I bought the game in around 2000/2001. I played it bunches of times. It is interesting and I have other things to say about it too: A) I bought it for $216 if I remember correctly, so it looks like he's raised the price; B) After "drinking the Kool-Aid" for over a year, I found the johntreed.com website and I came to think, after pondering on it more, that Kiyosaki is a fraud.
It might be OK, though, that Kiyosaki's a fraud because he gives NO ADVICE, all his stuff is like a vague "American Dream" pep talk. He just sprinkles it with accounting speak and corporation stuff and you think it's a new story with new advice. This motivational aspect is why he was able to get in good with Amway. If I understand correctly, he only started selling big because Amway people all started buying his book. (In fact, now that I think about it, I wonder if Kiyosaki's book was declared a "tool" - which is how the Amway bigshots make money (they sell motivational materials)).
Anyhow, it's amazing - if you really look at what he says, or listen to his recordings, he says almost nothing. The man is inarticulate, though he has a decent patter down. He even admits to being inarticulate - dig up some of his .mp3s and you'll hear him admit to it. He mouthes classic motivational-type lines.
For some of his books he is smart enough to bring on people with more credibility than him - the CPAs and whatnot that he co-authors books with. This might also be a liability-prevention measure, I don't know. He does give some good advice, one of which is that people should go to a therapist to keep their heads clear. In my experience the most successful people I have met have all been good models of sane, responsible adulthood. Unfortunately most of us need a therapist to develop equanimity and clearheadedness in life. That advice alone could be worth the rest of what he says. And, if you follow it, ironically, you will be more likely to discover that Kiyosaki is no genius.
About Cashflow, the board game: it is entirely real-estate oriented. It is clear that Kiyosaki doesn't like entrepreneurialism because every card in the game that is associated with starting a business says things like "it takes up 14 hours per day" and then when you look at the cashflow the business generates you see that it sucks - you can never get out of the rat race that way. This is just plain not true in the real world though. If you want hard facts read "The Millionnaire Next Door" to see who the *real millionnaires are in the USA. Of course if you look at the admittedly fake Rich Dad you see that he has "boring businesses" that kick off cash flow. Kinda funny how Kiyosaki - and the game itself - kick you in the other direction.
Back to the game: If you figure out which houses in the game are worth buying and then you just buy them, you will get out of the rat race. It's fairly simple though it can require patience. I imagine that readers here who actually own real estate will probably laugh at this simple picture.
The Profit & Loss statement work is very useful to the average person who just does not "know their numbers." If you were a CPA or whatever then it would probably be almost a complete waste of time. Good entrepreneurs and sales people "know their numbers" as a matter of course, too - the game should have little to teach them.
I remember the first time I played the game. We went around the rat race a bunch of times. I got impatient to "do something"! And, so I bought a bum house. It had negative cash flow. What did I know? I didn't know cash flow from a hole in the ground. I can remember realizing how stupid the purchase was later. None of my tablemates would buy the house off me. LOL Good for them. I started to think more about impatience and "wanting to get started" when I didn't know what I was doing. That was a valuable lesson. It's not like playing the game by itself has made the tendency go away - but it is helpful to have realized this - and the game definitely did that.
If you read and absorb Kiyosaki you will start thinking that there are deals around every corner. You start looking at things differently. It's good - but also could be quite dangerous. Good investors look at an enormous number of deals before they buy something. Amateurs get excited to buy something, anything, and blow it on their first shot. They don't get that yes, the market is full of things to buy, but that you have to know how to evaluate those things and have to walk from the vast majority of them. Kiyosaki can get you excited, make you think it's easy, that the only thing you are missing is the right attitude. Yeah right - sure - piece of cake.
I bought three or four of his books and read them carefully. The idea behind "Cashflow Quadrant" is not bad - he gives you a simple structure to look at jobs and work in the world and then analyze where you fit. It can be quite thought-provoking. Most people do just follow a certain type of life with respect to money.
But on top of all this, John T. Reed says, on his site, that Kiyosaki's book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad contains much wrong advice, much bad advice, some dangerous advice, and virtually no good advice." I decided I'd take Reed at his word (I've never bought anything from Reed, by the way, nor do I have any connection with him.) Luckily for Kiyosaki he gives almost no concrete advice, because Reed points out how if you literally follow what he seems to indicate you should do you might actually be breaking the law. It is interesting to note that the few people who have tried to track down Kiyosaki's investments have come up with a house in Phoenix worth, if I remember correctly, less than 3/4 of a million. And it was bought fairly recently. Anyhow, buys like that are public information - so he didn't even use a corporation or whatever to buy his house - though on his recordings he talks about all these great advantages to incorporating (like, he says, tax breaks on "board meetings" which he seems to think should be held in Hawaii or the Bahamas or wherever).
