Recent comments

  • Link-Love in an Elevator   18 years 27 weeks ago

    Love your blog and all your links but when I read your feed in my reader the links to YOUR site's (not to other sites) articles come up wrong.

    example:
    ...Instead of:
    http://www.wisebread.com/how-to-get-rid-of-all-your-crap
    ...I get:
    http://www.bloglines.com/how-to-get-rid-of-all-your-crap
    ...which of course comes up as not found.

    Dont know if it a problem on your end or theirs.
    Thanks for listening.

  • Cracking the Infamous McDonalds Monopoly Game   18 years 27 weeks ago

    I should also mention that employees throw away loads and loads of game pieces every day, or they take them home and give them to their friends. I once spent a happy evening opening a HUGE stack of hashbrown wrappers because I knew someone who worked there. Didn't get any special pieces though. The board was filled with those filler game pieces.

  • Cracking the Infamous McDonalds Monopoly Game   18 years 27 weeks ago

    Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope, I think. the other two I'm stumped on. Feel like sharing the wealth Guest?

  • Cracking the Infamous McDonalds Monopoly Game   18 years 27 weeks ago

    For the last 3 years, BB was the sponsor - with DDing and SASEs, you could get a 300+% ROI... Sorry for abbreviations - those who know what I'm talking about will understand. ;)

  • Cracking the Infamous McDonalds Monopoly Game   18 years 27 weeks ago

    I can't play their Monopoly game any more. I go to McDonald's only when I have coupons, which nowadays is not very often and not usually coincident with the game. I'd say treat it as a bonus if you win one of the food prizes.

  • Link-Love in an Elevator   18 years 27 weeks ago

    We definitely have more links this time!

  • Link-Love in an Elevator   18 years 27 weeks ago

    I always enjoy reading where we're showing up. Is it me, or does this list get bigger every month?

  • How Not To Freeze For Nearly Free   18 years 27 weeks ago

    Hmm....I'm going to have to look into this. Mine is also fairly new. Thanks for the info. The blower sounds like a great component.

  • How Not To Freeze For Nearly Free   18 years 27 weeks ago

    9. Don’t use your gas fireplace.

    This is not entirely true. Our gas fireplace actually LOWERED our gas costs. We have a modern gas fireplace (1 year old) installed, and it is 85% efficient, compared to our furnace at a measly 68% efficient. Our fireplace also has a blower installed which helps to move the heat away from the fireplace to the rest of the room - and with an intricate system of fans set up, we can move warm air all over the house.

  • How Not To Freeze For Nearly Free   18 years 27 weeks ago

    When I just can't seem to get warm, a warm shower always helps me (as long as I dry my hair right away with a blow dryer).

  • How Not To Freeze For Nearly Free   18 years 27 weeks ago

    Thick curtains across windows, and even doors on the inside, do a tremendous job of keeping out the chill. Not only does it help with drafts if they aren't sealed properly, but the cold that emenates from window panes is trapped behind the fabric too. But the drawback is I'm taking about heavy duty, thick curtains. I had a pair in my old apartment (which was over 100 years old) and it was just amazing the difference they made in the winter!

  • How Not To Freeze For Nearly Free   18 years 27 weeks ago

    I've become a huge fan of wool socks -- not all the time necessarily but for hiking, camping, and probably at home whenever it starts getting cold.

  • How Not To Freeze For Nearly Free   18 years 27 weeks ago

    I just moved from a three bedroom double wide trailer after I sold it. It was a nightmare to heat. I had insulation blown in the crawl spaces above and below, but it only helped so much. I then replaced every single window with double paned ones. (It's pretty cheap if you do the work yourself.) That cut my heat issues to about half. It was still cold whenever there was a drop in temp, but not so cold your feet burned when they touched the floor.

    Now we live in a tiny apartment above the buildings laundry room. The heat cost alone is so cheap that we live cheaper than when we owned the trailer. (Plus no yardwork!)

    Now, with this in mind, I am going to be very careful about where I live from now on. The heat cost alone can kill our monthly budget.

  • How Not To Freeze For Nearly Free   18 years 27 weeks ago

    hmm the cuddling one is definitely my favorite...yay for brawny firefighters...:D

  • The Cost of Giving Baby a Bad Name   18 years 27 weeks ago

    My Papa decided to name me Cinnamon in honor of an actress on telly. Luckily, my mother had more sense, and called me by a shortened version of my middle name. So, I went by Christie.

