Recession Lexicon: Recession Roadkill

“Recession roadkill” refers to the laid-off, the unemployed, and those generally getting run over by the merciless wheels of the economy. The term has been popping up lately on the blogosphere (Jim Cramer’s blog on TheStreet.com; Miss Pink Slip ).

Ex: Being recession roadkill has allowed me to indulge my daytime soap fetish.

The Freelancer’s Tip Sheet

The Recession provides excellent opportunities for freelancers as companies shed regular staff and look to freelance workers for contract jobs. There’s no magic formula for freelancing, but these tips may help you be more effective:

1. Keep meticulous records.
Be sure to keep receipts for everything relating to your work for potential tax deductions. Things like magazine subscriptions, web domains, and dedicated phone lines can all potentially be listed. This is especially important if you have a clearly defined home office area. You can write off some expenses based on ratio of office space to home.

2. Create a formula for what to charge.
Many freelancers use this simple formula: $D /B hrs. D is how much you want to earn in a year. B is the total number of billable hours that you think you can secure in a year. Most freelancers estimate B on the basis of 15 billable days per month, for an 8-hour day (15 d/mth x 8 hr/d x 12 mth/yr = 1440 hrs/yr)…

Timothy Noah Calls Out Repubs on Health Care Shenanigans

Want to pay less for health care? You won’t if certain senators have their way. Slate’s Timonthy Noah follow the threads of some weird and wily arguments about health care today in his “Lemon Economics.” He calls attention to five senate Republicans who are planning to defend the private health insurance industry to the last breath and vow to block the creation of public plans. Noah catches these lawmakers in a specious argument: They are finally owning up to the fact that government health insurance programs like Medicare out-perform their private counterparts both in delivering benefits and in keeping prices down. But get this: The senate Republicans use that as an argument against them…

Haiku You – Poetry for the Impoverished

There’s something about hard times that makes a weary soul wax poetic. The haiku is the ideal form for expressing the deep feelings stirred by the downturn. Its compact form (typically a 5-7-5 metrical pattern), simple language and habitual twist give a sense of the unexpected that seems to fit uncertain times.

I got inspired last night while doing my taxes…

Can’t get paid today –
But who am I to complain?
Color me freelance.

This, admittedly, is nothing compared to what our colleagues at Unemployment Haiku Weekly are turning out. The new blog brims with poignant pieces that deploy a mischievous sensibility, paired with exquisite drawings depicting the down-and-out.

In one piece, the poet offers a plaint to the 80s hair-band Loverboy…

This Little Piggy Went Hungry…

The piggy bank business is booming in the Recession, according to Reuters. Seems that decimated home prices and ravaged retirement accounts have reinforced the virtue of putting money aside. Piggy banks symbolize the need to save, but they also remind us of just how hard it is to do that right now. This photo of a skinny piggy bank – aka the “gasoline piggy bank” when it appeared during last summer’s gas price hikes – has been hoofing it once again across the Internet…

Are You a Retro Porn Addict?

There’s something musty in the air. Many of us are finding ourselves sifting through flea markets, queuing up old movies, and eagerly listening to Granny’s tales of days gone by. We’re yearning for simpler times, picking up values cast aside, and coveting objects thrown away. Sometimes we’re putting on our rose-colored glasses and pretending that everything was better in the Land of Long-Ago. Call it retro porn – the urge to romanticize and fetishize the past during hard times.

The marketing world is already hip to the fact that consumers crave the security and comfort of their childhoods during the Recession…

Redux: Bootleg Nation?

Lynn Parramore looks back on the Great Depression to see the path ahead.

How do consumers save when they make less than ever before?

Sometimes, they take their business underground. Call it the Downturn Hustle. As folks tighten their belts on just about everything, certain bootleg activities are on the rise.

That’s nothing new. When Prohibition went into effect in 1920, bootleggers got busy providing alcohol to speakeasies and thirsty consumers. By 1929, the year of the Great Crash, a vast underground industry of black market booze had arisen, an illegal trade unlike any the US had ever seen. Gangsters got rich, grew violent and became celebrities as newspaper stories and movies covered their exploits…

Is Geithner the New Hamilton?

Defending Geithner on the South Lawn last Wednesday, Obama commented that Alexander Hamilton may be the only other Treasury Secretary to have so many hot potatoes to juggle. Yet Geithner is in danger of becoming the public face of the AIG scandal. Will Obama’s defense fly?

We’ve been reminiscing about Alexander Hamilton ever since visiting his birthplace in Nevis last month, and agree that Geithner has a tough act to follow. Hamilton was not only one of our most brilliant and forward-thinking Founding Fathers, he was also the #1 babe in the group (there’s a reason the delectable Rufus Sewell portrayed him in John Adams). The Recession has got us thinking about older men, and we have a not-so-secret crush on Hamilton. Sorry, Geithner…

Recession Lexicon: Canniversary

Recession Lexicon: Canniversary

A year from the date when you got canned from your job.

This term, especially popular in the UK, takes a celebratory stance towards what could otherwise be a downer (shout out to our friend London Jack for the suggestion). If your canniversary is coming up, we suggest rewarding yourself for surviving with a night on the town. If you were laid off in a group, why not get the whole gang together for festivities? You’ve earned it.

Ex. Should we do our canniversary at Raoul’s?

Traveling Tight: Swap Your Pad

Money’s tight. So every penny counts when you’re on the road…

Maybe the Recession has given you more time to travel, but less cash. How does a rent-free vacay sound? Swap your pad for another in a destination you want to visit and enjoy potentially unlimited savings. Home swapping allows you to travel further and longer than you ever thought possible: We’re talking Italian villas, mountain retreats, and beach bungalows. Plus, you get more space than a hotel could ever offer. It’s even possible to swap vehicles and pet care. The best part is that you get to live like a local and receive tips on what to do and see from your “host”. For a $100 annual membership fee, HomeExchange.com will guarantee you a swap partner, or you get a year for free…