I thought about doing this. I need an oxygen sensor replaced, and found the part $75 cheaper online. Do most shops make some money on the parts as well? Will they charge more for labor to make up for that lost income?
Hi Ria! I agree, some of the foods on the list are kind of obvious. Though, I did enjoy the informational tidbits about *how* they're processed and what other ingredients are added -- it's the main reason why I included that article in the roundup.
I'm glad you liked the rental property one! They had really good tips for new landlords and people thinking about being landlords.
One thing you don't include, and many people seem to forget about, is the cost of summer care for school-aged children of two-income families. This can be many thousands of dollars. I send my kids to a reputable town rec program which cares for the kids for my full work day, is one of the cheapest options around, covers only six weeks of the 9-week summer vacation, and still costs almost $3,000 per child.
On the same note, I think it's definitely better to get your kids experiences as gifts instead of "stuff". The memories last forever, while all that junk gets thrown out in a few months after they get bored with it.
I am one of the people who write for the Points.com blog (www.blog.points.com). Thank you very much for writing a review of our site! We are really glad that you find it useful.
We would love to cross-post to your review from our site. Would that be ok with you?
As a graduate student I don't have a lot of money to invest. I think the best thing to do when going into investing is research, research, research. The lure of potentially "free" money probably sets the bar low for people wanting to get into investing, especially if they already have money. This often sets up a situation where people go for quick and easy tips that is supposed to make them quick money. People don't realize that this often backfires, and they have a high probability of losing money instead.
If it sounds too good to be true, then run! There are no truly easy ways to make money, at least when getting started, and if there were then some "expert" wouldn't be selling their secrets for $19.99!
This is a great concept. I only have one credit card that receives points (I'm a poor graduate student), but it'd be nice to be able to track them more easily and see what I can do with them (again I'm a poor grad student, so I don't accumulate a lot of points).
Wow. That sounds great. I hope you will write again and tell us what types of chili peppers that you use I really love chili sauce on eggs. Thanks for commenting!
1) Never ever dry clean! This could save you upwards of $1000 a year (not to mention the hassle of taking things to the cleaners). Most items can be hand washed and carefully hung up inside. I use eucalyptus scented wool wash. Time washing is less than time dropping off and collecting suits/dresses.
2) I have two suits (lightish grey and black) each with a pair of pants and a skirt. I have 5 shirts - white, dark purple, mulberry, dark grey and jade green). I have a black cardigan. This is all the work clothes I have. I can mix and match everything and add an op shop scarf if I get bored. I hand wash all of these things. I do not have a handbag, I use the laptop bag with the company logo I got for free. I bought most of the clothes while on vacation in America... heaps cheaper there than in Australia.
3)So i don't spend so much on stockings I wear cotton tights from the highschool section. They never rip. 5 pairs last one year.
4) I wear classy flat shoes... They last heaps longer than heels and you're more likely to walk saving on that bus ticket or taxi ride.
5) My best friend cuts my hair for me and I dye it myself. Do these things often and you'll look better. Same with makeup. I always wear makeup (I buy a few good quality items a year, and dispose of them at the end of the year... coz who wants to wear lipstick more than a year old... total spending is $50 a year). Good hair and make-up make for a presentable, professional look.
Sounds like BS, adding stuff with organics in it is the fastest way to kill your battery.
An old-school fix is to add a teaspoon of Epsom salt, but it won't help you if the battery is dead completely.
I found a great place to shop online at haute curvture for plus size evening and after 5 clothing. I would like to share it with you. www.hautecurvture.com. check them out!
Float for the average Joe has never been about interest rates. It is about timing. I need to pay you Tuesday, but the paycheck doesn't land until Friday. Yes, the bank processing is near instant. And yes, merchants that convert checks (WalMart does it at the register) also cut out time, but there are plenty of individuals and small businesses that take days even weeks to deposit the check and some customers even request... "can you hold this until Friday?" So that float is still in use.
Another factor that keeps checks going is the desire to document important transactions. In a recent Fed study I read, the average personal (not business) check transaction is over $400 compared to the average personal debit transaction being around $40. So when it matters, some people choose to write checks.
And finally, while far fewer checks are being written these days, almost everyone writes at least a few checks per year (95% per one study I read.) So almost everyone is still a check writer. Next time someone says they don't write checks anymore, ask the question... "ever?" and you'll often find an "except to my day-care center, except to my hair stylist, except to my landlord...."
Thanks for these links! I don't know why they felt it was necessary to post that list about processed foods because I thought it was kind of obvious that they all went through a rigorous process? And I quite agree on those tips listed about buying rental property, there's no better way to protect your investment, than doing a thorough research about the property.
Thanks Roger. New investors especially, end up getting caught up in newfangled investment myths and hype and often throw good money after bad chasing what they believed to be a sure thing. If it were, the experts with faster, cheap, research-driven capabilities would ensure this thing is arb'd to zero anyway.
