Even using your tips, I think some people would still have trouble staying in your budget. What foods do you eat a lot of? For my family eating lots of bananas, apples, cabbage, lentils, rice, pasta, and home made veggie soups seems to be what keeps us on budget. Its when we start eating ice cream every night, or other such indulgences that knock us off-budget.
I'm pretty sure the author concentrated her article on groceries (i.e. foodstuffs). Exactly how did you decide she was spending $10 a week on "disposables"? Unless you know about some permanent food that the human race has overlooked I guess it was all disposable. However, assuming you meant non-food items, it seems very presumptuous to suggest that 10% of $100 for a week's groceries for a family of five is allocated to that.
Someone asked for hints on how to measure ones food without measuring. I used to be the director of a national diabetes project and the method I urged was developed for use in Africa where measuring devices aren't plentiful. In developing countries health aid workers use the Hand Jive method for portion measurements. It really works well for different body sizes, ie a large man needs more food than a small woman, however proportion should be the same. The way to measure -a fist is the serving of potato, pasta, rice etc. Your palm width, length, and thickness is a portion size for protein- meat, fish, etc. Cupped palm is a serving size of cooked veggies, and opened palms are the serving size for raw veggies ie the average serving size for a salad. Your wrist should be the diameter of a dinner roll. Fruit really doesn't require much "measuring" except for estimating size (small, medium, large) or counting berries, grapes, cherries and cherry tomatoes, etc.
Tough question as I buy a lot of things with long term payoff in mind. I don't drive. It's a hardship I put on myself in order to invest more, and eliminate all debt. Been at it for a few years now. Biggest and most difficult investment I have made. A work in progress.
I used dry ice on my hail damage when it was 108° F outside, with no luck. I tried it on big dents, small dents. I made sure to get the metal frozen too. If it doesn't work when it's record-setting heat outside, I don't see this as a viable option. Please remove this option from this page.
The bank can sell your home for pennies on the dollar, forgive you for the balance due on the mortgage, then send you a 1099A, which you will have to pay taxes on. So lets say the bank sells the house for 20k and you paid 189k. You will be have to pay income taxes on 169k that was forgiven. So now you are looking at 50k in taxes on the forgiven debt on top of your regular income taxes.
This is great advice! And it applies to so much more than clothes: technology, subscriptions, club memberships... and on and on. We spend money on things we wish we used, but we really don't need them at all. Helpful post!
A food scale and measuring cups/spoons are great investments. Your waistline shrink, your bank account grows, and you feel better knowing you're doing something good for your financial and physical health.
I use SparkPeople, the 100% FREE online health and wellness website to get tips and tricks, as well as meal and exercise programs, to manage my weight.
Its amazing that rates have stayed so low for so long! Now that Bernanke stated that rates will stay low until at least Mid-2013, gives savers little hope for an increase in rates. I guess its good for home buyers but the rest of us are left to wait.. and wait
A site that I just joined that seems pretty promising is Varolo. It honestly takes 10 minutes out of your day (MAXIMUM). You watch a few adds, rate them, and get paid. Some adds even offer you specialty coupons after wards as a thank you.
I think the best way to keep track of how much you're eating is a food scale. Much more accurate than volume-based measurements. Plus, you don't have to get your set of measuring cups dirty for every single meal.
Overall, loving this. Funemployment. Intaxication. Great, fun stuff.
But Bleisure? Sounds kinda blah. Wouldn't make me want it!!
Anyway, great list - good to get some fun out of current situation! Have retweeted.
I have a set of bowls with measurement lines on them marking a quarter cup, half cup, etc. As someone who isn't great at visualizing the right portions, I find them super helpful.
Does anybody have other suggestions for portion-control techniques that have helped you?
The greatest investment I have ever made was marrying my wife. She came into my life at a really emotional and uncertain time. I had recently left my dream job in radio, my father had passed away and I was recently divorced. Since I have met my wife I have been getting returns everyday in the form of friendship, love and caring, but recently we just found out we are getting the greatest return. My wife is pregnant with our first child. How about that for ROI!
I don't know what you mean by "it wouldn't pay off". It's an arbitrage situation where you're given a free loan and make nominal interest on it before paying the card off on the due date.
Hi I wanted to say I really enjoyed reading your post. I was reading the travel section of the San Diego Union Tribune and saw your article and blog link about travel writing. Your advice is easy to read, useful, and packed with some great information.
