After drawing 1.5 million page views with nearly 2,500 posts from over 50 contributors; Queercents is taking a time out.

More precisely, its leader needed a break. Since 2006, Queercents has consumed my early mornings and a good deal of my weekends, but it’s time to pass the torch to someone better equipped to write its next chapter. By the end of the year, an improved Queercents will live on, albeit without me, at a gay destination attracting 10x the traffic than we ever could.

In the meantime, we’re on pause, but our searchable archives remain with more than a few timeless ideas about money. So feel free to stick around.

Over the years, it’s been a pleasure leading a team of committed volunteers producing relevant financial content for the LGBT community. I consider Queercents a collective success because of these writers. I also extend my appreciation to Serena Freewomyn, Paula Gregorowicz and Elizabeth Byrne; each put in extra effort behind the scenes. I’m proud of our accomplishments, excellent content, brand awareness, and loyal followers… after all; a blog is only here for its readers.

And a reader I will become. And then maybe I’ll become something else. When I’m done resting. But rest assured, whatever it is, it will probably touch on the topic of money… because I like money. I like to think there’s some good in money. I hope this site helped you see the good in it too! Be well and prosper!

Queercents will be back in new form soon…

Growing up, we never discussed the stock market. It just wasn’t part of my household, my neighborhood, or (to my recollection) the national zeitgeist.

My parents probably had some money tucked away in a mutual fund or two that were recommended by my Uncle. The Sunday newspaper had a thick section filled with the weekly summary of stock and mutual fund trading values printed in impossibly small print. The subject was a foreign language, full of arcane symbols.

The only investments ever discussed were savings accounts and certificates of deposits. I would take my birthday money to the bank along with my savings passbook. The clerk would fill out the deposit slip and enter the deposit amount in the passbook, initialing the entry.

Growing up with inflation

The bank paid 5% on deposits. We never shopped around for a better rate, because it would have been too inconvenient to travel elsewhere to transact business. During my high school years, inflation grew to 5%, then 7%, then 10%, finally reaching a peak of 13.5% in 1980. As I recall, the bank continued to pay about 5% on my savings. Even with my measly high school math I knew I was losing ground. Inflation was the story of the day. It dominated the nightly news. President Ford encouraged the nation to “Whip Inflation Now,” with his big red WIN buttons.

I don’t mean to bore you with tales from this old geezer’s childhood. I’m telling you this in case you are too young to have lived through inflationary times.

The graph below shows the relative changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the S&P 500 index over my lifetime (so far). Both values are normalized to 1. If someone had bought stock in the year I was born, and held it through my college graduation, they would have lost money, relative to inflation. No wonder no one talked about the markets!

Since 1980 we have had very steady* but slow, controlled inflation, at an average annual rate of about 2.3%. Some conspiracy theorists believe that the government has been cooking the books to keep the inflation calculation artificially low, so it doesn’t have to give senior citizens a Social Security cost-of-living raise. But when I think back to the cost of common items like a candy bar or milk I think it’s probably actually increased by a factor of 2 since the 80’s, which is what the chart says, so I don’t think the government has been cheating.

Note also that since 1980, or maybe a bit before, the S&P 500 has been on a tear, increasing at an average annual rate of about 8.8% (ignoring the internet bubble of 2000). That’s a real return of 6.5% (8.8% - 2.3%). That made saving (and investing) worthwhile.

Will inflation return?

Isn’t that the $64 question? Our government’s been printing money to pay for bailing out the banks and carmakers. It’s ok to print extra as long as the economy grows to absorb the cash infusion, but we’re not growing much right now. If we can’t absorb it, then we need folks to buy it in the form of T-Bills and the like.** Thankfully, China and others continue to support our excesses. However, we need to consider what would happen they stop buying. Or if the imbalance between printing and growth stays out of whack for very long.

How can I protect my investments, should inflation return?

There are a few things you can do now to help guard your nest egg against the ravages of inflation.

• Bonds. Check that your bonds and bond funds have a relatively short duration. That means that they’ll be more able to respond to interest rate changes. Interest rates received on deposits usually rise during inflationary times (despite my childhood experience). For example, you probably wouldn’t want to buy a 30-yr Treasury today. You’d be locked in to its 4.5% payout. Better to go for a shorter term note. It’ll pay a lower rate, but you can reinvest it sooner at what is likely to be a higher rate.
• TIPS. The principal of a Treasury Inflation Protected Securities rises with inflation. The rate is fixed, but since the principal rises, so does the semi-annual interest payment. When the security matures, you receive back the inflated principal. The minimum purchase is $100. A recent issue rate for a 10-year TIPS is 1.875% vs. 3.625% for a non-inflation-indexed Treasury note.
• I-bonds. A version of the venerable Savings Bonds, the return on I-Bonds is also pegged to inflation. You can buy these in denominations of $25, with a maximum purchase of $5,000 per year per person.
• Inflation “plays.” You could short long bonds. (That’s just fun to say.) Short sell an ETF that invests in long-term bonds, for example, Vanguard’s EDV. If inflation rises, the value of the long bonds will fall.
• Commodities. Inflation means that the price of basic stuff rises. Copper. Gold. Timber. Commodity ETF’s can take the edge off.

I hope inflation doesn’t return. The Fed has a 30-year (and counting) track record of matching the money supply to national growth. Perhaps we’ve actually learned to to manage it. This year was extraordinary, of course. The next few years should tell the real story.

*Note that the vertical axis on the graph uses a log scale. A straight line indicates a constant rate of change.

**This version of the Federal Monetary Policy has a bit of “poetic license.”

Disclaimers: This information is provided for educational purposes only. It may not apply to your personal financial situation. Before investing, you may want to discuss your plan with an investment advisor or financial planner. Investments in ETF’s and in mutual funds are not FDIC insured and can cause loss of principal. (You can lose money).

Full Disclosure: No position in EDV.

By day, Helen engineers new materials to make computer chips cheaper, better, and faster. When the son goes down (pun intended), she writes about personal finance at Affine Financial Services.

