I'm all for being practical, but having a baby is the most important event in a families life, so I think it's fair to indulge a little and buy a few cute but impractical outfits. It's going to happen, even if you think you'll never succumb, and besides, you'll get all that stuff from friends and in-laws.
The reality is, it's fine to dress them in second hand clothes, they don't care one bit, but for your first baby, aren't you going to want get a little sappy and sentimental? Believe me, if you don't, then grandmum and grandad will.
And Andrea, I can't imagine a mother or father dressing their baby in a black onesie, even in New York City... well, maybe there.
Thanks, guys. I have to admit, even though I've yet to make a penny blogging, I enjoy it immensely. I love the community and the camaraderie, and to see that people are making a nice living doing it only inspires me more. It can be fun and rewarding, even if you don't generate monster amounts traffic like Myscha or Paul or Phil.
According to Solomon, during WWII the British government gave 2700 sq ft allotments of land outside of town for families to grow their own food. He figures that much land could provide about one-third of a family's calories, and he goes on to suggest that if you added about 500 sq ft of potatoes to that space, you could probably get enough calories to provide a minimum diet for two people.
Having said all though, it's important to observe that actually producing 100% of your own food is really hard--especially if you need to. (The sorts of bad times that require growing all your own food tend to be the same sorts that make fertilizer and irrigation water hard to come by as well.) Much more practical is to produce a large fraction of your food--say one-third to one-half--and then buy or trade for the rest. If you could grow enough to provide, say 1000 calories per person per day, that would see you through months of hard times, maybe years. (Although you'd be hungry all the time, and would be very limited in the amount of hard, physical work you could do, the fact is that you could live on 1000 calories of nutritious food per day virtually forever.)
It's probably just being the daughter of a frugal mom (MSN Money blogger) but I always approach debt as "What's the best way to get out of debt?"
Now, I say "always" because I had an illness at 19 that has caused health issues and hindered my ability to work. But I'm stubborn and wouldn't admit it, so there were years of just barely getting by. And, towards the end, debt for some medicines I couldn't afford out of pocket.
My husband also has health issues that have recently left him unemployed. We're making do with unemployment while we try to figure out what he can do more steadily -- and still making payments on our debt.
That said, we're tackling his student loans first. (I was raised to attack high-interest stuff first.) He's had them for years and wants to be rid of them. I suppose technically that means we're snowflaking -- but I still advocate getting high APR debts paid down before low APR debt. (If it's not as psychologically rewarding enough as paying down small debts first, calculate how much interest you've saved with your last payment and leave it up on a white board as a nice reminder that you're making progress.)
I don't know that I'll have the tenacity to do my own tofu, but might very well try the soy milk and loaf options. At any rate, this is a super resource for those on a budget. Thanks for sharing!!
FIL was miserable at his job for about a decade. He finally got an offer from a competitor and switched over. He took early retirement at his old job. And they spent IT ALL in 9 months. Even the 10% that HR warned him he needed to set aside for tax penalty. Now they're in debt. And the competitor then let him go after six months with no warning. So then they were in debt while he decided to change occupations and went to school with some state help (MIL could only work PT, due to health issues). Then, MIL was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. FIL did finally get a job (contract, no insurance) and what do they do? Start going to the casinos for fun. Recently, they were let go as asst managers of the park. Now that they have to pay space rent again, FIL's solution was to stop paying a friend of the family to come over two hours a week and help MIL with cleaning.
It drives my husband and me crazy, as we struggle to get out of debt, after which we plan to start saving for a house. But in the end, it's not our place to say anything and FIL doesn't listen to the politely worded advice I give. (Did I mention he still hasn't set up payments with the IRS, two years after getting early retirement?)
So we have to accept that there are many things beyond our control. All we can do to help is pay them what we owe them (they gave us $3000 out of early retirement to help settle a student loan) and pray they use it well. And, once we're out of debt, make sure they know that we love them and will do what we can, but will probably never be in a financial position to take care of them (I'm on disability and hubby has his own health issues that affect work). They need to plan as best they can for themselves.
I think I'm a fussy eater, and would almost certainly turn my nose up at some of these, especially the ones I've actually tried before. I already know that I don't like liver, or kidneys both of which are parts of classic British dishes. But black pudding is awesome, and possible the greatest thing if you have a hangover. Have you tried it cold?
Why old-fashioned toothpaste is so awesome is because of the baking soda. Using a baking soda & water paste (with salt and/or vinegar depending on circumstance) can pretty much do all these things. It's also cheaper and uses less packaging than the toothpaste.
