‘Finance’ Category

  1. Reverse Mommyblogging

    October 6, 2009

    I have an infant son. And I have a blog. Does this makes me a “mommyblogger?” Maybe not in the traditional sense of the term (and it is weird to think that a term coined so recently can even have a “traditional sense” yet), but I am a mom who blogs about her life and her family.

    So… in what I call Reverse Mommyblogging, I shall now take you through a day in my household, and list by name and brand all the products I typically use, BEFORE I get paid to mention them!

    I am not affiliated with any of these companies, and they have not paid me or sent me free products… YET. In these trying economic times, though, a few extra bucks or free products would sure come in handy, so all offers will be entertained. Do you hear me, Procter and Gamble? Get me on that free products train! I can be a corporate shill, too!

    • Safety 1st baby monitor
    • Apple iPhone
    • Pampers Baby Dry or Cruisers size 4 diapers
    • Pampers Sensitive baby wipes
    • Aveeno Baby Soothing Relief Moisture Cream
    • Triple Paste diaper ointment
    • Gold Bond medicated baby powder
    • Baby clothing by: Gymboree, Baby Gap, Carters, Circo
    • Avent pacifiers
    • Enfamil Nutramigen baby formula
    • Gerber 2nd foods baby puree
    • Healthy Times brown rice baby cereal
    • Dr. Brown’s baby bottles
    • Gerber Soft Bite baby food spoons
    • Baby Orajel toothbrush and toothpaste
    • Tom’s of Maine toothpaste
    • Boston Simplicity contact lens solution
    • Aussie Moist shampoo and 3 Minute Miracle Deeeeep Conditioner
    • Infusium leave-in treatment
    • Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine 
Anti-Humidity Styling Cream
    • Dove moisturizing soap
    • Noxzema Daily Exfoliating Cleanser
    • Cococare cocoa butter
    • Kiss My Face Liquid Rock Patchouli deodorant
    • Burt’s Bees Radiance Day Cream
    • Burt’s Bees Chemical-Free Sunscreen SPF 30
    • Cover Girl Trublend pressed powder
    • Almay Intense I-Color eyeliner  in Raisin Quartz
    • Maybelline Great Lash mascara in Black
    • Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer in Champagne
    • Millstone decaf caramel truffle coffee
    • Saturn SL2 automobile
    • Gasoline from 7-11, Exxon, Shell, etc.
    • Apple MacBook Pro
    • Logitech MX Revolution wireless laser mouse
    • Apple 23″ Cinema Display
    • Coke Zero
    • Mirado Black Warrior pencils
    • Adobe Creative Suite CS4 software
    • Calphalon Stainless Steel cookware
    • Cascade 2-in-1 Action Pacs dishwasher detergent
    • BabyGanics foaming dish and bottle soap
    • Dr. Brown’s bottle brush
    • Tide Free laundry soap
    • Target brand baby laundry soap
    • Target brand infant ibuprofen
    • Target brand infant gas drops
    • Aveeno Baby Soothing Relief Creamy Wash
    • Sony television
    • Mac mini
    • Playstation 3

    Category Blog, Finance, My Boring Life, Sociology, Writing | Tags: | No Comments

  2. Hey, I’m the Tax Man…

    February 19, 2008

    We had our taxes done last night, which is always painful yet inevitable. I think it’s a little crazy how two of the things that America supposedly values most are marriage and the spirit of entrepreneurship, yet if you do either of those things you get slammed with a tax liability. Self-employment tax? Seriously, WTF? 

    However, it’s all made a little less irritating by our fantastic accountant. This guy is the best; super-nice, funny, generous with his time, able to effectively explain tricky tax concepts to people with non-finance-oriented brains… and very reasonably priced. If you need someone to do your taxes or bookkeeping, I highly recommend Kevin Gardner with Sterling’s Bookkeeping and Tax Service, 214-330-4682.

    Category Finance | Tags: | 1 Comment

  3. turn to face the strange…

    April 5, 2005

    i was trying to think of something clever and pithy to say to introduce this post, but i’m coming up dry tonight. our big news of late is that we are a one-income family now. doc’s company is closing business at the end of april, at which time he will become unemployed, unless he lands a new job before then. i have no doubt that he’ll be able to find another job quickly; the question is, will he find something that he likes or that is, at the very least, more personally satisfying than producing literature about air conditioners and heaters, day in, day out?

    emotional state check: not bad. a little nervous, trying not to become a lot of nervous. remaining mostly pragmatic with random “holy shit” moments. doc is really on top of things, feeling almost a sense of relief mixed in with the uncertainty. i know he needed a change… i guess sometimes change has to be forced upon us for us to take advantage of it. that’s how i am, anyway.

    so we sat down and took stock of all our expenses and all our assets. we’ve spent a couple of nights doing that and coming up with lists of ways where we can cut back, decision/question lists and to-do lists. we’re mostly ok. we can’t live on my paycheck indefinitely; i don’t make enough to cover all our bills and expenses (even the super scaled back version of things). but we’re ok for a while.

    health insurance bites. i’m utterly amazed at how much it costs. i pay nearly $200/mo for just myself; to add doc will be an additional $250/mo. but we gotta do what we gotta do; going without health insurance is not an option.

    as they say at work, problems are not problems but instead “opportunities for growth.” so we’ve just been handed a big growth opportunity. don’t you just hate all those feel-good human-resources buzzwords? for instance, in our annual performance reviews, we’re required to rate ourselves in a number of areas… but we don’t use the “excellent, good, fair, needs improvement” terminology — oh no. that would be too NORMAL. instead we use “excelling, doing, learning, absent.” they correlate to the original terms but they’re not so “judgmental,” says HR. i say “bullshit!” i’d like to tell them that they can shove their key messages and strategic impact decisions into either their blue, red, or green hat and then identify their performance gaps, remove obstacles, and self-correct to their heart’s content!!! as joel said, they should also move their cheese and determine their parachute color. all the while developing any of the seven habits of highly effective people!!!

    upbeat news: i get to to go chicago in june for the HOW design conference. four days of hanging out with other artists, talking about art and design, and eating deep dish pizza. sweet!

    Category Doc, Finance, Work | Tags: | 4 Comments

  4. i just KNOW i’m going to win the lottery!

    June 24, 2004

    one a/c compressor and valve: $1100

    one temperature sensor and water pump: $550

    new brakes and cylinders: $450

    not having a new car payment: priceless

    driving a rented toyota echo that smells like someone peed in the air conditioning system: $15 discount

    discovering that the toyota echo is the crappiest piece of shit car i’ve ever driven: no big surprise

    maxxing out the credit card: it’s the american way.

    Category Car, Finance, My Boring Life | Tags: | No Comments