1) Your example of the mistake of making just minimum payments on credit cards is a good one. It would be interesting to compare that to making a fixed monthly payment. So, using the same numbers, let's say that instead of making the minimum payment each month, you paid $60 each month (which in theory should be affordable because that is your initial minimum payment). You'd pay off the card in 6 1/2 years, and the total interest would end up around $1737, a significant savings.
If you wanted to make occasional extra payments, that would help even more.
Your article inspired me to add an extra payments feature to my credit card payment spreadsheet (which I uploaded just a few minutes ago). The spreadsheet lets you run all these scenarios. You can download it from here:
2) If you have multiple cards to pay off, a very simple debt management plan is to use the Debt Snowball approach. It's not really that complicated, and your recommendation to start by first figuring out from your budget the maximum amount you can allocate towards debt reduction is spot on. Here is another free spreadsheet that can be useful to help a person apply the debt snowball method:
That's also a good point. I avoided mentioning it because it could be misinterpreted as being biased against non-English speakers, but it can be a tip-off to investigate an opportunity further. I have had some very dear colleagues who are legit create some very bad websites (some with broken English). It's been an opportunity for me to consult with them on how to revamp their sites to be more credible, however.
I can agree with EVERY one of your points, Brooke! I use all of those resources, and wouldn't pay for any programs that are geared toward working from home. The only exceptions would be if you don't have time to look for your own jobs (although your feed idea rocks). When I first started out, I had all the time in the world to look for jobs, but now, I'd rather spend that time with my family or building my business in other ways. A small subscription fee to a legitimate newsletter or site that pre-qualifies all the listings is worth $3-10 a month, in my opinion. (I have also paid for the Media Bistro site membership for a few years in a row, now, too. I enjoy the premium forum discussions and the listings for how to pitch editors.)
Excellent post. You are absolutely right in that most investors should ignore these types of theories and stick to a longer-term strategy that fits their financial goals and risk tolerance.
That is the worst. Policemen shouldn't be able to tailgate you like that. Good for you for contesting it.
I thought about doing this. I need an oxygen sensor replaced, and found the part $75 cheaper online. Do most shops make some money on the parts as well? Will they charge more for labor to make up for that lost income?
You said it! ;)
Hi Ria! I agree, some of the foods on the list are kind of obvious. Though, I did enjoy the informational tidbits about *how* they're processed and what other ingredients are added -- it's the main reason why I included that article in the roundup.
I'm glad you liked the rental property one! They had really good tips for new landlords and people thinking about being landlords.
One thing you don't include, and many people seem to forget about, is the cost of summer care for school-aged children of two-income families. This can be many thousands of dollars. I send my kids to a reputable town rec program which cares for the kids for my full work day, is one of the cheapest options around, covers only six weeks of the 9-week summer vacation, and still costs almost $3,000 per child.
On the same note, I think it's definitely better to get your kids experiences as gifts instead of "stuff". The memories last forever, while all that junk gets thrown out in a few months after they get bored with it.
Fun idea Jabulani.
I think my 13-month old son has the same bus too! But he's more into dogs.
And as far as cheap gifts for kids go - I think I'm about to find out how fascinating wrapping paper and boxes are.
Hello Little House!
I am one of the people who write for the Points.com blog (www.blog.points.com). Thank you very much for writing a review of our site! We are really glad that you find it useful.
We would love to cross-post to your review from our site. Would that be ok with you?
Thanks again,
Carrie
ya I agree. It's a really cool site.
As a graduate student I don't have a lot of money to invest. I think the best thing to do when going into investing is research, research, research. The lure of potentially "free" money probably sets the bar low for people wanting to get into investing, especially if they already have money. This often sets up a situation where people go for quick and easy tips that is supposed to make them quick money. People don't realize that this often backfires, and they have a high probability of losing money instead.
If it sounds too good to be true, then run! There are no truly easy ways to make money, at least when getting started, and if there were then some "expert" wouldn't be selling their secrets for $19.99!
This is a great concept. I only have one credit card that receives points (I'm a poor graduate student), but it'd be nice to be able to track them more easily and see what I can do with them (again I'm a poor grad student, so I don't accumulate a lot of points).
A lot of great ideas are being added to this list! Thanks, all!
Wow. That sounds great. I hope you will write again and tell us what types of chili peppers that you use I really love chili sauce on eggs. Thanks for commenting!
1) Never ever dry clean! This could save you upwards of $1000 a year (not to mention the hassle of taking things to the cleaners). Most items can be hand washed and carefully hung up inside. I use eucalyptus scented wool wash. Time washing is less than time dropping off and collecting suits/dresses.
