you can usually find some good polishes and such at places like Wal-Mart. i believe they have TurtleWax there, and i heard it works really well. im going to try it now.
I like looking through newspaper ads when I am also looking for rebates or coupons. Usually stores will have good deals. Unfortunately that also leads to purchasing things you don't need which I have a habit of doing.
I've completely switched to using a skills resume now that I'm not in the career field I trained for in college. It's helped me to get varried and interesting jobs while I try and figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Thanks for the great post!
This is such an important issue to me, I'm always warring with my 'triggers' against buying things I don't want/need. Thank you so much for the suggestions and pointers!
Ok... not for playing in the car because it's hard without a table, but my family always keeps a deck of cards in the car because inevitably we end up needing a diversion in line somewhere or at some beach party or coffee house. Having a spare deck in the car always makes it a much more plesant wait/afternoon.
I've been meaning to make this kind of a list for myself for a very long time. Living in SoCal, basically I can find things in season all the time, but it helps if I know when they're in season everywhere so I'll know when they get cheap!
My friend's husband is about to go back to school for his teaching credential. They've yet to figure out how to pay for it even though he starts in September. They cant' take out loans because he has too much debit, nor can they afford it, nor can he qualify for scholarships... It's really a loose-loose for them.
Now that I'm paying back my student loans, I constantly find myself wishing that I'd figured out ANY OTHER WAY to pay for my education than loans. Of course, I'd not be done with school already and have a Master's degree, but I'd love to not have the loans hanging over my head.
I put myself on an allowance to help with these random spending urges. I get a certain (small) ammount of 'crazy' money each pay check. This I can use to get coffee, buy new shoes, or whatever. It's really a great system, even though I sometimes feel weird to be a grown up and have an allowance...
Some things are worth paying someone to do (my taxes) and some are not (pumping gasoline, changing my oil) as far as I'm concerned because I get a thrill and relaxation out of doing manual labor since I do intellectual stuff all day.
Perhaps that's why they were chopping wood? Either way, it's a bad move to do something that could endanger your income potential- especially when you're in such a specific career field.
I love your closing remark "whether your spending aligns with your true values" That's such a more compelling reason for me to track my spending than worring where every cent goes. Thanks for the fresh perspective on the issue!
-Suz
When you share your room and your bed, it's very hard to 'go bold' but I do love your photo of the homemade bed frame. I think our next matress will definately be a combo one- the whole box spring deal is just way too over rated for me these days. Plus a pain in the butt to move!
It's very hard, especially in a higher market, to have enough in savings to afford your first home. I'd be interested in one of these programs, but as with anything I think research would be in order... Including with the BBB to see what kinds of complaints one of these companies has had.
Great tips Nora! It is good to see you are back. I have been keeping up with your other blog, but I always enjoy seeing what you have to say on Wise Bread.
"All I have to say is, why do they even bother with a limit if they intend to spend and borrow as much as they can?"
Amen!
I think that the national debit is so endemic of the causes behind the housing crisis. Our government should be like a good parent or sibbling and set GOOD spending habbits!
Fairly commical considering that my hubby and I already live at a really low standard, we're consdering downsizing even more and moving into a Christian community living situation. This would be good for us both spiritually but it's very hard to give up some of the 'nicities' that we've come to love.
On the other hand is my best friend and her husband who are in the same financial situation as us, but they can't make ends meet even though she is bringing home twice what I make every month. Simple things to cut their expenses they can't fathom. Like cuting one of their vehicles, getting rid of cable... getting cheaper cell phones...
It's all about choices and what's important to your happieness.
Thanks for the great pointers on keeping incidentals down to a minimum! I'd also suggest eating like a local- it's so expensive to try and get your McBurger when you're abroad, and eating local food is a huge part of the experience of travel. This is hard to do when travelign with a pickey eater or with kids, but there are bland and basic options in every country- you just have to look.
I think that Credit Cards can be a great bargain if you're a self-controlled person with attention to detail. For example one of my best friends (who is 30 and has paid off more than 1/2 of her 3 bdrm house's mortgage on a teacher's salary) dilligently records all her purchases with her miles card in her check book register. when the time comes to write the check, she's allready accounted for the cash it will cost her. And she racks up lots and lots of travel miles while she's at it. She even started paying off her mortgage every month with her miles card.
Me, on the other hand, is horrible about recording such purchases (something I'm working on) which gets me into trouble. So I don't get to have a credit card. There's one in my name in our family, yes, to build credit. But it's kept in the miserly hands of my husband (at my request!).
