It's too easy to seize the day and to hell with the consequences. It may then turn out that the 5 years you spend living it up, cause the next 25 years to spend in drudgery. Isn't it much better to just be content for your whole life?
Cool beans. I'd like to win a copy of this book! Sounds like a good book. Seems like all the tips tend to be the same sometimes: Change your lightbulbs, reuse shopping bags, turn off the electricity when you're not using it, etc., so it's cool to hear that so many tips are in this book.
On a side note, I just discovered your blog, but I've really enjoyed the little I've read so far. Lots of good, useful, relevant information.
I'm leading an effort to make graduate school much more green. So far I've been successful in establishing double-sided printers on campus and am currently planning a green party event for the school. This book sounds like an awesome resource to pull ideas and to educate others!
I tried doing this a few years ago. Bought all the books, the memerships. Now that you can transfer huge documents quickly over FTP connections, companies don't tend to send giant documents overseas anymore. In one year of membership, I never once saw an opportunity worth taking advantage of. In fact, all of the books that I bought were either published long before the advent of the internet, or the updated versions warned that there was very little courier work left anymore.
I laughed while reading your blogpost, it sounds exactly like my life.
I do grass fed beef, raw milk (when I can afford it and I didn't find organic milk marked down to 2.95 a gallon), eggs from a farmer, some produce from TJ's and then the rest with coupons. I dumpster dive for inserts and have gotten some great deals lately.
20 cents each- 18oz canister of old fashioned oatmeal
16 cents each-mt olive pickles and relish (yes i know it has high fructose corn syrup
in it. however my first attempt at homemade pickles turned out well, but it was time consuming).
1.49 for big can of tahini
1.50 a box for organic cereals
1.99 a bag for 3# of organic apples
My favorite was I got a free chicken (almost organic) because of scan guarantee at the grocery store, it's price rang up wrong at the checkout.
I get a rush from couponing and spend way too much time looking for free or almost free stuff that I actually would use ( I don't use air fresheners, processed foods, etc, so those deals don't interest me, I don't want to buy them just to waste them, although I did get 60 packs of free bread last week and was able to donate some ((of course I kept some too, but i will try not to use it everyday).
However the $120 of lipstick I got last week will make great christmas presents for all my girlfriends.
I have a pricebook (loved the book the Complete Tightwad Gazette).
And am hoping to go and check out the surplus store next week and see what I can buy that was crushed on a pallet!
I tried couchsurfing for the first time this past August, on a trip to Paris. It was pretty out of character for me -- I'm a fairly reserved person who likes her routines -- but I'm also thrifty, and I realized that even staying at the cheapest hostel was going to set me back more than $300 (Canadian). I was convinced to use couchsurfing when I found a bunch of hosts who had more than 100 recommendations on their profiles from past surfers.
I had an _excellent_ time.
It saved me money, but the real value was getting a free pass into the city's social life. The Parisian couchsurfing community is the second largest in the world (London's is the largest), and is full of enthusiastic people who love to travel, and who meet up a couple times a week. My host was a lovely, lovely man. I did all the normal touristy stuff, but during my week I also went to a trivia night at a favourite local bar; went on a night cruise on a barge (for free!); ate a round-robin dinner of essentially French foods at a wine bar/restaurant with people from Finland and New Zealand (and Paris); and had a midnight picnic on the banks of the Seine.
Paris without couchsurfing would have been beautiful, but expensive and lonely. Paris with the couchsurfing community was divine.
Hi,
I rented a cottage in July and have not yet received my security deposit back. We got the same response from the owner the three times we inquired- her answer was "this week".
I'm in Michigan and am ready to go to small claims court because it's not just the money, it's the principal.
The people who rented before us had dogs in the cottage that urinated all over the place as it was apparent as soon as we walked in. Her sister lives across the street from the cottage, she's the one who let us in, and she acknowledged the smell and condition.
I told the owner later, after tracking her down, and she said "Sue said to keep the security deposits and get new carpet". I was floored. She then said she knew we weren't responsible as we didn't bring any pets and we'd get our money back. Thing is, her employment has moved and I wonder how many other people don't know how to reach her now as she advertised the cottage from her previous employer's website (which was a family business). I wonder how many other people have lost hundreds of dollars. I'm just furious over this.
Anyone have any ideas?
Up until (very) recently I worked in customer service for one of the largest credit card companies. If someone asked for a lower apr, I could either say yes or no. No amount of negotiation or swearing you're the best/longest customer could change what was on the screen. I had no access to reasons someone's apr was what it was, or how to improve it.
I don't know if all credit card companies are like that. All I can say is, paying your bill on time, even if it's the minumum, is the most important thing you can do.
Also, be nice to the customer service people. They will do what they can for you. If they can waive your fee or lower your apr, they will. No amount of arguing/yelling/insulting will change how they can help you.
