Let’s get the boring stuff out of the way first. I mentioned two weeks ago that I had some serious wedding commitments coming up (not mine).  This weekend is wedding #2.  This one will likely kill me.  Unlike the last one where my entire extended family was basically the guest list, I’ll know one person at this one, my fiance.  That would be fine since we could hang out and maybe cut out early, but oh wait, she’s in the wedding party.  This means your humble blogger here gets to spend his entire weekend twiddling his thumbs.  I had to take the full day off yesterday just to travel to this wedding destination.  If that wasn’t bad enough, the people getting married are so financially irresponsible every time I see them I can’t help but think how great my blog post would be if I wrote about them.  But I won’t.

Moving on, last weekend was one of those weekends we all experience at least once in our lives.  You’re just moving right along with your computer and BAM!  Dead.  I killed The Sheconomist’s computer (this would be like the 4th time I’ve done it).  After many attempts to fix it I finally ended up with the Blue Screen of Death, which is basically like the flat line drama you see on doctor type TV shows.  I’m pretty good with a computer but sometimes you have to cut your losses.  I took the old machine down to Best Buy and had them back up her data (not a whole lot but important) for $100.  With the help of The Sheconomist’s brother I got Windows reinstalled and after some frustrating experiences with drivers, everything is back to normal.  Sadly, this is like fixing a 1992 Ford Taurus with a bad transmission and blown shocks, the thing will die again.  We have to get her a new computer.  Yes we can afford it because we save for stuff like this, but I still wish computers would last longer and not simply die of old age.

Finally, Weakonomics is now accepting donations.  I’ve done a soft roll-out with the actual button (in the sidebar to the right), and then I introduced the page with details.  I’ve grabbed this from my donation page and it tells you everything you need to know about them.  If you like the site, donate!  If you like the site and don’t want to donate, that’s cool too!  I still love you.

The Weakonomist is as cheap as can be and doesn’t normally pay for things he can get for free.  However The Weakonomist has learned over the last year that many people are willing to pay for something they can get for free.  Podcasts, websites, and even musicians are embracing a model where their most devout fans are willing to donate to help support what they love.  The way it works is the content is free as it has always been, however if someone chooses to support the site financially they can.

Some mainstream (relatively) examples of this are Consumerist, TWiT , and Nine Inch Nails

But I realize creating a tip jar will entice probably less than 1% of my audience to donate, so I’ve created some incentives that might grab another 2% or more.  If you donate certain amounts, I will use the resources available to The Weakonomist to make sure the world knows how great you are.  With each tier, you get everything else that comes on the tiers under it as well.  Here is the current tier structure of donations:

• $2: Donating this amount will get my undying appreciation and I will say whatever you want me to on Twitter.

• $10: Not only do you get a tweet, but you’ll also get a minimum 500 word post on Weakonomics about how great you are.

• $50: This gets you a 30 minute conversation with The Weakonomist over Skype. We can talk about me, you, me, or anything else that makes you tingle (that’s me).

• $1,000: I put this up here just because you’d have to be insane to donate this much to Weakonomics.  However there are crazy people other there. So just in case: Donating $1,000 or more will get an in-person visit from me if you’re within a 2 hour drive of where I live.  I suggest you contact me privately before making the donation so we can make arrangements or seek alternatives.  Larger donations might net you a flight to your area, if you live some place cool.

If that wasn’t enough to entice you to donate to Weakonomics then I don’t know what will!  Actually, there is one more bonus to may get some more donations.  Half of all your donations will go to a cause of my choosing.  Yes every $2 donation to Weakonomics sends $1 to a non-profit.  The donations will be made at the end of each year and I’ll do a post about it and how much was donated.  If the program is successful I’ll perhaps create a widget that tracks donations.  For more information on donations and the current non-profit, check out the button or the donation page linked above.

Photos: archiemcphee, billjacobus

By The Weakonomist

The Weakonomist is the founder of Weakonomics. Clicking the picture of the puppy will tell you more about him. If you like what you're reading consider subscribing to the blog, following him on Twitter, and checking out the related posts below. Please consider a donation if you really enjoy Weakonomics. Also keep in mind that nothing I say can be construed as financial advice.

categories: personal, weakend