I love the last tip on singing in the car - I have to admit, that is my single favourite reason for driving and what is probably preventing me from selling my car!
I purchase CD's 99% of the time. I may listen to a bands songs online to determine if its a sound I like, however I believe that I should do my part to enable bands to make money or at least break even. If everyone continues to share music and/or download tunes by various methods that negate payment to the bands, eventually there will be very few new bands. FYI, I have no friends or family in the entertainment business, I just listen to the interviews of more established bands.
The Kindle App on the iPhone/iTouch is the app I use the most on my iPhone. Love the convenience of a Kindle without buying an actual Kindle (a unitasker, as Alton Brown would say). Some people don't like the small screen, though, and have encouraged me to get an actual Kindle.
I just wish the Kindle books were either (a) significantly cheaper than their paperback versions, or (b) could be easily lent to friends and family.
There is a little trick that the banks do called "Front Loading". It is what a person agrees to when taking out a home loan or mortgage and that is to let the lending institution, be it bank, mortgage company, credit union..etc..., when you send in your mortgage payment. For the first several years of the life of the loan the majority of your mortgage payment is mostly pure interest. That is why when you take out a 30 yr mortgage on a home costing say, $100,000.00 , if you stay in the home and loan agreement for 30 years, you end up paying $300,000.00 . Now most folks know as the lending entity well knows and uses this very important point: Most folks buying into a home won't stay in the home for more than 5 to 7 years. Then the process starts all over again. When an extra payment is done, if done the lending institutions' way, "front loading" is done again. So, if a person sent in $100.00 of extra principal payment, a fraction of that is actually applied to the principal. The rest? You got it.... interest. Oh sure, the lending institutions won't tell you that. They will even deny it. Your monthly statement will show you paid that extra payment. What you will usually never see is on the back end how they gouged you. Remember, most folks live in their home from 5 to 7 years and move on, never seeing what really happen.But the fact is this is how the institutions make their money. There is a way to use verbiage that the institutions use that will ensure that the majority of the extra payment actually goes to "Principal Only", this allowing a faster pay off for a party serious about knocking out their mortgage payment and really becoming debt free. I know, because I've researched it and found the verbiage I use on my extra payment's coupon. I tested it. Works like a champ. You just have to know WHEN and HOW to make the extra payment. It is not by putting a check in the "make extra payment" box provided by the lending institution. But then again, it took some money (not so much) and testing. Glad I found it. Anyways, this is what this Mr.Cummuta is playing on. The credit card debt interest can get cut down considerably and relatively fast, making the same minimum payments, but in a certain way. Again, it's all in knowing HOW to and WHEN to make the payments. The credit card companies will scream bloody murder because they can't rape you the way they had planned. But they must take your payment anyway you make it. It's all in getting yourself educated in how this money world works and using it to your advantage. Believe me. The wealthy do this very thing.
the mortgage tax deduction does not help only the rich. if you live anywhere on the west or east coasts home prices are high (no where near the average sited in this article).
i really get tired of articles that mention median home prices and what constitutes middle class as far as income. it totally depends on where you live.
2 people making 80,000 a year in our area is totally different that earning that same amount in another part of he country.
two things i would like to point out:
if you take away the mortgage deduction you would be taking more tax money from the coasts (where houses under the amount mentioned in the article are few and far between), who already pay out more in federal taxes than they get back.
i could see this working if this balanced budget that the republicans want would also include a clause about states not taking more in federal money then they give in taxes. that would never pass because it is the red states that take more than they give.
second point:
the mortgage deduction pushes many people up into being able to itemize, which means they can then itemize other expenses, such as charitable donations and some spending for work items etc etc. if we did not have the mortgage deduction we would not be able to use other lower amount deductions.
Even though you wrote this a while ago, can you say more about using a bread machine for gluten-free bread? We have one, but I'd put it away because it's too old (though works great) to have any gluten-free settings. Help?
