Mission Statement:

My goal for my personal finances is to reduce my month-to-month “fixed expenses” as close as possible to zero while also working on increasing my “passive income” to the point where monthly passive income exceeds expenses. Fixed expenses are determined as rent, student loans, car loans, bills but also as average cash/ATM withdrawals, groceries, shopping budget, restaurants, fast food, gas, home insurance and pharmacy costs. Passive income is defined as reimbursement, interest from high interest savings, bonds, dividend-paying stocks and a small percentage continually put in small-cap speculative stocks.

Five Point Strategy:

Goal #1 – Pay off all manageable debt

Car, student loan
No new car until this one fails

Goal #2 – Pay for condo/house in cash or with 50% down payment

Very modest living

Goal #3 – Reduce all other expenses without sacrificing quality of life

Shave dollars off phone bill

Goal #4 – Generate passive income to cover remaining expenses

Reimbursement, high-interest savings/checking, bonds, dividend-producing stocks, small portion speculative

Goal #5 – Use newfound time freedom to start business, travel, or generate higher income

Consulting, long Europe trips, ability to take risks on new businesses or per diem jobs

Expenses List:

RENT – $1300
STUDENT LOAN – $1020
CAR – $620
BILLS – $400 (APS, AT&T, Cox Cable)
CASH – $200
GROCERIES – $160 (Albertson’s and Costco)
SHOPPING – $100
RESTAURANTS – $100
FAST FOOD – $60
GAS – $50
INSURANCE – $20
PHARMACY – $10

CURRENT EXPENSES – $4000

Income List:

$6000 – Job (Active Income)
$660 – Reimbursement from girlfriend for living expenses/bills (Passive income)

CURRENT INCOME – $6600

Goal Within Next 3 Years:

Pay off student loan and car
Increase active and passive income
Explore buying housing with a high % of money down to lower month-to-mouth housing costs

Endgame:

Increase Expenses to over $6600 while bring expenses below $2400 –>
Savings over $4,200 each month –>
Saving $50,000 a year –>
Rolling into high-quality investments for snowball effect –>
MILLIONAIRE!

Another record week-no out-of-pocket health expenses. No bills paid. That is not because I don’t have them, I am just waiting until payday. I am sure that others are in this boat as well. It has been an expensive fall-health-wise for me.

• Having a colonoscopy,
• a suspected MRSA cellulitis-complete with an ER visit,
• and my first ever DNA test was actually not part of the third quarter plan.

I guess I could have waited to get the colonoscopy-I have several friends of a certain age who have not had theirs yet.  December will  be a month to catch up on the bills, get some exercise and make a plan for health in 2010. I had dental work to get done this year, to maximize the insurance coverage and it will just have to wait. Is that thinking about the money too much? Or a smart use of resources?

By the end of December,  I plan to share with you a list of health priorities for next year and their financial impact.

Surprise, many commitments you have made will not be tolerated in a workout, be prepared to make some difficult adjustments.

The most blatant example of commitments made that must be undone to conclude a favorable workout, is the tithe.

Despite religious convictions, and personal beliefs, no matter how strongly felt, is routinely and automatically rejected in a workout negotiation. In fact if you do tithe, be prepared to apply that amount to debt reduction unless handled beforehand.

Another favorite hunting ground for creditors and problems for the unaware are college or private school funding plans. Especially with your name on it and even if held in trust for your children, a huge problem for the unwary.

Day care, another usually large expenditure and not considered essential thus the funds utilized for such matters are deemed appropriate for the creditors.

Country clubs dues, gold club dues and fees, forget it.

Automatic disbursements or planned distributions to a 401k, an IRA, or other retirement plans, forget it.

In fact even IRA’s in many states are not as protected as everyone believes. Check out our post which lists all the IRA rules of protection for each state.

Care accounts for the elderly or infirmed, depending upon how they are set up are dangerous ground ripe for disappointment for the defaulting borrower.

Workouts like so many matters must be handled by experts who can help you successfully navigate these tricky waters. Doing this on your own is very dangerous. You will learn a lot, and it will cost you more.

Call us for a no obligation teleconference, Norm will set it up for us to review your issues and provide a plan that will maximize your results, 413-584-2581.

Philip Davies has gotten some good press in the T&A for giving them details of his expenses ‘weeks before they are due to be published’.

Allegedly he has done this because he wants to ‘reassure voters he has stuck to expenses rules’ and the T&A duly report (but don’t show us themselves, nor has Davies published them on his website it appears) that he has only claimed for his mortgage, food and bills.

Of course Davies is aware of the damage by association he could suffer at the next general election so is keen to distance himself from other politicians, for instance by telling them to stop ‘bellyaching‘ about expenses, who have been tainted by the expenses scandal.