2) I have two suits (lightish grey and black) each with a pair of pants and a skirt. I have 5 shirts - white, dark purple, mulberry, dark grey and jade green). I have a black cardigan. This is all the work clothes I have. I can mix and match everything and add an op shop scarf if I get bored. I hand wash all of these things. I do not have a handbag, I use the laptop bag with the company logo I got for free. I bought most of the clothes while on vacation in America... heaps cheaper there than in Australia.
3)So i don't spend so much on stockings I wear cotton tights from the highschool section. They never rip. 5 pairs last one year.
4) I wear classy flat shoes... They last heaps longer than heels and you're more likely to walk saving on that bus ticket or taxi ride.
5) My best friend cuts my hair for me and I dye it myself. Do these things often and you'll look better. Same with makeup. I always wear makeup (I buy a few good quality items a year, and dispose of them at the end of the year... coz who wants to wear lipstick more than a year old... total spending is $50 a year). Good hair and make-up make for a presentable, professional look.
Sounds like BS, adding stuff with organics in it is the fastest way to kill your battery.
An old-school fix is to add a teaspoon of Epsom salt, but it won't help you if the battery is dead completely.
I found a great place to shop online at haute curvture for plus size evening and after 5 clothing. I would like to share it with you. www.hautecurvture.com. check them out!
Float for the average Joe has never been about interest rates. It is about timing. I need to pay you Tuesday, but the paycheck doesn't land until Friday. Yes, the bank processing is near instant. And yes, merchants that convert checks (WalMart does it at the register) also cut out time, but there are plenty of individuals and small businesses that take days even weeks to deposit the check and some customers even request... "can you hold this until Friday?" So that float is still in use.
Another factor that keeps checks going is the desire to document important transactions. In a recent Fed study I read, the average personal (not business) check transaction is over $400 compared to the average personal debit transaction being around $40. So when it matters, some people choose to write checks.
And finally, while far fewer checks are being written these days, almost everyone writes at least a few checks per year (95% per one study I read.) So almost everyone is still a check writer. Next time someone says they don't write checks anymore, ask the question... "ever?" and you'll often find an "except to my day-care center, except to my hair stylist, except to my landlord...."
Thanks for these links! I don't know why they felt it was necessary to post that list about processed foods because I thought it was kind of obvious that they all went through a rigorous process? And I quite agree on those tips listed about buying rental property, there's no better way to protect your investment, than doing a thorough research about the property.
Thanks Roger. New investors especially, end up getting caught up in newfangled investment myths and hype and often throw good money after bad chasing what they believed to be a sure thing. If it were, the experts with faster, cheap, research-driven capabilities would ensure this thing is arb'd to zero anyway.
Hello Debbie. You've made some excellent points.
1) Your example of the mistake of making just minimum payments on credit cards is a good one. It would be interesting to compare that to making a fixed monthly payment. So, using the same numbers, let's say that instead of making the minimum payment each month, you paid $60 each month (which in theory should be affordable because that is your initial minimum payment). You'd pay off the card in 6 1/2 years, and the total interest would end up around $1737, a significant savings.
If you wanted to make occasional extra payments, that would help even more.
Your article inspired me to add an extra payments feature to my credit card payment spreadsheet (which I uploaded just a few minutes ago). The spreadsheet lets you run all these scenarios. You can download it from here:
http://www.vertex42.com/Calculators/credit-card-payment-calculator.html
2) If you have multiple cards to pay off, a very simple debt management plan is to use the Debt Snowball approach. It's not really that complicated, and your recommendation to start by first figuring out from your budget the maximum amount you can allocate towards debt reduction is spot on. Here is another free spreadsheet that can be useful to help a person apply the debt snowball method:
http://consumerist.com/2008/08/use-snowball-method-spreadsheet-to-pay-of...
That's also a good point. I avoided mentioning it because it could be misinterpreted as being biased against non-English speakers, but it can be a tip-off to investigate an opportunity further. I have had some very dear colleagues who are legit create some very bad websites (some with broken English). It's been an opportunity for me to consult with them on how to revamp their sites to be more credible, however.
Thanks for the comment!
I can agree with EVERY one of your points, Brooke! I use all of those resources, and wouldn't pay for any programs that are geared toward working from home. The only exceptions would be if you don't have time to look for your own jobs (although your feed idea rocks). When I first started out, I had all the time in the world to look for jobs, but now, I'd rather spend that time with my family or building my business in other ways. A small subscription fee to a legitimate newsletter or site that pre-qualifies all the listings is worth $3-10 a month, in my opinion. (I have also paid for the Media Bistro site membership for a few years in a row, now, too. I enjoy the premium forum discussions and the listings for how to pitch editors.)
Thanks for your comments!!
Excellent post. You are absolutely right in that most investors should ignore these types of theories and stick to a longer-term strategy that fits their financial goals and risk tolerance.
I'm not going to spend my life worrying about the trash.