It certainly is quaint to grow your own food or to knit a sweater...but c'mon folks, you can buy practically anything for a fraction of your own personal time, labor, materials to produce. Self-sufficiency...simply focus on what you do best, earn and save...then buy any darn thing that you want!
I had a 3" light dent on my rear quarter so on a hot day, over 80 degrees, I let my car sit in the direct sunlight till 3pm. I was about to heat it up with a hair dryer but before that I pushed on the metal from behind the dent. I have a hatchback and through the little panel I could reach in push from behind. Guess what? It actually popped out because the metal was so hot, being heated by the sun for 9 hours. Anyways, there was a little ding left that I tried the Hairdryer/C02 trick on and it didn't come out but overall I got a HUGE portion of the dent out and am very satisfied. Put your car in the sun and give it a try!
I think this post crosses the line by bypassing the giveawayoftheday.com home page and linking directly to the download page. It's not very "wise" of wisebread.com to do this, since it diminishes your reputation in some people's eyes.
Two different versions of much the same idea. I do the same thing, although I think of it as having a contingency plan. The format is just some notes about how much could be cut from which specific budget items, in case of necessity. Back when I was working a regular job, I kept a separate "bare-bones budget" that was my fall-back plan in case of something like job loss. It was against that budget that I figured my emergency fund--I wanted enough cash on hand to support that budget (not my regular budget) for 6 months.
Having some sort of scheme along these lines is important. It would be as foolish to budget assuming that nothing would ever go wrong as it would be to budget just for a crisis situation.
Oh, and yes: A budget is an excellent place to calculate whether the increase in standard of living is worth it when considering sending an additional person into the workforce, taking a second job, or changing to a higher-paying job.
There is no question that how you look drastically impacts how you are treated by others. During my younger years I was always described by others as being exceptionally handsome and good looking and I bore a strong resemblance to a very famous Hollywood actor, which no doubt accounted for the favorable way most people interacted with me.
It was not lost on me that my looks worked to my advantage in most situations, (especially in job interviews), and when I would wear a suit and tie the level of courtesy and deference with which I was treated invariably increased. It may not be fair, but this is simply how human beings seem to react to other human beings who are physically attractive.
As the years went by and I entered middle age I gained quite a bit of weight and rarely dressed up in business suits and fashionable leisure wear anymore. Over time, I noticed that strangers were not as accomodating and nice towards me as was once the case.
Since I still have all my hair and hardly any hints of gray, and since I have otherwise aged well with few wrinkles, etc., I must conclude that one of the fastest ways to go from "handsome" to "ugly" in American society is to put on 100 pounds of fat. Yep - that'll do it!
A few years ago I got serious about my diet and exercise regimen and lost 75 pounds. It was amazing how quickly the "old charisma" returned as I once more found myself being treated very attentively by good looking young ladies, sales clerks, co-workers on the job, etc. Five years later, though, when the weight came back, I was back in "nowhere land" - getting ignored and treated badly again in many situations.
The bottom line is this: If you get really fat in this country people will react very negatively to you because getting fat is perhaps the greatest social "sin" in American society. This is a real hoot given the fact that about 3/4's of all Americans are overweight or obese. Perhaps what we are seeing is a projection of self-loathing on the part of the 3/4's who are fat and fear of becoming fat on the part of the other 1/4 who are still thin?
I suppose you can't blame people for that. It's just human nature and I agree that we are biologically programmed to reject that which is ugly and to be attracted to that which is beautiful. We all do it from the time we are infants - so it just seems to be hard-wired in us - no doubt for the improvement of the species as we evolve.
So, if you've got good looks - enjoy them while they last - because everyone eventually ends up ugly if you live long enough! Such is life!
Aside from the real monthly budgets, I find that a theoretical budget for understanding what happens if you lose your job or switch to a lower-paying job is very informative for long-term planning. Mine has two columns of amounts for every item. The first column is Required (to avoid mutiny) and the second column is If income allows. They can differ because of extra expenses associated with more income or less time (e.g., more gasoline and prepared foods) or extra consumption enabled by the higher income (e.g., cable TV and NetFlix).
Each is totalled in both net and required pre-tax income, making it easy to see what would need to be pulled from savings (job loss) or what must be earned (change of job). Some may wonder if is worth earning more to cover the additional consumption or expenses.
