Letters To My Credit Card – Settlement Letter

  Last week I presented an article sharing a recent experience with a reader/emailer.  In this story I referenced a pair of letters I crafted for the benefit of this person, “Ella”. Well, as fate would have it, my ability to add a downloadable file to an article seems to not be working at this time.  This might be user error, but I’m looking into it. In the meantime, I didn’t...

Letters To My Credit Card – Delayed Settlement Letter

  Last week I presented an article sharing a recent experience with a reader/emailer.  In this story I referenced a pair of letters I crafted for the benefit of this person, “Ella”. Well, as fate would have it, my ability to add a downloadable file to an article seems to not be working at this time.  This might be user error, but I’m looking into it. In the meantime, I didn’t...

Letters To My Credit Card

Some of my favorite writing is in response to reader emails.  Sometimes that means a response to a comment on the website but even more fun are the letters from readers asking for my advice.  Granted, I’ve only had this happen a couple times and half of those were cases of mistaken identity, but the idea of offering advice to someone in need is compelling and engaging and rewarding. Recently a...

You Are What Your Record Says You Are

The title is a quote from Super Bowl winning coach Bill Parcells. The idea is that a team is as good or as bad as its record indicate.  Fans, commentators, and even players like to interpret – or rationalize – circumstances and game events so as to suggest that a team is better, or sometimes worse, than its record might suggest.  A lucky bounce here or a bad call there and those close losses...

Consumptive Footprint

I remember a day in the late 90’s.  More precisely, I remember a particular episode of self talk back in the summer of 1998.  At the time I was living in St. Louis and was only a couple short years out of grad school.  I don’t know exactly what prompted this specific contemplation but it was about money.  It was often about money in those days.  I was learning about money but in a...

CD Ladders – My Take

A few weeks ago a friend wrote an article about his experience with his CD Ladder.  That article led to a comment, a follow-up article, and a promise from me to craft an article sharing my opinion and perspective on the topic.  Today, I (finally) make good on that commitment. So you ask, what the heck is a CD Ladder?  Great question.  It was not that long ago that I asked the very same question. ...

Found Note

  One day last week upon returning home from a difference making day at the office, as I was beginning the Mr. Rogers routine – which is to say changing from my business man attire to a much more comfortable bum-like relax wear – I noticed something stuck to the bottom of my shoe.  Fortunately, this finding was more interesting than disgusting. It was a wayward post-it note.  Face...