Love in the Time of Layoff: Back to Work

Last month, my husband Marco subbed for me here, since I was too busy throwing up to write a post. This month, the nausea has at last subsided and I’ve got lots to say.

The start-up I’ve helped launch has taken off, and Marco has freelance work again. His new gig starts this week. (Let’s hear it for the latest news about the economy!) While you’d think I’d be ecstatic about my partner going back to work, relieving me of sole breadwinner duties, I’m mixed. It’s been a blessing having him at home cooking meals, unpacking boxes, helping me get through the day. He set up my desk and I’ve been happily working from home, feet up on the radiator to relieve the constant swelling, but I’ve become something I never thought I, a woman who prides herself on her independence, would become in this particular relationship: clingy. When we’re home together, I don’t even like to be in separate rooms…

10 Things That Are Not So Weird in Recession

We all have our oddities—ah, idiosyncrasies. Difficult times can often accentuate personality quirks and neuroses. Don’t be ashamed, but rather flaunt them! People are more forgiving of weirdness then ever in a bad economy, probably because each person has their own anxieties to deal with. Here are 10 things that are completely acceptable during the economic downturn.

1. Using the 2012 end of the Mayan calender/Armageddon to relieve anxiety about your current unemployment. Hey, the world will be ending soon anyway.

2. Turning down an evening out for “financial reasons,” when you really just want to stay in to watch the newest round of the Real Housewives series. Further justification—you could learn a lot from the ladies of the OC/New Jersey/Atlanta/NYC…

8 Vacation Spots: What’s Hot and Not in Recession

“Staycation” may be the buzzword of the recession thus far, but that doesn’t mean everyone is spending their holidays at home. With cheap Caribbean deals around and a surge in house-swapping, it’s seeming like the biggest post-recession change isn’t how much we’re traveling so much as where we’re traveling to.

Destinations like Hawaii, Mexico, and the Disney amusement parks all report that they’ve been hit hard by the downturn, even while the cruise industry and campgrounds report record numbers of tourists. We took a closer look some of summer’s most popular destinations to see what’s hot (and not)–so you can see where there might be bargains, or too many recession travelers.

Hawaii
Worldwide economic fears have diminished Hawaii’s tourism industry, with the state experiencing its lowest month for tourism in 18 years back in April and hotel occupancy rates dropping to 75 percent…

Avoiding Money Fights with Your Mate

It’s no surprise that the recession has caused stress in people’s lives. Pressure of any sort has a negative impact on relationships, but financial strain can cause even more of a burden between loved ones. While the recession is affecting relationships worldwide, for some reason it’s having more of a negative impact on the marriages and relationships of American’s than in other countries. Read: Surviving A Breakup During The Recession

Reuters reported that in a recent poll, 30 percent of Americans attested to the recession adding stress or strain to their relationship or marriage—if not ruining it entirely. This compared to only 23 percent of Canadians, 24 percent of French and 12 percent of Germans admitting a similar effect…

Laid-Off & Looking: Is It OK to Be a Gold-Digger?

In early January 2009, I figured it was time for my guy to meet my mom. It had been seven months and she was beginning to think that I had something to hide. (I didn’t, but before him, I’d been single for six years. I put this relationship at a speed somewhere between frozen turtle and crawling backwards.) He picked out a nice seafood restaurant and I’m pretty sure (from what I haven’t blocked out) that I spent a good deal of the evening wishing for more Tanqueray (as I was cut off… evil people in this world).

Everything was going pretty well until my mother (whom I love—with clenched teeth) brought up a very touchy topic for me. She asked him if his family would think that I’m a gold digger (or GD). She asked him that, upon their first meeting, at dinner, while I was trapped in a booth with an empty tumbler. I don’t recall the rest of the evening. I simply remember being embarrassed.

