Pecuniarities

Playing the Piano is a Privilege (Not a Chore)

An interesting experiment would be to forbid a young child to ever touch the piano, after all it is a very expensive instrument. One can easily imagine how much higher the piano instantly rises in that child’s estimation. One then promises the child that he or she will be “allowed” to begin learning the piano at a certain age. Even better then, if someone in the family—a parent, older sibling or cousin—were to frequently play very charming pieces of the kind accessible to children. Pieces from the Romantic era are very suitable for this purpose (e.g. Fϋr Elise & Doll’s Dream), should be repeated often and might even have stories invented about them. It is very natural that the child will aspire to play these pieces someday, and a united goal has been formed without duress.

Vinegar is the frugally-, environmentally- and health-minded person’s best friend. Vinegar derives its potency from acetic acid, CH3COOH. The acidic nature of vinegar gives it the ability to kill bacteria, dissolve unwanted substances, and kill and deter insects and pests. Keep in mind that vinegar will corrode certain metals if not wiped away promptly. Because [...]

Just a reminder for our American readers that new and increased USPS (United States Postal Service) postage rates take effect this coming Monday May 12th, 2008. If you are planning to ship any packages via USPS, now is the time to do so – today Friday May 9th or tomorrow Saturday May 10th – especially [...]

Apologies for not posting anything of substance yesterday or today, but due to feeling a little under the weather these few days, I thought I would post a summary of recommended reading for those of you who are new to this blog, and a few news items from the personal finance blogosphere.
From Our Fourpence Worth

Father’s [...]

Our freebies today are mini carrier gift bags in Wall Street Journal headline and print from the July 12-13, 2008 Weekend Edition. The headline reads: “Talks on Mortage Titans Continue.” This makes a cute gift or decorative item for a friend with interests in finance, newspapers and all things quaint.
Originally posted 2008-10-01 06:00:41.

Having been operating an online business for the past 2.5 years, I have almost come to take my knowledge of mailing and shipping options for granted and consider it common knowledge. However, a recent incident at my local USPS Post Office made be realize that this is not the case and that a lot of [...]

An amusing excerpt from the popular novel Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie in which Mr. Darling calculates, upon the arrival of his children, and speculates whether he can afford to keep them.