Weekly Thoughts: Night Shift Blues

20 Sep

Posted in Weekly Thoughts by Roger No Comments

It’s time to play ‘Good News, Bad News’. The good news is that my job is going well, my relationship with my fiancee is proceeding nicely, and my net worth is steadily increasing, thanks to the proceeds from new job and the recent market upturn. (I’m not sure said market upturn is here to stay, though that’s a subject that can wait for another day.) The bad news is that the night shift is wrecking havoc with my schedule, leaving me with much less time for blogging and other personal finance tasks than I would prefer. For some reason, working the night shift leaves me with much less free time than working the equivalent length of time on the day shift. I think it’s probably the difficulty in getting used to being awake when everyone else is asleep, and keeping yourself motivated when you’re one of the few people who are conscious.

Still, there are much worse fates in the world than being gainfully employed; given the current state of the economy and the job market, having a job is a good start in and of itself. Plus, I like the work I’m doing, as well as the company for which I’m working, which makes it a pretty good place to be right now. Hopefully, I’ll get better at balancing my social life, my work, and everything I want to do (such as blogging) as time goes on. For now, though, here are a few good posts from the past week:

Good Posts This Week

Credit Card vs. Charge Card: What’s the Difference? – Sometimes, the difference between these two types of plastic get mixed up in the financial media. Luckily, Mrs. Micah is here to set us all straight. I won’t get too much into the details myself (as she does a much better job than I could, anyway), but knowing the difference is important in deciding which, if either, is right for you.

Claiming a Child for Taxes – An interesting topic I’ll admit I hadn’t really considered before, My Life ROI details the rules used by the IRS to determine which parent (or other care-giver) can claim a deduction for a child. There are some rather detailed rules that come into play, apparently, which I did not realize. Then again, we are talking about the IRS; there are rules for just about every eventuality you could imagine (and many others you couldn’t), so I suppose that’s to be expected.

If Taxes Were Going Up – It seems to be an article of faith in the financial media lately that taxes are going to be going up, rather drastically, in the near future. (I think they are operating on the assumption that Democratic President plus Democratic Congress equals Higher Taxes, which is rather simplistic, at best.) I’m not quite convinced, and neither is Frank Curmudgeon; he details how little impact higher taxes would actually have on your normal spending and saving plans, along with his own reasons for doubting the worst case scenarios being discussed. All good advice, even if you think taxes are about to go through the roof.

Moving: Titling, Registering, and Insuring Your Car – There is a LOT that you need to do if you are moving, even more so if you are going from one state to another. For some help on what to expect when it comes to your car, check out Stephanie’s post; it’s full of good tips, as well as some interesting facts. For example, did you know that you aren’t allowed to smile in your license photo in Virginia? Well, you would if you read her post!

Mortgage and Down Payment – Over on Green Panda Treehouse, big moves are afoot, and as she gets ready to take the plunge, she’s sharing all the preparation work she’s doing. It’s quite a list of considerations, and she is definitely doing her research and being careful to ensure her finances are in order. Good plans for everyone who is looking to own a home, and ones that could have prevented a lot of heartache in the recent past.