I'd really like to find jeans that would last as long as the ones I had when I was a teenager. I abused those jeans, and they still managed to last for three or four years, wearing them every few days. For some reason, the jeans that I buy now last for about three months before the knees start wearing out, and I don't wear jeans every day anymore. Does anyone have any suggestions for mens' jeans that last a long time?
Guest (comment #4), I'm sorry you feel that way about Tutor.com!
I signed up with them in October of last year and everything went smoothly. I have a M.Ed. in English and a clean background, too. I'm not sure why they never responded to you -- my stuff went through pretty quickly. I also got lots of e-mails with instructions on each step and links to websites. Are you sure you faxed it to the correct number and it went through?
Guest #2: This is the only Tutoring service I have experience with so far, but you can expect to make $8 as a probationary tutor and then it goes up from there to about $15/hour for mentors.
Revereware pots/pans: at least 35 years
Kitchenaid Mixer (one of the OLD ones): at least 40 years
LeCrueset: over 25 years
Chicago Cutlery: over 25 years
Rocking chair made by my Great Great Grandfather: at least 100 years
Contrast that to our Dishwasher sagas: average survival rate is 4 years. Sheesh. (Finally switched from Maytag to Bosch. Fingers crossed!)
and kept it because I walked by it maybe 4 days in a row. It was in plain sight for anybody to see at the end of a driveway, kids playing and ignoring it. It looked cheap but turned out to be gold, nothing wrong with it, and yes, I kept it, as I did the time I found a $5 bill the same way. I'll occasionally find a dollar bill or change and always keep that. Again, it's always been in plain sight. I find keys occasionally and always turn those in (library once, store another time).
I have pictures of me wearing this sweater dating back to 1997. It's not a "trendy" one, it's a basic sweater, and the material is kind of a terry-cloth type thing. It's baggy, so when I've gained weight or lost weight, I have still been able to wear it. I believe it's the longest lasting article of clothing that I still wear, that I own. But I have no clue why it has lasted so long. I have bought other sweaters at that same store (Mills Fleet Farm), hoping to (I guess) end up with an entire wardrobe that wouldn't have to be changed for 10+ years (yikes) or whatever, but I haven't figured out the secret yet.
My sweater is kind of a burgundy color, by the way. I wish I could find more of them.
It seems like the things I like the most are the ones that end up not lasting, or maybe I use them to death. The less attractive things last forever! Our plain old, inexpensive corelle dishes lasted more than 13 years, with very few chips, before we finally decided to get more a "grown up" set. They're still going strong in their new home. Our new "nice" set of dishes have a couple chips and cracks after just a short time.
My father has done very well in rental property investments. Most of his strategy wasn't about cash flow but instead looking at the properties as a long term investement. Originally at least he never had a large cash flow on his properties. But after a few years go by the rents gradually increase and the mortgage stays the same. Because of this the cash flow situation gets better every year. Using the example in the post above if the rent is $1100 / mo the first year and rents go up just 4% annually then in 5 years the rent will be $1338 and in 10 years it will be $1628. All the while your morgtage payment is fixed. Then after 20-30 years his mortgages were paid off and he owned the properties outright. Now he has a good retirement income from them.
is the type of laundry basket I have. The sticker is still hanging around and I noticed that it came with a 5-year warranty.
I didn't mention earlier but none of these items have required any special treatment or care. And, like you TylerM, I don't really know how long I'll need stuff -- I just walked around the house to see what has held up under my low-maintenance care.
Thanks for your comment. My whole point, as you expounded on, was that anyone can go down the street. The shirts were just one example the whole experience in customization, heirlooming, hand craftsmanship. Not to mention the teas and the slew of other items and the sub $100 five star hotels. Just so you know, save a few business receipts for travel and meal related expenses, the airfare and hotel was footed by moi. If I told you how little it was due to planning and piecemealing my reservations over a couple of months, you'd kill me. Plus as you mentioned, I have the added bonus of expensing those miscellenous receipts. Convenience has it's place as you so aptly pointed out but anybody can go to Macy's. or for that matter they're local dry cleaners. But nothing beats a $3 Cuban cigar over looking the inlet to the East China sea, I gotta tell you. My father's vacation happened to overlap with my work and conference schedule and to see him tear up over being in China with his son; to get measured for shirts together and laugh and bond; to see the possibilities of humanity in the eyes of millions of people I've never seen before -- some of whom had never set eyes on a black man -- garners a feeling that even the $1.5 trillion in U.S. Currency reserves that China has can't buy. And If I can skip some trips to Sam's Club or Brooks Brothers or Arclight Cinemas or any of the number of places I go to for things I don't need, I can experience that feeling, with or without material goods, over and over again.
