my husband used to travel for work and get a per diem. No matter what he spent on food....I would pack a duffle bag of cheap food that he would take for breakfast and lunch and he would spend a limited amount on dinner...MONEY MAKER there baby!!
I choose 40 years of OK and 10 years of OK, over 40 years of suck and 10 years of great. LEARN WHAT YOU LOVE, THEN DO WHAT YOU LOVE! Some people say they do it for others, but their enjoyment or "lack thereof" comes home ten times over. There are NO guarantees of tomorrow. If you hate your job, everyone "who is not playing you" knows it. Congrats to everyone who became rich or well off early. The question then would be how many people as a percent would you estimate your economy/politics would support being in that rich/well off category?
I have been cash-only for a few months now. This not includes credit cards, but also checking accounts. My decision to do cash-only came about after receiving exoribitant bank fees, accrued from the bank's sneaky way of re-ordering transactions. I finally decided I was done with that, done with credit cards.
Like you said, it can sometimes be inconvenient, but overall, I love the freedom. I love not having to worry that a deposit is going to be held for three days in order to clear. I love not worrying about a credit card being declined because of a sudden "freeze" on the account.
I have definitely learned to control spending. It is too easy to get swept up in the idea of free money when you are only handing over plastic. When you are handing over your hard-earned cash, it changes your mindset fast!
i am an it professional, making my 70k a year salary, single no kids. I started dating a guy who worked landscaping for 8/hr. I lost my job, unemployed for a year...but it wasnt that bad. I learned from him all the tricks that you mentioned above. To this day, although Im earning my orginal salary, I learned more from him and his friends about still haveing a GREAT quality of life (even if you are below the poverty level). That experience has given me a greater gift in this lifetime than Ive ever known. Thats why i am on this website, trying to get to the day when I don't need to work to survive, but only work because i want to. Thanks for the article, its lessons like this that helped me get over the classism that I grew up with and accepted, until now.
David -
I think the "giving away 1%" is not what I'd suggest. That is a drag on one's wealth that is a huge percent of the 4% withdrawal rates we all discuss. If the planner uses average expense funds, you may have a 2% total cost which can easily be beat in the long run with the simplest mix of index funds.
Collecting aluminum cans---seriously? I saved up cans from 6 months' worth of daily soda drinking and got $3.... I'm now just throwing them into the recycling bin.
I didn’t take a sugar reading before starting. I should have.
When the bubbling had slowed down, it tasted rather tart. I guess you would say ‘dry’. I don’t take much stock in those readings, as the readings almost doubled after I Kleered it. I think all the solids floating around give false readings.
As you may remember, I started with about 17+ pounds of sugar and about 24 liters all together in the bucket. When the bubbling slowed way down, I had lost almost 2 liters somewhere. Maybe when all the gas is gone, or maybe alcohol takes up less space than sugar. I don’t know, but I had 22 liters of product to cook. Out of that 22 liters I got 4 ½ liters of 90% pure. The temps started twitching around (it had been a steady 174 degrees) bouncing down to 173 and up to 175, and I got another small amount. But it slowed down so much that I didn’t think it was worth the propane, so I quit.
One thing I have noticed after doing this about 4 times, depending on how hot you make the propane go, you get different results on the reflux tower.
This time I turned the heat up and once it started it was like a cow pissing on a flat rock. This time I also had the water supply moving thru faster than in the past.
When the temp got to 172/173 I took the heads. Then I started collecting. It was a steady 174 for an hour and I got over 4 liters of 90% pure. Then the temp started moving down to 173 and up to 175 and back down to 174. But I wasn’t getting much out of the exit hole.
In past tries I brought the heat up slow. I had the water just barely trickling thru and I got a slightly purer product. Maybe 92-94% pure, but a little less of it. I am not sure the extra 2 to 4 % is worth the much longer time having to watch it.
There’s a lot going on here, so good notes are required.
The next batch I am thinking of starting it off with baker’s yeast for a day or 2, then hitting it with the turbo stuff. What do you think?
I wonder how many marriages are saved by hiring a house cleaner. Rarely has money been more well spent than to eliminate an eternal source of bickering over when something is truly dirty enough to need to be cleaned, has been cleaned enough to be considered clean, and has had its cleanliness addressed in the proper timeframe.
