I actually had a conversation with my 14year old last night. We have a neighbor who is losing his house to foreclosure. I have recently been shopping at Aldi because the milk is a $1 cheaper per gallon, and I have discussed food budgets with her. She is a natural worrier and asked Dad if we were doing okay financially. He said yes, but I believed she deserved more. At her age I knew that we were on welfare, that we got food from the food shelf regularly and I worried every time we went to the store that my parents wouldn't have enough to buy the things we needed. My brothers and I contributed babysitting and newspaper delivery money to the grocery bill. To this day, I worry every time I go to the store with them. They have no financial sense.
So I sat her down, explained the housing bubble, crazy mortgage programs and credit card debt. Then, I explained our situation, 30 year fixed mortgage on a house well within our budget, emergency savings, vacation savings, retirement savings and college fund. I explained that by putting aside money for these things first, I insure that we don't go into debt, are able to have nice vacations, summer camps, etc. We live on a budget so that we are able to save and not have to worry too much about rising prices.
I think she slept more soundly after that and understands that when we say something isn't in the budget, it's not because we are "poor" but that we try to manage our money smartly.
We are very honest with our kids about our finances. Our two oldest are only 9 and 6, but they know a credit card is not infinite, imaginary money to spend. It's easier for me to illustrate how we operate in examples--
My oldest (daughter) has gone away to summer camp for one week each summer since she was 7. This year, she announced she wanted to go for two weeks, which at over $500, is more than we'd care to spend on one kid's vacation time. We told her she would need to be responsible for the second week- and that if she followed thru with applying for a grant at our church, that would likely cover the money. She did follow thru with it- and even had to present her case to the church endowment board- and she got her money. Similarly, she wanted to go to Girl Scout camp for a week with some of her troop mates. We did the math at cookie time and she knew how many boxes of cookies she would have to sell to go. In the end, she was only about $15 shy of earning her way- the grandparents kicked in the remaining amount. While I will miss her like crazy this summer, she earned her vacations! Big time! And I certainly can understand her wanting to have more time with friends her age rather than being big sister(to sibs ages 6, 3, and 1) all summer long- she needs her fun! We also herald her endeavors to anyone who will listen, and make sure to let her know how proud we are of her for earning her own way.
My 6 year old was given options for sleepaway camp or day camp, if he wanted. He decided he would rather try a day camp- so he will have 2 weeks at a day camp program- costing a little less than the one week of sleepaway camp. The bus picks him up in the morning and brings him home before dinnertime.
We are not fans of allowances because the moment they started, the kids saw every action or chore as something they wanted to be paid for. We kept it going for a few months, but it was very annoying to us parents, being nickled and dimed over every chore and favor. It was also difficult to try and determine what would be their responsibility for spending the money on- so it just ended up being either squirreled away or spent on junk. We took allowance away just before spring and it *might* come back in the fall- once we get a better handle on how to operate it in a more feasible manner.
I really think it's worth linking and emphasizing two points that came in different comments:
a. it's important that the people providing jobs aren't given reason to employ fewer people
b. "corporation" is a tax-jargon word - it doesn't always mean *big* corporations. Even tiny companies are often wise to "incorporate" as a financial decision.
When doing an economic analysis, I would hope that readers would take smaller businesses into account. Having previously owned and operated a small "corporation" (less than 10 employees), I can tell you that not all corporate types are fat cats! Furthermore, in any small service business, employees are by far the single largest expense to a company. (Especially here in Canada where even the smallest of employers contribute a *lot* of taxes on behalf of our employees.) If we feel financial pain, we unfortunately *have* to take it out on our employees by reducing hiring, not raising wages or even letting staff go.
There has been interesting analysis done to indicate that raising minimum wage, for example, ends up hurting the working poor most of all. (As others have said, a tax break or a small raise can't quite compare to having vs. not having a job!) This is an idea that sounds like the rich justifying keeping the working guy down, and ff course, there's always bias, spin and agenda, but the ideas behind it have merit. I take it with a grain of salt, of course, but use ideas like that to remind myself that the picture is never quite as simple as it seems to be, and there are very few "no brainers" in economic decisions! :)
As a Canadian, I'm simply watching with interest and have no candidate to promote. I enjoyed this post, but agree that the data presented is only a small, small portion of the info on which to base an economic analysis of the candidates' respective positions.
