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Happy Birthday Nicole (my lovely and beloved wife)
April 22nd.
Earth Day for the past several decades. And birthday as well for Nicole, my lovely and beloved wife.
Before meeting Nicole my demeanor toward such days as this was cavalier and dismissive. Likely it stemmed from the sentiments of my kin, those southsiders known as the McCareys for whom birthdays were just another day among [...]
Peeking at Spring in Chicago with Tom McCarey (and Trusted Resources)
As I selected the outfits my sons would don today I mused back to the tail-end of my childhood when “Garanimals” were introduced.
Garanimals, for those not in the know, was and is a children’s clothing line providing tops and bottoms each emblazoned with animal tags designed to make matching little one’s outfits a bit easier. [...]
Single Digits - A Chicago Salute
Two-thirds of the way through February and here in Chicago we seem no closer to the end of the season.
Just two weeks ago the furry critter made famous in Bill Murray’s movie “Groundhog Day” popped out his hole, saw his shadow, and thereby inflicted upon us an additional six weeks of winter.
Oh Punxsutawney Phil , [...]
A New Way of Looking at Things (with New Pair of Glasses, that is)
I can’t remember the first time I walked in the little optical shop on Broadway near Belmont.
I had popped into the eye glass place across the street but they didn’t have what I wanted. But with unrequested kindness and unexpected candor the clerk nodded to the shop across the way and said I might find [...]
Home is Where the Heart is - Valentine’s Day 2008
Another Valentine’s Day has come and gone. And if the National Retail Federation had it right some $17 BILLION sluiced into the economy on items like cards, chocolates, candies and other sundries.
And to think, the namesake of this holiday died a martyr’s death at the hands of Claudius more than 1700 years ago for refusing [...]
Stamp of approval - “Forever Stamp” Provides First Class Postage
When does 42 cents cost a penny less?
When you use a “Forever Stamp” you buy today to mail letters after May 12th.
The cost of sending a first class letter will climb by one cent this May to 42 cents. But the way to skirt this increase (and any others down the road) is to buy [...]
How to Register Your Cell Phone on Do Not Call List
Two phone calls today from non-local area codes. Bright and cheery voices rang through the ear piece each time from folks who I didn’t think I knew. After giving them a moment to clarify that they indeed were strangers trying to sell me something not very necessary I thanked them for calling and hung up.
A [...]
Real Estate Tax Increase - Chicago’s Elected Leaders Railroad Higher Surcharge
Selling your home just got a bit more expensive in Chicago.
The 50-member city council acquiesced to Mayor Richard Daley’s faulty logic and pressure from the goof balls in Springfield as they voted to increase the Chicago Real Estate Transfer Tax by $3 (from $7.50 per $1,000 to $10.50).
Before you dismiss this hike as simply a [...]
Vexing Taxing Questions - The Ugly Truth about Chicago Transfer Tax
“How much is this going to cost me?”
That’s one of the questions my selling clients ask when it’s time to put their places on the market. They know there’s a tax involved (there’s always a tax involved), they just don’t know how much.
In Chicago the so-called Real Estate Transfer Tax is the seller’s responsibility and [...]
