The heavier the jean material, the longer they last. Unfortunately, (and ironically,) many designer jeans that cost a lot of money, are a lighter weight material. Also, the coloring they use, can bleed and fade easily. So, in order to make them "last" (maintain the color and design,) a lot of places recommend against throwing them into a washer and dryer.
I recently took the plunge into raising backyard chickens in suburbia and now that I'm 2 dozen brown, free range, organic eggs into it, I'm loving it. For weeks now I've been studying and saving up recipes in anticipation of the egg laying days. It's such a thrill to go outside and feed the girls every morning and pick up breakfast while I'm at it. The eggs are still small, but they are tasty. To date, the eggs have contributed to one flourless chocolate cake, cranberry cornbread and 2 loaves of honey egg bread.
At the end of February, I'm adding green and blue egg layers to the flock. It should make Easter 2012 a lot easier without the messy food dye.
If "crunchy" jeans/towels are an issue on the line, throw in the dryer while they are still slightly damp. Then it only takes about 15 minutes to fluff/dry the rest of the way. As far as the sun fading things that are line dried, our clothes line runs north-south along the back of our yard with woods on the west side; so the amount of direct sunlight is determined by the time of day that I put things out. We live in Florida, so in July or August we can have line-dried clothes in less time than it would take to use the dryer.
I have never dry cleaned any of my jeans or have heard of anyone doing that & I wash them every week in my washing machine on normal wash & dry them on medium heat & they last me years... Not sure where your buying your jeans...
Mortgage. mortgage, mortgage. I live in the Bay Area and housing prices aren't cheap here. Second on the list would be property taxes. But at least we have a nice house :)
Great list, especially the "cut the landline" trope. If you live in the country or if you do a significant portion of your business via telephone, an actual landline is essential.
One important word of caution for any of these methods, straight from "the horses (as in the dentist's) mouth." If you have any kind of cosmetic dental work like bondings, crowns, or veneers, you do NOT want to whiten. The synthetic materials will not whiten, but your real teeth will...causing a mismatch.
That's awesome, Darcie! I agree that one of the best perks to winning stuff is that you can give it away. I used to give my kids the most amazing holiday gifts when I was entering giveaways. They would always ask "This is cool! Did you win it, Mama?"
Avoid expecting instant gratification... That is something that we all must learn. I remember when I was starting out I felt a constant annoyance because of my finances. During that time, I felt that my money was not growing fast enough.
I'm a fan of ESA accounts for the tiny tot(s), regardless of birth order; much appreciated, since the parents are often too overwhelmed to set up accounts themselves in those crucial early years.
I'm from a Polish background, but one thing that was similar was bread. I remember at my grandparent's house, there was always bread on the table at every meal, no matter what. Every now and then I'll randomly go get some bread with dinner, and I think it's just going back to those days.
I just watched this tonight 2 years later and it is still very relevant and very scary. Makes me happy with some of my choices and a little regretful of others.
Our biggest item is housing BUT we actually spend more each month paying extra on our student loans so we can be debt free! It is kind of crazy that we actually spend over 25% of our income on paying off debt; Hopefully, it will be worth it soon.
My top spending categories over the last three months (as percentages of net spending, not income.)
Rent: 55%
Clothing: 21%
Food: 8%
I live in the bay area, which is why rent is so significant. Don't really have an excuse for the clothing. I would resolve to get that under control, but Barney's is getting all their SS collections in right now. It would be criminal not to get some new shoes, at least.
Good point - wear and tear on your car should be a factor in the debate. Having a higher-mileage car will also affect resale value in the end. Thanks for the comment!
Thanks for the recommendation! I personally use the OTC kits once every year to 18 months, and a whitening toothpaste in between. I was looking for a good one - I'll definitely give that a try.
The heavier the jean material, the longer they last. Unfortunately, (and ironically,) many designer jeans that cost a lot of money, are a lighter weight material. Also, the coloring they use, can bleed and fade easily. So, in order to make them "last" (maintain the color and design,) a lot of places recommend against throwing them into a washer and dryer.
I love deals! Thank you.
