Did you check behind your battery cover? I just opened up my Samsung A900 because it didn't have a rubber piece anywhere on the phone, but low and behold behind the battery door there was a tiny piece of black plastic glued over it. Take a look.
I have to travel frequently, and as a student, I don't have any money. I've have used the bus, and quite frankly, hated it. Long layovers, frequent delays, the fact that it is, in actualaty, not comforatable, as well the fact that the bus has NO flexibility in ticket times. The hours of travel are usually terrible.
I found that riding the train is cheaper, faster, 10xs more comforatable, and all around a better experience. Of course, I travel rural routes, but that has to be taken into account when considering the overall quality of transportation.
Even if you think credit card insurance sounds like a good idea, avoid it if you're self-employed. I have yet to see a plan that covers people in that situation; sometimes they don't even cover AD&D if you work for yourself!
I really, really hate to nitpick, but The Bund is actually in the Huangpu District of Shanghai, across the river from Pudong. Thus, if you are standing near the river in Pudong and look across, you see The Bund, and vice versa.
Really, a great article. I agree with you, Jabulani, that there is something really exciting and special about being in China that makes everyday tasks totally fantastic. I think China is the only place in the world I actually enjoy shopping.
I certainly agree that watching the landscape pass is a joy of overland travel. Not only that, but I think it is an important activity for meeting locals when traveling abroad. As Julie points out, it can be just as good a place for meeting people in your native country.
Obviously, depending on the coverage in your area, your mileage with these low cost bus lines will vary (pardon the pun, I couldn't resist).
I come from a family of obsessive shoppers and collectors, my father being the worst at buying things on clearance that could be of no possible use to him. My dad's house is one of those scary packrat homes you hear about - rooms filled with stuff to the point of bursting, narrow pathways through kitchen and bedroom. He buys things like comforter sets all the time, except he buys a half dozen when there is only his bed in his entire house. He gives away stuff to my sister and myself, but the items are usually passed along to donation as they are either dated or completely useless.
As a result of growing up in a house like this, I had to break the habit of clearance shopping lust. My own husband berates me for not buying things I actually need due to my constant struggle on whether or not I REALLY need something.
Funnily enough, I just stocked up on packages of Ramen at my local Winco last week. 9 cents a package. With gas and food prices the way they are, I needed something cheap I can make fast, take to work, and to which I can add other cheap ingredients (like cabbage and onion, from this website: http://ourfourpenceworth.com/fast-frugal-recipe-yaki-soba-japanese-chow-...)
Taking the bus provides us with an opportunity to do some 'incidental' exercise. Instead of walking to the nearest bus stop. Get up a little earlier and walk to the next bus stop. Do the same thing on the way home and all of a sudden you've done some incidental exercise.
I believe one should ALWAYS bend over to pick up a penny, nickel, whatever; regardless of whether it is heads up or down. Finding money is good luck no matter what denomination it is. I believe it is bad luck NOT to pick it up. I started tracking my findings last year on March 27. To date, I have picked up $4.51 in mostly pennies and a few nickels, dimes and quarters.
I once found $40 on the sidewalk in front of a business where I was receiving a service. I wondered if the person ahead of me had dropped it on the way in, but I did not want to come right out and ask. When it came time for that person to pay, I watched and listened carefully. If that person had started digging through her pursue or made any comment about not being able to find her money, I would have spoke up right away. But she paid and left as if nothing were wrong, so I did not say anything. I did keep that money.
I also had a $5 bill blow right up to me on the beach one night while camping.
The "all-inclusive/all-airlines" ticket and travel sites sometimes have good deals but I always cross-check with the airline sites. In the past year, I've noticed that more and more often buying directly from the airline saves anywhere from $20-150! I usually start at Cheaptickets.com to get an idea of what price range I'm looking at then check the best 3 fares on each of the airlines' sites.
Don't know how it is only NOW becoming evident that if US consumers are PUT into a position to not be ABLE to buy consumer goods, the MAKERS of these goods will not have any MARKETS. I think it has something to do with the inflationary philosophies of these times...more more more...I do wonder if we can balance trade deficits without a crash somewhere. The pundits must know that....But at least the frugal will be prepared for downturns...
