I AM a young adult. I moved out before graduating high school, enrolled in my nearest high school, graduated on time, became a single parent, and enrolled myself in college. I'm going for my degree as we speak.
Nothing is "too difficult" anymore. I'm sorry but as someone who has school-related debt I have no sympathy for people whining about it. College isn't free and it shouldn't be treated like it is. I think it's better to raise our children to make sound financial decisions and value their own education instead of sticking money aside, thinking that will make everything alright.
4 years ago I intentionally left an extremely good job with excellent benefits (free airline flights.....heavily discounted travel perks, etc) to take a lower paying job at a local private university. The new job not only is lower paying but adds an additional hour to my commute every day. Why? Because my 4 children will be able to attend college for free. Half a million $s in free education more than makes up for the reduced pay, additional commute, and change in benefits.
That being said, I paid 100% for my undergrad and graduate degrees with zero help from my parents. Whatever benefits my children do not get from my job, they will be responsible for (books, board...).
I agree that MY own retirement is more financially important than my child's college education. I also agree that loans are an option for them, whereas loans are NOT an option for my retirement.
Having paid for college myself, I pulled loans and found a part-time job during school. Like it or not, my child will have to do the same thing, if she elects to go to college.
As a side note, I am putting $10.00 into a 529 for her. However, by the time she goes to college, this money will only pay for her books... :X
Alterations can be done yourself but there is some experienced skill involved in proper alterations and alterations on suit pieces. DIY alterations are frequently "good enough" but please don't discredit the skills (or fees) of professionals who have the experience to know how to properly alter a suit jacket sleeve or take in a complicated pair of womens pants.
Sewing is a learned skill and anyone who really wants to learn can, it is just at what skill level you can get projects done or get them done to your satisfaction.
Burda has some great free garment and craft patterns including ones created by other sewers. Something to keep in mind with commercial patterns is they are a starting point. They still need to be fit to your dimensions if you want a nice finished product.
Walmart is phasing out fabric almost everywhere. This isn't much of a loss. It might be cheap but in recent years the quality was awful. Good fabric can make or break a project but good fabric doesn't have to be expensive always. I find expensive fabrics cheaper than Walmart fabrics by knowing where to look. Most larger cities have a fabric warehouse or a fabric store that caters to professionals. Both can be sources for deals on better quality fabric. Fabric can also be had cheaply at chain fabric stores at the end of that season.
I hope more people start sewing for themselves. It became a bit of a dieing art when ready to wear clothes became so cheap to buy.
I don't like the idea of expecting a young adult to fend for himself and start off his life tens of thousands of dollars in debt. Of course, not all parents have the luxury of being able to pay for college.
When I have children I hope to save up enough to send them to a state school, but there's no way I will save up the money to send them to an expensive private school. I will also expect my children to work for extra cash and small living expenses.
Great article with lots of good tips. We practice all you mentioned and then some. One of my biggest things to stay warm is to keep the cold out via caulking, caulking and caulking. I am constantly on the look-out for drafts and seal them. I use the child proof covers to block out any remaining draft possible on all outside wall insulated outlets. We have a Braun eco-vent on both the range down draft system and dryer. It seals tightly when the appliances are not in use so stops any drafts from coming in. We snuggle in homemade afghans while watching tv. We have a natural gas fireplace that we use to take the chill off our lower level main living area (below ground) including kitchen. This means the furnace doesn't kick on during the evening hours. Our furnace is set to 65ºF for the day and 63ºF for night. I use candles a lot too :)
To hold him who has taught me this art as equal to my parents and to live my life in partnership with him, and if he is in need of money to give him a share of mine, and to regard his offspring as equal to my brothers in male lineage and to teach them this art–if they desire to learn it–without fee and covenant; to give a share of precepts and oral instruction and all the other learning to my sons and to the sons of him who has instructed me and to pupils who have signed the covenant and have taken the oath according to medical law, but to no one else.
Paying for a child's college education is a privilege provided only if the parent's can afford it. If you want your child to go to college, you have to set the expectation early, positively reinforce good grades, and be realistic about how much college education you can afford. We have put two children through college with no savings and one parent working. My husband and I both attended community college. Unfortunately, we didn't think far enough ahead to set the expectation for our children that they would attend community college too. It would have been a huge savings. Both of our children earned some scholarship money and paid for their off campus housing the last two years of school. I don't think expecting a kid to work while they are in college is asking too much. It prepares them for the real world of time management, job responsibility and taking care of themselves. We told our kids they could go to any college they wanted to as long as they understood that we would only pay the equivalent of in-state tuition, the rest was up to them. They both graduated with no student loans. We have one more child to put through school, we offered to pay for a year of grad school, if she would do two years of community college. Still a savings for us.
