How do you do the calculation of this?.... I just wanna know if I pay an extra 5,000 a year on my mortgage how soon will my mortgage be paid off. My mortgage is 163,000 (ball-park) and my APR is 4.333 with a 30 fixed rate.. I have ten years left in the military and my goal is to have the mortage paid off around the same time I retire.
i pay for convenience, but it's all about different levels. i buy the majority of my produce at the farmers market, which requires a lot more washing of dirt and chopping up, but spending a few hours processing all the fruits and veggies on a sunday, makes it all the more convenient during the week. we always have 1-3 "convenient" meals at home and usually don't take more than 10-25 minutes to pull together dinner, which makes a big difference. most of the time, i think convenience comes down to personal values. i prefer to buy locally and enjoy the great taste of farm fresh food, so i approach the 'inconvenient' with a better attitude to where it doesn't seem like a bother.
we do the same by not paying for cable, but buying 1-2 cable shows on amazon to save us the giant bill from comcast.
I do pay for "convenient meals", the kind that are already prepared by the grocery store in advance. They're usually healthier and less expensive than fast food meals. I don't have time to cook, and every time I do try to make something in my kitchen I end up setting off the smoke detector.
Definitely pay for convenience when I am food shopping. In other categories, I'll try DIY to save some cash but cooking is not my forte. So I go for anything pre-made, pre-cooked, pre-washed.. basically anything that makes the effort I have to put towards dinner minimal. I know, it's bad but the last thing I want to do when I get home from a long day at work is cook myself a gourmet dinner.
I am so lucky to be able to pay others to do the things I'd rather not. I'm mostly paying to have TIME for the things I enjoy. So I pay to have my house cleaned and my lawn mowed. However, I am willing to invest my time in the food I eat, and I don't buy many pre-cut veggies or convenience foods; I take my lunch to work, and only eat out once or twice a week.
I have found the following items to be a savings our family of four:
real vanilla extract
real maple syrup
baker's yeast
organic salsa
various cheeses
sugar in the raw
unbleached flour
organic brown rice
organic olive oil
organic quinoa
old-fashioned oats
honey
frozen strawberries
organic frozen vegetables (corn, green beans, broccoli)
raw almonds
spices
organic spinach/salad mix
organic baby carrots
whole grain English muffins
Greek yogurt
butter
organic milk
ground turkey
Hebrew National hotdogs
I make a menu (to ensure that food isn't going to get wasted) and go to Costco once/month. I spend 3/4 of my grocery budget on this visit (and save the rest to buy bread/fresh produce for the rest of the month). It is a hard trip (a lot of work!), but it's so worth it. I can feed my family better (more natural/organic) for a little bit less when we go to Costco instead of the regular grocery store.
My time is too precious to me. I am frugal but not cheap. My time is worth more to me than cutting up veggies, changing my oil, waiting for a bus, doing yardwork and other tedious and time consuming chores. Life is too short, I'd rather spend time with my family or doing something I love.
It can be very tough for an entrepreneur to leave the work force and their baby behind in someone else's hands. For some their business might have been their occupation for decades and to make that transition over to the new lifestyle can be strange for some.
I do my own cleaning (occasionally). But I will occasionally pay for convenience at the grocery store. I buy baby carrots because I'm more likely to take them to work. And I buy pre-shredded cheese when it's on sale. I can stock up and throw the bags in the freezer. Since most of our cheese is used for melting (casseroles, pizza, etc), we don't notice any difference.
I certainly do not buy bottled water. We purchased an under sink water purifier several years ago. I have bought clearance stainless steel water bottles for about $3. The filter is replaced about twice a year for about $70. We have good tasting, clean, and envronmentally sound bottled water for a fraction of the cost and it takes less time to change the filter and fill the bottles than it does to cart in cases of plastic bottled water.
I think everyone pays for a lot of conveniences, unless they live in a cave or in the woods somewhere remote from civilization. Which conveniences we pay for are individual choices.
I was really excited to read the "Financial Strategies for Stay at Home Parents" article because that is a situation in our near future, and I am gathering all the advice I can find. Unfortunately, it's written by a Canadian blogger, which is wonderful, but some of the advice he offers doesn't translate to life in the United States.
Do you have any tips/suggestions/advice (or links to the same) for American couples in the planning stages of parenthood?
the best reason to carry cash, in my opinion, is to HIDE STUFF FROM MY WIFE IN MINT.COM
i like to eat burgers sometimes. at wendy's. but if i use a credit card, it will show up in mint, and at the end of the week, 'why did you go to wendys when we have food at home? that stuff is no good for you you are going to die before i do!' 'come on honey i'm 25'
however, if i fork out $8.25 cash for a spicy chicken combo medium size, noone needs to know :)
How do you do the calculation of this?.... I just wanna know if I pay an extra 5,000 a year on my mortgage how soon will my mortgage be paid off. My mortgage is 163,000 (ball-park) and my APR is 4.333 with a 30 fixed rate.. I have ten years left in the military and my goal is to have the mortage paid off around the same time I retire.
i pay for convenience, but it's all about different levels. i buy the majority of my produce at the farmers market, which requires a lot more washing of dirt and chopping up, but spending a few hours processing all the fruits and veggies on a sunday, makes it all the more convenient during the week. we always have 1-3 "convenient" meals at home and usually don't take more than 10-25 minutes to pull together dinner, which makes a big difference. most of the time, i think convenience comes down to personal values. i prefer to buy locally and enjoy the great taste of farm fresh food, so i approach the 'inconvenient' with a better attitude to where it doesn't seem like a bother.
we do the same by not paying for cable, but buying 1-2 cable shows on amazon to save us the giant bill from comcast.