And that, of course, is the real reason Davies has given his expenses in advance to the T&A. By doing it in advance himself he gains double exposure for his allegedly non-misdemeanours. Firstly by being such a good boy and offering them himself, and then again when everyone elses are released and the paper again repeats that he’s done nothing wrong.

To be honest I don’t begrudge Davies it, even if it is desperately obvious, because it’s good politics. He needs to show voters he’s ‘clean’, and by getting a double hit he does that. Fair enough.

What kinda annoys me though is that he claims that gettin food for his flat is somehow acceptable because it’s in the rules.

I’ve blogged before about the amount of money Davies has claimed for food in the past, £300 a month, often over £400 a month – just for himself, in a flat. Yes you have London prices but I still think this is ridiculous when MPs get paid well over £60,000 a year and eat food at no different a rate than the rest of us. And of course Davies is not alone in this, it’s all MPs of all colours who have been doing this, and it annoys the heck out of me.

So while Davies gets some good press for revealing his expenses to the public via the local newspaper (but not on his own website in full) we should be aware he’s doing it for (admittedly justifiable) political reasons and also that he’s still claiming thousands of pounds a year for food he’d be eating whether he was an MP or not.

Since one of my four loyal readers pointed out that I haven’t written on here in a while, I’m taking a few moments while Rilla is napping to catch up a little bit. I don’t want to be disappointing 25% of my readership, you know!

Actually, one of my friend’s comments really got me to thinking about the way I view debt. She is mired in it too, yet she said that it is her responsibility and she wants to pay it all back. You know what? I don’t think like that. My thoughts are more along the lines of it being unfair that I ever had to go into debt to begin with, and thus the world owes me something and my debt should just magically disappear. Really, when I stop to admit it, I actually think like that.

And that is why I think that rather than God granting us some huge windfall that makes it all go away, Keith and I are going to have to continue to plod through payment after payment until it is all gone. I have felt like that ever since we graduated from college. We know plenty of people who have supernaturally had their loans forgiven or instantly paid for in one way for another. But I feel like God wants to teach me something in the slow and steady plodding that comes from the long-term commitment to pay off debt. There is definitely a discipline and a patience being cultivated through all of this.

Lately we have had several things come up which seem to have slowed us down a bit in the debt-paying-off process, specifically Christmas presents, a trip to visit friends in Utah, the realization that Keith will likely be out of work in two weeks, preparing to move again, and beginning to prepare for Rilla’s sibling who is due in May.

Each of these expenses (and the choices we have made that led to creating each expense) carry with them all kinds of implications, so maybe I’ll just delve into a few via a short little blog series. Look for it over the next few days…

Sitting in auditorium in University of Latvia and listening to my lecture about social rights I realized, that maybe or probably I wont get my pension when I will be older. Sounds a little bit horrible, but in current situation when goverment of Latvia is cutting expenses it is only obvious. salaries for most of working people are also reduced, but I hope that this situation will be only for some time. For myself- I am have now 3rd course, which is the last to get a bachelor degree. I am planning to study abroad if it will be possible, also to find a job, and for the best- live permanently. My eyes has cought a very nice country, that is Australia. Does anybody can tell me how is living there for a student?

After a few weeks of holding my breath, yesterday I was handed the key to our building! (exhales) Now, I’ve got to get insurance,utilities of various types,and of course nearly everything else that will be needed. I’ve put up an add on Craigslist of Southeast Missouri soliciting donations of office furniture,partitions,and used carpeting. My partner and I are planning to talk with some of the local ministers to let them know what we’re trying to get going,we definitely could use some help! Our mission is to bless as many people as possible with the services we plan to offer, but I think that it’s going to be just as much of a blessing to those who decide to help us. I’ve inquired around at a few of the local help agencies and apparently there isn’t any sort of open drug or alcohol abuse support group meetings currently being held anywhere. It occurred to me what a great opportunity it would be for us to pursue, and also for many people in the church to act as mentors! The one “saying” that’s been going through my mind is…

“All that’s necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to stand idly by and do nothing”

In the last fifty years or so the church has lost so much precious ground! I don’t feel like there’s anyone who doesn’t know that! I also know that church’s do lots of great work in this country and all over the world but unfortunately here in the United States they’re perceived by many as hypocritical and judgmental.  So much of the work done by church’s happens outside the country while the spiritual needs of our own go unmet.  Sure, we have sanctuaries everywhere but I’m afraid we’re following in the footsteps of Europe where the majority of the church’s are empty, empty because they had a “high on the mountaintop” attitude,because they tried to keep Jesus all to themselves and away from the masses,because in the end, despite the gilded rituals and dry dogma they really didn’t have much left to offer anyway.

