Most people agree that global warming is a serious problem (although some people do say that it doesn’t exist at all. However, people seem to be divided into two major camps regarding this issue. One camp says that it’s a major issue of concern and that we must each devote time and energy to resolving it. The other camp says that science and technology experts are going to find a solution to global warming so the rest of us really don’t need to concern ourselves with it. And of course there’s actually a third camp that believes there’s nothing we can do about it anyway – that we’re just doomed.

So today’s question of the week is:

What should we do about global warming?

Do you think that individuals should be doing anything at all? Do you think we should leave it to the experts? Do you believe that nobody should bother doing anything at all?

To be honest, I don’t have a fully formed opinion on this question yet. I think that global warming appears to be a serious problem and that it’s the responsibility of each individual to do their part to help deal with serious problems on this planet. However, I’m not sure that I have an opinion yet as to what extent we should have to go to as individuals in this area. And there is part of me that believes that we’ll find a scientific solution to the issue even though I worry a little bit that I’m being ignorant or naive in thinking this.

I’d love to hear your thoughts so please do participate in the conversation by leaving your comments answering the question!

Tags: global warming, question of the week, science

Today’s question of the week is for people of both genders although women may be more likely to answer it than men will be. That’s because most of us women have struggled with body image issues at one point or another. We may now be at a point where we feel fairly confident in ourselves and can maintain healthy habits for weight loss but there was probably some point in time when we did unhealthy things to try to shed a few pounds.

So, today’s question of the week is:

What’s the worst thing that you’ve done to lose weight?

Have you tried fad diets, diet pills, starving yourself? Are you willing to admit it so that others can see that many women struggle with (and overcome) this issue? Why do you consider what you did to be so bad?

My answer to this question is that I tried diet pills and caffeine pills briefly in an effort to lose weight during my late teens. The pills made me feel sick so I stopped them pretty quickly. I’m a bit embarassed to admit that I even tried them because I feel like this isn’t something that educated, normal-weight women should be doing. And I think it’s a bad thing (for me anyway) because it reflected a serious lack of concern for my health compared to my interest in my appearance.

Please share your stories in the comments.

Tags: diet pills, health, question of the week, weight loss

Today’s question of the week is inspired by a book that I recently read. It’s called The Secret Currency of Love: The Unabashed Truth About Women, Money, and Relationships. It’s a fascinating anthology from women authors about the different methods they have of handling money in their marriages. The stories there run the gamut from women who keep their bank accounts entirely separate from their husbands and split all bills down the middle to women who let their husbands deal with the entire financial realm of their relationships and don’t even know what their household income is.

So, today’s question of the week is:

How do you deal with money in your relationship with your spouse or significant other?

I currently don’t live with the man that I’m dating so it’s easy for us to keep our money separate. When we go out on dates, he either pays for the date or we split it. We haven’t discussed it in too much detail but I think we’re both comfortable with this arrangement. When we’ve gone on vacations then we’ve split the costs in half, more or less, although we’re not strict about keeping tabs on who owes what. We just kind of naturally take turns paying for the bill on a trip. At holidays, we tend to buy each other small gifts and don’t spend a lot of money on each other. I’m not honestly sure how all of this would change if it came to the point where we were living together so I’d love to hear how other people are doing it. Leave your answers in the comments.

Tags: money, money and relationships, question of the week

Today starts a new feature on Diary of a Smart Chick. Every Tuesday I’ll be featuring a question for the readers of this blog. The idea is that we can discuss and debate about some of the topics that I really enjoy writing about. I’ll pose the question here and then you can respond and interact with each other (and me) in the comments.

Today’s question of the week:

Does being frugal have to mean making sacrifices?

Frugality is a topic that I write about a lot. What I’ve discovered is that people have extremely differing definitions of what it means to be frugal. For some people it means making a lot of financial sacrifices and doing a lot of penny-pinching. For others it simply means realigning your values so that you are saving money without feeling like you’re making sacrifices at all.

For me, being frugal means making choices but I don’t necessarily think that it means making sacrifices. If there is something that I truly want then I usually purchase it and find a way to fit that into my budget. However, I would be willing to make sacrifices if my finances demanded that I do so. So what’s your answer to today’s question of the week?

Tags: frugality, question of the week, what is frugality