I do pay for "convenient meals", the kind that are already prepared by the grocery store in advance. They're usually healthier and less expensive than fast food meals. I don't have time to cook, and every time I do try to make something in my kitchen I end up setting off the smoke detector.
Definitely pay for convenience when I am food shopping. In other categories, I'll try DIY to save some cash but cooking is not my forte. So I go for anything pre-made, pre-cooked, pre-washed.. basically anything that makes the effort I have to put towards dinner minimal. I know, it's bad but the last thing I want to do when I get home from a long day at work is cook myself a gourmet dinner.
I am so lucky to be able to pay others to do the things I'd rather not. I'm mostly paying to have TIME for the things I enjoy. So I pay to have my house cleaned and my lawn mowed. However, I am willing to invest my time in the food I eat, and I don't buy many pre-cut veggies or convenience foods; I take my lunch to work, and only eat out once or twice a week.
I do pay for convenience - sometimes!
I don't buy convenience foods like pre cut veggies, but I do buy bread if that counts.
It's actually better for the environment (uses less water and recycles the wastewater) to get your car washed at a car wash vs. doing it yourself.
My friend just sent me this link, which I now wish I had used in the article itself.
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2009/01/04/119-sea-salt/
How old is the author of this piece?
I have possibly a silly question. Do you use this rinse after rinsing the baking soda out as a final leave in?
We definitely save money at Costco.
I have found the following items to be a savings our family of four:
real vanilla extract
real maple syrup
baker's yeast
organic salsa
various cheeses
sugar in the raw
unbleached flour
organic brown rice
organic olive oil
organic quinoa
old-fashioned oats
honey
frozen strawberries
organic frozen vegetables (corn, green beans, broccoli)
raw almonds
spices
organic spinach/salad mix
organic baby carrots
whole grain English muffins
Greek yogurt
butter
organic milk
ground turkey
Hebrew National hotdogs
I make a menu (to ensure that food isn't going to get wasted) and go to Costco once/month. I spend 3/4 of my grocery budget on this visit (and save the rest to buy bread/fresh produce for the rest of the month). It is a hard trip (a lot of work!), but it's so worth it. I can feed my family better (more natural/organic) for a little bit less when we go to Costco instead of the regular grocery store.
Yes! Oil change that's a good one. I always pay to have it changed. Also, I rarely wash my own car, which is just lazy.
So you publicize it on the Internet where everyone can find it? Thanks, now it's gonna cost $80 to change the batteries in my flashlight.
My time is too precious to me. I am frugal but not cheap. My time is worth more to me than cutting up veggies, changing my oil, waiting for a bus, doing yardwork and other tedious and time consuming chores. Life is too short, I'd rather spend time with my family or doing something I love.
It can be very tough for an entrepreneur to leave the work force and their baby behind in someone else's hands. For some their business might have been their occupation for decades and to make that transition over to the new lifestyle can be strange for some.
Yes, we do pay for convenience...
We eat out sometimes (once or twice a month) because we're too tired to cook from scratch or if we're running late.
We buy most produce because we've yet to become self-sufficient with our starter vegetable garden.
We use Kleenex instead of washing handkerchiefs.
We drive when we don't feel like walking / biking somewhere.
We use an automatic washing machine instead of one of those hand-cranked gadgets.
I'm typing this from home -- computers and internet are huge conveniences! -- instead of using computers at the public library.
Most things in life are "conveniences" when you think about it.
I do my own cleaning (occasionally). But I will occasionally pay for convenience at the grocery store. I buy baby carrots because I'm more likely to take them to work. And I buy pre-shredded cheese when it's on sale. I can stock up and throw the bags in the freezer. Since most of our cheese is used for melting (casseroles, pizza, etc), we don't notice any difference.
I certainly do not buy bottled water. We purchased an under sink water purifier several years ago. I have bought clearance stainless steel water bottles for about $3. The filter is replaced about twice a year for about $70. We have good tasting, clean, and envronmentally sound bottled water for a fraction of the cost and it takes less time to change the filter and fill the bottles than it does to cart in cases of plastic bottled water.
I think everyone pays for a lot of conveniences, unless they live in a cave or in the woods somewhere remote from civilization. Which conveniences we pay for are individual choices.
Thanks for the wonderful questions and suggestions. It's going to help a lot. Too bad I didn't read this before my last interview.
I was really excited to read the "Financial Strategies for Stay at Home Parents" article because that is a situation in our near future, and I am gathering all the advice I can find. Unfortunately, it's written by a Canadian blogger, which is wonderful, but some of the advice he offers doesn't translate to life in the United States.
Do you have any tips/suggestions/advice (or links to the same) for American couples in the planning stages of parenthood?
Sometimes
the best reason to carry cash, in my opinion, is to HIDE STUFF FROM MY WIFE IN MINT.COM
i like to eat burgers sometimes. at wendy's. but if i use a credit card, it will show up in mint, and at the end of the week, 'why did you go to wendys when we have food at home? that stuff is no good for you you are going to die before i do!' 'come on honey i'm 25'
however, if i fork out $8.25 cash for a spicy chicken combo medium size, noone needs to know :)
hardly ever