My husband, my brother, and I gave my mom the gift of raking all her leaves for Christmas. I put some leaves in a gift bag and buried a note in there saying we would take care of the yards. I think it was her favorite gift this year. It took the 3 of us about 5 hours to do, but it was totally worth it.
As a young person who paid his way through college as did my wife, I really appreciate going over the reasons why not to save for what would be your adult child's expenses. Sign me up for #3! We can work out issues like where they will live, different expenses, but paying for college outright is over the top.
Yes, I'm not actually familiar with the different blood sugar measurements around the world.
Thanks for the link to the article on Cree medicine. I don't doubt that there are many traditional treatments for diabetes that are going to be very useful in the future. Of course, the original Cree lifestyle was probably the best for preventing diabetes, but who can live that way now? ;)
I'd be careful using them on monitors. LCD and TV screens have special coatings, and the chemicals in the dryer sheets may not be good for them.
I don't know for sure, but I know from experience that you should never user windex on a computer monitor. It'll take the anti-reflective coat right off...
I've been told by Mechanic's that they help deter rodents from messing inside your engine compartment if you park outdoors alot. We have this issue in the Country, especially mice getting into the fresh air intake for the interior of the car - then they die. So far this seems to work nicely. We place several sheets inside the hood insulation and other areas around the engine compartment and the fresh air intake for your interior, not the intake for the carburetor. Care must be taken to not place them in an area where they could ignite.
These are great ideas, and I totally agree with the concept. When we bought our son his macbook for college, I strongly suggested he take some Sharpies to the bright white outside of the macbook and color on it whatever his creative heart desired. He started with Darth Vader which eventually morphed into Napoleon (go figure), but no one ever tried to steal it because his artwork make the laptop so easily identifiable.
Great info about top jobs. All of them Network administrator job is quite interesting. Network administrator is a modern profession responsible for the maintenance of computer hardware and software that comprises a computer network. This normally includes the deployment, configuration, maintenance and monitoring of active network equipment. A related role is that of the network specialist, or network analyst, who concentrates on network design and security.
Last year was challenging. This year I hope to be more organized, healthier, and create some balance in my life! I hope to get better at prioritizing the important things... and letting the rest take care of itself.
The seriously cheapest place to get fabric is as secondhand clothing.
You can make lots of cool repurposed stuff, like a shopping bag above made from an interesting pair of pants you got for a quarter.
The sewing machine is potentially the most expensive thing. If you buy new, be careful. Janome is a good brand. Bernina is nice but no way is it cheap. Don't get one at Sears or Costco, in my opinion. If you get a secondhand one, it should be cleaned and oiled. If it does not come with an owners manual, see if it is available online. It's hard to know how to thread it and adjust it without the book.
If you get a used one, make sure it is in working order. I bent the shaft on my grandma's by trying to sew through too many layers of jean pocket seams. It looked fine, but the needle would no longer go through the hole. It was too expensive to fix.
On the bright side, you can ask for one on freecycle. Lots of people have a sewing machine around and no longer use it, so you could get lucky. I got my daughter's friend one free on an ad on facebook. They wanted it to go to a young person. She's using it to make money at college, mending people's clothes.
Another way to save money is to make raincoats, packs, horse tack, swimsuits, footie pajamas, polarfleece jackets and slippers and things of that nature. All the buckles, patterns and fabric are available online at stores like Seattle Fabrics and The Rain Shed. http://seattlefabrics.com/http://www.therainshed.com/
I have one of those fathers that probably should not have had any kids, but he had 5. He never beat us but trust me when I tell you that verbal and emotional abuse is just as bad. I always thought he was funny when I was a little kid and then I grew up. I put all of my energy into our relationship. I wanted the same father-son relationship that my best friend and his dad had but it just never happened. The hardest part is accepting people for who they are. I finally realized that my dad was put in my life for a reason, just not the reason that I had hoped for. I accepted it and have forgiven him and moved on. I have never felt so free. Everyones journey is different, do what makes you happy in life, not what others expect from you.
I did build my own bed since i am overweight.
It was a real fun but that was a long time ago.
I do not have the tools and the space anymore to do that.
I got my son's bed from a link i found at cheapbedsforkids.com
i too just got a 60sec premier card-real small it says if approved of 250-credit limit-you will have a credit limit of 70 bux!!!!!! so its 180-to accept a credit card?????
I AM a young adult. I moved out before graduating high school, enrolled in my nearest high school, graduated on time, became a single parent, and enrolled myself in college. I'm going for my degree as we speak.