The hubby and I have been members of a local freecycle group for a couple years now. We love it! I must admit that we use it more to get rid of things, but sometimes someone will post something that we need or want. It's really a great resource and an awesome way to keep things out of the land fills.
I've never had good luck at thrift stores. I still go and look, but it's rare that I find anything. Especially in regards to clothing. I've had more luck at garage sales. I guess it depends on where you live and your tastes.
I will say though, my best finds have been at estate sales. It is sad to think about buying stuff from a family who has lost a loved one, but I look at it this way, if a person loved it enough to keep in good shape then they would want it to go to a good home. Plus, it's better then seeing stuff get tossed. I've found many beautiful scarves, LPs, and I recently bought a gorgeous velvet 3/4 length coat at an estate sale.
I'm a huge fan of Tal's and he, along with the idea of scientifically researched personal growth, are some of the driving forces behind my own blogging.
In addition to being a writer Tal is also a professor of positive psychology at Harvard. I was lucky enough to get my hands on the videos of his class lectures and they are amazing. Tal may be a great writer but he is a superb speaker, and he communicates his ideas on happiness beautifully.
To anyone thinking of buying this book, I cant recommend it enough!
In our area, the Target stores donate a lot of things to the Goodwill and stuff is so expensive when you consider that it is all donated to them! Try a church or charity-run thrift store--I didn't know how big a difference there was until I was buying my clothes for .50 instead of 5.99....my husband jokes that I'm too cheap for Goodwill :-)
Slightly off topic here (and in Australia we call them "Op Shops" - short for opportunity shops !) but no one here yet has mentioned Freecycle. Do you not have freecycle there ? I know it isn't a shop as such but it is a wonderful means of getting AND giving to keep the cycle going.
Also we have biennial local council pick ups where we put anything at all that we don't want onto the verge. From about a week or two beforehand people cruise around and whatever is there they are welcome to take. What remains after a week or two the council collects and either disposes or recycles. A lot of junk but not always.
Most local councils do this and at different times of the year so for the cost of travelling to a neighbouring more affluent area you would be amazed at what can be picked up from furniture to clothing to garden stuff, plants - you name it.
If I stumble across the perfect gift for someone, but we don't normally exchange gifts, how can I give it to them without putting them in that all too familar guilt situation?
I live in the Maryland suburbs of DC, an area with an affluent population. The thrift stores around here are the best. There's an absolutely terrific one on New Hampshire Avenue just off the Beltway...in a building that used to house an Ames Department store. HUGE, and packed with great bargains. I needed new speakers for my computer a few weeks ago. I didn't go to Best Buy. I went to the thrift store. Books, clothes, housewares...you name it, I'll consider buying it. As a matter of fact, I went yesterday and picked up a nice new summer sweater to wear to the office, new swim trunks for my son, several books for him, several nice women's t-shirts, a travel coffee mug, and a polo shirt for my husband...all for under $10. I got my shop on, but didn't break the bank. AND, I'll recycle them all when I'm done by donating them back to the thrift store when we are done with them. When friends turn up their noses at thrift stores, I laugh to myself. They struggle to pay bills right now. I'm living pretty good.
Goodwill (at least around here) got greedy about five years ago. Now they pull out anything of high value or designer clothing and sell it for a premium. I have found some decent pieces of furniture. They looked awful but were solid hardwood and had classic lines. The goodwill in Mpls that is by a wealthy neighborhood was great, everything went out on the floor no matter what. I found Dana Buchman suits, Ralph Lauren clothes and newer furniture in great shape. Probably my favorite locally is Savers because they don't pull out the nicer items or raise the price.
The logic of old people have old stuff they give away is why I try to hit garage sales in the old parts of town. Many people that are either hitting retirement or moving to lower maintenance living arrangements get rid of some amazing old stuff. I found three newer very expensive designer suits at a garage sale. They owners were moving to Mpls as the husband was going to work as a lawyer up there on a semi retired basis. So they were getting rid of everything.
The best candidate is one who supports taking away power from the FED and dismantling the FED altogether. For our founding fathers did not want a central bank to begin with. It was one of the reasons the colonies wanted independence from British rule who supported the idea.
Too bad Ron Paul is out of the race.