I quit that job after a few months because the stress gave me health issues, fast.
This is a great way to start off! It always helps to be open-minded as well. If you read something that you think that it may or may not work - try it anyways! You never know, it could be the one thing that you need!
Learning about money to some people means knowing the difference between a dime and a nickel. However, there's so much more. Which bank should you have? Where should you get your loans from? Learn as much as you can about anything that you can. It helps in making educated financial decisions.
Examining your spending is great. My husband and I sat down one night with our check register, and we took different colored highlighters and highlighted bills with one color, other needs with a different color, eating out with a third color, and so on. We were surprised how much was not really a necessity!
I hate that society says we need to do expensive things or buy expensive things to feel "alive". I would rather have a lifestyle that balanced spending and saving so that I could feel alive most of the time, not just when I'm eating an expensive meal or taking a vacation.
I agree with the Colin... The real issue is time. I've been happier in the last year since I decided to give up my workaholic ways and spend more time with family and friends.
Beer on the lawn worked like a charm. Kegs usually start a little foamy if you don't let them sit for a day or so. I got a fresh keg of Coors Light and tapped it right away. I filled half of a pitcher with the foam and let it sit, then poured it on the brown spots on my lawn from my damned dog pissing there. These are brown spots that I haven't been able to get rid of all summer and within two days it was as green as the rest of the lawn. It was sad pouring beer onto the ground, but well worth my wife getting off my ass about the dog pissing on the lawn.
Propping up F&F to keep mortgage rates artificially low is an effort to bring a rapid end to price declines in housing.
However, housing is still generally unaffordable on a historical multiple of income basis, so price declines need to continue to restore a normal housing market.
If not, I expect enormous political pressure on these now government-controlled mortgage lenders to lend with very low downpayments to keep the loans flowing.
A California house that sold in 2003 for $200,000 still is not worth $450,000, even if you can borrow for 30 years at 5.5% with only 5% down (or 0% if you are a member of a politcally active "disadvantaged" group)
I guess I might be of a different generation than some articulate persons posting here, but I hearken, also to the days when things were made to last-or were made to be fixed!
I digress a bit from my original intended topic, but in looking around my "Little Ranch" lately, I realise how many things today are just not made to be repaired...they are made to be thrown away.
Recently In my readings on Environmental Issues regarding China I read an opinion that rang true:
Economically and Industrially, China is the US of yesterday!
While the US is now fat and content to consume willy-nilly, having passed pretty much completely from it's originally necessarily filthy Industrial Base into a cleaner, wealthier consumer and cleaner Intellect-sharing economy, "3rd world" countries are Industrialising at a rapid pace to fill our "needs".
Look at the parallels. My Family came to the Americas as some of the original settlers prior to the Mayflower. They farmed the country; some moved into commerce because of the farming income, as most early Americans did. America was an Agrarian country. My family cleared land and used the Timber to build...
hence, Industrialism began to take hold. The Farmers needed tools, and manufacturing took place. Ore was mined. Iron, Copper, Zinc. Fabricating plants were built, Coal was mined, Steam was needed to operate the machinery in the manufactories.(Wonder how many knew the root source of those 2 words?-Wink)
Next came the Internal Combustion Engine, and with it Automobiles and the like. More factories...to make the needed things for our country (and the world eventually) to grow. Gasoline became the fuel of choice (tho it was NOT the original planned fuel...read up and see).
We polluted right and left-with little thought of nothing in the future but "progress". We needed to pollute to get where we thought we wanted to be...able to buy things we thought we needed.
Then, and only then, comes the stage our "Industrialised, Civilised" countries are in now...learning how NOT to pollute...and we are just babes in this stage, as we were in the prior stages.
China, India; you can take a look at any labels and you can see the names of our "Technologically Younger Siblings"-they are not in a place to be able to get to where we are without doing what we DID (and are still doing, to a great degree). Stepping on the backs of the Environment to Justify the Ends.
We are learning now...we need to learn WITH them the ways to get what we want in the safest way possible.
It's a fun ride! Won't you come along with me?
---12th Child Nick
It's too easy to seize the day and to hell with the consequences. It may then turn out that the 5 years you spend living it up, cause the next 25 years to spend in drudgery. Isn't it much better to just be content for your whole life?
I've been watching the PBS E2 series (narrated by Brad Pitt) and am really inspired by it. I really want a Green Roof!!
Money isn't worth it.
Cool beans. I'd like to win a copy of this book! Sounds like a good book. Seems like all the tips tend to be the same sometimes: Change your lightbulbs, reuse shopping bags, turn off the electricity when you're not using it, etc., so it's cool to hear that so many tips are in this book.