Thank you for posting this. My current sweetie is Chinese and she embraces A LOT of these values and views about money. Even when we hang out with her 2nd generation Asian friends... they're talking about saving/spending money and investments. All the time!!!
Having a single larger cell is not more cost effective. Especially since the "standard" battery dimensions were developed in exactly this way. All batteries are made up of "cells". IT just so happens that some of those cells are finished products in and of themselves. It's very costly to design a new product, let alone gear up to manufacture it. A company can save a lot of money whenever they combine existing, readily available, components to produce a product- whether those components are something they produce, or something they buy from someone else. They don't have to build a substantial new manufacturing line, and they only have to engineer the "wrapper", so to speak. Also, there are specific performance benefits that can be achieved by putting existing battery cells together in different ways. You might be trying to achieve longer runtime, or higher initial current, etc., etc., etc.
So, don't be too quick to disbelieve, all of you who don't work in product design or manufacturing...
I had the same type of epitome a few years ago on my first trip to asia. The price of things makes you evaluate how you spend and budget back home.
However, as I explain to people how goods and services are so much cheaper in other countries (depending on the region), the counterpoint is that the cost of the travel itself (planes/hotels/visas) equalize and savings from buying goods or services outside the US.
For example, your custom shirt, while 40 bucks in china, would cost between 100-500 in the US. Flights to china are between $500-$1000 and a hotel stay $20-$100. For you to reap the full rewards of cheaper goods and services you need to either buy in bulk, or have somebody else foot the travel bill (as in your case).
Sometimes people will fly to HK or china for tailored goods, while othertimes they will pay for the convience of getting thier shirts down the street at Macy's at a higher price.
I understand where you are coming from, the Thai restaurant will charge 7 bucks for pad thai while you can find it on the streets of chiang mai for less that 50 cents. I've got my travel budget!!
i am now slightly less intelligent of a human being for having read this article. the half @ss attempt at an analysis is laughable.
also this comment is beyond comprehension:
"It is better for the environment if your a renter. A renter takes up less space on the planet and uses less resources."
That was great foresight on your part. Very shrewd indeed. My philosophy with savings is to pretend it doesn't exist, allocate a percentage and have it automatically deducted or at least feel up a change jar on a monthly basis and put the bills in an interest bearing account LOL:). I'm glad you guys are your feet.
I wish I could find a good laundry basket that lasts. It seems like every time that I go to do laundry, the basket has broken!
This is an interesting exercise as we often don't realize jsut how long we have things when we get used to seeing them around.
Case in point - I just realized my wife and I have been together for almost 8 years! :)
I've been simply amazed at the historical and cultural relevance of this city and how modern it is and just how cosmpolitan it is, while still being relatively affordable compared to some of its global metropolis counterparts. As someone who has lived in New York and London and been to Paris, I would rank this city above almost all of them. The only drawback is probably the polution. Interesting note, the Cuban food I had here from a Cubano who immigrated here 10 years ago was better than anything in Miami or even Havana for that matter. In the photo that clock tower looks familiar. Is it located on the other side of the Bund from the Pudong New Area the oriental pearl tower and all that?
The Bureau of Engraving and Printed got design info out to the makers of vending machines more than a year in advance, in an effort to ensure that machines would be able handle the new bills when they came out.
The current $20--the first of the US bills to feature color--started circulating in 2003. I expect any vending machines designed since then were designed to be software upgradable to handle new bills. Machines older than that (and I'm sure there's lots of them), may not have been designed to ever handle money except what there was when the machine was built.
Thanks for your comment and thanks for you agreeing with me on the last sentence. At any rate, I'm quite aware of how currency works. While the Yuan has appreciated against the dollar tremendously the Yuan RMB is not regularly traded and in global forex circulation. It is pegged against the dollar, which stabalizes the currency and makes my dollars stretch over there.