We've used the Wii Fit for about a month. The first few days saw pretty heavy usage since it was new and it was on a weekend. But now we've settled into a routine.
If you thought Wii Sports got you active, Wii Fit will definitely make you sweat. $80-90 is not bad, especially if you consider most fitness equipment would cost you a fair amount more. And even kids can do most of the mini-games and exercises okay.
The game progressively unlocks additional exercises or mini-games as you rack up minutes, which helps to keep you coming back for more. Even now, there's a few exercises we haven't unlocked yet, but there's already plenty to keep you burning calories.
What's lacking is more overall fitness guidance tailored to each person. You're kind of left on your own on which exercises to pursue. They don't suggest to work legs one day, arms the other, or aerobic conditioning, or anything like that. The Yoga and Strength exercises do occasionally tell you to try X +Y together as combined exercise. But that's not exactly the same as a long-term plan on building strength or losing weight, etc.
Another retirement/wealthy area also has worked well for my family. We found an out of print Charles Eames deck of cards --never opened for $1.50 which my father in law had found elsewhere for $50.
Not exactly a thrift store or even a store really is Aria on Grant in North Beach. They have my all time favorite window displays (looks like Joseph Cornell did them). This is where I've gone to buy house numbers and postcards. The owner goes to estate and yard sales in France and then brings stuff back to the San Francisco shop. Fun just to look.
This is actually a fair criticism of my posts, although I felt my admonition of utilizing the term evil would be self-explanatory and self-evident.
Evil is a word that is oft overused nowadays by both sides of the partisan dividing line. We have become a nation of sensationalists. Pinochet was evil. Hitler was evil. A company that litters, is not evil, although you could venture to say they were highly irresponsible or dismissive...maybe even negligent although that has different implications.
The last thing I do is want to get into a philosophical debate, but the fact that one can exist based on the article is demonstrative of how much this article is based on pure perspective. Let me give you a few examples of what I mean.
1. The fight between drilling in ANWR and off the coasts of Florida etc. On one side, one could argue the irresponsibility of drilling in ANWR, on another hand one could argue the irresponsibility of NOT drilling in ANWR. Furthermore, one could make a credible argument that either side is particularly evil. How dare we sacrifice the natural habitats for domestic gain. - How dare we place the reserves above the welfare and health of our nation and economy.
2. Exxon Mobil made record profits. But what a lot of people don't see is that they have one of the LOWEST margins of any other Fortune 500 company, and also have the highest rate of reinvestment of any other company. Their margin is around 8%. Some might say its evil. Others would say debilitating them further through legislation and implementing windfall taxation is evil.
The point is, the differences in opinions are both valid. There is always a give or take. We live in a world of limited resources, and with obligations to shareholders etc. You can easily see where the narcissism and closed-mindedness comes in - ironically as of late it is more and more stemming from the liberal left. All of a sudden the term EVIL is utilized as a rhetorical technique that vilifies the target rather than rationally debating the subject. With Barack Obama we see first hand the shift in our desires. We prefer rhetoric and poise rather than substance. Maybe that's what we need right now, I don't know...but that is a different debate for a different day.
I am very libertarian in the application of rights and privileges, and believe that a privatization of many commodity elements can fix a lot of the issues that the OP brings up. Ultimately we pollute the earth, and utilize commodities up to the point society can manage it. An obvious example of this is the fight against drilling ANWR. If the OP was 100% correct in his beliefs, it would have been drilled already. Fortunately, he isn't right, even slightly. As much as there is a war on the natural habitat of our "furry friends", there is one against the large enterprises just as well. OP is obviously one of those spearheading this effort...and I commend him for it. It is very necessary to balance the destruction to a point that society can handle it. However, I will admonish him for his sensationalistic techniques...which ironically do his post a disservice because it speaks more to his constituency. He only has appeal to his fanatic base.
Unethical and evil are two very different things. But both live on a moving scale based on perspective. Let us not lose sight of that.
I hope this better explains my positions. If I haven't clarified something, let me know...I will be more than happy to.
Diversity Thrift in Richmond,VA. Run by the Gay Community Center of Richmond. 15,000 square feet of thrift-filled opportunity. It's so ginormous that I don't mind sharing it's whereabouts.