Nothing is "too difficult" anymore. I'm sorry but as someone who has school-related debt I have no sympathy for people whining about it. College isn't free and it shouldn't be treated like it is. I think it's better to raise our children to make sound financial decisions and value their own education instead of sticking money aside, thinking that will make everything alright.
4 years ago I intentionally left an extremely good job with excellent benefits (free airline flights.....heavily discounted travel perks, etc) to take a lower paying job at a local private university. The new job not only is lower paying but adds an additional hour to my commute every day. Why? Because my 4 children will be able to attend college for free. Half a million $s in free education more than makes up for the reduced pay, additional commute, and change in benefits.
That being said, I paid 100% for my undergrad and graduate degrees with zero help from my parents. Whatever benefits my children do not get from my job, they will be responsible for (books, board...).
I agree that MY own retirement is more financially important than my child's college education. I also agree that loans are an option for them, whereas loans are NOT an option for my retirement.
Having paid for college myself, I pulled loans and found a part-time job during school. Like it or not, my child will have to do the same thing, if she elects to go to college.
As a side note, I am putting $10.00 into a 529 for her. However, by the time she goes to college, this money will only pay for her books... :X
Alterations can be done yourself but there is some experienced skill involved in proper alterations and alterations on suit pieces. DIY alterations are frequently "good enough" but please don't discredit the skills (or fees) of professionals who have the experience to know how to properly alter a suit jacket sleeve or take in a complicated pair of womens pants.
Sewing is a learned skill and anyone who really wants to learn can, it is just at what skill level you can get projects done or get them done to your satisfaction.
Burda has some great free garment and craft patterns including ones created by other sewers. Something to keep in mind with commercial patterns is they are a starting point. They still need to be fit to your dimensions if you want a nice finished product.
Walmart is phasing out fabric almost everywhere. This isn't much of a loss. It might be cheap but in recent years the quality was awful. Good fabric can make or break a project but good fabric doesn't have to be expensive always. I find expensive fabrics cheaper than Walmart fabrics by knowing where to look. Most larger cities have a fabric warehouse or a fabric store that caters to professionals. Both can be sources for deals on better quality fabric. Fabric can also be had cheaply at chain fabric stores at the end of that season.
I hope more people start sewing for themselves. It became a bit of a dieing art when ready to wear clothes became so cheap to buy.
I don't like the idea of expecting a young adult to fend for himself and start off his life tens of thousands of dollars in debt. Of course, not all parents have the luxury of being able to pay for college.
When I have children I hope to save up enough to send them to a state school, but there's no way I will save up the money to send them to an expensive private school. I will also expect my children to work for extra cash and small living expenses.
Great article with lots of good tips. We practice all you mentioned and then some. One of my biggest things to stay warm is to keep the cold out via caulking, caulking and caulking. I am constantly on the look-out for drafts and seal them. I use the child proof covers to block out any remaining draft possible on all outside wall insulated outlets. We have a Braun eco-vent on both the range down draft system and dryer. It seals tightly when the appliances are not in use so stops any drafts from coming in. We snuggle in homemade afghans while watching tv. We have a natural gas fireplace that we use to take the chill off our lower level main living area (below ground) including kitchen. This means the furnace doesn't kick on during the evening hours. Our furnace is set to 65ºF for the day and 63ºF for night. I use candles a lot too :)
To hold him who has taught me this art as equal to my parents and to live my life in partnership with him, and if he is in need of money to give him a share of mine, and to regard his offspring as equal to my brothers in male lineage and to teach them this art–if they desire to learn it–without fee and covenant; to give a share of precepts and oral instruction and all the other learning to my sons and to the sons of him who has instructed me and to pupils who have signed the covenant and have taken the oath according to medical law, but to no one else.
Paying for a child's college education is a privilege provided only if the parent's can afford it. If you want your child to go to college, you have to set the expectation early, positively reinforce good grades, and be realistic about how much college education you can afford. We have put two children through college with no savings and one parent working. My husband and I both attended community college. Unfortunately, we didn't think far enough ahead to set the expectation for our children that they would attend community college too. It would have been a huge savings. Both of our children earned some scholarship money and paid for their off campus housing the last two years of school. I don't think expecting a kid to work while they are in college is asking too much. It prepares them for the real world of time management, job responsibility and taking care of themselves. We told our kids they could go to any college they wanted to as long as they understood that we would only pay the equivalent of in-state tuition, the rest was up to them. They both graduated with no student loans. We have one more child to put through school, we offered to pay for a year of grad school, if she would do two years of community college. Still a savings for us.
