You’ve probably already seen this by now, but Trump started the spin a couple hours ago.

Now I’m certain that you need to read the book because you would find it fascinating. Yes, it’s very specific to Protestantism, particularly Puritan and Calvinist values. For instance, Calvinists believe that God has selected a chosen group of people (the elect) to be saved, and the elect can know their predestination…

I can’t offer much help, but I can certainly commiserate. My father-in-law stopped working about two years ago (age 60 at the time) with absolutely no savings or money in the bank at all. My husband and I have supported him entirely during that time because he has no pension. He’s finally eligible for early…

Why is this? What is so fundamentally different about the US state of mind that you don’t have a system of general taxation to support your old, young and vulnerable?

This was in 2004?! My Mamaw has a similar story from the mid-1960s: all of the married women with working husbands were let go from the department store. The assumption, of course, was that the women didn’t need the money.

I always thought that was an interesting point (but wrong because of culturally conditioned and socially acceptable jobs), so I looked into it. The US Census Bureau released an extremely detailed dataset on median earnings by occupation. Of the 500+ occupations, women outearn men in only nine fields:

I used to work for the state government before I changed jobs last year. I learned that a male coworker made almost $15k more even though we were both directors with master’s degrees, and in fact I had more experience. When I complained to HR and my supervisor, I was told that it was all “discretionary income” at our…

I like to use this graphic (I apologize for not knowing the original source):

This is what I was coming here to write!

I once had a guy try to get me drunk at a party by trading my mostly empty bottle with a fresh one (after a couple drinks, I just assumed I must have had less than I thought I had). What he got was a thirty minute rant against the patriarchy. We did not leave together.

Are we sure they haven’t been saying “Gotta Getta GUND” this entire time?

There’s only one Wal-Mart closing in WV, and the next closest Wal-Mart is 45 minutes away. It’s in the 5% without another store closeby, apparently. The next closest grocery store is a 10 minute drive, and there’s no mass transit (buses or trains) in the area. Kimball, WV, is located in McDowell County, where 1 in 3…

The AP is named Annette Palomino, and it seems that she is also the educator who noticed that the teenager was falling asleep in class. This article is unfortunately unclear/misleading, but even the press release doesn’t suggest that there was another teacher involved in this. It seems that Palomino is the key hero in…

Yes! I hate this so much. “No one ever complained before” or “we’ve never gotten any complaints” is a horrible rationale. A lack of complaints is not indicative of universal approval.

Congrats on being out of the greys! Someday...::wistful look into the distance::

Absolutely! I used Southern Savers (http://www.southernsavers.com/learn/) to learn, and I still use it weekly because the blogger finds deals for you. It’s a great site.

There are apps, but you’re also thinking of store coupons. What you want in the newspaper are inserts with manufacturer coupons. The P&G insert or Red Plum will have coupons for brand-name items. Pair those types of coupons with the sales in the store ads, and you’ll find some good deals. Or you could visit one of the…

You’d be surprised about coupons for staples. Sometimes you can find a coupon or a store deal to get a free gallon of milk if you buy a certain carton of eggs or something like that. Occasionally you can find coupons for fruit and vegetables, but those are more rare. That’s why most couponers pair free items (like…

That’s exactly why I got into couponing. My husband and I have never had loads of excess cash. We’ve never truly been hungry, but there are only so many bologna sandwiches and bowls of ramen a person can stand. It also felt really good to be able to feed us and still have extra cans to donate to the food pantry within…

I’m on the lower rung of middle class, and I coupon. Even though it is so I can stretch my dollar as far as possible, it’s still a thrill. You can’t live off only the food/items you see in those shows, so you pair free items with regular price foods that you also need to get the lowest bill possible. It’s exciting to…