I have shopped thrift stores for years. My absolute favorite is Misers Mercantile in Carbondale, Colorado. Most of the locals, and that includes towns all the way to Aspen, and many stores, sell their goodies on consignment to Misers. I raised a family of 3 children and we always had a bag to fill at home for any clothes or household items waiting to go to Misers at least once a month. Likewise, there was almost always money to spend at Misers from the previous consignments. My daughter's preschool teacher once confided to me that my child has the cutest clothes of anyone in the whole school! Almost all of which came from Misers...a few from yard sales (even cheaper and high quality near a resort community) It was also easy to find designer labels and new out-of-season clothing with the tags still hanging. There is probably a similar consignment store in most upscale areas...ust go to the town where the locals live and shop and check it out. And, the Aspen Humane Society has a good store, right in town, for any tourists on a budget who are silly enough to visit this high priced (but drop dead gorgeous mountain resort.
...although corporate loopholes need to be closed, too.
Another important thing to remember is that money was YOURS to begin with! Those "taxes" come from your "income". This has nothing to do with "welfare" or a "hand up".
I hate to burst your bubble, but once you pick fruit or vegetables you've just killed them too. Don't believe me? Leave them on your kitchen table and watch as they rot as surely as roadkill rots on the side of the highway.
The bottom line: Vegetarians eat "dead things" too.
Your illogical thinking is typical of those who try to engage in debate using emotional language instead of rational thought.
I personally think that there's nothing wrong with being a vegetarian, however, so try not to get so defensive about it. If others don't care for your dietary regimen, who cares? It's your business, not theirs.
However, if you annoy others by proslytizing for your dietary regimen by attacking their meat-eating diets then you should not be surprised if some grow weary of your preaching and start ridiculing your vegan lifestyle in order to rid themselves of a pest.
Great article! It really struck a cord with me because my parents did most of these things, and my siblings and I are better off for it.
Perhaps it's not the "in" thing to do, but the best thing my parents did was say no. My siblings and I were given an allowance (and expected to do chores). Anything we wanted beyond the basic clothing, school supplies and other necessities we had to save up for and buy with our allowance (and later our income from paper routes, babysitting, part time jobs, etc. -- AFTER a certain percentage of our earnings went towards our college funds). My parents would treat us to things, but usually unasked and never if begged (my youngest sibling tried that tactic a lot because his friends were so successful at it with their parents).
The overall message was that we couldn't have everything. We had to think about what we really wanted. Looking back as an adult, I understand that we were learning to live within our means. Overall, I learned that money and things don't make you a better person, and it's okay to do without. I worry that many children today aren't getting that message.
I don't find that the few thrift stores located in the nicer places in my town have true bargains, so I head for a hole-in-the-wall old neighborhood thrift where I can routinely find nice coats and shoes, usually under $2 each. Glassware, purses, kitchen stuff I can find at a big Salvation Army warehouse. I love this place. The kitchen stuff and glassware go for 39 cents each piece, all purses $1, all clothing $1.49 each piece, tons of books. I found a few lamps the other day for $2 apiece. Lots of very nice knick-knacks and wall decorations. This is a great place to grab a cart and spend a few hours if you're bored to tears because you have to be willing to root through big bins for the glassware, and most people actually wear gloves. Amazing what people pitch. I've found new Tupperware, crock pots for $2 each, Pfaltzgraft dishes to match my pattern, nice canvas tote bags, stuff never even taken out of boxes that make nice gifts. I haven't set foot in a retail place to shop for any of the above for years. I don't even bother with garage sales anymore.
A SERIOUS workout versus using a gas spewing roto tiller.
I am going to deep till using an Eagle Claw tool that is the bomb in 6" plus rooting up and turning over virgin soil with natural growth you need to get back into the earth for decay/nutrients. I'm then going to cover sections to kill weed regrowth over the winter.
Then next spring work it over again and prep for seeds and plantings.
Also paint buckets or 5gallon plaster buckets used for foisting collected rainwater is good arm and shoulder strength developing.
Needed to do a two 30 gallon plastic garbage cans filled with rainwater transfer to my larger 50-100 gallon storage barrel.
I felt like a little dutch boy with water buckets in each hand.
