Seriously, I am not nor have I ever been one of those people who insist on buying organic foods. I bought this milk once because it was on sale and had the latest expiration date on it when compared to the other brands. I always used to throw out some milk in the box because it would expire... however, Horizon's expiry date was typically 3 to 4 weeks out from the day I would purchase it (I suppose that depends highly on the supermarket you shop, because when I moved the best I could find was two weeks out). Regardless, I could actually use the mild for 3 to 5 days AFTER the expiry date. Who can say the same for "regular" milk? Clearly Horizon is doing something right to get the milk to taste fresh for so long. It tastes good and lasts long enough for me to stop wasting money throwing milk in the garbage. I highly recommend it.
I'm mostly a vegetarian, and when I remember, and have time, I bulk cook. Generally, after about 4 days, when I'm tired of something, it goes in the freezer (maybe not the best way, but...)
For us, it's often soups or beans and rice. The occasional burrito. It's harder in the summer when I'm not interested in baking. Can't really freeze salads...
Someone needs to sing the benefits of the Roast. What is easier than salting but a roast, popping it in the oven and then walking away for a couple of hours. Every Sunday I devote 2-3 hours of time to cooking and my weekly cooking is simple (by now my friends know and it's when they usually 'happen to be in the neighborhood').
Usually I will cook a roast, make a quick frittata, pick whatever meat seems to be on sale that week and cook it on the stovetop or the grill, portion off 5 breakfasts, 5 meals for lunches during the week and then when I get home from work, I just saute or steam some vegetables (prefer them fresh) and have a good meal on the table from keys in door to kitchen in about 15 minutes.
Chicken soup freezes incredibly well. When I make it, I go ahead and make a vat of it, portion it off and again, cook some vegetables when I get home, maybe boil some noodles and quick soup in no time.
I can't stand piles of stuff. My mother, husband, mother n law, son and daughter are big time "collectors" of everything. My son (9 years old)can't leave a playground or the grocery store without finding a neat rock or broken pencil on the ground that he MUST take home because it may have a purpose to him someday. Last night at 10:30 my husband starting looking through his one of many drawers that has stuff piled in the bottom of looking for an old credit card, I made him regret that big time. I decided to get all three drawers that he uses to stuff full of junk and make him go through it or I would. He did do it, finally it took me 4 years:) Some people say to be truly organized you must have OCD. I find that to be true, at least with me:)
I would include 7 chapters, and seven days on them... I will start on SUNDAY, in which I realized many people around me were expecting more of my life, in the sense that I need stability, get rid of clutter, and so on... MONDAY will be the day I actually make a list of the things I need to do, create a budget and prepare emergency plans; TUESDAY would be a day for checking my home, checking the books and the information on some of the topics (preparation); WEDNESDAY would be the day I recall WHY I am doing (or not doing) some of the stuff I do (or don´t) and visualise my new life and my new job, and my perfect home, partner, family, etc. THURSDAY would be the day I would check WHERE I am compared to where I want to be, creating several SMALL, EASY goals to each targeted area; I would use the ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE for doing that. FRIDAY would be the day I call someone special to me (may be my partner) to make an arrangement to talk to me about how I would advanced each day and start my rebirth by recycling ideas and food for the whole week, and do laundry and checking all of the devices I use, taking note of the mainteinance they need and when. SATURDAY I would rest, go to the park, meditate about space and use of things, and I would get rid of several items I wish someone else could enjoy as much as I did, or even more... Because, if I take out stuff, I will have more room for me, or for other stuff I actually use or need... Now that I know what it is, why it is, and how I can get there by simple actions, I am completed RECYCLED yet, good as NEW.
So thrilled you loved the piece. I've been collecting various types of lentils to start using them more than once a week. As tedious as it was to collect all of these links, I love having the article to go back to now.
As for the photography, I can't really take credit for those particular photos as they came from the creative commons section of Flickr.