I think there is a major flaw in your logic. From the question, you could probably assume that the extra $100 or the extra loan payment added up to the same amount. (Her extra loan payment was $1200 per year.)
I've been working in the music industry for about half a decade now. I've done it all to be on top of the latest & greatest - purchasing physical CDs, digital MP3s, music subscriptions to even turning to illegal downloading to satisfy my desires. Finally, I've realized in today's day and age I don't have to buy music anymore NOR turn to illegal means to get my fix.
YOU DON'T NEED TO BUY MUSIC ANY LONGER (my boss would probably **** on me for this)
Through my experience here's how you can satisfy your fix through the most frugalest means possible. I found these 4 techniques to be the free way to go and keeps music discovery & diversity at a stupid all time high.
(1) If you need the satisfaction of owning a file you can find millions upon millions of legal mp3s through music blogs via Hype Machine - artists release their hottest stuff for free now to get people talking. These files can satisfy your mobile needs for the time being when you don't have Internet access.
(2) You can stream the latest and greatest records all the time through sites like NPR and Spinner who get exclusive streams - quite frankly, you probably won't feel the need to own the record. One or two or three listens for the week will suffice for me then I'm on to the next thing in the fast-paced scene.
(3) Online radio - Pandora, Stereomood, Last.fm, Turntable.fm, NPR, your favorite local stuff, and the billions upon billions of radio stations you can find through iTunes, WinAmp, etc. etc. There's so much independently awesome stuff out there it's ridiculous, just look around. My favorite is www.laid-back.be for soul, jazz, and hip-hop beats.
Not be a fool. My parents and I would not claim it right away, we would get the best legal advice, have our lawyer claim it, tell no one, move out of our neighborhood. My parents would buy a nice home, I would buy a condo over looking the city skyline. We will give my brother a few millions, but that's it. He's very materialistic, he's the type you're always reading about. We would give family members no more than 500 dollars a piece, that's it. Start my stepfather's potato salad company. He makes the best there is. Travel, live life to the fullest, but in a positive way, like we are now. You won't see us with ten cars, five houses, diamond belts, because that's not us. It's very hard to win the lottery, so there's no way in hell I'm going act a fool with money I thought I would NEVER EVER win!
I got to this page by googling "what to do with my life!".... I'm turning thirty next month, and I guess I'm in a mid-life crisis. I tried this immediately as soon as I finished reading! My list went up to 50 (with 10 minutes extension) :) and it did open up some ideas I didn't even realize I wanna do! Thanks so much!
I have worked in a retail store for about 2 1/2 years now and have had three previous jobs in resturants before hand. And I agree that *EVERYONE* should have to spent at least a month working in a retail enviorment. It is absoutely ridiculous what I have to put up with on a daily basis.
* Every single day I have to hear people's sob stories about how they forgot their coupons. Mind you 95% of the time the coupon is $3.50 off a purchase of $10 or more and excludes anything worth buying in the store. Yet countless customers have thrown total fits about not being able to use a coupon they didn't bring. I figure if taking $3.50 off your purchase is going to make or break your budget then you shouldn't be buying it in the first place.
* I have daily/weekly loyalty card sign ups that I have to met yet you would be surprised how many people turn down a 100% free card that sends them coupons and earns them discount. I just want to ask "seriously, you don't want to save money??"
* It is not personally my fault if we don't have a product in stock. It's not like *I* bought them all. If we are out of something then we are out of something. What do you expect me to do?
*Christmas time is the worst! I swear the most evil peole come out from late october to december 24th ten minutes before the store closes. I've had just about everything throw in my face during this time. Ranging from coupons to products to poor customer service. I try my absoutle hardest to not take crazy customers personally but seeing as christmas is my favorite time of year its very difficult during this time to not want to strange that crazy person at the end of the day.
