Recent comments

  • Who Cheated Us Out of Our Amazing Future?   15 years 26 weeks ago

    i am concerned that household energy wasnt mentioned. in addition to spending 30% on food, many had gardens, compostors, etc. I'd like to give press to R.O.W.E., Dan Pink for there work on disconnecting from the labor market as BB & GOV have created it for us, work less make more do well. Be engaged in your community if you want a sense of usefulness outside of work, work has been commoditized & the less available work the more they HAVE to pay for those who are, this is aside of the PLANNED economy the GOV pushes & the money it prints that deflates our assets & savings in cash. I use the measure dollar per idle hour to measure across generations.

  • Removing Car Scratches: The Revenge of the Frugal Body Shop   15 years 26 weeks ago

    I'm sure he realizes that... think he was just trying make a joke.

  • Don't Just Think About Income When Saving for Retirement   15 years 26 weeks ago

    The article above highlights the key issue of focusing on spending. However, i believe it is both, spending and income, that should go hand-in-hand. Some expenses like utility bills, groceries, etc cannot be reduced after an extent. That's when, i believe, one will have to start thinking about the income. Control on spending will essentially come when one realizes that retirement savings is not enough. But what then? He will have to think about increasing his monthly income.

  • Emergency Plan: Better Than an Emergency Fund   15 years 26 weeks ago

    The idea of having an emergency plan is a smart one to just having an emergency fund. Thanks for this great post.

  • 7 Ways to Get Warm On the Cheap   15 years 26 weeks ago

    All of these are great suggestions. Using a fire place rather than the heater may save on heating bill as well. I like the cooking suggestion because it's multi functional.

  • Lessons Learned from New Year's Eves Gone Wrong   15 years 26 weeks ago

    I learned about having a back up plan this year. Should have read your blog sooner!

  • Horizon Organic Milk: Is it All Just Lies?   15 years 26 weeks ago

    All of you, including the writer of this need to go to an organic dairy farm and let a "real life" farmer answer all your questions. The internet is so full of nonsense that no one knows the truth anymore. You read one thing and then someone is out to prove it wrong, and then you find out it was actually not wrong...endless cycle. Don't google for answer people, because all you'll find it confusion. Majority of organic farms are open for tours and would be happy to answer all of your questions, and show you around. Believe it or not, although greed does run America and most of the world, some companies actually DO care about their product being set apart from others. So go ask an organic farmer if it's better or not, I did, and it's SO much better.

  • Tiny Nestegg? Retire abroad!   15 years 26 weeks ago

    David,

    Your comment is out place. This article and comments are about retiring in China. You should post in sites where people is interested in Latin America, not where people is interested in China and/or Asia.

    FYI Panama is a very expensive country and your information is very bogus everything you mention is superficial and too general.

    China and Asia as in general their economy is booming, their Health Care can compete with USA and Europe. Last but not least their cost of living is affordable for retirees and for those who works their good salaries can help you to live a very decent life!

  • Book Review - The Cheapskate Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of Americans Living Happily Below Their Means   15 years 26 weeks ago

    I liked this book, read the first one too. I like the personal stories and his humour. On a scale of 1 to 10 on personal finance books I give it an 8.

  • No Signal? 6 Ways to Boost Your Cell Phone Reception   15 years 26 weeks ago

    Use a metal colander (spaghetti strainer) instead of a weak azz coffee can you and get tremendous results. Problem is with most home made antennas is YOU HAVE TO CHECK THE SWR's of the antenna or you blow out you final output transistors, DUH. So get an SWR meter to make sure your "Standing Wave Ratio" is correct for your transmit frequency.

  • Prizes and Freebies from CoupSmart for the iPhone   15 years 26 weeks ago

    I started using this a month ago, and I won a $20 gift card. I didn't get any coupons or free samples, but that is my fault...somehow I had forgotten to set up my address. But it's just as you state, it can be hard to scan sometimes, but worth the effort to win some money and free samples. One trick we do is scan everything as we unload groceries.

  • How to Spot Counterfeit Money   15 years 26 weeks ago

    You can't refuse money unless you can show its counterfeit. Says right on it thats its legal tender for all debts, public and private. If you don't have change, you cant refuse it if the other party doesnt want change.

  • Top 6 Reasons Why Using Cash-Only Rocks   15 years 26 weeks ago

    Mary, I agree with you about spending more freely using a credit card or in my case, even my debit card. I find that by using cash, I actually spend a lot less (I don't know a dollar amount, but I'm saving double what i used to).