“Spending is quick, earning is slow.” – Russian Proverb

For the past eight years, my wife and I have been self-employed.  We correspond at least quarterly with our CPA to ensure that we pay the correct amounts on our estimated taxes.  Since our business income and expenses can vary so wildly, we’ve pretty much given up on trying to forecast the number at the beginning of the year.

Our most recent communication with our CPA delivered some very good news.  Our daughter’s adoption, which was finalized in April, means we will qualify for the Adoption Tax Credit.   Since the adoption was considered a special needs adoption, and qualified for the Adoptions Assistance Program, we’ll be able to claim the full 2009 credit of $12,150.

That’s quite a windfall.

Although we knew that we’d be eligible for the Adoption Tax Credit when our daughter’s adoption was finalized, we didn’t count on it happening this year.  Even though she’s lived with us for nearly three years and was never going to be reunited with her birth family, a queer-unfriendly social worker turned what should have been a straightforward older child adoption into a year-long legal battle.  Even after we won the right to adopt, our agency stalled for another six months before finalization.

We didn’t count on the credit because, quite frankly, we weren’t sure the adoption would ever be finalized.

Since we’ve been dutifully paying our estimated taxes assuming we wouldn’t get the credit this year, we’ll probably be able to skip our Q4 tax payment altogether, and we’ll likely end up with a refund after we file.  This is amazing news, because in all the years we’ve been self-employed, we’ve never had a refund.  Most years, we’ve ended up owing more on April 15th.

Our initial reaction was a collective shout of “Whoopee!”  Once we finished cheering, we started listing all the wonderful things we’d like to do with the money.  There were repairs to be done around the house, holiday and birthday gifts for ourselves and our friends, and maybe even a vacation somewhere.

Then, I had to be the killjoy.  As lovely as repairs, gifts and a vacation sounded, I realized we needed to be sensible.  Windfalls like this don’t come around very often, so we needed to use the money wisely.  After considerable discussion, my wife and I came up with the following ideas:

Emergency Savings – Although my wife and I have managed to save up about $7,000 for emergencies, it’s not enough to sustain our family over a long period of illness or unemployment.  Adding a large amount of money to that account would go a long way towards our peace of mind.  It wouldn’t be a hedge against all disasters, but emergency savings to cover four to six months of living expenses could go a long way to help.

Investment – My wife and I have several retirement accounts each, including 401(k) rollover accounts from past employment, and SEP-IRA accounts that we’ve used since we’ve started our business.  Despite making efforts to contribute to these accounts over the years, we don’t anywhere near enough to retire.  The drop in the stock market really hurt our accounts, shaving off nearly 50% of their value.  It’s tempting to invest a large part of our windfall, so we can play catch up.

Debt Abatement – Since my financial implosion and my wife’s episode of financial infidelity, we’ve made keeping the credit cards paid off a high priority.  Not having any high-interest debt is a great relief, but we still have 27 years of payments remaining on our home mortgage, and another 18 months on an automobile loan.  Retiring the automobile loan would be nice, as it would free up $325 per month that could be allocated to emergency savings, investment, or higher payments on our mortgage.

After carefully weighing all the options, we came up with the following plan:

1.    Pay off the auto loan.  Although the interest rate is fairly low at 5.64%, we decided that paying extra money for the car just doesn’t make sense.  Our savings accounts and investments aren’t doing nearly as well, so saving 5.64% in interest is worth more to us than earning the 1.3% our savings account collects.

2.    Contribute to emergency savings.  Whatever is left after the auto loan is paid off will go to our emergency savings account.  We’ll also redirect our former car payment to emergency savings as well, until we’ve accumulated enough cash to cover at least six months of living expenses.

3.    Invest after the emergency savings are funded.  Although we’ll continue to contribute small amounts to our retirement accounts as we’ve done all along, we are going to redirect the bulk of those contributions to our emergency account.  Once we’ve got our rainy day fund covered, we’ll redirect our old car payment to our retirement accounts.

4.    Accelerate our mortgage payoff later.  Once all our debts are paid off, our emergency account is funded and we are making steady contributions to our retirement accounts, we’ll start adding a little bit extra to our mortgage payment every month.  As the economy gets better, we’ll try to increase this amount in the hopes that we can ultimately shave five to ten years off the life of our mortgage.

Next in series: The Importance of not Counting Chickens

Photo credit: stock.xchng

Or more likely the cost of your subscriptions getting you down… just got the annual renewal for The Economist… $109… Ouch!

I think most everyone has subscribed to a magazine or twelve in their life and while it is much cheaper than buying individual copies on the news stand is it really worth it?

Sigh… another question with a yes and no answer… don’t you just love Grey? There are so many different shades of it.

Being old enough to predate the Internet I remember when magazines were the source of specialized information about just about anything.

The internet hasn’t done away with them though… it’s probably made them more widely available as people read about them on Google and order a sample copy… they might even then subscribe.

There are still thousands of magazines that you will never see on the newsstands and are only available through subscription… and they tend to be the priciest.

I’m sure you can tell me stories about the one you have to subscribe to to keep up with new “whatevers” in your field at work that costs the same a car payment.

Because I am an avid curious reader off the top of my head I can recall subscribing for varying lengths of time to the following over the years… and definitely not all at once.

I still might pick up an individual copy if I see it at the newsstand and it has an article I want to read but I had to start limiting my subscriptions a good number of years ago when I figured out I was shelling out about $50 a month to feed the cat killer (curiosity).

• Gleanings in Bee Culture (I DO miss my beehives)
• American Beekeeper
• National Geographic (still do and have an almost 60 year collection of them)
• Smithsonian
• Discover
• Popular Science
• Popular Mechanics
• Motorcycle Magazine
• Cycling (motor not pedal)
• American Motorcyclist (comes with my membership in the American Motorcycling Association)
• AARP (again comes with membership)
• Artist Magazine
• Watercolor Magazine
• Sail
• Latitudes and Attitudes
• Wooden Boat
• Restaurant News
• Confectioners Magazine (trade publication)
• Manufacturing Confectioner
• Food Arts (still get…its free)
• Gourmet
• Cuisine
• Chocolatier
• Tea Time
• Bon Appetit
• Vegetarian Times
• Stylus (pens)
• Ornament
• Bead and Button
• Rock and Gem
• Lapidary Journal
• Time
• Newsweek
• US News and World Report
• UTNE Reader
• The Economist
• The Mother Earth News

Gay Themed:

• Advocate
• Monk
• Frontier
• Gay and Lesbian Review
• White Crane
• RFD
• Passport
• OUT

At one point I literally was subscribing to a dozen different ones… but then I was a college student and the student discounts made them really cheap… maybe $10 a year each or around $10 a month.

