Fabulous Financials

Occasionally, I receive an email from a fabulous reader that makes me pause for the cause.  You know, the kind that makes me want to say WTF.  Sometimes, the person has read my blog long enough to say “WTF!” for me. LOL!  And if you make me say WTF, you can guarantee it’ll make the blog. LOL!  So my fabulous reader who sent the following email, you asked for it.  LOL!

Dear Single Ma,

I have never written to you before, and I am well aware that I risk becoming one of your “WTF?” examples that I occasionally see on your blog, but recent events in my social circle are driving me nuts.

I know 2 families who have lost an income during the past six months:

Family A
Two adults, one pre-schooler. Pre-layoff income in the six-figures, with no debt whatsoever (including cars and mortgage), according to Mrs. A. She works part-time and sends her child to a private school from 8:30 to 5:00 every day, and employs a cleaning service. When Mr. A was laid off, he received 6 months in severance pay as well as 6 months of benefits. Mrs. A. has declined to increase her hours at work.

Family B
Two adults, two kindergartners, one toddler. Pre-layoff income in the high five figures, with a mortgage. For 18 months Mrs. B was a stay-at-home mom before resuming full-time work as a journalist. Shortly after her return to the workforce, Mr. B’s employer closed its doors. He received six months of severance without benefits. After 5 months of looking aggressively for a job, Mr. B is still unemployed and is a stay-at-home dad while Mrs. B works full-time, often on weekends.

Witnessing the very different ways in which these families have handled their new circumstances has inspired and horrified me. The one who seems to have the most (at least financially) is complaining the most. Mrs. A recently threw an unemployment party for her husband, which was a pot luck because of their “reduced circumstances,” according to the invitation. Family B attended this party, economical but flavorful side dish in hand.

So what’s my point? Aside from wanting to smack Mrs. A every time she complains about her grocery bill at Whole Foods, I would love to see an article about perceived scarcity, or a false sense of scarcity, counting your blessings, or whatever you’d like to call it. I don’t particularly want a kick in the ass, but if you think I need one I’m willing to face that also.

Hmm…I won’t do any kicking today (only because it’s Sunday LOL), but let me dissect this information with a few assumptions: Read more »

By this time tomorrow night, this is where I’ll be:

The beautiful Waikiki Beach in O’ahu, Hawaii!

Go ahead, you can hate on me. LOL!

But listen…my weekend has been so busy, I haven’t had time to schedule any future posts for you guys. I sawwy. Hopefully, I’ll have lots of shenanigans to share when I return.

Oh wait, I have a good question for you…

If you were in a relationship that wasn’t defined and decided to go on vacation together - how often would YOU offer to share the expenses, if at all?

Aloha!

My office is about to enter its busiest time of the year. Therefore, working more than your typical 9 to 5 is not only necessary, but MANDATORY. So I gave my staff an option to decide how they would like to be compensated for their extra work hours.

OVERTIME (paid time and half for any hour over 40)

or

COMP TIME (after the rush is over, time off for any hour over 40)

The majority vote did not surprise me.  They all said “SHOW ME THE MONEY!” LOL

I don’t have the luxury of either, but if I did, I’d prefer comp time for tax planning purposes.

If given the option, which would you prefer? And why?

When I was in Vegas a few weeks ago, I was fascinated by the glitz and glamour - especially the posh mall at Caesar’s Palace and the retail prices at these “regular” stores. Funny thing, they claimed their prices were higher in THIS location because their selection was UNIQUE. Hmm, ok. You be the judge…

Coach Bag: rear view

Coach Bag: front view

Beautiful bag, right? Fine workmanship too.

My camera is crap, so the pictures don’t show the detail very well. But trust me when I say, this was a beautiful, beautiful bag.

Can you guess how much it costs?

Unless someone guesses correctly, I’ll let you know the real price sometime this weekend.

UPDATE: Pennypincher’s comment was EXACTLY right. Believe or not, this handbag was on display and selling for the ri-THICK-culous retail price of $12,000. Yep, TWELVE THOUSAND dead presidents. I couldn’t believe it! At first, I thought the tag said $1,200. But my girlfriend gently pointed out that there was clearly another zero my eyes were failing to recognize. Lawdymercy, I loss my breath. Then promptly walked my broke azz out of that store. LOL!

But I went back just to get a picture for y’all.

Dear Single Ma,

I’ve been following your blog off and on for the past couple of years. I’m very interested in personal finance, and even had a personal finance blog myself for a time.

Since writing the blog, I finished my second year of business school. I’m about to start a real job, by which I mean a job that requires dressing up, and I feel incredibly intimidated. I hate wearing heels. I only own one pantsuit, the one that I wear to interviews. At the same time, I recognize that it’s time to “grow up”, and that looking good matters in the business world.

I’ve admired how you were able to save so much money while dressing fabulously, and I’d love to hear more about the latter one of these days. What does your wardrobe look like? What kinds of clothes would you buy if you were just starting out?

Most of my female friends aren’t business types, and so I know no one I really feel comfortable asking. Would love any advice you might have.

Keep it up and all the best!

CONGRATS on your first ‘real’ job!! And GOOD LUCK with the rest of B-school!! Your email sounds like something I would have written 10 years ago. How cute! LOL Well missy, you’re in luck because Single Ma is feeling and looking fabulous today. So let’s start with your questions… Read more »