August 2009

Weekend pool frolics: Soda ash edition

August 31, 2009

At some point along the line, Frugal Scholar remarked in passing that the swimming pool sounds like a royal pain. And there’s something to be said for that. But it also has to be said that if you like to swim and you live in a hot climate, a pool has so many redeeming qualities [...]

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The glories of an honest mechanic

August 30, 2009

Allah be praised! That 90,000-mile megaservice that was supposed to lighten my bank account to the tune of $1,200? Chuck the Mechanic par Extraordinaire charged me $221. Whence this generosity, you ask. Well, he checked his records—he keeps computerized records of all his customer’s work—and discovered that I had insisted on changing the timing belt [...]

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Declutter! Clear your life of wasteful trash

August 29, 2009

Why do we tend to fill our lives with dust-catchers and useless junk? Every week when the notices for the current round of estate sales arrive, my mind is filled with wonder. What does a person do with all that stuff? Where on earth do you store it? Many houses where these estate sales take [...]

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Retirement/unemployment: A slightly brighter light

August 28, 2009

A meeting with the investment adviser yielded a little decent news on the pending unemployment (i.e., forced retirement) front. He figured out that $10,000 of the $25,000 sitting in the whole life insurance policy my ex- bought back in the early 1980s is not subject to taxes. So, he proposes that I withdraw that in [...]

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Fizzy lemonade

August 28, 2009

The other day a craving for something sweet, cold, and bubbly snuck up on me. I don’t care for pop and wasn’t in the mood for an unscheduled grocery-store run through 100-degree heat. But…last summer I froze a bunch of juice from the backyard Meyer lemon tree, in quarter-cup size chunks made in a muffin [...]

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Moments of Fame

August 28, 2009

This week’s Carnival of Personal Finance appears at Your Money Relationship, where Adam hosts the 219th edition. Funny’s contribution: Toothless Credit-Card Consumer Protection Laws. Don’t miss these excellent posts: Darwin’s Finance How Much Is That Puppy? The Most Detailed Dog Cost Analysis You’ve Ever Seen Mwa ha ha! My favorite hobbyhorse! Money under Thirty Confessions [...]

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