1. Surviving Detroit's "New" Great Depression
We relocated for a job at the start of the auto last bust; lost said job a year later and climbed out of the whole, sold a house in the down market (in less than five months), and are managing a debt repayment (from being unemployed for 2 years) and still saving....
2. Child of Hip Hop - You Actually Have to Work for BLING?
This one I would write for my nieces and nephews to pass on my wisdom from my years in "the school of hard knocks".
As a recent college grad, I've slowly but surely been taking charge of my own finances. Although I am lucky to have parents that don't charge me rent to stay in my childhood home, or ask for money to help pay for the food, it's time I started to pay for some of my own bills i.e. phone, auto insurance. Completely okay.
The problem came in when I received my student loans. From day one of college, my mom had said to me 'now, I will be paying for your college but you will be graduating with a few loans you'll need to pay off.' Light conversation. I was a kid, I hardly knew what that meant nor did I think about it after that one day conversation.
To my surprise, I'm about 30 grand deep in debt. It's nice that parents want their children to stay happy and go to college, but it is just not right to sign off loans under their name and not properly explain to them what is going on. I would have saved more and reconsidered many choices had I known I'd be this much in debt.
I'm now using my NetSpend account as my primary bank. I left E-Trade due to them dinging my account with 2 NSF fees even though I was able to prove I had funds available at the time. They wouldn't back down, so I left them!
I find it incredible that some of you call NetSpend fraudulent just because they sent you an unsolicited prepaid card. If you don't want it, don't activate and then cut it in half. End of subject. You won't have an actual account set up until you actually activate it, so chill out!
What a bunch of frail little flowers we've become if we're getting freaked out over receiving a debit card in the mail.
For the record, I've had ZERO problems with NetSpend but I've had plenty of problems with other banks!
All I have to say is again, THANK YOU Susan, you get it. I too owned a small hair salon that was eaten up by a franchise type salon. So after 15 years I moved into a different field of work, that I thought would be more stable. But, unfortunately nothing is stable now. And if more people thought like Susan, maybe, just maybe my boss would not have to be shutting down our secretarial business this month.......
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with a messy countertop, or who engages in the Clutter Shuffle when cleaning!
Thank you for this post and book recommendation. It sounds like just the book I need.
What about a book that gives the reader an "oh yeah? I'll show you!" attitude, thus motivating them to improve their finances.
Some chapter titles might include:
* Real men don't cook.
* Americans are too spoiled to live without consumer credit.
* No one in their right mind would buy a ten-year-old car.
* You're too old to have a roommate.
* Thrift shops are for losers.
* Budgeting: you can't handle the truth.
(You know, all those things that sort of feel true sometimes or are kind of true, but they don't have to be.)
Another great post, Phillip. I would like to see this kind of analysis tied into a discussion about true cost of ownership including residual values of an asset. Cars are great examples of how shopping the lowest price tag could still cost you more. Typical personal finance discussions usually relegate these examples to a cash flow analysis only (e.g., "don't spend more than 20% of your take home pay on car payments").
When are we going to learn to help ourselves and our own first? My local rag is loaded with desperate folk trying to make ends meet by offering their services. This should be the first stop for small business (I AM a small business btw). Global outsourcing should only be a last resort if all local/country resources have proven unsuccessful.
Trying to save a buck on labor is for the greedy corporations and they're finding out that it's not always such a deal.
I'd like to add that ODesk is also a good source of virtual assistants.
For those who are angry that this article talked about outsourcing to India, I'd like to say that it also mentioned that when you pay more you generally get better quality work. Anyone is able to sign up for an account on a site like Elance or ODesk and provide services. I have seen a lot of Americans on ODesk making $20 to $30 an hour doing virtual assistant type work. They get the jobs at the rate they ask for because they are good at it and they have built up a reputation that proves that they are worth more. So I would say that Americans who are mad about not having a job should really try to sell their own skills and build up their credentials first before blaming the immigrants and outsourcing. It may sound harsh, but you are not entitled to a job just because you are American in this global economy, and small businesses or individuals can hire whoever they want to.
if companies didn't have to pay for health care they could compete better. for the future survival of our country, we need to move to a single payer health care system.
