Quote of the day: "As long as you're no longer living in a garage and shitting in a popcorn tin ---- how much money do you fucking need????"
My friend Missy sent me an e-mail complaining about the new stars of "Celebrity Apprentice." Not that she watches the show (though I sometimes do), but she was procrastinating, saw the list and then marveled at how Botoxed and/or Photoshopped everyone looked....and why in the world was Adam Carolla stooping to do this show.
I responded that he probably needed the money to maintain his lifestyle, not to mention his little business venture of having his own broadcast studio.
Missy then responded with the above quote, which has had me chuckling ever since.
Money's been a hot topic around the house lately, since it's time to talk to my accountant. Did I make more money this year over last? Yes, but that's still not saying much in the grand scheme of things. I did make more than my first job out of college, which is progress, though if you think a file clerk racks in the big bucks, you'd be sorely mistaken.
Still, my business is improving, and I'm fairly content with this year's results, considering the effort I put in. Would I like to make more money? Well, sure. There are a ton of things I want to do and buy, and I need money for them. However, I'm not living in a garage, and I'm not shitting in a popcorn tin, so even though my income isn't the greatest, I think I'm probably doing OK in the grand scheme of things. I would like to not live in an apartment and shit in a low-grade bathroom though, so that means it's time to look for more work. Mr. Trump, are you casting?
Showing posts with label Money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Money. Show all posts
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Friday, April 15, 2011
Extreme Blogging (a 2 for Friday)
Dear Extreme Couponers,
I have three words of advice for you: Pop goes bad.
The "Extreme Couponing" show on TLC portrays a bunch of people who love a bargain and get a lot of product for next to nothing. I know you love your stockrooms full of groceries that you paid pennies for. But seriously, if you have 40 bottles of soda*, can you drink it all before it goes bad?
In Massachusetts, there's been a little controversy about serving school lunches made with frozen food that's past its expiration and/or "use by" and/or "best by" dates. Many of us know that "use by" and "best by" are guidelines, that this food isn't necessarily spoiled, but it may be losing its nutritional value.
That's not the case with carbonated beverages. Ever have a two-year-old Coke? The Boy did once one spring when my mom pulled a bottle of Olympic-labelled Coke out of her stockpile in the basement for him. I commented that it seemed a little early in the year for the Beijing Olympic labeling to be out....and then we noticed that the bottle was from the Torino Olympics two years earlier. The Coke tasted pretty bad and had to be dumped.
I just wanted to let you extreme couponers know that factoid. Use up that product in your storeroom before it really goes bad. If you waste product, did you really save money on it anyway? If you have to throw out 20 bottles of expired BBQ sauce that cost you 50 cents a bottle (after coupons and sales), well, you've just thrown away $10. Seems a little extreme to me.
Your pal,
Jill
[* Note to readers--Am I losing my Midwestern roots? That should be "pop." POP!!!]
****
Dear Readers,
Madgal alerted me to the new TLC show "Extreme Couponing," which of course I ended up watching--with my mouth open in shock for most of it. It profiles some people who really really really love to use coupons -- and have piles of food and other products to show for it. One guy has deodorant for years. Someone else bought over two dozen bottles of Maalox (I'm guessing you need all of that because you're also using your coupons on food that's not all that great for you, so you get a little acid buildup).
That's not the only crazy thing about the show. People spend hours and hours walking through stores, creating super-detailed shopping lists, breaking up their five-shopping-cart haul into 18 distinct transactions in order to maximize their coupons. One couple even shopped early in the day, then called friends into the store to act like they were buying the stuff because a store coupon was limited to one-per-person (note to friends: If you call me before 9 AM to go to a grocery store and pretend to buy food so that you can save an extra $5, you will be put on my shit list. I don't care if said food is going to be served at a party I'm attending. That's beyond the "above and beyond" I like to do for my friends).
Luckily, the couponing world is a bit up in arms, so it's nice to see that not everyone with a coupon insert is like this (I'm certainly not....while I do use coupons and sometimes manage to get some pretty good deals, I'm in no way a master of the game). It's just the magic of reality TV + extreme anything = good TV.
What I would love to see is one of these families living off their massive stockpile until it's gone. What happens when these extremists aren't allowed to go to the grocery store? Can they survive without their habit? This, unfortunately, probably doesn't make good TV....though it might make a good blog. If you see a "recovering extreme couponer" blog, let me know!
Have a good weekend!
Your pal,
Jill
I have three words of advice for you: Pop goes bad.
The "Extreme Couponing" show on TLC portrays a bunch of people who love a bargain and get a lot of product for next to nothing. I know you love your stockrooms full of groceries that you paid pennies for. But seriously, if you have 40 bottles of soda*, can you drink it all before it goes bad?
