It's unfortunate, but it just proves that there is always risk to every action. It seems you would have been better off renting instead of buying, but unless you listened to people like Peter Schiff in 2006/2007 you wouldn't have seen this coming. Personally I put most of the blame on the federal reserve. If they hadn't lowered interest rates to ridiculously low levels, and hadn't decreased the required amount of reserves (fractional reserve banking), then there wouldn't have been so much credit available to be given out creating this artificial boom.
The sad thing is that we will be facing a double whammy once the market starts feeling all of the extra money they are printing. I have a feeling prices are going to be rising rather quickly.
I always say to skip the gifts and just spend time doing your favorite things together. Play board games or go skiing or whatever it is you like to do.
My fiance and I have always thought valentine's day is a racket, considering everything is jacked up in price for that day.
We wait until the day after valentine's day to do our thing. Avoid the crowds, and often get the "leftover" candy and flowers 75%+ off. It's worth it to me!
If you want to give your sweetheart something special without spending a lot of money, bake him something special and spectacular, depending on his taste. A batch of chocolate-dipped hazelnut biscotti is easy to make, a little gourmet, and will make him think of you every morning as he dips it in his coffee. :)
My favorite frugal tip, like many others have mentioned, is to cook a special recipe at home and just enjoy each others' company. We aren't going to do valentine's day "gifts" because saving money is much more important to us. Putting together a fancy meal at home is usually cheaper than going out anyhow.
I'm thinking about making my own valentine's day cards this weekend. I already have cardstock laying around so I'd really just need some envelopes.
I think that the simple and sweet things are remembered most. Whatever comes from the heart is always best, whatever shows you have paid attention and listened.
We will have dinner at home again. This year, it will be pizza and heart shaped chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. He keeps all the little love sticky notes, cards, and letters I write. So, this Valentine's, I am making him a keepsake box to store them all in (with a new note, of course).
I'll be making my husband's favorite meal (chicken fettuccine alfredo, breadsticks, wine) and sending the kids to Grandma's house. We'll have candle-light and music, peruse photo-albums from our 10 years together. Maybe dig up some of the good memories to laugh about. I can't think of anything more romantic. Total cost: Maybe 20 bucks. We don't buy expensive wine. I have no idea what he's going to do for me. The most frugal thing would probably be for him to just forget all about it, and that could happen.
My favorite cheap idea for Valentine's Day is to give someone the gift of a sensory experience and get back in touch with the 5 senses the homeade way. You could give someone a backrup (touch) while listening to their favorite songs (hearing) and smelling some yummy candles (smell) after making them dinner (taste) and letting them just gaze at your beautiful self, the love of their life (sight).
It's easy to get caught up in the rush and forget that we are physical people who experience the world through our senses. Remind your lovely how great all the senses can be! Happy valentine's Day!
Well, I learned this one from my parents. Instead of a big bouquet of flowers, give a single rose. It's not too expensive and it makes a nice focal point. Sure the big bunch has the "wow" factor, but there's something sweet about the single rose.
As you may have heard, lobster is selling at a very low price right now. My husband and I love to stay home for Valentine's and steam our own lobsters. It's the same fancy meal without the crowds and cost.
Our sunday school class gets together to prepare and serve a meal to the senior citizen's sunday school class. After we eat, we play the Newlywed game or something. It's always a hoot! Fun and beats sitting for three hours waiting to eat at a restaurant.
My partner and I make a spaghetti and meatball dinner together and eat it in candlelight Lady and the Tramp style. We make a point of spending time together rather money on each other.
I also make him a special dessert because he's diabetic. Last year it was almondy bites. Basically they were a Splendafied sugar cookie recipe from Alton Brown. Then, I added almond extract and I ground some sliced almonds we already had and mixed it into the batter. Baked them and then rolled them in a bit of Splenda on top.
You have to admit, it does look a little funny recommending a site that so heavily relies on recommendations as part of it's business. I visited the site, and it seems to be all about referring other people and promoting your work to everyone you know.
That might work... for a little while... But I think people will quickly become sick of their family and friends sending them all their articles. I'm not sure I see Bukisa as a destination website for people looking for information. There are much better sites out there for reading about travel, fashion, etc.