Contrast that with today. Most monthly magazines are in the $25 to $30 a year price range so even a few subscriptions can run into big money.

I’ve pared down to about 4… National Geographic at $45 a year.

American Motorcyclist comes with my annual membership in the American Motorcyclist Association but that includes free towing and a whole list of other benefits for around $30 a year.

AARP Magazine comes with the $15 annual membership in the American Association of Retired Persons… and they seem to think 50 is a perfect age for you to be considered “retired” and thus eligible to join.

The Economist though is the biggie… 50 issues a year and $109 for the subscription but it’s the one I really read from cover to cover every week.

Food Arts is still Free.

Because of the high cost of The Economist (not really at just over $2 a copy but it does add up) I’m still spending about $15 a month overall on subscriptions.

Because I don’t really need them for other than entertainment I just have to put them down as part of the entertainment budget.

But what do those of you do who have to get something specialized and therefore pricey?

And do you find yourself with more magazines than you have time to read?

Is it one of the those little “leaks” in your budget where the “I don’t know where all the moneys gone” bubble floats back up?

Photo credit: stock.xchng.

I was astounded last week to read statistics that show that people ages 16-24 have been the hardest hit by unemployment during the recession. Although a slew of economists are claiming that the recession is over and we’re headed into recovery, the New York Post is reporting that:

The unemployment rate for young Americans has exploded to 52.2 percent — a post-World War II high, according to the Labor Dept. — meaning millions of Americans are staring at the likelihood that their lifetime earning potential will be diminished and, combined with the predicted slow economic recovery, their transition into productive members of society could be put on hold for an extended period of time.

And worse, without a clear economic recovery plan aimed at creating entry-level jobs, the odds of many of these young adults — aged 16 to 24, excluding students — getting a job and moving out of their parents’ houses are long. Young workers have been among the hardest hit during the current recession — in which a total of 9.5 million jobs have been lost.

One of the reasons that unemployment among young people is so high is that many of those entry-level jobs are going to “adults.” There were several news reports over the summer that places like Sea World and other theme parks, which typically rely on high school and college students to run the joint, were hiring more and more seasoned workers this year. In the past, someone with a BA in English might be unlikely to apply for a job picking up trash at Six Flags, but this year that’s a desirable job.

I think both the Democrats and the Republicans have a big problem on their hands. This generation turned out in record numbers to vote last year. Yes, health care reform is important. But as both parties pander to the retirement-age voters, this generation of unemployed voters is likely to remember their economic struggles for a long time to come.

Photo credit: stock.xchng

Happy Saturday everyone! It’s a beautiful day and I’ll be spending it the best way I can think of…doing homework. Ok, that’s totally not the best way I can think of (a bike ride would be way better) but apparently being a grad student takes a lot of work. Who knew? Of course, there’s always time for the roundup.

• Mawlynnong has been touted as the cleanest and most environmentally conscious city in India. Check out how they pulled that off here. (Read it at BBC)
• An AIDS vaccine is showing some success in Thailand. (Read it at NYTimes)
• Today is Museum Day! That means free admission to hundreds of museums. (Read it at Lifehacker)
• Listening is one of those important little skills that can substantially improve your business and personal relationships. Here’s are some steps to improve your listening skills. (Read it at Dumb Little Man)
• Being an conscientious shopper doesn’t have to mean you go broke. Here are some tips to save green when you shop green. (Read it at Wise Bread)
• Looking to take the next step to get on track with your finances? Trent does a round up of eleven books that rise above the rest. All you need is your library card. (Read it at The Simple Dollar)

Queercents Flashback: Speaking of taking the next step, Helen has great way to ease into investing with the Three Minute Portfolio.

Photo Credit: Elizabeth Byrne

My grandfather grew up during the Great Depression and though I have very few memories of him–he died right before my thirteenth birthday–I remember the stories. Someone told a story at his funeral about how his mother would scrap the insides of egg shells with her finger just to make sure she got all the egg out. My uncle, who is a master builder, recounted how, when building a porch for him, my grandfather would have him straighten out bent nails with a hammer so they could be used again. One year, he gave my aunt a can of dented, generic peas from the grocery store, partly as a joke and partly to teach her that it wasn’t necessarily the package but the product that mattered and to save where she could.

The most prominent stories for me though are the countless examples of what we called “The Bob Gene”, because the family referred to my grandfather simply as “Bob”. Clearly influenced by growing up during the Depression he was unwilling to let anything go to waste. If he noticed someone throwing away something good or useful, he would salvage it and put it to good use. Over the years my mother has teased me for inheriting this gene, but if you want to save money (and resources, and the environment…) it’s a good habit to cultivate. Even as a high-schooler, I was making my grandfather proud, rescuing an arm chair and a futon from a dumpster. My father often encouraged this habit by pulling over to check out what people were throwing away. Though furniture is one of the more common things to find, kitchen appliances are my new favorite grab: often old but functional appliances don’t fetch enough to sell but still work. My roommates now even alert me if they see something while they’re walking that they think I might like.

Curbside collecting like this can often have bad associates but with a good scrubbing, vacuuming or otherwise cleaning often you have a perfectly functional item for the fantastic price of free. And though my mother and sister have habitually teased me for it, I love the sense of history my objects had and the sense that if my grandfather were here, he’d be proud.

If you’re interested in dumpster diving and free cycling, Dawn has some great posts on it here and here.

Photo Credit: Stock Xchng

Promising news of an HIV vaccine this week has left many in the public health and HIV communities feeling hopeful. The latest study shows a 31% reduction in HIV transmission for people who received the vaccine, versus people who received a placebo. Researchers are understandably sharing their results with a note of caution, because although the results are statistically significant, they’re hardly enough to say that an HIV vaccine is a definite possibility in the near future. However, there is hope.

