1. Visited Jack M. Guttentag's Mortgage Professor Web site. This man was actually a professor, who cowrote economics articles on real estate twenty years ago. Put $150 extra per month to the mortgage from now until the loan is paid off, and I shave a whopping $12,162.61 in interest.

2. The windows company came by, my husband signed some contract, and gave them $2000. The work won't be done until mid-August at least, so there's no raiding the HELOC just yet. Better research those tax credits and save the sheqels: I want no more than 30% of our HELOC to be used on the windows, lest Bank of America, after our vacation charges, robotically assumes we are financially done for and gives us a 24.99% annual percentage rate change. BoA performs monthly credit checks on its cardholders, according to my annual credit report.

3. I am apparently living not beyond my financial means, but beyond the planet's means. Maybe we're overpopulated, or maybe I'm over-entitled. If everyone lived the way I did, expending 3.9 tons of carbon dioxide annually, 2.3 planets would be required to sustain us all. Clearly I have a long way to go. For the finger-pointers out there: I own a house which occupies three people, have one compact car, and try to buy local produce and meats.

Use your search engine of choice to find a carbon footprint calculator. There's not enough smugness knowing I'm spending less than a rich Democrat to cover my shame.

4. I'm operating on a fresh assumption that my child wants to spend time with us after dinner, and not necessarily wants to watch a half-hour of YouTube. I tested this assumption by announcing I would be watering the roses, the tomato plants and the newly planted seeds (radishes, basil). Boy volunteered! This even got the Lord and Master away from his computer as we all did "a little something" with the flora.