I enjoy travelling and dreaming about travelling, and your insight provided me a dose of reality which I needed, being the dreamer that I am
Looking forward to reading more of your other articles and about your travels:)
You could save a lot more -- including the planet -- if you stopped using disposables. If you then put that $10 a week into a 529 account for your kids, they would have some money toward college. Please consider not using disposable *anything* to save your budget AND the planet. :)
My best investment was in my education. The initial part was comparatively easy, since I had a state scholarship and my parents paid for the comparatively small remainder of the costs. Later, I figured out that a master's would be a benefit to me, and I returned to school. This was before there were government grants for education (which is dating me I know), but I had my GI bill benefits and I expected that I could work part time to make up the difference. About 1 semester into the first year, I became ill and work was out of the question for a little while. After talking with my advisor, I reluctantly came to accept that the only way I could manage was to take out some student loans. She brought the process into perspective by asking me why it was more of a stretch to take out loans for my education, and therefore my entire life prospects, than it would be to sign a contract to buy a car on time. The amount was small, especially when compared to some that students need now, and half of them were repaid by working in a needed area after graduation, and that degree allowed me to advance in my profession, earn a very decent living, and is still paying back by that career providing me with a nice retirement package.
The best career advice I was given was to network with co-workers from the start to make sure you have connections when the time is right. It has paid off for me a great deal in regards to positions open and interviews
This teacher has homework this week. I esp. like 19, 15 and 7. Teachers get way too many mugss!! I'm printing this for a little guidance in the never ending quest to declutter. Thanks!
The smartest investment I ever made was in going to college. It allowed me to get a good job before the economy went bad and then I lost my job due to downsizing.
My solution to the relocation problem has been to apply to college in the desired city/state and then go for that reason; and try to use whatever student job center they have; basically to stay a grad student for the rest of my life as I'm now 40 and don't want to spend the next 10 years going further and further downhill like the last 10 years have gone. The trick of course is to find a college that has your desired major and some help in finding internships or part-time jobs or even dishwashing in the dorm cafeteria would be an improvement over nothingness because your first Bachelor's degree was "too long ago" even though I don't think the 90's were really all that long ago!! I've been living in transient motels and rooming-houses if I got lucky, the better part of the last decade anyway so relocation is just a matter of packing everything into my car and hitting the road.
Carrie,
Even using your tips, I think some people would still have trouble staying in your budget. What foods do you eat a lot of? For my family eating lots of bananas, apples, cabbage, lentils, rice, pasta, and home made veggie soups seems to be what keeps us on budget. Its when we start eating ice cream every night, or other such indulgences that knock us off-budget.
Just wondering.
I'm pretty sure the author concentrated her article on groceries (i.e. foodstuffs). Exactly how did you decide she was spending $10 a week on "disposables"? Unless you know about some permanent food that the human race has overlooked I guess it was all disposable. However, assuming you meant non-food items, it seems very presumptuous to suggest that 10% of $100 for a week's groceries for a family of five is allocated to that.
Good luck on saving the planet.
Someone asked for hints on how to measure ones food without measuring. I used to be the director of a national diabetes project and the method I urged was developed for use in Africa where measuring devices aren't plentiful. In developing countries health aid workers use the Hand Jive method for portion measurements. It really works well for different body sizes, ie a large man needs more food than a small woman, however proportion should be the same. The way to measure -a fist is the serving of potato, pasta, rice etc. Your palm width, length, and thickness is a portion size for protein- meat, fish, etc. Cupped palm is a serving size of cooked veggies, and opened palms are the serving size for raw veggies ie the average serving size for a salad. Your wrist should be the diameter of a dinner roll. Fruit really doesn't require much "measuring" except for estimating size (small, medium, large) or counting berries, grapes, cherries and cherry tomatoes, etc.
Tough question as I buy a lot of things with long term payoff in mind. I don't drive. It's a hardship I put on myself in order to invest more, and eliminate all debt. Been at it for a few years now. Biggest and most difficult investment I have made. A work in progress.
I used dry ice on my hail damage when it was 108° F outside, with no luck. I tried it on big dents, small dents. I made sure to get the metal frozen too. If it doesn't work when it's record-setting heat outside, I don't see this as a viable option. Please remove this option from this page.
The bank can sell your home for pennies on the dollar, forgive you for the balance due on the mortgage, then send you a 1099A, which you will have to pay taxes on. So lets say the bank sells the house for 20k and you paid 189k. You will be have to pay income taxes on 169k that was forgiven. So now you are looking at 50k in taxes on the forgiven debt on top of your regular income taxes.
great tips!
what did you feed your cats?
This is great advice! And it applies to so much more than clothes: technology, subscriptions, club memberships... and on and on. We spend money on things we wish we used, but we really don't need them at all. Helpful post!