A google search for [baking soda cleaning] will yield some good results.
This proposal will likely push up prices. This would increase ebay commissions, so it would be in ebay's interest to implement the proposal. However, what would hurt is that you would be forced to review your bid multiple times. In my case, I am rarely at my computer at the close of an auction. Instead, I would be forced to bid my maximum amount, either directly or through a sniping system.
What inspires me about stories like this is not the big payday that apparently awaits Dr. Kim, but the validation that his success provides so many other bloggers.
Targeting niche content, especially if based on a personal interest like Dr. Kim has, is a great way to explore your own passions and also build a business.
Even if you don't grow to the multi-million page view (or dollar) level, blogging is a great hobby and potential business that anyone can start today.
that i'm kinda glad my daughter has trouble eating soy, lest i be tempted to try this. i dunno, seems like a pound of tofu costs about a buck or so on sale, or am i remembering wrong?
but, yeah, there's the other 22 meals you mentioned. definitely sounds frugal.
If you're a composter, that's great, but most people and businesses aren't.
To the issue of using up every part of a vegetable - I don't cook very often...
Those restaurants you're eating at aren't using every part of the vegetable. They're even throwing out perfectly good food--not just the carrot tops but the whole carrot, if it's less than aesthetically pleasing, or was left over on someone's plate.
I can't personally compost meat (it would attract animals) but if we had any possible way of keeping one of the city's green bins, we would be able to compost any and all uncontaminated organic matter. (I really wish we could figure out a way to get one, but as it is we have space for only a small trash can and a small recycling bin, both shared with our neighbors.) We save any unused meat scraps and carcasses to make soup stock, but sometimes there's just more than our apartment-sized freezer can hold.
That Febreze ad is crazy, isn't it? I can't tell when it's going to show up. Cute dog, but yeesh.
I think the 'dangers' of soy are seriously overwrought. People all over Asia eat tofu frequently. The key, of course, is not to overdo stuff. Don't eat tofu at every meal if you are concerned about the estrogen issue.
I'm so glad this is still continuing to be debated, because as you can probably tell, I have lots to say on the subject. (This being, I believe, my third extended comment.)
Clearly, it was an emotional decision to take the leap and while I'm very OK with the decision we made as a couple, it really surprised me how hurt I was by some of the other comments in the very beginning of the debate. I think it's sad (just commenting here, not bashing anyone's opinion) that this decision can't just be about how much the couple loves each other and what they want to set for priorities within their relationship. If one needs to find themselves and the other wants to provide it and is able to, have we really reached the point where our relationships are less about love in this society and more about the bottom line?
Believe me, we worry about the bottom line and in fact I write about it quite frequently here on Wise Bread. But if you have trust in your partner that they are doing their best and providing everything they can to the situation, is it necessary to make the first jump to pointing out how much less money they are contributing? As somone who had a difficult emotional time giving up a great international career to support the one my husband had in the military, I have to say it was better in the end to take my time and not go back to traditional employment. You never know when they are going to restation / redeploy your spouse, so taking your time developing a set of freelance clients or an online business is in my opinion a much safer bet.
Also, as some have pointed out, the person who provides the income while the other stays at home is not the only one taking a risk / providing a gift. Yes, it's great to have the financial support while you decide how you can best balance your family responsibilities and relationship. But you are also taking a risk by cutting back on your government medical contributions, social security quarterly contributions and giving up time in the job market that is always more difficult to justify for women.
I'm not making excuses. It's just the way it is (or at least from my experience) that potential employers roll their eyes if women have taken time off, and seem to assume that men who have taken time off have apparently done so for more valuable reasons. (I realize that's an entirely separate conversation and post, just had to get it off my chest since it related to this conversation in part.)
I also think it's really sad that the stay at home's spouse contributions still have to be justified in the eyes of so many people. For those of us that provide those contributions, I'll just add one word . . . ouch. I just had a lengthy conversation with our campsite neighbor about how much harder the work is to stay at home and run the house with or without kids. And if you are working outside the home, you are for some reason given a societal pass if you don't feel like cooking or cleaning. If you are at home putting out whatever family fire gets dropped into your lap that day, and run out of time for a full course meal, many people (not everyone) feel it's then OK to let loose with a judgemental comment.
But if you were at a form of traditional work all day, even if that job allowed a three martini lunch and several hours of unproductive meetings, it is understood that of course you don't feel like cooking or cleaning. I'm not trying to generalize here, just stating what I have noticed as someone who has made this leap.