I had to laugh at your comment about not having any DD's in your area. Where I'm from one out of every 5 or so gas stations has a full service Dunkin Donuts (usually even with drive-thru), many Supermarkets have in-store Dunkin Donuts, there is at least one (and often two or three) Dunkin Donuts in every neighborhood.
My father ran his own business up until last month and he did much trading for work. He got a leather couch and chair on the cheap a few years ago. About 15 years ago he got a trampoline for my brother and I (and ALL our friends). And many other things I'm sure.
I like the green Walmart bag I got for free. :) But, I was unhappy that they wouldn't give me a couple to fit my cartload of groceries in. Instead I had the green bag and 8 or 9 plastic bags. Grr. But, the bag is great to take in to Aldi. Aside from the milk, I can fit all my groceries in it...no more boxes! :)
Well, when I went to college a lot of my lectures were recorded so I rarely actually went to class. In fact, some classes encouraged students to stay at home because too many students in a lecture hall was a fire hazard. I sat in my dorm and watched them, though. The notes were online, too. The sessions that are more helpful than lecture were the small sections and labs that come after class. In those labs we did more hands on exercises and homework-like problems. Office hours helped, too. I also agree with other commenters that grades aren't the most important thing unless you want to go to graduate school or something. I got a 3.5 average GPA when I graduated, but noone really cares about that in the work environment. They just care that I can do the job.
When negotiating on behalf of my buyer-clients, I delve into certain data to assess how a particular home builder is negotiating with other buyers. When I'm armed with this data, it's merely a starting point to get a better deal for my buyer. By extrapolating the details of a new home transaction, there is potentially thousands to be saved.
Generally speaking, home builders protect realtor commissions for the sake of encouraging cooperation with Realtors; these professionals are a key part of providing exposure to theses builders’ new homes. Hence, a buyer would not save in this area.
However, if a builder agreed to give a special discount because a home buyer opted not to be represented, one must ask an important question: Is the builder trying to save the buyer money or himself? Would a good buyer’s agent expose something adverse that an unsuspecting buyer would simply be unaware of?
The pros of using a true buyer's agent for a new home purchase are innumerable; notice that I said true buyer's agent. I am a speaking about someone who is versed on new home and new construction matters. While I agree that you don’t need an incompetent agent to buy a new home, I would, however, disagree that you don’t need a qualified buyer’s agent to maximize one’s purchase.
A home buyer can research the new home buying process to a great extent and still miss out on many beneficial opportunities to maximize the purchase. I have seen this happen.
Lastly, FSBO's are generally trying to save themselves money, not the buyer; many are over-priced too.
since I usually don't "keep" a budget, just stop and examine spending every once in a while, but I think it's also worth asking, what is the value of each category to me? Is this how I want to spend my life? My partner also adds that he would prefer to break each category into "basics" and "luxuries," or perhaps counting party clothes, etc., as entertainment. (There's a nice mention in "I Don't Have a Thing to Wear" that the clothes in your closet should be in proportion to the time you spend on various activities.)
I hope you write a column or two on your search for private insurance. I was "lucky" enough to only pay $2000 a year for student insurance when I was quoted $700-800/month for private insurance (after years of being spoiled by $10/month premiums), but my sister's employer will no longer be offering that benefit as of July 1st, so she has been on the hunt.
I am 23 years old. I am currently in school and as I can't provide completly for myself such as a house, I work PAY TAXES and pay for college on my own and everything else. I think it is ridiculous that any child over 17 claimed as a dependent wont qualify for the stimulus check. Bush sure has his ways....
@Jessica: We used to do something similar, but were frequently "surprised" by the amount we had spent. This led to the idea of keeping a running total. To make it even more interesting you could leave the calculator at home, force participants to keep up with the total in their heads, and make it so the person farthest off from the total amount has to cook dinner that night. If we implemented this version in my household the kids would surely sabotage Mom for fear of Dad's cooking!
Have you gotten a webpage up? Really I think if the young people become poitically proactive as a group this wrong can be righted.
As a former college instructor and current parent to college students I think this wayof handling the stimulus does a grave injustice to quite possibly the hardest working "group" of Americans!
I would urge all taxpaying college students to write or better yet call (usually more effective than writing)their senators and representatives
Based on the irs website we should be getting $1500.00 (2 adults, and 1 child.) But I just checked our payment status on irs.gov and this is what it said...
