I’m an obsessive compulsive socializer and a party animal. During Greek days in school, I was known as Cindy the Entertainer (I love Cedric the Entertainer, by the way). In all modesty, I’ve hosted some spectacular parties that used to be the talk of the sorority (and the fraternity) for weeks. Some of my girlfriends say that my obsession with compulsive socializing is a disease and some of my aunts tell me that it is a genetic trait that I’ve inherited from my father.
Being a full time mom had me craving for some quality ‘all girl’ time. So I sent my husband and baby packing for a weekend and I threw a ‘ Sexy Lingerie Party’ for the girls that had our men begging for entry. It kept them wondering and wanting. Well, did they get it? But that is another story..
Any party is what I make it.
And I’m going to tell you how to party like a Rock Star when you are not.
Make your budget first!!
Be it $0 or $5 or $500, know your limit and stick to it. This is the most important thing that the host of the party should know. Always throw a party just about 1 week from the receipt of your paycheck because even if there are some binges on your party budget, you can still survive.
Make noise!!
Noise is good because it generates a lot of attention. And attention is damn good. It will turn a regular-Joe party into an A-List event. When you do it, make sure that you create noise like no-else has done before.. If you have an account in facebook, twitter or in myspace, create a event and invite friends to attend. If you are graphically good, then you can design and send your e-cards.
Food and drinks
Potluck affairs are always the best. You can ask some of your friends to bring in the alcohol.
You can ask some to bring the salad and the dessert, while others can bring in the main course meal. And, remember, when you cook, make sure that you cook only for half the population. Trust me on this one, there will always be excess of food on your table.
El Musica!!
This should be the last of your concerns. Download the music from the Internet to suit the theme of the party. Never waste money unnecessarily by buying the music dvd/cds. Keep the speakers to a minimum and don’t let the music wake your neighbors up. Or you could soundproof your home if you have the Benjamins and turn the bass up. 
Space!!
If your guest list is small and so is your house, keep it in. If your guest list is big and so is your house, keep it in. If your guest list is big and your house is small, have it outside. If you have a garden, make use of it. You could also take the party up to the rooftop. As I said earlier, party is what you make it.
Games!!
Arrange for a lot of games. Adult games or childish games or whatever but we all love playing games, don’t we? Playing games helps your guests to interact and get comfortable with each other.
It would be an icebreaker for many of your guests.
People!!
Have the right people at the right parties. You can’t have a square peg in a round hole, can you? Its your call.
You!!
Always be yourself. Never try to be what you are not. Never try to do what doesn’t come naturally to you. Never neglect your guests. It is your responsibility to make them comfortable. Be generous in receiving help offered for arranging such parties. Keep smiling, keep laughing and party like a Rock Star without spending like one.
It has been just 60 days since Mr.Barack Obama took charge as the new President and the nation seems already displeased with him. I don’t know if we are being restless by expecting a man to pull the country out of a financial crisis caused by years of financial mismanagement. Or did we get carried away by those ‘yes we can’, rhetoric and expected too much out of him.
The new president already seems to be dipping in popularity charts and NY Times even had a page 1 story on Mr.Obama’s increased grey hair in just 44 days of taking over as President.
Coming to the point, Mr.Obama’s Tuesday night press conference did not appear to cut much ice with the media and people waiting for a ‘change’. The NYT describes his address as “sounding like the teacher speaking in the stillness of a classroom where students are restlessly waiting for the ring of the bell.”
The outrage over the huge bonuses that AIG officials paid themselves was a moot point in the press conference. AIG is 80% owned by the government and received billions of dollars in federal bailout money, even as the executives paid themselves huge bonuses. When asked why he did not go public with his outrage on learning about the retention bonuses at AIG, the president has responded, “I like to know what I’m talking about, before I speak”.
Large business corporations made windfall gains when the economy was on a boom all these years and shared the bounty among themselves. Now when the economy is on a tailspin, they rush to the government with bailout pleas (sometimes in plush private jets).