So, it seems clear that Kiyosaki has made his money selling people like me his products. I doubt he owns much otherwise and I think his talk of being an international businessman who makes deals is puffery.
His comments on the uselessness of much higher education are more poignant now that the employment market has tanked. And considering the enormous debts an entire generation of kids in the US have undertaken to become college grads so they can get those "good jobs" it is indeed a sad picture. But his damning of education is very shortsighted - and should be criticized harshly - because he doesn't point out the obvious: people need a discipline, something that others will pay them for, if they ever want to work for someone. As a practical matter most people will work for someone else most of their life. And when it comes time to hire, I'd hire the college grad with the debt over Kiyosaki anyday. They showed they could stick it out through college. They also, if they have brains, have some sort of mental discipline which they can use to analyze problems.
Remember, "In life, those who can, do, those who can't, teach."
I can't help but notice a notable difference in the postings: Cynics and those who have actually played the game.
As ricklee pointed out, "I'd say I've been more clearly ripped off by more noble educational sources." Don't get me wrong, I took it in stride that certain parts of my degree path may have been less than productive but were necessary to get that important piece of paper and I don't regret doing it. But it is funny how we are conditioned to willingly pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for conventional educational expenses such as the text books and tuition that end up being useless, but are scandalized by things less conventional but equally educational.
If $120 (avg eBay price) is a lot to someone’s budget right now - which could easily be the case - this game probably won't make enough of an immediate difference to justify the price. For everyone else, if you consider it to be a business expense and compare it to any other continuing education expenses, manuals or school costs it is worth the price even if it won't magically make you rich by itself.
One form is using ground sausage that you cook and drain and mix with cream style and regular corn.
One of my favorites though is to take real spicy Keilbasa style sausage and cut into small rounds...fry it up and then fry chopped onions and peppers in the drippings and then add all of it to a mix of cream and regular style corn. Serve up and sprinkle with grated cheddar or put in a casserole, top with prepared corn muffin mix (instead of making muffins) and bake.
Another good trick is keep smaller plastic bags in a small box or jar under the sink, and when you are cooking, use one of them as a groundsheet to protect a section of the counter, and then peel and trim all your veggies onto that, as well as toss other bits that result from food prep. A good thing to spill onto, as well.
Best part is when it's loaded, grab the ends and the whole mess goes neatly into the garbage. If you don't use plastic bags, a medium cutting board does the same job, but you have to wipe it rather than tossing it.
This is a fantastic article, and I wish more people would read this. I'm fascinated, and disgusted, by how many "College experts" suggest bringing pets to colleges. However small they are, pets require a great deal of responsibility, time, and cash (three things that students often lack). I wish the geniuses at my college would read this article, before adding "small pets" to their "what to bring to college" checklist.
I think you should teach your daughter the basis of marketing, and especially how retailers suck in tweeners (DivaJean's story is a good one- its never to early to learn that the clothing in the display windows and the newest "trends" are marked up, and are usually the same things you can find in the clearance rack).
However, there is a fine line between cynicism and frugality. It's likely the 16 year old sales girl was an hourly employee (especially since I'm guessing the store is "Justice" or something along those lines), and was actually exuberant and thrilled in her new position. Unless it's a high priced clothing store, very few clothing store employees work off of commission. I think that maybe your daughter affixed a "role model" status to this girl (albeit temporary), and I doubt the sales girl had predatory motives. As good as your intentions were (and I do commend you for teaching your daughter critical thinking skills, especially when I see my 14 year niece drop $$$$ on the newest trends), children need less "boogeymen" in their lives.
It was also a good move on your part to let your daughter decide whether or not she wanted to buy the new hat. When I was young, my mother prohibited me from buying clothes outside of Target or Goodwill, which instilled a deep hatred of those retailers until I was in college. When I received my first paycheck at the age of 16, I immediately fled to Forever 21 and Wet Seal and went crazy. When I realized that all my hard work computed to two pairs of pants and a sweater, I quickly reorganized my priorities and began to bargain shop; but it took my own mistake for this to happen.
