I'm a geek tipper - I use the iPhone app "Check, Please" to calculate the appropriate amount - whether 12, 15 17.5 or 20% as required or deserved. If I am paying cash, I will then round up to the nearest dollar amount. If I am paying by card, I will pay exactly what is calculated on the app.
As an Aussie who doesn't tip every day (I only tip when travelling in countries that use tipping regularly, or when I get exceptional service in those countries that do not, since we don't have tipping here in Australia), I will only tip service that deserves a tip.
Adequate service get the lowest tip, the best service will sometimes even get an additional cash tip handed to them personally. However, atrocious service WILL result in no tip whatsoever. Rudeness, sullen attitudes, lack of attention - there are quite a few things that will result in no tip, but they will be left with no doubts as to why they got no tip. All it takes is a smile, attention to my needs (not mind-reading), and a pleasant attitude will get a reasonable tip. Go above and beyond, you'll get more than you bargained for :)
In general, my thinking is this: A house is primarily a place to live. Letting investment thinking drive your housing choices is usually not the best plan. If you like your house and want to live there, then it may be worth paying up to keep your house. If it's just a place to live, you'll probably come out ahead by cutting your losses—find some way to sell, pay off what you can, find a cheaper place to live, rebuild your finances.
As a practical matter, that's hard to do. Unless you have enough money to pay off the difference between what you owe and what you can sell it for, you'll end up damaging your credit for years to come—and that's the best case. If you don't get all the legal stuff right, you can end up with the bank coming after you for the money years later, after you'd thought your try at house ownership was just a bad memory. So, get good legal advice before doing anything drastic.
Trying to sell the house yourself is probably harmless, but unlikely to be successful unless you both set your asking price at the market price and work pretty hard at marketing it. Asking above market and then just waiting in the hopes that someone will come along and decide pay it is not likely to work.
I do have one useful thought for you, though: Don't imagine that waiting now will mean that you'll have to wait for another full cycle to get a house. After a crash like this, it takes years before house prices go back up again. Many years. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if 5–7 years from now houses are still quite cheap relative to the peak of the bubble. I wrote a bit about this in a post called Don't worry about missing the bottom in houses.
Volunteer and Explore Nepal (VEX Nepal), a not-for-profit and non-governmental organization, is to provide volunteering and traveling opportunities in Nepal that make it possible for both hosts and visitors to share, discover, teach and learn with respect. Volunteers gain a sense of satisfaction from contributing to Nepalese communities, but they also learn language and gain insights into culture, ecology, history and geography while exploring the country.
We offer the most affordable and exciting travel and volunteering programs in Nepal for the betterment of local communities in need and to enrich the lives of travelers around the globe. Its unique and innovative ways of working make it a highly competitive and popular travel and volunteer placement in Nepal, providing a truly satisfying and fulfilling experience for all travelers.
Whatever your interests – language, culture, economics, agriculture, forestry, flora and fauna, history, sustainability, appropriate technology, community organization, leadership, entrepreneurship, children, women, human rights – we can place you with organizations, communities and families that will enrich your understanding of Nepal while also giving you opportunities to learn more specific skills and knowledge.
Contact Info:
Volunteer & Explore Nepal (VEX Nepal)
Z Street, Thamel
Kathmandu
Nepal
Volunteer and Explore Nepal (VEX Nepal), a not-for-profit and non-governmental organization, is to provide volunteering and traveling opportunities in Nepal that make it possible for both hosts and visitors to share, discover, teach and learn with respect. Volunteers gain a sense of satisfaction from contributing to Nepalese communities, but they also learn language and gain insights into culture, ecology, history and geography while exploring the country.
We offer the most affordable and exciting travel and volunteering programs in Nepal for the betterment of local communities in need and to enrich the lives of travelers around the globe. Its unique and innovative ways of working make it a highly competitive and popular travel and volunteer placement in Nepal, providing a truly satisfying and fulfilling experience for all travelers.
Whatever your interests – language, culture, economics, agriculture, forestry, flora and fauna, history, sustainability, appropriate technology, community organization, leadership, entrepreneurship, children, women, human rights – we can place you with organizations, communities and families that will enrich your understanding of Nepal while also giving you opportunities to learn more specific skills and knowledge.