AIDS has had substantial impacts around the globe. It is estimated that 30-36 million people are living with HIV worldwide. More than 25 million people have died from AIDS since 1981; 1.8 - 2.3 million people died from AIDS in 2007 alone. It is unconscientable to me that we are 28 years into the AIDS epidemic and we still don’t have a cure. But I’ll leave that rant for another day.

Aside from the human costs, there are incredible economic consequences to the AIDS epidemic. According to an old article in the LA Times:

By 2000, the total cost to the global economy of the AIDS pandemic could reach $514 billion and, in the worst-case scenario, rob the world of 1.4% of its gross domestic product–the equivalent of wiping out the economy of Australia. In addition to the tremendous cost of health care, AIDS is directly affecting business around the world. The majority of cases strike adults in their most productive years. (AIDS is now the leading cause of death of 25- to 44-year-olds in the United States.)

These economic estimates only look at the big picture, but they fail to account for the economic burden that HIV places on the individual. HIV medications can be very expensive. Although there are many insurance and HIV assistance programs, they do not always cover the full cost of HIV medications. Some of those medications range from $300-$1100 per month. The cost of medication can be a huge hurdle for patients to jump, and it certainly puts treatments out of reach for those living in developing countries.

I hate to bring a dark cloud over the good news about the HIV vaccine trials. There are a lot of questions raised by the latest study, but the study may also provide answers that will help researchers better understand how HIV effects the body. However, it would be foolish to only rely on a vaccine to stem the tide of AIDS. We need to continue demanding comprehensive prevention programs that include safe sex education and condom distribution. Money spent on family planning and STI prevention is well worth the return on the investment. And I think that even the researchers in this study have said that counseling about changing risky behaviors is as likely to have contributed to the decrease in HIV transmissions rates as the vaccine.

For a quick explanation on how the HIV vaccine trials were conducted, click here. For more on the economic cost of AIDS, click here and here.

Photo credit: stock.xchng

Fall is officially here, and not just because it’s the end of September and the calendar says so.  I know it’s Fall because winter squash is starting to show up at the grocery store. Winter squash is a great way to stretch your food dollar because it will keep on the shelf for quit some time, thanks to the thick skin that most winter varieties, like butternut, acorn, and spaghetti squash, have.

This week my favorite grocery store had acorn squash on sale for 37 cents a pound! The easiest way to prepare acorn squash is to cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, place it face down on a cookie sheet that has an inch of water in it, then roast it in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes. You have two options at this point.

Stuffed Squash
Make a stuffing with cooked rice, chopped celery, carrots, and onions, and some vegan sausage. Season it with sage and paprika, salt and pepper. If you really wanted to be fancy you could add some chopped pecans to the stuffing. Put the stuffing in the hallowed-out center of the acorn squash, then put it back in the oven for about 5 minutes.

Pureed Squash
After the squash comes out of the oven, scoop out the flesh with a spoon and put it in the food processor. Add some butter and a little milk (or vegetable stock). Puree the squash until it’s nice and smooth. You can season this with brown sugar, nutmeg, and ginger. Or you could go for a more savory flavor combination like rosemary and sage.

Both of these preparation methods would work for butternut squash. And pureed pumpkin and turban squash are both delicious. Incidentally, we’ve discovered that our dog prefers vegetables to meaty dog food, and he is a big fan of the pureed squash. Lucky us, since it’s cheaper than canned dog food.

Spaghetti Squash
Spaghetti squash can be a bit of a mystery if you’re not used to preparing it. The easiest way to do this is to cut it in half and seed it, just like the acorn squash. Roast it on a cookie sheet with an inch of water for 30-40 minutes. When you take it out of the oven, scoop out the flesh and set it aside. I like to saute some portobello mushrooms, then add fresh basil and chopped tomatoes (you can use canned or fresh). Hit this with a little red wine, season it with salt and pepper, then add the squash to the pan. Toss everything together, top it off with some Parmesan cheese and you’ve got a low-carb, low-fat main dish.

I’ll save the pumpkin recipes for my next post. (When Starbucks rolls out the pumpkin lattes, you really know it’s Fall!) So stay tuned for my favorite pumpkin recipes. Until then - bon apetit!

Photo credit: stock.xchng

Awhile back, Gretchen Rubin, projector of all things happy, listed 8 tips for how money can buy happiness. The entire list is a worthy read, but I wanted to emphasize number two and her suggestion that couples should use money to:

End marital conflict. If you’re constantly arguing about the unkempt lawn, or the moldering laundry, see if you can throw some money at the problem. Can you hire the teenager down the street to clean out the garage?

Better yet, can you hire a cleaning service to clean the entire house? You betcha. In an effort to save money a couple of years ago, we canceled our cleaners. Of course, this experiment lasted about 2 minutes before we started bickering about who was going to clean the toilets that weekend. We just couldn’t make what should be a simple act of frugality work.

I remember when I wrote about it, My Open Wallet left this comment, “I think for a couple, housekeeping can be an issue that is worth resolving via outside help– either a cleaning lady or a therapist!”

Truer words were never spoken. No therapy required. But since then, we’ve spent $160 each month to have the service show up twice. If I had my druthers, we’d spend the money for weekly visits, but Jeanine is convinced that we should be able to “spot-clean” on the off weeks. Um, yeah… that’s not happening.

A cleaning service is one “affordable luxury” that I’ve always felt was well deserved. I work hard at my job, one that requires quite a bit of travel and the last thing I want to do on my weekend is clean the house. Toss a baby into the mix and whammy… a spotless backsplash in the kitchen isn’t a priority on Saturday mornings.

In the book, Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich writes about her then-current employer, the Merry Maids franchise owner and how he “learned to capitalize on housework-related spats by making follow-up calls on Saturdays between 9:00 and 11:00 AM – which is prime time for arguing over the fact that the house is a mess.”

I hear ya! Anne Gibbons, the cartoonist, illustrates it best for me, “Nature abhors a vacuum. And so do I.” A cleaning service is money well spent. And in our household it does lead to happiness!

What about your money and marital bliss? Comments welcomed below.

Photo credit: stock.xchng.