BTW, I'm here now and I'm a U.S. citizen so a hypothetical scenario of me being a Chinese citizen is irrelevant. One question on the currency when and how is 7 to 1 not favorable? You also underestimate the 200 million people who are now in the Chinese middle class and can afford to spend 210 yuan on a shirt on a tailored shirt or 50 yuan on authentic tea, comparable discounts on property and a stronger dollar than the yuan still buys more stake in a Chinese company than it could otherwise. The list goes on and on.
Also, Eqyptian Cotton, like tea and other raw materials is the same as it is everywhere. In the case of these fabrics U.S. and Eurporean companies likely get it from Egypt and China and other countries for dozens of bucks less than I paid and mark it up by as much as 1,000 percent, smack Versace or some stupid brand name on it and the mark up is as much as 3000 percent. A lot of the pricing over here is based on what consumers are willing to pay for brand loyalty.
I'm not saying come over here and get rich or even waste you money buying cheap goods in a foreign country. What I'm saying is that experience is something you can't buy.
In the 1980's a professor at the University of Idaho began a found money fund. He asked that coins found on the ground be turned in. With investments, today there is over $250,000 in the fund. I don't know just what will be done with it.
At the high school where I work, I have a cup on my desk with a note asking the students to contribute money they find lying on the sidewalk. It will be a long term project, but I tell them that someday their contributions will be a part of a scholarship program. So far, we have less than $15.00, but it will continue to grow. I hope to help make the students aware of what is around them and that even small amounts can make a difference.
...showing any signs of wear?
Track every penny you spend for a month or two. Then you'll know where it all goes.
I'd really like to find jeans that would last as long as the ones I had when I was a teenager. I abused those jeans, and they still managed to last for three or four years, wearing them every few days. For some reason, the jeans that I buy now last for about three months before the knees start wearing out, and I don't wear jeans every day anymore. Does anyone have any suggestions for mens' jeans that last a long time?
I have a yellow Tupperware drainer (seive? hand-held colander?) that has lasted 35 years. I cook on a 1952 Chambers gas range, which works great.
Guest (comment #4), I'm sorry you feel that way about Tutor.com!
I signed up with them in October of last year and everything went smoothly. I have a M.Ed. in English and a clean background, too. I'm not sure why they never responded to you -- my stuff went through pretty quickly. I also got lots of e-mails with instructions on each step and links to websites. Are you sure you faxed it to the correct number and it went through?
Guest #2: This is the only Tutoring service I have experience with so far, but you can expect to make $8 as a probationary tutor and then it goes up from there to about $15/hour for mentors.
Revereware pots/pans: at least 35 years
Kitchenaid Mixer (one of the OLD ones): at least 40 years
LeCrueset: over 25 years
Chicago Cutlery: over 25 years
Rocking chair made by my Great Great Grandfather: at least 100 years
Contrast that to our Dishwasher sagas: average survival rate is 4 years. Sheesh. (Finally switched from Maytag to Bosch. Fingers crossed!)
and kept it because I walked by it maybe 4 days in a row. It was in plain sight for anybody to see at the end of a driveway, kids playing and ignoring it. It looked cheap but turned out to be gold, nothing wrong with it, and yes, I kept it, as I did the time I found a $5 bill the same way. I'll occasionally find a dollar bill or change and always keep that. Again, it's always been in plain sight. I find keys occasionally and always turn those in (library once, store another time).
I have pictures of me wearing this sweater dating back to 1997. It's not a "trendy" one, it's a basic sweater, and the material is kind of a terry-cloth type thing. It's baggy, so when I've gained weight or lost weight, I have still been able to wear it. I believe it's the longest lasting article of clothing that I still wear, that I own. But I have no clue why it has lasted so long. I have bought other sweaters at that same store (Mills Fleet Farm), hoping to (I guess) end up with an entire wardrobe that wouldn't have to be changed for 10+ years (yikes) or whatever, but I haven't figured out the secret yet.
My sweater is kind of a burgundy color, by the way. I wish I could find more of them.
It seems like the things I like the most are the ones that end up not lasting, or maybe I use them to death. The less attractive things last forever! Our plain old, inexpensive corelle dishes lasted more than 13 years, with very few chips, before we finally decided to get more a "grown up" set. They're still going strong in their new home. Our new "nice" set of dishes have a couple chips and cracks after just a short time.
