I'm going to be a bit cynical. "Recession" in my neck of upper-mid to affluent suburbia means that my snotty neighbors are shocked to find out that not only is Dunkin Donuts coffee cheaper than Starbucks but it tastes just as good- gasp! It also means the housewives are flocking to Coach since their bags cost "only" $300 vs the $1300 Louis Vuitton.
Those all sound like pretty good ways to entertain kids... we used to play a lot of different hand games when I was a camp counselor to keep them from being bored. There's a great list of things here, too.
1st, i buy/consume local, because i like my $$ to stay local. not to finance folks in other places, but NOT because i have any illusions about differences in quality or nutritional value.
2. there is no difference in quality or nutritional value in the food. it IS true that it is easier to get plant-ripened fruits/veggies from local sources -- meaning that may be sweeter/tastier since they have more simple sugars (as opposed to complex carbohydrates); but, from a nutritional point of view -- no real difference (carbs is carbs....).
3. locally grown food is safer. uh. NO, not, necessarily. do you really think that 'organic' farmers sit outside with a shotgun to kill potato beetles, cutworms, aphids, ants, etc.etc.etc???
not even close. they use all sorts of alternatives to combat insects. the most popular is BT (a protein derived from Bacillus thuringiensis); the identical protein that is in many GMO-crops. further, some chemicals/insecticides are approved for organic use.
4. if you think your backyard chickens are safer and healthier. guess again. i'll be you a dollar that they have coccidiosis (extremely common in home/fancy flocks). and i'll also bet that 8 of 10 small flock owners are inexperienced in treating it -- or, know that you can't eat the eggs if you do.
5. while i am no great defender of contemporary industrial agriculture -- they do get a lot of things right. there is oversight, and there is no other way to feed the huge population with reasonably priced food.
6. you pays you money and you makes you choice...
mike pollan has several things exactly right. eat less; eat more plants. humans have a huge capacity for excess (pun intended). control it. or ... not ... you can decide for yourself.
but, one system is not inherently better than the other. both have advantages and disadvantages.
My sister and I quickly learned that complaining that we were bored would either get us more chores to do or silly suggestions like "you could play tiddly winks with manhole covers". As a result, we rarely complained of boredom. Of course, we also did all sorts of things that mom would never have imagined us doing. Some of them perfectly fine (baking cookies, random craft projects from stuff found around the house) some of them less fine (taking things apart to see how they worked...be careful encouraging this one. I became an engineer. :) ). And, sometimes, we'd just lie outside and watch the clouds and complain that we were bored. That's a part of what summer was all about.
I have seen organic produce cheaper than conventional. Sometimes the avocados at my local market are priced that way. The non-certified organic produce from my garden is far cheaper than what I can buy at any store and much tastier too. No transportation costs either.
Also, the organic feed I purchase for my hens, produced locally, is cheaper than the pellets from the feed store that contain dog knows what and come from dog knows where.
I'm with Charley. If you have to scrutinize the label, put it back on the shelf.
To me, recession means the general economic situation in this country isn't so great right now but I know that recessions do end, so in the meantime it's just doing your best to spend wisely when necessary and save as much as possible. Basically, just being smart with your money which we should ALWAYS aim for no matter what the financial climate!
For me, "recession" means that my husband and I have put our plans to start a family on hold. We're stranded on the wrong side of the country from our own families, and in this depressed job market, it looks like it's going to be close to impossible for him to find a job back home.
The free icecream is while the vendor isn't looking. Teaching your kids to steal is not only fun and educational, but it provides them with valuable skills for their future.
we use a personal card for business. See no point getting an "official business card" since the business has only a couple of employees who do not need any card.
I am having trouble locating the free ice cream. Both my supermarket and local summer dairy stands unfortunately seem to disagree with you on this premise.
@Guest (#45): Thank you for the book recommendation. Will check it out.
@Just Finished 1st Year: Thanks for your interest! Check out my website at www.theprofessionalhobo.com for more info about what I do and how I travel, and if you have specific questions for me, feel free to use the Contact me tab at the top.
@Shannon - Good luck! I tend to do this exercise regularly...it is interesting to see how things change, and how many things you can tick off the list!
I love this post! I also missed it the first time around. I work with college students, and I think that this question is sometimes the last thing that would enter their minds. I don't mean that as a dig on young people, only that there is so much competitiveness and emphasis on being successful today. I hope that many people will discover this post and start asking themselves this question. I know I will.
Whether to pay off debt should not be that hard of a decision, if one is living and spending consistently month after month. The big X factor is your income situation. If your job is solid and safe and you have the savings to pay off all of a piece of debt you owe (ie a car or boat, or even a home) then that is an easy choice. Pay the debt off and start the debt snowball to take care of other debt or to save so you may pay cash for the next car etc.
