Green Teens

Teens at Key West High School recently got a grant to build two wind turbines. In seeking support, they reached a brick wall. Here’s a post from Bonnie Doerr about it:
Green Teens’ Work Ignored

It’s great to see teens active about green alternatives. Please support your local teen efforts.

Review: Why Did I Get This Credit Card?

Bergers Book Reviews reviewed Why Did I Get This Credit Card? today. Part of the Kash Kids series, it teaches kids how to be responsible with credit cards. Little Twyla learns from her own mistake in overspending and having to pay off her purchases.

I remember a similar experience I had as a teenager. I found some records by a group I liked in an off-the-beaten-path shop. They were expensive and hard to come by, and I needed to pick them up before they vanished. I didn’t have enough money to buy them, so I borrowed some from my mother.

What I borrowed was about 6 weeks of Pennysaver delivery money – a huge sum to me, as a teenager. My mother forgave the debt, but the lesson was learned. I’ve tried to avoid debt (other than car and house loans) most of my adult life.

Did you have an experience like this, where you learned from getting out debt? Care to share it with us?

Review: Where Is My Money?

I just posted a review over at Bergers Book Reviews for this nifty new kids’ book on money management. Check out Where Is My Money? by Twyla Prindle.

Being Green in a Modern Society

Sometimes I feel like a hippie. Oh, not in the way it probably sounds, but I like to march to beat of my own drum. No drugs, alcohol, or other bad behavior, but I’m definitely a non-conformist.

I guess you have to be, trying to be green in a society that pretty much frowns on green behavior. Imagine trying to explain to the cleaning lady at work that the toxic chemicals she’s cleaning with are harming the environment. Or that she really doesn’t need to replace the trash bag liner more than once a month. (No, it’s NOT dirty!)

Or what about buying organic foods, rather than the stuff full of chemicals that comes in a box? Where are the coupons for real food? They only advertise the fake foods that they’d prefer you to buy.

What about opening a window on a nice day, rather than blasting the air conditioning? Does your office window even open? I hate that – I’d much prefer fresh air rather than stale, recycled & refrigerated office air.

Maybe I was born in the wrong century.

Environment & Literature

I witnessed a recent discussion centered on living green and how it is starting to become a popular theme in literature. Someone wanted to know why this may be happening. Did writers have an answer?

I can only speak for myself, but I think artists are the first people to pick up on new topics of importance. As people become concerned with something and talk about it more and more, it’s only natural that these themes will find themselves in the writings of the day. Magazines and blogs will always pick them up first, but soon they’ll filter into art and literature.

I’m really glad to see that I’m not the only writer who’s concerned enough with environmental issues to write them into a novel. I’d love to see even more.

Checking in again

It’s been a while since I posted anything. To be honest, I’ve been feeling a bit blue. Although we’re certainly not in destitute condition, this economy has hit us hard, and it’s been difficult to keep a good attitude.

I’m still working only temporary jobs, we’re still living in a cramped apartment, and we’re ready to climb the walls in boredom. This is one of those moments where I’d love to find some inexpensive fun, but nothing really seems to appeal to us lately.

We go to the gym, we take walks, we try to cook decent meals we enjoy. But what else can we do that doesn’t cost a lot? Any ideas?

Amazon.com

Is anyone else but me feeling disturbed by Amazon’s control of the market?  Local independent bookstores can’t compete with this mega-giant’s prices, and even the bigger chains like Borders and Barnes & Noble are struggling to keep up.

I used to order all my books from Amazon or one of the used/new sellers who list books on their website.  But I’ve recently started thinking about who I should buy from.  If I support this giant, I’ll be helping to put other sellers out of business, which eventually would lead to Amazon’s ability to control all pricing and distribution.  This is NOT a good thing.

I am now officially boycotting Amazon.  I will shop as frugally as I can from my local stores, but I won’t support a company who appears to be striving for a monopoly.

Review: The SmartestWay to Save

I’ve just posted a review of The SmartestWay to Save over at Bergers Book Reviews. Not a bad book, though some of the advice seemed a little off to me. But definitely more of a “beginner” book.

Wholesale Clubs

I’ve gotten a couple of requests the past few weeks asking me to promote a certain wholesale club. Apparently, they think that because you buy items in large quantities or at a discounted price, you are getting a frugal deal. I happen to disagree.

What is the cost to join these clubs? Can you get your money back if you realize you’re not shopping there as often as you thought you would? I doubt it. Do you save enough over the course of the year to justify this cost?

How many “bulk items” have you thrown out half of because they got old/stale? We’re just two people, so those are hardly values to us. They’re just waste.

How many times have you shopped there for one item but came home with several more because they were such a good deal? Did you even need them? Probably not.

No, wholesale clubs – I will not endorse you.

Ethics (pt. 2)

As a firm believer in recycling, I almost never throw out a book. It has to be completely worn out or moldy before it sees the trash can. I either donate them or try to swap them on PaperBackSwap.com.

As a book reviewer, I have an added responsibility for the books I receive. After I post the review, I try to get as much exposure for the author as I can. Most of the children’s books are donated to my local private school’s library. The others are usually posted for swap.

As I was putting together a box of books to send to the school, I thought for a moment about posting them at Amazon for resale. It’s not illegal or unethical – lots of reviewers do it. Hey, we’re providing a free service – why not make a dollar or two for our efforts? But I just can’t.

I’ll keep passing them on for free, since I received them for free. It’s the only thing that feels right to me.