I'm in central California, which has long stretches of 100+ degree weather in the summer, and we lived 12 years here before we installed air conditioning. We get a sea breeze from 60 miles away every evening, so we could mostly manage. Still, the August when I was 8 mos. pregnant with our second child and my husband accused me of lacking "pioneer moxy" was the only real time I seriously considered murder. He's lucky I could only waddle at that point, because if I could've caught him, he'd have been in a world of hurt. . .
Haha- by ending with three questions, the authoress has generated 27 comments so far! She is actually selling her article and those commentators have been unable to resist "buying" into the topic, despite it being about resistance to marketing!
If you can find somebody who needs to move where you are, and you need to be where they are... don't sell.
You can just rent from each other.
This strategy is suggested by Anita Bell (an australian finance writer), as a means to get into the housing market. There are considerable tax benefits to paying a rental mortgage over a home mortgage.
The downside to this method, is that it requires a certain amount of trust. But on the other hand, if they trash your house, you have the keys to theirs...
I include corn in black bean dip / refried beans. Puree together 2 cups cooked black beans, a tomato, an onion, juice of one lime, corn, chili powder, cumin, hot peppers, and a bit of salt if there is none in the beans. Then cook over medium heat to reduce.
I have a 55gal barrel on my balcony. Since I didn't set up a tarp I couldn't save rainwater from this spring that way, but I did use pots and other containers and it was a lazy way of doing it. The barrel's half full.
I think this works best for suburban tract housing...large roofs, downspouts, room for storing harvested water.
It's puzzling that anyone would buy a new house before selling the old one. That sets you up for the very real possibility of owning two houses, and paying two mortgages, at the same time.
It's far harder to sell a house in a bad market than it is to buy one, for all the same reasons. The typical argument is "I don't want to make a "double move"--but isn't that so much better than carrying a double house payment? A double move is a temporary problem, and one you have some control over. I've seen people go a year or more carrying two house payments! That's serious money.
Don't even put a contract in on a house until you sell the one you have. Put your stuff in storage, move into an extended stay hotel, close the deal, then put a contract in on the new one.
"Considering most people prefer to buy a new home before selling their existing one..."
Really?! Since Wisebread is for the discriminating consumer, I would hope that "most people" reading this blog would be in the opposite camp. They would "never get stuck owning two places" from the outset.
I've consistently sold houses BEFORE buying another, and would never buy a home without at least a condition that my current one sold. Period.
We've been paying my husband's Sallie Mae student loans for about 20 years!! The original amount was about 46000. We've now paid over 106000 on that original amount and are not yet paid off. Is this common? I can't find anywhere or anyone to help me navigate through it all to explain how we had to pay more than twice the loan amount. Is there help out there?
Thanks.
This is a really interesting idea - I had wondered if this went on, but had never bothered to really look online to see if anyone was doing it on an official level. Thanks, Nora.
They had no heart disease or diabetes BECAUSE they ate a healthy high fat diet with no grains or sugars. Heart disease is NOT normal nor is diabetes and should never be considered 'normal' for any age. The only reason it is, considered unavoidable is that the SAD is so poor in nutrients and healthy fats and high in unhealthy grains. A low fat / high carb diet is equivalent to building a skyscraper out of styrofoam and wondering why it falls down over and over.
Everything you posted in your anti fat rant is false or outdated info.
Fat does NOT stimulate insulin. Your source is faulty and incorrect.
Saturated fat and cholesterol are VERY good for you as grains are NOT. If you eat no grains, sugar or refined carbs, your body uses fat as a fuel source. It also uses saturated fat and cholesterol to repair cells and as basis for ALL hormone production.
Maybe you should do some ACTUAL research before you spout the faerie tales the government has brainwashed people with.
Primitive man did NOT die because of diet and they only died young from trauma or infections. MANY lived to old age. In fact, they lived as long as they did, despite no antibiotics or medical care BECAUSE of what they ate. They had NO heart disease or diabetes.
Buy around a theme. What are the things you wear in your closet day after day? Can you turn them into a "uniform"? (e.g. cable sweater with jeans? dress over leggings? t-shirt and blazer?) This way you can look pulled together and maybe even stylish without schizophrenically following every trend that comes down the catwalk.
Know what colors and styles look good on you.
