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1. When you take a vacation, do you ever suffer from Internet withdrawal? Or maybe the nagging urge to blog or read blogs? Or are you glad to be away?
Glad to be away? Are you mad?

2. Have you ever been “furloughed” (told to take time off work without pay) or laid off? How did that impact your family dynamics? Your finances? If not to you, have you seen it happen to anyone you know? How did they handle it?
The company I first worked for in Oslo basically asked all of us to leave voluntarily last summer, which was not entirely unexpected and probably just as well as the majority of us had been thinking about leaving anyway. Had I not got a new job immediately, I dare say I would have been less happy about it, but as it was I was delighted.

3. If you fell on hard times, what is are some non-essential reoccurring luxury expenses (cable TV, TiVo subscription, cigarettes, high-speed net connection, newspaper, daily Starbucks coffee, etc.) you would give up to save money?
Most of those. I’d think long and hard about the cable/broadband (they’re one package at the moment), but it’s not as if I couldn’t live without tv (I have done) and I get internet at work… I’d have to drink less whisky, I suppose – or drink other people’s whisky (seems like a better option, doesn’t it?).

4. On the same thought, what is the one non-essential expense you would NOT give up?
Uhm. Buying books.

5. Would you ever ask your family (parents, in-laws, relatives) for financial assistance? What would be some of your concerns about asking for help? Have you ever asked for it before? Did it go well?
I would ask my parents. I’d not be happy about it, though, my mother gets this exasperated look whenever we get on the subject of my finances, and I’d hate them to know how badly I’d messed it up…

6. Has a friend or relative ever borrowed money from you? Who were they and how much did they want? Did you ever get paid back, or did it matter? Did you feel compelled to keep an eye on them to see if they spent it wisely?
Not large sums. My brother owes me money right now, but to be honest I’m not too bothered. He’s not spending them wisely, but I approve anyway.

7. Imagine you won a tax-free gift of $7,000. The only stipulation on the gift is that it must not be invested or saved, and must be spent before 2004. How would you use the money?
Ok, I’ve got a kitchen that needs refubishing. I don’t think you’d have to give me more than a month, really… Oh, and a quick (or not so quick) shopping trip to Scotland wouldn’t go amiss, either.

Actually, give me a weekend in Hay-on-Wye and we’ll see how much is left…