I finally settled on the blue lizard sensitive skin - I bought a gallon of it at drugstore.com getting cash back from bing - it's a 3 - not ideal - but simple enough
An option I have been happy with is Aubrey Organics SPF 20 Face and Body Unscented Sunscreen $5 for 4oz through the Vitacost website. Aubrey has a great reputation and some of the best ratings on the environmental working groups website called Skindeep. I do not go in the sun with this between 10am-2pm since it is only 20 SPF and its best to avoid those hours altogether if you can. Go to the beach or pool later in the day and save some money and your skin.
I am a cheapskate but when it comes to health $5 is a drop in the bucket. Vitacost also has flat rate shipping of $5 which is nice if you have a few things to order.
Never shortchange your health just spend extra time researching for the healthiest alternatives in your price range.
For example there are very few shampoos out there that do not have chemicals that
cause hormonal problems and cancer. Aubrey had a great shampoo that is highly rated for $10 (Blue Chamomile) and I do not even need conditioner the bottle has lasted me 2 months and I wash my hair 2 times per week (cheepskate :)
Yard sale is fun and enjoyable. It allows you to get rid of items that you no longer have any use for. When you hold a garage sale, try to have someone to assist you whenever possible and designate a cashier so no prospective buyer can claim that they have already paid someone else.
I think this option would be well worth looking into for most of us older cell phone users. I typically use about 200 minutes per month, which is not very much.
I never text--ever.
Having said that, it looks like ths option would save me money.
However, I would never sign a contract, I would definitely read the fine print, and I would probaly call up and ask about 5000 questions of someone before going thru with it. The 5000 questions being about hidden charges, hidden fees and so forth.
Probably didn't explain that in enough detail there, really. If you put your fermentation vessel in a large cardboard box and pack the space between the container and the box with bits of expanded polystyrene it will help to protect it from extremes of tempereature and keep it at a constant level. An aquarium heater set to the correct temperature would then help it ferment completely in a much shorter time. And Warman, I'd go for about at least 2 or 3 pound a gallon. 2 pound a gallon will give you 10% alcohol; (or about 12% alcohol US; american gallons are smaller); you could maybe go as high as 3 and a half pounds a gallon if you were using a turbo yeast.
I bought a home with an ex in 2005, fast forward 3 years and I ended up getting the loan, her name was taken off not through a refi, I should've fought it a bit more and well an ill conceived thought that the market would go back up and it would never sell came up. I wasn't really in the right mind at the time and went very back and forth on whether I want the house at the time. I was actually surprised I got the loan as it's like half of my paycheck of the month.
2010 rolls around and the house was 120,000 in 2005 and is now like 95000 or so. I can make the payments OK, but it's disheartening to see I've paying through the nose when the neighbors house sells for 85k or when someone buys a hosue for 60k that's nicer than mine. I know I'm somewhat stuck as it's just a series of bad decisions without knowing the eventually outcome.
What are my options? The home isn't very big so it's not very rentable, I'm also not too comfortable with renting either. A realator said I might, might be able to get 105 as FSBO, but the thought of FSBO scares me, I'm like 25 now and well I don't know anything about really buying or selling a house. I'm going to contact a few more realtors to get their opinions, but comparable sales nearby arn't promising, honestly it looks more like 95k. FSBO? Realtor? Short sale? Foreclosure?
It's a FHA loan and I do currenty have a job which I was previously approved to take over the loan with so it's not like I'm financially stressed as it would concern them. To me I would consider it so, I've been pretty much cash strapped since I took over the loan.
I would like to switch to a lower cost foreclosure in the country, but I know my expectations are most likely too ambitious. I was thinking of renting for a year or years (5-7) to acculmalate wealth and buy again once the market takes another crap. I also thought I could live at my moms for a bit as well in the interim.
Any thoughts are appreciated. The anxiety of all of this is just a bit too much. I don't want to be stuck paying through the nose when I have a better financial route, but I also don't want to make a hasty decisions and dig myself deeper in a hole. Also, on a side note if I did foreclose or short-sale would that effect her at all since her name was taken of like 2 years ago?
I switched to prepaid because my usage went down significantly. I canceled my contract at Verizon Wireless and found that NET 10 was perfect for me. I also downgraded my qwerty keyboard phone to a regular flip phone. I got a great deal on their through NET 10. I got a cellphone, 300 minutes included upon activation, a 200 minutes card and a free accessory kit all for around $19!! It lasted me more than a month so I got the same deal again and I'm planning to re-sell these phones to keep the costs even lower. It's a way to go for me.