Your total Stimulus payment was calculated as $1,238.00 and consists of the following:
Basic Amount: $938.00.
Qualifying Child Amount: $300.00 (Based on 1 qualifying children).
Your payment of $868.60 is scheduled to be mailed on May 16, 2008. If you do not receive the check by June 13, 2008, please contact us again. For information about how to file a claim because you have not received your check, or it was lost, stolen, or destroyed, please continue.
Your Stimulus payment was reduced based on your 2007 qualifying income, or it was limited to the amount of your 2007 Net Income Tax Liability.
What does the bold text mean?
I'm a stay at home mom and made no income in 2007, but my husband earned $35,000.00. We were to get $2100.00 back from the IRS, but since we owed $2,000.00 from 2004, they kept it. I'm so frustrated being on hold for hours on end to get a simple question answered. Any insight guys?
Thanks!
Seems like a lot of people aren't getting what they were promised!
We used to play this, well sort of. We didn't have a strict budget for food so at the checkout line we both would make a guess as to how much the food bill was going to be, and the winner was the one who got the closest without going over.
Now we've taken to adding up the food as we go, so we both know how much the bill will be at the end.
Alice, are you sure about that? Cars do not give you freedom to go and come as you please because I'm sure you have traffic where you live. The ultimate freedom to me is walking or bicycling. Cars only give us the freedom to pollute. That so-called "freedom" that everyone refers to is an advertising gimmick that the auto industry has been using for decades to cojole people into buying cars. I don't want you to get the impression that I'm picking on you, but we -- as a society -- need to change our way of thinking. We need to let go off the outdated notions that were forced on us by corporate America and packaged as being a "necessity". Owning a car is not a necessity for -- at least -- 75% of Americans. If we most of us were to sit down and TRULY assess how we live and where we choose to work, we would be surprised how most of the things we deem as "necessities" would be laughable.
It certainly is quaint to grow your own food or to knit a sweater...but c'mon folks, you can buy practically anything for a fraction of your own personal time, labor, materials to produce. Self-sufficiency...simply focus on what you do best, earn and save...then buy any darn thing that you want!
I had a 3" light dent on my rear quarter so on a hot day, over 80 degrees, I let my car sit in the direct sunlight till 3pm. I was about to heat it up with a hair dryer but before that I pushed on the metal from behind the dent. I have a hatchback and through the little panel I could reach in push from behind. Guess what? It actually popped out because the metal was so hot, being heated by the sun for 9 hours. Anyways, there was a little ding left that I tried the Hairdryer/C02 trick on and it didn't come out but overall I got a HUGE portion of the dent out and am very satisfied. Put your car in the sun and give it a try!
The link was sent to me by a friend this morning, there was no mention of giveawayoftheday.com in his email.
I'll fix this immediately. Credit where credit is due.
We are self-employed. Married and filed jointly with AGI of $18,000. Paying no tax but SE tax of $1,276. Will we receive the check of $600 or $1,200?
I think this post crosses the line by bypassing the giveawayoftheday.com home page and linking directly to the download page. It's not very "wise" of wisebread.com to do this, since it diminishes your reputation in some people's eyes.
@Michelle and Jeff:
Two different versions of much the same idea. I do the same thing, although I think of it as having a contingency plan. The format is just some notes about how much could be cut from which specific budget items, in case of necessity. Back when I was working a regular job, I kept a separate "bare-bones budget" that was my fall-back plan in case of something like job loss. It was against that budget that I figured my emergency fund--I wanted enough cash on hand to support that budget (not my regular budget) for 6 months.
Having some sort of scheme along these lines is important. It would be as foolish to budget assuming that nothing would ever go wrong as it would be to budget just for a crisis situation.
Oh, and yes: A budget is an excellent place to calculate whether the increase in standard of living is worth it when considering sending an additional person into the workforce, taking a second job, or changing to a higher-paying job.
There is no question that how you look drastically impacts how you are treated by others. During my younger years I was always described by others as being exceptionally handsome and good looking and I bore a strong resemblance to a very famous Hollywood actor, which no doubt accounted for the favorable way most people interacted with me.
It was not lost on me that my looks worked to my advantage in most situations, (especially in job interviews), and when I would wear a suit and tie the level of courtesy and deference with which I was treated invariably increased. It may not be fair, but this is simply how human beings seem to react to other human beings who are physically attractive.