Though I do think these sites might be good for hobby writers because there's no risk of rejection and no editors saying what's good or bad (or is there a review process?)
Xin, I'm really curious to see how your series pans out. I've read about other services that will pay a flat rate of $4 per article, so I'm wondering how the numbers work out among all the services -- or if I might be better of blogging (or working as a waitress!)
Xin, I think I was unclear about one of my criticisms. When I was talking about advertising, I didn't mean you or Wisebread. I meant that a lot of people who write books and who have businesses will write these free or low-paying articles just to get the word out. It's good advertising for them.
I personally feel that people should write for something of value to them, whether it's money, advertising, education, exposure or the ability to express themselves. Many of these writing websites pay less than minimum wage jobs, so you really have to love what you're doing or find a way to make it worthwhile.
Bukisa was interesting in a campy sort of way, but the business model seems to rely too much on people referring their friends and family, and promoting their own work. In other words, quality writing isn't exactly a priority. Anyone can post anything so long as they promote it a lot so Bukisa gets lots of hits (so they can charge their advertisers more).
I'll write for free (I blog simply for the fun ot if), and I'll write for a good wage, but I won't write for pittance.
My wife and I like to splurge on really nice ingredients and wine and have a nice romantic meal at home rather than going out to a fancy restaurant. This saves money and also allows us more time to relax with each other rather than stressing out about a reservation and getting to the restaurant. We love cooking together so it works out perfectly for us!
We have a (distant) relative who is homeless pretty much by choice. For him, the main point in favor seem to be:
1) you almost never have to do what someone tells you
2) you never have to be anywhere at a specific time
I guess those fall under 'freedom' at the end, but they are so specific, that the seem worthy of singling out. When his closer relations do things with him, he is highly protective of his routines and schedules. I'm fairly sure he could have a more 'typical' life if he wanted one - the family has helped others in similar situations, but I honestly do not think it would be worth the trade to him.
All of the advantages you list also apply to the dead. Which you have good chance of becoming once you leave society. On the other hand, panhandling is a legitimate occupation as a low-skilled scam artist. More than half the population currently makes a living from various scams, so you can proudly rejoin society after you clock out.
We always have friends & relatives who don't know what to get us for Christmas, and usually we don't need much anyway, so we tell them to get us gift cards to cool local restaurants then use those for a nice valentine's day dinner!
I write a letter telling my husband all of the things I mean to but never get to in the course of everyday life. Also, I re-create a favorite meal of his. It's easy to google restaurant recipes and much cheaper to make the dish yourself.
My husband and I have been married for just about 2 years, but we haven't really done anything special for Valentine's Day since the first one we spent together as a dating couple. This year I am planning a "picnic". I'm making dinner, putting it into a picnic basket and laying a picnic on the floor. Just the two of us in our first house (awaiting our first baby). I am so excited!
I can appreciate that many folks, including myself feel that anyone who is or was overextended should be made to take responsibility for the decisions they made.
But let's not lump all these people into one basket.
I purchased a home 5 years ago. I took out a conservative FHA mortgage at a low interest rate and made a substantial downpayment. I also invested in a new furnace, hot water heater, front door, windows and siding.
Also, I purchased a home about half the amount I was qualified by my lendor to borrow.
Now I suddenly need to sell my house because I'm being forced to move in order to keep my job. I put it up for sale at a price which would just allow me to break even and got not one single offer for four months. One relator suggested I put $10,000 worth of home improvements on my credit card to get my asking price. Another realtor thought I could get an offer if I listed the property at about $20,000 under my break-even point.
I was not in any way irresponsible. The market has been depressed due to large numbers of foreclosures. Not all of those are due to greedy buyers, many of them are people who have lost their jobs or had expensive medical problems. Many buyers just wait for the price to drop because they know prices are still falling and waiting forces more concessions of the part of the seller.
Why should I pour my life savings into a bank which is just going to ask the government for more of my tax dollars to buy a $45 million airlplane when I drive a 20 year old honda?
So feel free to be cruel. But just realize that being cruel says much more about you than it does about the people you are being cruel to! As the saying goes... "Mean People Suck!"
