finance
Expect the unexpected
Today, on a financial form, I was asked to estimate my unexpected expenses for 2011. Acceptable categories included funerals, natural disasters, and legal proceedings.
Minor League Update
There were many stories this past month about how if the Albany Firebirds (Arena Football League 2) didn’t secure the eighth and final playoff spot, they would likely fold. Alas, they ended up ninth, losing the tiebreaker to the Florida Firecats. But fortunately for the Firebirds, the Firecats folded first! Fire!
Vague Protest Spotted
We drove by some protesters on the corner of Laurel Canyon and Ventura Boulevard. I rolled down the window and heard shouts of “Honk if you agree with us, pay taxes if you don’t.”Another girl cried, “Stop robbing us!” Some of the signs had things on them like: This is BULL I’m a Democrat but […]
Iron Girders
I wish blogger would let these photos be larger. But I chose a tool certain non-technological people could use (John) and so, I’ll explain the photo. The landscape of my commute has certainly changed in the past two years. ‘For Rent’ signs have sprung up everywhere amidst weeds that have also sprouted on crumbling, dirt- […]
Budgeting advice
For as long as I can remember, newspaper and magazine articles offering basic budgeting advice have followed a standard script: drink less coffee, eat at restaurants less often, carry cash, balance your checkbook. You know times are getting tough when you come across a passage like this one: Consider downsizing your living quarters. For example, […]
Market trends
I used to have this sort of vague idea that I would let my son pick a stock and buy a few shares of it as a way of providing a lesson in economics and finance. I just checked, and in his lifetime the S&P 500 is now up a mere 1.1%. That’s worse than […]
Jack Silbert, curator