As the years went by and I entered middle age I gained quite a bit of weight and rarely dressed up in business suits and fashionable leisure wear anymore. Over time, I noticed that strangers were not as accomodating and nice towards me as was once the case.
Since I still have all my hair and hardly any hints of gray, and since I have otherwise aged well with few wrinkles, etc., I must conclude that one of the fastest ways to go from "handsome" to "ugly" in American society is to put on 100 pounds of fat. Yep - that'll do it!
A few years ago I got serious about my diet and exercise regimen and lost 75 pounds. It was amazing how quickly the "old charisma" returned as I once more found myself being treated very attentively by good looking young ladies, sales clerks, co-workers on the job, etc. Five years later, though, when the weight came back, I was back in "nowhere land" - getting ignored and treated badly again in many situations.
The bottom line is this: If you get really fat in this country people will react very negatively to you because getting fat is perhaps the greatest social "sin" in American society. This is a real hoot given the fact that about 3/4's of all Americans are overweight or obese. Perhaps what we are seeing is a projection of self-loathing on the part of the 3/4's who are fat and fear of becoming fat on the part of the other 1/4 who are still thin?
I suppose you can't blame people for that. It's just human nature and I agree that we are biologically programmed to reject that which is ugly and to be attracted to that which is beautiful. We all do it from the time we are infants - so it just seems to be hard-wired in us - no doubt for the improvement of the species as we evolve.
So, if you've got good looks - enjoy them while they last - because everyone eventually ends up ugly if you live long enough! Such is life!
Aside from the real monthly budgets, I find that a theoretical budget for understanding what happens if you lose your job or switch to a lower-paying job is very informative for long-term planning. Mine has two columns of amounts for every item. The first column is Required (to avoid mutiny) and the second column is If income allows. They can differ because of extra expenses associated with more income or less time (e.g., more gasoline and prepared foods) or extra consumption enabled by the higher income (e.g., cable TV and NetFlix).
Each is totalled in both net and required pre-tax income, making it easy to see what would need to be pulled from savings (job loss) or what must be earned (change of job). Some may wonder if is worth earning more to cover the additional consumption or expenses.
I wonder if the image mender can add thickness to a mustache?
I had to laugh at your comment about not having any DD's in your area. Where I'm from one out of every 5 or so gas stations has a full service Dunkin Donuts (usually even with drive-thru), many Supermarkets have in-store Dunkin Donuts, there is at least one (and often two or three) Dunkin Donuts in every neighborhood.
I think there's a lot more that's wrong with that picture than the huge pimple!..thanks for the heads up.
My father ran his own business up until last month and he did much trading for work. He got a leather couch and chair on the cheap a few years ago. About 15 years ago he got a trampoline for my brother and I (and ALL our friends). And many other things I'm sure.
I think giveawayoftheday.com deserves the credit... but who knows.
/returns to his rss reader
I like the green Walmart bag I got for free. :) But, I was unhappy that they wouldn't give me a couple to fit my cartload of groceries in. Instead I had the green bag and 8 or 9 plastic bags. Grr. But, the bag is great to take in to Aldi. Aside from the milk, I can fit all my groceries in it...no more boxes! :)
Well, when I went to college a lot of my lectures were recorded so I rarely actually went to class. In fact, some classes encouraged students to stay at home because too many students in a lecture hall was a fire hazard. I sat in my dorm and watched them, though. The notes were online, too. The sessions that are more helpful than lecture were the small sections and labs that come after class. In those labs we did more hands on exercises and homework-like problems. Office hours helped, too. I also agree with other commenters that grades aren't the most important thing unless you want to go to graduate school or something. I got a 3.5 average GPA when I graduated, but noone really cares about that in the work environment. They just care that I can do the job.
When negotiating on behalf of my buyer-clients, I delve into certain data to assess how a particular home builder is negotiating with other buyers. When I'm armed with this data, it's merely a starting point to get a better deal for my buyer. By extrapolating the details of a new home transaction, there is potentially thousands to be saved.
Generally speaking, home builders protect realtor commissions for the sake of encouraging cooperation with Realtors; these professionals are a key part of providing exposure to theses builders’ new homes. Hence, a buyer would not save in this area.
However, if a builder agreed to give a special discount because a home buyer opted not to be represented, one must ask an important question: Is the builder trying to save the buyer money or himself? Would a good buyer’s agent expose something adverse that an unsuspecting buyer would simply be unaware of?
