Random Wednesday Thoughts

Posted on January 18, 2007 6 Comments

1. It’s freakin‘ cold here. I am very thankful that I can afford the following: a down coat, Uggs boots, Cuddleduds layering pants, extra blankets, heat and hot chocolate. I have used all of these things today, and I’d be miserable without them. Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy me warmth … and that’s pretty darn close.

2. FABULOUS news to report from Congress: The House of Representatives today voted in favor of legislation that would “cut in half the fixed interest rates on need-based Stafford Loans for undergraduates over five years.” Read more here. I’m not sure how this will affect those of us who are already repaying loans, but according to CNN.com,

The College Student Relief Act of 2007 could save the average borrower an estimated $4,400 over the life of the loan, according to the Education and Labor Committee. The average student borrower with need-based loans has an average of $13,800 in debt, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Let’s not forget that while college students are finally getting some relief after years of loan rate increases, they may actually be able to pay for their books soon, too. The Senate is currently mulling over an increase in minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 an hour.

A current loan payer and former minimum wager myself (I think I actually made below the minimum wage at most of my high school jobs), I’m in favor of both moves. Though I’m interested to see how the rest of the financial bloggers are reacting!

3. January is turning out to be my month of going out. Mostly because I’m trying to give Brian some peace and quiet to fill out his law school applications, but also because I spent the entire December stressed out, running frantically from store to store and attending loads of family gatherings. So January has become my new holiday month — with two days off, it actually has just as many work holidays as December, and it’s a great time to catch up with the friends I’ve missed throughout the Christmas season.

3b. I think I can afford to go out this much and still manage to recoup from December’s (Christmas) shopping spree — the cash machine ate my ATM card and I won’t have one back for at least 5 more business days. So I’m being extremely judicious about what I drink when I’m out. One top shelf vodka cocktail, one Bud Light, one top shelf vodka … you get the picture.

4. I’m currently reading the book, “1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus,” as one of my new year’s resolutions is to read more non-fiction (Eleanor Roosevelt’s autobiography is up next). However, page 212 is mysteriously missing from the book, and it’s really hard to connect the dots. Page 211 is all about religion and philosophy, and page 213 is all about cooking tortillas. Borders, anyone?

5. I tried to order sweaters from Banana Republic last night and when I checked out, hardly any of them were available (even though they all were until I got to checkout). I think the budgeting gods are working to stop me from frivolous purchases. After my sweaters were all only available in oatmeal (as blah as it sounds), I turned off the computer and folded my laundry. Turns out, I DO have sweaters, they were just all dirty. Lesson learned, budgeting gods, I will only go shopping on a clean wardrobe … I guess it’s similar to going grocery shopping on an empty stomach.

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