* All the customers that complain about the line at the register. Regardless of what store you go to you are going to have to wait in line to pay for the products that you want. And mind you I didn't tell everyone in the store to get in line at the same time. And if there is only one person ringing then there is only one person available to ring. Get over it! If you are in such a hurry then you shouldn't have come into the store.
*To all the theives out there that steal, I see you! Legally I cannot do much unless it is caught on camera and even then my options are limited (plus I defintely wouldn't put my life on the line for my job). I think it is disgusting that you earn your income by coming into the store stacking up fragrence gift sets and running out the front door. And I really dislike that your stealing means that I have to sit in a boring two hour meeting about how if us employees don't get shrink (theft) under control we can all be fired. [Thanks "big boss" I can feel the love you are giving us for all the hard work we do in your stores. I don't see you there at night making sure all the bottles face the same way or mopping the bathroom floor.]
Working retail takes gut and honestly unless you are just a really peppy outgoing person a retail job is never permenant. Kudos to my fellow retail collueges! Hang in there everyone!
VA loans also allow you to transfer your interest rate to another service member if you sell your home to them. A great perk if you locked into a great rate.
I enjoyed your post - I am a BIG fan of shopping at Thrift Stores and Outlet malls. You find things at Thrift Stores that you would never find anywhere else - especially if you stop through a town of eccentric folks :)
We buy our music by supporting our 2 local public radio stations and listening there.
I love the last tip on singing in the car - I have to admit, that is my single favourite reason for driving and what is probably preventing me from selling my car!
I purchase CD's 99% of the time. I may listen to a bands songs online to determine if its a sound I like, however I believe that I should do my part to enable bands to make money or at least break even. If everyone continues to share music and/or download tunes by various methods that negate payment to the bands, eventually there will be very few new bands. FYI, I have no friends or family in the entertainment business, I just listen to the interviews of more established bands.
I tweeted: http://twitter.com/#!/Bucksome/status/105125375113306113
I like Wise Bread on facebook.
I buy my music on Amazon and store it in their cloud.
I love savings daily deals provide. I've bought a lot of items from places like Newegg and TigerDirec through their daily deals. Definitely worth it.
The Kindle App on the iPhone/iTouch is the app I use the most on my iPhone. Love the convenience of a Kindle without buying an actual Kindle (a unitasker, as Alton Brown would say). Some people don't like the small screen, though, and have encouraged me to get an actual Kindle.
I just wish the Kindle books were either (a) significantly cheaper than their paperback versions, or (b) could be easily lent to friends and family.
There is a little trick that the banks do called "Front Loading". It is what a person agrees to when taking out a home loan or mortgage and that is to let the lending institution, be it bank, mortgage company, credit union..etc..., when you send in your mortgage payment. For the first several years of the life of the loan the majority of your mortgage payment is mostly pure interest. That is why when you take out a 30 yr mortgage on a home costing say, $100,000.00 , if you stay in the home and loan agreement for 30 years, you end up paying $300,000.00 . Now most folks know as the lending entity well knows and uses this very important point: Most folks buying into a home won't stay in the home for more than 5 to 7 years. Then the process starts all over again. When an extra payment is done, if done the lending institutions' way, "front loading" is done again. So, if a person sent in $100.00 of extra principal payment, a fraction of that is actually applied to the principal. The rest? You got it.... interest. Oh sure, the lending institutions won't tell you that. They will even deny it. Your monthly statement will show you paid that extra payment. What you will usually never see is on the back end how they gouged you. Remember, most folks live in their home from 5 to 7 years and move on, never seeing what really happen.But the fact is this is how the institutions make their money. There is a way to use verbiage that the institutions use that will ensure that the majority of the extra payment actually goes to "Principal Only", this allowing a faster pay off for a party serious about knocking out their mortgage payment and really becoming debt free. I know, because I've researched it and found the verbiage I use on my extra payment's coupon. I tested it. Works like a champ. You just have to know WHEN and HOW to make the extra payment. It is not by putting a check in the "make extra payment" box provided by the lending institution. But then again, it took some money (not so much) and testing. Glad I found it. Anyways, this is what this Mr.Cummuta is playing on. The credit card debt interest can get cut down considerably and relatively fast, making the same minimum payments, but in a certain way. Again, it's all in knowing HOW to and WHEN to make the payments. The credit card companies will scream bloody murder because they can't rape you the way they had planned. But they must take your payment anyway you make it. It's all in getting yourself educated in how this money world works and using it to your advantage. Believe me. The wealthy do this very thing.