Honestly, unless you live near a very large city, or you're close to where you intend to travel, you really don't save much or anything to take the bus or train. The actual fuel cost to drive from my area to Chicago and back is about $80 if I drive myself and this is the same price as a round trip ticket on Grayhound. It's about twice as much to take Amtrak and I have to drive two or so hours to get to the station. Now, if I share the gas costs with a friend or two, the cost of driving becomes far, far less, it's faster, and gives me a measure of freedom.
I would love to take the Megabus or Boltbus or any other cheap mode of travel, but even in a city of 50,000, less than an hour from a metro with a pop of 600,000, right by the junction of I-35 and I-80, there isn't much choice available. I'd hardly consider this area to be truly rural, but I'd say the vast majority of the country gets the shaft when it comes to inexpensive travel.
I love the old stuff that lasts forever -- stoves, desks -- I have some newer acquisitions that I hope last that long including some Amish furniture.
You're right Suzy that sometimes you can get stuff that lasts a while from mass merchants -- in addition to the Joe Boxer socks, my kids' Basic Edition shorts and pants), Route 66 jeans, and some shoes are well made and can be had for bargain prices, even at full-price and often at markdown prices. On non-clothing items, I have seen stuff that looks like it is already falling apart sitting on the shelves and a few other items (pillows, and just yesterday an acrylic frame that was scratched under its wrapping) that seem wasteful even to make, ship to a store, and allow a customer to buy. I just need to remember my words next time I am weighing between a rock-bottom price and a reasonable price!
The second leg of a cross-country trip I took was by bus: the first was by an unairconditioned Chevy Chevette from NC to Yellowstone park. Flights were expensive from Yellowstone to Charlotte, so I opted to take the bus to LA and see a friend in law school at Pepperdine University and then fly from LA to Charlotte.
As I stood in line to board the bus, a woman asked me to watch her daughter (Carrie, 13 years old but looked 18) so we buddied around for the next 30 hours or so on the Greyhound bus. Meanwhile, the woman called her older daughter and alerted her to our schedule for pickup at the LA bus station (which was the nicest one we encountered, most were in not particularly safe parts of town). I then let the family take me to my friend's apartment in Malibu on their way to Santa Barbara (and lived to tell about it). So, you can meet nice people on the bus...
I generally take the Red Arrow between Edmonton and Calgary. It's downtown to downtown, has wider seats than the plane, laptop plugins and WiFi, and complimentary beverages and snacks. It's three hours door to door plus about a half-hour of travel time to and from. We get a corporate rate, making it cheaper than flying and I can accumulate frequent travel rewards, which pay for future trips.
On my blog I wrote a post called 'how much to spend on a house' ... suprisingly still one of the most popular pages on my site.
The issue is this ... for MOST people, owning their own home (despite the immediate buy/rent financial analysis) is the ONLY WAY THEY WILL GET RICH. But here's what they must do:
1. Buy their own home using as much deposit as they can muster, and only at mortgage payments that they can afford (while STILL saving at least 10% of their gross salary in 401k or elsewhere).
2. Every 3 - 5 years revaluing their house to check how much equity they have ... if their equity is > 20% of their Net Worth, they should refinance and use that equity to ...
Appropriate gifts are marks of good graces, personal tastes, and attention to the recipient. It should be given with no-strings-attached, but increasingly it is also used as a business transaction to curry favors. In lean years, I tended to give more organic gifts from the garden and orchard: fruits, bouquets, flower arrangements. Nowadays I make personalized sets of things and hand-deliver them.
While we all try our best within accordance to our means and ability, and I'm sure we would all like to be good standing members of our community and families, some people's financial situation are simply bound to make them indebted (whether they feel it or not) and others will let people down. Others simply don't have the capacity to not seem vulgar and to cheapen the symbolic gift-giving. It isn't about the price tag, it's classically about the presence and the emotional value of the gift.
It isn't easy, buddy if it were, then we wouldn't notice gift-giving guilt. We worry because we're afraid we might insult another person we care about.