    Using debit cards, I would order anything off a menu for example. If I have cash instead, I tend to be a bit choosier about what I order, and maybe do a la cart instead of a full meal for example.

  • Top 6 Reasons Why Using Cash-Only Rocks   15 years 26 weeks ago

    Hi Tisha, it's been over a year and a half since this blog was posted- did you achieve your goal of becoming debt free? I'm asking because I checked in a couple of times during this past year and I have become debt-free and have switched to cash for daily needs as well.

    I hope this finds you happy and financially fit! Cheers.

  • 7 Ways to Get Warm On the Cheap   15 years 26 weeks ago

    Opening a gas stove after it's shut off is safe. no big deal.

    But venting a gas dryer into the house is a carbon monoxide risk. You should get a detector that will warn you of excess carbon monoxide in the home. As an alternative, you can lengthen the exhaust tube and dump the hot air into some kind of large metal box like an old storage cabinet, and then vent the cabinet to the outside. The heat will warm up the box, and the box will radiate heat into the room - you'll have to figure out what to do with water condensation. (And there's not much risk of slowing the air flow. Slowing the flow causes the dryer to be less efficient.)

  • 7 Ways to Get Warm On the Cheap   15 years 26 weeks ago

    In older houses, you have a lot more small rooms with doors. Close those doors and you reduce the amount of space to heat - and then heat just the spaces you're using. Also, if the kitchen is not in the center of the house, keep it cold -- this will reduce the power used by the refrigerator, which should nearly stop running because the air temp is blow the fridge temp.

  • 7 Ways to Get Warm On the Cheap   15 years 26 weeks ago

    Also look for drafts under doors. You can use scrap fabric to make tubes, and fill them with more scrap, beans, etc and other heavy things, to make a thing to block the draft.

  • Half Moon, Full Wallet: Free Online Yoga Videos   15 years 26 weeks ago
    At

    At http://www.yogadownload.com/ you can stream or download videos. Usually a 20 minute version of a practice will be free to stream and longer versions are under $2 to stream. I like the selection of exercise videos available--for free--at Exercise TV: http://www.exercisetv.tv/workout-videos/all/?videotype=free-full-length. They offer yoga, though their practice is more 'gym style', less 'yoga studio style', but it is good for a workout, as are their other selection of videos. Also, if you have digital cable with an "On Demand" feature, you might have Exercise TV videos On Demand. My sister has it, didn't even know it was there until I showed her.

  • 7 Ways to Get Warm On the Cheap   15 years 26 weeks ago

    I've been using a "radiator" style, oil-filled heater. One is a little over a year old, and the other is around three years old. Both have simple designs with few moving parts (just the switches and thermostat).

    There's a small heating element that heats up the oil. The hot oil rises, and the cold oil falls, creating circulation. The oil flows through these large fins that help radiate the heat.

    I wholeheartedly recommend these heaters. They don't get as hot as the heaters with fans, so they don't blow the fuse, either.

    PS - if you have a chimney, look up "rocket stove mass heater". These are wood stoves that use a large canister to radiate heat. They are "green" because they're designed to build and concentrate heat long enough to combust any smoke and carbon monoxide - that is, they totally vaporize wood. What's left is CO2, steam, and heat.

  • 15 Wonderful Uses for Witch Hazel   15 years 26 weeks ago

    buy it online

  • Eliminate Failed New Year's Resolutions with 3 Simple Steps   15 years 26 weeks ago

    Just like a budget, I like to keep resolutions:

    1. realistic
    2. simple

    Two steps, which is about all I can remember.

  • 7 Ways to Get Warm On the Cheap   15 years 26 weeks ago

    I love the cook for yourself suggestion. That's like the double whammy of Winter time savings. Makes me want to go bake something right now. mmm.

  • Horizon Organic Milk: Is it All Just Lies?   15 years 26 weeks ago

    Now THAT'S an intelligent, well-reasoned post with information I can actually use... TY!

  • Lessons Learned from New Year's Eves Gone Wrong   15 years 26 weeks ago

    I've always wondered why folks feel such a need to 'party party party' on New Year's Eve. You still need to get up the next day and continue life as usual - it's not as if the stroke of midnight to ring in the new year means all your wishes will come true. On New Year's Eve, we usually go out to a nice dinner and then head home to ring in the new year. We keep it simple and safe.

  • 8 Job-Getting Tips from a Guy Who's Hired 500 People in the Past 5 Years   15 years 26 weeks ago

    Good post! Too many perspective employees don't prepare for the interview, send thank you notes or practice interview questions. When they treat this very important interview too casually, the result is failure.