I actually had a conversation with my 14year old last night. We have a neighbor who is losing his house to foreclosure. I have recently been shopping at Aldi because the milk is a $1 cheaper per gallon, and I have discussed food budgets with her. She is a natural worrier and asked Dad if we were doing okay financially. He said yes, but I believed she deserved more. At her age I knew that we were on welfare, that we got food from the food shelf regularly and I worried every time we went to the store that my parents wouldn't have enough to buy the things we needed. My brothers and I contributed babysitting and newspaper delivery money to the grocery bill. To this day, I worry every time I go to the store with them. They have no financial sense.
So I sat her down, explained the housing bubble, crazy mortgage programs and credit card debt. Then, I explained our situation, 30 year fixed mortgage on a house well within our budget, emergency savings, vacation savings, retirement savings and college fund. I explained that by putting aside money for these things first, I insure that we don't go into debt, are able to have nice vacations, summer camps, etc. We live on a budget so that we are able to save and not have to worry too much about rising prices.
I think she slept more soundly after that and understands that when we say something isn't in the budget, it's not because we are "poor" but that we try to manage our money smartly.
We are very honest with our kids about our finances. Our two oldest are only 9 and 6, but they know a credit card is not infinite, imaginary money to spend. It's easier for me to illustrate how we operate in examples--
My oldest (daughter) has gone away to summer camp for one week each summer since she was 7. This year, she announced she wanted to go for two weeks, which at over $500, is more than we'd care to spend on one kid's vacation time. We told her she would need to be responsible for the second week- and that if she followed thru with applying for a grant at our church, that would likely cover the money. She did follow thru with it- and even had to present her case to the church endowment board- and she got her money. Similarly, she wanted to go to Girl Scout camp for a week with some of her troop mates. We did the math at cookie time and she knew how many boxes of cookies she would have to sell to go. In the end, she was only about $15 shy of earning her way- the grandparents kicked in the remaining amount. While I will miss her like crazy this summer, she earned her vacations! Big time! And I certainly can understand her wanting to have more time with friends her age rather than being big sister(to sibs ages 6, 3, and 1) all summer long- she needs her fun! We also herald her endeavors to anyone who will listen, and make sure to let her know how proud we are of her for earning her own way.
My 6 year old was given options for sleepaway camp or day camp, if he wanted. He decided he would rather try a day camp- so he will have 2 weeks at a day camp program- costing a little less than the one week of sleepaway camp. The bus picks him up in the morning and brings him home before dinnertime.
We are not fans of allowances because the moment they started, the kids saw every action or chore as something they wanted to be paid for. We kept it going for a few months, but it was very annoying to us parents, being nickled and dimed over every chore and favor. It was also difficult to try and determine what would be their responsibility for spending the money on- so it just ended up being either squirreled away or spent on junk. We took allowance away just before spring and it *might* come back in the fall- once we get a better handle on how to operate it in a more feasible manner.
I really think it's worth linking and emphasizing two points that came in different comments:
a. it's important that the people providing jobs aren't given reason to employ fewer people
b. "corporation" is a tax-jargon word - it doesn't always mean *big* corporations. Even tiny companies are often wise to "incorporate" as a financial decision.
When doing an economic analysis, I would hope that readers would take smaller businesses into account. Having previously owned and operated a small "corporation" (less than 10 employees), I can tell you that not all corporate types are fat cats! Furthermore, in any small service business, employees are by far the single largest expense to a company. (Especially here in Canada where even the smallest of employers contribute a *lot* of taxes on behalf of our employees.) If we feel financial pain, we unfortunately *have* to take it out on our employees by reducing hiring, not raising wages or even letting staff go.
There has been interesting analysis done to indicate that raising minimum wage, for example, ends up hurting the working poor most of all. (As others have said, a tax break or a small raise can't quite compare to having vs. not having a job!) This is an idea that sounds like the rich justifying keeping the working guy down, and ff course, there's always bias, spin and agenda, but the ideas behind it have merit. I take it with a grain of salt, of course, but use ideas like that to remind myself that the picture is never quite as simple as it seems to be, and there are very few "no brainers" in economic decisions! :)
As a Canadian, I'm simply watching with interest and have no candidate to promote. I enjoyed this post, but agree that the data presented is only a small, small portion of the info on which to base an economic analysis of the candidates' respective positions.
The hubby and I have been members of a local freecycle group for a couple years now. We love it! I must admit that we use it more to get rid of things, but sometimes someone will post something that we need or want. It's really a great resource and an awesome way to keep things out of the land fills.