I want to highlight point #7 -- we're not just talking about India here.
The point of the article is to teach small businesses how to find and hire a remote employee. India just happens to be the biggest source of administrative labor available at the moment.
But plenty of remote work is being done here in the US. From Elance, I've personally hired a video editor from Ohio, a transcriptionist from North Carolina, and copywriters from Ohio and Florida. I live in California.
@Xin
I haven't checked out oDesk. I'll have to go take a look. Thanks!
I'm sorry to hear about your husband being laid off. I really am. I can only imagine the shock and frustration that must follow, and I think we can do more in this country to help people who have been affected by outsourcing cope and find new work. Here at Wise Bread, we try to do what little we can to help folks who have lost their job.
@everyone
Thank you all for your comments.
Since the advent of the Internet, we all live and work in a global community now. The new global economy has forced all of us to adapt, even if Indian outsourcing isn't directly involved.
For example, my dad is going to close his small auto parts shop after 25 years because of competition from BigCos who are getting leaner and cheaper because they are sourcing labor and materials globally.
American small businesses (including microbusinesses and solopreneurs/freelancers) are under seige from all around -- distributors turned competitors, a lousy economy, and yes, the global marketplace. The only thing small businesses can do is to play on the same global scale, and I hope this post helped small business owners stay competitive.
Okay, now I am mad. No where did I say I was entitled to my job. I am 49 and have been working since I was 18, this is the first time I have ever lost a job. I work hard, I am always on time, I appreciated my job and my clients appreciated me. They also appreciated that I spoke English, and that their clients never had to ask me to repeat myself to be understood. I was going to immediately look for a job, but I am in a situation where my husband has a good job that there is no possibility of him being laid off from. I can also collect 72 weeks of unemployment now. I have never not worked before so this will be something new for me to stay home and get projects done. I can take my time and find the right job for me. Oh, wait I shouldnt have to look for a job, they should come to me!
I, too, read this and got more than a little angry. My husband has been out of work for the past fourteen months. His job was outsourced.
10. Consider legal, cultural and language issues when working with offshore help.
How about considering the market issues? How can you attract customers if nobody can buy your products because no one has a job because they've all been sourced overseas?
Hey, how about also considering the moral and ethical issues while you're at it? I think an ethical business person must also consider the impact of his decisions on his community.
I read this, then I had to step away from it for awhile before I responded. I am an admin for 7 clients: I answer their phones, take messages, transcription and any other work they need. We are an independent secretarial company. My clients hire us to represent them. None of their clients even know that I am not that persons personal assistant. Unfortunately do to some retirements, and people needing to cut costs the company I have worked for, for 6 years is closing at the end of this month. You unfortunately have hit a raw nerve for me by recommending VA's who are out of India. With more people using this cheap mode of assistants the business I work in has a harder time staying afloat and in business.
FORTUNATELY, all of my clients are going to just do their own phone answering, and if they need any typing done I will do if for them from home-------here in the United States of America! Whenever I have to make calls either for myself personally, or for my clients the first thing I ask is what country are you in? You can ask to be transfered to someone in the US. My clients will not do business with anyone who is not based here or outsourcing any of their business needs.
Please do not promote outsourcing to India, this has cost me my job!
I just last month wrote a post on When to use savings to pay off debt. Very briefly: You will want to compare interest rates, but first you want to make sure you have an emergency fund.
