The good news: I was reminded how nice New Yorkers can be. The bad news: I had to take a monumental fall near 31st and 7th to rediscover this.
I mean a full-tilt, face-down, wind-knocked-out-of-me fall. Damn curbs.
self-care
Giveaway: Cold and flu package 2014.
Even if you get a flu shot — and I think you should — you still run a chance of getting the flu. According to Consumer Reports, vaccination prevents the illness 80 percent of the time in adults younger than 65.
But a non-flu virus — including the common cold — can make you feel pretty crummy, too. The insult to such injury is the price tags on cold/flu nostrums.
That’s why I put together a cold and flu package giveaway each year. Judging from the numbers of comments the package always gets, you folks don’t like paying retail, either.
Free women’s health screenings on Oct. 11.
Thyroid issues can wreak havoc with your health and well-being, causing problems like low energy, depression and weight gain. Seven years ago. I was crawling through the days, attributing my severe fatigue to the work-plus-university schedule. (Or maybe just a failure of will.)
Then a friend suggested I have my thyroid tested. Seems it wasn’t a question of willpower after all. Now a tiny daily pill takes care of things.
From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, women can get a free TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) test at any Sam’s Club that has a pharmacy (about 600 locations nationwide).
Giveaway: “The Practical Negotiator.”
A time-honored frugal hack is to negotiate — salary, real estate, holiday arrangements (your parents’ house? his parents’ house?), the price of that beater you want to buy from Craigslist.
Trouble is, many people don’t really know how to negotiate — they’ve never seen it done, they lack self-confidence or face a cultural barrier with regard to haggling.
This week’s giveaway can help.
“The Practical Negotiator: How to Argue Your Point, Plead Your Case and Prevail in Any Situation” was written by Steven P. Cohen, president of The Negotiation Skills Company Inc.
Although some people associate the word with backroom politics or high-stakes business, the author says that negotiation “takes place in the daily life of regular people who are trying to reach collaborative agreement in the family unit, on the job or as a consumer.”
Things I no longer buy.
Last year I voluntarily downsized my salary, i.e., I decided not to rush to replace all the income lost when MSN Money kicked all its writers to the virtual curb.
Since then I’ve had to make some very conscious choices about what – and whether – to buy. Less money = fewer expenditures.
News flash, right? But what surprises me isn’t that I’m spending less. It’s that I don’t miss any of those things very much.
Accepting responsibility for our lives.
Going on two years ago I read a column on Consumerism Commentary called “Nothing bad is my fault: Toxic financial attitudes.” The author, Luke Landes, urges us to look at our personal philosophies, “to determine how they are helping or hurting you.”
I left a comment (more on that in a minute) and always meant to write about it. Better late than really late.
As a young man, Landes looked for “external reasons” (i.e., excuses) when things didn’t go his way. Ultimately a boss called him out on it, suggesting he examine his own thoughts might prevent him from succeeding.
Landes applies the same principle to money mindsets that might hold us back, such as:
- “I’m in debt because of a financial emergency.”
- “I keep getting charged fees by my bank, and it’s due to their policies.”
- “I lost money on my investment.”
Rather than be stunted by these attitudes, he asks that we examine “the effect your choices have on your success and failure.”
Understand: Landes is acutely aware of the very legitimate reasons some people do not succeed. He’s written about why poverty is a bit more complicated than laziness or lack of motivation.
But he’s also convincing when he calls on us to recognize what we could be doing to help ourselves, even – and especially! – if we don’t know quite how or where to start. This advice applies to life situations other than wealth-building.
Giveaway: A book for those going out on their own.
Is there a young ‘un in your family who’s about to fly the coop? Or do you know of a recent grad who’s jonesing to live solo? This week’s giveaway could be a nice pre-housewarming gift. That is, it can help them learn some of the things they need to know about leaving the nest.
“I’m Free, I’m Free, I’m Free! Now What?” was written by a woman I know who wants to give “easygoing, mildly cynical guidance” to those about to set up housekeeping.
But couldn’t you give a new young lessee much or all of the knowledge s/he needs? Probably. Will they listen? Not necessarily.
Hence the subtitle of Janet McCart’s book: “A Semi-Serious Guide to Early Housekeeping or Things You Wouldn’t Let Your Family Tell You.” Some young people are skilled at tuning out what their parents say but would believe it if they read it in a book.
Vortex, shmortex: Just stay cool.
The other day I wished I could send some of our weather (52 degrees and raining) to the parched areas of the country, especially to farming regions. Turns out that the Gulf of Alaska was thinking along the same lines.
The Midwest and, eventually, the East Coast will be feeling the effects of “a poor man’s polar vortex” in the week to come. That’s what Washington Post weather editor Jason Samenow calls the “deep pool of cool air” that will dip down into the Great Lakes region in a day or so.
You’re welcome.
Before and after, though, U.S. residents worry about the cost of keeping cool. Nearly two-thirds of the 2,035 people surveyed by HomeServe USA are concerned about the hit that air conditioning will have on their budgets. Yet 55 percent will suck it up and pay whatever it takes to chill out.
Want a chance at a decent old age? Have a daughter.
When middle-aged sons live with their parents, it’s probably because they’re underemployed or unemployed. But middle-aged daughters are more likely to bunk with their parents in order to take care of them, according to a new survey from Yodlee Interactive.
Men ages 35 to 44 are more than twice as likely as women to receive economic support from their parents, and more than three times as likely than women to live at home.
Oh, and daughters are more likely to provide “emotional” support as their parents age, regardless of living arrangements. In fact, 20 percent of the men surveyed say they do not plan to call or visit Mom and Dad as they grow old. Nice.
Maybe it’s because women are socialized to be caregivers. Maybe it’s because they’re guilted into it. My best friend from childhood cared for her father during a long battle with dementia, and also dealt with her mother’s congestive heart failure, despite working and having two kids.
When she asked her older brother for help he told her that because she was the daughter it was her “duty” to take care of their parents.
I am not making that up. And yes, it happened fairly recently, vs. back in the 1800s.
One way to celebrate National Splurge Day.
Yet another holiday invented to make you spend money! Just what we need, right? But I’m sorta-kinda okay with National Splurge Day, as long as the splurges are done frugally.
In fact, I think you should splurge on something today – but that you should do so in as cost-effective a way as possible, and with an eye toward postponing future splurges.
Does that mean you can never have nice things? Not at all. In fact, what it means is that you can likely get those nice things faster – but only if you’re willing to grow up, wise up and stop ignoring future goals in favor of fun-right-now stuff.