I've never had good luck at thrift stores. I still go and look, but it's rare that I find anything. Especially in regards to clothing. I've had more luck at garage sales. I guess it depends on where you live and your tastes.
I will say though, my best finds have been at estate sales. It is sad to think about buying stuff from a family who has lost a loved one, but I look at it this way, if a person loved it enough to keep in good shape then they would want it to go to a good home. Plus, it's better then seeing stuff get tossed. I've found many beautiful scarves, LPs, and I recently bought a gorgeous velvet 3/4 length coat at an estate sale.
I'm a huge fan of Tal's and he, along with the idea of scientifically researched personal growth, are some of the driving forces behind my own blogging.
In addition to being a writer Tal is also a professor of positive psychology at Harvard. I was lucky enough to get my hands on the videos of his class lectures and they are amazing. Tal may be a great writer but he is a superb speaker, and he communicates his ideas on happiness beautifully.
To anyone thinking of buying this book, I cant recommend it enough!
In our area, the Target stores donate a lot of things to the Goodwill and stuff is so expensive when you consider that it is all donated to them! Try a church or charity-run thrift store--I didn't know how big a difference there was until I was buying my clothes for .50 instead of 5.99....my husband jokes that I'm too cheap for Goodwill :-)
Slightly off topic here (and in Australia we call them "Op Shops" - short for opportunity shops !) but no one here yet has mentioned Freecycle. Do you not have freecycle there ? I know it isn't a shop as such but it is a wonderful means of getting AND giving to keep the cycle going.
Also we have biennial local council pick ups where we put anything at all that we don't want onto the verge. From about a week or two beforehand people cruise around and whatever is there they are welcome to take. What remains after a week or two the council collects and either disposes or recycles. A lot of junk but not always.
Most local councils do this and at different times of the year so for the cost of travelling to a neighbouring more affluent area you would be amazed at what can be picked up from furniture to clothing to garden stuff, plants - you name it.
As a former resident it's easy to miss if you aren't familiar with the area.
Margaret Garcia-Couoh
Since your article has become so popular, maybe you can correct your $1400 number to $1040? Your source article has made the correction.
If I stumble across the perfect gift for someone, but we don't normally exchange gifts, how can I give it to them without putting them in that all too familar guilt situation?
Atwater Village is hardly out of the way. particularly if your comparing to to where Silverlake is located
I live in the Maryland suburbs of DC, an area with an affluent population. The thrift stores around here are the best. There's an absolutely terrific one on New Hampshire Avenue just off the Beltway...in a building that used to house an Ames Department store. HUGE, and packed with great bargains. I needed new speakers for my computer a few weeks ago. I didn't go to Best Buy. I went to the thrift store. Books, clothes, housewares...you name it, I'll consider buying it. As a matter of fact, I went yesterday and picked up a nice new summer sweater to wear to the office, new swim trunks for my son, several books for him, several nice women's t-shirts, a travel coffee mug, and a polo shirt for my husband...all for under $10. I got my shop on, but didn't break the bank. AND, I'll recycle them all when I'm done by donating them back to the thrift store when we are done with them. When friends turn up their noses at thrift stores, I laugh to myself. They struggle to pay bills right now. I'm living pretty good.
How many days before and after you apply the tonic can you water your lawn?
Goodwill (at least around here) got greedy about five years ago. Now they pull out anything of high value or designer clothing and sell it for a premium. I have found some decent pieces of furniture. They looked awful but were solid hardwood and had classic lines. The goodwill in Mpls that is by a wealthy neighborhood was great, everything went out on the floor no matter what. I found Dana Buchman suits, Ralph Lauren clothes and newer furniture in great shape. Probably my favorite locally is Savers because they don't pull out the nicer items or raise the price.
The logic of old people have old stuff they give away is why I try to hit garage sales in the old parts of town. Many people that are either hitting retirement or moving to lower maintenance living arrangements get rid of some amazing old stuff. I found three newer very expensive designer suits at a garage sale. They owners were moving to Mpls as the husband was going to work as a lawyer up there on a semi retired basis. So they were getting rid of everything.
The best candidate is one who supports taking away power from the FED and dismantling the FED altogether. For our founding fathers did not want a central bank to begin with. It was one of the reasons the colonies wanted independence from British rule who supported the idea.