Hooking in to your neighbor's wireless is free for a reason - it's theft. Just like you don't pay for that candy bar you stick in your pocket at the convenience store, if you are getting free wireless without the network owner's permission, it's stealing. It's not only bad money sense, it's bad moral sense, too.
I highly recommend that people lock down their wireless as much as they can. It's so easy to get on an unsecured network and do illegal things that would end up in the prosecution of the network owner. (I know because my brother got in trouble with their ISP for alledgedly downloading media - media that was totally out of character had my brother actually been the one to download it.)
I have been making my own for several years. At first I was also worried but have found that it is as effective as Badger and I can make it just a bit thinner so it spreads around more easily. I have complete control over what goes in it. If you do some research you will find that some oils have natural spf. By starting with those you have protection out of the gate, then by the time you add the mineral it works exceedingly well. We are always a little pasty looking though.
I think one of the problems has been that manufacturers are advertising that suncreams are a first line defense and they are not. Shade - clothing and avoiding the sun between 10 and 2 are first line defenses. There are products you can wash clothes in that gives them a higher SPF. Tshirts are very low SPF protection.
There are at least 7 additional ingredients approved for sunscreens in the rest of the world. It took Mexoryl 13 years before the FDA even considered approving it in the US - and the FDA doesn't usually get involved with suncreams (cosmetics). Other countries regulate cosmetic ingredients much more than the US - and their studies aren't subject to as much influence from companies making the products. None of the sunscreams sold in the US are safe with any tint or pigment (under, over or combined) with them. I think Australia is a leader in sun protection research and advise.
I was disappointed by EWG's ratings on Mexoryl. I order Ombrelle from Canada as a cheap alternative (Mexoryl is a generic except in the states).
I say this as a skin cancer survivor. There was a very interesting class action suit against all the major makers of suncreams in the US, including Consumer Union (CR did testing) which called it a $9 billion dollar snake oil industry. The incidences of skin cancer has risen dramatically as the public has increased usage of sunscreams! I would not recommend depending on creams as the sole defense against sun. UVA can't be seen, doesn't burn and penetrates the deepest, causing the most harm. Skin is the largest organ on your body, even a tan lowers a persons immunity and permanently alters DNA. It's quite surprising. Some of this is due to the chemicals we are exposed to that weren't in our enviroment 30 years ago.
I will fight skin cancer for the rest of my life, which isn't fun. Protection from the sun before the age of 20 (or any age) is the biggest anti-aging gift possible. The sun and the enviroment today are not the same that you or your parents grew up with.
It may have been my kids that you saw at the pool, Carrie! Sun protective clothing is safer, and with small kids, much faster than reapplying sunscreen all day. It's also more cost effective in the long run! When I talked to my pediatrician about sunscreens, she suggested that I cover the kids as much as possible with sun protective clothing. As she explained to me, if you think about what people in other countries with very hot climates wear, they tend to wear lightweight clothing that covers their entire bodies. Sun protective clothing is more expensive than regular clothing, but you don't need more than a few rash guards to get through the summer.
This is why I hate bloggers. Take a journalism class if you want to write. Cite your sources and do fact checks, don't just regurgitate what's on the Internet.
I figure the nearest whole dollar amount to the percentage I want to leave. Then the total addition is easier.
Since my tax is 6%, I multiply it by 3 and play with that number.
I do the Easy 20 as well. It's simple, and basic math.
I'm a geek tipper - I use the iPhone app "Check, Please" to calculate the appropriate amount - whether 12, 15 17.5 or 20% as required or deserved. If I am paying cash, I will then round up to the nearest dollar amount. If I am paying by card, I will pay exactly what is calculated on the app.
As an Aussie who doesn't tip every day (I only tip when travelling in countries that use tipping regularly, or when I get exceptional service in those countries that do not, since we don't have tipping here in Australia), I will only tip service that deserves a tip.