“There are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents…and only one for birthday presents, you know.” – Lewis Carroll

In just a bit less than three weeks, our daughter will celebrate her 14th birthday.  As usual, she’s hoping for a fun party and a pile of gifts.  In years past, we’ve managed to put together some nice, though not terribly extravagant, parties.  This year, our budget is much smaller since my wife hasn’t had a full time gig since the end of March, she’s retraining for a new career, and we are trying to avoid debt.

For the past three years, we’ve typically taken a small group of our daughter’s friends and family out for dinner for a moderately-priced meal.  One year, we went to a kid-friendly pizza restaurant filled with coin-operated games.  Another year, we took a group out to our daughter’s favorite Italian restaurant.  Last year, we took a small group out on an overnight camping trip.  We paid for everyone’s campground reservations and for most of the food.

This year, even a camping trip for family only is outside of our budget, so we are looking to cut costs in the following ways:

• Hold the party at a free venue.  We live an area where the weather will likely remain pleasant through early October.  As a result, we could hold the party at one of a number of local parks that offer free picnic areas.  We are also considering our own back yard, as we have a BBQ grill, sun shade, and plenty of outdoor chairs.
• Cut back on decorations.  Although helium-filled mylar balloons, matching invitations, tableware and decorations are fun, they add to the cost of the party.  We’ll probably end up skipping most of these trappings, as we’ve managed to have plenty of fun parties with no decorations at all.
• Bake our own cake.  Since my wife and I started stocking our larder and doing more cooking from scratch, we’ve learned how to bake very nice-tasting cakes from scratch.  Granted, they might not be as pretty as a store-bought cake, but they certainly will taste just as nice.
• Eat in.  This year, instead of treating a bunch of people to a restaurant meal, we will cook at home.  Likely, we’ll be looking at a relatively inexpensive meal of grilled hot dogs or hamburgers, but even if our daughter wants something a little more upscale, we can still manage.
• Combine parties.  My wife’s birthday falls just a week after our daughter’s.  This year, instead of planning two parties, we will consolidate and plan only one.
• Make our own entertainment instead of hiring it.  Instead of paying for a venue that offers entertainment, we are going to look at ways to create our own fun.  We have a variety of board games and other activities that don’t cost anything at all.
• Limit the number of gifts.  We’ve tended to go a little hog wild on gifts, buying a large number of relatively cheap items.  Every year, despite our best intentions, the cost has added up.  This year, we’ll be focusing on a smaller number of higher-quality gifts, which we hope will result in a lower overall cost.

This year, we’ll also be paying careful attention to our list of invitees, being sure to invite people who are known to be fun in groups.  This way, we’ll be more likely to enjoy our company, since we won’t have the distraction of expensive activities.

Next in series: What to do with a windfall

Photo credit: stock.xchng

I know a lot of people are struggling to find employment (or keep it), establish a budget, pay off debt, amass an emergency fund and put aside money for retirement. I also know how challenging this is because I’ve been there and done that. Today I’d like to write about a concept that might be of interest to those who have accomplished most of these basic planning goals or as further incentive to those en route. There is enormous value in building a solid financial basis and it is rewarding in its own right on so many levels. Much has been written on this site alone about the psychological and physical health benefits of taking control of your financial life, establishing goals and achieving them.

But then what? How do you maintain a solid financial base and start to incorporate perhaps a bit more fun? We are very fortunate to have met our basic financial goals (though continued income is an ongoing challenge) and we’ve been experimenting with a concept we call the “slush fund”. Our income is variable while our budget is fairly strict and represents, for the most part, “needs” versus “wants”. At the end of each month, we total up income and subtract actual expenses. The remainder (hopefully positive) is “deposited” in our slush fund. For us, this is not actually a separate account though it could be. Rather it lives in our checking account. Out of the slush fund comes an allocation for a trip we have planned in Summer 2011 but otherwise it just sits there as a tantalizing fun pot.

In our budget, travel is a “want” so we will leave some slush fund dollars for shorter trips. We also dip into it for little splurges that are not part of our budget. After years of working to achieve the basic goals, we have realized that we don’t need to spend a lot of money to be happy and we are frankly out of the habit of spending. We’ve talked about making another contribution to Kiva and we also use the fund to make spot donations to various other causes we feel strongly about.  There will be other goals. That’s for sure. And its nice to have a bit of a head start on funding them.

Photo credit: stock.xchng.

What I’m meaning is sharing at, say, work pretty much on an everyday basis… not the once-a-week or once-a-month potluck everyone is used too.

In many cultures it is considered a mark of hospitality and friendship to share food… and considered an insult to refuse such an offer. This can make life a tiny bit difficult for those trying to diet!

It happens that a good number of my co-workers are from Latin or Caribbean countries with all the diverse ethnic backgrounds and customs they encompass… we even have some from Morocco and one from Ethiopia…. and sharing of food seems to be more or less a custom in all of them.

Most of the time if you even glance at the food it’s “Would you like some?” and before you can answer food is scooped onto your plate.

The guys from Morocco who are unable to eat now during the day because of Ramadan go to a nearby Mosque after dark where free food is passed out after the last prayers of the day and they have been bringing lots of it back to the office to share… this is even encouraged by the Mosque… and a lot of the food is spectacular.

Is the sharing considered frugal? Probably not in a strict dollars and cents sense.

What I have noticed is that I tend now to spend a little more on the fixings for lunch either by preparing more than I would normally bring or by preparing something a little fancier… like needing a slightly more expensive cut of meat, say, chicken legs instead of chicken wings or special spices… (though Lord knows some of the things they bring in are absolutely delicious and are made of things regular Americans won’t touch… Pig lips or pig ears anyone? Greasy if you must know!

What I do get is a chance to try all sorts of different foods… without making a full recipe at home in order to find out I don’t like it OR spending $10-$15 at an ethnic restaurant to learn the same lesson… or learn other ways of cooking a staple… the Sindhi Biryani Chicken and Rice from the (primarily Pakistani-Indian) Mosque is great and I’ve since found the spice mixture in the Middle Eastern Market so I can try my hand at my own.