Upsidedown,
It's unfortunate, but it just proves that there is always risk to every action. It seems you would have been better off renting instead of buying, but unless you listened to people like Peter Schiff in 2006/2007 you wouldn't have seen this coming. Personally I put most of the blame on the federal reserve. If they hadn't lowered interest rates to ridiculously low levels, and hadn't decreased the required amount of reserves (fractional reserve banking), then there wouldn't have been so much credit available to be given out creating this artificial boom.
The sad thing is that we will be facing a double whammy once the market starts feeling all of the extra money they are printing. I have a feeling prices are going to be rising rather quickly.
Anyway, good luck to you.
I always say to skip the gifts and just spend time doing your favorite things together. Play board games or go skiing or whatever it is you like to do.
no kidding. its not a "AA" battery it is a 12 volt a 23 size.
My fiance and I have always thought valentine's day is a racket, considering everything is jacked up in price for that day.
We wait until the day after valentine's day to do our thing. Avoid the crowds, and often get the "leftover" candy and flowers 75%+ off. It's worth it to me!
If you want to give your sweetheart something special without spending a lot of money, bake him something special and spectacular, depending on his taste. A batch of chocolate-dipped hazelnut biscotti is easy to make, a little gourmet, and will make him think of you every morning as he dips it in his coffee. :)
sweet - this would be a grear v-day gift!
My favorite frugal tip, like many others have mentioned, is to cook a special recipe at home and just enjoy each others' company. We aren't going to do valentine's day "gifts" because saving money is much more important to us. Putting together a fancy meal at home is usually cheaper than going out anyhow.
I'm thinking about making my own valentine's day cards this weekend. I already have cardstock laying around so I'd really just need some envelopes.
I think that the simple and sweet things are remembered most. Whatever comes from the heart is always best, whatever shows you have paid attention and listened.
We will have dinner at home again. This year, it will be pizza and heart shaped chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. He keeps all the little love sticky notes, cards, and letters I write. So, this Valentine's, I am making him a keepsake box to store them all in (with a new note, of course).
I'll be making my husband's favorite meal (chicken fettuccine alfredo, breadsticks, wine) and sending the kids to Grandma's house. We'll have candle-light and music, peruse photo-albums from our 10 years together. Maybe dig up some of the good memories to laugh about. I can't think of anything more romantic. Total cost: Maybe 20 bucks. We don't buy expensive wine. I have no idea what he's going to do for me. The most frugal thing would probably be for him to just forget all about it, and that could happen.
My favorite cheap idea for Valentine's Day is to give someone the gift of a sensory experience and get back in touch with the 5 senses the homeade way. You could give someone a backrup (touch) while listening to their favorite songs (hearing) and smelling some yummy candles (smell) after making them dinner (taste) and letting them just gaze at your beautiful self, the love of their life (sight).
It's easy to get caught up in the rush and forget that we are physical people who experience the world through our senses. Remind your lovely how great all the senses can be! Happy valentine's Day!
Well, I learned this one from my parents. Instead of a big bouquet of flowers, give a single rose. It's not too expensive and it makes a nice focal point. Sure the big bunch has the "wow" factor, but there's something sweet about the single rose.
As you may have heard, lobster is selling at a very low price right now. My husband and I love to stay home for Valentine's and steam our own lobsters. It's the same fancy meal without the crowds and cost.
Our sunday school class gets together to prepare and serve a meal to the senior citizen's sunday school class. After we eat, we play the Newlywed game or something. It's always a hoot! Fun and beats sitting for three hours waiting to eat at a restaurant.
My partner and I make a spaghetti and meatball dinner together and eat it in candlelight Lady and the Tramp style. We make a point of spending time together rather money on each other.
I also make him a special dessert because he's diabetic. Last year it was almondy bites. Basically they were a Splendafied sugar cookie recipe from Alton Brown. Then, I added almond extract and I ground some sliced almonds we already had and mixed it into the batter. Baked them and then rolled them in a bit of Splenda on top.
You have to admit, it does look a little funny recommending a site that so heavily relies on recommendations as part of it's business. I visited the site, and it seems to be all about referring other people and promoting your work to everyone you know.
That might work... for a little while... But I think people will quickly become sick of their family and friends sending them all their articles. I'm not sure I see Bukisa as a destination website for people looking for information. There are much better sites out there for reading about travel, fashion, etc.
