I've pretty much steered clear of that particular circus. I have a 15-year old Twitter account that I barely use because I'm not really into short form content. I already know this so there's no reason

There's definitely something to that! We notice we feel better about ourselves and life in general during the late spring and summer when we are active in the garden and yard... and not so much in the

The Chadeaux knows... more than we can imagine.

Interesting... and very sad. When I lived in Texas I actually lived close to the giant USAA building, and it seemed like everyone used them for everything from insurance to banking... and raved about them.

It may be a slight exaggeration, but it's also true. Life in the USA is dominated by constant activity. It's like there is no "off switch" on constantly running. The sad thing is that all this

Well, you took a huge and brave step... not just the first one, but announcing it out into the community! So big bonus points for that! What you drink can actually make a huge difference. I have a heart

For now, we'll be staying where we are. Time will tell, in another 5 years or so, things might be different.

I guess the thing I find troubling is the fact that all these (mostly newer) homes are based on what people can afford, rather than on what they actually want/need. We're hoping to find about a 1000-1200sf

Well, perhaps not train robberies anymore... but cybertheft is definitely turning out to be an option some choose!

Well, let's all hope it tips in a direction we all like... or at least can live with...

A lot of pretty wealthy people are generally very thrifty... one of the reasons why they got to have a lot of money... smart spending.

Hi @cuddlekitten, thanks for coming to visit!

Indeed! As well as my insurance bills, which are based on the (ostensible) value of my house...

Here in the US, the "solution" to having more money is generally simple: work more hours or have a second *(or third!) job. However, there comes a point at which that logic fails...

That's the sad part... the jobs that are out there often don't pay a living wage.

Thank you for the kind words!

All I can say is that if I go to work and they hand me 100 USD for the day's effort and I go to the supermarket and get half as many groceries as last year for the money, that is a very real and tangible

That is a lot of tax! At least our sales tax (equivalent of VAT) is usually no more than 9.5%.

Seems to be a similar situation everywhere... my relatives back in Denmark are saying the same.

The pandemic was like a really severe "trigger" for a situation that was already not looking very good. What we've seen here in the US in the last year or so is making many people feel quite