My father has done very well in rental property investments. Most of his strategy wasn't about cash flow but instead looking at the properties as a long term investement. Originally at least he never had a large cash flow on his properties. But after a few years go by the rents gradually increase and the mortgage stays the same. Because of this the cash flow situation gets better every year. Using the example in the post above if the rent is $1100 / mo the first year and rents go up just 4% annually then in 5 years the rent will be $1338 and in 10 years it will be $1628. All the while your morgtage payment is fixed. Then after 20-30 years his mortgages were paid off and he owned the properties outright. Now he has a good retirement income from them.
Jim R
"you can good deal yourself all the way to the poorhouse."
is the type of laundry basket I have. The sticker is still hanging around and I noticed that it came with a 5-year warranty.
I didn't mention earlier but none of these items have required any special treatment or care. And, like you TylerM, I don't really know how long I'll need stuff -- I just walked around the house to see what has held up under my low-maintenance care.
Aaron,
Thanks for your comment. My whole point, as you expounded on, was that anyone can go down the street. The shirts were just one example the whole experience in customization, heirlooming, hand craftsmanship. Not to mention the teas and the slew of other items and the sub $100 five star hotels. Just so you know, save a few business receipts for travel and meal related expenses, the airfare and hotel was footed by moi. If I told you how little it was due to planning and piecemealing my reservations over a couple of months, you'd kill me. Plus as you mentioned, I have the added bonus of expensing those miscellenous receipts. Convenience has it's place as you so aptly pointed out but anybody can go to Macy's. or for that matter they're local dry cleaners. But nothing beats a $3 Cuban cigar over looking the inlet to the East China sea, I gotta tell you. My father's vacation happened to overlap with my work and conference schedule and to see him tear up over being in China with his son; to get measured for shirts together and laugh and bond; to see the possibilities of humanity in the eyes of millions of people I've never seen before -- some of whom had never set eyes on a black man -- garners a feeling that even the $1.5 trillion in U.S. Currency reserves that China has can't buy. And If I can skip some trips to Sam's Club or Brooks Brothers or Arclight Cinemas or any of the number of places I go to for things I don't need, I can experience that feeling, with or without material goods, over and over again.
Jabulani Leffall
Monetary Gadfly, Common Currency
00000 Broke Blvd. Kitchenette #68 & 1/2
Lowcash, CA 90000-0000
Thank you for posting this. My current sweetie is Chinese and she embraces A LOT of these values and views about money. Even when we hang out with her 2nd generation Asian friends... they're talking about saving/spending money and investments. All the time!!!
Having a single larger cell is not more cost effective. Especially since the "standard" battery dimensions were developed in exactly this way. All batteries are made up of "cells". IT just so happens that some of those cells are finished products in and of themselves. It's very costly to design a new product, let alone gear up to manufacture it. A company can save a lot of money whenever they combine existing, readily available, components to produce a product- whether those components are something they produce, or something they buy from someone else. They don't have to build a substantial new manufacturing line, and they only have to engineer the "wrapper", so to speak. Also, there are specific performance benefits that can be achieved by putting existing battery cells together in different ways. You might be trying to achieve longer runtime, or higher initial current, etc., etc., etc.
So, don't be too quick to disbelieve, all of you who don't work in product design or manufacturing...
I had the same type of epitome a few years ago on my first trip to asia. The price of things makes you evaluate how you spend and budget back home.
However, as I explain to people how goods and services are so much cheaper in other countries (depending on the region), the counterpoint is that the cost of the travel itself (planes/hotels/visas) equalize and savings from buying goods or services outside the US.
For example, your custom shirt, while 40 bucks in china, would cost between 100-500 in the US. Flights to china are between $500-$1000 and a hotel stay $20-$100. For you to reap the full rewards of cheaper goods and services you need to either buy in bulk, or have somebody else foot the travel bill (as in your case).
Sometimes people will fly to HK or china for tailored goods, while othertimes they will pay for the convience of getting thier shirts down the street at Macy's at a higher price.
