blogosphere

Blog roundup: Sick as a dog edition.

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thTwo weekends ago I came down with what seemed like an upper-respiratory virus: congestion, low-grade fever, and general aches and pains. In addition I felt sharp pain in my face whenever I coughed (which was often).

The fever disappeared within two days but everything else hung on, and dug in. After nine days of feeling that I’d been beaten with several efficient hammers, I reluctantly made an appointment at the Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center.

“Reluctantly” because I figured there wasn’t much to be done about a virus and that I didn’t have a full-blown sinus infection that could be treated. But I was so tired of hearing my own breath wheezing and clotting that I figured it was time.

Besides, my Aunt Elna was known to have broken ribs while coughing, and eeeewwww.

Professional demeanor prevented the doc from saying “You sound like crap” but I think that’s what she meant. No pneumonia (“although it could turn into that”) so just as I thought: no antibiotics.

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Welcome, Grandparents.com readers!

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thI thought my website’s dashboard was playing an April Fool’s Day trick on me when I got up this morning: Not even 8:30 a.m. and I already had nearly 1,200 page views.

Nope: It was because more than 600 of you had read “6 everyday habits that are draining your wallet” in the Grandparents.com e-newsletter and then trotted over here to read my linked post, “14 ways to get off the kid-gift treadmill.”

Welcome to all of you, and I hope you stick around to read a little more. As noted in the “About” section of this site, Surviving and Thriving is my playground for words, a place to express ideas that don’t always fit neatly into other sites’ expectations.

Sometimes that’s in a fun way, e.g., “Midlife love rocks! (Ask me how I know).”

Sometimes it’s a midlife-musing way, as in “The bottle blonde at the DMV.”

And sometimes I just get really angry about something and need to vent, such as “Think you’re broke? You probably aren’t.”

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9 smart ways to use all that “extra” cash.

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thOver at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff, Crystal writes about a friend with a problem that plenty of people wouldn’t mind having.

“They are now earning more than they need to pay their bills, and they wanted my advice on what to tackle next.  I love those kinds of conversations!” says the blogger.

Among her suggestions: emergency fund, retirement, various types of insurance, paying down existing debt, and health savings and/or flexible spending accounts. All good choices.

What would you do with extra cash? Maybe you haven’t thought about it, being too focused on keeping the books balanced or paying down debt. But there could come a day when you either get more money (a raise, a windfall, a side gig) or need less money (debts paid off, kids leave home).

Start thinking now about what you’d do with it, for two reasons:

  • It helps keep you focused on your goals (prepaying a mortgage, helping a child through college), and
  • It will help you spend when the time is right.

You might think that second one sounds silly. “Help me spend? I can’t wait for the day when I don’t have to agonize over every dime!”

Then again, you might be surprised.

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Want to get? Try giving

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thA writer named Revanche, who blogs at A Gai Shan Life, recently wrote about a friend who’s “against” volunteering and giving to charity.

His rationale: “He feels that he worked really hard to get here and doesn’t feel that he got any help so he doesn’t feel he should give back to the community at large.”

He did work hard, putting himself through school and supporting family members at the same time. So did/does Revanche, who’s still supporting “two adult dependents who aren’t my children.”

What her friend doesn’t seem to get is this: He may not have asked for any help, but it would have been there had he needed it.

Suppose he’d become very ill and unable to support those family members (or himself) during that time. No one would have starved. They could have sought temporary assistance from government agencies but also from nonprofits and private charities funded in part by ordinary citizens.

You know, your neighbors. Fellow human beings. People who think that a few of their extra dollars would have more of an impact outside their bank accounts.

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Vegan condoms. Who knew?

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thMy new once-a-month gig at The Real Deal has begun and it’s going to be a keeper. How do I know? Because the editor left in my reference to “ethical, vegan and fair-trade condoms.”

