TOP DRAWER INK NEWSLETTER
Here's the latest issue of Top Drawer Ink, the newsletter written by author HL Carpenter that's chock full of humor and common sense information.
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April 9, 2005
Volume 3, Number 7
ISSN 1554-6330
In this issue:
1. Carpenter Country Essay |
2. Top Drawer Article |
3. Top Drawer Tips |
4. Top Drawer Book Review |
5. Top Drawer Satire |
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CARPENTER COUNTRY
What's Happening in Our Neck of the Human ExperienceHere in Carpenter Country we often sit around and discuss fun subjects like the state of the economy, interest rates and the federal deficit. The other day we got off on a weightier topic. We talked about the difference between frugality and cheapness.
This subject is dear to our hearts because we had a relative who was, shall we say, very careful with her money. According to her, no purchase was worth the price. She weighed each monetary outlay against what the item would have cost in 1920 and what it cost today. Usually present day prices were way too high and the goods much too shoddy.
Another item that missed her shopping list was a credit card. She didn’t have one and she never wanted one. To her, being in debt was the scariest scenario imaginable. Her philosophy was, if you needed something you saved until you had the cash to buy it.
Having grown up in a consumer society, we found such a point of view hard to contemplate. But she deflected our arguments with a small smile, and a phrase she used more and more often as she grew older – a penny saved is a penny earned.
She also liked to tell us her nest egg was our inheritance. We never let on that we knew the money in the bank was her security blanket – and the only thing that made her feel safe and kept her independent.
So was she cheap or frugal?
The dictionary defines cheapness as stingy, miserly, avoiding unnecessary expenditures. Frugality means thrifty. We’ve decided she would have liked to be thought of as cheaply frugal.
Improper syntax, but a good way to be.
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TOP DRAWER ARTICLE
A Falling Dollar
byHL Carpenter
The strength and/or weakness of the dollar spark many debates and - when our currency falls in value – much concern. What makes the dollar decline? Here are a few reasons:
This information should not be considered legal, investment or tax advice. Top Drawer
Ink Corp. does not provide legal, investment or tax advice. Always
consult your legal, investment and/or tax advisor regarding your
personal situation. |
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TOP DRAWER TIPS
Topics and Tidbits
Learn
about the life of a dollar bill, courtesy of the Federal Reserve. http://www.federalreserveeducation.org/.
Wondering
whether you should be getting money back from mutual fund settlements
or other class action lawsuits? Here's a place to start your search. http://www.gardencitygroup.com/.
For
index investing information, try http://www.indexuniverse.com/.
Here's
another invitation to become part of the solution by helping to improve
the Internal Revenue Service. http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=137465,00.html.
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TOP DRAWER BOOK REVIEW
byHL Carpenter
Overachievement
by John Eliot
259 pages; hardcover; $24.95
The Penguin Group, New York, 2004
Stop thinking. Find your inner squirrel.
According to Dr. John Eliot, professor, consultant and author, those instructions are key to transforming yourself into an overachiever.
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TOP DRAWER SATIRE
Save Your Breath
byHL Carpenter
Here’s a potential money-saving tip: You might want to take a deep breath now, while the process is still unpatented.
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HL Carpenter, an experienced investor and a CPA, specializes in reader friendly financial and tax topics for individuals and small businesses, and publishes Top Drawer Ink, a newsletter that's chock full of humor and common sense information.
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Last update: January 9, 2011
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