To me, this also made it seem as though this was an open invitation for people to rob me.


If someone has enough of you information and also knows who you filed your taxes with, this also gives an identity thief more information to help people gain access to your personal information.


Needless to say, I passed on the opportunity to post the information. Even though I am more than pleased with the company, I would rather let those looking for a tax professional know via word of mouth.

Not interested in what someone is offering?

Be polite and civil. The recent problems with people threatening and vandalizing politicans’ offices shouldn’t be tolerated.

Let’s say you prefer Burger King to McDonald’s or a local chain instead of White Castle’s this does not give a person the right to vandalize a location. No one is forcing you to eat there.

Tax dollars pay for many programs that people may not want but still benefit them. Childless people may not benefit from the school system or law abiding citizens may never see the inside of a jail cell but the services still exist.

Even if perchance a bill collector calls – be polite. I have the misfortune of sharing the same last name with a person who lives in my building who doesn’t pay his/her bills on time. I am generally polite with the person when they call. Generally because I had one person call me three times within 10 minutes after I had explained to them I didn’t know the person in question. The same goes for telemarketers. If you are not interested in what they are selling – just say thank you with a smile in you voice and hang up. There is nothing they can do. If they keep calling you or even if these are people calling for renewals of memberships or magazine subscriptions you can ask for your name to be removed from their roster.

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Cutting out the middleman…

As a cost cutting measure many places are cutting out the middleman. The latest middlemen to be cut out are the banks. Instead of offering loans to students and receiving a fee from the government for the student loans they service, the students will get their loans from Uncle Sam himself. The rationale is that this way the government can use that savings from the fees to increase the amount given out in the form of Pell grants.

Banks could stand to lose billions of dollars.

Opponents say that this will create a monopoly and will not offer consumers a choice when seeking loans. Though it will save money for individual who could have a reduced interest rate and more grant money available.

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If you have digital cable, check the free offerings for movies and programs before you rent a movie. Periodically check. Though you might be like me and delete the email detailing the new movies offered on cable. If you check the on demand programming you might be pleasantly surprised and find some older films that you are interested in watching in the comfort of your own home, some less than 2 years old. It may not seem that great, but for free that’s a better deal than the library – you don’t have to leave your house or worry about returning the DVD on time.

For newer films though, Redbox is a better deal. My cable company offers newer movies for $4.99. Most Redbox outlets require some transportation to get to them, but it is doubtful that you’d use a gallon of gas to get to the nearest Redbox.

Instead of going to the library or Redbox, I’m going to watch “Julia & Julia” for free in the comfort of my home and can even watch the beginning on one tv and finish it on another.

I have started watching some films using the on demand feature and didn’t like them so I was glad that I hadn’t used up space on my library card or waste a dollar watching something I didn’t like.

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Last night I received a call from a charity asking for a donation. The representative said that the organization wasn’t asking for any money or a credit card number over the phone just a pledge. I said ok. She also said “you may make a donation in any amount.”

Again, I said ok.

“How much can we count on you for?”

I said $10.

I donate to other charities, and while this one was noble $10 was all I was willing to give at the time.

Well if you donate $15 we will give you a bumper sticker and a ribbon for your car.

“I’m not interested in any of that.”

Her retort was $15 is our lowest pledge level. Can you go up to $15?

I said no and hung up.

This may seem cruel, but since I was told I could make a donation in ANY amount and I said I wasn’t interested in any of the thank you gifts, I guess my $10 wasn’t good enough for the organization.

I’m not a cruel, heartless tightwad. Though if the organization really wanted to get more donations they should authorize their telemarketers to take whatever they could get and also mention that at a higher level of giving a get people who would send them money and then they wouldn’t get a premium. Some people don’t care about a premium and will donate at the level comfortable for them. No other organization has ever turned away money because the level of giving wasn’t to a certain standard.

Though because of her insistence that I donate a certain amount, this could have been a scam and I was being difficult.

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I saw this article about “young hipsters” who receive food stamps or public assistance who use their monthly allotment to buy higher end foods.

The people profiled in the article are single individuals (no families). Though I have always thought there should be a class or at least a seminar for recipients to teach them how to prepare quality, healthy meals.

What people choose to purchase with their allotment is their business. I probably wouldn’t want rabbit, but I would want to get fruits and vegetables which even in season can be costly. Is it wrong for foodies to use their food stamps to eat well?

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