there are a lot of people in this country who can only afford $10 or less to feed a family of four ... the answer is not taxing fast food, it is subsidizing healthy food so that poor/lower middle class families can afford healthier options.
cigarettes, liquor, etc. are not necessities, but food is.
Just backing up Jeff with his comment. Most insurance companies operating costs, exceed their revenues. They make their money by investing your premiums in the stock market. Therefore, if you think stocks are a bad investment, so is insurance.
Great article - can't beleive we're already at this time of year. I think your advice of buying used/refurbished is great, but I also would recommend comparing the used price versus the new price after a deep discount (especially for older model iPods, etc.) because the warranty, return policy, 'newness' factor might be worth the few extra bucks to get a new item..
I really like these ideas. I also use onion skins to cook up in a broth that I use when I make my Thanksgiving gravy. It makes the gravy a nice brown color (and adds good flavor.) I got this idea when I saw that onion skins can be used as a natural brown dye.
Also, I always peel the broccoli stems and add them to my broccoli. They are my daughter's favorite part of the broccoli. I saw Alton Brown do a show on broccoli and he said they were his favorite part too.
My Grandpa used to use the celery leaves in his potato salad and other things. He thought the leaves were the best part of the celery.
And, even if you don't want to eat the giblets from your Thanksgiving turkey yourself, remember you can cook them up to make a nice treat for your cat or dog.
My mom had alway told me to stay clear of the green m&ms and i never understood why untill i read this. All i have to say is who ever came up with the whole "green ones make you horney" thing should be ashamed of themselves. i mean i have my little brother who keeps asking me what green M&ms mean and i always tell him green means christmas and it seems to work up untill he discovered the internet could tell you information. grow up people there is no such thing as a color making you horny.
I love PriceBlink as a way to save money when I'm shopping. It instantly tells me if I've found the lowest price and if I haven't, it shows me where I can find lower prices. It's a tool bar add-on and it's visible while I'm shopping and hidden when I'm not. The best thing is that it also includes shipping charges, user reviews, and coupons. It's going to be great to have when I start Christmas shopping!
That's how ALL insurance is - you pay for something you hope you never need. With insurance, you are paying a company to assume some or all of your risk of financial loss.
With life insurance, you are paying for them to assume the risk of the loss of your income that would result from your death (which would be an undue financial burden for any dependents you left behind).
With auto insurance, you are paying for them to assume the risk of loss of money for the repair or replacement of your vehicle (something you likely couldn't pay to repair or replace on your own).
With your health insurance, you are paying the company to assume the risk of the cost to diagnose and/or treat an accident or other adverse health event.
In all cases, the more risk you wish them to assume (lower deductible for you), the more you pay (higher premium).
So, rather than sounding rather ignorant (uninformed) and whiny by saying your premium goes towards lobbying Republicans rather than being invested to hedge the risk you're paying them to assume, try to learn what insurance is.
As for your HSA funds not covering your (agreeably) "stupid flu shot", you must have been misinformed somewhere along the way.
Absolutely! Why in the world do most people pre-pay their healthcare costs and think they're getting a good deal? If our government schools are failing us so badly that we can't figure out that paying the insurance company to pay the doctor will cost more than paying the doctor ourselves, how badly will government healthcare fail us?
For those of you who still don't understand:
OPTION 1: In my situation, I could pay around $1200/month ($14,400/year) for a family plan that covers just about everything, with a maximum out-of-pocket of $2000 (deductibles and coinsurance). My MINIMUM annual cost (if no one in the family had any medical needs) would be $14,400, and my maximum cost would be $16,400.
OPTION 2: I could pay around $350/month ($4,200/year) for a high-deductible family plan that covers just about everything after my $10,000 deductible. My MINIMUM annual cost would be $4,200 (a savings of $10,200), and my maximum annual cost would be $14,200 (a savings of $2,200). If I save the maximum $6000 (+/-) annually in my HSA, I will have that much in pre-tax dollars for my medical expenses - and if I could afford Option 1, then it should be easy to fund savings. If I had $2000 in medical expenses in a year, paid from my HSA, I'd be saving $10,200 in hard costs, plus $600-1800 in federal income taxes (depending on tax bracket). The best news: after age 65, that HSA money can be withdrawn penalty-free (though subject to income taxes, just like an IRA) to fund my retirement.