In areas that have seasons, your worn-out sweat-stained summer shirts can turn into extra layers under your winter sweaters.
Buy multi-packs of socks. This way, if the dryer sends a few through some interdimensional wormhole, you can still wear the rest with each other. Note: if you wear both navy and black socks, pick distinctive knits so you don't mix them with each other. You will be SOOOO glad you did. Likewise, buy tights instead of nylons, or buy good nylons (I used to have good results with Leggs Silken Mist) to avoid early casualties. Tights can often be washed with your clothes in a lingerie bag!
Things that can be worn with "almost" anything: jeans, black pants, simple dark sandals or shoes.
If you can't find the kinds of accessories you like at your local thrift shop, another place to look for handmade and vintage items is Etsy.com . Not as cheap as your thrift shop, but a lot of personality for the same price as K-Mart or Penney's. Search for your item, then sort by price. This is how I have bought several purses that I love, get tons of compliments on, and spent less than $30 each for.
Also, check out thrift shops when you travel. Second-hand shops in Toronto have a completely different personality than those in Sioux Falls, for example. A dress or piece of jewelry or whatever it is you like to wear can make a great souvenir because you will have it out more often than you would some other tchotchke.
Once upon a time I used to live in a city overseas where, despite heat and humidity, A/C was very rare, even in the bars and restaurants, largely because of the high cost of electricity. During the day, we would keep cool by sitting in shady spots outdoors, like parks and outdoor cafes, and at night, leave our windows open. No matter what, it wasn't nearly as cool or comfortable as having an A/C unit, but I appreciated that even though we didn't have the same creature comforts I did in the States, life was in some ways more enjoyable, such as being "forced" to spend time with friends outdoors.
I actually don't mind the idea of lounging around the house in the sweltering heat, but my partner works from home, and it can be very difficult to run a business involving servers when the indoor temp is 97 degrees. If my home were only a home and not currently a workplace, it might be one thing.
"When you eat a candy bar or a meal, the presence of glucose, amino acids or fatty acids in the intestine stimulates the pancreas to secrete a hormone called insulin."
"The conversion of carbohydrates or protein into fat is 10 times less efficient than simply storing fat in a fat cell, but the body can do it. If you have 100 extra calories in fat (about 11 grams) floating in your bloodstream, fat cells can store it using only 2.5 calories of energy. On the other hand, if you have 100 extra calories in glucose (about 25 grams) floating in your bloodstream, it takes 23 calories of energy to convert the glucose into fat and then store it. Given a choice, a fat cell will grab the fat and store it rather than the carbohydrates because fat is so much easier to store."
By the way saturated fats are bad for you. Proponents of the so-called "caveman diet" make some of the most illogical claims that reflect the "man has been eating saturated fats for millenia and now they have been tagged as being bad for you???" Take a look at the life expectancy of ancient man (30-something years). Perhaps diet (saturated fat consumption or otherwise (i.e., food-borne pathogens) was part of the reason they died so young, but maybe not. Proponents of the caveman diet retort, no, they died for other reasons. OK, fine then...perhaps their short lifespan (due to those other factors) precluded the manifestation of cardiovascular disease--ever notice that not a lot of people younger than 40 have heart attacks? Although people in their 40s and 50s certainly have heart attacks (as do younger people) the mean age for a first heart attack is mid-60s for men and 70 for women!
Finally, advocates of the caveman diet make the "natural as good" fallacy. They rely on the notion that saturated fats are good because they are natural (and ergo transfats are bad because they are artificial). This fallacy ignores the fact that nature really wants to kill you. There are naturally occurring poisons/toxins throughout our environments. To simply say that "natural is good" is fallacious logic. Some nature is good, some is not. Simply "being natural" is not a sufficient condition for "being good."
I bought the game in around 2000/2001. I played it bunches of times. It is interesting and I have other things to say about it too: A) I bought it for $216 if I remember correctly, so it looks like he's raised the price; B) After "drinking the Kool-Aid" for over a year, I found the johntreed.com website and I came to think, after pondering on it more, that Kiyosaki is a fraud.
It might be OK, though, that Kiyosaki's a fraud because he gives NO ADVICE, all his stuff is like a vague "American Dream" pep talk. He just sprinkles it with accounting speak and corporation stuff and you think it's a new story with new advice. This motivational aspect is why he was able to get in good with Amway. If I understand correctly, he only started selling big because Amway people all started buying his book. (In fact, now that I think about it, I wonder if Kiyosaki's book was declared a "tool" - which is how the Amway bigshots make money (they sell motivational materials)).