Adequate service get the lowest tip, the best service will sometimes even get an additional cash tip handed to them personally. However, atrocious service WILL result in no tip whatsoever. Rudeness, sullen attitudes, lack of attention - there are quite a few things that will result in no tip, but they will be left with no doubts as to why they got no tip. All it takes is a smile, attention to my needs (not mind-reading), and a pleasant attitude will get a reasonable tip. Go above and beyond, you'll get more than you bargained for :)
I use a method not listed: let's call it the Easy 20 method.
Take the amount of your bill (ex: $23.17) and drop the last digit (in other words, you are dividing by 10 to get 10%.... in this case $2.31).
Double that amount, and you have a perfect 20% tip. In this case $2.31 x 2 = $4.62.
Then simple addition to add $23.17 + 4.62 = $27.79
In general, my thinking is this: A house is primarily a place to live. Letting investment thinking drive your housing choices is usually not the best plan. If you like your house and want to live there, then it may be worth paying up to keep your house. If it's just a place to live, you'll probably come out ahead by cutting your losses—find some way to sell, pay off what you can, find a cheaper place to live, rebuild your finances.
As a practical matter, that's hard to do. Unless you have enough money to pay off the difference between what you owe and what you can sell it for, you'll end up damaging your credit for years to come—and that's the best case. If you don't get all the legal stuff right, you can end up with the bank coming after you for the money years later, after you'd thought your try at house ownership was just a bad memory. So, get good legal advice before doing anything drastic.
Trying to sell the house yourself is probably harmless, but unlikely to be successful unless you both set your asking price at the market price and work pretty hard at marketing it. Asking above market and then just waiting in the hopes that someone will come along and decide pay it is not likely to work.
I do have one useful thought for you, though: Don't imagine that waiting now will mean that you'll have to wait for another full cycle to get a house. After a crash like this, it takes years before house prices go back up again. Many years. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if 5–7 years from now houses are still quite cheap relative to the peak of the bubble. I wrote a bit about this in a post called Don't worry about missing the bottom in houses.
very helpful article thanks for sharing
Very helpful article. I had this problem a few years before. I am kinda regretful because I haven't had the chance to read this article back then.
I read a ton of PF blogs every day--so itis hard to read every one of them word for word.
I did for this one.
This is some of the best info out there for parents.
I am as cheap as they come, but I already put in my order for one of those expensive ones.
With some things--not many, but some, you really have to throw the cost aspect out the window.
Who knows, maybe the report is a bucnh of garbage. But what if it isn't?
I refuse to be responsible for lesions on my son.
Volunteer and Explore Nepal (VEX Nepal), a not-for-profit and non-governmental organization, is to provide volunteering and traveling opportunities in Nepal that make it possible for both hosts and visitors to share, discover, teach and learn with respect. Volunteers gain a sense of satisfaction from contributing to Nepalese communities, but they also learn language and gain insights into culture, ecology, history and geography while exploring the country.
We offer the most affordable and exciting travel and volunteering programs in Nepal for the betterment of local communities in need and to enrich the lives of travelers around the globe. Its unique and innovative ways of working make it a highly competitive and popular travel and volunteer placement in Nepal, providing a truly satisfying and fulfilling experience for all travelers.
Whatever your interests – language, culture, economics, agriculture, forestry, flora and fauna, history, sustainability, appropriate technology, community organization, leadership, entrepreneurship, children, women, human rights – we can place you with organizations, communities and families that will enrich your understanding of Nepal while also giving you opportunities to learn more specific skills and knowledge.
Contact Info:
Volunteer & Explore Nepal (VEX Nepal)
Z Street, Thamel
Kathmandu
Nepal
Phone No: + 977 1 4701657
Mobile No: + 977 9849112196
Email: vexnepal@gmail.com
Web: http://www.vexnepal.blogspot.com
Volunteer and Explore Nepal (VEX Nepal), a not-for-profit and non-governmental organization, is to provide volunteering and traveling opportunities in Nepal that make it possible for both hosts and visitors to share, discover, teach and learn with respect. Volunteers gain a sense of satisfaction from contributing to Nepalese communities, but they also learn language and gain insights into culture, ecology, history and geography while exploring the country.
We offer the most affordable and exciting travel and volunteering programs in Nepal for the betterment of local communities in need and to enrich the lives of travelers around the globe. Its unique and innovative ways of working make it a highly competitive and popular travel and volunteer placement in Nepal, providing a truly satisfying and fulfilling experience for all travelers.