Seems like you would do almost we well with a bit of internet research. There are sites that tell you when it is important to get medical attention immediately. ... for example symptoms that might indicate stroke or heart attack. Most ailments can wait, and usually goes away on their own. In these cases, I have found that simple Internet research tells me what things I might try to ease symptoms.
In the olden days, before Internet, I referred to my family medical volume, which had pages of diagnostic flow charts. Although I was often unable to diagnose from these charts, the did tell me when it was important to call a doctor if I had certain symptoms.
I have been a member of TNS Global for a while and have only ever been offered invites to answer surveys and have accumulated points that I have redeemed for small amounts of cash ($50). The offer you described seems like a scam. I never recieved anything like that and I suspect it is a scammer immitating the TNS name. If you contact TNS they will probably tell you the same. Tear it up.
I started an internet store selling electronics, my spouse works for an electronics store but not in sales. I contacted owner of her company and told him what I was doing, he had no problem with it. Than 6 months later someone in wifes HR department saw my web site and pulled a sheet from employees hand book that spouses can not go into business selling products that we sell(Home Electronics) My wife is not part of my business period, I own it alone. Now there saying I need to close shop or they can dismiss wife-FIRE-. I have not talked with owner,but was told I have to close it by 11-1-10. Is this legal? Yes she did sign HR handbook , but again does no sales of electronics, nor is she part of my business-Frustrated don't know what to do!
I am a big believer in the concept of hiring people to do things that you do not like to do. For example, if dusting, vacuuming, and cleaning your house each week is the "bane of your existence," it probably makes a lot of sense to hire a house cleaner vs. spending the money elsewhere.
Great stuff and advice. I think some people focus so much on doom and gloom and saving more and more and more that they fail to recognize when they are doing well and enjoying the voyage.
It's funny how Network Marketing doesn't make the list. It is one of the most powerful business models around. Unfortunately, a lot of people have had bad experiences with people in MLM that are desperate and don't know how how to find business partners.
Finding a good team of people to work with is crucial to success in this industry. Where else can you find a home business with low start-up costs and the potential to make a good income!
I like your point about "doing stuff"! If you don't take action nothing will happen. Even if the results aren't the best, it is better than doing nothing.
You could consider riding to Hoboken and then taking the ferry over. I'm not sure if they let you take your bike on it, but I assume so. Or you could bike over the GWB, depending on how close/far that is from where you are. Biking to work is such a great way to start your day!
It's just as well that Americans don't have the time or money to travel abroad. If they did, they'd find out just how shitty our overall quality of life is compared to the Europeans, etc.
My birthday and my partner's birthday are my favorite days of the year. I always take mine off, and I ENJOY the day - which means sleeping late, having a good workout, and going to a coffee shop. I agree with previous posters that "celebrating" is different from "gifting", and I certainly want to celebrate mine.
Guest
Sounds like you fermented out all the sugar. You still had room to go if it was bubbling. If the reading is correct, you have 7% alcohol, which is like a beer. I am not so sure that would be the right reading if the sugar is all fermented. If all the sugar is gone, then you should have about 17.5% alcohol. Sounds like the sugar is gone if the meter fell all the way in. Try to turn the alcohol meter, see if there is another number to read. Did you take readings before fermentation? Did you taste to see if it is sweet still?
The stuff at the bottom is trub. It is dead yeast. There will be some live yeast in there, too. If you are careful, you can cultivate it and start the next batch. Lots of recipes call for using a pack of cheap yeast and kill it. You feed that to the expensive yeast to give it more nutrients. So keep it and use it all. Split it, start to cultivate part, and add the left over in the boiling water on your next batch.
All in all, it sounds great. Let us know how the distillation works for you.
my husband used to travel for work and get a per diem. No matter what he spent on food....I would pack a duffle bag of cheap food that he would take for breakfast and lunch and he would spend a limited amount on dinner...MONEY MAKER there baby!!