I know. I was shocked. But, it was one of the first pieces of advice I got when I got "fancy jeans."
I recently took the plunge into raising backyard chickens in suburbia and now that I'm 2 dozen brown, free range, organic eggs into it, I'm loving it. For weeks now I've been studying and saving up recipes in anticipation of the egg laying days. It's such a thrill to go outside and feed the girls every morning and pick up breakfast while I'm at it. The eggs are still small, but they are tasty. To date, the eggs have contributed to one flourless chocolate cake, cranberry cornbread and 2 loaves of honey egg bread.
At the end of February, I'm adding green and blue egg layers to the flock. It should make Easter 2012 a lot easier without the messy food dye.
If "crunchy" jeans/towels are an issue on the line, throw in the dryer while they are still slightly damp. Then it only takes about 15 minutes to fluff/dry the rest of the way. As far as the sun fading things that are line dried, our clothes line runs north-south along the back of our yard with woods on the west side; so the amount of direct sunlight is determined by the time of day that I put things out. We live in Florida, so in July or August we can have line-dried clothes in less time than it would take to use the dryer.
Grab the True Religion jeans on sale at 6pm. Once in a while they offer them up to 70% off.
FYI, drop the apostrophe in "cleaners." The word is not possessive here.
From an OCD English teacher.
I have never dry cleaned any of my jeans or have heard of anyone doing that & I wash them every week in my washing machine on normal wash & dry them on medium heat & they last me years... Not sure where your buying your jeans...
Mortgage. mortgage, mortgage. I live in the Bay Area and housing prices aren't cheap here. Second on the list would be property taxes. But at least we have a nice house :)
Great list, especially the "cut the landline" trope. If you live in the country or if you do a significant portion of your business via telephone, an actual landline is essential.
I've never known anyone -- female, male, young, old -- have their jeans dry cleaned.
Excellent point, Stephanie. Thanks very much for pointing that out for readers!
One important word of caution for any of these methods, straight from "the horses (as in the dentist's) mouth." If you have any kind of cosmetic dental work like bondings, crowns, or veneers, you do NOT want to whiten. The synthetic materials will not whiten, but your real teeth will...causing a mismatch.
WRONG... that may have been true a few years ago, or in general, but EXXON had more profits than ANY company, including any pharmaceuticals
That's awesome, Darcie! I agree that one of the best perks to winning stuff is that you can give it away. I used to give my kids the most amazing holiday gifts when I was entering giveaways. They would always ask "This is cool! Did you win it, Mama?"
My biggest budget item is my car payment. Finally paid off the mortgage!
Are there are other cheap Italian ingredients that folks keep in their pantry?
Vince
Avoid expecting instant gratification... That is something that we all must learn. I remember when I was starting out I felt a constant annoyance because of my finances. During that time, I felt that my money was not growing fast enough.
I'm a fan of ESA accounts for the tiny tot(s), regardless of birth order; much appreciated, since the parents are often too overwhelmed to set up accounts themselves in those crucial early years.
I'm from a Polish background, but one thing that was similar was bread. I remember at my grandparent's house, there was always bread on the table at every meal, no matter what. Every now and then I'll randomly go get some bread with dinner, and I think it's just going back to those days.
I just watched this tonight 2 years later and it is still very relevant and very scary. Makes me happy with some of my choices and a little regretful of others.
Our biggest item is housing BUT we actually spend more each month paying extra on our student loans so we can be debt free! It is kind of crazy that we actually spend over 25% of our income on paying off debt; Hopefully, it will be worth it soon.
My top spending categories over the last three months (as percentages of net spending, not income.)
Rent: 55%
Clothing: 21%
Food: 8%
I live in the bay area, which is why rent is so significant. Don't really have an excuse for the clothing. I would resolve to get that under control, but Barney's is getting all their SS collections in right now. It would be criminal not to get some new shoes, at least.
Good point - wear and tear on your car should be a factor in the debate. Having a higher-mileage car will also affect resale value in the end. Thanks for the comment!
Thanks for the recommendation! I personally use the OTC kits once every year to 18 months, and a whitening toothpaste in between. I was looking for a good one - I'll definitely give that a try.