The Dead Sea

It reminds me of the Jordan river, it flows from the sea of Galilee which is full of life into the Dead sea that isn’t,because it’s incredibly salty and there’s no outlet. The Spirit of The Lord is like electricity, it won’t flow through a connection that’s not connected, or through a people who won’t reach out for those whom The Father loves and wants so desperately to reach.

Like many of you I’ve felt overwhelmed by the size of the powers and principalities that we’re at war against. Of all the weapons that have been formed against me personally in my life, I feel that the one’s that have done the most damage are hopelessness and discouragement. I found these verses in 2 Kings that have given me hope and encouragement, and emboldened me to walk even more so in faith…

¹⁵And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?

¹⁶And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

¹⁷And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

Elisha wasn’t alone or outnumbered,and neither are we! When we come together as the body of Christ it’s no contest!

And that’s definitely what it’s all about, reaching people for Christ! Introducing the people of a fallen world to a risen Savior! Through the compassion and understanding we can express through this ministry we know the victory has already been won, that hearts can be touched and strongholds of the enemy can be brought down.

I woke up at 1AM last night to go pee.. and I couldn’t open my eyes! I have the most disgusting case of pink eye I’ve ever had.  I hate missing work. When I miss work, the next day everything in my classroom is messed up.  I have sub plans for unplanned days off such as these- why oh WHY can’t the subs follow them?  The stories I hear when I come back just make me cringe. Whatever. What are you gonna do?

So today ended up being a wonderfully expensive day. Aside from the walk in clinic, I have to take Samantha to the vet in an hour for a check up and because she’s chewing at her hind legs. Walk in clinc: $40  Eye drops: $30 Veterinarian: ?? (probably expensive!) . Hopefully there’s nothing wrong with Sam so I don’t have to buy medication or anything. OY!

What’s ironic is I had just talked to Steve on the phone last night about how great this deployment is going to be for our savings account! We’re making double the amount this year than last and we’ll pretty much only be living for one and a kitty instead of both of us.  Then, WHAM! Unexpected expenses happen. Isn’t that just how it goes? I’m tellin’ you.. a couple days ago I was so excited to have the money to pay off ALL our credit cards in FULL. Now that I’ve done that, I’m probably gonna have to put this vet exam back on one of the cards. SO frustrating. We have the money in savings but it hurts my heart so bad to even touch that. My mom goes “do you have enough money to eat? do you need a loan from me and your father to buy food?!”  Mom, I’m fine. I appreciate it, but we have plenty of food. Unexpected expenses are just killer though. ESPECIALLY when you have to take an unexpected day off from work! I have the paid time off but I’m trying to save all the time off I can for when Steve has R&R.

Such is life, I suppose. Good thing we are smart with our money to begin with.

Well, at least there’s one good thing that has come out of this. While searching for natural pink eye remedies online because I didn’t want to pay, I found this gem of a graphic.

Glad to hear Billy isn’t getting provided with drugs at daycare!

xoxox

Jessica

Shell shocked! I got smacked with 2 big expenses this week. I’ve been feeling positive about getting to the end of a really tough year, and thinking that somehow I must remain positive. Then the council made ‘adjustments’ to what they’ve been charging this year – R6000 – I suddenly owe, and believe me I’ll get nothing more for it. You can’t refuse or object, you just have to pay, or be cut off from electricity and water supply. Thieves! They have me by the ’short and curlies’ as it were. So I swallowed hard and dug into the credit card, which I vowed not to use again!!!

Then SARS, the taxman, as if sensing my woes, chose this joyful month of December to decide that it is no longer good enough for me to pay off my debt to them slowly, but that I need to pay the remaining R20k before Friday! I tried to reason, I tried to have my say – but the vicious Rina, who is clearly used to dealing with hardened tax-evaders, murderers, rapists and the mafia, cut me down, dug her feet in, and made it clear that my trifling little life and it’s problems were absolutely nothing to her. Wow, did she enjoy her power today… she got to ruin someone’s Christmas season.

There’s no sense in crying about it. The money is not mine. It belongs to the bank, and I gave it to SARS. Again, I’ll have nothing to show for it. I’ll make the money somehow, but resentment towards paying tax has grown immensely. I don’t mind paying when it’s fair. But this isn’t.

We need to live in a realm that doesn’t worry about stuff that we can’t change. There’s nothing I can do about my situation right now. I want a new life. Right here where I am, with my wife, my kids, my family and my friends… That doesn’t sound ‘new’ – but once I conform to a higher standard, my thinking will be new, my life will be new, and I wont be brought down by the likes of Rina van Niekerk. Let something other than fear, hatred and aggression emanate from within me. Let there be quality inside me. I know where to get it. That’s my aim now.