Not everyone makes me feel bad about this decision, but by the same token not everyone is supportive either. Stay at home contributions sometimes feel like the weight issue to me in that it still seems in our society to be something people still feel they can pass judgement on.
Again, I want to point out to those who would like to but feel unable to at this point, I understand what it is like to be on that side of the coin. I did it for YEARS, and it is exhausting and stressful. Perhaps a future post on strategies for laying the groundwork for transition is necessary. In fact, I'll start making notes on the subject.
In the meantime, I hope the debate continues as I'm enjoying the chance to further process this subject. Thanks in advance for the continued balanced debate!
CONGRATULATIONS! You have won the Mrs Nespy's Frugal World Bronze Medal for August 9th. Go here to get the code to post your medal if you'd like. Thanks for the great writing!
I have just received a Letter of Interest from Marty on project in Salt Lake City. It seems that you have had favorable dealings with his company. Any further comments or recommendations?
The problem is this: eBay sends out an alert saying you have been outbid. With traditional sniping, there's no time to respond. All a snipe would do here, just before the 15 minute deadline, is alert the bidder to come in and place a higher bid. Not saying there isn't a way around it, but that's not the answer.
One thing I've been wondering as I house hunt is 'how much land would I need to feed my family on a farm?'. It depends on the climate, I suppose.
The first smallest quote I could find quickly was 2.5 acres, but that was from 1986. Seems like there there should be a more recent and smaller value out there somewhere.
“With the right mixture of farm crops and small animals, 2 1/2 acres can supply the nutritional needs for a family of seven. And under the right conditions, our system can also produce a cash income.”
I've had cow stomach several times while living in Brazil and while not gross tasting, it was like chewing on an inner tube. I strongly prefer to be able to bite through my meat, than you.
That said, I'll try anything once and haven't been grossed out yet.
I'm all for being practical, but having a baby is the most important event in a families life, so I think it's fair to indulge a little and buy a few cute but impractical outfits. It's going to happen, even if you think you'll never succumb, and besides, you'll get all that stuff from friends and in-laws.
The reality is, it's fine to dress them in second hand clothes, they don't care one bit, but for your first baby, aren't you going to want get a little sappy and sentimental? Believe me, if you don't, then grandmum and grandad will.
And Andrea, I can't imagine a mother or father dressing their baby in a black onesie, even in New York City... well, maybe there.
Thanks, guys. I have to admit, even though I've yet to make a penny blogging, I enjoy it immensely. I love the community and the camaraderie, and to see that people are making a nice living doing it only inspires me more. It can be fun and rewarding, even if you don't generate monster amounts traffic like Myscha or Paul or Phil.
As a non-mother, the only I can offer is this: black onsies are your friend.
Also, that baby in the picture makes my ovaries go into hyperactive mode.
Anyone interested in growing enough food to feed a family should check out the book Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times by Steve Solomon--it's on exactly that topic.
According to Solomon, during WWII the British government gave 2700 sq ft allotments of land outside of town for families to grow their own food. He figures that much land could provide about one-third of a family's calories, and he goes on to suggest that if you added about 500 sq ft of potatoes to that space, you could probably get enough calories to provide a minimum diet for two people.
Having said all though, it's important to observe that actually producing 100% of your own food is really hard--especially if you need to. (The sorts of bad times that require growing all your own food tend to be the same sorts that make fertilizer and irrigation water hard to come by as well.) Much more practical is to produce a large fraction of your food--say one-third to one-half--and then buy or trade for the rest. If you could grow enough to provide, say 1000 calories per person per day, that would see you through months of hard times, maybe years. (Although you'd be hungry all the time, and would be very limited in the amount of hard, physical work you could do, the fact is that you could live on 1000 calories of nutritious food per day virtually forever.)
It's probably just being the daughter of a frugal mom (MSN Money blogger) but I always approach debt as "What's the best way to get out of debt?"
Now, I say "always" because I had an illness at 19 that has caused health issues and hindered my ability to work. But I'm stubborn and wouldn't admit it, so there were years of just barely getting by. And, towards the end, debt for some medicines I couldn't afford out of pocket.
My husband also has health issues that have recently left him unemployed. We're making do with unemployment while we try to figure out what he can do more steadily -- and still making payments on our debt.