I suppose I myself would rather receive NO gifts than crummy gifts---but why not aim for good gifts... or excellent gifts...or marvelously personalized gifts? I'll concede that it particularly matters to me. I have always been more artisan-inclined, travel a lot, and I try to see it through that the presents honor that recipient, but then again, there are many people who are better than me in other skills such as writing that perfect letter, or being more witty and gregarious at the table.
Appropriate gifts are marks of good graces, personal tastes, and attention to the recipient. It should be given with no-strings-attached, but increasingly it is also used as a business transaction to curry favors. In lean years, I tended to give more organic gifts from the garden and orchard: fruits, bouquets, flower arrangements. Nowadays I make personalized sets of things and hand-deliver them.
While we all try our best within accordance to our means and ability, and I'm sure we would all like to be good standing members of our community and families, some people's financial situation are simply bound to make them indebted (whether they feel it or not) and others will let people down. Others simply don't have the capacity to not seem vulgar and to cheapen the symbolic gift-giving. It isn't about the price tag, it's classically about the presence and the emotional value of the gift.
It isn't easy, buddy if it were, then we wouldn't notice gift-giving guilt. We worry because we're afraid we might insult another person we care about.
I suppose I myself would rather receive NO gifts than crummy gifts---but why not aim for good gifts... or excellent gifts...or marvelously personalized gifts? I'll concede that it particularly matters to me. I have always been more artisan-inclined, travel a lot, and I try to see it through that the presents honor that recipient, but then again, there are many people who are better than me in other skills such as writing that perfect letter, or being more witty and gregarious at the table.
Yeast grow fine at room temperature.
Also see response in comment #30.
don't take a 10-hour bus trip from San Francisco to Salt Lake City 3 days after having major surgery.
I'm just saying.
:-)
Beth
Did you check behind your battery cover? I just opened up my Samsung A900 because it didn't have a rubber piece anywhere on the phone, but low and behold behind the battery door there was a tiny piece of black plastic glued over it. Take a look.
Everyone has, at one time or another, gotten gum in their hair. Use peanut butter to remove!
This is excellent advice. We are collectively as a culture too obsessed with novelty and not enough with quality.
I have to travel frequently, and as a student, I don't have any money. I've have used the bus, and quite frankly, hated it. Long layovers, frequent delays, the fact that it is, in actualaty, not comforatable, as well the fact that the bus has NO flexibility in ticket times. The hours of travel are usually terrible.
I found that riding the train is cheaper, faster, 10xs more comforatable, and all around a better experience. Of course, I travel rural routes, but that has to be taken into account when considering the overall quality of transportation.
... can be between $3,000 - $8,000 per gallon depending on the brand.
Even if you think credit card insurance sounds like a good idea, avoid it if you're self-employed. I have yet to see a plan that covers people in that situation; sometimes they don't even cover AD&D if you work for yourself!
I really, really hate to nitpick, but The Bund is actually in the Huangpu District of Shanghai, across the river from Pudong. Thus, if you are standing near the river in Pudong and look across, you see The Bund, and vice versa.
Really, a great article. I agree with you, Jabulani, that there is something really exciting and special about being in China that makes everyday tasks totally fantastic. I think China is the only place in the world I actually enjoy shopping.
maria40nc, I couldn't agree with you more about picking change.
I always keep an eye out for change on the ground and always stop to pick it up if I find it. My friends make fun of me but I don't care.
I certainly agree that watching the landscape pass is a joy of overland travel. Not only that, but I think it is an important activity for meeting locals when traveling abroad. As Julie points out, it can be just as good a place for meeting people in your native country.
Obviously, depending on the coverage in your area, your mileage with these low cost bus lines will vary (pardon the pun, I couldn't resist).
I come from a family of obsessive shoppers and collectors, my father being the worst at buying things on clearance that could be of no possible use to him. My dad's house is one of those scary packrat homes you hear about - rooms filled with stuff to the point of bursting, narrow pathways through kitchen and bedroom. He buys things like comforter sets all the time, except he buys a half dozen when there is only his bed in his entire house. He gives away stuff to my sister and myself, but the items are usually passed along to donation as they are either dated or completely useless.
