You may love your hometown, but get ready to be nickel-and-dimed by it. Cities all over the country, strapped for cash, are coming up with some novel ideas for raising money, bit by bit.

These range from new charges for responding to 911 calls to taxes and fees on on sodas, bottled water, groceries and grocery bags. One budget officer compares the annoyance factor of these niche taxes to having to pay baggage fees and other airline charges.

Read more at NPR

Posted via email from Anthony’s Posterous

If you’ve got a dad who constantly sneaks up to the attic to try on his old high school football jersey, or an uncle who starts every sentence with, “Back when I was your age…,” it might be time to sit them down and have them read this article before they trade their ride in for a sports car. While it’s easy to get caught up in the past, it’s important for men dealing with a midlife crisis to learn to love the present. Here’s how to do it:

• Create new firsts. If you find yourself looking back, try creating new fun memories to get you excited about today.
• Focus on a new goal. Sometimes it’s not so much the lost youth that gets you down, but the loss of goals. So, think up a new one and focus on it. Maybe build that shed you always wanted in the backyard, or start saving for a fun vacation.
• Embrace different kinds of satisfaction. Being young is fun, and nothing will ever be quite like it again. But being a mentor to your kids, moving up in your career, and being in control of your life are things to get excited about too. Learn to love what you’ve got on your plate now.

Read the full article for more tips at The Art of Manliness.

Posted via email from Anthony’s Posterous