That said, we're tackling his student loans first. (I was raised to attack high-interest stuff first.) He's had them for years and wants to be rid of them. I suppose technically that means we're snowflaking -- but I still advocate getting high APR debts paid down before low APR debt. (If it's not as psychologically rewarding enough as paying down small debts first, calculate how much interest you've saved with your last payment and leave it up on a white board as a nice reminder that you're making progress.)
I don't know that I'll have the tenacity to do my own tofu, but might very well try the soy milk and loaf options. At any rate, this is a super resource for those on a budget. Thanks for sharing!!
FIL was miserable at his job for about a decade. He finally got an offer from a competitor and switched over. He took early retirement at his old job. And they spent IT ALL in 9 months. Even the 10% that HR warned him he needed to set aside for tax penalty. Now they're in debt. And the competitor then let him go after six months with no warning. So then they were in debt while he decided to change occupations and went to school with some state help (MIL could only work PT, due to health issues). Then, MIL was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. FIL did finally get a job (contract, no insurance) and what do they do? Start going to the casinos for fun. Recently, they were let go as asst managers of the park. Now that they have to pay space rent again, FIL's solution was to stop paying a friend of the family to come over two hours a week and help MIL with cleaning.
It drives my husband and me crazy, as we struggle to get out of debt, after which we plan to start saving for a house. But in the end, it's not our place to say anything and FIL doesn't listen to the politely worded advice I give. (Did I mention he still hasn't set up payments with the IRS, two years after getting early retirement?)
So we have to accept that there are many things beyond our control. All we can do to help is pay them what we owe them (they gave us $3000 out of early retirement to help settle a student loan) and pray they use it well. And, once we're out of debt, make sure they know that we love them and will do what we can, but will probably never be in a financial position to take care of them (I'm on disability and hubby has his own health issues that affect work). They need to plan as best they can for themselves.
I think I'm a fussy eater, and would almost certainly turn my nose up at some of these, especially the ones I've actually tried before. I already know that I don't like liver, or kidneys both of which are parts of classic British dishes. But black pudding is awesome, and possible the greatest thing if you have a hangover. Have you tried it cold?
I had no idea that tofu was like cheese. Amazing :) .
This really is uplifting. Thanks for sharing the piece.
Wow! Impressive list. It reminds me of jiff. Good for everything!
Thanks so much! I enjoyed reading the other winning entries at your blog! Keep up the good work!
Linsey Knerl
Why old-fashioned toothpaste is so awesome is because of the baking soda. Using a baking soda & water paste (with salt and/or vinegar depending on circumstance) can pretty much do all these things. It's also cheaper and uses less packaging than the toothpaste.
A google search for [baking soda cleaning] will yield some good results.
This proposal will likely push up prices. This would increase ebay commissions, so it would be in ebay's interest to implement the proposal. However, what would hurt is that you would be forced to review your bid multiple times. In my case, I am rarely at my computer at the close of an auction. Instead, I would be forced to bid my maximum amount, either directly or through a sniping system.
What inspires me about stories like this is not the big payday that apparently awaits Dr. Kim, but the validation that his success provides so many other bloggers.
Targeting niche content, especially if based on a personal interest like Dr. Kim has, is a great way to explore your own passions and also build a business.
Even if you don't grow to the multi-million page view (or dollar) level, blogging is a great hobby and potential business that anyone can start today.
that i'm kinda glad my daughter has trouble eating soy, lest i be tempted to try this. i dunno, seems like a pound of tofu costs about a buck or so on sale, or am i remembering wrong?
but, yeah, there's the other 22 meals you mentioned. definitely sounds frugal.
If you're a composter, that's great, but most people and businesses aren't.
To the issue of using up every part of a vegetable - I don't cook very often...
Those restaurants you're eating at aren't using every part of the vegetable. They're even throwing out perfectly good food--not just the carrot tops but the whole carrot, if it's less than aesthetically pleasing, or was left over on someone's plate.
I can't personally compost meat (it would attract animals) but if we had any possible way of keeping one of the city's green bins, we would be able to compost any and all uncontaminated organic matter. (I really wish we could figure out a way to get one, but as it is we have space for only a small trash can and a small recycling bin, both shared with our neighbors.) We save any unused meat scraps and carcasses to make soup stock, but sometimes there's just more than our apartment-sized freezer can hold.
That Febreze ad is crazy, isn't it? I can't tell when it's going to show up. Cute dog, but yeesh.
I think the 'dangers' of soy are seriously overwrought. People all over Asia eat tofu frequently. The key, of course, is not to overdo stuff. Don't eat tofu at every meal if you are concerned about the estrogen issue.