As a result of growing up in a house like this, I had to break the habit of clearance shopping lust. My own husband berates me for not buying things I actually need due to my constant struggle on whether or not I REALLY need something.
Hey Xin Lu,
Funnily enough, I just stocked up on packages of Ramen at my local Winco last week. 9 cents a package. With gas and food prices the way they are, I needed something cheap I can make fast, take to work, and to which I can add other cheap ingredients (like cabbage and onion, from this website: http://ourfourpenceworth.com/fast-frugal-recipe-yaki-soba-japanese-chow-...)
Delicious!
do you have to maintain a high heat after the yeast is aded?
Taking the bus provides us with an opportunity to do some 'incidental' exercise. Instead of walking to the nearest bus stop. Get up a little earlier and walk to the next bus stop. Do the same thing on the way home and all of a sudden you've done some incidental exercise.
Craig
I believe one should ALWAYS bend over to pick up a penny, nickel, whatever; regardless of whether it is heads up or down. Finding money is good luck no matter what denomination it is. I believe it is bad luck NOT to pick it up. I started tracking my findings last year on March 27. To date, I have picked up $4.51 in mostly pennies and a few nickels, dimes and quarters.
I once found $40 on the sidewalk in front of a business where I was receiving a service. I wondered if the person ahead of me had dropped it on the way in, but I did not want to come right out and ask. When it came time for that person to pay, I watched and listened carefully. If that person had started digging through her pursue or made any comment about not being able to find her money, I would have spoke up right away. But she paid and left as if nothing were wrong, so I did not say anything. I did keep that money.
I also had a $5 bill blow right up to me on the beach one night while camping.
The "all-inclusive/all-airlines" ticket and travel sites sometimes have good deals but I always cross-check with the airline sites. In the past year, I've noticed that more and more often buying directly from the airline saves anywhere from $20-150! I usually start at Cheaptickets.com to get an idea of what price range I'm looking at then check the best 3 fares on each of the airlines' sites.
Don't know how it is only NOW becoming evident that if US consumers are PUT into a position to not be ABLE to buy consumer goods, the MAKERS of these goods will not have any MARKETS. I think it has something to do with the inflationary philosophies of these times...more more more...I do wonder if we can balance trade deficits without a crash somewhere. The pundits must know that....But at least the frugal will be prepared for downturns...
Honestly, unless you live near a very large city, or you're close to where you intend to travel, you really don't save much or anything to take the bus or train. The actual fuel cost to drive from my area to Chicago and back is about $80 if I drive myself and this is the same price as a round trip ticket on Grayhound. It's about twice as much to take Amtrak and I have to drive two or so hours to get to the station. Now, if I share the gas costs with a friend or two, the cost of driving becomes far, far less, it's faster, and gives me a measure of freedom.
I would love to take the Megabus or Boltbus or any other cheap mode of travel, but even in a city of 50,000, less than an hour from a metro with a pop of 600,000, right by the junction of I-35 and I-80, there isn't much choice available. I'd hardly consider this area to be truly rural, but I'd say the vast majority of the country gets the shaft when it comes to inexpensive travel.
I love the old stuff that lasts forever -- stoves, desks -- I have some newer acquisitions that I hope last that long including some Amish furniture.
You're right Suzy that sometimes you can get stuff that lasts a while from mass merchants -- in addition to the Joe Boxer socks, my kids' Basic Edition shorts and pants), Route 66 jeans, and some shoes are well made and can be had for bargain prices, even at full-price and often at markdown prices. On non-clothing items, I have seen stuff that looks like it is already falling apart sitting on the shelves and a few other items (pillows, and just yesterday an acrylic frame that was scratched under its wrapping) that seem wasteful even to make, ship to a store, and allow a customer to buy. I just need to remember my words next time I am weighing between a rock-bottom price and a reasonable price!