If your job is not secure then you might want to hold on to the savings. In the mean time, I would cut back on any expenses (if you can) and try to earn even more income (home business, 2nd job) than you are now. This might may life rough for a while, but this should be a temporary thing till the debt is paid for.
Being consistent is also key. Putting your budget on an allowance system and spending the same amount month after month will put normalcy in your finances and keep you stable, and then that question will not be as hard to answer because your future will be very predictable as far as spending is concerned. After all, the unknown is what makes this question so tough. A family's budget on an allowance system where money spent is virtually the same each month, makes things a lot easier.
I completely support buying organic food for environmental reasons, but except for chronically exposed field workers, data from the medical literature don't support harm to humans. It makes sense that pesticide-free food would be healthier, and maybe someone will convincingly show that soon, but it's likely an insidious effect or a quite marginal one. That said, it can't hurt.
i order my coupon like 4 months ago, and still nothing. how long does it take to get one, because i have no cable three little kids and they are going nuts, and driving me crazy because they are missing friday night smack down. :)
while i tried to order it again but i was truned down because they say that they mailed it to me, but i never got it. what do i do please e-mail me if you know, alaya_n_richard@yahoo.com thanks.
If you don't have your address in your wallet, how do you expect it to be returned?
My husband lost his wallet on a Chicago bus (on the way to the airport, no less -- how's that for timing). It was mailed back to us, no cash, no return address. I doubt the mailer was the one who took the cash. S/he probably found it that way on the street, but left off the return address to avoid the hassle of dealing with us.
It was nice to get it back and know that the cards weren't floating around, but he had already canceled them all by the time the wallet returned. And any info for identity theft could have been copied. So getting it back wasn't as useful as you might think. The main benefit was not having to go to the DMV for a new license.
im a pretty poor college grad living in one of the most expenisve cities (LA) and one of the things i do for meals to save money is to make crepes for meals. all you need to make them is flour, sugar, and egg and whatever else you want to add to it. it takes about 5 minutes or less to make and you can buy sugar/flour etc at the 99cent store for a decent amount. and its delicious!
I heard this once and thought it was apt.... recession is when your neighbor loses his job, depression is when you lose yours. We have experienced both!
I'm going to be a bit cynical. "Recession" in my neck of upper-mid to affluent suburbia means that my snotty neighbors are shocked to find out that not only is Dunkin Donuts coffee cheaper than Starbucks but it tastes just as good- gasp! It also means the housewives are flocking to Coach since their bags cost "only" $300 vs the $1300 Louis Vuitton.
Those all sound like pretty good ways to entertain kids... we used to play a lot of different hand games when I was a camp counselor to keep them from being bored. There's a great list of things here, too.
well... i have a very different perspective.
1st, i buy/consume local, because i like my $$ to stay local. not to finance folks in other places, but NOT because i have any illusions about differences in quality or nutritional value.
2. there is no difference in quality or nutritional value in the food. it IS true that it is easier to get plant-ripened fruits/veggies from local sources -- meaning that may be sweeter/tastier since they have more simple sugars (as opposed to complex carbohydrates); but, from a nutritional point of view -- no real difference (carbs is carbs....).
3. locally grown food is safer. uh. NO, not, necessarily. do you really think that 'organic' farmers sit outside with a shotgun to kill potato beetles, cutworms, aphids, ants, etc.etc.etc???
not even close. they use all sorts of alternatives to combat insects. the most popular is BT (a protein derived from Bacillus thuringiensis); the identical protein that is in many GMO-crops. further, some chemicals/insecticides are approved for organic use.
4. if you think your backyard chickens are safer and healthier. guess again. i'll be you a dollar that they have coccidiosis (extremely common in home/fancy flocks). and i'll also bet that 8 of 10 small flock owners are inexperienced in treating it -- or, know that you can't eat the eggs if you do.
5. while i am no great defender of contemporary industrial agriculture -- they do get a lot of things right. there is oversight, and there is no other way to feed the huge population with reasonably priced food.
6. you pays you money and you makes you choice...
mike pollan has several things exactly right. eat less; eat more plants. humans have a huge capacity for excess (pun intended). control it. or ... not ... you can decide for yourself.
but, one system is not inherently better than the other. both have advantages and disadvantages.
balance, grasshopper.
My sister and I quickly learned that complaining that we were bored would either get us more chores to do or silly suggestions like "you could play tiddly winks with manhole covers". As a result, we rarely complained of boredom. Of course, we also did all sorts of things that mom would never have imagined us doing. Some of them perfectly fine (baking cookies, random craft projects from stuff found around the house) some of them less fine (taking things apart to see how they worked...be careful encouraging this one. I became an engineer. :) ). And, sometimes, we'd just lie outside and watch the clouds and complain that we were bored. That's a part of what summer was all about.
I have seen organic produce cheaper than conventional. Sometimes the avocados at my local market are priced that way. The non-certified organic produce from my garden is far cheaper than what I can buy at any store and much tastier too. No transportation costs either.