I won’t lie, I’ve thought about it. I’ve thought about how his daughter would feel about a less-than-wealthy woman (9 years her senior) hanging out with her not-close-to-broke dad…

Budget Living Tips from Celebrities

We want to look like them, dress like them, travel like them, but there are plenty of celebrity habits you don’t want to follow–especially in a recession. Jennifer Lopez reportedly doesn’t let her children wear an outfit twice, and some of the getups cost more than $1,000. Celine Dion used 6.5 million gallons of water at her Florida home a couple of years ago. And Lindsay Lohan—well, we advise you not to emulate her in any economy.

But some celebs have budget-friendly advice to share. After all, many of them were broke once too. It’s hard for mere mortals to follow the most common penny-pinching practice–get stuff given to you for free–but these are some savvy tips.

Brad Pitt: Luxury Bedding for Less
You always knew Brad would be good in—oops, I meant on—bed…

Love in the Time of Layoff: 10 Things Not to Say to Your Laid-Off Man

In case you hadn’t heard, the economy is in worse shape than Artie Lange. So it shouldn’t come as a total shock if your boyfriend, husband, or dude-you’re-kinda-seeing-but-don’t-know-what-to-call-him gets a pink memo.

Ease the pain by avoiding the following NSFAGWOOW (Not Safe For A Guy Who’s Out Of Work) phrases. That way you won’t make things worse for a guy who’s already had a horrible week ego-wise.

10. “Oh my god! What are we gonna do?”
For starters, let’s not freak out. Right now your guy needs support, not another fire to put out, and losing your cool is only going to make things worse…

No New Plants, Period.

Gardening, after storms and the economic downturn, is akin to living with the dogged devotion of a Mets or Red Sox fan. As I wander through the garden and see the places crushed by the ice storm or rotted by the ceaseless rain I say to myself, “Wait until next year.” I say this too as I leaf through garden catalogs and dog-ear the pages. I know I can’t buy anything because I am on a recession diet: NO NEW PLANTS, PERIOD.

The economic downturn hit our house hard when I lost my part time editing job and our health insurance in March 2008. Then the stock market debacle turned our savings into dust. My response was denial; I just refused to open my account statements. It is possible to practice denial in dealing with retirement or college tuitions accounts, but I had to walk out my front door and no amount of denial would allow me to over look the havoc wreaked on my garden.

The first thing I had to do was clean up the disaster. Then, since I am known to be a positive, plucky person, I decided to make gardening in a time of recession into a game, a challenge. How to garden when there is no money for plants or accoutrements? Not a penny. Luckily plants divide, unlike stocks of late, and what the economic community call “the green shoots of growth” seem to abound in the garden. I just had to learn to notice…

Comparing Sharing: Should You Rent Handbags, Movies and Pets?

Mom always told you to share. But it turns out her advice might not always be best—at least, not when it comes to saving money during a recession.

According to the Washington Post, companies with a business model based around the concept of sharing are faring well lately, with car services like ZipCar seeing a 70 percent bump in membership since last year and the book-swapping website BookMooch increasing its membership roster by 30 percent.

While sharing sure sounds recession-friendly, we couldn’t help but wonder if it works out as well for the people doing the sharing as it does for the companies themselves. To find out, we’ve did the math on some of the most popular sharing-based businesses.

HANDBAGS
For a monthly membership fee of $5 to $15, sites like Bag Borrow or Steal and From Bags to Riches let users rent handbags for months at a time. But membership fees aren’t all users have to pay, since actually renting the designer purse can cost an additional $20 to $200 (or more!) per month…

For a Cheap Date, Get Creative

Periodically, things go really well. Property values grow at unprecedented rates. The S & P 500 grows 13% year over year. And, once in a blue moon, a single pretty good (but not great) idea will catch the right executive’s eye and move someone from the creative class into the realm of the nouveau riche (and they will buy Jet Skis for all of their friends). Then other times, the unemployment rate more than doubles inflation and the best solution anyone can think of is to tax high-earners in excess of 50% of their income. In the latter scenario, romance, entertainment and romantic entertainment* become a bit superfluous when budget time comes around. That’s when the tough get creative.