I love this article and will undoubtedly make use of it.
Hate that febreze ad that follows me down and slows my computer.
I'm so glad this is still continuing to be debated, because as you can probably tell, I have lots to say on the subject. (This being, I believe, my third extended comment.)
Clearly, it was an emotional decision to take the leap and while I'm very OK with the decision we made as a couple, it really surprised me how hurt I was by some of the other comments in the very beginning of the debate. I think it's sad (just commenting here, not bashing anyone's opinion) that this decision can't just be about how much the couple loves each other and what they want to set for priorities within their relationship. If one needs to find themselves and the other wants to provide it and is able to, have we really reached the point where our relationships are less about love in this society and more about the bottom line?
Believe me, we worry about the bottom line and in fact I write about it quite frequently here on Wise Bread. But if you have trust in your partner that they are doing their best and providing everything they can to the situation, is it necessary to make the first jump to pointing out how much less money they are contributing? As somone who had a difficult emotional time giving up a great international career to support the one my husband had in the military, I have to say it was better in the end to take my time and not go back to traditional employment. You never know when they are going to restation / redeploy your spouse, so taking your time developing a set of freelance clients or an online business is in my opinion a much safer bet.
Also, as some have pointed out, the person who provides the income while the other stays at home is not the only one taking a risk / providing a gift. Yes, it's great to have the financial support while you decide how you can best balance your family responsibilities and relationship. But you are also taking a risk by cutting back on your government medical contributions, social security quarterly contributions and giving up time in the job market that is always more difficult to justify for women.
I'm not making excuses. It's just the way it is (or at least from my experience) that potential employers roll their eyes if women have taken time off, and seem to assume that men who have taken time off have apparently done so for more valuable reasons. (I realize that's an entirely separate conversation and post, just had to get it off my chest since it related to this conversation in part.)
I also think it's really sad that the stay at home's spouse contributions still have to be justified in the eyes of so many people. For those of us that provide those contributions, I'll just add one word . . . ouch. I just had a lengthy conversation with our campsite neighbor about how much harder the work is to stay at home and run the house with or without kids. And if you are working outside the home, you are for some reason given a societal pass if you don't feel like cooking or cleaning. If you are at home putting out whatever family fire gets dropped into your lap that day, and run out of time for a full course meal, many people (not everyone) feel it's then OK to let loose with a judgemental comment.
But if you were at a form of traditional work all day, even if that job allowed a three martini lunch and several hours of unproductive meetings, it is understood that of course you don't feel like cooking or cleaning. I'm not trying to generalize here, just stating what I have noticed as someone who has made this leap.
Not everyone makes me feel bad about this decision, but by the same token not everyone is supportive either. Stay at home contributions sometimes feel like the weight issue to me in that it still seems in our society to be something people still feel they can pass judgement on.
Again, I want to point out to those who would like to but feel unable to at this point, I understand what it is like to be on that side of the coin. I did it for YEARS, and it is exhausting and stressful. Perhaps a future post on strategies for laying the groundwork for transition is necessary. In fact, I'll start making notes on the subject.
In the meantime, I hope the debate continues as I'm enjoying the chance to further process this subject. Thanks in advance for the continued balanced debate!
CONGRATULATIONS! You have won the Mrs Nespy's Frugal World Bronze Medal for August 9th. Go here to get the code to post your medal if you'd like. Thanks for the great writing!
I have just received a Letter of Interest from Marty on project in Salt Lake City. It seems that you have had favorable dealings with his company. Any further comments or recommendations?
The problem is this: eBay sends out an alert saying you have been outbid. With traditional sniping, there's no time to respond. All a snipe would do here, just before the 15 minute deadline, is alert the bidder to come in and place a higher bid. Not saying there isn't a way around it, but that's not the answer.
One thing I've been wondering as I house hunt is 'how much land would I need to feed my family on a farm?'. It depends on the climate, I suppose.
The first smallest quote I could find quickly was 2.5 acres, but that was from 1986. Seems like there there should be a more recent and smaller value out there somewhere.
“With the right mixture of farm crops and small animals, 2 1/2 acres can supply the nutritional needs for a family of seven. And under the right conditions, our system can also produce a cash income.”
From 1986 -- http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM10...
I've had cow stomach several times while living in Brazil and while not gross tasting, it was like chewing on an inner tube. I strongly prefer to be able to bite through my meat, than you.
That said, I'll try anything once and haven't been grossed out yet.