Hey guys, thanks for the great feedback. It seems quite strange that my life as a 'penny pincher' will now come to good use. My folks always taught me to wait for the best deals, and never, ever pay full price (or retail) for anything. In these days of the Internet, it's getting easier and easier to get what you want for a lot less.
I'll keep the posts coming. And I'll read all of yours with a pencil and notebook at the read. Cheers all.
"Buy quality greeting card packs at knockdown prices. They’ll be just as impressive to send out next year."
My parents have been buying next year's Christmas cards and ornaments for years. It's sound, practical advice that saves you a ton of cash without sacrificing anything.
before the holidays i walked by a store that had 50% off everything in the store. i was stoked and came out with a free teddy bear because i spent over $100. last week i went by the same store and everything was 70% off. DAMN IT!
I didn't know there was such a thing. If I were a college student I might abuse that and buy like a whole year's worth of beer and cheetos in one year!
That's very sound advice. My parents always had the discipline to hit the stores right after the holiday season to stock up on stuff, but I've always been too lazy to venture out. Perhaps with this little bit of encouragement (or push) from your article I will finally get organized enough to do it!
Speaking of raincoats in summer, your article reminded me of something I read in the NYT the other day:
"Retailers are calling it the Coat Crisis of 2006, a fashion fiasco measured in racks of unsold fur-lined shearlings at Saks Fifth Avenue and down puffer jackets at Bloomingdale’s. Balmy temperatures on the East Coast, with average highs this holiday season 15 degrees warmer than last year, have been disastrous for sales of all kinds of cold-weather clothing, from cashmere caps to wool scarves." (NYT )
i think it's being a bit simplistic to say all you need is a cleanser, sunscreen, and 1 more product. if you started this regiment at 10 years old, then all you'll need for the rest of your life are these 3 items. but the fact is that most of us weren't so careful with our skin back in the day, and that means the sun damage is starting to only now appear (sun damage takes 10+ years to show up) and that means we need to do maintenance and repair our skin now.
that doesn't mean i think it's worth spending hundreds of dollars on a miracle-in-a-jar. lots and lots of products out there don't do anything. and lots of cheap products work for most people (my bf's sister has flawless skin and she uses oil of olay because anything else breaks her out). but at the same time, much research and technology has gone into effective skin treatments and products that will truly help with the sun damage we've accrued. for example, there are moisturizers that will make you feel less dry because you're slapping oil onto your skin (basically the same as vaseline), or there are moisturizers that actually use vitamins and nutrients that will go into your skin and help it produce its own oil from within to moisturize. there are cleansers that strip your skin of everything - good and bad oil - and there are cleansers that will get rid of the dirt and makeup but will be gentle as to not strip and irritate your skin.
in the end, your skin will be the best judge of skin care effectiveness. within 1 month of using the product, if you don't see and feel results, it's not doing anything. if you notice you get whiteheads, blackheads, or other breakouts, it's most likely something you are using that's causing it (usually makeup will be the culprit). it's hard to filter through all the advertising promises and jargon but do a little research from non-biased sites and you'll find there are a few proven and accepted ingredients that work and that's all you need to look for when shopping for a product.
not that i'm trying to say i know more than these dermatologists - the recommendation is certainly not harmful - but it kinda sounds like more marketing talk "I won't make you spend hundreds of dollars on products. Only these 3 will be necessary..."
it's true that more is not better, but it's misleading to say that if we, as twenty-thirty something women just start cleansing and sunscreening that we'll keep our skin just as nice as if we were using other specialized products.
I'm sure my anger over the craigslist exchange has to do with the seller's a lack of respect towards me, as well as just general irritation over her inanity. It's a long story, but basically the seller made unreasonable demands (asked me to come over to buy the item at odd hours, was unavailable to meet me for days at a time, provided really small windows of opportunity - such as telling me to meet her in ten minutes when I was located well over 30 minutes away) and then accused me of being "unable to meet at specified times".
The idea of making a purchase to assuage feelings is hardly new - that's why people call it "retail therapy".
My biggest worry is learning to control anger over dumb, small things. I can't think of a single person who "hurt" me over my childhood - everyone was realy good to me. More likely is that I am having frustrations over my current situation, and haven't figured out how to deal with "bigger" issues, so the anger surfaces over the smaller ones instead.
Now she's going to eat my eyes, thanks. I'm sorry, I forgot that she was in your list - I went back and perused it, but didn't see her there... and now that I look back, there she is. Duh. My bad.