Apparently some condom manufacturers use “animal byproducts” in the manufacture of their love sacks. Fortunately for vegans, cruelty-free alternatives do exist – and you can even get coupons for them. 

The Real Deal is a blog published by Retail Me Not, the online coupon code behemoth (and finder of vegan condom coupons). I got hired to write a “best things to buy this month” feature, and since the editor is also a former print newshound I’m expected to do old print newshound things. You know, like research. And interviews. In return the editor will also do old print newshound things, like fact-checking and editing.

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Starting the conversations.

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thThe demon malware has been vanquished at last. How odd it felt to be unable to write or check comments for a week. And, yeah, to look at pageviews. (Number monkey, right here.)

I missed you guys, and appreciate the Facebook comments saying you missed coming to the site. While the break certainly didn’t hurt me, given the sorrow and disruption surrounding recent events, it made me feel disconnected.

Even though I don’t post daily I’ve come to rely on the chance to put my thoughts out into the blogosphere – and to listen to feedback from readers.

For me the point of having a personal blog isn’t to make money. It’s to start conversations.

 

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What I’ve been doing.

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thMade it back from the annual Talkeetna fling late Sunday afternoon, in one piece but very tired. Either I’m getting older or the late hours, odd eating habits and weirdly crappy weather (freezing rain despite ground temps in the 20s) took more out of me than I thought.

Before I recap that bacchanal, allow me to share a few recent happenings. 

Despite my previously stated position on why you shouldn’t write for free, I recently did just that. But donating “Want to cut costs? Get yourself a frugal filter (or two)” to the Wise Bread blog was a professional courtesy, which is one of the few reasons to give it away. Will Chen and Greg Go have both been helpful and supportive to me and I wanted to return the favor.

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The gift of personal finance.

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thGot a relative or friend who’s financially at sea? Or someone who’s just starting out and who could easily develop bad money habits?

Maybe that’s a middle-aged recent divorcee, a single-mom friend who’s got more month than money, or a slacker cousin who at 35 hasn’t done a thing about retirement.

Or perhaps you know young professionals who are racking up consumer debt, or parents-to-be wondering if one of them can stay home and not torpedo their financial and professional goals.

You might be able to help: This holiday season, give the gift of personal finance.

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Can money buy happiness?

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th-1That’s the subject of my most recent post over at Money Talks News. Here’s what I think: Money doesn’t buy happiness per se, but it certainly positions you for contentment. Just ask anyone who can’t pay his bills.

“Think money can’t buy happiness? Think again” doesn’t suggest that money is the answer to all problems. As noted in the piece, I’ve been well-fed and gainfully employed and still incredibly unhappy. (Hint: That was before my divorce.)

But it’s silly to think that empty cupboards, disconnected utilities and eviction notices don’t have an impact on happiness. Money can buy a certain degree of security.

That said, researchers point to data suggesting that:

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Coffee: Way too freakin’ early on Monday, Oct. 21.

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thI’ll be at the St. Louis Bread Company, 116 N. 6th St., starting at 7 a.m. on Monday. Anyone who wants to meet for coffee and one of their distressingly good pastries is cordially invited to join me.

Just look for the bottle blonde who seems very tired yet oddly keyed-up. Conferences do that to me. I’ll have my battered MacBook open and will be drinking far too much Diet Pepsi.

On the bright side: thanks to my Panera Rewards card, I will get my pastry for free. Although I like to think I’ll have a whole-grain bagel, lightly toasted with just a touch of canola-based margarine, that’s probably not going to happen.

We’re having a swell time at the Financial Blogger Conference — almost as much fun as those Cardinal fans had last night. I’d like to thank the city of St. Louis for the fireworks display after you guys cinched the World Series: We had a primo view of the pyrotechnics from our hotel window.

To paraphrase the poet, we have eaten not wisely but too well. For more on that, see “Food food glorious food” at I Pick Up Pennies (which just happens to be the People’s Choice winner at the 2013 Plutus Awards.)

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