In Massachusetts, there's been a little controversy about serving school lunches made with frozen food that's past its expiration and/or "use by" and/or "best by" dates. Many of us know that "use by" and "best by" are guidelines, that this food isn't necessarily spoiled, but it may be losing its nutritional value.
That's not the case with carbonated beverages. Ever have a two-year-old Coke? The Boy did once one spring when my mom pulled a bottle of Olympic-labelled Coke out of her stockpile in the basement for him. I commented that it seemed a little early in the year for the Beijing Olympic labeling to be out....and then we noticed that the bottle was from the Torino Olympics two years earlier. The Coke tasted pretty bad and had to be dumped.
I just wanted to let you extreme couponers know that factoid. Use up that product in your storeroom before it really goes bad. If you waste product, did you really save money on it anyway? If you have to throw out 20 bottles of expired BBQ sauce that cost you 50 cents a bottle (after coupons and sales), well, you've just thrown away $10. Seems a little extreme to me.
Your pal,
Jill
[* Note to readers--Am I losing my Midwestern roots? That should be "pop." POP!!!]
****
Dear Readers,
Madgal alerted me to the new TLC show "Extreme Couponing," which of course I ended up watching--with my mouth open in shock for most of it. It profiles some people who really really really love to use coupons -- and have piles of food and other products to show for it. One guy has deodorant for years. Someone else bought over two dozen bottles of Maalox (I'm guessing you need all of that because you're also using your coupons on food that's not all that great for you, so you get a little acid buildup).
That's not the only crazy thing about the show. People spend hours and hours walking through stores, creating super-detailed shopping lists, breaking up their five-shopping-cart haul into 18 distinct transactions in order to maximize their coupons. One couple even shopped early in the day, then called friends into the store to act like they were buying the stuff because a store coupon was limited to one-per-person (note to friends: If you call me before 9 AM to go to a grocery store and pretend to buy food so that you can save an extra $5, you will be put on my shit list. I don't care if said food is going to be served at a party I'm attending. That's beyond the "above and beyond" I like to do for my friends).
Luckily, the couponing world is a bit up in arms, so it's nice to see that not everyone with a coupon insert is like this (I'm certainly not....while I do use coupons and sometimes manage to get some pretty good deals, I'm in no way a master of the game). It's just the magic of reality TV + extreme anything = good TV.
What I would love to see is one of these families living off their massive stockpile until it's gone. What happens when these extremists aren't allowed to go to the grocery store? Can they survive without their habit? This, unfortunately, probably doesn't make good TV....though it might make a good blog. If you see a "recovering extreme couponer" blog, let me know!
Have a good weekend!
Your pal,
Jill
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Can You Spare Some Change?
Dear Chicago Police Superintendent Jody P. Weis,
Oh, man. Whichever Chicago Police Department-affiliated person called my house yesterday to ask for money to help buy bulletproof vests should be happy that the Boy got to the phone before I did. The Boy is much more diplomatic than I am. If I'd have gotten the call, you might have heard my voice all the way in your office.
Why? Why wouldn't I want to donate some money to help buy our fine police officers get some bulletproof vests? Well, part of me wondered how many the CPD has, how many you need, and why can't you afford to buy them out of your own budget. Sure, I can imagine that times are tough, the budget's been cut, and you probably can't afford them. That part my empathetic self can understand. However, that self would totally be drowned out by the self who is sick and tired of the cops calling me and begging.
Almost every month, someone related to the police department calls and asks for money for some police function. These have included:
Oh, man. Whichever Chicago Police Department-affiliated person called my house yesterday to ask for money to help buy bulletproof vests should be happy that the Boy got to the phone before I did. The Boy is much more diplomatic than I am. If I'd have gotten the call, you might have heard my voice all the way in your office.
Why? Why wouldn't I want to donate some money to help buy our fine police officers get some bulletproof vests? Well, part of me wondered how many the CPD has, how many you need, and why can't you afford to buy them out of your own budget. Sure, I can imagine that times are tough, the budget's been cut, and you probably can't afford them. That part my empathetic self can understand. However, that self would totally be drowned out by the self who is sick and tired of the cops calling me and begging.
Almost every month, someone related to the police department calls and asks for money for some police function. These have included:
- Money for violence awareness programs for youth
- Money for the families of fallen police officers
- Money for bulletproof vests (more than once)
- And I believe money for some sort of athletic program--maybe also for the kids
Who in the police department has time to call me so often? And why are they spending my tax dollars doing so? If you don't have the money for these programs, maybe they shouldn't exist. Violence awareness? I'm pretty sure everyone in the city knows that there's a lot of youth violence. We don't need to be made more aware!
Please, stop the begging. It's only giving the CPD a bad image in my eyes. It's a shame that the face of the police, most of whom are doing a good job and working hard to keep our city safe, is now one that I see as a big harasser.
Your pal,
Jill
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