I understand where you are coming from, the Thai restaurant will charge 7 bucks for pad thai while you can find it on the streets of chiang mai for less that 50 cents. I've got my travel budget!!
i am now slightly less intelligent of a human being for having read this article. the half @ss attempt at an analysis is laughable.
also this comment is beyond comprehension:
"It is better for the environment if your a renter. A renter takes up less space on the planet and uses less resources."
That was great foresight on your part. Very shrewd indeed. My philosophy with savings is to pretend it doesn't exist, allocate a percentage and have it automatically deducted or at least feel up a change jar on a monthly basis and put the bills in an interest bearing account LOL:). I'm glad you guys are your feet.
Jabulani Leffall
Monetary Gadfly, Common Currency
00000 Broke Blvd. Kitchenette #68 & 1/2
Lowcash, CA 90000-0000
I wish I could find a good laundry basket that lasts. It seems like every time that I go to do laundry, the basket has broken!
This is an interesting exercise as we often don't realize jsut how long we have things when we get used to seeing them around.
Case in point - I just realized my wife and I have been together for almost 8 years! :)
Great tip. Another useful site is PriceCutReview.com which has thousands or items going for half price or less.
Yeah, Xin,
I've been simply amazed at the historical and cultural relevance of this city and how modern it is and just how cosmpolitan it is, while still being relatively affordable compared to some of its global metropolis counterparts. As someone who has lived in New York and London and been to Paris, I would rank this city above almost all of them. The only drawback is probably the polution. Interesting note, the Cuban food I had here from a Cubano who immigrated here 10 years ago was better than anything in Miami or even Havana for that matter. In the photo that clock tower looks familiar. Is it located on the other side of the Bund from the Pudong New Area the oriental pearl tower and all that?
abulani Leffall
Monetary Gadfly, Common Currency
00000 Broke Blvd. Kitchenette #68 & 1/2
Lowcash, CA 90000-0000
The Bureau of Engraving and Printed got design info out to the makers of vending machines more than a year in advance, in an effort to ensure that machines would be able handle the new bills when they came out.
The current $20--the first of the US bills to feature color--started circulating in 2003. I expect any vending machines designed since then were designed to be software upgradable to handle new bills. Machines older than that (and I'm sure there's lots of them), may not have been designed to ever handle money except what there was when the machine was built.
Kathryn,
Thanks for your comment and thanks for you agreeing with me on the last sentence. At any rate, I'm quite aware of how currency works. While the Yuan has appreciated against the dollar tremendously the Yuan RMB is not regularly traded and in global forex circulation. It is pegged against the dollar, which stabalizes the currency and makes my dollars stretch over there.
BTW, I'm here now and I'm a U.S. citizen so a hypothetical scenario of me being a Chinese citizen is irrelevant. One question on the currency when and how is 7 to 1 not favorable? You also underestimate the 200 million people who are now in the Chinese middle class and can afford to spend 210 yuan on a shirt on a tailored shirt or 50 yuan on authentic tea, comparable discounts on property and a stronger dollar than the yuan still buys more stake in a Chinese company than it could otherwise. The list goes on and on.
Also, Eqyptian Cotton, like tea and other raw materials is the same as it is everywhere. In the case of these fabrics U.S. and Eurporean companies likely get it from Egypt and China and other countries for dozens of bucks less than I paid and mark it up by as much as 1,000 percent, smack Versace or some stupid brand name on it and the mark up is as much as 3000 percent. A lot of the pricing over here is based on what consumers are willing to pay for brand loyalty.
I'm not saying come over here and get rich or even waste you money buying cheap goods in a foreign country. What I'm saying is that experience is something you can't buy.
Jabulani Leffall
Monetary Gadfly, Common Currency
00000 Broke Blvd. Kitchenette #68 & 1/2
Lowcash, CA 90000-0000
I wonder if vending machines will accept these new bills. Vending machines never accept my new fives and tens.
Succeedtogether.org
In the 1980's a professor at the University of Idaho began a found money fund. He asked that coins found on the ground be turned in. With investments, today there is over $250,000 in the fund. I don't know just what will be done with it.
At the high school where I work, I have a cup on my desk with a note asking the students to contribute money they find lying on the sidewalk. It will be a long term project, but I tell them that someday their contributions will be a part of a scholarship program. So far, we have less than $15.00, but it will continue to grow. I hope to help make the students aware of what is around them and that even small amounts can make a difference.