You need to know which kind of a person you are...
Thanking someone for too many browser windows is sort of like thanking them for the outfit you chose to wear today. You don't have to click the links, genius, and if you know anything about how teh interwebs work, you'll know that you can right-click any link and select how you want it to open.
I don't travel nearly as much as I used to, but my parents, who are not food snobs, frequently saved money by renting a place with a kitchenette. Then they'd buy local groceries and cook all of our meals. We might go out once or twice, but more often than not, we'd snack throughout the day.
This is especially helpful now that we're all of drinking age- much cheaper to buy bottles of tequila in Mexico than to go out to a bar.
But then, I use it. I work out there pretty much every day, and without a fixed place to go and trigger the "ok, time to exercise" routine for me, I definitely don't exercise. Paying per visit, I'd spend as much in a week as I currently do per month.
i wont them to turn on the digital brobcast now for the channels 1234567891011323339434447 i have a convertor box and i wont the signal strong in thes channels
It is never too late to go to college. I am a non-traditional student. Many valid colleges have evening and online courses.
Two kids in college and a love of teaching qualified me for a grant. I am in my late forties and am relishing the opportunity to study. So far, I am twenty credits in to my associate's degree, going to go on for my bachelor's degree. I have purchased only my notebook, some pencils, and a flash drive. The program I am in is designed with working adults in mind, I work during the day and do school in the evenings and on weekends.
Anyway, it is never too late to go back to school. Some colleges are very much aware of the working class these days. There are community colleges with decent programs in little towns where the cost of living is less. You seem like a really intelligent person. Anyone who can teach themselves programming has got to be above average in intelligence. I would encourage you pursue the diploma. You may even be able to test out of some of your courses. It would not hurt to try......
I agree that bringing the credit / debit card with you is a good idea. You get the most up-to-date exchange rate if you use that versus cashing all your money in for checks at the beginning of your trip. You pay transaction fees, but if you contact your bank in advance, they will tell you how much these will be, and you can factor that into your budget.
you can usually find some good polishes and such at places like Wal-Mart. i believe they have TurtleWax there, and i heard it works really well. im going to try it now.
I like looking through newspaper ads when I am also looking for rebates or coupons. Usually stores will have good deals. Unfortunately that also leads to purchasing things you don't need which I have a habit of doing.
I've completely switched to using a skills resume now that I'm not in the career field I trained for in college. It's helped me to get varried and interesting jobs while I try and figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Thanks for the great post!
-Suz
way too risky. Not because of the tricks, but because if I were to slack for even one day I might get in really really big trouble...
This is such an important issue to me, I'm always warring with my 'triggers' against buying things I don't want/need. Thank you so much for the suggestions and pointers!
-Suz
Ok... not for playing in the car because it's hard without a table, but my family always keeps a deck of cards in the car because inevitably we end up needing a diversion in line somewhere or at some beach party or coffee house. Having a spare deck in the car always makes it a much more plesant wait/afternoon.
-Suz
I've been meaning to make this kind of a list for myself for a very long time. Living in SoCal, basically I can find things in season all the time, but it helps if I know when they're in season everywhere so I'll know when they get cheap!
-Suz
My friend's husband is about to go back to school for his teaching credential. They've yet to figure out how to pay for it even though he starts in September. They cant' take out loans because he has too much debit, nor can they afford it, nor can he qualify for scholarships... It's really a loose-loose for them.
Now that I'm paying back my student loans, I constantly find myself wishing that I'd figured out ANY OTHER WAY to pay for my education than loans. Of course, I'd not be done with school already and have a Master's degree, but I'd love to not have the loans hanging over my head.
I put myself on an allowance to help with these random spending urges. I get a certain (small) ammount of 'crazy' money each pay check. This I can use to get coffee, buy new shoes, or whatever. It's really a great system, even though I sometimes feel weird to be a grown up and have an allowance...
-Suz
Some things are worth paying someone to do (my taxes) and some are not (pumping gasoline, changing my oil) as far as I'm concerned because I get a thrill and relaxation out of doing manual labor since I do intellectual stuff all day.
Perhaps that's why they were chopping wood? Either way, it's a bad move to do something that could endanger your income potential- especially when you're in such a specific career field.
-Suz
I love your closing remark "whether your spending aligns with your true values" That's such a more compelling reason for me to track my spending than worring where every cent goes. Thanks for the fresh perspective on the issue!