@impulsesave
http://blog.impulsesave.com
A food scale and measuring cups/spoons are great investments. Your waistline shrink, your bank account grows, and you feel better knowing you're doing something good for your financial and physical health.
I use SparkPeople, the 100% FREE online health and wellness website to get tips and tricks, as well as meal and exercise programs, to manage my weight.
Its amazing that rates have stayed so low for so long! Now that Bernanke stated that rates will stay low until at least Mid-2013, gives savers little hope for an increase in rates. I guess its good for home buyers but the rest of us are left to wait.. and wait
A site that I just joined that seems pretty promising is Varolo. It honestly takes 10 minutes out of your day (MAXIMUM). You watch a few adds, rate them, and get paid. Some adds even offer you specialty coupons after wards as a thank you.
http://www.varolo.com/village/angelbaby053099
I think the best way to keep track of how much you're eating is a food scale. Much more accurate than volume-based measurements. Plus, you don't have to get your set of measuring cups dirty for every single meal.
Hi Albert - Thanks for your kind words! It means a lot to know I'm talking about the right things and that what I'm saying is useful. Cheers!
Overall, loving this. Funemployment. Intaxication. Great, fun stuff.
But Bleisure? Sounds kinda blah. Wouldn't make me want it!!
Anyway, great list - good to get some fun out of current situation! Have retweeted.
I have a set of bowls with measurement lines on them marking a quarter cup, half cup, etc. As someone who isn't great at visualizing the right portions, I find them super helpful.
Does anybody have other suggestions for portion-control techniques that have helped you?
The greatest investment I have ever made was marrying my wife. She came into my life at a really emotional and uncertain time. I had recently left my dream job in radio, my father had passed away and I was recently divorced. Since I have met my wife I have been getting returns everyday in the form of friendship, love and caring, but recently we just found out we are getting the greatest return. My wife is pregnant with our first child. How about that for ROI!
PURE GREED - You hit the nail on the head when it comes to the 77 bottle of mustard folks. Love the post and agree wholeheartedly.
I don't know what you mean by "it wouldn't pay off". It's an arbitrage situation where you're given a free loan and make nominal interest on it before paying the card off on the due date.
Hi I wanted to say I really enjoyed reading your post. I was reading the travel section of the San Diego Union Tribune and saw your article and blog link about travel writing. Your advice is easy to read, useful, and packed with some great information.
I enjoy travelling and dreaming about travelling, and your insight provided me a dose of reality which I needed, being the dreamer that I am
Looking forward to reading more of your other articles and about your travels:)
You could save a lot more -- including the planet -- if you stopped using disposables. If you then put that $10 a week into a 529 account for your kids, they would have some money toward college. Please consider not using disposable *anything* to save your budget AND the planet. :)
My best investment was in my education. The initial part was comparatively easy, since I had a state scholarship and my parents paid for the comparatively small remainder of the costs. Later, I figured out that a master's would be a benefit to me, and I returned to school. This was before there were government grants for education (which is dating me I know), but I had my GI bill benefits and I expected that I could work part time to make up the difference. About 1 semester into the first year, I became ill and work was out of the question for a little while. After talking with my advisor, I reluctantly came to accept that the only way I could manage was to take out some student loans. She brought the process into perspective by asking me why it was more of a stretch to take out loans for my education, and therefore my entire life prospects, than it would be to sign a contract to buy a car on time. The amount was small, especially when compared to some that students need now, and half of them were repaid by working in a needed area after graduation, and that degree allowed me to advance in my profession, earn a very decent living, and is still paying back by that career providing me with a nice retirement package.
The best career advice I was given was to network with co-workers from the start to make sure you have connections when the time is right. It has paid off for me a great deal in regards to positions open and interviews
This teacher has homework this week. I esp. like 19, 15 and 7. Teachers get way too many mugss!! I'm printing this for a little guidance in the never ending quest to declutter. Thanks!
The smartest investment I ever made was in going to college. It allowed me to get a good job before the economy went bad and then I lost my job due to downsizing.
My solution to the relocation problem has been to apply to college in the desired city/state and then go for that reason; and try to use whatever student job center they have; basically to stay a grad student for the rest of my life as I'm now 40 and don't want to spend the next 10 years going further and further downhill like the last 10 years have gone. The trick of course is to find a college that has your desired major and some help in finding internships or part-time jobs or even dishwashing in the dorm cafeteria would be an improvement over nothingness because your first Bachelor's degree was "too long ago" even though I don't think the 90's were really all that long ago!! I've been living in transient motels and rooming-houses if I got lucky, the better part of the last decade anyway so relocation is just a matter of packing everything into my car and hitting the road.