Too bad Ron Paul is out of the race.
We've used the Wii Fit for about a month. The first few days saw pretty heavy usage since it was new and it was on a weekend. But now we've settled into a routine.
If you thought Wii Sports got you active, Wii Fit will definitely make you sweat. $80-90 is not bad, especially if you consider most fitness equipment would cost you a fair amount more. And even kids can do most of the mini-games and exercises okay.
The game progressively unlocks additional exercises or mini-games as you rack up minutes, which helps to keep you coming back for more. Even now, there's a few exercises we haven't unlocked yet, but there's already plenty to keep you burning calories.
What's lacking is more overall fitness guidance tailored to each person. You're kind of left on your own on which exercises to pursue. They don't suggest to work legs one day, arms the other, or aerobic conditioning, or anything like that. The Yoga and Strength exercises do occasionally tell you to try X +Y together as combined exercise. But that's not exactly the same as a long-term plan on building strength or losing weight, etc.
But still, the Wii Fit is highly recommended. Read about how we apply The Dollar Rule to the Wii Fit.
Another retirement/wealthy area also has worked well for my family. We found an out of print Charles Eames deck of cards --never opened for $1.50 which my father in law had found elsewhere for $50.
Not exactly a thrift store or even a store really is Aria on Grant in North Beach. They have my all time favorite window displays (looks like Joseph Cornell did them). This is where I've gone to buy house numbers and postcards. The owner goes to estate and yard sales in France and then brings stuff back to the San Francisco shop. Fun just to look.
Margaret Garcia-Couoh
This is actually a fair criticism of my posts, although I felt my admonition of utilizing the term evil would be self-explanatory and self-evident.
Evil is a word that is oft overused nowadays by both sides of the partisan dividing line. We have become a nation of sensationalists. Pinochet was evil. Hitler was evil. A company that litters, is not evil, although you could venture to say they were highly irresponsible or dismissive...maybe even negligent although that has different implications.
The last thing I do is want to get into a philosophical debate, but the fact that one can exist based on the article is demonstrative of how much this article is based on pure perspective. Let me give you a few examples of what I mean.
1. The fight between drilling in ANWR and off the coasts of Florida etc. On one side, one could argue the irresponsibility of drilling in ANWR, on another hand one could argue the irresponsibility of NOT drilling in ANWR. Furthermore, one could make a credible argument that either side is particularly evil. How dare we sacrifice the natural habitats for domestic gain. - How dare we place the reserves above the welfare and health of our nation and economy.
2. Exxon Mobil made record profits. But what a lot of people don't see is that they have one of the LOWEST margins of any other Fortune 500 company, and also have the highest rate of reinvestment of any other company. Their margin is around 8%. Some might say its evil. Others would say debilitating them further through legislation and implementing windfall taxation is evil.
The point is, the differences in opinions are both valid. There is always a give or take. We live in a world of limited resources, and with obligations to shareholders etc. You can easily see where the narcissism and closed-mindedness comes in - ironically as of late it is more and more stemming from the liberal left. All of a sudden the term EVIL is utilized as a rhetorical technique that vilifies the target rather than rationally debating the subject. With Barack Obama we see first hand the shift in our desires. We prefer rhetoric and poise rather than substance. Maybe that's what we need right now, I don't know...but that is a different debate for a different day.
I am very libertarian in the application of rights and privileges, and believe that a privatization of many commodity elements can fix a lot of the issues that the OP brings up. Ultimately we pollute the earth, and utilize commodities up to the point society can manage it. An obvious example of this is the fight against drilling ANWR. If the OP was 100% correct in his beliefs, it would have been drilled already. Fortunately, he isn't right, even slightly. As much as there is a war on the natural habitat of our "furry friends", there is one against the large enterprises just as well. OP is obviously one of those spearheading this effort...and I commend him for it. It is very necessary to balance the destruction to a point that society can handle it. However, I will admonish him for his sensationalistic techniques...which ironically do his post a disservice because it speaks more to his constituency. He only has appeal to his fanatic base.
Unethical and evil are two very different things. But both live on a moving scale based on perspective. Let us not lose sight of that.
I hope this better explains my positions. If I haven't clarified something, let me know...I will be more than happy to.
