

thGot a money question? Let the experts answer it. Four financial advisors will host a free live web chat on Kiplinger.com on Thursday, March 21.

They’ll take questions about topics such as insurance, taxes, investing for retirement and saving for college from 1 to 3 p.m. Eastern. Ask your question before or during the chat using the Kiplinger web chat link or the Kiplinger Facebook page, the NAPFA Facebook page, or the #JumpStartRetire hashtag on Twitter.

Can’t stick around for the whole rodeo? You can go back later and view a transcript.

Read more

Wedding bill blues.

by

thQuick question: Would you spend almost three-fourths of your annual income on one party?

Yeah, me neither. But some people will spend that much – or more – on their nuptials.While researching a wedding article for MSN Money Frugal Nation, I learned that:

  • The average wedding cost $28,427.
  • The average income for a U.S. resident is $39,959.

Do the math.

Incidentally, that average wedding price does not include the cost of a honeymoon.

Read more

Thanks a million.

by

thAnother milestone: Some time between midnight and 10 a.m., Surviving and Thriving achieved its one millionth page view. I’ve been watching the site stats with great (OK, obsessive) interest, but didn’t expect to hit the seven-figure mark until the end of this week.

See what happens when you sign up for NaBloPoMo?

All kidding aside: I’m thrilled that people continue to check in. When I started the site back in May 2010, I wondered whether or not I could keep a website alive – and also whether anyone would care.

As I noted in “My first half-million,” a post about hitting the halfway-to-where-I-am-now mark:

If writers are the most insecure people on Earth, bloggers are proof that self-doubt has a sub-basement. Like the 2 a.m. disc jockey a whole lot of us wonder, “Is anyone even listening? 

Read more

One post a day, all month.

by

Those of you who’ve been keeping score may have noticed that I’ve been posting more frequently. A lot more frequently. That’s because I bought into the BlogHer version of National Blog Posting Month.

th-2Normally NaBloPoMo occurs in November. Over at BlogHer it apparently happens every month. I didn’t know that when I made a secret promise to give this a try.

The theme this month is “risk.” Appropriate, because I thought I couldn’t do it.

Read more

Zombie consumerism.

by

thLately it’s been all undead, all the time. My friend Linda B. has been recording the deeply creepy zombie series “The Walking Dead” for me, and the two of us saw the zom-rom-com film “Warm Bodies” together. Last weekend, DF and I attended opening night (and the world premiere) of “At Home With the Clarks,” described by its author as “Father Knows Best” meets “Night of the Living Dead.”

All three got me thinking about class and consumerism.

 

Read more

Giveaway: The large flat-rate box of Alaska.

by

thPrevious giveaways of odd conference swag or anti-“Blue Monday” boxes have always been popular. Maybe that’s because a bunch of little oddments are fun to open. Or maybe it’s because the readers, like me, can’t resist a freebie.

This week’s prize is a collection of this-and-that from the Last Frontier, as much as I could fit in a large flat-rate Priority Mail box. I didn’t get these things at a conference but they should certainly fight the blues. After all, how many chances do you get to win a kuspuk pattern?

Read more

10 personal finance lessons from the Iditarod.

by

thEvery year in early March the city of Anchorage puts snow on downtown streets, so the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race can have its ceremonial start. For the next nine or 10 days Alaskans talk about wheel dogs, snub lines, mandatory 24s and towns with names like Ophir, Shageluk, Shaktoolik, Unalakleet, Koyuk, Kaltag and – my personal favorite – Safety.

“Safety.” Just what I’d be thinking about if I were standing on sled runners in the middle of the night, on zero sleep, with wind chills well below zero.

This year’s race was won by 53-year-old Mitch Seavey in 9 days, 7 hours, 39 minutes and 56 seconds. He’s the oldest person ever to win – and this year, he beat his own son, Dallas, who finished in fourth place.

Like they say: Youth and vigor can often be overcome by age and treachery.

Read more

The $10 wake-up call.

by

thEarlier today a guy knocked on the Phoenix home where my daughter and son-in-law live. He said he’d just lost his job and would be willing to do their yard for $10.

Scam, right?

Wrong. He did the work. Before getting paid for it. And no doubt he was surprised by what happened next.

“We gave him $20 because, uh, we prefer not to go to hell” is the way my daughter described it.

Apparently some of their immediate neighbors have no fear of everlasting immolation, though, because they took the guy up on his $10 offer. Which brings me to the point of this mercifully short screed:

Read more