Whatever your interests – language, culture, economics, agriculture, forestry, flora and fauna, history, sustainability, appropriate technology, community organization, leadership, entrepreneurship, children, women, human rights – we can place you with organizations, communities and families that will enrich your understanding of Nepal while also giving you opportunities to learn more specific skills and knowledge.
Contact Info:
Volunteer & Explore Nepal (VEX Nepal)
Z Street, Thamel
Kathmandu
Nepal
Phone No: + 977 1 4701657
Mobile No: + 977 9849112196
Email: vexnepal@gmail.com
Web: http://www.vexnepal.blogspot.com
Carrie I just did this this week myself LOL
I finally settled on the blue lizard sensitive skin - I bought a gallon of it at drugstore.com getting cash back from bing - it's a 3 - not ideal - but simple enough
An option I have been happy with is Aubrey Organics SPF 20 Face and Body Unscented Sunscreen $5 for 4oz through the Vitacost website. Aubrey has a great reputation and some of the best ratings on the environmental working groups website called Skindeep. I do not go in the sun with this between 10am-2pm since it is only 20 SPF and its best to avoid those hours altogether if you can. Go to the beach or pool later in the day and save some money and your skin.
I am a cheapskate but when it comes to health $5 is a drop in the bucket. Vitacost also has flat rate shipping of $5 which is nice if you have a few things to order.
Never shortchange your health just spend extra time researching for the healthiest alternatives in your price range.
For example there are very few shampoos out there that do not have chemicals that
cause hormonal problems and cancer. Aubrey had a great shampoo that is highly rated for $10 (Blue Chamomile) and I do not even need conditioner the bottle has lasted me 2 months and I wash my hair 2 times per week (cheepskate :)
Yard sale is fun and enjoyable. It allows you to get rid of items that you no longer have any use for. When you hold a garage sale, try to have someone to assist you whenever possible and designate a cashier so no prospective buyer can claim that they have already paid someone else.
I think this option would be well worth looking into for most of us older cell phone users. I typically use about 200 minutes per month, which is not very much.
I never text--ever.
Having said that, it looks like ths option would save me money.
However, I would never sign a contract, I would definitely read the fine print, and I would probaly call up and ask about 5000 questions of someone before going thru with it. The 5000 questions being about hidden charges, hidden fees and so forth.
But overall, it could be a money saver!
Probably didn't explain that in enough detail there, really. If you put your fermentation vessel in a large cardboard box and pack the space between the container and the box with bits of expanded polystyrene it will help to protect it from extremes of tempereature and keep it at a constant level. An aquarium heater set to the correct temperature would then help it ferment completely in a much shorter time. And Warman, I'd go for about at least 2 or 3 pound a gallon. 2 pound a gallon will give you 10% alcohol; (or about 12% alcohol US; american gallons are smaller); you could maybe go as high as 3 and a half pounds a gallon if you were using a turbo yeast.
On a side note, I'm single and have no kids with a dog. So I don't really have any attachments.
I bought a home with an ex in 2005, fast forward 3 years and I ended up getting the loan, her name was taken off not through a refi, I should've fought it a bit more and well an ill conceived thought that the market would go back up and it would never sell came up. I wasn't really in the right mind at the time and went very back and forth on whether I want the house at the time. I was actually surprised I got the loan as it's like half of my paycheck of the month.
2010 rolls around and the house was 120,000 in 2005 and is now like 95000 or so. I can make the payments OK, but it's disheartening to see I've paying through the nose when the neighbors house sells for 85k or when someone buys a hosue for 60k that's nicer than mine. I know I'm somewhat stuck as it's just a series of bad decisions without knowing the eventually outcome.
What are my options? The home isn't very big so it's not very rentable, I'm also not too comfortable with renting either. A realator said I might, might be able to get 105 as FSBO, but the thought of FSBO scares me, I'm like 25 now and well I don't know anything about really buying or selling a house. I'm going to contact a few more realtors to get their opinions, but comparable sales nearby arn't promising, honestly it looks more like 95k. FSBO? Realtor? Short sale? Foreclosure?
It's a FHA loan and I do currenty have a job which I was previously approved to take over the loan with so it's not like I'm financially stressed as it would concern them. To me I would consider it so, I've been pretty much cash strapped since I took over the loan.