Online coupon codes can be very helpful for those who are making both ends meet or working on a small budget. There are certain online coupon codes that let you download and these great discounts that may also help you cut down on costs for your grocery expenses and other purchases.

The difference of a paper coupon from an online coupon is that you have to subscribe to a magazine or any other publications; or probably borrow a magazine from friends who are not interested in coupons. With the Internet, you can even save on the subscription cost of a magazine since you just have to visit a site and grab the code that you like to use. It’s that simple.

These diary entries are to help me keep track of my out-of-pocket expenses and to illustrate some of the regular expenses of a cancer survivor. Does your bill-paying center look like this desk below? Mine sure doesn’t!

Total of November weeks: $209.09

Plus health care premiums of $86.68

(medical, dental and vision)

Grand Total $295.77

September/October 2009 Total: $690.68

+86.68 October premiums =

$777.36

For the life of the blog: $1073.13 for ten weeks.

]]> http://webworkerdaily.com/2009/12/01/splitting-work-and-personal-expenses/ Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:00:56 +0000 Thursday Bram http://webworkerdaily.com/2009/12/01/splitting-work-and-personal-expenses/

When you work at home, it’s easy to start thinking of every expense as a personal expense. After all, it’s your printer that you’re buying paper for, your computer that needs an upgrade and your coffee pot that needs more beans. It’s easy to wind up covering every business expense you have out of your personal funds. But whether you’re working for yourself or you’ve working for an employer, it’s worth the time it takes to separate out your personal and work expenses.

Why Bother

One of the most important reasons to separate your business expenses from any personal money is that you can often write off business expenses as deductions come tax season. Just what you can write off depends on whether you’re self employed or not, but there are some deductions available to employees who telecommute, too. A tax preparer can help you find which deductions apply to you — but he or she is going to want to know what money you spent over the course of the last year.

It’s also important to have a good record of your expenses. In some cases, you may find that an employer or client is already set up to reimburse expenses. And if you find that certain expenses are getting out of hand — perhaps you’ve been asked to travel into the office more than you originally agreed to — you may be able to convince an employer or client that reimbursing you is the right thing to do.

Lastly, it’s easy for expenses to get out of hand if you don’t keep a close eye on them. Even being able to budget for work expenses you have to pay out of pocket can make the process of managing your personal finances a lot easier.

The Nuts and Bolts

How you choose to separate out your work expenses from your personal budget depends on what’s easiest for you. Personally, I found that since I’m self-employed, the easiest option was to open a separate business account at my bank — all my work expenses are paid out of that account and all of my income goes into it. From there, I cut myself a pay check into my personal account as I need to.

You don’t necessarily need a separate checking account for your work expenses, especially if most of your income comes from one source. In that case, something as simple as creating a new category in whatever system you use to manage your money is enough. As long as you can quickly sort out which expenses where for work and which were personal, the exact method doesn’t matter. Most software makes categorization easy. Some even allow you to create rules to automatically categorize certain expenses as work-related.

Another alternative is to use an expense-tracking tool. It can be a little harder to manage the record keeping with this approach, but it does provide a simple solution for many people.

How do you keep track of your expenses?

Image by Flickr user shanechambers

Originally posted September 23, 2009

In tougher times it can feel wrong to splurge on a wedding.  Brides and grooms look over the long list of expenses and wonder how much is enough?  The truth of the matter is that people get married regardless of whether it’s the Roaring Twenties or The Great Depression.  The economy of love never intersects with Wall Street.  As such, today’s couples are still getting married, but today’s brides may be feeling guilty for wanting to spend money on a dream wedding.   One of the areas in which they may consider cutting back that budget is on the filming of the event.  A memory lasts a lifetime, after all.  But cutting video can be a decision you may live to regret, and here’s why.

Most of those couples married in the Roaring Twenties and during the Great Depression had their wedding photograph taken.  At the time, it was to great expense and was the height of technological advancement.  I have my own tattered copies of relatives long since passed whose fresh flowers and wedding finery have long since disintegrated and yet, there in the sepia outline, in the faintest shadow of recorded light, I see my daughter’s chin.   For this reason, these photographs become family heirlooms.  What I would not give to be able to see a film of those long ago friends and relatives.  To see how they moved, how they danced and laughed, to hear their voices and their declarations of love.  To see myself in someone I have never met.  This is my personal reason for wishing there were films of these long ago celebrations.  But there are still others to consider.

