Blog
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Monthly Expenses: Is it worth living without a cell phone?
I was adding up our expenses, and every time I do this I get so angry at how much we pay for our cell phones each month. Between the two of us our $70 plan adds up to $120 each month – that’s $1440 every year! What a lot of money just for the luxury…
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Warning: Seven signs of too much debt.
Just because you aren’t late on payments doesn’t mean you have things under control, this sense of security can break apart like thin ice before you realize where you are. I want to have you stop and take a moment to think about your finances and where you are standing now. Warning (slippery slope ahead):…
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Bank Failures: Is your money safe? The skinny on FDIC insurance limits.
‘œThe most serious financial crisis of our lifetime…’ ‘“ George Soros on the US banking crisis The New York Times recently noted this anecdote in relation to the economy, the current administration and the most recent bank closure: This week a passing motorist shouted at a crowd waiting outside a branch of IndyMac, the failed…
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Queercents Weekly Roundup: Bank Concerns Meet Sunshine and Happiness
If you’ve been paying attention to the news, you will have noticed the demise of IndyMac, which seems to only be exacerbating financial concerns. There’s been a lot of speculation as to how far reaching this will eventually be, but for now, here are some links that will keep you covered in case you have…
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Losing Time, Money, and Sanity with Computer Hardware Woes
My new laptop from Dell started having hardware problems 7 months after I purchased it. More than 4 months have passed and I’ve spent over 20 hours on technical support and I still have a $1000 paperweight. I have taken action with formal complaints which in theory are being “handled”. (Ask me in a week…
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Hard Work Pays Off: Local Food For Almost Free
I must have been a holy terror when I was seven years old, because that summer my mother threatened to send me away to a farm. She reasoned that some good hard work — physical labor — would knock some sense into me. I didn’t particularly like my home life, and so I said, “Sure!…
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Reducing Pet Costs: Wrap-Up
Pets are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. –Roger Caras For my last Reducing Pet Costs post, I’m turning it over to you! But not before I wax nostalgic about my inaugural Queercents series. I’ve really enjoyed writing these posts, and I’ve learned so much as well. As a re-cap, I’d…
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Are You Happy with Your Financial Services Provider?
Does being LGBT affect our ability to find and work with a financial services provider that we truly feels meets our needs? You bet it does and a recent national survey illustrates this very challenge, and often dissatisfaction. Echelon Magazine reports this week that “GLBT Consumers See Financial Services Differently Than Others”. According to a…
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The Fed Takes On Corrupt Lenders With New Rules and Regulations
The Fed Takes On Corrupt Lenders With New Rules and Regulations The Federal Reserve – which regulates many lending institutions and is taking an ever-widening role in supervising financial institutions in the USA as the mortgage crisis continues – unveiled new mortgage rules this month. For months, government officials have been hammering out the rules…
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Rediscovering Libraries and Reducing Stuff
Last week I mentioned picking up odd jobs for money, so it’s not really surprising that I’m currently working on one right now. It’s a cleaning job, but more of a purging than a housekeeping type of cleaning. Though far from my best cleaning job, while cleaning out an old school that was being renovated…
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