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"They say it is better to be poor & happy than to be rich & miserable, but how about a compromise like moderately rich & just moody?"
Princess Diana

The Husband & I are living under the "new austerity program" & before you sense that there is even one moment of self pity, I can honestly claim that we truly count our blessings. We have a roof over our head (& we own that roof), which is a better situation than most people on this little blue orb that we call home. We have a jar full of pennies & change, unlike 80% of the world's population, & we can find a way to have a couple of meals everyday (although ramon may become a mainstay of our diet). The Husband & I are getting by on profoundly less income than we did 2 years ago, & yet we are thankful that we have jobs. It has been on my mind these days. I try not to worry about it, but I am a worrier. I can meet the challenge of being creative when I don't have very much, but I like it better when I am flush.

A long time ago, in a land far away, I was, briefly, very much in the money, at least for someone of my humble station in life. In 1991-92, I had a national commercial, an international commercial & a national voice-over all in rotation at once. I was the voice of the little red truck for the animated Chevron with Thechron campaign (in fact, I was an action figure too, as they gave away toys of the characters from these commercials). For a period of about 18 months I would get residual checks for significant money. I am too urbane & sophisticated to give numbers, but the Husband & I bought whatever clothing, books, & CDs that we wanted & we went to Italy for 2+ weeks. In Italy we ate what we wanted, stayed where we wished & in general did not censor ourselves with any "can we really afford it?" notions. We also took good care of our friends; we always do. We saved nothing. Then... gradually the checks slowed to a trickle & eventually stopped. I missed them, the Husband missed them, our friends missed them & my agent was sad. Show biz. I have a residual check on my fridge from Murder She Wrote for 27 cents... it took 42 cents to send.

My $ playlist:
Money's Too Tight (To Mention)- Simply Red
Money Changes Everything- Cyndi Lauper
If You've Got The Money, I've Got The Time- Willie Nelson
For The Love Of Money- The O'Jays
She Works Hard For The Money- Donna Summer
The Man Who Sold The World- David Bowie
Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend- Carol Channing
Material Girl- Maddona
Rich Girl- Hall & Oates
Brother, Can You Spare A Dime- George Michael