the mortgage tax deduction does not help only the rich. if you live anywhere on the west or east coasts home prices are high (no where near the average sited in this article).
i really get tired of articles that mention median home prices and what constitutes middle class as far as income. it totally depends on where you live.
2 people making 80,000 a year in our area is totally different that earning that same amount in another part of he country.
two things i would like to point out:
if you take away the mortgage deduction you would be taking more tax money from the coasts (where houses under the amount mentioned in the article are few and far between), who already pay out more in federal taxes than they get back.
i could see this working if this balanced budget that the republicans want would also include a clause about states not taking more in federal money then they give in taxes. that would never pass because it is the red states that take more than they give.
second point:
the mortgage deduction pushes many people up into being able to itemize, which means they can then itemize other expenses, such as charitable donations and some spending for work items etc etc. if we did not have the mortgage deduction we would not be able to use other lower amount deductions.
I typically buy on iTunes or use Amazon.com. I'll also buy CDs at garage sales and off of Half.com. for my music.
Even though you wrote this a while ago, can you say more about using a bread machine for gluten-free bread? We have one, but I'd put it away because it's too old (though works great) to have any gluten-free settings. Help?
I tweeted my comment via @KeriRitenour http://twitter.com/#!/KeriRitenour/status/104945674394681344
I liked your post on FB and left a comment via Keri Slinde Ritenour.
I primarily use iTunes, but also use the radio, Spotify, Amazon or other music sites. Occasionally, I will purchase an actual CD.
I think there is a major flaw in your logic. From the question, you could probably assume that the extra $100 or the extra loan payment added up to the same amount. (Her extra loan payment was $1200 per year.)
I've been working in the music industry for about half a decade now. I've done it all to be on top of the latest & greatest - purchasing physical CDs, digital MP3s, music subscriptions to even turning to illegal downloading to satisfy my desires. Finally, I've realized in today's day and age I don't have to buy music anymore NOR turn to illegal means to get my fix.
YOU DON'T NEED TO BUY MUSIC ANY LONGER (my boss would probably **** on me for this)
Through my experience here's how you can satisfy your fix through the most frugalest means possible. I found these 4 techniques to be the free way to go and keeps music discovery & diversity at a stupid all time high.
(1) If you need the satisfaction of owning a file you can find millions upon millions of legal mp3s through music blogs via Hype Machine - artists release their hottest stuff for free now to get people talking. These files can satisfy your mobile needs for the time being when you don't have Internet access.
(2) You can stream the latest and greatest records all the time through sites like NPR and Spinner who get exclusive streams - quite frankly, you probably won't feel the need to own the record. One or two or three listens for the week will suffice for me then I'm on to the next thing in the fast-paced scene.
(3) Online radio - Pandora, Stereomood, Last.fm, Turntable.fm, NPR, your favorite local stuff, and the billions upon billions of radio stations you can find through iTunes, WinAmp, etc. etc. There's so much independently awesome stuff out there it's ridiculous, just look around. My favorite is www.laid-back.be for soul, jazz, and hip-hop beats.
(4) SPOTIFY - It's free, it's simple, it's social, it works.
Boom! There ya go! Enjoy hearing an insane amount of new stuff like never before at no real cost.