About prepaying your healthcare costs: A claim typically costs an insurance company $50 to process, regardless of the amount of the claim. This is $50 they are charging you (in your premiums) to pay the doctor on your behalf.
If you still think this is a good deal, ask yourself how much you'd pay someone to pay your other bills for you. Would you pay me $50 PER BILL to pay your water bill, your trash bill, your cable/satellite TV bill, your internet bill, your phone bill, your electric/gas/oil bill, your other insurance bills (home/renters,car), your mortgage/rent, and your credit card bills? How about $10 per bill? Or $5 per bill?
Wake up, America! Take some personal responsibility for your healthcare costs. Don't pay the middleman more than you should, for costs you won't recoup - pay yourself (HSA) instead.
Thanks Steve. You're right, many of these perks don't require marriage but if you are married and living together then they certainly apply.
If two people are in a committed relationship, whether they're married by law or not, they share many parts of their lives together. And one benefit of sharing is that you get to save money on many of the things I outlined above.
The main thing I wanted to point out is that although you have to do a lot of compromising over money in marriage, there are benefits as well!
I have French doors at my cabin. Air conditionaing isn't an option, however two $35 wooden screen doors hinged to swing out and opposite each other, with a 1/4 x 2" strip on one facing edge that forms munion between the doors works fine.
Think about it for a second, it's a perfect solution. In a high traffic area, the screens open with a push and can swing closed automatically behind you on spring loaded hinges. You don't have to slide them open and shut by hand every time you pass through.
Another sign could be that a person ignores determining the total amount of credit card debt one has. I think many people are aware of generally how much they owe (some big number, or some really bigger number) but it can be freighting to actually sit down and calculate the actual number, it makes real at that point.
A somewhat related personal experience, while I was in college I didnt have a credit card, but I would think in the same terms the amount of cash I had without getting into a specific dollar amount. Over time i found that the less cash I had available the more money I would spend. I figured, if I was going to be broke, I might as well enjoy the ride there. :/
I LOVE the origami idea! I got a $5 dollar bill years ago that I still haven't spent because it was folded into a ring and I thought it was the coolest thing ever!
(Now if it were a 20, I would have blown it by now.)
Nope. If you're being honest with yourself, frequently, "something they wouldn't buy for themselves" equals, something they really don't want that badly. It's true. I know a lot of extremely thoughtful people who give cash, and it's usually because they want someone to buy what they REALLY want, without having to ask for it....
I used to feel the same way you did. But I realized it was my pride a lot of times. I would want someone to see how much thought I put behind the gift and how much I knew them. Often times, I spent more than I needed to and the person probably Goodwill'ed the stuff.
All that said, I won't give my kids cash, (hypocrite, I know.)
Fortuantly, I have never really had a problem with credit or impulse buying. Have never really liked owing people money, which is a big part of it. I live within my means pretty well and don't mind hardwork and fixing things, so I can often get a good deal on things when they are broken.
Of course, I have a number of friends who have not been so fortuant, including one guy who ended up about $10,000 in debt by the time he graduated high school. Of course, in that case, he wasn't soley to blame, as his parents probably could have prevented a lot of that by putting their foot down. In either case, the credit industry can be really predatory and so I feel it is really important to try to break the dependency some folks have.
It's interesting to me that a "teacher/professor" would be patronizing to someone writing a blog. You seem to indicate you take this approach, and granted a "D" grade to your student because the blogger did not cite his references. Then you proceeded to correct him without citing YOUR references. You are doing nothing more than stating your opinion, the same as this blogger. If you really are a teacher, please back up your information by listing your references, or consider revising the poor grade you seem to have granted your student because they dared disagree with your opinion.
It may be due to the UHT (Ultra-High Temp) process used to pasteurize the milk. Apparently this carmelizes the sugar in the milk and makes it taste sweeter.
I don't think I'm out of control concerning my spending. I always bring my ID, one credit card, and some cash with me pretty much for the same reasons stannius mentioned even if I don't plan on spending any money. You never know when you may find yourself stuck in a situation not have an ID or money on you.
I would enjoy a year in review of home photos from the kids and things done with the fam.
Cannin jars and lids are always a welcomed gift- espically if they contain a yummy home made dish!
Any book from my Amazon wish list or accessory from my Etsy wish list!