And I get the benefits of Socializing with my friends and co-workers… almost like a party at work everyday… much better than taking a sandwich and sitting on a bench by myself.

I’m only spending a couple of more bucks per week, probably less than $5, and while it’s not exactly frugal in a money sense the payoff for the little extra you spend is worth way more than the money.

Do you get the chance to “share food” at work?

If you did get the chance to do it on a semi-daily basis would the benefits outweigh the extra cost?

Photo credit: stock.xchng.

I recently finished reading We Are Our Mothers’ Daughters, by Cokie Roberts. The book is about the changing roles of women in American society. Roberts examines women’s participation in a variety of fields, including athletics, medicine, business, and the military. Each chapter offers a brief look into the lives of women who have redefined a woman’s place, and the book is very accessible for the average reader.

Two of the chapters that I found the most interesting were about women as entrepreneurs and women as philanthropists. In the “Entrepreneur” chapter, Roberts tells the stories of three women who made a fortune by capitalizing on traditional women’s roles. For example, Bette Nesmith Graham invented liquid paper when she was a secretary who had grown tired of retyping a whole sheet of paper if there was a single mistake on the page. Graham concocted the recipe for liquid paper in her kitchen blender and eventually went on to make millions with her invention.

Madam C. J. Walker was woman who made a fortune simply by inventing something that would improve her daily life. Walker noticed that many African American women had lost their hair because of the harsh chemicals and the hot combs they used to straighten their locks. Walker invented a hair cream to help improve the health of women’s hair. She started selling the product door-to-door and wound up hiring thousands of women to sell her hair product.

Margaret Rudkin launched the successful firm Pepperidge Farms almost by accident. Her family doctor told her that her son’s asthma was related to an allergy to the bread he was eating, so Rudkin developed a new, wholesome bread recipe. When her son’s health improved, Rudkin started selling the bread to doctors and other people who were interested in healthy eating. The business eventually expanded so that Rudkin and her staff were soon baking nearly 4000 loaves of bread an hour, all of them kneaded by hand.

One thing that stands out about all three of these women is that they were determined to provide employment opportunities for women. Rudkin only hired women to bake her bread because she claimed that their hands were better suited to the task than men’s. Graham was one of the first CEO’s to offer childcare facilities for her employees. And Walker made sure that only another woman could succeed her as CEO when she retired.

Roberts’s book also documents the role of women as philanthropists. She cites an interesting statistic that says that by 2010, women will control 60% of the wealth in this country. I find that statistic hard to believe, because women still earn only 78 cents for every $1 that a man makes. However, since the chapter on philanthropy mainly applies to women who are in the top 1% of the socio-economic ladder, I guess the statistic isn’t that hard to believe. Roberts notes that women give their money differently than men do. As Nina has previously discussed here on Queercents, women often pool their resources by joining giving circles so that their donations can have a larger impact. Roberts argues that women’s philanthropy is inherently tied to their traditional role of caregiver, but I don’t really care for that analysis. I think it’s fair to say that women are more likely to give to causes that improve the lives of women and children, but I don’t like the idea that women are inherently nurturing and that this is the only thing that motivates them to get involved with philanthropy.

Nevertheless, I really enjoyed We Are Our Mothers’ Daughters and I highly recommend it, especially for a book group discussion.

I’m a mommy and while I don’t read any mommy blogs, one of my mommy friends pointed me to this post by Heather Armstrong, the famous mommy blogger. She recently launched Monetizing the Hate, an online depository that aggregates all the hate-mail submitted at Dooce and she surrounds it by advertising. A lot of advertising. Ads galore. A good post at Jezebel elaborates on the Dooce-hate money-making venture.

This got me thinking that queer blogs should take a page from Armstrong’s playbook and profit from the hate too. After all, gay-bashing is still alive and thrives on the anonymous Internet. While Queercents doesn’t get much hate mail (unless I’m writing about the cost to circumcise my son or trying to get my equity line reinstated), there are plenty of sites that do. Destinations, such as The Bilerico Project, Pam’s House Blend, and John Aravosis’ AMERICAblog, that focus on politics or things that resemble the gay-agenda… you know, the kind of content that provokes the trolls.

They should start monetizing the hate and make a little moolah in exchange for all the effort that goes into moderating comments.

Photo credit: Dooce.

It’s the weekend! Happy Saturday readers! Can’t say I have any exciting plans for the weekend to share, but lack of plans means plenty of opportunity for mischief…I mean. Yeah. The round up. And a fun sticker I found.

• For those experiencing the freedom of college, Consumerist offers a suggestion for keeping from overspending. (Read it at Consumerist)
• Ramit has a great article on how to finally start making money with eBay. (Read it at I Will Teach You To Be Rich)
• Fall is on the way, meaning it’s time to switch cooking styles to stay in tune with the seasons. Wise Bread has a good primer for getting used to seasonal fall cooking. (Read it at Wise Bread)
• I’m a big proponent of the emergency fund and Get Rich Slowly has a brilliant article on how to spice up your emergency fund. (Read it at Get Rich Slowly)
• As this recent article shows, clean water is vital. Here’s how to get it. (Read it at Consumerist)
• Adding to the list of things baking soda and vinegar can do: recharge your towels. (Read it at Lifehacker)

Queercents Flashback: Since I’m still getting settled with this whole moving thing, it’s on my mind a lot. And so it’s probably no surprise that I rediscovered Clint’s guest article about saving money while relocating to a big city. http://www.queercents.com/2009/01/15/3-ways-to-relocate-your-twentysomething-self-to-the-big-city-and-save-money/

Photo Credit: Elizabeth Byrne

I’ve recently moved to a big city, and not just a big city, but one notorious for bike theft. I consider myself pretty good at locking bikes, but after hearing reports of how bad the theft problem is, I’ve had to up the ante, particularly since I don’t own a car and on a student budget I won’t be replacing my bike any time soon. Fortunately, I was able to substantially increase my bike’s security for under five bucks and very little extra time. Here’s how you can make your bike more theft proof.