Not be a fool. My parents and I would not claim it right away, we would get the best legal advice, have our lawyer claim it, tell no one, move out of our neighborhood. My parents would buy a nice home, I would buy a condo over looking the city skyline. We will give my brother a few millions, but that's it. He's very materialistic, he's the type you're always reading about. We would give family members no more than 500 dollars a piece, that's it. Start my stepfather's potato salad company. He makes the best there is. Travel, live life to the fullest, but in a positive way, like we are now. You won't see us with ten cars, five houses, diamond belts, because that's not us. It's very hard to win the lottery, so there's no way in hell I'm going act a fool with money I thought I would NEVER EVER win!
Under the Medicare program an elderly or permanently disabled individual will be able to receive medical care as well as hospital care
Got my samsung chromebook. It is an excellent browser and does not support Java, which sucks. Google needs to have a JVM for chromeos
I got to this page by googling "what to do with my life!".... I'm turning thirty next month, and I guess I'm in a mid-life crisis. I tried this immediately as soon as I finished reading! My list went up to 50 (with 10 minutes extension) :) and it did open up some ideas I didn't even realize I wanna do! Thanks so much!
I have worked in a retail store for about 2 1/2 years now and have had three previous jobs in resturants before hand. And I agree that *EVERYONE* should have to spent at least a month working in a retail enviorment. It is absoutely ridiculous what I have to put up with on a daily basis.
* Every single day I have to hear people's sob stories about how they forgot their coupons. Mind you 95% of the time the coupon is $3.50 off a purchase of $10 or more and excludes anything worth buying in the store. Yet countless customers have thrown total fits about not being able to use a coupon they didn't bring. I figure if taking $3.50 off your purchase is going to make or break your budget then you shouldn't be buying it in the first place.
* I have daily/weekly loyalty card sign ups that I have to met yet you would be surprised how many people turn down a 100% free card that sends them coupons and earns them discount. I just want to ask "seriously, you don't want to save money??"
* It is not personally my fault if we don't have a product in stock. It's not like *I* bought them all. If we are out of something then we are out of something. What do you expect me to do?
*Christmas time is the worst! I swear the most evil peole come out from late october to december 24th ten minutes before the store closes. I've had just about everything throw in my face during this time. Ranging from coupons to products to poor customer service. I try my absoutle hardest to not take crazy customers personally but seeing as christmas is my favorite time of year its very difficult during this time to not want to strange that crazy person at the end of the day.
* All the customers that complain about the line at the register. Regardless of what store you go to you are going to have to wait in line to pay for the products that you want. And mind you I didn't tell everyone in the store to get in line at the same time. And if there is only one person ringing then there is only one person available to ring. Get over it! If you are in such a hurry then you shouldn't have come into the store.
*To all the theives out there that steal, I see you! Legally I cannot do much unless it is caught on camera and even then my options are limited (plus I defintely wouldn't put my life on the line for my job). I think it is disgusting that you earn your income by coming into the store stacking up fragrence gift sets and running out the front door. And I really dislike that your stealing means that I have to sit in a boring two hour meeting about how if us employees don't get shrink (theft) under control we can all be fired. [Thanks "big boss" I can feel the love you are giving us for all the hard work we do in your stores. I don't see you there at night making sure all the bottles face the same way or mopping the bathroom floor.]
Working retail takes gut and honestly unless you are just a really peppy outgoing person a retail job is never permenant. Kudos to my fellow retail collueges! Hang in there everyone!
VA loans also allow you to transfer your interest rate to another service member if you sell your home to them. A great perk if you locked into a great rate.
Hi Ashley. You have links to some great info. I have share it with my Twitter and FB crowd. Here are some tips for saving money while traveling.
http://www.household-budget-made-easy.com/tips-for-saving-money-while-tr...
David
I enjoyed your post - I am a BIG fan of shopping at Thrift Stores and Outlet malls. You find things at Thrift Stores that you would never find anywhere else - especially if you stop through a town of eccentric folks :)