I've been really enjoying legal thrillers by Brian Haig -- his books are mostly in paperback and I don't mind used copies.
there are a lot of people in this country who can only afford $10 or less to feed a family of four ... the answer is not taxing fast food, it is subsidizing healthy food so that poor/lower middle class families can afford healthier options.
cigarettes, liquor, etc. are not necessities, but food is.
Just backing up Jeff with his comment. Most insurance companies operating costs, exceed their revenues. They make their money by investing your premiums in the stock market. Therefore, if you think stocks are a bad investment, so is insurance.
I find that "biting the bullet" is the hardest part of purchasing travel. It almost feels like gambling.
Great tips. Thank you for the article.
Melissa Tosetti
www.TheSavvyLife.com
Great article - can't beleive we're already at this time of year. I think your advice of buying used/refurbished is great, but I also would recommend comparing the used price versus the new price after a deep discount (especially for older model iPods, etc.) because the warranty, return policy, 'newness' factor might be worth the few extra bucks to get a new item..
I really like these ideas. I also use onion skins to cook up in a broth that I use when I make my Thanksgiving gravy. It makes the gravy a nice brown color (and adds good flavor.) I got this idea when I saw that onion skins can be used as a natural brown dye.
Also, I always peel the broccoli stems and add them to my broccoli. They are my daughter's favorite part of the broccoli. I saw Alton Brown do a show on broccoli and he said they were his favorite part too.
My Grandpa used to use the celery leaves in his potato salad and other things. He thought the leaves were the best part of the celery.
And, even if you don't want to eat the giblets from your Thanksgiving turkey yourself, remember you can cook them up to make a nice treat for your cat or dog.
My mom had alway told me to stay clear of the green m&ms and i never understood why untill i read this. All i have to say is who ever came up with the whole "green ones make you horney" thing should be ashamed of themselves. i mean i have my little brother who keeps asking me what green M&ms mean and i always tell him green means christmas and it seems to work up untill he discovered the internet could tell you information. grow up people there is no such thing as a color making you horny.
I love PriceBlink as a way to save money when I'm shopping. It instantly tells me if I've found the lowest price and if I haven't, it shows me where I can find lower prices. It's a tool bar add-on and it's visible while I'm shopping and hidden when I'm not. The best thing is that it also includes shipping charges, user reviews, and coupons. It's going to be great to have when I start Christmas shopping!
That's how ALL insurance is - you pay for something you hope you never need. With insurance, you are paying a company to assume some or all of your risk of financial loss.
With life insurance, you are paying for them to assume the risk of the loss of your income that would result from your death (which would be an undue financial burden for any dependents you left behind).
With auto insurance, you are paying for them to assume the risk of loss of money for the repair or replacement of your vehicle (something you likely couldn't pay to repair or replace on your own).
With your health insurance, you are paying the company to assume the risk of the cost to diagnose and/or treat an accident or other adverse health event.
In all cases, the more risk you wish them to assume (lower deductible for you), the more you pay (higher premium).
So, rather than sounding rather ignorant (uninformed) and whiny by saying your premium goes towards lobbying Republicans rather than being invested to hedge the risk you're paying them to assume, try to learn what insurance is.
As for your HSA funds not covering your (agreeably) "stupid flu shot", you must have been misinformed somewhere along the way.
Absolutely! Why in the world do most people pre-pay their healthcare costs and think they're getting a good deal? If our government schools are failing us so badly that we can't figure out that paying the insurance company to pay the doctor will cost more than paying the doctor ourselves, how badly will government healthcare fail us?
For those of you who still don't understand:
OPTION 1: In my situation, I could pay around $1200/month ($14,400/year) for a family plan that covers just about everything, with a maximum out-of-pocket of $2000 (deductibles and coinsurance). My MINIMUM annual cost (if no one in the family had any medical needs) would be $14,400, and my maximum cost would be $16,400.
OPTION 2: I could pay around $350/month ($4,200/year) for a high-deductible family plan that covers just about everything after my $10,000 deductible. My MINIMUM annual cost would be $4,200 (a savings of $10,200), and my maximum annual cost would be $14,200 (a savings of $2,200). If I save the maximum $6000 (+/-) annually in my HSA, I will have that much in pre-tax dollars for my medical expenses - and if I could afford Option 1, then it should be easy to fund savings. If I had $2000 in medical expenses in a year, paid from my HSA, I'd be saving $10,200 in hard costs, plus $600-1800 in federal income taxes (depending on tax bracket). The best news: after age 65, that HSA money can be withdrawn penalty-free (though subject to income taxes, just like an IRA) to fund my retirement.