When you are hosting the most expensive party you are ever going to have and it is the only time in your lifetime that all the people you care most about are gathered in one place together, wearing their best clothes and fullest smiles, it is truly a waste not to have a way to go back and see the fruits of your labors when you can best enjoy them: in the peace and quiet of your living room.  A wedding day flies by with such tension and speed that it is over before you know it.  All those details you spend months planning are unseen by your eyes the day of, when you enter each room last and move through the final hours in autopilot.  Your cheeks will hurt from smiling and your stomach will be growling with hunger by the time the speeches start up.  It’s really hard to remember what actually happened and what things really looked like.  Case in point: the day after my wedding I was bemoaning the fact that I didn’t dance more at my own wedding.  After watching my video, I realized I had danced with nearly every guest and for a large part of the night.  It was all just too much to remember.

While photographs take a moment and elevate that moment to the status of art, you can never hear your father’s voice again in a photograph.  You can’t see the way your mom danced or show your own child how your favorite grandma laughed.  It won’t take years for you to regret not having a video.  The regrets will start the day after the wedding.

I’ve been thinking about doing my Income & Expenses updates and realised how uncomfortable I am with the word Expenses. As words have vibrational power, I had a think for a while about a word I’d prefer to use. The word I came up with was “Enjoyment” which may seem odd at first as how can we “enjoy” our expenses?!…..but I do enjoy the warmth that paying my gas bill gives me…………

To be honest, the words “Income and Expenses” just don’t fill me with joy.

Income’s OK, but Expenses? It brings up thoughts of pain and lack and not enough.

We all know that the words we use and the emotions they evoke can have great power and when used consciously, can create all kinds of wonderful realities in our lives.

So when thinking about updating my Income and Expenses records this morning, I felt the *YuK* feeling as soon as I thought about the Expenses bit.

My Mental Word Radar leapt into action and after some deliberation, I thought it would be fun to call it “Income and Enjoyment” updates.

“Don’t be daft!”

Scoffed the “rotter” voice in my head

“How can you ‘enjoy’ expenses? Expenses are expensive, they’re bullying bills & pain and a burden that you’ve got to shut up and shoulder like the rest of us – it’s called living in the real world!”

(told you the voice was a rotter

So, now way ahead of myself with this idea of transforming Expenses into Enjoyment, I thought of all the ways that I get enjoyment out of paying my expensise and here’s a short examples list:

• I may not “enjoy” paying my mortgage, but I love the shelter and comfort that my home gives me

• I may not “enjoy” paying my gas bill, but I love the warmth & cosiness from my central heating

• I may not “enjoy” paying my car insurance, but I love the sense of security having that kind of back up gives me – and that I can rest easy knowing I’m fulfilling my legal car driver obligation – and I love the freedom and independence that driving my car gives me!

Thinking like this also made me feel incredibly grateful and blessed to have all these wonderful things in my life.

Of course the energy we give out and connect with things, attracts more of that same energy to us. So instead of dragging myself kicking and screaming to sort out Income and Expenses – which instantly tightens in my throught and makes it feel (whether it’s true or not) as if the income’s never enough to cover the gaping greed of the expenses…

By changing the words,I’m changing the thoughts and changin the energy. Creating a more powerful sense of abundance, allowing prosperity doors thoughout the Universe to swing open and welcome me in!

The more I’m feeling truly grateful for the goods and services that I’m blessed with as I update my enjoyment and get excited about the wonderful flow and expansion of my income…..the more I’m becoming a Magnet for all the good that I want to attract in my life

So if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to have fun doing my Income and Enjoyment updates.

What are you choosing for today?

So far so good.
Brekkie – Chocolate Almond Smoothie, morning tea more of the same.
Lunch – Apple, Banana, 2 bits of sourdough with coconut butter.
Plus 1 bit of apricot loaf with margarine spread on it that my girlfriend gave me.
Dinner – Cucumber Pesto Salad with Tomato Basil Dressing.

I’m not really aiming to do six Thrive meals a day at the moment, but rather two and scaling up slowly. Some of the ingredients are quite hard to get in Australia and others are just super expensive.
Hemp Oil – $75 not cheap for 1 litre.
Two tablespoons of this stuff in the Tomato Basil Dressing must be worth around $5.
I wonder if this stuff is much cheaper in North America. – It isn’t easy to get in Australia as I don’t think it’s legal for human consumption. I know that the hemp flour is illegal for humans but ok for animals – so I’m eating some very expensive pet food. I’d be very keen to hear from Aussies (or Kiwis – not sure what legislation is like over there) who’ve found success with this diet – economical options, sourcing ingredients, preparing in batches.
I wasn’t at school today and so had time to prepare and make stuff but imagine that this would be much harder doing end of term, writing reports and mayhem reigning. Slowly slowly, baby steps. More manyana.

Mojo.

