Since drastically curtailing our cable television, Kris and I have been catching shows via Netflix and the iTunes Music Store. We currently watch Heroes, Battlestar Galactica, and The Office. What one show should we add to the mix? I’d prefer a comedy, but Kris would prefer a drama.
Meanwhile, here are a few stories about personal finance:
To begin, two recent guest posts at Money-Saving Mom caught my eye. First, Katey offers advice on living frugally and pleasantly in an apartment. A couple of these (trash out every day?) seem odd, but most are smart ways to make the most of a small space. Second, Michelle has some tips on how to make your own household cleaners.
Next, Paul sent an article from The New York times about how the economic woes of their parents are affecting teenagers. This story makes me feel out of touch. “National surveys put older teenagers’ average monthly allowance at $100 and upward.” Really? Really? I was lucky to ever get five bucks. And the stuff kids want, their knowledge of brands and prices — wow, was I like that when I was in high school?
Finally, via Jeff, The Wall Street Journal has four smart money moves for a down economy. Three of these seem obvious — create a budget, eliminate debt, boost your credit score — but the fourth is more subtle, and is a great idea: convert your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. When you perform this conversion, you owe income tax on every dollar you roll over. Because of recent market declines, you probably have fewer dollars to roll over, and thus would owe less in taxes. If you qualify, this may be worth considering.
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This article is about Spare Change
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We watch netflix quite often. You might really enjoy Rome and Deadwood for drama.
Also one of my all time favorite series is from KPBS is Sharpes Rifles
for both drama and some humor. It is
excellent starring Sean Bean.
You might also try Foyles War.
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Try Gilmore Girls. It’s got enough of both the drama and the funny. It’s different, but sweet and addictive.
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There is also Torchwood, which we came across via Netflix. Combines sci-fi, action, comedy and drama, and it’s smart to boot. Also Welsh, and, well, you just can’t get any cooler than that. Unless maybe Tim Minear and Joss Whedon were to become Welsh.
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Pushing Daisies! It’s whimsical, beautiful to look at, and romantic.
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I agree with the other commenters on here who say that whether $100/mo. is an exorbitant amount for a teen’s allowance totally depends on what they’re responsible for paying for. I recall that I got $20/week in late high school (and this was in the early 1990s), but that amount was expected to buy lunches and gas for my car, not just discretionary items. And it might depend very much on the area of the country as well — in NYC, for example, food is more expensive than it is in a lot of other places, and if I’d want to make sure that my kid had $10 on her at all times to take a cab home in a pinch.
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Only 3 mentions for “Its Always Sunny…” and 2 for “Entourage”, they’re the only two I make a point to watch.
Daily Show and Colbert Report are great choices too, you get some good humor while able to spotlight what issues to look for the next day online.
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JD,
For the perfect balance of Comedy and Drama, check out Pushing Daisies on ABC.com. It’s a murder mystery type of show but it is very funny. The show has some very interesting visual effects, I think you’ll both like it. Best of all it’s free on ABC.com!
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Kids today are WAY too spoiled. Boomer parents need to stop bending over backwards to give them what they want. Maybe then they’ll learn the value of money, hard work and education. I never got an allowance. In high school, I had to pay for my car (used POS), insurance, gas, clothes, etc., etc. I worked weekends and still graduated in the top 10 of my class. In college I had to pay for my rent, utilities, books, etc. My parents did pay for my tuition.
Too many kids nowadays get too many things paid for by their parents…..
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Another “in defense” of a $100/month allowance. When I was in high school, my dad had me write out a budget for all the things I wanted to be responsible for paying for myself (rather than asking him each time if it was something he would buy for me). This included clothing, outings with friends, gifts for friends and family members, gas (besides the gas to get to and from school), etc… I think it ended up being about $100/month, but I am also a verrrry frugal person.
I ended up hardly ever buying clothes for myself, going out infrequently, and buying gifts for people when they were on sale or making them myself… and saving a lot.
When I got to college (paid for by my scholarships, not my parents, including room/board/books/etc) my allowance stopped and I worked through college to support myself beyond what scholarships covered.
I’m definitely planning to do something similar with my kids once they’re teenagers… even if they end up with $300/month as their budgeted amount, as long as it’s reasonable (as justified by their budget), I’m totally cool with it… it would definitely teach money management skills.
Shows? House is great, but I guess it’s not gonna happen for you two.
Scrubs is fantastic… one of the only shows we own on DVD and watch over and over.
Lost is pretty captivating, but I’m not sure I’d call it comedy. It’s not dark though, really.
Only two other people mentioned Bones. It’s a GREAT show, and we’re netflixing our way through it now.
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Mad Men!!!
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Doctor Who! Judging by the other shows you watch, you seem to be open to science fiction. It’s got both drama and comedy, and there’s 40 years of old DVDs to keep you occupied (in addition to the new series starring Christopher Eccleston–the invisible man in Heroes–and David Tennant).
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I just found your blog via a friend and have greatly enjoyed reading some of your past posts.
Regarding television shows, Heroes, Battlestar Galactica, and The Office are three of my favorite shows too. The only other show I watch is Mad Men, which you can also download on iTunes. A wonderful show.
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So in the new series Vince is back on top, loving it so far and as alawys Ari Gold is brilliant!
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