I would like to switch to a lower cost foreclosure in the country, but I know my expectations are most likely too ambitious. I was thinking of renting for a year or years (5-7) to acculmalate wealth and buy again once the market takes another crap. I also thought I could live at my moms for a bit as well in the interim.
Any thoughts are appreciated. The anxiety of all of this is just a bit too much. I don't want to be stuck paying through the nose when I have a better financial route, but I also don't want to make a hasty decisions and dig myself deeper in a hole. Also, on a side note if I did foreclose or short-sale would that effect her at all since her name was taken of like 2 years ago?
I switched to prepaid because my usage went down significantly. I canceled my contract at Verizon Wireless and found that NET 10 was perfect for me. I also downgraded my qwerty keyboard phone to a regular flip phone. I got a great deal on their through NET 10. I got a cellphone, 300 minutes included upon activation, a 200 minutes card and a free accessory kit all for around $19!! It lasted me more than a month so I got the same deal again and I'm planning to re-sell these phones to keep the costs even lower. It's a way to go for me.
I wanted to add to your comment:
Hooking in to your neighbor's wireless is free for a reason - it's theft. Just like you don't pay for that candy bar you stick in your pocket at the convenience store, if you are getting free wireless without the network owner's permission, it's stealing. It's not only bad money sense, it's bad moral sense, too.
I highly recommend that people lock down their wireless as much as they can. It's so easy to get on an unsecured network and do illegal things that would end up in the prosecution of the network owner. (I know because my brother got in trouble with their ISP for alledgedly downloading media - media that was totally out of character had my brother actually been the one to download it.)
I have been making my own for several years. At first I was also worried but have found that it is as effective as Badger and I can make it just a bit thinner so it spreads around more easily. I have complete control over what goes in it. If you do some research you will find that some oils have natural spf. By starting with those you have protection out of the gate, then by the time you add the mineral it works exceedingly well. We are always a little pasty looking though.
I think one of the problems has been that manufacturers are advertising that suncreams are a first line defense and they are not. Shade - clothing and avoiding the sun between 10 and 2 are first line defenses. There are products you can wash clothes in that gives them a higher SPF. Tshirts are very low SPF protection.
There are at least 7 additional ingredients approved for sunscreens in the rest of the world. It took Mexoryl 13 years before the FDA even considered approving it in the US - and the FDA doesn't usually get involved with suncreams (cosmetics). Other countries regulate cosmetic ingredients much more than the US - and their studies aren't subject to as much influence from companies making the products. None of the sunscreams sold in the US are safe with any tint or pigment (under, over or combined) with them. I think Australia is a leader in sun protection research and advise.
I was disappointed by EWG's ratings on Mexoryl. I order Ombrelle from Canada as a cheap alternative (Mexoryl is a generic except in the states).
I say this as a skin cancer survivor. There was a very interesting class action suit against all the major makers of suncreams in the US, including Consumer Union (CR did testing) which called it a $9 billion dollar snake oil industry. The incidences of skin cancer has risen dramatically as the public has increased usage of sunscreams! I would not recommend depending on creams as the sole defense against sun. UVA can't be seen, doesn't burn and penetrates the deepest, causing the most harm. Skin is the largest organ on your body, even a tan lowers a persons immunity and permanently alters DNA. It's quite surprising. Some of this is due to the chemicals we are exposed to that weren't in our enviroment 30 years ago.
I will fight skin cancer for the rest of my life, which isn't fun. Protection from the sun before the age of 20 (or any age) is the biggest anti-aging gift possible. The sun and the enviroment today are not the same that you or your parents grew up with.
It may have been my kids that you saw at the pool, Carrie! Sun protective clothing is safer, and with small kids, much faster than reapplying sunscreen all day. It's also more cost effective in the long run! When I talked to my pediatrician about sunscreens, she suggested that I cover the kids as much as possible with sun protective clothing. As she explained to me, if you think about what people in other countries with very hot climates wear, they tend to wear lightweight clothing that covers their entire bodies. Sun protective clothing is more expensive than regular clothing, but you don't need more than a few rash guards to get through the summer.
I take back what I said, my calling you a blogger is an insult to legit bloggers.
This is why I hate bloggers. Take a journalism class if you want to write. Cite your sources and do fact checks, don't just regurgitate what's on the Internet.