Diversity Thrift in Richmond,VA. Run by the Gay Community Center of Richmond. 15,000 square feet of thrift-filled opportunity. It's so ginormous that I don't mind sharing it's whereabouts.
I have shopped thrift stores for years. My absolute favorite is Misers Mercantile in Carbondale, Colorado. Most of the locals, and that includes towns all the way to Aspen, and many stores, sell their goodies on consignment to Misers. I raised a family of 3 children and we always had a bag to fill at home for any clothes or household items waiting to go to Misers at least once a month. Likewise, there was almost always money to spend at Misers from the previous consignments. My daughter's preschool teacher once confided to me that my child has the cutest clothes of anyone in the whole school! Almost all of which came from Misers...a few from yard sales (even cheaper and high quality near a resort community) It was also easy to find designer labels and new out-of-season clothing with the tags still hanging. There is probably a similar consignment store in most upscale areas...ust go to the town where the locals live and shop and check it out. And, the Aspen Humane Society has a good store, right in town, for any tourists on a budget who are silly enough to visit this high priced (but drop dead gorgeous mountain resort.
...although corporate loopholes need to be closed, too.
Another important thing to remember is that money was YOURS to begin with! Those "taxes" come from your "income". This has nothing to do with "welfare" or a "hand up".
I hate to burst your bubble, but once you pick fruit or vegetables you've just killed them too. Don't believe me? Leave them on your kitchen table and watch as they rot as surely as roadkill rots on the side of the highway.
The bottom line: Vegetarians eat "dead things" too.
Your illogical thinking is typical of those who try to engage in debate using emotional language instead of rational thought.
I personally think that there's nothing wrong with being a vegetarian, however, so try not to get so defensive about it. If others don't care for your dietary regimen, who cares? It's your business, not theirs.
However, if you annoy others by proslytizing for your dietary regimen by attacking their meat-eating diets then you should not be surprised if some grow weary of your preaching and start ridiculing your vegan lifestyle in order to rid themselves of a pest.
Great article! It really struck a cord with me because my parents did most of these things, and my siblings and I are better off for it.
Perhaps it's not the "in" thing to do, but the best thing my parents did was say no. My siblings and I were given an allowance (and expected to do chores). Anything we wanted beyond the basic clothing, school supplies and other necessities we had to save up for and buy with our allowance (and later our income from paper routes, babysitting, part time jobs, etc. -- AFTER a certain percentage of our earnings went towards our college funds). My parents would treat us to things, but usually unasked and never if begged (my youngest sibling tried that tactic a lot because his friends were so successful at it with their parents).
The overall message was that we couldn't have everything. We had to think about what we really wanted. Looking back as an adult, I understand that we were learning to live within our means. Overall, I learned that money and things don't make you a better person, and it's okay to do without. I worry that many children today aren't getting that message.
I don't find that the few thrift stores located in the nicer places in my town have true bargains, so I head for a hole-in-the-wall old neighborhood thrift where I can routinely find nice coats and shoes, usually under $2 each. Glassware, purses, kitchen stuff I can find at a big Salvation Army warehouse. I love this place. The kitchen stuff and glassware go for 39 cents each piece, all purses $1, all clothing $1.49 each piece, tons of books. I found a few lamps the other day for $2 apiece. Lots of very nice knick-knacks and wall decorations. This is a great place to grab a cart and spend a few hours if you're bored to tears because you have to be willing to root through big bins for the glassware, and most people actually wear gloves. Amazing what people pitch. I've found new Tupperware, crock pots for $2 each, Pfaltzgraft dishes to match my pattern, nice canvas tote bags, stuff never even taken out of boxes that make nice gifts. I haven't set foot in a retail place to shop for any of the above for years. I don't even bother with garage sales anymore.
A SERIOUS workout versus using a gas spewing roto tiller.
I am going to deep till using an Eagle Claw tool that is the bomb in 6" plus rooting up and turning over virgin soil with natural growth you need to get back into the earth for decay/nutrients. I'm then going to cover sections to kill weed regrowth over the winter.
Then next spring work it over again and prep for seeds and plantings.
Also paint buckets or 5gallon plaster buckets used for foisting collected rainwater is good arm and shoulder strength developing.
Needed to do a two 30 gallon plastic garbage cans filled with rainwater transfer to my larger 50-100 gallon storage barrel.
I felt like a little dutch boy with water buckets in each hand.