    I get comments every time I show my i.d. It's not so bad but my twin sister's name is Nickolle!!!! I got the shaft. lol

    However, it gets worse. I married my second husband who is amazing, wonderful, and lovely, but his name is, wait for it, Blaze.

    So, you can bet your bottom dollar I gave my son a normal name that cannot be shortened or really rhymed with. Connor. Short, simple, sweet.

  • Figuring the Size of Your Emergency Fund   18 years 27 weeks ago

    My emergency fund has grown steadily and now covers 2 years of expenses, which I think may be a bit on the high side because I've never had to tap into it.

  • A second emergency fund you never spend?   18 years 27 weeks ago

    I've never used anything from my 1st emergency fund so I don't think a 2nd one is necessary. I guess if something extreme happens, I can raid the non-retirement portion of my investment portfolio.

  • What's your frugal obsession?   18 years 27 weeks ago

    When soap scraps get too thin or small to handle, glue them onto the new soap bar with soap suds.

    You know those sheets of tin foil that you use to cover food? Well, they can be rinsed/washed and reused at least one or two times more.

    Also, why buy quart-sized bags when you can reuse the plastic produce bags?

  • A second emergency fund you never spend?   18 years 27 weeks ago

    I sort of have one of these in the form of my retirement funds. I'm not even sure I'm allowed to touch them (I'm in the UK btw). I never think of them as emergency funds, but I guess they would represent hope - that its not always going to be this bad.

    @Scott:
    The very worst time to be thinking of using a nuclear weapon is probably as you are being invaded. If you bomb the invading army that will destroy your own civilians. If you bomb the other armies cities, that's pretty likely to annoy them and make them covet your land even more.

  • Mind Control Guru Can Pay With Blank Sheets of Paper   18 years 27 weeks ago

    Derren Brown has admitted on more than one occasion that his tv shows are staged...

    a bit like jesus

  • The Cost of Giving Baby a Bad Name   18 years 27 weeks ago

    My husband's name is Guillaume (pronounced Gee-ohm) which is the French version of William, just as Guillermo is the Spanish version. He was born in Quebec, and I assume his parents never realized they moved to the states.
    I have never seen so many people improperly spell and say a name in my life!

    Usually he gets called "Geelaamii" (rhymes with salami)
    or Gilliam (rhymes with William)

    Even when we spell it out for people they end changing all sorts of letters for no apparent reason.
    When he graduated from college he put down "Guy" (which is a nickname for his name, although he prefers the full version) as his name on resumes. I thought people might be intimidated, or assume his English abilities were less than perfect. A few went sent out with full name and we never heard back...I wonder if his name played a role.

    Anyway, he's very proud of his heritage and would never want to change it.

  • 10 Easy Ways to be Nicer to the Environment and Your Wallet   18 years 27 weeks ago

    I didn't know, and would never think of most of these tips. I'm off to figure out what to do with all my extra pens! Thanks Nora. Excellent post!

  • The $25 gadget that keeps my home and family safe.   18 years 27 weeks ago

    Paul, although we saw this product for the first time on WiseBread (and bought 2 of them), Lock Jaw was on HGTV last Sunday. Thanks for being ahead of everyone else!

  • How to Answer 23 of the Most Common Interview Questions   18 years 27 weeks ago

    Thanks!

    This really sums up 99% of my interviews!

    Nice to see I haven't made a lot of mistakes... :)

  • Why there's no reason NOT to buy store brand baby formula.   18 years 27 weeks ago

    You know I just cannot understand why people can't be a little bit more understanding about this topic. This article was not a debate. I just came from my pediatrician's office and my baby isn't gaining weight. My milk is drying up and I am so guilt-ridden over it. My kind and understanding doctor who WENT TO MEDICAL SCHOOL tells me that its time for formula and to not feel horrible about it. I try and find out what formula to buy and instead I am hit with more guilt from people who know NOTHING about others situations. Be a little more considerate. We KNOW that breast is best. But it's not always possible. I really appreciated this information on formula and I am trying to do what's best for my daughter. Most of the comments have been really helpful but a few have made my crappy day even worse.