Seriously, I am not nor have I ever been one of those people who insist on buying organic foods. I bought this milk once because it was on sale and had the latest expiration date on it when compared to the other brands. I always used to throw out some milk in the box because it would expire... however, Horizon's expiry date was typically 3 to 4 weeks out from the day I would purchase it (I suppose that depends highly on the supermarket you shop, because when I moved the best I could find was two weeks out). Regardless, I could actually use the mild for 3 to 5 days AFTER the expiry date. Who can say the same for "regular" milk? Clearly Horizon is doing something right to get the milk to taste fresh for so long. It tastes good and lasts long enough for me to stop wasting money throwing milk in the garbage. I highly recommend it.
I'm mostly a vegetarian, and when I remember, and have time, I bulk cook. Generally, after about 4 days, when I'm tired of something, it goes in the freezer (maybe not the best way, but...)
For us, it's often soups or beans and rice. The occasional burrito. It's harder in the summer when I'm not interested in baking. Can't really freeze salads...
Someone needs to sing the benefits of the Roast. What is easier than salting but a roast, popping it in the oven and then walking away for a couple of hours. Every Sunday I devote 2-3 hours of time to cooking and my weekly cooking is simple (by now my friends know and it's when they usually 'happen to be in the neighborhood').
Usually I will cook a roast, make a quick frittata, pick whatever meat seems to be on sale that week and cook it on the stovetop or the grill, portion off 5 breakfasts, 5 meals for lunches during the week and then when I get home from work, I just saute or steam some vegetables (prefer them fresh) and have a good meal on the table from keys in door to kitchen in about 15 minutes.
Chicken soup freezes incredibly well. When I make it, I go ahead and make a vat of it, portion it off and again, cook some vegetables when I get home, maybe boil some noodles and quick soup in no time.
I can't stand piles of stuff. My mother, husband, mother n law, son and daughter are big time "collectors" of everything. My son (9 years old)can't leave a playground or the grocery store without finding a neat rock or broken pencil on the ground that he MUST take home because it may have a purpose to him someday. Last night at 10:30 my husband starting looking through his one of many drawers that has stuff piled in the bottom of looking for an old credit card, I made him regret that big time. I decided to get all three drawers that he uses to stuff full of junk and make him go through it or I would. He did do it, finally it took me 4 years:) Some people say to be truly organized you must have OCD. I find that to be true, at least with me:)
"How to Plan a Low-Cost Funeral that Doesn’t Cost an Arm and a Leg"
That title is hilarious. Thanks for the great links Linsey. I love these posts!
I would include 7 chapters, and seven days on them... I will start on SUNDAY, in which I realized many people around me were expecting more of my life, in the sense that I need stability, get rid of clutter, and so on... MONDAY will be the day I actually make a list of the things I need to do, create a budget and prepare emergency plans; TUESDAY would be a day for checking my home, checking the books and the information on some of the topics (preparation); WEDNESDAY would be the day I recall WHY I am doing (or not doing) some of the stuff I do (or don´t) and visualise my new life and my new job, and my perfect home, partner, family, etc. THURSDAY would be the day I would check WHERE I am compared to where I want to be, creating several SMALL, EASY goals to each targeted area; I would use the ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE for doing that. FRIDAY would be the day I call someone special to me (may be my partner) to make an arrangement to talk to me about how I would advanced each day and start my rebirth by recycling ideas and food for the whole week, and do laundry and checking all of the devices I use, taking note of the mainteinance they need and when. SATURDAY I would rest, go to the park, meditate about space and use of things, and I would get rid of several items I wish someone else could enjoy as much as I did, or even more... Because, if I take out stuff, I will have more room for me, or for other stuff I actually use or need... Now that I know what it is, why it is, and how I can get there by simple actions, I am completed RECYCLED yet, good as NEW.
So thrilled you loved the piece. I've been collecting various types of lentils to start using them more than once a week. As tedious as it was to collect all of these links, I love having the article to go back to now.
As for the photography, I can't really take credit for those particular photos as they came from the creative commons section of Flickr.
Keep us posted on your lentil endeavors!
Check out my various projects and services at Itinerant Tightwad. I also have a monthly education newsletter.