The pros of using a true buyer's agent for a new home purchase are innumerable; notice that I said true buyer's agent. I am a speaking about someone who is versed on new home and new construction matters. While I agree that you don’t need an incompetent agent to buy a new home, I would, however, disagree that you don’t need a qualified buyer’s agent to maximize one’s purchase.
A home buyer can research the new home buying process to a great extent and still miss out on many beneficial opportunities to maximize the purchase. I have seen this happen.
Lastly, FSBO's are generally trying to save themselves money, not the buyer; many are over-priced too.
Thanks for the heads up!
Wasn't about not reporting income, it was about getting things in trade.
Margaret Garcia-Couoh
since I usually don't "keep" a budget, just stop and examine spending every once in a while, but I think it's also worth asking, what is the value of each category to me? Is this how I want to spend my life? My partner also adds that he would prefer to break each category into "basics" and "luxuries," or perhaps counting party clothes, etc., as entertainment. (There's a nice mention in "I Don't Have a Thing to Wear" that the clothes in your closet should be in proportion to the time you spend on various activities.)
I hope you write a column or two on your search for private insurance. I was "lucky" enough to only pay $2000 a year for student insurance when I was quoted $700-800/month for private insurance (after years of being spoiled by $10/month premiums), but my sister's employer will no longer be offering that benefit as of July 1st, so she has been on the hunt.
I am 23 years old. I am currently in school and as I can't provide completly for myself such as a house, I work PAY TAXES and pay for college on my own and everything else. I think it is ridiculous that any child over 17 claimed as a dependent wont qualify for the stimulus check. Bush sure has his ways....
@Jessica: We used to do something similar, but were frequently "surprised" by the amount we had spent. This led to the idea of keeping a running total. To make it even more interesting you could leave the calculator at home, force participants to keep up with the total in their heads, and make it so the person farthest off from the total amount has to cook dinner that night. If we implemented this version in my household the kids would surely sabotage Mom for fear of Dad's cooking!
Have you gotten a webpage up? Really I think if the young people become poitically proactive as a group this wrong can be righted.
As a former college instructor and current parent to college students I think this wayof handling the stimulus does a grave injustice to quite possibly the hardest working "group" of Americans!
I would urge all taxpaying college students to write or better yet call (usually more effective than writing)their senators and representatives
Based on the irs website we should be getting $1500.00 (2 adults, and 1 child.) But I just checked our payment status on irs.gov and this is what it said...
Your total Stimulus payment was calculated as $1,238.00 and consists of the following:
Basic Amount: $938.00.
Qualifying Child Amount: $300.00 (Based on 1 qualifying children).
Your payment of $868.60 is scheduled to be mailed on May 16, 2008. If you do not receive the check by June 13, 2008, please contact us again. For information about how to file a claim because you have not received your check, or it was lost, stolen, or destroyed, please continue.
Your Stimulus payment was reduced based on your 2007 qualifying income, or it was limited to the amount of your 2007 Net Income Tax Liability.
What does the bold text mean?
I'm a stay at home mom and made no income in 2007, but my husband earned $35,000.00. We were to get $2100.00 back from the IRS, but since we owed $2,000.00 from 2004, they kept it. I'm so frustrated being on hold for hours on end to get a simple question answered. Any insight guys?
Thanks!
Seems like a lot of people aren't getting what they were promised!
We used to play this, well sort of. We didn't have a strict budget for food so at the checkout line we both would make a guess as to how much the food bill was going to be, and the winner was the one who got the closest without going over.
Now we've taken to adding up the food as we go, so we both know how much the bill will be at the end.
Alice, are you sure about that? Cars do not give you freedom to go and come as you please because I'm sure you have traffic where you live. The ultimate freedom to me is walking or bicycling. Cars only give us the freedom to pollute. That so-called "freedom" that everyone refers to is an advertising gimmick that the auto industry has been using for decades to cojole people into buying cars. I don't want you to get the impression that I'm picking on you, but we -- as a society -- need to change our way of thinking. We need to let go off the outdated notions that were forced on us by corporate America and packaged as being a "necessity". Owning a car is not a necessity for -- at least -- 75% of Americans. If we most of us were to sit down and TRULY assess how we live and where we choose to work, we would be surprised how most of the things we deem as "necessities" would be laughable.