Also, the organic feed I purchase for my hens, produced locally, is cheaper than the pellets from the feed store that contain dog knows what and come from dog knows where.
I'm with Charley. If you have to scrutinize the label, put it back on the shelf.
To me, recession means the general economic situation in this country isn't so great right now but I know that recessions do end, so in the meantime it's just doing your best to spend wisely when necessary and save as much as possible. Basically, just being smart with your money which we should ALWAYS aim for no matter what the financial climate!
For me, "recession" means that my husband and I have put our plans to start a family on hold. We're stranded on the wrong side of the country from our own families, and in this depressed job market, it looks like it's going to be close to impossible for him to find a job back home.
The free icecream is while the vendor isn't looking. Teaching your kids to steal is not only fun and educational, but it provides them with valuable skills for their future.
we use a personal card for business. See no point getting an "official business card" since the business has only a couple of employees who do not need any card.
Panic and sensationalism from the media, highlighting the fiscally irresponsible masses.
And, pouncing on the opportunity for a $10 Amazon gift card.
I am having trouble locating the free ice cream. Both my supermarket and local summer dairy stands unfortunately seem to disagree with you on this premise.
@Sean - Cool! Hav eyou tried the listerine yet? I wonder if other brands of mouthwash work too...
@Guest (#45): Thank you for the book recommendation. Will check it out.
@Just Finished 1st Year: Thanks for your interest! Check out my website at www.theprofessionalhobo.com for more info about what I do and how I travel, and if you have specific questions for me, feel free to use the Contact me tab at the top.
@Shannon - Good luck! I tend to do this exercise regularly...it is interesting to see how things change, and how many things you can tick off the list!
Once you find out, you can't unring that bell.
I love this post! I also missed it the first time around. I work with college students, and I think that this question is sometimes the last thing that would enter their minds. I don't mean that as a dig on young people, only that there is so much competitiveness and emphasis on being successful today. I hope that many people will discover this post and start asking themselves this question. I know I will.
Pay more now in getting healthy food, or pay higher health care costs later.
Whether to pay off debt should not be that hard of a decision, if one is living and spending consistently month after month. The big X factor is your income situation. If your job is solid and safe and you have the savings to pay off all of a piece of debt you owe (ie a car or boat, or even a home) then that is an easy choice. Pay the debt off and start the debt snowball to take care of other debt or to save so you may pay cash for the next car etc.
If your job is not secure then you might want to hold on to the savings. In the mean time, I would cut back on any expenses (if you can) and try to earn even more income (home business, 2nd job) than you are now. This might may life rough for a while, but this should be a temporary thing till the debt is paid for.
Being consistent is also key. Putting your budget on an allowance system and spending the same amount month after month will put normalcy in your finances and keep you stable, and then that question will not be as hard to answer because your future will be very predictable as far as spending is concerned. After all, the unknown is what makes this question so tough. A family's budget on an allowance system where money spent is virtually the same each month, makes things a lot easier.
To learn about an allowance system, visit www.theallowancesystem.com
Very interesting and different perspective!
I completely support buying organic food for environmental reasons, but except for chronically exposed field workers, data from the medical literature don't support harm to humans. It makes sense that pesticide-free food would be healthier, and maybe someone will convincingly show that soon, but it's likely an insidious effect or a quite marginal one. That said, it can't hurt.
i order my coupon like 4 months ago, and still nothing. how long does it take to get one, because i have no cable three little kids and they are going nuts, and driving me crazy because they are missing friday night smack down. :)
while i tried to order it again but i was truned down because they say that they mailed it to me, but i never got it. what do i do please e-mail me if you know, alaya_n_richard@yahoo.com thanks.
recession means going without. even more than before.
i'm with andrew (10) and byron (19), too.
If you don't have your address in your wallet, how do you expect it to be returned?
My husband lost his wallet on a Chicago bus (on the way to the airport, no less -- how's that for timing). It was mailed back to us, no cash, no return address. I doubt the mailer was the one who took the cash. S/he probably found it that way on the street, but left off the return address to avoid the hassle of dealing with us.
It was nice to get it back and know that the cards weren't floating around, but he had already canceled them all by the time the wallet returned. And any info for identity theft could have been copied. So getting it back wasn't as useful as you might think. The main benefit was not having to go to the DMV for a new license.
im a pretty poor college grad living in one of the most expenisve cities (LA) and one of the things i do for meals to save money is to make crepes for meals. all you need to make them is flour, sugar, and egg and whatever else you want to add to it. it takes about 5 minutes or less to make and you can buy sugar/flour etc at the 99cent store for a decent amount. and its delicious!
I heard this once and thought it was apt.... recession is when your neighbor loses his job, depression is when you lose yours. We have experienced both!
Ice cream is free???