I choose 40 years of OK and 10 years of OK, over 40 years of suck and 10 years of great. LEARN WHAT YOU LOVE, THEN DO WHAT YOU LOVE! Some people say they do it for others, but their enjoyment or "lack thereof" comes home ten times over. There are NO guarantees of tomorrow. If you hate your job, everyone "who is not playing you" knows it. Congrats to everyone who became rich or well off early. The question then would be how many people as a percent would you estimate your economy/politics would support being in that rich/well off category?
G.E.
Welcome to WiseBread. I love your posts on 20somethingfinance, and I'm psyched to get even more of your ideas on WiseBread.
Landon
Oh boy!!! 6, 8, 14 and 19...I'm out the door. Sigh!
I have been cash-only for a few months now. This not includes credit cards, but also checking accounts. My decision to do cash-only came about after receiving exoribitant bank fees, accrued from the bank's sneaky way of re-ordering transactions. I finally decided I was done with that, done with credit cards.
Like you said, it can sometimes be inconvenient, but overall, I love the freedom. I love not having to worry that a deposit is going to be held for three days in order to clear. I love not worrying about a credit card being declined because of a sudden "freeze" on the account.
I have definitely learned to control spending. It is too easy to get swept up in the idea of free money when you are only handing over plastic. When you are handing over your hard-earned cash, it changes your mindset fast!
i am an it professional, making my 70k a year salary, single no kids. I started dating a guy who worked landscaping for 8/hr. I lost my job, unemployed for a year...but it wasnt that bad. I learned from him all the tricks that you mentioned above. To this day, although Im earning my orginal salary, I learned more from him and his friends about still haveing a GREAT quality of life (even if you are below the poverty level). That experience has given me a greater gift in this lifetime than Ive ever known. Thats why i am on this website, trying to get to the day when I don't need to work to survive, but only work because i want to. Thanks for the article, its lessons like this that helped me get over the classism that I grew up with and accepted, until now.
I love making my own custom wrapping paper! It makes all my presents better, from the outside in!
David -
I think the "giving away 1%" is not what I'd suggest. That is a drag on one's wealth that is a huge percent of the 4% withdrawal rates we all discuss. If the planner uses average expense funds, you may have a 2% total cost which can easily be beat in the long run with the simplest mix of index funds.
I used to only record half the amount of my deposit in my checking account. This made it sooo difficult to keep track of.
Collecting aluminum cans---seriously? I saved up cans from 6 months' worth of daily soda drinking and got $3.... I'm now just throwing them into the recycling bin.
I buy paper napkins, and I've opened them up on the folded seam and cut them in 1/2 to make them last longer.
Zorcy wannabe
I didn’t take a sugar reading before starting. I should have.
When the bubbling had slowed down, it tasted rather tart. I guess you would say ‘dry’. I don’t take much stock in those readings, as the readings almost doubled after I Kleered it. I think all the solids floating around give false readings.
As you may remember, I started with about 17+ pounds of sugar and about 24 liters all together in the bucket. When the bubbling slowed way down, I had lost almost 2 liters somewhere. Maybe when all the gas is gone, or maybe alcohol takes up less space than sugar. I don’t know, but I had 22 liters of product to cook. Out of that 22 liters I got 4 ½ liters of 90% pure. The temps started twitching around (it had been a steady 174 degrees) bouncing down to 173 and up to 175, and I got another small amount. But it slowed down so much that I didn’t think it was worth the propane, so I quit.
One thing I have noticed after doing this about 4 times, depending on how hot you make the propane go, you get different results on the reflux tower.
This time I turned the heat up and once it started it was like a cow pissing on a flat rock. This time I also had the water supply moving thru faster than in the past.
When the temp got to 172/173 I took the heads. Then I started collecting. It was a steady 174 for an hour and I got over 4 liters of 90% pure. Then the temp started moving down to 173 and up to 175 and back down to 174. But I wasn’t getting much out of the exit hole.
In past tries I brought the heat up slow. I had the water just barely trickling thru and I got a slightly purer product. Maybe 92-94% pure, but a little less of it. I am not sure the extra 2 to 4 % is worth the much longer time having to watch it.
There’s a lot going on here, so good notes are required.
The next batch I am thinking of starting it off with baker’s yeast for a day or 2, then hitting it with the turbo stuff. What do you think?
