Author Archive
But I Don’t Wanna Budget!
By MARY ELLEN KALUZA I understand. Having a “budget” sounds restrictive, like a punishment. What if we call it something else, like a “spending plan”? Does that seem more palatable? Planning the money you have coming in and going out is really all about being in control. YOU are choosing where your hard-earned dollars are going, not the estimated 6000 to 10,000 advertisements we see each day! (That's double what it was in 2007, by the way.) With that much pressure on us, it takes some effort to keep that control. Where to start? Know how much money is coming in. This is the net income ”“ after taxes and other deductions. You'd be surprised how many people don't know that number. (Frequently, they also carry expensive credit card debt.) Subtract your Must Pay expenses ”“ housing, utilities, loan payments, insurance ”“ think of those things that will result in something bad happening if you didn't pay [...]
A Ray of Hope
Returning Chapter 9 By PATRICK CABELLO HANSEL The older woman walked as fast as she could toward Lake Street. She felt that she was being called further south, and had planned to wait for the light to change. But as she saw the car lights reflect off the mirrors in the huge mural at La Mexicana, a saying came to her mind: Light is not lost in its reflection She wasn”™t sure where the saying came from, if she had heard it spoken by someone or read it in a book. Maybe I just made it up, she thought. But it was so clear and strong that she decided to heed it. The light that she saw reflected came from the east, so she turned east. That”™s when she saw Angel and Luz and little Angelito, walking briskly. She could sense the fear in them. They stopped in front of where the bakery used to be. The phone store was mostly boarded up; it had been looted recently, and the owner was waiting on the insurance. Whatever Luz and Angel were looking for, it [...]
Nobody
MOVIE CORNER By HOWARD MCQUITTER II Universal Pictures Nobody Action/Crime/Thriller Universal Pictures ★★★☆ By Howard McQuitter II Needless to say, Nobody is that movie where in real time safety is an issue never guaranteed, much less respected in an era of dystopia, reining in all subjects whether they like it or not. Crime is such, whether serious or petty, that doesn't stop at the sleepy-eyed white suburbs. Hutch (Bob Odenkirk from TV series Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul) is a quiet hard-working gentleman with his wife Becca Mansell (Connie Niesen) and children. Perhaps his worst frustration is missing the garbage man every Tuesday. However one night, while Hutch and his family sleeps, two robbers stage a home invasion. He holds one robber off with a golf club and forces the other to step back before they steal some cash and his daughter's kitty-cat bracelet. Well, the theft of the kitty-cat [...]
