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5 Things Guaranteed To Annoy Your Wife

Finance, Relationships

The grotesque nagging wife
The grotesque nagging wife (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One from the vaults….

If you’re married, or anything close to being married, you’ve irritated your wife.  Even if you think you are perfect and the epitome of unannoyingness, I promise, there has been a day when she strongly wished you traveled for a living.

It’s long been known that the two things most likely to break up a marriage are money and sex.   The former because there is too much, too little, or just the right amount going to the wrong places, and the latter because there is too much, too little,  it’s not with each other, or it is with each other, but you’d really prefer otherwise.   If your problem is the latter, I can’t help you.

If your problem is the former, I can help you understand some things you may be doing that are driving her batty.   Kill-you-in-your-sleep-and-pretend-it-was-the-dog type of  batty.

1.  Nagging her about her shopping, but buying whatever you want.  Gentlemen, this is known as a double standard.   Don’t do it.  In my house, my wife’s on an allowance.   It was her idea.  A few months later, I realized that I needed to be on one, too.   Naturally, her allowance is bigger than mine.   I don’t mind the disparity, because she still smokes.  If her allowance didn’t give her room to smoke and shop, her allowance would be nothing more than a polite fiction.  Whatever you do, find something that works for both of you and meets both of your needs, fairly.    Anything else will only build a resentment that will burn for a long time.

2.  Nagging her about her shopping, yet demanding she do all of the shopping.   My wife has a weakness: clearance tags.  If something is on sale, there’s a good chance it’s going to come to our house.   I have an aversion to shopping.  I hate it.   Our budget dies a little bit each time my wife shops alone.     We’ve come to an agreement.   Now, I do most of the shopping, so she doesn’t feel tempted.   I’m learning to embrace my inner material girl so we don’t have to have “discussions” every time she steps out for milk and comes home with $100 worth of clothes for the younger brats.

3.  Nagging her about her shopping.  Nobody likes being nagged.   If you’re having a problem that keeps repeating itself, talking about it more won’t help.  Neither will talking about it louder.   You need to find a way to communicate that she will hear and understand.    Different people communicate in different ways.    Find the way that works for both of you.

4.  Nagging her.   A wise man once said, if everyone around you is a jerkface, maybe the problem isn’t everyone around you.   Have you ever considered the idea that the problem might be you?   If nagging is the only way you have to deal with people, you need to work on that.  Don’t blame her.  Maybe you’re ticked off about something that isn’t irritating.  If that’s the case, she certainly has the right to be annoyed that you are nagging her.

5.  Going on and on about how much you’d like to be me.   Yes, I live the rockstar life, driving the station wagon with 6 disc changer and all.  Yes, I am the neatest thing since sliced bread, and even that was a close contest, but really, confidence is important.  You don’t have to be me to be cool.  You’re swell, too.   You’re right, this one isn’t about money, but it’s probably still irritating.

There you have it, my perfect solution to a happy marriage: don’t nag and quit trying to be me.     There are other important bits, like love, respect, and communication, but this is a good start.

What do you do that annoys your spouse?

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Cheap Conference Calls

Business

Sometimes, a conference call can make you thousands of dollars.  Whether you’re pitching a product, or planning a new service to offer, sometimes you need to be able to talk with a team.

Business owners rely on many technological tools to conduct business day to day. Online business conferencing is one of the more popular services that owners have come to rely on. There are lots of online websites that provide free conference calling services that will save the small business owner some cash. Some of these sites offer permanent free calling for life and others offer free calling for a limited time only.

 Free Conference Calls

There are a number of free conference call services out there.  For most, you can use the site and get unlimited free conference calling 24 hours a day and seven days a week. This is a permanent full time offer and no credit card is needed with the best of the service. You can often conference with up to 96 different users at the same time and spend at least six hours on each call. That is more than enough time for the average business owner to conduct all of their all business with fellow participants.

 Skype

Skype is another company that has a free business conferencing service for all Skype users. There is no fee for conference calls as long as all of the users have downloaded Skype. Anyone that wishes to use their mobile phone to join in can be added by purchasing Skype Credit. Payments can be made online or through payment processing services like PayPal. This is a cheap way for a small business owner to connect with team members via conference call.

 Go To Meeting

GoTomeeting.com is the most well known of the companies providing conference calling services. The company offers its GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar, and GoToTraining that provide unlimited usage for business owners. Basic plans start at $15 a month which is a bargain for owners that have frequent conference calls with employees and customers.  At the high end of their offering is GoToTraining at $150 per month.  GoToMeeting has a lot of features including the recording and playback of all meetings. This is a useful option for any attendee that misses a meeting and needs to catch up.

These are just a few of the options available to the business owner who is on a budget and looking for a way to stay connected with his employees.

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The heat(er) is on! 5 winter home energy saving tips

Finance

This is a guest post.

Turning the heat on can strike fear into the hearts of many a home owner. Rising heating bills are not a thing of the past. They are present and there is no end in sight. Relief for high winter heat costs can be found in every leaky window, poorly sealed storm door, inaccurate thermostats and many other locations in and around your home. Seeking out the cheapest gas and electricity prices from local suppliers can help reduce total energy costs and should include home energy audits and payment plans to equalize summer and winter energy bills.

Top 5 Tips for Year Round Home Energy Savings

1. Obtain a free energy audit kit from your local electric or gas provider. Approach your home energy audit as a family. Involving children is one of the best ways to decrease overall energy consumption. Teach the kids about leaving doors open, leaving lights on and the television on when not in the room. Appoint an energy officer for the house who will be responsible for reminding family members about energy conserving activities.