The time of year for job/internship applications has rolled around once more. Around me friends are flitting and faffing, panicking about how they’re going to fill the space in the CV marked: 2010-2011. Graduating into the worst job market of the last twenty years, students are in a sorry state. The Oxbridge graduates, described by one acquaintance as “graduating with the right to print money” back in 2006, are now struggling to find any sort of job whatsoever. A very small minority are finding jobs in oil companies, banking, and occasionally, consultancy, but the vast majority have been left twiddling their thumbs in a state of confusion. I don’t need to quote the statistics illustrating the problem, I think it’s clear that when companies are laying workers off, they’re not going to be in a hurry to recruit wet behind the ears, 21-year olds.

Instead the next generation of “big dogs” is currently in a panicked state of delirium. Those who need to find work are doing jobs that a decade ago may have been considered “below” what would normally be acceptable following a three-year degree. For graduates with less of a need to find a job there exist three “productive” solutions to this quandry. One: go off and do a master’s for a year; two: do an internship – 95% of the which are unpaid (if you’re lucky expenses will be covered) – in the hope that after a year or so they may offer a full-time job, or at the very least fill a space on the CV; three: do a law conversion course, if you’re lucky having your fees paid by a magic circle firm.

The master’s and conversion course routes have their problems, but I will concentrate on internships, for it is here that the biggest problems lie, and as a result is the option most galling for the proud graduate. Despite not having to fork out in the outright manner present with the other two options, you are essentially providing your (valuable?) services free of charge, in return for a couple of lines on the CV. Furthermore, it is unlikely that this six month stint is going to separate you from the crowd, it is rather more likely that it will merely keep you within it. Put simply, you’re expected to work for free in order to continue being considered for jobs that don’t care about what you did on that internship but want to make sure you weren’t sitting around doing nothing – even if it means you spent six months filing and making coffee. Accommodation costs, which are not insignificant  also stack up, particularly if your internship doesn’t happen to be within commuting distance of where you are living rent free (parents, that is if you’re living rent-free). And what is the outcome of all of this? The promise of a job that was prevalent a couple of years back following an extended internship are thin on the ground. Of the hundreds doing unpaid (there are quite a few who did paid internships with Deloitte’s, E&Y, Goldman’s etc. who were offered jobs)internships, I only know of one person who has received a job from the employers with whom he did the internship – and that was in the House of Commons.

What irks me regarding this status quo, is the role played by money. The prevalence of unpaid internships shifts huge disadvantages upon those that are less well off and entrenches income inequality in our society. The blame lies with companies in a twofold manner. One, by only covering expenses they price many potential interns out of applying. This is because they do not make up for the fact that the intern will be foregoing a paid job to partake in the internship scheme. The foregoing of a paid job is an expense, and those that cannot afford to do so have to make do with paid jobs that provide less experience clout for the career they want to go into(a job at Waitrose pays the bills but is unlikely to impress the boys at JP Morgan). Symbolic examples of this are the internships given out by MP’s at the House of Commons. Interns gain expenses – not of the sort enjoyed by MP’s, I’m talking tube fare and maybe £3 for lunch – but nothing else. You’d think that the representatives of the country would set a good example. The second reason blame lies with companies is that unpaid internships are well valued by firms. Despite the fact they consist of unskilled work that could be carried out by a monkey, (who are actually pretty smart:  http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/05/magazine/05FREAK.html ) companies consistently place those with these insignificant internships at the higher end of the pecking order. I’m all for hiring people that have done something useful and interesting that will have increased their “skill-set” but it seems that the majority of internships do not fulfill this role.

It is this discrimination against those lower income individuals that riles me the most though, for it is unfair and goes against the idea of meritocracy and the potential for social mobility that New Labour has expounded for the last twelve years. Internships, by favouring the rich and reducing the numbers of paid jobs available for the poor – skilled graduates doing the filing for free is preferable to employing a non-graduate at £5.80 per hour – are damaging to our society.

A Bromsgrove man has been forced to stand as MP for the Midlands town following a meeting with constituents furious at the recent Julie Kirkbride expenses scandal.  Self-employed builder’s labourer Trevor Moult, 46, faced a series of probing questions about his financial history before being unanimously voted as Bromsgrove’s favourite candidate for the next election. 

A red-faced Moult admitted to constituents that he fastidiously logged all of his earnings, be they by cheque or ‘cash-in-hand’ and declared every single one in his annual tax self-assessment form.  He also scandalously revealed how he had never claimed for expenses of any kind during his time as an unskilled worker, and that he had never claimed any benefits, despite living alone and earning a minimum wage. 

Would-be voter pressed Moult on this issue, surmising that the middle-aged bachelor at least claimed a disability allowance, as evidenced by his slight limp.  Moult defended himself against this allegation by claiming that his limp was caused by a case of gout, before further stating that ‘The government don’t owe me anything, an’ I don’t owe them anything.’