Hey, I just wanted to give you a big thank you. I read this article yesterday, and aced the interview today. Hired on the spot. This helped.
I wonder how many marriages are saved by hiring a house cleaner. Rarely has money been more well spent than to eliminate an eternal source of bickering over when something is truly dirty enough to need to be cleaned, has been cleaned enough to be considered clean, and has had its cleanliness addressed in the proper timeframe.
Seems like you would do almost we well with a bit of internet research. There are sites that tell you when it is important to get medical attention immediately. ... for example symptoms that might indicate stroke or heart attack. Most ailments can wait, and usually goes away on their own. In these cases, I have found that simple Internet research tells me what things I might try to ease symptoms.
In the olden days, before Internet, I referred to my family medical volume, which had pages of diagnostic flow charts. Although I was often unable to diagnose from these charts, the did tell me when it was important to call a doctor if I had certain symptoms.
I have been a member of TNS Global for a while and have only ever been offered invites to answer surveys and have accumulated points that I have redeemed for small amounts of cash ($50). The offer you described seems like a scam. I never recieved anything like that and I suspect it is a scammer immitating the TNS name. If you contact TNS they will probably tell you the same. Tear it up.
I started an internet store selling electronics, my spouse works for an electronics store but not in sales. I contacted owner of her company and told him what I was doing, he had no problem with it. Than 6 months later someone in wifes HR department saw my web site and pulled a sheet from employees hand book that spouses can not go into business selling products that we sell(Home Electronics) My wife is not part of my business period, I own it alone. Now there saying I need to close shop or they can dismiss wife-FIRE-. I have not talked with owner,but was told I have to close it by 11-1-10. Is this legal? Yes she did sign HR handbook , but again does no sales of electronics, nor is she part of my business-Frustrated don't know what to do!
I am a big believer in the concept of hiring people to do things that you do not like to do. For example, if dusting, vacuuming, and cleaning your house each week is the "bane of your existence," it probably makes a lot of sense to hire a house cleaner vs. spending the money elsewhere.
Great stuff and advice. I think some people focus so much on doom and gloom and saving more and more and more that they fail to recognize when they are doing well and enjoying the voyage.
It's funny how Network Marketing doesn't make the list. It is one of the most powerful business models around. Unfortunately, a lot of people have had bad experiences with people in MLM that are desperate and don't know how how to find business partners.
Finding a good team of people to work with is crucial to success in this industry. Where else can you find a home business with low start-up costs and the potential to make a good income!
I like your point about "doing stuff"! If you don't take action nothing will happen. Even if the results aren't the best, it is better than doing nothing.
Thanks for your post!
You could consider riding to Hoboken and then taking the ferry over. I'm not sure if they let you take your bike on it, but I assume so. Or you could bike over the GWB, depending on how close/far that is from where you are. Biking to work is such a great way to start your day!
It's just as well that Americans don't have the time or money to travel abroad. If they did, they'd find out just how shitty our overall quality of life is compared to the Europeans, etc.
My birthday and my partner's birthday are my favorite days of the year. I always take mine off, and I ENJOY the day - which means sleeping late, having a good workout, and going to a coffee shop. I agree with previous posters that "celebrating" is different from "gifting", and I certainly want to celebrate mine.
Guest
Sounds like you fermented out all the sugar. You still had room to go if it was bubbling. If the reading is correct, you have 7% alcohol, which is like a beer. I am not so sure that would be the right reading if the sugar is all fermented. If all the sugar is gone, then you should have about 17.5% alcohol. Sounds like the sugar is gone if the meter fell all the way in. Try to turn the alcohol meter, see if there is another number to read. Did you take readings before fermentation? Did you taste to see if it is sweet still?
The stuff at the bottom is trub. It is dead yeast. There will be some live yeast in there, too. If you are careful, you can cultivate it and start the next batch. Lots of recipes call for using a pack of cheap yeast and kill it. You feed that to the expensive yeast to give it more nutrients. So keep it and use it all. Split it, start to cultivate part, and add the left over in the boiling water on your next batch.
All in all, it sounds great. Let us know how the distillation works for you.