2. Install a digital thermostat, which can be programmed to automatically raise or reduce home temperatures when the house is not occupied such as when parents are at work and the kids are at school. Lowering temperatures to 60 degrees on mild winter days for just six hours during the work day can save on your heating bills without compromising comfort. By limiting the time not to exceed six hours the cost for bringing the home back to acceptable living temperatures is minimal; much longer and the bounce back time is increased sufficiently to mitigate any daytime savings. Reducing overall temperatures by one degree Fahrenheit can save as much as three percent on the total heating bill. Reduce the household temperature by five degrees Fahrenheit and experience a 15 percent saving which is a number most families can easily live with.

3. Comparison shop for the cheapest gas and electricity from local private energy suppliers. Ask about payment plans, adjustable billing cycles and energy reform programs. State and local governments have options for lower income homes, providing subsidies for high winter heating bills. Grants for home improvement along with energy conservation tax credits, which can be applied to heating costs, are another way to reduce budget impacting heating bills this winter.

4. Close vents, use energy efficient space heaters and alternative heat sources for additional energy savings. Closing vents to unused rooms will reduce energy consumption for the entire house. Heating less square footage will require less energy. When closing vents, be sure to seal those rooms well. Install thermal window coverings to reduce heat loss and temperature fluctuations and reduce air exchange at door thresholds with the use of a draft dodger. Using an energy efficient space heater in cold rooms can improve comfort without increasing overall heating costs. Spaces such as basements and laundry rooms can benefit from temporary use of space heaters to increase temperatures for those rooms temporarily. Consider alternative heat sources such as wood stoves and fireplace inserts. Fireplaces are generally inefficient as heat sources. However, wood stoves using catalytic converters can have energy efficiency ratings that rival high tech heat pumps.

5. Appliance energy hogs such as hot water heaters, washers, dryers, ovens and dishwashers should be evaluated each season. Lowering the hot water heater temperature and insulating the water heater and the pipes can reduce energy consumption of this one appliance by as much as seven percent. Wash clothing on cold water settings whenever possible, reserving hot water for only items needing sterilization, such as sick room bedding or cloth diapers. Never start the dishwasher if it is not completely full. The same amount of water and energy will be used to wash five plates and three glasses and will be required to wash a full meal’s worth of dishes for a family of six.

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Paying for Rat

Finance

I’m cheap.  I don’t even consider myself to be frugal.  I’m cheap.  A few days ago, I spent my entire year’s Halloween budget–on November 1st–so I could store my new treasures

Rats in a jar
Rats in a jar (Photo credit: liftarn)

for an entire year before using them, just to save $145.

However, there are some things that just aren’t worth going cheap.

When I first moved out on my own, a good friend walked me through the mistake of buying cheap cheese.   A slice of the generic oil-and-water that some stores pass off as cheese will not cure a sandwich made from Grade D bologna.

That advice got me through some less horrible meals when I was younger.

Now, I’ve expanded the crappy cheese rule to extend to any meal I pay someone else to prepare.   While I do occasionally hit a fast food restaurant when I’m traveling, I almost never do so any other time.    I enjoy sitting down for a nice meal in a nice atmosphere while friendly people cater to my every whim.   Well, almost every whim.

I’m not saying I go to $100 per plate steak houses every week, but I’m certainly not afraid to drop $20-$30 per meal.

My reasoning is simple:  anything I can buy at a fast food restaurant or a cheap restaurant, I can make better at home for less.   Why would I pay good money to sit at a sticky table and eat food that won’t let me forget it for 3 days?

If I’m going to spend the money, I’m going to eat something I either can’t make at home, or can’t make as well.  Chinese food is one example.  I can make it at home, but I don’t stock the ingredients, and I don’t enjoy the preparation, so I go out for it.   Cheap Chinese food tends to be worse than anything else I’ve eaten, so I spring for good food.   Cheap rat isn’t good rat.

How about you?  What are you willing to pay full price for?

 


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Black Friday Eve

Finance

Today is Black Friday Eve.  It’s the day when people gather around the table and gorge in preparation for the mighty battle to

Black Friday shoppers at Walmart
Ick!  Who thinks this is fun?

come on the fields of Wal-Mart.

We won’t be participating this year.    My wife got laid off 3 weeks ago and I started a new job on Monday.   The new job has a 2 week delay between pay period and pay check, so I won’t see a check until the middle of December.

We aren’t hurting but we are tapping into our savings to bridge the gap to paycheck #1.   I just transferred $1200 to cover the gap.   With that, the money we have to cover things not in our regular budget is $36.    You can’t go too crazy on Black Friday with $36.

That isn’t draining our savings.  We took some, but not all of it.

It isn’t raiding our Christmas present fund.

It isn’t taking money out of the braces fund.

Or any other fund.

This isn’t pain and we won’t be tasting poverty for Christmas.   We just have to de-prioritize blind consumerism for the holidays.

Instead, we’ll sleep in a bit, then cuddle with a couple of little girls who will want to watch something horrible like Horseland first thing in the morning.   We’ll follow that up with a leisurely breakfast, maybe a walk around the neighborhood pond and Thanksgiving-A-Day-Late with my wife’s family.

And a bit of remodeling and repair work on our rental property whenever my Dad can drag himself out of bed and come over.

It will be a good day and shouldn’t cost a cent.  That’s what I’m thankful for.

 

 

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