linklings, bad window edition
It’s been a fun week in the US. The bailout which I so fiercely opposed is now a reality. But more importantly, on a personal level, my car managed to break down in a half dozen different ways simultaneously, my client managed to mess up my time and the kids conspired to throw a wrench in our sleep patterns, such as they were. So it’s been a chaotic week, too. I’ve been entrenched in a blap period – it’s what my blog is named after, my tendency to be ebullient for a long time and then sullen for a (mercifully) shorter time.
One of the things about writing a blog like this is that you often find yourself pressed for time simply to sit down and write. I can’t use that as much of an excuse – I watched “Poseidon” this week rather than writing, but the simple fact is that other things do intrude that can’t be set aside. Another thing is that you can’t always focus on what you want to focus on. My intention with brip blap was initially to write on the loose topic of “self-improvement”, focusing on finance, productivity and health. For a while I veered towards finance pretty heavily, but productivity and “new thought” positivity have dominated a lot of my posts recently. However, what I read about and think about – a lot – is economics and politics. Many of you may not know that I wrote a political blog for several years before launching brip blap in its current form. I was heavily involved in volunteer politics for years. I can’t keep out of it.
Yet at the same time I have no desire to turn brip blap into a political blog, or a primarily economics-focused blog. I want it to be about productivity, finance and self-improvement. These are topics that truly matter to me. At the same time, when I’ve hit a period like I have recently – struggling with my current client, one of the Wall Street meltdown poster children; dealing with a million small household issues (DSL out, car window suddenly broken, brake lights abruptly dying on my car, etc.); and frankly just dealing with one of my “blap” periods of defeatism, it’s been tough to focus my writing on what I need to. I want this blog to be positive, and I know that writing about economics right now isn’t. The trick is to focus on what you can do to overcome the current situation, not complaining about it – which is most of what I’ve done recently.
All that having been said, I read a comment by a major blogger recently – who is one of my favorites – that he’s not even registered to vote. This floored me. Without making any sort of political push for any candidate (and yes, there are more than just Obama and McCain), please, please register. Please express an opinion. Sitting on the sidelines is irresponsible – doubly so if you have children. At least vote in the US House and Senate (if applicable) elections.
Here are a few links from the Money Writers (and others) for the weekend:
Working Two Jobs at the Same Time: I hate to say it, but I do this all the time. I’ve been sketching out post ideas and reading articles related to this blog at work for a while. Am I making phone calls? No. Am I spending time on Google Reader? Yes. The only line I draw is that when I have both my client work and blog work to do, the client work ALWAYS takes priority.
You Need a New Job!: That’s what I’ve been thinking recently – at least in terms of a new client.
Is it a Recession?: A Canadian take on the good times we’re having.
Five Unique Strategies to Recession-Proof Your Household and 10 Frugal Steps To Help You Survive A Tough Economy: Can’t have too many tips to get ready for dark days, can you?
The Great Bailout of 2008: For someone who just retired, Madison seems mighty calm about what’s going on!
Poll: Rasing the Limits of FDIC Protection from $100,000 to $250,000 – Good or Bad?: I view this as a weird action – are there that many people with $190,000 in cash in bank accounts? I can see people with $10,000 or less (most of us) or people with millions, but really, who benefits from this? I just hope the FDIC is ready to back this up – I’m not convinced they have the funds.
Zen And The Art Of Personal Finance: Ah, Zen. I’ve been struggling to reclaim a little Zen in my blap phase recently.
How to Determine If You Can Move from Two Incomes to One: We did this, and it’s pretty easy: take your spending, and cut it by the amount of one spouse’s net income. After you’ve done it, quit. That’s it.
I also participated in Carnival of Personal Finance #172 – Meltdown Edition over at debtkid.com.
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The bailout is gonna happen but waht happens because of bailout is yet to be seen, I guess it is just a beginning and they will add more money into it as the time goes by, maybe even different industries. Auto industry also needs a bailout…
Three comments, Steve. First, the random problems of daily life won't defeat you. Second, I work at least two jobs simultaneously. It's gotten quite hectic recently, and fairly lucrative. I do work primarily at home, and I slide between professional and personal life pretty easily, so it doesn't appear that any of my employers/clients are getting shortchanged.
Last, I confess to having more than $100K in a bank cash account (although it's a joint account, so I'm still protected under current rules). It happened accidently over a period of years – NFS bought by Baybank bought by Bank of Boston became BankBoston bought by Fleet bought by BOA, and several different accounts came together to be one (there are more banks at the beginning of the list, but they localize me too much for public consumption).
Thanks Curmudgeon – the random problems of daily life won't defeat me, but they do put up a spirited battle with my blogging routine!
I think working from home would alter my dynamic significantly. My clients (with one exception) have always been exceptionally hard-assed about being on site. It's probably the nature of the beast – working in finance and accounting there are meetings to attend, hardcopy binders to pore over, etc. I think if I worked from home I'd manage both my personal and professional lives much more easily, and with less angst.
I still think you'd be the exception to benefit from the new FDIC rule! I'd have to find stats, but I'm still willing to bet that doesn't affect a HUGE swath of the population.
Steve: Maybe it's more a function of age because, as people near retirement, they are probably at the peak of their cash accrual, getting ready to start using that cash as they enter retirement. My husband and I have more than 100k at a single bank, but we've been much more watchful lately about making sure that we split it into smaller accounts (i.e. a large CD dispersed into 2 or 3 smaller CDs). So maybe you are right that most people don't have accounts with over a 100k in them, but as you get older, it is to be hoped that you have ample cash reserves. It's up to the individual to be vigilant about not letting any one account get over 100k.
Steve: Maybe it's more a function of age because, as people near retirement, they are probably at the peak of their cash accrual, getting ready to start using that cash as they enter retirement. My husband and I have more than 100k at a single bank, but we've been much more watchful lately about making sure that we split it into smaller accounts (i.e. a large CD dispersed into 2 or 3 smaller CDs). So maybe you are right that most people don't have accounts with over a 100k in them, but as you get older, it is to be hoped that you have ample cash reserves. It's up to the individual to be vigilant about not letting any one account get over 100k.