1. Surviving Detroit's "New" Great Depression
We relocated for a job at the start of the auto last bust; lost said job a year later and climbed out of the whole, sold a house in the down market (in less than five months), and are managing a debt repayment (from being unemployed for 2 years) and still saving....
2. Child of Hip Hop - You Actually Have to Work for BLING?
This one I would write for my nieces and nephews to pass on my wisdom from my years in "the school of hard knocks".
elitist>
My book would be titled 'Ask Your Mother'
As a recent college grad, I've slowly but surely been taking charge of my own finances. Although I am lucky to have parents that don't charge me rent to stay in my childhood home, or ask for money to help pay for the food, it's time I started to pay for some of my own bills i.e. phone, auto insurance. Completely okay.
The problem came in when I received my student loans. From day one of college, my mom had said to me 'now, I will be paying for your college but you will be graduating with a few loans you'll need to pay off.' Light conversation. I was a kid, I hardly knew what that meant nor did I think about it after that one day conversation.
To my surprise, I'm about 30 grand deep in debt. It's nice that parents want their children to stay happy and go to college, but it is just not right to sign off loans under their name and not properly explain to them what is going on. I would have saved more and reconsidered many choices had I known I'd be this much in debt.
So, ask your mother!
I'm now using my NetSpend account as my primary bank. I left E-Trade due to them dinging my account with 2 NSF fees even though I was able to prove I had funds available at the time. They wouldn't back down, so I left them!
I find it incredible that some of you call NetSpend fraudulent just because they sent you an unsolicited prepaid card. If you don't want it, don't activate and then cut it in half. End of subject. You won't have an actual account set up until you actually activate it, so chill out!
What a bunch of frail little flowers we've become if we're getting freaked out over receiving a debit card in the mail.
For the record, I've had ZERO problems with NetSpend but I've had plenty of problems with other banks!
Tim Flowers
Greensboro NC
All I have to say is again, THANK YOU Susan, you get it. I too owned a small hair salon that was eaten up by a franchise type salon. So after 15 years I moved into a different field of work, that I thought would be more stable. But, unfortunately nothing is stable now. And if more people thought like Susan, maybe, just maybe my boss would not have to be shutting down our secretarial business this month.......
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with a messy countertop, or who engages in the Clutter Shuffle when cleaning!
Thank you for this post and book recommendation. It sounds like just the book I need.
What about a book that gives the reader an "oh yeah? I'll show you!" attitude, thus motivating them to improve their finances.
Some chapter titles might include:
* Real men don't cook.
* Americans are too spoiled to live without consumer credit.
* No one in their right mind would buy a ten-year-old car.
* You're too old to have a roommate.
* Thrift shops are for losers.
* Budgeting: you can't handle the truth.
(You know, all those things that sort of feel true sometimes or are kind of true, but they don't have to be.)
Another great post, Phillip. I would like to see this kind of analysis tied into a discussion about true cost of ownership including residual values of an asset. Cars are great examples of how shopping the lowest price tag could still cost you more. Typical personal finance discussions usually relegate these examples to a cash flow analysis only (e.g., "don't spend more than 20% of your take home pay on car payments").
When are we going to learn to help ourselves and our own first? My local rag is loaded with desperate folk trying to make ends meet by offering their services. This should be the first stop for small business (I AM a small business btw). Global outsourcing should only be a last resort if all local/country resources have proven unsuccessful.
Trying to save a buck on labor is for the greedy corporations and they're finding out that it's not always such a deal.
I'd like to add that ODesk is also a good source of virtual assistants.
