October 2010

Calculating the next year’s budgeting

October 31, 2010

Now, this new scheme to do the 3 percent drawdown from savings so as to stock my checking account with enough cash to cover monthly expenses is not all beer and skittles. The fly in the beer, alas, is the misbegotten mortgage on the downtown house, which under the influence of the Crash of the [...]

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Must have it!

October 30, 2010

Okay, okay, I know it’s kitsch. But… I WANT THE FROG! Image: SDXB, photo of yard sculpture, found in Sedona, Arizona. Artist unknown, price unknown.

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Some changes made tooodayyy….

October 29, 2010

Whew! What a week this has been! I about swooned under the workload, was reduced to tears this morning while contemplating my $448 (!) paycheck, finally came to and decided that there’s gotta be some financial and sanity-preserving changes made around here. Today! Awoke at 3 a.m., stumbled across the hall into the office, and [...]

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Yipe! BofA as Tarnished Goods

October 28, 2010

So you thought Bank of America was a blue-chip stock? Seems to have downgraded itself to brown chip. This e-mail arrived, from my elite financial managers: While we had intended to remain invested in Bank of America (BAC) through the turnaround, we sold that position today. Mortgage delinquencies have eased, but banks are now facing [...]

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America the Schismatic

October 26, 2010

So this morning I’m driving around and who should come on the radio but Juan Williams, late of NPR and recent of Fox News, chatting with Diane Rehm. Personally, even though what the guy said was taken hugely out of context, my empathy with him is limited by the fact that he was asked several [...]

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