Healthcare Disincentives for Bad Behaviors Could Cost You Money

Beginning on January 1, 2012 there was a change to my healthcare plan at work. Plan participants who used tobacco 5 or more times in the 90 days leading up to the first of the year are now subject to an additional health insurance premium cost of between $30 to $90 per month. The amount [...]

Get Out of the Land of the Conditional and Own Your Resolutions

When I was in my early twenties I went to an acupuncturist who quickly caught onto my limited vocabulary of should, could, or would. Almost every sentence I used then had one of these words in it—a thought accompanied by a heaping side of guilt. It was so bad that my homework after one session [...]

Our Credit Card Numbers were Stolen

I can imagine someone walking around Brooklyn, New York right now with new shoes, new clothes, furniture, and a small appliance or two. They are probably smiling after all of these purchases, smugly satisfied in the good fortune and booty that has come their way. I’m not really certain of what $851.42 can buy a [...]

How Much are Financial Reality TV Stars Paid, and Does it Interfere with Reality?

I sat down to watch the first episode of the new season of Downsized. My eyes widened when the father, Todd, decided that it was time to start looking for a home to purchase. Not only did they just have a foreclosure 18 months earlier on top of a bankruptcy, but his argument to purchase [...]

Adding Pizzazz to Your Military Letters

Happy Memorial Day to all of the Veterans, Active Duty Military Personnel, and their Families, Loved Ones, and Friends! Most of you know that my husband and I met while he was in a Cryptologist in the Navy. He was stationed in Japan, and so the first three years of our relationship took place over [...]

Denmark: Highest Tax Rate and Happiest People

Most of us don’t like paying taxes because it is more money out of our pockets. This can be especially true if we do not believe in the types of policies or programs our tax money is funding. Because of this, you would think that the country with the highest tax rate in the world [...]

Simple Boiler Repair Checks You Can Carry Out

This is a sponsored post from the British Company Homeserve Insurance. Boiler failures are, unfortunately, quite common, and there are many causes – but some can be remedied with a simple, non-technical action. Although carrying out a boiler repair is illegal if you’re not properly qualified, there are a few simple checks you can carry [...]

Searching for Utopia—Does it Actually Exist?

Half of this article was written by a person lost in a flurry of details in June of this year, the other half was written by a much calmer, reflective person this past week. For the last two weeks, I’ve been running around like my head’s been cut off by a chicken—or whatever that saying [...]

Homemade Holiday Gifts that Won’t Collect Dust

Let’s face it: not all homemade gifts are created equal. Some people seem to have a real knack for making things from scratch, and we look forward to those kinds of gifts. Other people seem to not have such a knack…and our attics fill up over the years. (Yes, it is the thought that counts [...]

11 Inexpensive and Unique Stocking Stuffer Ideas

Stockings are fun to fill. What can you fit inside? How can you keep your family and pets guessing? Okay…perhaps your pets aren’t as excited as a person would be, but having stockings for them can add to the character of your family’s holiday. We have a fireplace and so as soon as we return [...]

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