For those who are angry that this article talked about outsourcing to India, I'd like to say that it also mentioned that when you pay more you generally get better quality work. Anyone is able to sign up for an account on a site like Elance or ODesk and provide services. I have seen a lot of Americans on ODesk making $20 to $30 an hour doing virtual assistant type work. They get the jobs at the rate they ask for because they are good at it and they have built up a reputation that proves that they are worth more. So I would say that Americans who are mad about not having a job should really try to sell their own skills and build up their credentials first before blaming the immigrants and outsourcing. It may sound harsh, but you are not entitled to a job just because you are American in this global economy, and small businesses or individuals can hire whoever they want to.
if companies didn't have to pay for health care they could compete better. for the future survival of our country, we need to move to a single payer health care system.
I want to highlight point #7 -- we're not just talking about India here.
The point of the article is to teach small businesses how to find and hire a remote employee. India just happens to be the biggest source of administrative labor available at the moment.
But plenty of remote work is being done here in the US. From Elance, I've personally hired a video editor from Ohio, a transcriptionist from North Carolina, and copywriters from Ohio and Florida. I live in California.
@Xin
I haven't checked out oDesk. I'll have to go take a look. Thanks!
@Peg
I'm sorry to hear about your husband being laid off. I really am. I can only imagine the shock and frustration that must follow, and I think we can do more in this country to help people who have been affected by outsourcing cope and find new work. Here at Wise Bread, we try to do what little we can to help folks who have lost their job.
@everyone
Thank you all for your comments.
Since the advent of the Internet, we all live and work in a global community now. The new global economy has forced all of us to adapt, even if Indian outsourcing isn't directly involved.
For example, my dad is going to close his small auto parts shop after 25 years because of competition from BigCos who are getting leaner and cheaper because they are sourcing labor and materials globally.
American small businesses (including microbusinesses and solopreneurs/freelancers) are under seige from all around -- distributors turned competitors, a lousy economy, and yes, the global marketplace. The only thing small businesses can do is to play on the same global scale, and I hope this post helped small business owners stay competitive.
my favorite lentil dish had been with salmon. Now however, I'm dying to try several of the ways you've presented. Great photography by the way.
Okay, now I am mad. No where did I say I was entitled to my job. I am 49 and have been working since I was 18, this is the first time I have ever lost a job. I work hard, I am always on time, I appreciated my job and my clients appreciated me. They also appreciated that I spoke English, and that their clients never had to ask me to repeat myself to be understood. I was going to immediately look for a job, but I am in a situation where my husband has a good job that there is no possibility of him being laid off from. I can also collect 72 weeks of unemployment now. I have never not worked before so this will be something new for me to stay home and get projects done. I can take my time and find the right job for me. Oh, wait I shouldnt have to look for a job, they should come to me!
I, too, read this and got more than a little angry. My husband has been out of work for the past fourteen months. His job was outsourced.
10. Consider legal, cultural and language issues when working with offshore help.
How about considering the market issues? How can you attract customers if nobody can buy your products because no one has a job because they've all been sourced overseas?
Hey, how about also considering the moral and ethical issues while you're at it? I think an ethical business person must also consider the impact of his decisions on his community.
I read this, then I had to step away from it for awhile before I responded. I am an admin for 7 clients: I answer their phones, take messages, transcription and any other work they need. We are an independent secretarial company. My clients hire us to represent them. None of their clients even know that I am not that persons personal assistant. Unfortunately do to some retirements, and people needing to cut costs the company I have worked for, for 6 years is closing at the end of this month. You unfortunately have hit a raw nerve for me by recommending VA's who are out of India. With more people using this cheap mode of assistants the business I work in has a harder time staying afloat and in business.
FORTUNATELY, all of my clients are going to just do their own phone answering, and if they need any typing done I will do if for them from home-------here in the United States of America! Whenever I have to make calls either for myself personally, or for my clients the first thing I ask is what country are you in? You can ask to be transfered to someone in the US. My clients will not do business with anyone who is not based here or outsourcing any of their business needs.
Please do not promote outsourcing to India, this has cost me my job!
@ Mark Ross:
I just last month wrote a post on When to use savings to pay off debt. Very briefly: You will want to compare interest rates, but first you want to make sure you have an emergency fund.