I picked up this idea from a bike I saw chained up one day. Your bike may be well locked, but some accessories can still be vulnerable. A simple hose clamp works wonders to fix this. At the local hardware store I was able to pick up a handful for $1.49 a piece. In the picture, the rack is clamped to the seat stay, or the thin, down-slopping tube. I used them to clamp my rack as well as my frame pump to the frame. This makes the frame pump a little less convenient to use but I also don’t worry about having to replace it if it’s stolen. BikeHacks also suggests that once you find your idea seat post height, you affix a clamp flush to the tube so that you can easily slid the seat in and out when you park. This makes it more convenient to return your seat to it’s original height if you own a quick release and are constantly taking your seat out and putting it back in.

If constantly removing and replacing your seat is too much of a hassle, I simply asked the local bike co-op for an old chain and tube. Snake the chain through the tube to prevent the chain from scratching your bike or spreading grease everywhere. Run the tube/chain through the bottom of your seat and part of the frame. Using your chain tool, remove the extra links and join the chain back together. Now you don’t have to worry about locking up your saddle or removing it whenever you enter a building.

Photo Credit: Murray Corp

As the most robust season of the year for most real estate markets comes to an end, those whose properties have not yet sold face challenging decisions. Many eager buyers who came out of the woodwork in springtime and then finalized their purchases over the summer are now gone from the landscape, and less buyers means greater competition for sellers whose listings are languishing.

Here are half a dozen helpful tips for home sellers who want to attract a buyer and close a deal before colder weather sets in, real estate markets slow down, and most of those who are shopping for a new home go into hibernation until next year arrives.

1. Evaluate Realtor Performance
First of all, evaluate your listing agent’s performance in an objective manner. Are they doing enough to advertise the property, and have they held any Open Houses to encourage visits from potential buyers?

If you live in a LGBT enclave, does your real estate agent understand the local LGBT market and have strong connections to those who live and work in the neighborhood? Sometimes hiring a broker who is also an active and supportive member of the LGBT community can be an advantage if you are a LGBT homeowner.

2. Redefine Your Goals
As the brisk sales season winds down it is important that you reexamine your specific goals as a seller. Ask yourself whether you are really determined to sell and move, or whether you might be interested in alternatives such as refinancing, renting part of the home to a tenant for extra income, or waiting until the market improves and you can realize a greater return on your investment.

3. Study the Competition
In a competitive market it is essential that you know what other sellers are doing. Know the listing prices of competing homes. Stay current regarding sales prices of homes similar to yours that have recently sold and how long were they were on the market.

Check out other homes. Examine their curb appeal and the conditions of important features and components such as the roof, the paint job, and the landscaping. If your home needs updating in order to compete, factor that into your strategy and pricing.

Analyze sales data and make sure that your offering price is where you want it to be in terms of being either on the high side, somewhere in the middle, or the best bargain on the entire street.

4. Add an Incentive
By adding a home warranty, a repair allowance, or an offer to help pay your buyer’s closing costs you can often inspire hesitant buyers to get off the fence and sign a contract.

You can also offer intangible incentives through improved curb appeal, a home staging makeover (where you hire a professional to decorate your home to look like a model home), or a simple cosmetic upgrade that won’t strain your budget but will quickly dress up your property.

5. Crunch New Numbers
Holding on to houses across the winter season can mean that you will face higher utility bills, especially if you live in an older home that is relatively expensive to heat. The longer you keep the home the more taxes and insurance you’ll pay, too - but you will also reap some tax benefits by paying mortgage interest. Crunch the numbers with the help of your Realtor to understand the bottom line benefits to holding or selling. That information will help you decide whether to wait for higher prices next year or to lower your price to inspire a sale now.

6. Use Calendar Benchmarks
Even houses that are difficult to sell will move if the price is attractive enough to buyers. But sellers often procrastination when it comes to dropping the price - even if they believe it is a smart thing to do - because they get too emotionally involved.

Remove the emotions and avoiding costly delays by relying upon the calendar - not your feelings and whims - to trigger price drops. If you plan to drop the price 20 percent to motivate a faster sale, for instance, one strategy could be to drop the price 10 percent if nobody makes a serious offer within 15 days. Then if the house is still not attracting enough attention, automatically drop to the 20 percent off mark when the 30 day deadline expires.

Mark the dates on the calendar and give instructions to your Realtor to set things in motion if time elapses past a designated deadline.

If you absolutely need to sell right away, then prepare to do whatever it takes rather than trying to hold out for a slightly higher price. And if you happen to be upside down in your mortgage like many Americans, talk to the lender or a credit counselor about loan modification. The worst thing is to do nothing, so remain proactive and positive to invite success.

Remember to trust the sale of your home to a professional committed to equality, integrity, and hard work in service to the LGBT community at www.GayRealEstate.com. Or call toll-free 1-888-420-MOVE (6683).

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Jeffery Hammerberg is Founder and President of Gay Real Estate, Inc. - the nation’s largest group of companies connecting gay & lesbian home buyers and sellers to gay, lesbian and gay friendly real estate agents. Since 1997, Hammerberg has created a virtual real estate marketplace for the LGBT community.

Photo credit: www.GayRealEstate.com.

Every time I read an article like the recent “How social media can hurt your career” on Careerbuilder, I am grateful that we didn’t have social media back when I was in college. Young, testing the waters, and with a lot of opinions to share, I wonder if I would have unknowingly committed a faux pas in the weakness of a heated moment that would have hurt me professionally? Of course, stupid choices are not reserved for the young. Grown and experienced adults make them every day. The differences are some are more public than others and now social media is being used by employers as a microscopic tool inspecting your every utterance.

As social media becomes the latest branding strategy, networking technique, job seeking tool and recruitment vehicle, it’s also becoming the latest way for people to get job offers rescinded, reprimanded at work and even fired.

While I am all for expressing oneself and acknowledge that for many of us our online friends are as valuable as any person we know IRL (”in real life”), some of the examples I read about are really eligible for the Darwin Awards. Like the offhanded “my boss is an idiot” type remarks on Twitter and Facebook or the “I’m doing something illegal, immoral or against company policy right now at my desk” sort of fare that really makes you wonder whether the author thinks that no one is really going to read it? Unless you are working in a cave, chances are your boss, co-workers, employer, or someone is going to have something to say about your comments. Remember the 6 degrees of separation that makes social networking such a powerful tool? Well the power saw cuts both ways.