Anyhow, it's amazing - if you really look at what he says, or listen to his recordings, he says almost nothing. The man is inarticulate, though he has a decent patter down. He even admits to being inarticulate - dig up some of his .mp3s and you'll hear him admit to it. He mouthes classic motivational-type lines.
For some of his books he is smart enough to bring on people with more credibility than him - the CPAs and whatnot that he co-authors books with. This might also be a liability-prevention measure, I don't know. He does give some good advice, one of which is that people should go to a therapist to keep their heads clear. In my experience the most successful people I have met have all been good models of sane, responsible adulthood. Unfortunately most of us need a therapist to develop equanimity and clearheadedness in life. That advice alone could be worth the rest of what he says. And, if you follow it, ironically, you will be more likely to discover that Kiyosaki is no genius.
About Cashflow, the board game: it is entirely real-estate oriented. It is clear that Kiyosaki doesn't like entrepreneurialism because every card in the game that is associated with starting a business says things like "it takes up 14 hours per day" and then when you look at the cashflow the business generates you see that it sucks - you can never get out of the rat race that way. This is just plain not true in the real world though. If you want hard facts read "The Millionnaire Next Door" to see who the *real millionnaires are in the USA. Of course if you look at the admittedly fake Rich Dad you see that he has "boring businesses" that kick off cash flow. Kinda funny how Kiyosaki - and the game itself - kick you in the other direction.
Back to the game: If you figure out which houses in the game are worth buying and then you just buy them, you will get out of the rat race. It's fairly simple though it can require patience. I imagine that readers here who actually own real estate will probably laugh at this simple picture.
The Profit & Loss statement work is very useful to the average person who just does not "know their numbers." If you were a CPA or whatever then it would probably be almost a complete waste of time. Good entrepreneurs and sales people "know their numbers" as a matter of course, too - the game should have little to teach them.
I remember the first time I played the game. We went around the rat race a bunch of times. I got impatient to "do something"! And, so I bought a bum house. It had negative cash flow. What did I know? I didn't know cash flow from a hole in the ground. I can remember realizing how stupid the purchase was later. None of my tablemates would buy the house off me. LOL Good for them. I started to think more about impatience and "wanting to get started" when I didn't know what I was doing. That was a valuable lesson. It's not like playing the game by itself has made the tendency go away - but it is helpful to have realized this - and the game definitely did that.
If you read and absorb Kiyosaki you will start thinking that there are deals around every corner. You start looking at things differently. It's good - but also could be quite dangerous. Good investors look at an enormous number of deals before they buy something. Amateurs get excited to buy something, anything, and blow it on their first shot. They don't get that yes, the market is full of things to buy, but that you have to know how to evaluate those things and have to walk from the vast majority of them. Kiyosaki can get you excited, make you think it's easy, that the only thing you are missing is the right attitude. Yeah right - sure - piece of cake.
I bought three or four of his books and read them carefully. The idea behind "Cashflow Quadrant" is not bad - he gives you a simple structure to look at jobs and work in the world and then analyze where you fit. It can be quite thought-provoking. Most people do just follow a certain type of life with respect to money.
But on top of all this, John T. Reed says, on his site, that Kiyosaki's book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad contains much wrong advice, much bad advice, some dangerous advice, and virtually no good advice." I decided I'd take Reed at his word (I've never bought anything from Reed, by the way, nor do I have any connection with him.) Luckily for Kiyosaki he gives almost no concrete advice, because Reed points out how if you literally follow what he seems to indicate you should do you might actually be breaking the law. It is interesting to note that the few people who have tried to track down Kiyosaki's investments have come up with a house in Phoenix worth, if I remember correctly, less than 3/4 of a million. And it was bought fairly recently. Anyhow, buys like that are public information - so he didn't even use a corporation or whatever to buy his house - though on his recordings he talks about all these great advantages to incorporating (like, he says, tax breaks on "board meetings" which he seems to think should be held in Hawaii or the Bahamas or wherever).
So, it seems clear that Kiyosaki has made his money selling people like me his products. I doubt he owns much otherwise and I think his talk of being an international businessman who makes deals is puffery.