My husband, my brother, and I gave my mom the gift of raking all her leaves for Christmas. I put some leaves in a gift bag and buried a note in there saying we would take care of the yards. I think it was her favorite gift this year. It took the 3 of us about 5 hours to do, but it was totally worth it.
As a graduate student, I'm still saving for my own college education :)
Most Americans can't save much these days. The are thinking that college loans will be the way to go, and that the students will help pay them back.
John DeFlumeri Jr
As a young person who paid his way through college as did my wife, I really appreciate going over the reasons why not to save for what would be your adult child's expenses. Sign me up for #3! We can work out issues like where they will live, different expenses, but paying for college outright is over the top.
Congratulations! It can be so hard to forgive parents, especially. That must have been a very big step for you to take.
Yes, I'm not actually familiar with the different blood sugar measurements around the world.
Thanks for the link to the article on Cree medicine. I don't doubt that there are many traditional treatments for diabetes that are going to be very useful in the future. Of course, the original Cree lifestyle was probably the best for preventing diabetes, but who can live that way now? ;)
I'd be careful using them on monitors. LCD and TV screens have special coatings, and the chemicals in the dryer sheets may not be good for them.
I don't know for sure, but I know from experience that you should never user windex on a computer monitor. It'll take the anti-reflective coat right off...
I've been told by Mechanic's that they help deter rodents from messing inside your engine compartment if you park outdoors alot. We have this issue in the Country, especially mice getting into the fresh air intake for the interior of the car - then they die. So far this seems to work nicely. We place several sheets inside the hood insulation and other areas around the engine compartment and the fresh air intake for your interior, not the intake for the carburetor. Care must be taken to not place them in an area where they could ignite.
These are great ideas, and I totally agree with the concept. When we bought our son his macbook for college, I strongly suggested he take some Sharpies to the bright white outside of the macbook and color on it whatever his creative heart desired. He started with Darth Vader which eventually morphed into Napoleon (go figure), but no one ever tried to steal it because his artwork make the laptop so easily identifiable.
Great info about top jobs. All of them Network administrator job is quite interesting. Network administrator is a modern profession responsible for the maintenance of computer hardware and software that comprises a computer network. This normally includes the deployment, configuration, maintenance and monitoring of active network equipment. A related role is that of the network specialist, or network analyst, who concentrates on network design and security.
Hi Linsey,
Thanks for the link to our printable calendars roundup.
Love Wise Bread.
Thanks,
Ray
Last year was challenging. This year I hope to be more organized, healthier, and create some balance in my life! I hope to get better at prioritizing the important things... and letting the rest take care of itself.
The seriously cheapest place to get fabric is as secondhand clothing.
You can make lots of cool repurposed stuff, like a shopping bag above made from an interesting pair of pants you got for a quarter.
The sewing machine is potentially the most expensive thing. If you buy new, be careful. Janome is a good brand. Bernina is nice but no way is it cheap. Don't get one at Sears or Costco, in my opinion. If you get a secondhand one, it should be cleaned and oiled. If it does not come with an owners manual, see if it is available online. It's hard to know how to thread it and adjust it without the book.
If you get a used one, make sure it is in working order. I bent the shaft on my grandma's by trying to sew through too many layers of jean pocket seams. It looked fine, but the needle would no longer go through the hole. It was too expensive to fix.
On the bright side, you can ask for one on freecycle. Lots of people have a sewing machine around and no longer use it, so you could get lucky. I got my daughter's friend one free on an ad on facebook. They wanted it to go to a young person. She's using it to make money at college, mending people's clothes.
Another way to save money is to make raincoats, packs, horse tack, swimsuits, footie pajamas, polarfleece jackets and slippers and things of that nature. All the buckles, patterns and fabric are available online at stores like Seattle Fabrics and The Rain Shed. http://seattlefabrics.com/ http://www.therainshed.com/
Thank you.
I have one of those fathers that probably should not have had any kids, but he had 5. He never beat us but trust me when I tell you that verbal and emotional abuse is just as bad. I always thought he was funny when I was a little kid and then I grew up. I put all of my energy into our relationship. I wanted the same father-son relationship that my best friend and his dad had but it just never happened. The hardest part is accepting people for who they are. I finally realized that my dad was put in my life for a reason, just not the reason that I had hoped for. I accepted it and have forgiven him and moved on. I have never felt so free. Everyones journey is different, do what makes you happy in life, not what others expect from you.
I did build my own bed since i am overweight.
It was a real fun but that was a long time ago.
I do not have the tools and the space anymore to do that.
I got my son's bed from a link i found at cheapbedsforkids.com
i too just got a 60sec premier card-real small it says if approved of 250-credit limit-you will have a credit limit of 70 bux!!!!!! so its 180-to accept a credit card?????