Of course what is and is not appropriate is in the eye of each individual. Yet when it comes to professional life you really do have to get that you should never put anything in print (and these days that includes tweets, status updates, etc.) that you (or your mother) would be embarrassed seeing on the front page of the newspaper (or say the front page of CNN.com). “How to Get Fired on Facebook” highlights a beautiful example of both employee and employer acting inappropriately.  It might be easy to judge and think it is a total anomaly but in “why facebook is sooo gonna get you fired” you’ve got a few real-world examples of dumb Facebook moves. Then you have 160+ comments where many of them are people throwing out crazy opinions and judgments of the people in the examples only to appear just as unsavvy as the folks in the exhibits! Does pointing your finger and inventing new off color words while spouting bigoted remarks somehow make you a more enlightened social media user than the very people you’re pointing at? (insert me scratching my head here…)

Of course awkward social media meets hiring manager moments aren’t limited to the online space.  “A hiring manager asks a woman to show him her Facebook page in an interview. What should she do?” presents a host of uncomfortable issues.  The poll results are really worth a read.  Only 11% said they would agree straight away to show their page.  Over 53% said they would ask why and then decide whether or not to show it. What you choose in the moment is one thing, but the reality is that employers are looking anyway.

“Forty-five percent of employers reported in a recent CareerBuilder survey that
they use social networking sites to research job candidates, a big jump
from 22 percent last year. Another 11 percent plan to start using
social networking sites for screening. More than 2,600 hiring managers
participated in the survey, which was completed in June 2009.[1]“

Ask a Manager has a good middle of the road take on complaining about work on twitter. Tweeting at work can be ok (in moderation of course, unless it is your job description) but there needs to be a level of common sense and professional judgment.  The challenge with that is, however:

As many others before me have observed, this generation is so comfortable with social media and so used to living their lives on it that they don’t always understand the need to censor themselves in public spaces where they might be observed and judged by people they want something from (like a job, professional respect, etc.).

Social media has become so ingrained in what we do that it is so easy to slip into being unconscious about it.

In the poll about the Facebook page post I reference above, the author makes a very salient point:

So think of this for example: A hiring manager cannot ask a woman
if she has children, but can see it on her Facebook and can apply a
still very common prejudice that this woman may not be entirely
dedicated to her work. While it has become harder to openly
discriminate, is it getting easier to do so tacitly?

Given that employers use their social media digging more to exclude candidates (35%) than find something stellar about them (18%), is there a bigger act of profiling churning in our midst? (Check the stats and what made employers exclude or hire candidates in this Careerbuilder article).

So, if you thrive on social media like so many of us do, what can you to do so you can use it both personally and professionally in a way that feels authentic and “in the moment” without committing professional suicide?

I believe it is possible. Sure there are always going to be managers that hate the fact that you are human, have a personality, and a life outside of work (I know I’ve worked for some), but for the most part like everything in life you need to choose how you show up and present yourself. Here are some excellent tips on what to do to keep a positive image online as well as some social media don’t s:

• Careerbuilder
• CNN - social networking don’ts
• “What does the mirror of the Web reflect about YOU?
• Beware: “Social Media Faux Pas” at The PR Lawyer

Some little known tools to check out your online reputation:

• Pipl (people search tool to find those deep links about you that you won’t find on Google)
• Personas (a fascinating tool from MIT that graphically depicts how the web sees you)

So, tap into the power of social media, just remember that you’re wielding a power tool so take the proper precautions when making decisions. Like they say when using a circular saw, measure twice, cut once.

Image credit: Web Design Ledger Icons

Paula Gregorowicz, owner of The Paula G. Company, offers life and business coaching for lesbians to help you gain the clarity, confidence, and courage you need to succeed on your own terms. Get the free eCourse “5 Steps to Move from Fear to Freedom” at her website

I know, the title of this post sounds crazy: take a vacation while you’re unemployed?

Well, in my case, I had enough from free-lance earnings and needed a break from the slow pace at which job searching is going these days. I got tired of sitting around, refreshing Craigslist every ten seconds, and decided that even though I was out of the day-to-day hubbub of a full-time gig, I still deserved a pause.

The week that my partner and I spend outside of New York was great. I read a lot, got tan and had enough space to really think about what I want in my next job. I also came to terms with the crossroads I’m at with my career, realizing that I’ve been going nonstop since college and should take this time to assess where I’ve been.

My first realization: I want to be a writer, not necessarily a journalist. As the media consolidates and morphs into god knows what, I’m going to take the opportunity to write for a broad spectrum of outlets, from nonprofits to Twitter, and have fun learning the new processes. I enjoy talking to people and learning new information, then synthesizing those interactions into written form that, I hope, help readers pick up what I learned. I ultimately don’t care if my writing is on A1 of the Times or in a report on a Web site.

I also realized that whatever job comes next, it has to be one that’s more dynamic than me just sitting behind a desk typing away at computer keys. I can’t tell you how many friends I have who have pinched nerves, carpel tunnel or some other ailment from using a keyboard-and-mouse combo all day long. I never understood how people worked repetitive factory jobs until one day a colleague compared what we do to putting together widgets. Yow! That’s not what I want.

The last realization I had was about money: I’d much rather be happy doing something I love than earning a ton of dough. Yes, I always knew this was in the back of my mind, but with the whole financial crisis/implosion, it truly became clear to me just how fleeting the things are that money buys. People that were getting thrown out of their homes for defaulting on mortgage payments quickly found this out; they saw that their families were there for them to take them in and feed and support them.

This last point goes contrary to an axiom my father blabs all the time: Rich or poor, it’s better to have money. I get what my father’s saying but I have to disagree, noting that life is easier if you have a support networks of friends and family that are there to help you in both tough and good times. That’s something that money can’t buy.

Coincidentally, all this is happening at the same time as the Jewish holidays occur. For me, a Jew from Los Angeles, the holidays have always been a time of self-reflection and looking back on the past year. I plan to really dive into the moment these holidays provide and try to get a sense of where I want to go.

At the very least, I know what I don’t want.

Photo credit: Flickr