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The Oregon rain is taking a break, which means Kris and I spent several hours today in the yard today chipping yard debris. I remember when we first saw this house. “I love all the mature trees and shrubs,” I said. HA! If only I knew how much work they entailed. Here are some of the highlights from the Money Blog Network over the past week:
- Flexo at Consumerism Commentary warns that you should always be prepared for unexpected job loss. This article really hit home. I’m preparing to make the leap to full-time writer, and Flexo’s piece helped me examine my priorities.
- Jim at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity wonders, “Why do people sign up for Netflix?” Because it’s convenient? Because it has a great selection? Because it saves them money? Kris and I have been using Netflix for four years, and we love it! Jim would rather pick up movies for a buck at the local supermarket.
- NCN at No Credit Needed is creating a financial notebook for people to download and modify. His hope is that it others can use it to get out of debt. NCN has just posted the second page, which is a list of monthly expenses.
- At All Financial Matters, JLP explains how to calculate taxes if you live in the U.S.
- On Thursday, I experienced a crisis when I thought I’d messed up my computer while upgrading the operating system. The problem was a damaged DVD. When I returned to the Apple Store that sold it to me, they weren’t particularly apologetic. The Mighty Bargain Hunter, on the other hand, recently encountered an example of smart customer care at a fast-food place!
- Free Money Finance has some thoughts about whether it’s okay to lie about your salary in a job interview.
- Nickel has begun to look for long-term disability insurance, and has some thoughts on the process.
I’m now resting my weary muscles, chatting via IM with friends, and watching the Oregon Ducks, who lead Arizona State 35-16 with 10:01 left in the fourth quarter. Go Ducks!
This article is about Spare Change Saturday, 3rd November 2007 (by J.D. Roth)
November 3rd, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Go ducks! Actually I’m in Anaheim, CA so I was talking about Anaheim Mighty Ducks
Good links! Thanks!
November 3rd, 2007 at 8:06 pm
Good luck with the yard work, J.D.! I’m in the same position. We moved into an isolated location right in the middle of a very mature forest, primarily Oak. Unfortunately, that means we are covered in leaves and acorns that are a real pain to clean up.
While it is great living in such a remote and quite place, the maintenance is certainly not very fun in the fall and spring.
November 4th, 2007 at 6:34 am
My wife and I live in rural SC. Our one Acre lot has at least 15 mature oak trees. I have found that a lawn sweeper is the best remedy for the leaves. It scoops them right up with no problems. Beats raking hands down. I have completely given up on the acorns.
November 4th, 2007 at 7:06 am
J.D. — this is amazing news that you are going to make the leap to full-time writer/business owner … you need to go listen to Dave Ramsey’s October 31 show, as he dedicated all three hours of his program to starting a small business.
November 4th, 2007 at 7:14 am
Woooohoooo the ducks won! Two of my daughters are at Oregon (actually all three have gone/are going to U of O) - what a great day for them! I listened on the radio while doing my grocery shopping.
Julia
November 5th, 2007 at 9:13 am
We use netflix mostly because it allows us to maintain a queue of movies we want to see, and keep track of and rate the ones we’ve seen.
Sure, we could do that by hand I guess, but its better to let netflix do it. There are also networking features we enjoy with our friends.
I think its well worth whatever we pay for the 2 movie subscription.
November 5th, 2007 at 11:55 am
regarding smart customer care: I had an experience once where I stopped at a local big chain computer store to buy a stack of blank CDs. It happened that I had seen them advertised on sale at a competitor that very day - same brand and about $1 cheaper (other store’s location was not on the way home, this one was) A big sign at the fron door talked about the price beating policy, so when I was at the checkout, I asked about it. The cashier explained that it was a “price-match” policy, not a price beating one. The difference was only a penny, but it was the principal that mattered to me. They refused to beat the price, gave the the price match, and I left. When I got home, I went online and sent an email off to corporate explaining the problem. A few days later I got a letter in the mail from the local store’s manager, apologizing, promising that the employees would get re-trained in the policy, and including a $20 gift certificate for the store. Don’t hesitate to make some noise if you are right!