-Suz
When you share your room and your bed, it's very hard to 'go bold' but I do love your photo of the homemade bed frame. I think our next matress will definately be a combo one- the whole box spring deal is just way too over rated for me these days. Plus a pain in the butt to move!
-Suz
It's very hard, especially in a higher market, to have enough in savings to afford your first home. I'd be interested in one of these programs, but as with anything I think research would be in order... Including with the BBB to see what kinds of complaints one of these companies has had.
-Suz
Great tips Nora! It is good to see you are back. I have been keeping up with your other blog, but I always enjoy seeing what you have to say on Wise Bread.
Hope all is well!
Austin Hike and Bike
"All I have to say is, why do they even bother with a limit if they intend to spend and borrow as much as they can?"
Amen!
I think that the national debit is so endemic of the causes behind the housing crisis. Our government should be like a good parent or sibbling and set GOOD spending habbits!
Fairly commical considering that my hubby and I already live at a really low standard, we're consdering downsizing even more and moving into a Christian community living situation. This would be good for us both spiritually but it's very hard to give up some of the 'nicities' that we've come to love.
On the other hand is my best friend and her husband who are in the same financial situation as us, but they can't make ends meet even though she is bringing home twice what I make every month. Simple things to cut their expenses they can't fathom. Like cuting one of their vehicles, getting rid of cable... getting cheaper cell phones...
It's all about choices and what's important to your happieness.
-Suz
I'll have to update my 'to read while standing in line at Barnes and Noble' list! I've never heard of the handyman one, I'm definately looking it up.
-Suz
Thanks for the great pointers on keeping incidentals down to a minimum! I'd also suggest eating like a local- it's so expensive to try and get your McBurger when you're abroad, and eating local food is a huge part of the experience of travel. This is hard to do when travelign with a pickey eater or with kids, but there are bland and basic options in every country- you just have to look.
-Suz
I think that Credit Cards can be a great bargain if you're a self-controlled person with attention to detail. For example one of my best friends (who is 30 and has paid off more than 1/2 of her 3 bdrm house's mortgage on a teacher's salary) dilligently records all her purchases with her miles card in her check book register. when the time comes to write the check, she's allready accounted for the cash it will cost her. And she racks up lots and lots of travel miles while she's at it. She even started paying off her mortgage every month with her miles card.
Me, on the other hand, is horrible about recording such purchases (something I'm working on) which gets me into trouble. So I don't get to have a credit card. There's one in my name in our family, yes, to build credit. But it's kept in the miserly hands of my husband (at my request!).
You need to know which kind of a person you are...
Thanking someone for too many browser windows is sort of like thanking them for the outfit you chose to wear today. You don't have to click the links, genius, and if you know anything about how teh interwebs work, you'll know that you can right-click any link and select how you want it to open.
I don't travel nearly as much as I used to, but my parents, who are not food snobs, frequently saved money by renting a place with a kitchenette. Then they'd buy local groceries and cook all of our meals. We might go out once or twice, but more often than not, we'd snack throughout the day.
This is especially helpful now that we're all of drinking age- much cheaper to buy bottles of tequila in Mexico than to go out to a bar.
But then, I use it. I work out there pretty much every day, and without a fixed place to go and trigger the "ok, time to exercise" routine for me, I definitely don't exercise. Paying per visit, I'd spend as much in a week as I currently do per month.
i wont them to turn on the digital brobcast now for the channels 1234567891011323339434447 i have a convertor box and i wont the signal strong in thes channels
It is never too late to go to college. I am a non-traditional student. Many valid colleges have evening and online courses.
Two kids in college and a love of teaching qualified me for a grant. I am in my late forties and am relishing the opportunity to study. So far, I am twenty credits in to my associate's degree, going to go on for my bachelor's degree. I have purchased only my notebook, some pencils, and a flash drive. The program I am in is designed with working adults in mind, I work during the day and do school in the evenings and on weekends.
Anyway, it is never too late to go back to school. Some colleges are very much aware of the working class these days. There are community colleges with decent programs in little towns where the cost of living is less. You seem like a really intelligent person. Anyone who can teach themselves programming has got to be above average in intelligence. I would encourage you pursue the diploma. You may even be able to test out of some of your courses. It would not hurt to try......
I agree that bringing the credit / debit card with you is a good idea. You get the most up-to-date exchange rate if you use that versus cashing all your money in for checks at the beginning of your trip. You pay transaction fees, but if you contact your bank in advance, they will tell you how much these will be, and you can factor that into your budget.