Quick and Dirty Tips |
- Money Talk: Miel Moreland on the Financial Rules She Never Breaks
- What You Need to Know About Inflation
- Nutrition Around the World: Filipino Cuisine
- 5 Ways to Use a Personal Planner to Maximize Success
| Money Talk: Miel Moreland on the Financial Rules She Never Breaks Posted: 30 Jun 2021 06:00 AM PDT  Money Girl Laura Adams: When did you decide that you wanted to become an author (or other career)? Miel Moreland: I knew I wanted to write books from a very young age, five or six at the latest. I committed to it in a serious way when I was about sixteen. MG: Do you write full-time? MM: I do not write full-time! I have a full-time administrative position at a university. I make more money from that job than from writing—and my job also comes with paid time off, employer-sponsored health insurance, and other benefits. It can be tricky to balance, time-wise, but the stability afforded to me by having a day job means I'm less anxious about my writing, because I'm not counting on writing books quickly in order to be able to pay rent. Since I'm both a slow writer and someone with anxiety, it's much better to have this pressure taken off. MG: Did you study writing (or something else) or has it always come naturally to you? MM: I did not study writing—I was a double English/Politics major in college, but the English program at my school was focused on literature. I only took one creative writing class in college, and that was a mixture of poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction. Writing comes naturally in the sense that the love for writing comes naturally, but the skill requires significant and ongoing practice, and of course lots of revision. I read a lot (or, at least I thought I read a lot until I realized how much bloggers read!), and I'm always trying to learn from other writers. MG: When you first started writing (or something else), were there any financial challenges? If so, how did you manage them? MM: When I first started writing It Goes Like This, I'd just finished my teaching assistant contract in France and was back in the United States, living with my parents while I applied to jobs. Ultimately, during the year in which I wrote, revised, and queried It Goes Like This, I had a constantly changing job situation, while simultaneously applying to grad school: unemployed, working more than full time, working part-time... If I hadn't been living at home, I wouldn't have been able to write during periods of unemployment and part-time work—because it would have been urgent for me to work more. Instead, because much of the money I earned that year went into savings for my move to the East Coast, I was able to make the choice to work less and write more at certain times. MG: What advice would you give someone who's creative or wants to change their lifestyle about balancing passion for their art and earning an income... Keep reading on Quick and Dirty Tips |
| What You Need to Know About Inflation Posted: 30 Jun 2021 12:10 AM PDT  If you've been hearing a lot of experts talking about whether inflation will rear its ugly head, you might be wondering if you should do something different with your money. Many economists believe that the recent higher-than-normal prices of goods and services will be temporary. When the economy is fully open, and manufacturing and shipping bottlenecks get cleared, we should see the inflation rate drop to pre-pandemic levels. However, no matter if inflation in the U.S. is temporary or long-term, it's wise to consider what it means for your finances. This episode will review what causes inflation and tips to keep it from causing you to lose money now and in the future. What is inflation?First, here's a quick primer on inflation. It's a rise in the prices of goods and services over time. You've probably heard numbers like during the 1940s in the U.S. you could buy a loaf of bread for $0.15 and a new car for less than $1,000! Here's a handy inflation calculator that allows you to adjust any amount for inflation from 1800 to the present. The most well-known measure of inflation is the Consumer Price Index or CPI. The CPI reveals changes in retail prices of specific consumer goods such as food, clothing, and cars. The index compares the value of the same items each year to calculate the level of inflation for that period. It's published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As inflation causes prices to rise, every dollar buys a smaller percentage of a good or service. For example, if the inflation rate is 4%, then a $2 loaf of bread will cost $2.08 in a year. After inflation, our money doesn't buy the same amount of goods or services that it did before. That's why people fear inflation so much. As of June 2021, the prices of certain products and services have gone up the most since 2009, which was about the last time I wrote about inflation! Over the past year or so, the pandemic created some unusual economic conditions. And while the recovery is underway, it's not happening smoothly or equally across industries. For instance, car manufacturers are still behind, but restaurants and hotels are poised for a post-vaccine boom this summer. The critical question is whether the current inflation rate hike will last or even increase? And how can you protect yourself from getting hurt financially by it? What causes inflation?Let's take a step back and talk about what causes inflation in the first place. One factor is increases in the money supply of... Keep reading on Quick and Dirty Tips |
| Nutrition Around the World: Filipino Cuisine Posted: 29 Jun 2021 02:10 PM PDT  This is the fourth in a series of episodes in which we're talking to nutrition professionals from around the world about their culture's traditional cuisine. Please check out our previous episodes on traditional Indian, Colombian, and Japanese food and culture. Thanks to all of you who have written in to suggest other countries and cuisines you'd like to explore. Katie wrote: "I'm loving your series on the nutrition of different traditional cuisines around the world. I'd love to learn more about Filipino cuisine. I lived in the Philippines for about a year and fell in love with the food! I'm curious as to which parts of a traditional Filipino diet are healthy and which might be modified to be more nutritious."
Joining me to talk about Filipino culture and cuisine is Levin Dotimas. Levin was born in the Philippines and now lives in the United States. Although he originally planned to study nursing, he was fascinated by the coursework on biochemistry and eventually switched paths to study nutrition instead. Levin has now completed his Master's Degree in Nutrition and is currently completing a dietetic internship, which will eventually result in his becoming a registered dietition/nutritionist. Below are a few highlights from our conversation. Please click on the audio player to hear the entire interview. Tell us a bit about traditional cooking style in the Philippines. How have neighboring cultures in Southeast Asia influenced Filipino cuisine? How have foreign or colonial powers influenced Filipino cuisine? The Spanish introduced cured meats, dairy, and dishes like embutido, paella, and even those of Mexican origin like tamales and chicharron. Americans brought convenience cooking to the country and also favorite American staples... Keep reading on Quick and Dirty Tips |
| 5 Ways to Use a Personal Planner to Maximize Success Posted: 29 Jun 2021 12:49 PM PDT  Why are there so many planners in the world? You've probably seen them piled on shelves at your local office store or even at Walmart and Target. Go online, and you will find hundreds for sale on Amazon plus a wide variety of specialized planners with unique tracking systems. There are planners for writers, planners for students, planners for mothers, and planners for business executives. Name a category of the population, and there's probably at least one planner dedicated to their organizational needs. If you usually walk right past the planners because you don't see the point in tracking every detail of your life, it's time to stop and take a longer glance. Not all planners are used for obsessive tracking and detailing. You can use one to reach your goals faster while reducing stress and overwhelm. There are five ways to do just that. 1. Implement time management strategies with a simple daily planner.You've heard about time blocking. You know that some people create daily, weekly, monthly, or even quarterly and yearly schedules that they follow religiously. There are so many other time management systems from simple to-do lists to eating the frog. Did that last one grab your attention? It's a strategy that requires you to tackle your most important tasks first thing in the morning, starting with the biggest, hardest, or most intimidating one. It's a concept that started in a book, but has gained considerable popularity around the world. The problem with many time management strategies is the lack of consistency. You need a planner to fully commit and make them work. Here's how a planner might work for a couple of the most popular strategies:
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