His comments on the uselessness of much higher education are more poignant now that the employment market has tanked. And considering the enormous debts an entire generation of kids in the US have undertaken to become college grads so they can get those "good jobs" it is indeed a sad picture. But his damning of education is very shortsighted - and should be criticized harshly - because he doesn't point out the obvious: people need a discipline, something that others will pay them for, if they ever want to work for someone. As a practical matter most people will work for someone else most of their life. And when it comes time to hire, I'd hire the college grad with the debt over Kiyosaki anyday. They showed they could stick it out through college. They also, if they have brains, have some sort of mental discipline which they can use to analyze problems.
Remember, "In life, those who can, do, those who can't, teach."
I can't help but notice a notable difference in the postings: Cynics and those who have actually played the game.
As ricklee pointed out, "I'd say I've been more clearly ripped off by more noble educational sources." Don't get me wrong, I took it in stride that certain parts of my degree path may have been less than productive but were necessary to get that important piece of paper and I don't regret doing it. But it is funny how we are conditioned to willingly pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for conventional educational expenses such as the text books and tuition that end up being useless, but are scandalized by things less conventional but equally educational.
If $120 (avg eBay price) is a lot to someone’s budget right now - which could easily be the case - this game probably won't make enough of an immediate difference to justify the price. For everyone else, if you consider it to be a business expense and compare it to any other continuing education expenses, manuals or school costs it is worth the price even if it won't magically make you rich by itself.
Is another great dish.
One form is using ground sausage that you cook and drain and mix with cream style and regular corn.
One of my favorites though is to take real spicy Keilbasa style sausage and cut into small rounds...fry it up and then fry chopped onions and peppers in the drippings and then add all of it to a mix of cream and regular style corn. Serve up and sprinkle with grated cheddar or put in a casserole, top with prepared corn muffin mix (instead of making muffins) and bake.
Another good trick is keep smaller plastic bags in a small box or jar under the sink, and when you are cooking, use one of them as a groundsheet to protect a section of the counter, and then peel and trim all your veggies onto that, as well as toss other bits that result from food prep. A good thing to spill onto, as well.
Best part is when it's loaded, grab the ends and the whole mess goes neatly into the garbage. If you don't use plastic bags, a medium cutting board does the same job, but you have to wipe it rather than tossing it.
This is a fantastic article, and I wish more people would read this. I'm fascinated, and disgusted, by how many "College experts" suggest bringing pets to colleges. However small they are, pets require a great deal of responsibility, time, and cash (three things that students often lack). I wish the geniuses at my college would read this article, before adding "small pets" to their "what to bring to college" checklist.
I think you should teach your daughter the basis of marketing, and especially how retailers suck in tweeners (DivaJean's story is a good one- its never to early to learn that the clothing in the display windows and the newest "trends" are marked up, and are usually the same things you can find in the clearance rack).
However, there is a fine line between cynicism and frugality. It's likely the 16 year old sales girl was an hourly employee (especially since I'm guessing the store is "Justice" or something along those lines), and was actually exuberant and thrilled in her new position. Unless it's a high priced clothing store, very few clothing store employees work off of commission. I think that maybe your daughter affixed a "role model" status to this girl (albeit temporary), and I doubt the sales girl had predatory motives. As good as your intentions were (and I do commend you for teaching your daughter critical thinking skills, especially when I see my 14 year niece drop $$$$ on the newest trends), children need less "boogeymen" in their lives.
It was also a good move on your part to let your daughter decide whether or not she wanted to buy the new hat. When I was young, my mother prohibited me from buying clothes outside of Target or Goodwill, which instilled a deep hatred of those retailers until I was in college. When I received my first paycheck at the age of 16, I immediately fled to Forever 21 and Wet Seal and went crazy. When I realized that all my hard work computed to two pairs of pants and a sweater, I quickly reorganized my priorities and began to bargain shop; but it took my own mistake for this to happen.
I'm in central California, which has long stretches of 100+ degree weather in the summer, and we lived 12 years here before we installed air conditioning. We get a sea breeze from 60 miles away every evening, so we could mostly manage. Still, the August when I was 8 mos. pregnant with our second child and my husband accused me of lacking "pioneer moxy" was the only real time I seriously considered murder. He's lucky I could only waddle at that point, because if I could've caught him, he'd have been in a world of hurt. . .
