CNN/Money Magazine featured an article earlier this week that focused on how singles need to follow a financial blueprint somewhat different from their married counterparts.

According to the article, although roughly 50% of the population is single for one reason or another, saving systems still reflect times of yore when 80% of the population was coupled up.

Singles, however, are not without options that better suit their situation. The name of the game is protecting your ability to pull in an income, especially if you’re single with children or have an elderly relative as a dependent. For example, although conventional financial planning wisdom often pulls life insurance into a well-rounded portfolio, experts suggest singles without dependents would benefit more from a disability policy.

As for stashing cash, the article states that singles really need to build a much larger safety-net, i.e. 6-12 months rather than the 3-6 months advised for their married friends.  6-12 months!  Am I alone in instantly envisioning Munch’s The Scream?

I don’t hate the holidays. In fact, I love certain things that are unique to this time of year, like advent calendars -25 days of tiny, delightful surprises.  The excessive consumption (and the Kay Jewelers commercials), however, sticks in my craw.

Maybe ironically, perhaps fortuitously I stumbled upon Kate Bingaman-Burt’s blog, Obsessive Consumption. On this blog, Kate records her daily purchases by drawing them, be it a box of band aids or a box of mac n’ cheese.

Yes, it’s a bit obsessive to record even the pack of pens one bought at Office Depot, but it’s not excessive.

If a few more of us we’re a little more obsessive in this way, perhaps a few more of us would be less excessive about what winds up on our charge card balances.  Just saying…from experience.

BTW — You can purchase copies of Kate’s zines, each of which is a collection of drawings of her purchases, from her Etsy shop. (Hey, it’s not like I said we shouldn’t buy anything ever.)

Hey paper pilers, check out these task specific task clips from Knock Knock.

Yes, these are fancy schmancy binder clips. But they’re still dang cute and practical, especially for those who prefer to pile rather than file.

Each clip is associated with a specific action. So, you can clip together the paper that represent specific to-do’s, such as “To Send” or “To File”. And then there’s the less specific but simple “To Do” clip.

Using a clip is a safer way to go for pilers. Papers loose on the desk are, after all, vulnerable to desk-climbing cats and accidental scattering during an impassioned phone conversation. (Or is it only me and my paper piles that are subject to such things?)

The clips, unfortunately, don’t come in assortment packs. Instead, each one comes in packs of 8 of the same. (Ummm…why? Who needs 8 “To File” clips? If you have that many, is anything getting filed?)

Consider sharing your stash with someone if you don’t need all 8. Or, if you’re possessive of your organizing supplies and prefer to not share, hang on to the extras as back-ups. (That’s OK. We understand...)

Today my significant other (SO) went to the grocery store to do the Thanksgiving dinner shopping.

Be it for Thanksgiving or for a regular Tuesday night dinner, whenever he goes to the store I can count on at least two phone calls about items on the list that generate questions. I suppose I should be glad that he asks questions, but I find it a bizarro that a man who was a partner in a very successful software company turns into a noodle of indecision and unsurety the moment he steps into Publix.

I mean, if something on the list isn’t on the shelf, I choose a substitute. That’s all there is to it. (I also don’t call him to say that the brand x of chicken is only .69 cents per pound and wouldn’t it be better if I bought that rather than the more expensive organic/free range version…but more on that in a mo.)

At any rate, today’s trip to the stores was no exception in the number of questions I had to field. However, with the second call I was also treated to an opera of outrage.

Apparently someone snagged his cart while he was browsing for dried mushrooms.

Already frustrated at not being able to find even one bag of reconstitutable porcinis (for the stuffing), he then had to hunt all over the store for his cart. Finally, he spotted a suspect — both cart and cart absconder — a lady of advanced years. It appeared to be his cart, he said, but he couldn’t quite tell because of all the crap the “old biddy” had piled on top.

He wanted to say something, wanted his cart back. But, he didn’t. My guess is that laced within the grumbling was the voice of his mother telling him to not make such a big deal over nothing.  Dutiful son that he is, SO let it go. And then called me to vent about having to start over.

It’s important to laugh about the little things, like stolen grocery buggies and he strange competition that’s cropped up between him and I when it comes to grocery shopping in general. He contends he’s better at it. I contend that we have different approaches; that it’s an apples to oranges kind of comparison:

I opt for quality, he chooses by price.

I opt for organic and eco-friendly, he chooses what’s on sale or a better price.

I opt for brand familiarity, he chooses on his price-per-pound comfort zone.

What do you know, there’s a pattern! Nobody wins when two people get entrenched in their disparate patterns and won’t budge — be it about chicken, groceries, what you do together on the weekends, finances, doing laundry, whatever.

I suspect that the longer you’re in a relationship the more you realize you never fully graduate from Relationship 101.

Last night for dinner I made Blue Kitchen’s anniversary dish: Chicken and Wine. I so heart this recipe…it is plate-to-the-face tasty.

Being someone who has all the yearning to be a kitchen whiz, but not all the skills, I found this recipe was easy enough pull off. I’d brown the chicken a little more the next time, chop my onions a little finer, and follow their advice to seek out a really, really good batch of Herbs de Provence. The bottle I bought at Whole Foods was OK, but the herbs weren’t as impactful as they ought to be.

All that being said, we’ve decided to add this dish to our recipe rotation (which seems to get bigger and bigger) and to our list of dinner-party options. It’s hearty fare, but not bloat-inducing fare. Perfect for a chilly autumn night.

Note: I obeyed BK’s thickening instructions using cornstarch to the letter. I’m damn proud to say that my sauce was lump free. Score!