Impressed by his transparent, no-nonsense honesty, the crowd at a packed Bromsgrove town hall unanimously voted for Moult to represent their constituency at the next election – effectively nominating him as the sole candidate for the Member of Parliament for Bromsgrove and refusing to take no for an answer.  Faced with such intransigence, Trevor had no option but to bow to the wishes of the public and agreed to launch an election campaign ‘Just as soon as I’ve finished digging the footings on the new estate.’

Swept up in an outpouring of popular support, Moult then went further, promising to adhere to his anti-sleaze policy of direct honesty.  ‘I won’t be claiming for no second home in London ‘cos I’ll stay here in Bromsgrove and use one of them webcams to talk to the other MPs.’ he declared.  ‘That way I’ll do my bit for the planet, as I imagine a moped trip to Westminster wouldn’t be very environmentally friendly.’

Moult is now facing calls to step down from his post amid allegations that his refusal to travel to and live in the capital means that he will be unable to represent his constituents effectively.  He will answer these charges at a further public meeting at the town hall tomorrow.

(Written 29 May 2009)

And that method did what?

I could ask my licensed massage therapist to hand me a glass now and then however!

Last week’s expenses: $30 co-pay for massage. Too bad my insurance coverage next year will not take my ICD9 code into consideration for treatment. Monthly totals tomorrow.

Total for Week ending November 27: $30.00

We the undersigned ask Lewisham Council to make the Councillors’ expenses list available online from the Council’s website with immediate effect.
We also ask Lewisham Council to produce an official statement explaining why these non-confidential papers were not published online together with the rest of the Standards Committee papers of 24th November 2009.

Click here to learn more about it and sign now.
You can also join the Facebook group.

Several recent experiences with young couples preparing for marriage have convinced me that societal expectations of marriage are much more stringent, unrealistic and oppressive than anything demanded by a religious covenant.

• Outlandish rule #1: The wedding ceremony must be an outlandishly extravagant affair. If you cannot afford it, you should postpone it. Couples I’ve spoken to who want to honor this expectation are choosing to act as if they are married until they can afford the grand affair. They decide to accumulate a home and possessions in order to live more cheaply together than separately, but purchasing these items ultimately means postponing the wedding even longer, sometimes forever.
• Outlandish rule #2:  When a couple gets married, they must not expect that this is a lifelong covenant, but merely one of convenience for now. Coupled with this is the belief one must not lose their sense of individuality in the relationship. Not only does reduced trust complicate how differences of opinion get managed within the marriage, but it becomes a collection of individuals rather than a unit. It also complicates matters of the family estate–how it accumulates, to whom it accumulates and to whom it is ultimately distributed and when.
• Outlandish rule #3: One must somehow make a spouse out of a bed partner, not the other way around. When sex is the foundation or origin of the relationship rather than the fruit of it, the sex drive becomes the barometric measurement of the relationship instead of  one’s troth.
• Outlandish rule #4: One must be an intentionally accomplished hypocrite. Fidelity is expected of the spouse, or at least their not getting caught. But to expect to remain completely faithful yourself might qualify as losing one’s individuality. This is followed up with teaching values and morality to one’s children that are not practiced personally. Demanding a level of ethical behavior from spouse and children, but with no real commitment to one’s own practice means one lives in the light and lies in the shadows simultaneously. It doesn’t work.

Trying to measure up to these demands is a hard, tense, guilt-riddled way to live and it burdens domestic partners of every type. Weighing these secular, materialistic and self-centered demands against the promise of someone who loves me, is relaxed with me, whose life is hooked to mine and mine to hers, seems the much easier and joy-filled way. I’ve had twenty-five years of it and I wonder where the time has gone.

-mark l vincent

A student finance blog has discovered the top expenses they are in order:

• Tuition – well this is something you can’t avoid. Also not somthing to worry about as they just take it as a percentage from your wages which you wont even notice.
• Accomidation fees- pay in lump sums so you can keep track of how much you have. Its easy to get excited by a huge bank balance but don’t even look at it all as yours.
• Travel
• Socialising
• Food
• Study expenses
• Clothing

Infamy!  Infamy!  All these God-damn parasites have got it in for me!

One of the Bastards that Be, a former trade union boss made Labour peer in 1997 for services rendered to NuGov.  Not the people, oh no, us mere peasants matter not, as long as the Gravy Train Express controls was taken over by NuGov and kept rolling, he got his peerage.  And those already onboard didn’t want it to stop no matter what, taking us first into the European Union, which will mean a Global one is surely on the cards, which will finally complete the Brave New World the Elites so wish to create.

Back to the matter at hand, the crooked Baron Brooke has been caught up in the expenses row now with the disclosure of him pocketing £140,000 of our taxes over seven years for overnight allowances even though his home was in Battersea.

