Got travel plans for Memorial Day weekend? This week’s giveaway will make your trip through security a lot more affordable.
These little bags are always hugely popular, and for good reason: Who wants to pay $1.29 for the one-ounce tube of toothpaste that will get you and your carry-on bag through security?
But toothpaste isn’t the only thing in this bag. Here’s what the winner will take on his/her next trip:
Want a free ticket to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Museum of Art and Design, the Contemporary Jewish Museum or the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts?
You might have that ticket already, if you use a Bank of America/Merrill Lynch credit or debit card, or any card with the BofA logo. The Museums On Us program means gratis admission to 150 museums in 33 states and the District of Columbia.
Bring along that bank card and a photo ID and you’ll get in without paying on the first full weekend each month. Usually that’s Saturday-only, but not always. This year the first full weekend happens to coincide with Mother’s Day. If mom has a card, she’s in; if you have a card but she doesn’t, you’ll wind up paying for one instead of two.
The word “museums” may connote the fine arts. But old still-lifes aren’t the only things that you can see for free.
Recently I mentioned that I was working on a book and that I planned to take DF’s advice to provide periodic progress reports. The theory is that this will keep me from slacking.
The book’s focus, smart money hacks during tough times, is pretty familiar territory. I’ve been writing about this since January 2007 when my first post, “Surviving and thriving on $12,000 a year,” went up on MSN Money.
But “familiar” doesn’t mean “simple to achieve.” For my first writing update all I can say is, “It’s complicated.”
Personally, I would argue that in the United States just about every day is Superhero Day. Life is an endless stream of movies, TV shows, TV, graphic novels and, of course, “licensed” merchandise from T-shirts to figurines to underpants.
About that last: Recently my daughter weighed in on Twitter and Facebook about the apparent existence of, I swear to God, men’s undergarments bearing the logo of The Flash. “Superhero undies are cool and all, but hey, guys… maybe ‘The Flash’ underwear sends the wrong message?”
My response: “You’d think most guys would go for The Incredible Hulk. (‘You’ll really like me when I’m angry.’)”
But back to today’s celebration: I noticed a funny Facebook item from humorist and standup comedian Michele Wojciechowski. In honor of Superhero Day she decided her own alter ego would be “Wojo Woman.”
“My hair could catch bad guys and tangle them up. I could also send death rays through my eyes … And I could use my humor to make them laugh so hard that they would be totally incapacitated.”
She invited others to chime in, so of course I did.
Those of you who follow my daughter’s blog already know this, but: Abby has been working on a book lately. You’d also know this if you read my late-March post, “Watching a book be born.”
Happy to announce that “Frugality For Depressives: Money-Saving Tips For Those Who Find Life A Little Harder” is here, and happier still to be giving away a couple of copies of the electronic version.
(Edited to add: Hannah at Unplanned Finance is also giving away a copy. Use the link to find out how to enter; the deadline is May 9.)
(Note: The above link is for the Kindle version. Anyone who wants an ePub or PDF version can check the ad on the right-hand side of this page. It’s the same price – $7.99 – for all these editions.)
During her post-illness years of poverty and struggle, Abby looked for money advice but couldn’t find anything that worked. Personal finance blogs were popping up like mushrooms after a rain but they all said the same stuff over and over:
She often saw a phrase I’ve come to loathe: “If I can do it, anyone can.” Gah. Basic money hacks do work for a lot of people, but they don’t work for everyone.
Abby tried – oh, how she tried. “Each failure drove the shame and despair deeper. Each new twist focused my mind on my inability to be the good frugal girl I was raised to be.”
[Sorry about that, kid.]
Since she couldn’t become a perfect frugalist, Abby decided to hack the hacks.
Headed north today
Too early, but one must think:
Construction season.
Road breakfast first, though:
Eggs, spuds, bacon, pancakes and
Diet (duh) cola.
Clouds, gloom: Were we cursed?
Look! Denali lifts chador
Of cloud and smiles big.
(Who is Denali?
You knew her as McKinley.
But you knew nothing.)
It begins: Yesterday I bought my first stocking stuffers.
They were in the clearance bin, as stocking stuffers often are: a trio of Crayola scented markers for 17 cents apiece. The markers will go to a flamboyant young relative who’s all about creativity; at age 9, the dude is using YouTube to learn how to knit an infinity scarf.
In years past I’ve hit post-holiday sales to buy the next year’s holiday gifts and even some items for the house. This year I’ve been curiously inert when it comes to bargain-hunting.
The Crayolas may have gotten me off my own mark, however, since I’ve begun to notice yard-sale signs.
Spring means rebirth, transformation and beauty. How about translating that kind of positive energy to your professional and/or personal life?
“The Thriver’s Edge: Seven Keys to Transform the Way You Live, Love and Lead,” by Dr. Donna Stoneham, might be just what you need to make this year your best ever.
Stoneham is a “transformational leadership expert” who’s spent three decades helping individuals, teams and entire organizations to “unleash their power to thrive.” She’s worked with non-profits and Fortune 1000 leaders alike to get to the bottom of the fears, negative beliefs or self-denigrating ideas that keep them from realizing their full potential.
That potential, by the way, can be happiness and peace — and you don’t have to be a captain of industry to take to heart the lessons from this book.
Some very interesting reader comments appeared on my April 6 post, especially as regards grown sons and daughters who expect help with down payments and furnishings.
“Just got an email from my stepson who wants us to co-sign on an FHA home loan because they don’t have enough income to qualify for the loan,” wrote Kandace.
She hasn’t said “no” yet, but she will. But she knows that won’t be the end of it.
“Then they will likely want us to co-sign on an apartment, but I’m not comfortable with that either. I’m thinking about what I would be willing to give – or lose – financially. It will probably be an amount that helps get them (he, his wife and their two kids), into an apartment. But no co-signing for me.”
Not everyone was able to make that kind of call – at least initially.
Apparently I can’t read a calendar. Last week I offered a 40 percent discount on my Write A Blog People Will Read online course. At the end of the post I noted that the discount was good until “11:59 PDT Wednesday, April 8.”
Swell, except that April 8 is a Friday. Ooops.
Those who are still mulling it over (and I’ve heard from a couple of you) now have two extra days to make your decision. If you’re on the fence, feel free to e-mail me at SurvivingAndThriving (at) live (dot) com with any qualms. [Edit: This discount has passed, obviously. But if you were persistent enough to find this article, use the code 40OFF.]
For example, one reader wrote to ask how much experience was needed for the course. Although she does a lot of writing for her job it’s a very different type of scribbling. Thus she wondered if the course would be “too advanced” for someone who was new to blogging.
I responded with a note plus a couple of sample chapters so she could get an idea of what the course holds. If you, too, have specific questions (how can I know whether I’ll find enough ideas, what if I’m not sure there’s time in my life to maintain a blog, et al.), send them along and I’ll respond with advice*** and a course sample that helps address that question.
In other news: