My best advice that I give is to make friends with people in each class. This has a few benefits. For one if your friends are studying for the same test/final then you wont be tempted to go out because no one else is either. Another reason is that you can form study groups without having to worry about whether or not you like your partner. The last reason is that people dont like getting stuck with partners on a school project they dont like. So the more friends you have the better chance you have of getting with someone you do like. Thus making your work better because your not arguing all the time.
I absolutely agree that Going to Class is the #1 key to doing well in college. Additionally, find out what your learning style is. The three types are Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic. Personally, I lean very strongly toward Auditory, so I learn easily by listening to a lecture or hearing something described, but find it difficult to learn from reading. I religiously attended class in college because I knew that listening to the lecture was the only way I'd learn. I didn't read one textbook through all of undergrad or grad school (I did/do read - but only more creative non-fiction; textbooks are DRY!). Let me just say I did exceptionally well in college, which I attribute to knowing HOW to learn. If you know HOW you learn, you can cut back the number of hours spent studying, because when you study you'll be much more efficient about it.
DO NOT stay up all night studying. Not only do you risk over-sleeping and missing your exam altogether, but you also probably will not do too well on the test anyhow.
I can honestly say I NEVER pulled an all nighter during my 6 years of school. Instead, I'd start studying early... a few days (or even a week) before the test. If you follow the other tips like going to class and reading, this should be a cinch. By the time exam-eve comes you can just relax and review while your friends and classmates flip out.
I'm a little mindboggled. People not going to class? People socializing and goofing off instead of doing schoolwork? People not paying attention when they do go to class?
Gee. That must be a nice planet to live on.
I worked full time while I went to school. As graveyard and swing shift, then off to school while I was exhausted, then up for several more hours doing homework. Mommy and Daddy didn't contribute a nickle. Goofing off was never an option. I had to survive.
Maybe my advice for college students would be "Fish or cut bait. Either go to school and be conscientious about it, or go ahead and get that job at Taco Bell that you've always dreamed of."
Or how about this: "Not feeling appreciative for your chance to go to school? No sweat. I've set you up as an exchange student with a nice kid from a third world country. He's always dreamed of getting to go to school, so this will be his golden opportunity. You'll be staying in his parents' shack and helping out with the subsistence farming. By the way - they don't have plumbing, so watch out for cholera."
The best advice I got, from a friend who a PhD student at the time was to always go to class. Even if you were going to sleep through the class or do other class work, the key was to ALWAYS go to class. His reasoning was that once you had to make a decision about whether or not to go to class, you'd have to make that decision every time and sometimes you would choose wrong.
I didn't completely follow his advice while I was in school, but it did make sense to me and I went to almost every class. And, yeah, sometimes I went and read the newspaper or did other things, but I was almost always there.
I doubt if "hybridization" kits for gasoline vehicles will become common. The size of the change (removing engine, then adding batteries, generator, smaller engine, and electric motor) is big enough that such a conversion would run to a large fraction of the price of a small car, even before you added in labor. Maybe if there were just one kind of SUV, so someone could mass-produce one kit that everyone could use--but there isn't.
Being "part of the solution" is a noble ambition, but a bit beyond the scope of my article here. All I was trying to say was "Make a plan." Does your current lifestyle work if gas goes to $5 or $10 a gallon? If not, what changes would make it work?
Lots of things that look impossible when gasoline is cheap suddenly become possible if gasoline is expensive. For example, right now you'd only be interested in carpooling with co-workers. If gas gets enough more expensive, maybe some of your neighbors would become interested in a carpool that goes only as far as a bus stop on the edge of town, from which you could all get to your jobs by bus.
I've been using my own shopping totes for years. I've sewn all of them from fabric, recycled old clothes and even the 20+pound vinyl birdseed bags {very sturdy}.
I have a small SUV that I'm still paying for. Selling it and getting something smaller/more fuel efficient isn't an option for me anytime soon. I curtailed my driving habits before gas even hit $3. I live 30miles from work in a rural area. There is no public transportation available. ride sharing isn't an option because my co-workers are spread out over a large area, nowhere close to me. There are no equal paying jobs closer to home and telecommuting isn't an option.
I really want to be part of the solution but none of the solutions every screams about are possible.
With the technology that we have at our fingertips today, when is someone going to come up with an economic and viable way to convert a persons current gas vehicle to be part hybrid or electric.
I think we all react to appearances, one way or the other, because until we hear the other person speak, we have little else to go on & have to start somewhere. We're pretty visual creatures, so guess where that leaves us?
I've been a geek, and I've been a goth, & according to my loving partner, I'm now a goddess, and a portion of the population has always reacted positively & others negatively to me. 5'10" & blonde with a nice rack didn't save me from the geek comments (smart & dressed funny will do that to you), or win me friends (people really do treat me differently now that I'm not hiding), but it is what it is.
My daughter turned 17 in May 07. She worked off and on but her total income was 2,500 for the year. This disqualifies her to receive a stimulu check on her own.
Because she is a minor and dependent, we claimed her on our 1040a as a dependent child. However, the rule for the stimulus check is that only children who did not turn 17 before January 1, 2008 are elegible for stimulus checks.
So...she does not get one for herself because she made less than 3000 and we do not get one for her because she was 17 as of Jan 1,2008. Why is that?
Why are most 17 year olds excluded in this whole stimulus check thing? I realize if 17 year olds make 3000 or more they are not excluded but not all kids work. I mean, 16 year olds are allowed to work as well and they are not exluded on the parents stimulus check.
Life is too busy to spend that much time in the grocery shop to save a few bucks. Better to do your research online and then go into the grocery shop. The longer you are there (espically with kids) the more tempted you will be to buy more things.
Still I like your concept and it make a boring trip to a grocery or department store more interesting.
There are several different behaviors that are all sometimes called hoarding. One, that you're referring to, is related to certain mental disorders. I only have second-hand experience to go by, but it can obviously be a crippling problem producing squalor and misery.
The word "hoarding," though, dates back to Old English, and describes the perfectly rational behavior of putting things by against future need.
Of course, there's a perennial tension between people who put things by and people who don't. (See the story of the Ant and the Grasshopper.) Sometimes, especially when the future need wasn't so clear, the people who didn't put things by rise up against the people who did. One tactic in that struggle is to turn "hoarding" into a bad word--something done by speculators and profiteers. It was to that struggle that my comments were aimed, not the (also important) struggle to help people suffering from mental illness.
Especially in the abstract. I love the idea of self-sufficiency. I suspect, though, that I'd love the reality less. It'd clearly be a huge amount of work.
My own plan, much as I discuss here, is to gradually move closer to self-sufficiency. (For me it's one of those "it's the journey, not the destination" things.)
Ummm, I don't think you know too much about hoarding. It is a devastating mental condition that has nothing to do with stockpiling to make money! visit childrenofhoarders.com or you can link to my blog to learn a little more about it.
@Momma: Yes, we are weird! But then again, I think the idea of not using coupons, paying full price for brand names and shopping without a list is weird! Especially with rising food prices.
If everyone were frugal and reduced ou needs then I'm sure all the factories and financiers would turn their attention to developing new products and industries. Ones where innovation is the key and where whole new technologies are developed. (he says!)
Industry responds to what the public want, if the public want to live frugally then industry will respond in kind.
My game usually starts with the coupons at home. I hit all the frugal blogs to see who has what on sale and coupled with a coupon to get it for free. Then I check The Grocery Game. My big thrill is to see how much the coupons and sales knock down the final price. Does it occur to you that we all may be a little bit odd to consider grocery shopping a game? :)
What problem has Social Security solved? Despite ENORMOUS social spending ($1.5T; $660B on Social Security alone), there are still 30 million Americans living in poverty. That's nearly 10% of the population. The situation is somewhat better among seniors, but not a whole lot. So again I ask, what problem has Social Security solved?
I have no problem with helping the poor. In fact, that's PRECISELY what I want. What I don't want is the wholesale transfer of wealth from one generation to another. That's so imprecise as to be laughable. Social Security does not target poverty. It targets seniors, who vote en masse. No wonder it's so popular.
It boils down to this. For less than we spend on Social Security (let alone the rest of our failed social programs, we could completely eliminate poverty in the United States. Not just alleviate it, not just help out those over 65; completely eliminate it. If you want to help the poor, help the poor. But please don't pretend that this coarse wealth redistribution scheme does anything of the sort. It's a vote purchasing program, plain and simple.
@SavetotheFuture: Sometimes keeping "heavy" subjects such as the dreaded "b" word - budgeting - helps to get everyone in the household on board. My wife and kids like to see how close Dad can get without going over.
Jason - I have always been a big fan of The Price Is Right! I watched Bob Barker every chance I got growing up. I can hear Bob at the Showcase Showdown in my head while reading your article. :)
The grocery store is an easy place to blow a hole in your budget. Your ideas for using a running total and rounding up on the prices are great ways to keep this from happening. My wife has also used an online service called emealsforyou.com to help plan and budget for groceries. She swears by it.
I like the idea of making budgeting fun. People always associate budgeting with something negative. Great way to encourage people to budget, specially young kids.
Here are some good tips for dealing with the high cost of food that can be introduced to this game:
I enjoyed this column, Paul. I think how you dress and your demeanor can make an incredible difference in how you're treated in most places. People for the most part dress so sloppy and are half-naked, way too much cleavage on the "ladies" exposed for all and loudmouthed, stumbling around in their thongs, at least that's mostly what I see everywhere, even in some churches I've been in. As an old lady (53) and on the conservative side, I NEVER have a problem getting respect when I ask for help. It cracks me up. I now look like the church lady/school teacher types I used to see out there when I was a teen and made fun of. I LOVE it because it makes me so different. I wear conservative dresses, I'm covered, nothing flashy. I'm calm and quiet and treat others well. I made up my mind years ago I wanted respect from people and by God, I get it.
My best advice that I give is to make friends with people in each class. This has a few benefits. For one if your friends are studying for the same test/final then you wont be tempted to go out because no one else is either. Another reason is that you can form study groups without having to worry about whether or not you like your partner. The last reason is that people dont like getting stuck with partners on a school project they dont like. So the more friends you have the better chance you have of getting with someone you do like. Thus making your work better because your not arguing all the time.
I absolutely agree that Going to Class is the #1 key to doing well in college. Additionally, find out what your learning style is. The three types are Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic. Personally, I lean very strongly toward Auditory, so I learn easily by listening to a lecture or hearing something described, but find it difficult to learn from reading. I religiously attended class in college because I knew that listening to the lecture was the only way I'd learn. I didn't read one textbook through all of undergrad or grad school (I did/do read - but only more creative non-fiction; textbooks are DRY!). Let me just say I did exceptionally well in college, which I attribute to knowing HOW to learn. If you know HOW you learn, you can cut back the number of hours spent studying, because when you study you'll be much more efficient about it.
DO NOT stay up all night studying. Not only do you risk over-sleeping and missing your exam altogether, but you also probably will not do too well on the test anyhow.
I can honestly say I NEVER pulled an all nighter during my 6 years of school. Instead, I'd start studying early... a few days (or even a week) before the test. If you follow the other tips like going to class and reading, this should be a cinch. By the time exam-eve comes you can just relax and review while your friends and classmates flip out.
I'm a little mindboggled. People not going to class? People socializing and goofing off instead of doing schoolwork? People not paying attention when they do go to class?
Gee. That must be a nice planet to live on.
I worked full time while I went to school. As graveyard and swing shift, then off to school while I was exhausted, then up for several more hours doing homework. Mommy and Daddy didn't contribute a nickle. Goofing off was never an option. I had to survive.
Maybe my advice for college students would be "Fish or cut bait. Either go to school and be conscientious about it, or go ahead and get that job at Taco Bell that you've always dreamed of."
Or how about this: "Not feeling appreciative for your chance to go to school? No sweat. I've set you up as an exchange student with a nice kid from a third world country. He's always dreamed of getting to go to school, so this will be his golden opportunity. You'll be staying in his parents' shack and helping out with the subsistence farming. By the way - they don't have plumbing, so watch out for cholera."
The best advice I got, from a friend who a PhD student at the time was to always go to class. Even if you were going to sleep through the class or do other class work, the key was to ALWAYS go to class. His reasoning was that once you had to make a decision about whether or not to go to class, you'd have to make that decision every time and sometimes you would choose wrong.
I didn't completely follow his advice while I was in school, but it did make sense to me and I went to almost every class. And, yeah, sometimes I went and read the newspaper or did other things, but I was almost always there.
I doubt if "hybridization" kits for gasoline vehicles will become common. The size of the change (removing engine, then adding batteries, generator, smaller engine, and electric motor) is big enough that such a conversion would run to a large fraction of the price of a small car, even before you added in labor. Maybe if there were just one kind of SUV, so someone could mass-produce one kit that everyone could use--but there isn't.
Being "part of the solution" is a noble ambition, but a bit beyond the scope of my article here. All I was trying to say was "Make a plan." Does your current lifestyle work if gas goes to $5 or $10 a gallon? If not, what changes would make it work?
Lots of things that look impossible when gasoline is cheap suddenly become possible if gasoline is expensive. For example, right now you'd only be interested in carpooling with co-workers. If gas gets enough more expensive, maybe some of your neighbors would become interested in a carpool that goes only as far as a bus stop on the edge of town, from which you could all get to your jobs by bus.
I've been using my own shopping totes for years. I've sewn all of them from fabric, recycled old clothes and even the 20+pound vinyl birdseed bags {very sturdy}.
And if you can't sew, ask a friend that does.
I'm afraid that explaining the choices that Congress made is beyond me.
Perhaps your legislator can provide an explanation. If you get one, please post it here. We'll all be interested.
I have a small SUV that I'm still paying for. Selling it and getting something smaller/more fuel efficient isn't an option for me anytime soon. I curtailed my driving habits before gas even hit $3. I live 30miles from work in a rural area. There is no public transportation available. ride sharing isn't an option because my co-workers are spread out over a large area, nowhere close to me. There are no equal paying jobs closer to home and telecommuting isn't an option.
I really want to be part of the solution but none of the solutions every screams about are possible.
With the technology that we have at our fingertips today, when is someone going to come up with an economic and viable way to convert a persons current gas vehicle to be part hybrid or electric.
Is that really too far out there?
I think we all react to appearances, one way or the other, because until we hear the other person speak, we have little else to go on & have to start somewhere. We're pretty visual creatures, so guess where that leaves us?
I've been a geek, and I've been a goth, & according to my loving partner, I'm now a goddess, and a portion of the population has always reacted positively & others negatively to me. 5'10" & blonde with a nice rack didn't save me from the geek comments (smart & dressed funny will do that to you), or win me friends (people really do treat me differently now that I'm not hiding), but it is what it is.
My daughter turned 17 in May 07. She worked off and on but her total income was 2,500 for the year. This disqualifies her to receive a stimulu check on her own.
Because she is a minor and dependent, we claimed her on our 1040a as a dependent child. However, the rule for the stimulus check is that only children who did not turn 17 before January 1, 2008 are elegible for stimulus checks.
So...she does not get one for herself because she made less than 3000 and we do not get one for her because she was 17 as of Jan 1,2008. Why is that?
Why are most 17 year olds excluded in this whole stimulus check thing? I realize if 17 year olds make 3000 or more they are not excluded but not all kids work. I mean, 16 year olds are allowed to work as well and they are not exluded on the parents stimulus check.
Thanks...
Life is too busy to spend that much time in the grocery shop to save a few bucks. Better to do your research online and then go into the grocery shop. The longer you are there (espically with kids) the more tempted you will be to buy more things.
Still I like your concept and it make a boring trip to a grocery or department store more interesting.
Andy
www.savingtoinvest.com
I like the idea of rounding up to the nearest $.50.
@Jamie:
There are several different behaviors that are all sometimes called hoarding. One, that you're referring to, is related to certain mental disorders. I only have second-hand experience to go by, but it can obviously be a crippling problem producing squalor and misery.
The word "hoarding," though, dates back to Old English, and describes the perfectly rational behavior of putting things by against future need.
Of course, there's a perennial tension between people who put things by and people who don't. (See the story of the Ant and the Grasshopper.) Sometimes, especially when the future need wasn't so clear, the people who didn't put things by rise up against the people who did. One tactic in that struggle is to turn "hoarding" into a bad word--something done by speculators and profiteers. It was to that struggle that my comments were aimed, not the (also important) struggle to help people suffering from mental illness.
Especially in the abstract. I love the idea of self-sufficiency. I suspect, though, that I'd love the reality less. It'd clearly be a huge amount of work.
My own plan, much as I discuss here, is to gradually move closer to self-sufficiency. (For me it's one of those "it's the journey, not the destination" things.)
Ummm, I don't think you know too much about hoarding. It is a devastating mental condition that has nothing to do with stockpiling to make money! visit childrenofhoarders.com or you can link to my blog to learn a little more about it.
@Momma: Yes, we are weird! But then again, I think the idea of not using coupons, paying full price for brand names and shopping without a list is weird! Especially with rising food prices.
If everyone were frugal and reduced ou needs then I'm sure all the factories and financiers would turn their attention to developing new products and industries. Ones where innovation is the key and where whole new technologies are developed. (he says!)
Industry responds to what the public want, if the public want to live frugally then industry will respond in kind.
My game usually starts with the coupons at home. I hit all the frugal blogs to see who has what on sale and coupled with a coupon to get it for free. Then I check The Grocery Game. My big thrill is to see how much the coupons and sales knock down the final price. Does it occur to you that we all may be a little bit odd to consider grocery shopping a game? :)
Great post! Thanks for a new twist on the game.
What problem has Social Security solved? Despite ENORMOUS social spending ($1.5T; $660B on Social Security alone), there are still 30 million Americans living in poverty. That's nearly 10% of the population. The situation is somewhat better among seniors, but not a whole lot. So again I ask, what problem has Social Security solved?
I have no problem with helping the poor. In fact, that's PRECISELY what I want. What I don't want is the wholesale transfer of wealth from one generation to another. That's so imprecise as to be laughable. Social Security does not target poverty. It targets seniors, who vote en masse. No wonder it's so popular.
It boils down to this. For less than we spend on Social Security (let alone the rest of our failed social programs, we could completely eliminate poverty in the United States. Not just alleviate it, not just help out those over 65; completely eliminate it. If you want to help the poor, help the poor. But please don't pretend that this coarse wealth redistribution scheme does anything of the sort. It's a vote purchasing program, plain and simple.
I round up and down, for that element of surprise. :-) Here's my game, if you go over, something has to go back, since I bring exact cash only and leave all plastic at home ... http://www.daveramseyguru.com/the-dave-ramsey-grocery-store-cash-challen...
FJH
@SavetotheFuture: Sometimes keeping "heavy" subjects such as the dreaded "b" word - budgeting - helps to get everyone in the household on board. My wife and kids like to see how close Dad can get without going over.
Thanks for your comments.
Jason - I have always been a big fan of The Price Is Right! I watched Bob Barker every chance I got growing up. I can hear Bob at the Showcase Showdown in my head while reading your article. :)
The grocery store is an easy place to blow a hole in your budget. Your ideas for using a running total and rounding up on the prices are great ways to keep this from happening. My wife has also used an online service called emealsforyou.com to help plan and budget for groceries. She swears by it.
I like the idea of making budgeting fun. People always associate budgeting with something negative. Great way to encourage people to budget, specially young kids.
Here are some good tips for dealing with the high cost of food that can be introduced to this game:
Dealing With The High Cost of Food
I enjoyed this column, Paul. I think how you dress and your demeanor can make an incredible difference in how you're treated in most places. People for the most part dress so sloppy and are half-naked, way too much cleavage on the "ladies" exposed for all and loudmouthed, stumbling around in their thongs, at least that's mostly what I see everywhere, even in some churches I've been in. As an old lady (53) and on the conservative side, I NEVER have a problem getting respect when I ask for help. It cracks me up. I now look like the church lady/school teacher types I used to see out there when I was a teen and made fun of. I LOVE it because it makes me so different. I wear conservative dresses, I'm covered, nothing flashy. I'm calm and quiet and treat others well. I made up my mind years ago I wanted respect from people and by God, I get it.