Blogger Hazzard calls to scrap bailouts and let things fail, because “there are hundreds and hundreds of financial institutions out there that made good business decisions. It’s time that they got to reap the rewards of managing their business in a responsible way”. Now, isn’t that what free market economy is all about?
At last the responsible tax payers, sincere homeowners and law abiding people are finally getting their due. Having spent thepast few months watching leaders of large business flying in their private jets to ask for bailout of their companies and board members of defunct financial groups having paid themselves huge bonuses, I started wondering why common people like us always get a raw deal. But now I guess it is pay-back time for being good citizens.
I am referring to the mortgage refinancing package announced by President Obama last week. Unlike the stimulus packages for large business houses which I feel benefit the heads of corporate houses more than the employees at the bottom rung, the mortgage refinancing package is aimed at the responsible homeowners, who have been regular in their mortgage repayment.
The package, which you all must be knowing by now, has two parts. The first, called “Home Affordable Refinance,” is for homeowners whose property has dropped in value. It would not reduce the principal of the loan, but allow the borrower to refinance the principal up to 105% of the home’s current value.
The second program, called ‘Home Affordable Modification,’ is aimed at borrowers whose payments have become unaffordable, because of either a job loss, illness or increase in interest rate. Here the lender will lower the monthly payment to as much as 31% of the borrower’s gross monthly income. The government would compensate the sum accordingly with the lender in terms of cash payments and financial subsidies.
And this one is the icing on the cake. In many cases, the lender would reduce the interest rate to as low as 2% for five years. Now, mortgage repayment at 2% is quite a steal. Fellow blogger Refinancing Condo makes an interesting observation by saying that refinancing at 2% interest rate will almost instantly raise home values.
But then again to qualify you have to be regular in your mortgage repayment and also your loans should be backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. NY Times has more details on what you need to know about this housing plan.
Economists have time and again being pointing out that foreclosure of homes is one reason for the economic crisis facing the country today. This effort by the Obama administration will go a great length in reducing instances of foreclosure. Allfinancialmatters has a totally different take on foreclosures and states that it is not that bad after all.
Just hoping that this mortgage refinancing package brings in the much needed liquidity into the financial system.
Disaster proofing our homes is an integral part of personal finance planning. The images of the small Jewish boy who was orphansed when his parents were killed in the terror attacks in Mumbai in November last year, is still fresh in my mind. It was like watching a rerun of the 9/11 attacks sans the airplane.
Being a mother myself of a fifteen-month-old, I could well imagine my child in the same situation and cannot but be scared. These are uncertain times and if not a terror attack, an earthquake or a hurricane or even a road accident is sufficient to throw our peaceful lives out of gear and life may never be the same again.
What occured to me then was that I have to make few arrangements to ensure that, even if something happens to me, my child is not left helpless to fend all for himself. So the whole of last week my husband and I took some time off our work to disaster proof our home.
We first made a list of all our bank accounts, stock market investments and term deposits. We made 3 copies of the list, kept one at our house, one in our bank locker and one at my mother’s place, just in case. We then checked the personal details that had provided in our financial/bank accounts and we realised that some of the details like address and contact details that we had provided were old and the nominee detail was missing in few accounts. We completed those details as well, so that in case there is a need for that information in case of an emergency, the updated information is available.
Only few weeks back my hubby was cribbing about the annual insurance premium payment which he thinks is useless and was eating up most of his money. But this time I did not have to persuade him to pay the premium so that the policy does not lapse. He did it by himself.
Thankfully we have the habit of keeping a sum of 3-6 times our monthly income as an emergency fund, untouched. We decided to continue with that habit of ours. We had already shot pictures of our valuables like jewellery, appliances and cars for our home owners insurance policy. We have now made few copies of those CD’s and stored them in bank lockers and at my parent’s place. We already have a fire alarm in our place. We still thought it wise to buy a fire extinguisher and keep in a place that is easily accessible.
My mother thought we were being very pessimistic. My friends called it a knee-jerk reaction. But we never realise the importance of certain things unless they happen to us. And it is better to be safe than to be sorry.
