Return of the Man from “Phlegming”
In over 2 years of riding the DC Metro daily, I’ve had a few run-ins and even rants about my fellow passengers. I’ve been delayed because a thief ran down the tracks, but people still envy my 50 mile commute (really it’s more like 60).
But I need a break from riding mass transit. Sure, it’s nice to be able to work on homework on the train (if you can get a seat and aren’t afraid of someone stealing your laptop), but I’m tired of seeing the depressed faces all around me, and vying for that extra inch of space. Luckily I’ll have that break soon (a story for another post), but today reminded me why that time can’t come soon enough.
The Man from Phlegming
No, I didn’t misspell “Fleming”. I intentionally spelled it with the root word “phlegm”, because that’s all I could picture on my ride to work today.
Financial Fire Drills: Utilizing Social Services
by Abigail Perry
Abigail Perry lives in Seattle, WA with her husband. Her blog, i pick up pennies, is about frugality and debt-reduction in and among obstacles, such as disability, low-income and life its own self.
There has been some talk in the PF world lately of running financial fire drills: determining just how you’d survive in case of a layoff. This brings up questions that many of us fail to ask ourselves beforehand:
- How much would I get from unemployment?
- Would it be enough to cover my current outlays?
- If not, how much would I have to cut?
- Which items would I cut first?
- How could I make my money stretch even farther?
These are all excellent questions to ask — especially as we face bleaker and bleaker news about companies’ downsizing, as well as a troubled job market. By going over your expenses, you can ensure that, if the worst happens, you’ve got a plan.
But is the plan thorough enough?
Back on the Mend: Needles in My Back
Just a quick update that my back is feeling better, plus this morning I got some “Medial Branch Block” shots in my lower back. You can see the 4 needles in my back from the x-ray below. The doc had to use an xray to position the shots as close to the nerves (based on vertebrae location). The shot is meant to calm down my back nerves to get them to release my muscles so I’m not spasming and cramping.
While he used 4 needles, he punctured 8 times, as evidenced by the bandage I removed. The skin is sensitive where he stuck me, but I’m able to walk upright like the homosapien I am, rather than hunched over like a neanderthal. I still have sciatic pain in my left left when I walk (more than before), but with proper stretching, exercise and posture, I’ll be back to normal soon (hopefully).
Is Hip-Hop Teaching Americans Money Lessons?
by The Weakonomist
This is a guest post by The Weakonomist from Weakonomics.com. He’s here today to stretch his legs, and the limits of personal finance content. If you like what you read you can get more at his website or subscribe to his RSS feed.
Word! It’s P-Dub AKA “The Weakonomist” coming at you live straight out of DC with my main man Clever “The Leverager” Dude. OK, so there isn’t really anything “street” about me. Being the son of middle class folks and working a middle class job myself, my days are filled with TPS reports and my evenings blogging about issues of little concern to more urban communities. But that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy a good bass line and the lyrics of today’s hottest hip-hop artists. At one point in my life, my Camry even served as the home to 24 inches worth of neighborhood disrupting sub woofers.
Secrets of Switching Jobs: Deconstructing The Job Offer
by Tye
Tye Hill works as a technology consultant in the Washington DC metropolitan area. In his spare time, Tye shares his thoughts on personal finance at his blog: PlainOldCommonCents.com.
Switching jobs can be extremely stressful by itself, and anything else on top of that will make it nigh impossible. There are so many things to consider when changing jobs that it can simply be overwhelming. Well, that’s why Plain Old Common Cents is here. I’m going to provide a run-down of what I consider to be 10 of the top things you need to consider when you receive a job offer.
- Personal Time Off -One of the first and most obvious benefits that you should compare is your vacation and sick leave time. If your new company will severely cut back your vacation time, then you need to account for two things. The salary or other benefits should be better to make up for the lack of vacation, and you need to be okay with having less vacation days than you did before. You should also look into whether your new company gives comparable benefits when it comes to maternal or paternal leave, but only if you are seriously considering having a baby in the next couple of years. Finally, look at the number of holidays the employer provides and compare that with your current company, is it more or fewer days off? That makes a difference.
7 Ways to Save Money on College Transportation
by Nate
This is a guest post by Nate Desmond from Debt-free Scholar (RSS). He writes about college finances on his blog.
Travel is a large part of a college student’s life. Everyday, college students have to travel to and from campus. At least once a week, they travel to the grocery store. In addition, they travel home at least once a year. With so much travel, the cost of transportation clearly has a large impact on their budget. Using the seven methods below, college students should be able to decrease, or even eliminate, these travel expenses.
- Walk - If a destination is close by, walk to it. This will save you money on gas; plus you will get more exercise. However, walking does take more time than any other transportation method. To make good use of this extra time, make sure to bring along study notes to review. When calculating the time needed to walk somewhere, keep in mind that the average person’s walking speed is between three to four miles per hour.
Should Your Emergency Fund Be Affected By Your Location?
by Kevin
This is a guest post from Kevin at No Debt Plan. He writes to show you how to get out of debt and invest for the future.
The old adage in personal finance for emergency funds has typically had two or three sides. For individuals (one income) you need to have at least 6 months of living expenses saved up with 12 months being the ultimate goal. For dual-income couples, a minimum of 3 months may suffice to start with because it is unlikely both incomes will disappear. If that dual-income couple has children, the minimum requirements go back up.
Obviously the more money you have saved in the bank the better, but these have been the general guidelines.
Yet today with the economy in shambles in certain parts of the country — California has an unemployment rate over 10% the last time I checked — should we start tying our emergency fund to our part of the country?
Clever Dude is out of commission for now
Just a heads-up that I’m looking for guest posts to cover me during the following week or two. Combining a really painful back problem (and neck pain and a very twitchy eye) with midterms and a load of other classwork, I just can’t keep up with new articles right now (at least ones I’m happy with posting). I seemed to have gotten in over my head this semester, and health problems have only made it that much worse.
So, if you have an article you wish to be posted at CleverDude.com, email it to me at:
If you can’t see the image above, go here to contact me. Don’t use the form to send me an article, just let me know you’re interested and I’ll reply back with where to send it.
Clever Dude and his bride started with over $110,000 in consumer debt and in just 3 short years, they have reduced it down to a mere fraction. The "Dude" writes about his mistakes in finances and marriage in hopes that you, the reader, can learn just a few nuggets of wisdom.