On a side note, I just discovered your blog, but I've really enjoyed the little I've read so far. Lots of good, useful, relevant information.
Thanks for the great review! With all the green lifestyle books flooding the market right now, it's hard to know which ones to read.
I am very interested in this book. I've been trying to "go green", but don't feel like I am doing enough.
Sounds like a cool book. Thanks for the review!
This book seems incredibly interesting. We have started to live a little greener, but I would love to have some quick tips and things we can work on
I'm leading an effort to make graduate school much more green. So far I've been successful in establishing double-sided printers on campus and am currently planning a green party event for the school. This book sounds like an awesome resource to pull ideas and to educate others!
This morning I noticed WaMu shares were at $2.80 (went back above $3 but I haven't seen where they closed).
Whoo Hoo, indeed.
I tried doing this a few years ago. Bought all the books, the memerships. Now that you can transfer huge documents quickly over FTP connections, companies don't tend to send giant documents overseas anymore. In one year of membership, I never once saw an opportunity worth taking advantage of. In fact, all of the books that I bought were either published long before the advent of the internet, or the updated versions warned that there was very little courier work left anymore.
I laughed while reading your blogpost, it sounds exactly like my life.
I do grass fed beef, raw milk (when I can afford it and I didn't find organic milk marked down to 2.95 a gallon), eggs from a farmer, some produce from TJ's and then the rest with coupons. I dumpster dive for inserts and have gotten some great deals lately.
20 cents each- 18oz canister of old fashioned oatmeal
16 cents each-mt olive pickles and relish (yes i know it has high fructose corn syrup
in it. however my first attempt at homemade pickles turned out well, but it was time consuming).
1.49 for big can of tahini
1.50 a box for organic cereals
1.99 a bag for 3# of organic apples
My favorite was I got a free chicken (almost organic) because of scan guarantee at the grocery store, it's price rang up wrong at the checkout.
I get a rush from couponing and spend way too much time looking for free or almost free stuff that I actually would use ( I don't use air fresheners, processed foods, etc, so those deals don't interest me, I don't want to buy them just to waste them, although I did get 60 packs of free bread last week and was able to donate some ((of course I kept some too, but i will try not to use it everyday).
However the $120 of lipstick I got last week will make great christmas presents for all my girlfriends.
I have a pricebook (loved the book the Complete Tightwad Gazette).
And am hoping to go and check out the surplus store next week and see what I can buy that was crushed on a pallet!
Peace!
I tried couchsurfing for the first time this past August, on a trip to Paris. It was pretty out of character for me -- I'm a fairly reserved person who likes her routines -- but I'm also thrifty, and I realized that even staying at the cheapest hostel was going to set me back more than $300 (Canadian). I was convinced to use couchsurfing when I found a bunch of hosts who had more than 100 recommendations on their profiles from past surfers.
I had an _excellent_ time.
It saved me money, but the real value was getting a free pass into the city's social life. The Parisian couchsurfing community is the second largest in the world (London's is the largest), and is full of enthusiastic people who love to travel, and who meet up a couple times a week. My host was a lovely, lovely man. I did all the normal touristy stuff, but during my week I also went to a trivia night at a favourite local bar; went on a night cruise on a barge (for free!); ate a round-robin dinner of essentially French foods at a wine bar/restaurant with people from Finland and New Zealand (and Paris); and had a midnight picnic on the banks of the Seine.
Paris without couchsurfing would have been beautiful, but expensive and lonely. Paris with the couchsurfing community was divine.
I can't wait for my next trip!
Hi,
I rented a cottage in July and have not yet received my security deposit back. We got the same response from the owner the three times we inquired- her answer was "this week".
I'm in Michigan and am ready to go to small claims court because it's not just the money, it's the principal.
The people who rented before us had dogs in the cottage that urinated all over the place as it was apparent as soon as we walked in. Her sister lives across the street from the cottage, she's the one who let us in, and she acknowledged the smell and condition.
I told the owner later, after tracking her down, and she said "Sue said to keep the security deposits and get new carpet". I was floored. She then said she knew we weren't responsible as we didn't bring any pets and we'd get our money back. Thing is, her employment has moved and I wonder how many other people don't know how to reach her now as she advertised the cottage from her previous employer's website (which was a family business). I wonder how many other people have lost hundreds of dollars. I'm just furious over this.
Anyone have any ideas?
Up until (very) recently I worked in customer service for one of the largest credit card companies. If someone asked for a lower apr, I could either say yes or no. No amount of negotiation or swearing you're the best/longest customer could change what was on the screen. I had no access to reasons someone's apr was what it was, or how to improve it.
I don't know if all credit card companies are like that. All I can say is, paying your bill on time, even if it's the minumum, is the most important thing you can do.