Haha- by ending with three questions, the authoress has generated 27 comments so far! She is actually selling her article and those commentators have been unable to resist "buying" into the topic, despite it being about resistance to marketing!
Taken hook, line & sinker!
If you can find somebody who needs to move where you are, and you need to be where they are... don't sell.
You can just rent from each other.
This strategy is suggested by Anita Bell (an australian finance writer), as a means to get into the housing market. There are considerable tax benefits to paying a rental mortgage over a home mortgage.
The downside to this method, is that it requires a certain amount of trust. But on the other hand, if they trash your house, you have the keys to theirs...
I include corn in black bean dip / refried beans. Puree together 2 cups cooked black beans, a tomato, an onion, juice of one lime, corn, chili powder, cumin, hot peppers, and a bit of salt if there is none in the beans. Then cook over medium heat to reduce.
I have a 55gal barrel on my balcony. Since I didn't set up a tarp I couldn't save rainwater from this spring that way, but I did use pots and other containers and it was a lazy way of doing it. The barrel's half full.
I think this works best for suburban tract housing...large roofs, downspouts, room for storing harvested water.
Good post.
Cheers!
Ken
It's puzzling that anyone would buy a new house before selling the old one. That sets you up for the very real possibility of owning two houses, and paying two mortgages, at the same time.
It's far harder to sell a house in a bad market than it is to buy one, for all the same reasons. The typical argument is "I don't want to make a "double move"--but isn't that so much better than carrying a double house payment? A double move is a temporary problem, and one you have some control over. I've seen people go a year or more carrying two house payments! That's serious money.
Don't even put a contract in on a house until you sell the one you have. Put your stuff in storage, move into an extended stay hotel, close the deal, then put a contract in on the new one.
"Considering most people prefer to buy a new home before selling their existing one..."
Really?! Since Wisebread is for the discriminating consumer, I would hope that "most people" reading this blog would be in the opposite camp. They would "never get stuck owning two places" from the outset.
I've consistently sold houses BEFORE buying another, and would never buy a home without at least a condition that my current one sold. Period.
We've been paying my husband's Sallie Mae student loans for about 20 years!! The original amount was about 46000. We've now paid over 106000 on that original amount and are not yet paid off. Is this common? I can't find anywhere or anyone to help me navigate through it all to explain how we had to pay more than twice the loan amount. Is there help out there?
Thanks.
Nice article - I took the photo of the tuxedo and ginger tabby hugging each other. http://www.flickr.com/photos/thippie/2809730386/in/set-72157603544525383/
Pets are a lot of work - but totally worth it!
This is a really interesting idea - I had wondered if this went on, but had never bothered to really look online to see if anyone was doing it on an official level. Thanks, Nora.
They had no heart disease or diabetes BECAUSE they ate a healthy high fat diet with no grains or sugars. Heart disease is NOT normal nor is diabetes and should never be considered 'normal' for any age. The only reason it is, considered unavoidable is that the SAD is so poor in nutrients and healthy fats and high in unhealthy grains. A low fat / high carb diet is equivalent to building a skyscraper out of styrofoam and wondering why it falls down over and over.
Everything you posted in your anti fat rant is false or outdated info.
Fat does NOT stimulate insulin. Your source is faulty and incorrect.
Saturated fat and cholesterol are VERY good for you as grains are NOT. If you eat no grains, sugar or refined carbs, your body uses fat as a fuel source. It also uses saturated fat and cholesterol to repair cells and as basis for ALL hormone production.
Maybe you should do some ACTUAL research before you spout the faerie tales the government has brainwashed people with.
Primitive man did NOT die because of diet and they only died young from trauma or infections. MANY lived to old age. In fact, they lived as long as they did, despite no antibiotics or medical care BECAUSE of what they ate. They had NO heart disease or diabetes.
Buy around a theme. What are the things you wear in your closet day after day? Can you turn them into a "uniform"? (e.g. cable sweater with jeans? dress over leggings? t-shirt and blazer?) This way you can look pulled together and maybe even stylish without schizophrenically following every trend that comes down the catwalk.
Know what colors and styles look good on you.
In areas that have seasons, your worn-out sweat-stained summer shirts can turn into extra layers under your winter sweaters.