Though I do think these sites might be good for hobby writers because there's no risk of rejection and no editors saying what's good or bad (or is there a review process?)
Xin, I'm really curious to see how your series pans out. I've read about other services that will pay a flat rate of $4 per article, so I'm wondering how the numbers work out among all the services -- or if I might be better of blogging (or working as a waitress!)
Xin, I think I was unclear about one of my criticisms. When I was talking about advertising, I didn't mean you or Wisebread. I meant that a lot of people who write books and who have businesses will write these free or low-paying articles just to get the word out. It's good advertising for them.
I personally feel that people should write for something of value to them, whether it's money, advertising, education, exposure or the ability to express themselves. Many of these writing websites pay less than minimum wage jobs, so you really have to love what you're doing or find a way to make it worthwhile.
Bukisa was interesting in a campy sort of way, but the business model seems to rely too much on people referring their friends and family, and promoting their own work. In other words, quality writing isn't exactly a priority. Anyone can post anything so long as they promote it a lot so Bukisa gets lots of hits (so they can charge their advertisers more).
I'll write for free (I blog simply for the fun ot if), and I'll write for a good wage, but I won't write for pittance.
My wife and I like to splurge on really nice ingredients and wine and have a nice romantic meal at home rather than going out to a fancy restaurant. This saves money and also allows us more time to relax with each other rather than stressing out about a reservation and getting to the restaurant. We love cooking together so it works out perfectly for us!
We have a (distant) relative who is homeless pretty much by choice. For him, the main point in favor seem to be:
1) you almost never have to do what someone tells you
2) you never have to be anywhere at a specific time
I guess those fall under 'freedom' at the end, but they are so specific, that the seem worthy of singling out. When his closer relations do things with him, he is highly protective of his routines and schedules. I'm fairly sure he could have a more 'typical' life if he wanted one - the family has helped others in similar situations, but I honestly do not think it would be worth the trade to him.
This will be our fifth year together. We will be cooking a very nice meal for our selves instead of fighting for a table in a restaurant.
All of the advantages you list also apply to the dead. Which you have good chance of becoming once you leave society. On the other hand, panhandling is a legitimate occupation as a low-skilled scam artist. More than half the population currently makes a living from various scams, so you can proudly rejoin society after you clock out.
We always have friends & relatives who don't know what to get us for Christmas, and usually we don't need much anyway, so we tell them to get us gift cards to cool local restaurants then use those for a nice valentine's day dinner!
I write a letter telling my husband all of the things I mean to but never get to in the course of everyday life. Also, I re-create a favorite meal of his. It's easy to google restaurant recipes and much cheaper to make the dish yourself.
My husband and I have been married for just about 2 years, but we haven't really done anything special for Valentine's Day since the first one we spent together as a dating couple. This year I am planning a "picnic". I'm making dinner, putting it into a picnic basket and laying a picnic on the floor. Just the two of us in our first house (awaiting our first baby). I am so excited!
I can appreciate that many folks, including myself feel that anyone who is or was overextended should be made to take responsibility for the decisions they made.
But let's not lump all these people into one basket.
I purchased a home 5 years ago. I took out a conservative FHA mortgage at a low interest rate and made a substantial downpayment. I also invested in a new furnace, hot water heater, front door, windows and siding.
Also, I purchased a home about half the amount I was qualified by my lendor to borrow.
Now I suddenly need to sell my house because I'm being forced to move in order to keep my job. I put it up for sale at a price which would just allow me to break even and got not one single offer for four months. One relator suggested I put $10,000 worth of home improvements on my credit card to get my asking price. Another realtor thought I could get an offer if I listed the property at about $20,000 under my break-even point.
I was not in any way irresponsible. The market has been depressed due to large numbers of foreclosures. Not all of those are due to greedy buyers, many of them are people who have lost their jobs or had expensive medical problems. Many buyers just wait for the price to drop because they know prices are still falling and waiting forces more concessions of the part of the seller.
Why should I pour my life savings into a bank which is just going to ask the government for more of my tax dollars to buy a $45 million airlplane when I drive a 20 year old honda?
So feel free to be cruel. But just realize that being cruel says much more about you than it does about the people you are being cruel to! As the saying goes... "Mean People Suck!"
Best,
UpSideDown and broke
Rent a dvd. Cuddle while watching.