A while ago, I posted about an offer I got in the mail that would give me $75.00 if I opened a Bank of America checking account. I planned to do it, and just pocket the $75.00 and go back to my smaller local bank. I finally got around to doing it today, and I find that bad old Bank of America has a lot...

After lots of hemming and hawing, thinking and weighing, I decided to buy pet insurance for my new cat Jerome. He's young and healthy now, and he's an indoor cat, but most of my pets have had pricey health problems at some point in their lives, so I thought it was probably best for me to get...

I just read an AP article in my local newspaper about "Transumers" -- people who are transient consumers. They don't purchase and consume things, they rent or lease consumer items that are then passed on to the next transumer. Sounds sort of green and sustainable, right? It was billed as...

I realize the irony of writing a blog post about using less technology. But with that acknowledgement out of the way.... I think I've reached a tipping point with electronics. Everywhere I turn, people of all sorts are in physical contact with some sort of electronic gadget. Senior citizens in the...

Three years ago, I started my own business. I decided to be a corporate language and speech trainer; I got certification in my area, did some market research, rented an office and hung out my shingle. I knew that I wouldn't be able to earn an entire living from this work immediately, so I hung on...

There have been so many stories in the news, on blogs -- everyhwere -- about what people are doing differently in the midst of this "economic downturn," and lots of speculation about what habits will last and what will disappear once the economy recovers. I started living within my means over...

I've just finished reading "Status Anxiety," by Alain de Botton . In it, he discusses how societies construct status and why (and how) members of those societies can come to feel anxious about their place in the group. De Botton is one of my favorite authors, and I'm making my way through...

Last night, 60 Minutes had a segment about how insecure the information is that we send across the Internet. The segment suggested that 30% of all computers in the US are infected with "malware" designed to steal our personal information. I love technology, and feel it has made my life easier...

As I was doing some baking for my annual New Year's Day brunch, I managed to finish up a jar of ground nutmeg. I have a tin of whole nutmegs, and I was glad to finish off the ground stuff so I could switch over to the less-processed variety. A friend of mine was hanging out in the kitchen with me...

I bet I'm not alone in the Dollar Stretcher community as a person who doesn't have cable and owns an old televsion set. Over the summer, I sent away for my digital converter coupon, and recently purchased my converter box. Even with my $40.00 off coupon, I still had to pay $20.00 for it. I did...