Lawyer Up

Posted on July 4th, 2007 by gail helen.
Categories: Work, Personal, Omnia Vanitas, Sponsored Posts, Money, Random.

I’ve written about Simmons Jannace & Stagg in the past.  From everything I’ve read, they’re a great law firm for both large and small firms.  But in a recent press release, I learned that in addition to litigation, Simmons Jannace & Stagg also handles financing transactions such as structuring a variety of loans (including real estate, construction, and asset-based loans), asset securitizations, stock purchase sale and leaseback transactions. But what really caught my eye was that their firm provides guidance in choosing a business form, such as organizing corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, and other legal entities throughout the U.S.  I’ve never really examined whether my business is set up in a way that’s most advantageous to me — as a sole proprietor who doesn’t lay claim to the content she creates, I’ve never had to worry about the legalities of working with companies.  As long as I’m registered and pay my taxes, I figured that was good enough.  But their are a host of advantages to doing things th right way (versus the quick and easy way I chose), so it may be time to re-investigate the structure of my business.  Simmons Jannace & Stagg doesn’t have offices in Chicago, though, so I guess it’s the yellow pages for me . . . ;)

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The Demise of Forth & Towne

Posted on June 22nd, 2007 by gail helen.
Categories: Work, Personal, Omnia Vanitas, Current Events, Money, Random.

Well, it’s been about a week since my favorite store, Forth & Towne, officially closed for business. La sigh. This was like a cross between Banana Republic and the Gap, both trendy and classic, pretty and functional.  It was such a wonderful place for a girl like me — professional outfits that weren’t stuffy or too plain, simply perfect for a young woman trying to develop a business wardrobe, although a little costly — that of course it couldn’t last.  Just goes to prove my usual saying — I never get what I want.  :)   Still, the closing sale was awesome.  I got dresses and slacks for 75% off the retail price, even on previously discounted merchandise.  I don’t mind admitting that I went a little crazy — I bought two pairs of pants for my mother and aunt on the off-chance they might fit (they don’t) and a dress and a pair of silk pants that are two sizes too big for me — but sales have always given me retail fever.  It will be at least three months before I buy another item of clothing, so hopefully I’ll find another great store before then.

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Heavenly Hawaii

Posted on June 10th, 2007 by gail helen.
Categories: Work, Personal, Omnia Vanitas, Travel, Sponsored Posts, Money, Random.

It looks like my meeting has been moved from Vegas to Oregon, which is better for me personally and financially, but probably will not give me that Calgon feeling I was hoping for . . . I recently read a web release about Hawaii Vacation Rentals from Gebhart Properties that sound simply divine. I never really consider Hawaii an option when traveling just because of how widely publicized the expense is, especially because if I was going to have a wonderful time, I would want to stay somewhere high class and beautiful, and that’s probably a little out of the range of my pocketbook. But Gebhart offers exactly the kind of accommodations I would want, in a variety of popular Hawaiian locations, including the Waikoloa Beach Resort (they say it has some of “the finest condominiums in all of Hawaii” with 2,576 square feet of living space, featuring private elevator access, gourmet kitchen, an extensive collection of Hawaiian art and outstanding views of Anaeho’omalu Bay and Kileaua”). I think it founds absolutely heavenly! What do you think the chances are that I could convince my company to cover costs for us to meet there instead? :)

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Disclosure Policy

Posted on June 8th, 2007 by gail helen.
Categories: Work, Personal, Omnia Vanitas, Money, Random.

I added a disclosure policy to this blog today. When I was only doing a few sponsored posts here and there, I thought using the “Sponsored Posts” label was enough to clue potential readers into the fact I was being compensated by companies for some of my writing, and counted on the fact that my readers probably knew me well enough to understand that I would never shill for something I couldn’t get behind. Now that I’m in a bit of a cash-crunch, I will be doing more posts for more companies, and figured it might be a good time to have an official statement on how I go about getting paid to post. Mostly, I want to make it clear that I never have and never will offer a false or misleading testimonial — I only give my honest opinions, take them or leave them — and will never post content that I personally find to be objectionable, immoral, or exceedingly pointless. Unless I am favorably inclined to a product or service already, I won’t be taking offers from companies requiring a “positive” tone, as I don’t think cash can substitute for integrity. My blog is my own, and I plan to keep it that way. Unless of course someone offers me a million dollars and a house and a pony — but I’ll warn you if that happens. :)

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Credit Woes

Posted on May 29th, 2007 by gail helen.
Categories: Work, Personal, Omnia Vanitas, Sponsored Posts, Money.

Another thing I have to work is getting my credit in order.  I’m still afloat (barely), but pretty soon I’ll find myself back with a poor credit score.  I managed to get my situation improved by building my ratings with credit cards for people with bad credit, and then getting other cards without the same restrictions.  You can find a number of different cards for everyone from any walk of life through CreditCardSearchEngine.com, one of the Internet’s longest running sites for online credit card comparison.  Right now, my problem is too much credit — I’ve been living off of it since last year — but I did take a step in the right direction when I transferred much of the balance of one of my cards to a no-interest card.  Would of worked well, too, if I had been paid by work and those who owe me, since the plan was to pay off a good portion of the balance in the last couple of months. Now, I’ve run my other card up again, and I’m not sure how to get out of this jam, especially with tuition due soon.  I miss the days when such things were covered by the Bank of Daddy, you know? ;)

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