Buy multi-packs of socks. This way, if the dryer sends a few through some interdimensional wormhole, you can still wear the rest with each other. Note: if you wear both navy and black socks, pick distinctive knits so you don't mix them with each other. You will be SOOOO glad you did. Likewise, buy tights instead of nylons, or buy good nylons (I used to have good results with Leggs Silken Mist) to avoid early casualties. Tights can often be washed with your clothes in a lingerie bag!
Things that can be worn with "almost" anything: jeans, black pants, simple dark sandals or shoes.
If you can't find the kinds of accessories you like at your local thrift shop, another place to look for handmade and vintage items is Etsy.com . Not as cheap as your thrift shop, but a lot of personality for the same price as K-Mart or Penney's. Search for your item, then sort by price. This is how I have bought several purses that I love, get tons of compliments on, and spent less than $30 each for.
Also, check out thrift shops when you travel. Second-hand shops in Toronto have a completely different personality than those in Sioux Falls, for example. A dress or piece of jewelry or whatever it is you like to wear can make a great souvenir because you will have it out more often than you would some other tchotchke.
Once upon a time I used to live in a city overseas where, despite heat and humidity, A/C was very rare, even in the bars and restaurants, largely because of the high cost of electricity. During the day, we would keep cool by sitting in shady spots outdoors, like parks and outdoor cafes, and at night, leave our windows open. No matter what, it wasn't nearly as cool or comfortable as having an A/C unit, but I appreciated that even though we didn't have the same creature comforts I did in the States, life was in some ways more enjoyable, such as being "forced" to spend time with friends outdoors.
I actually don't mind the idea of lounging around the house in the sweltering heat, but my partner works from home, and it can be very difficult to run a business involving servers when the indoor temp is 97 degrees. If my home were only a home and not currently a workplace, it might be one thing.
From your source on RubyTuesday:
Nutrition information is for one serving and is
based on lab analysis of food products
prepared in our test kitchen or by
our suppliers."
Appetizers are multiple-servings.
'Guest" posted the following (with no source information I might add).
1. "Fat is a better fuel source and does not increase insulin production, something necessary to store body fat."
This is false. Fatty acids stimulate the release of insulin as do amino acids and glucose.
2. "Fat does NOT store in fat cells easier, since carbs trigger the release of insulin which makes you store the carbs as fat."
Fat IS stored more efficiently than carbs. It requires more energy to store carbs than it does to store fat.
From HowStuffWorks article on "Fat Storage"
Source: http://health.howstuffworks.com/fat-cell2.htm
"When you eat a candy bar or a meal, the presence of glucose, amino acids or fatty acids in the intestine stimulates the pancreas to secrete a hormone called insulin."
"The conversion of carbohydrates or protein into fat is 10 times less efficient than simply storing fat in a fat cell, but the body can do it. If you have 100 extra calories in fat (about 11 grams) floating in your bloodstream, fat cells can store it using only 2.5 calories of energy. On the other hand, if you have 100 extra calories in glucose (about 25 grams) floating in your bloodstream, it takes 23 calories of energy to convert the glucose into fat and then store it. Given a choice, a fat cell will grab the fat and store it rather than the carbohydrates because fat is so much easier to store."
By the way saturated fats are bad for you. Proponents of the so-called "caveman diet" make some of the most illogical claims that reflect the "man has been eating saturated fats for millenia and now they have been tagged as being bad for you???" Take a look at the life expectancy of ancient man (30-something years). Perhaps diet (saturated fat consumption or otherwise (i.e., food-borne pathogens) was part of the reason they died so young, but maybe not. Proponents of the caveman diet retort, no, they died for other reasons. OK, fine then...perhaps their short lifespan (due to those other factors) precluded the manifestation of cardiovascular disease--ever notice that not a lot of people younger than 40 have heart attacks? Although people in their 40s and 50s certainly have heart attacks (as do younger people) the mean age for a first heart attack is mid-60s for men and 70 for women!
Finally, advocates of the caveman diet make the "natural as good" fallacy. They rely on the notion that saturated fats are good because they are natural (and ergo transfats are bad because they are artificial). This fallacy ignores the fact that nature really wants to kill you. There are naturally occurring poisons/toxins throughout our environments. To simply say that "natural is good" is fallacious logic. Some nature is good, some is not. Simply "being natural" is not a sufficient condition for "being good."
I hate to say this, but dude I think you have just been conned into purchasing an expensive version of "Life." lol.
Thanks for the resources to look into, I suggest trying craigslist for a used AC, or maybe eBay.