books

‘The secrets of super savers,’ revealed.

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Think coupons aren’t worth it? Not if you’re doing them right – and it doesn’t have to eat up hours of your life. A new book from the authors of the Living On The Cheap website shows why.

“The Ultimate Guide to Coupons: How to Save More Money in Less Time and Get The Best Deals” shares what authors Teresa Mears and Laura Daily call the “secrets of super savers.”

Specifically, “the smart way to use coupons, investing just minutes to save dollars.” They’ve produced a book that stays true to the LOTC mission: to help people live their best lives without breaking the bank.

 

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This, that and summer.

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Sorry to have maintained radio silence for so long. Not only have I been promoting “Your Playbook For Tough Times, Vol. 2: Needs And Wants Edition” and taking care of gigs for other sites, I’ve been slowed down by summer, in two ways:

Playing in the dirt, i.e., piddling around in the garden*. Although DF does the lion’s share of the work, I’ve still be spending less time at the computer and more time harassing chickweed.

Losing track of time due to the long, long summer** days.

About that last: On Thursday night I decided to try and finish “The Girl Who Played With Fire,” the second in the late Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander series (officially known as the Millennium Series, but I like the character so much it will always be the Lisbeth Salander series). It’s such a great read that I hated to quit, but my eyes grew heavy.

No wonder: It was 2:30 a.m.

 

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‘Your Playbook For Tough Times, Vol. 2’ is here!

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Self-publishing is something like childbirth: Toward the end of the process you’re swearing you will never, EVER do this again. You’re also looking for someone to punch in the mouth for not being supportive enough* (anyone who’s ever been in the transition phase of labor will likely back me up on that).

I felt that way toward the finishing-up portion of “Your Playbook For Tough Times: Living Large On Small Change, For The Short Term Or The Long Haul.” When I wasn’t gnashing my teeth and rending my garments I was thinking Lord please get me through it…I swear I’ll be a good girl and stay away from JPEGs after this.

Just as with childbirth, I forgot the pain almost immediately and decided to do it again. This time around the damn thing was practically breech, a self-publishing project that came out feet-first and sideways. For the past 10 days or so I’ve been whirling and howling with regard to final edits, formatting and cover design. On Tuesday night I was absolutely unhinged with cumulative rage and frustration as another formatting snafu erupted.

But you know what? I’m sort of forgetting how that felt, now that “Your Playbook For Tough Times, Vol. 2: Needs And Wants Edition” has made it into the world.

 

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Baby Groot, a tweetchat and my book.

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My friend Linda B. and I went to see “Guardians of the Galaxy 2” on its opening day, and we were not disappointed.

A trash-talking and genetically modified raccoon, a musclebound alien with no social filters, a female assassin with green skin, the assassin’s mostly robotic sister, a (sorta) reformed space pirate and a super-adorable sapling version of the treelike giant alien Groot – what’s not to like?

Given my propensity for finding personal finance lessons everywhere, I went in with pen and paper. Although it was a pretty dark movie (outer space!) I could mostly read what I’d scribbled, and I skipped lunch with Linda in order to go home and write.

 

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Want to join my mailing list?

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As noted previously, I’m close to finishing the sequel to Your Playbook For Tough Times. The working title is Your Playbook For Tough Times, Vol. 2: Needs AND Wants Edition. But the title may be augmented slightly, since long subtitles are a thing among personal finance publishers.

Last night I finished proofing a printout of the manuscript, finding more than a few issues throughout. As I noted in “Try editing on paper,” the mistakes just seem more obvious on flattened wood pulp than they do on a shiny screen.

Very glad I read it this way. Now DF has agreed to do a read-through; here’s hoping he doesn’t find many more gaffes, lest I start doubting my ability to write a useful sentence. After that, I can send it to the formatter and then on to the cover-design guy.

One of the (many) things still to do is continue building a mailing list for the book’s launch. Since my blog readers have been supportive the first time around, I’d like to invite anyone who’s interested to join the list.

What’s in it for you? A discount, and a promise.

 

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Fresh air and airports.

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On Saturday I hung out the first laundry of the year. We’ve been putting the bedclothes out  air all winter long in order to sleep in fresh air, but this was the first time in months that it’s been possible to dry stuff on the line. (It helped that I’d first tumbled those clothes in the dryer for a few minutes.)

Not that it was super-balmy, mind you. This was mid-30s weather, but a nice breeze blew and the sun was strong and constant. By midday the temperature in the greenhouse was in the 70s. Maybe I should have dried the clothes in there.

The next day DF put the comforter, blanket and top sheet out to gain the benefit of the sun and wind. He had to hang the linens lengthwise to keep them from dragging in the snow. Despite steady daytime melt, the drifts are still high near the clothesline because of DF’s use of the snowblower.

Two days after my second cataract surgery we got another dumping of snow, the first in several weeks. About nine inches fell at our place, plumping up what already lay on the ground. I don’t know how much has fallen this year and I don’t know how much of it was still there after sublimation and melt. But the back yard still looks fairly snowbound.

 

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Second eye fixed; second book almost done.

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The cataract surgery on my right eye took place last week and went as smoothly as the first one. Well, all except for the healing: This one is bloodshot and a bit sore seven days after the procedure.

It’s not infected, though. I know this because I went for a check-up today and was told I could stop using the antibiotic eye drops, although I do need to keep squirting in the steroidal ones.

Once the eye is completely healed I’ll be able to get an updated prescription for glasses. Until then, I’ve been enjoying the odd sensation of walking around the house sans specs without bumping into anything. Or to sit at a computer and write, as long as I increase the type size.

Speaking of writing…

 

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Lola: A money conference for women.

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Women are earning more and taking more responsibility for managing money, but a majority of us aren’t confident about our choices.

According to the Allianz Women, Money and Power Study, six in 10 (61 percent) women wish they had more confidence in their financial choices. Almost two-thirds (63 percent) wish they knew more about investing and financial planning.

Personal finance blogger Melanie Lockert wants to help. Or, rather, she wants to encourage women to help themselves. The upcoming Lola Retreat will be a place where women can talk openly about money: how to earn it, save it, invest it and enjoy it.

 

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Giveaway: “Leap,” by Tess Vigeland.

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The subtitle to this book by personal finance journalist Tess Vigeland is a bold proposition indeed: “Leaving a job with no Plan B to find the career and life you really want.”

Let me say that I do not necessarily recommend leaving a job with no Plan B. However, I’ve done it myself and survived – and I sure wish I’d had “Leap” to help me along the way.

It would have made things a lot clearer and helped with the anxiety and doubt. Part autobiography and part self-help book, it helps readers deal with the fear and uncertainty but also gets them to think clearly about their working selves: “Who am I without my job?”

The answer may enlighten in terms of what new work to seek – or, indeed, whether to seek a new definition of labor.

 

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Link love, a virus and teaching money skills.

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thSorry to have maintained radio silence lately. In the past week I’ve had one of those not-terribly-serious yet still life-sucking viruses.

The sinus-y kind that makes your head ache and your nose and eyes itch. The throat-y kind that makes it unpleasant even to sip water. The malaise-y kind that makes you want to lie down a lot, except that you can’t really get comfortable.

Blech.

Since during that time I’ve also been writing for pay and working on the sequel to “Your Playbook For Tough Times,” I haven’t had the brainwidth to come up with something thrilling for this blog.

However, I do have a few things to share. To wit:

 

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