Our taxes, gone, just like that.  Frittered away to plump up the incompetent stooges who help sign away our doom.  F***ing bloody marvellous.

Labour peer Baron Brooke claimed £140,000 for ‘overnight allowance’ while living just three miles from House of Lords

MailOnline – By Neil Sears

When he was a trade union boss, Clive Brooke was a keen advocate of financial moderation.

In a report he wrote with church leaders, he said people must show ‘a generous spirit, and not pursue economic advantage to the limit’.

But then Clive Brooke became Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe – and began filling in his expense forms.

Over the past seven years he has been claiming close to the maximum allowance in overnight subsistence payments despite owning a £700,000 townhouse just three miles from Parliament.

The Labour peer has made the claims – totalling more than £140,000 in the accounts available – on the basis that his main residence is a house in Brighton on which he and his wife Lorna, 66, have no mortgage.

Lord Brooke, 67, and his wife have owned their three-storey London home, in Battersea, a seven-minute drive from Parliament, for 23 years and are on the electoral roll there.

He stays in the London house, which is a stone’s throw from the Thames, whenever he sits in the Lords.

The rest is not even worth reading.  Mr Plod, instead of patting me down saying I look like a crackhead, go investigate that!  Until you do, expect no co-operation from me.

You may have noticed an item in this week’s local press about Councillor’s expenses.

The South London Press tells us that:

“Proposals made at a Lewisham Council committee meeting could see all councillors’ claims made public in full”.

and also tells us that:

“Councillors’ expenses claims over the last year were also published in the report”

At reading this I thought, hold on, aren’t these information public already? And aren’t these two statements in contradiction with each other?

So I went on the Council’s website to look for those papers, I found the meeting report, but not the expenses’ list, those pages were missing.
How strange I thought, even given that in the News Shopper the Independent Chair of the Standards Commitee Sally Hawkins said:

“We decided it was important that the system is transparent so that people can see that what is being claimed is reasonable.”

Yes, sure people ought to see, only that it looks like your idea of transparency doesn’t involve showing us the expenses’ list. Now, that’s a very odd idea of transparency.

But despair not, because I’ve got them for you and I can here release the two missing pages with the full Councillors’ expenses list. (click here to download as pdf or click on images to enlarge)

And look! One senior Labour Councillor expenses’ list stands out like a sore thumb.
She’s Labour Councillor for Crofton Park Cllr Sylvia Scott that last year clocked up the tidy sum of £1300 in taxi fares, and this despite the fact that she doesn’t even have cabinet duties.
I bet that many or her constituents would like to know this, in fact it’s their right as this expenses’ list is public.

Could this be the reason why this list was not made available to the public on the Council’s website?

Frankly, the behaviour of Lewisham Council needs explaining here. To remove important papers from public viewing whilst making a press release glorifying their openness is ludicrous.

Don’t they understand how silly they look? And what about the misuse of the Council’s press office? Who thought of issuing this kind of patronizing nonsense as if we were kindly given some big concession when to know this was our right all along?

But the most important question is why this expenses’ list is not available from the Council’s website. Who decided that these pages should be removed?

(CNN) — Professional basketball star Shaquille O’Neal paid for the funeral of a 5-year-old North Carolina girl whose body was found last week, O’Neal’s team confirmed Thursday.

Authorities believe the child, Shaniya Davis, was kidnapped, raped and murdered after being reported missing November 10. Her body was found six days later on a roadside about 30 miles from her hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina. Her funeral was Sunday.

O’Neal said in a statement released by his team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, that he was touched after seeing Davis’ story on CNN sister network HLN’s “Nancy Grace” show.

“What happened to her was tragic. I wanted her to have a funeral that would be as beautiful as she was,” O’Neal said in the statement.

Corey Breece, of Rogers and Breece Funeral Home, told the Fayetteville Observer he wouldn’t discuss the cost of the child’s service, but he noted a child’s funeral “averages around $4,500.”

The girl’s father, Bradley Lockhart, and his family had set up a trust fund to help raise money to pay for the service, according to the Fayetteville Observer.

Family friend Vaughn Eason told the paper any remaining money would be used for groups and charities working to assist abused and neglected children.

Police have charged Mario Andrette McNeill with kidnapping and said he also will face murder and child rape charges.

Preliminary autopsy results indicated the child was asphyxiated, Fayetteville Police Chief Tom Bergamine told reporters last week, as authorities awaited final autopsy reports.

Davis’ mother, Antionette Nicole Davis, has been charged with human trafficking and other offenses. Police have said they believe she was prostituting the girl.

O’Neal, as a volunteer for law enforcement agencies in recent years, has been active in causes that deal with domestic violence issues, mainly child-abuse cases.