The second leg of a cross-country trip I took was by bus: the first was by an unairconditioned Chevy Chevette from NC to Yellowstone park. Flights were expensive from Yellowstone to Charlotte, so I opted to take the bus to LA and see a friend in law school at Pepperdine University and then fly from LA to Charlotte.
As I stood in line to board the bus, a woman asked me to watch her daughter (Carrie, 13 years old but looked 18) so we buddied around for the next 30 hours or so on the Greyhound bus. Meanwhile, the woman called her older daughter and alerted her to our schedule for pickup at the LA bus station (which was the nicest one we encountered, most were in not particularly safe parts of town). I then let the family take me to my friend's apartment in Malibu on their way to Santa Barbara (and lived to tell about it). So, you can meet nice people on the bus...
I generally take the Red Arrow between Edmonton and Calgary. It's downtown to downtown, has wider seats than the plane, laptop plugins and WiFi, and complimentary beverages and snacks. It's three hours door to door plus about a half-hour of travel time to and from. We get a corporate rate, making it cheaper than flying and I can accumulate frequent travel rewards, which pay for future trips.
On my blog I wrote a post called 'how much to spend on a house' ... suprisingly still one of the most popular pages on my site.
The issue is this ... for MOST people, owning their own home (despite the immediate buy/rent financial analysis) is the ONLY WAY THEY WILL GET RICH. But here's what they must do:
1. Buy their own home using as much deposit as they can muster, and only at mortgage payments that they can afford (while STILL saving at least 10% of their gross salary in 401k or elsewhere).
2. Every 3 - 5 years revaluing their house to check how much equity they have ... if their equity is > 20% of their Net Worth, they should refinance and use that equity to ...
3. Buy a rental property
4. Repeat until Rich (10 - 30 years)!
But, it ALL STARTS by owning your first home ...
Appropriate gifts are marks of good graces, personal tastes, and attention to the recipient. It should be given with no-strings-attached, but increasingly it is also used as a business transaction to curry favors. In lean years, I tended to give more organic gifts from the garden and orchard: fruits, bouquets, flower arrangements. Nowadays I make personalized sets of things and hand-deliver them.
While we all try our best within accordance to our means and ability, and I'm sure we would all like to be good standing members of our community and families, some people's financial situation are simply bound to make them indebted (whether they feel it or not) and others will let people down. Others simply don't have the capacity to not seem vulgar and to cheapen the symbolic gift-giving. It isn't about the price tag, it's classically about the presence and the emotional value of the gift.
It isn't easy, buddy if it were, then we wouldn't notice gift-giving guilt. We worry because we're afraid we might insult another person we care about.
I suppose I myself would rather receive NO gifts than crummy gifts---but why not aim for good gifts... or excellent gifts...or marvelously personalized gifts? I'll concede that it particularly matters to me. I have always been more artisan-inclined, travel a lot, and I try to see it through that the presents honor that recipient, but then again, there are many people who are better than me in other skills such as writing that perfect letter, or being more witty and gregarious at the table.
Appropriate gifts are marks of good graces, personal tastes, and attention to the recipient. It should be given with no-strings-attached, but increasingly it is also used as a business transaction to curry favors. In lean years, I tended to give more organic gifts from the garden and orchard: fruits, bouquets, flower arrangements. Nowadays I make personalized sets of things and hand-deliver them.
While we all try our best within accordance to our means and ability, and I'm sure we would all like to be good standing members of our community and families, some people's financial situation are simply bound to make them indebted (whether they feel it or not) and others will let people down. Others simply don't have the capacity to not seem vulgar and to cheapen the symbolic gift-giving. It isn't about the price tag, it's classically about the presence and the emotional value of the gift.
It isn't easy, buddy if it were, then we wouldn't notice gift-giving guilt. We worry because we're afraid we might insult another person we care about.
I suppose I myself would rather receive NO gifts than crummy gifts---but why not aim for good gifts... or excellent gifts...or marvelously personalized gifts? I'll concede that it particularly matters to me. I have always been more artisan-inclined, travel a lot, and I try to see it through that the presents honor that recipient, but then again, there are many people who are better than me in other skills such as writing that perfect letter, or being more witty and gregarious at the table.