Did I talk smack about a blog-off? What I meant was, I would like to feed her peeled grapes and fan her with giant palm fronds while she blogs.
In Thailand (I think it's Thailand anyway) they hardly ever use fresh lettuce - it's always cooked, especially in soups. Having some similarly wilted lettuce I was inspired by this and chopped it up finely, and added it to some noodle soup. It was great - tasted good, added colour, and you couldn't tell it was lettuce at all, it just looked like the normal spinach/seaweed/herbs etc that's usually in soup. I don't worry about wilting lettuce anymore - even if I'm not making soup right then, I can freeze the lettuce until I do - once in the soup, it becomes the same as fresh.
That technique will certainly save me thousands of dollars a year. I often look at the crap around my room and think: "I really didn't need that, why did I buy it?" A lot of times, shopping on impulse will have terrible consequences.
There are many techniques. Yet, if you keep on getting angry at little things, the anger may be from an earlier experience that you have not forgiven. Thus, the anger is lurking underneath you just waiting for someone to trigger it. So think back at what may be unhealed in your life. You has hurt you the most?
As for healing the anger in the moment, know that it is how you interpret the event that made it upsetting to you. Many people would have just laughed at a craiglist person backing out. What triggered inside of you that made it mean something? Is it something about self-worth where someone does not treat you with the respect you think you deserve (by walking away from a deal)? That may be the reason you want to go buy something nice to make you temporarily feel better. Note, the word temporary, because after a few days you may be beating yourself up for making such a whimsical purchase.
Hey guys, thanks for the great feedback. It seems quite strange that my life as a 'penny pincher' will now come to good use. My folks always taught me to wait for the best deals, and never, ever pay full price (or retail) for anything. In these days of the Internet, it's getting easier and easier to get what you want for a lot less.
I'll keep the posts coming. And I'll read all of yours with a pencil and notebook at the read. Cheers all.
"Buy quality greeting card packs at knockdown prices. They’ll be just as impressive to send out next year."
My parents have been buying next year's Christmas cards and ornaments for years. It's sound, practical advice that saves you a ton of cash without sacrificing anything.
Great tip, Paul! Welcome to Wise Bread.
the empty container w/some crumbs
so what did they return, exactly? *shudder*
my bf calls costco the happiest place on earth.
and regarding their refund policy - let's just say i saw someone return a pie...it was completely eaten...
before the holidays i walked by a store that had 50% off everything in the store. i was stoked and came out with a free teddy bear because i spent over $100. last week i went by the same store and everything was 70% off. DAMN IT!
I didn't know there was such a thing. If I were a college student I might abuse that and buy like a whole year's worth of beer and cheetos in one year!
That's very sound advice. My parents always had the discipline to hit the stores right after the holiday season to stock up on stuff, but I've always been too lazy to venture out. Perhaps with this little bit of encouragement (or push) from your article I will finally get organized enough to do it!
Speaking of raincoats in summer, your article reminded me of something I read in the NYT the other day:
"Retailers are calling it the Coat Crisis of 2006, a fashion fiasco measured in racks of unsold fur-lined shearlings at Saks Fifth Avenue and down puffer jackets at Bloomingdale’s. Balmy temperatures on the East Coast, with average highs this holiday season 15 degrees warmer than last year, have been disastrous for sales of all kinds of cold-weather clothing, from cashmere caps to wool scarves." (NYT )
i think it's being a bit simplistic to say all you need is a cleanser, sunscreen, and 1 more product. if you started this regiment at 10 years old, then all you'll need for the rest of your life are these 3 items. but the fact is that most of us weren't so careful with our skin back in the day, and that means the sun damage is starting to only now appear (sun damage takes 10+ years to show up) and that means we need to do maintenance and repair our skin now.
that doesn't mean i think it's worth spending hundreds of dollars on a miracle-in-a-jar. lots and lots of products out there don't do anything. and lots of cheap products work for most people (my bf's sister has flawless skin and she uses oil of olay because anything else breaks her out). but at the same time, much research and technology has gone into effective skin treatments and products that will truly help with the sun damage we've accrued. for example, there are moisturizers that will make you feel less dry because you're slapping oil onto your skin (basically the same as vaseline), or there are moisturizers that actually use vitamins and nutrients that will go into your skin and help it produce its own oil from within to moisturize. there are cleansers that strip your skin of everything - good and bad oil - and there are cleansers that will get rid of the dirt and makeup but will be gentle as to not strip and irritate your skin.