Also, be nice to the customer service people. They will do what they can for you. If they can waive your fee or lower your apr, they will. No amount of arguing/yelling/insulting will change how they can help you.
I quit that job after a few months because the stress gave me health issues, fast.
I love you highlighter idea, Amber. I bet it really helped you SEE where you were spending money...so cool.
This is a great way to start off! It always helps to be open-minded as well. If you read something that you think that it may or may not work - try it anyways! You never know, it could be the one thing that you need!
Learning about money to some people means knowing the difference between a dime and a nickel. However, there's so much more. Which bank should you have? Where should you get your loans from? Learn as much as you can about anything that you can. It helps in making educated financial decisions.
Examining your spending is great. My husband and I sat down one night with our check register, and we took different colored highlighters and highlighted bills with one color, other needs with a different color, eating out with a third color, and so on. We were surprised how much was not really a necessity!
I hate that society says we need to do expensive things or buy expensive things to feel "alive". I would rather have a lifestyle that balanced spending and saving so that I could feel alive most of the time, not just when I'm eating an expensive meal or taking a vacation.
I agree with the Colin... The real issue is time. I've been happier in the last year since I decided to give up my workaholic ways and spend more time with family and friends.
I'm guessing that's because most people will pick blue over that hideous puke green color they kept showing?
I HAVE USED THERE SPECIALS 5 TIMES THE PAST YEAR IT WAS GREAT.
SAVED A LOT OF MONEY. YES I LIVE IN FL.
I'm a creator and a persuader. The personality part fits exactly with other personality tests I have taken
Beer on the lawn worked like a charm. Kegs usually start a little foamy if you don't let them sit for a day or so. I got a fresh keg of Coors Light and tapped it right away. I filled half of a pitcher with the foam and let it sit, then poured it on the brown spots on my lawn from my damned dog pissing there. These are brown spots that I haven't been able to get rid of all summer and within two days it was as green as the rest of the lawn. It was sad pouring beer onto the ground, but well worth my wife getting off my ass about the dog pissing on the lawn.
Propping up F&F to keep mortgage rates artificially low is an effort to bring a rapid end to price declines in housing.
However, housing is still generally unaffordable on a historical multiple of income basis, so price declines need to continue to restore a normal housing market.
If not, I expect enormous political pressure on these now government-controlled mortgage lenders to lend with very low downpayments to keep the loans flowing.
A California house that sold in 2003 for $200,000 still is not worth $450,000, even if you can borrow for 30 years at 5.5% with only 5% down (or 0% if you are a member of a politcally active "disadvantaged" group)
I guess I might be of a different generation than some articulate persons posting here, but I hearken, also to the days when things were made to last-or were made to be fixed!
I digress a bit from my original intended topic, but in looking around my "Little Ranch" lately, I realise how many things today are just not made to be repaired...they are made to be thrown away.
Recently In my readings on Environmental Issues regarding China I read an opinion that rang true:
Economically and Industrially, China is the US of yesterday!
While the US is now fat and content to consume willy-nilly, having passed pretty much completely from it's originally necessarily filthy Industrial Base into a cleaner, wealthier consumer and cleaner Intellect-sharing economy, "3rd world" countries are Industrialising at a rapid pace to fill our "needs".
Look at the parallels. My Family came to the Americas as some of the original settlers prior to the Mayflower. They farmed the country; some moved into commerce because of the farming income, as most early Americans did. America was an Agrarian country. My family cleared land and used the Timber to build...
hence, Industrialism began to take hold. The Farmers needed tools, and manufacturing took place. Ore was mined. Iron, Copper, Zinc. Fabricating plants were built, Coal was mined, Steam was needed to operate the machinery in the manufactories.(Wonder how many knew the root source of those 2 words?-Wink)
Next came the Internal Combustion Engine, and with it Automobiles and the like. More factories...to make the needed things for our country (and the world eventually) to grow. Gasoline became the fuel of choice (tho it was NOT the original planned fuel...read up and see).
We polluted right and left-with little thought of nothing in the future but "progress". We needed to pollute to get where we thought we wanted to be...able to buy things we thought we needed.
Then, and only then, comes the stage our "Industrialised, Civilised" countries are in now...learning how NOT to pollute...and we are just babes in this stage, as we were in the prior stages.
China, India; you can take a look at any labels and you can see the names of our "Technologically Younger Siblings"-they are not in a place to be able to get to where we are without doing what we DID (and are still doing, to a great degree). Stepping on the backs of the Environment to Justify the Ends.
We are learning now...we need to learn WITH them the ways to get what we want in the safest way possible.
It's a fun ride! Won't you come along with me?
---12th Child Nick
Any of the standard personality tests are so easy to game you can be whatever "color" you want.
E.g., if I'm applying for a sales job it's easy to make sure I'm scored as an "extrovert" on any test they give me.