About prepaying your healthcare costs: A claim typically costs an insurance company $50 to process, regardless of the amount of the claim. This is $50 they are charging you (in your premiums) to pay the doctor on your behalf.
If you still think this is a good deal, ask yourself how much you'd pay someone to pay your other bills for you. Would you pay me $50 PER BILL to pay your water bill, your trash bill, your cable/satellite TV bill, your internet bill, your phone bill, your electric/gas/oil bill, your other insurance bills (home/renters,car), your mortgage/rent, and your credit card bills? How about $10 per bill? Or $5 per bill?
Wake up, America! Take some personal responsibility for your healthcare costs. Don't pay the middleman more than you should, for costs you won't recoup - pay yourself (HSA) instead.
Thanks Steve. You're right, many of these perks don't require marriage but if you are married and living together then they certainly apply.
If two people are in a committed relationship, whether they're married by law or not, they share many parts of their lives together. And one benefit of sharing is that you get to save money on many of the things I outlined above.
The main thing I wanted to point out is that although you have to do a lot of compromising over money in marriage, there are benefits as well!
On the French screen doors...
I have French doors at my cabin. Air conditionaing isn't an option, however two $35 wooden screen doors hinged to swing out and opposite each other, with a 1/4 x 2" strip on one facing edge that forms munion between the doors works fine.
Think about it for a second, it's a perfect solution. In a high traffic area, the screens open with a push and can swing closed automatically behind you on spring loaded hinges. You don't have to slide them open and shut by hand every time you pass through.
I had great deal with my Disney Vacation. Saved a ton and loved it
Another sign could be that a person ignores determining the total amount of credit card debt one has. I think many people are aware of generally how much they owe (some big number, or some really bigger number) but it can be freighting to actually sit down and calculate the actual number, it makes real at that point.
A somewhat related personal experience, while I was in college I didnt have a credit card, but I would think in the same terms the amount of cash I had without getting into a specific dollar amount. Over time i found that the less cash I had available the more money I would spend. I figured, if I was going to be broke, I might as well enjoy the ride there. :/
I LOVE the origami idea! I got a $5 dollar bill years ago that I still haven't spent because it was folded into a ring and I thought it was the coolest thing ever!
(Now if it were a 20, I would have blown it by now.)
Nope. If you're being honest with yourself, frequently, "something they wouldn't buy for themselves" equals, something they really don't want that badly. It's true. I know a lot of extremely thoughtful people who give cash, and it's usually because they want someone to buy what they REALLY want, without having to ask for it....
I used to feel the same way you did. But I realized it was my pride a lot of times. I would want someone to see how much thought I put behind the gift and how much I knew them. Often times, I spent more than I needed to and the person probably Goodwill'ed the stuff.
All that said, I won't give my kids cash, (hypocrite, I know.)
Fortuantly, I have never really had a problem with credit or impulse buying. Have never really liked owing people money, which is a big part of it. I live within my means pretty well and don't mind hardwork and fixing things, so I can often get a good deal on things when they are broken.
Of course, I have a number of friends who have not been so fortuant, including one guy who ended up about $10,000 in debt by the time he graduated high school. Of course, in that case, he wasn't soley to blame, as his parents probably could have prevented a lot of that by putting their foot down. In either case, the credit industry can be really predatory and so I feel it is really important to try to break the dependency some folks have.
It's interesting to me that a "teacher/professor" would be patronizing to someone writing a blog. You seem to indicate you take this approach, and granted a "D" grade to your student because the blogger did not cite his references. Then you proceeded to correct him without citing YOUR references. You are doing nothing more than stating your opinion, the same as this blogger. If you really are a teacher, please back up your information by listing your references, or consider revising the poor grade you seem to have granted your student because they dared disagree with your opinion.
It may be due to the UHT (Ultra-High Temp) process used to pasteurize the milk. Apparently this carmelizes the sugar in the milk and makes it taste sweeter.
But the question is whether organically produced milk is significantly different from its inorganic competition.
The point was that what the cow is fed and exposed to DOES NOT affect the milk. Whether organic or not.
I don't think I'm out of control concerning my spending. I always bring my ID, one credit card, and some cash with me pretty much for the same reasons stannius mentioned even if I don't plan on spending any money. You never know when you may find yourself stuck in a situation not have an ID or money on you.