in the end, your skin will be the best judge of skin care effectiveness. within 1 month of using the product, if you don't see and feel results, it's not doing anything. if you notice you get whiteheads, blackheads, or other breakouts, it's most likely something you are using that's causing it (usually makeup will be the culprit). it's hard to filter through all the advertising promises and jargon but do a little research from non-biased sites and you'll find there are a few proven and accepted ingredients that work and that's all you need to look for when shopping for a product.
not that i'm trying to say i know more than these dermatologists - the recommendation is certainly not harmful - but it kinda sounds like more marketing talk "I won't make you spend hundreds of dollars on products. Only these 3 will be necessary..."
it's true that more is not better, but it's misleading to say that if we, as twenty-thirty something women just start cleansing and sunscreening that we'll keep our skin just as nice as if we were using other specialized products.
I'm sure my anger over the craigslist exchange has to do with the seller's a lack of respect towards me, as well as just general irritation over her inanity. It's a long story, but basically the seller made unreasonable demands (asked me to come over to buy the item at odd hours, was unavailable to meet me for days at a time, provided really small windows of opportunity - such as telling me to meet her in ten minutes when I was located well over 30 minutes away) and then accused me of being "unable to meet at specified times".
The idea of making a purchase to assuage feelings is hardly new - that's why people call it "retail therapy".
My biggest worry is learning to control anger over dumb, small things. I can't think of a single person who "hurt" me over my childhood - everyone was realy good to me. More likely is that I am having frustrations over my current situation, and haven't figured out how to deal with "bigger" issues, so the anger surfaces over the smaller ones instead.
all your paychecks need my signature authorization. That's LIVE signature. No stamps.
And when I'm finished with her [puffs out chest, flexes bicep], I'm coming for you.
I alredy sent out the invitation. You're pretty handy with broadswords right?
Now she's going to eat my eyes, thanks. I'm sorry, I forgot that she was in your list - I went back and perused it, but didn't see her there... and now that I look back, there she is. Duh. My bad.
Did I talk smack about a blog-off? What I meant was, I would like to feed her peeled grapes and fan her with giant palm fronds while she blogs.
that fighting tip about shouting "I'll EAT YOUR EYES" during a fight works for guys, too. Just saying.
I like her writing as well. I picked her story on how she got out of debt as one of the top 20 savvy living stories you may have missed this year. /end shameless self plug.
It's funny that you are pretending to be afraid of her. Wasn't it just yesterday you were telling me how you wanted to challenge her to a blogoff?
http://www.violentacres.com/archives/41/****-you-money
Can we say "Cafe Press"?
That picture is the greatest photo-editorial comeback of the year.
I had read her before I found out about Isabella, but was happy to find her linked there as well.
small world. she writes for whoisisabella.com too =)
I'm going to do it anyway.
Great interview Andrea! I'm surprised that you can get such high quality stuff for only $50.
I also enjoyed checking out Courtney's website. "Leggings are NOT pants." Ha ha, classic!
In Thailand (I think it's Thailand anyway) they hardly ever use fresh lettuce - it's always cooked, especially in soups. Having some similarly wilted lettuce I was inspired by this and chopped it up finely, and added it to some noodle soup. It was great - tasted good, added colour, and you couldn't tell it was lettuce at all, it just looked like the normal spinach/seaweed/herbs etc that's usually in soup. I don't worry about wilting lettuce anymore - even if I'm not making soup right then, I can freeze the lettuce until I do - once in the soup, it becomes the same as fresh.
That technique will certainly save me thousands of dollars a year. I often look at the crap around my room and think: "I really didn't need that, why did I buy it?" A lot of times, shopping on impulse will have terrible consequences.
There are many techniques. Yet, if you keep on getting angry at little things, the anger may be from an earlier experience that you have not forgiven. Thus, the anger is lurking underneath you just waiting for someone to trigger it. So think back at what may be unhealed in your life. You has hurt you the most?
As for healing the anger in the moment, know that it is how you interpret the event that made it upsetting to you. Many people would have just laughed at a craiglist person backing out. What triggered inside of you that made it mean something? Is it something about self-worth where someone does not treat you with the respect you think you deserve (by walking away from a deal)? That may be the reason you want to go buy something nice to make you temporarily feel better. Note, the word temporary, because after a few days you may be beating yourself up for making such a whimsical purchase.
The skittles suggestion sounds perfect! Still have time for New Year's Eve....
Thanks Paul!