You know, its a simple formula - spend less than what you make. I was in 11k in CC debt over 2 years ago and now I have 0. I vowed to NEVER do that again. I pay my CC off each month. We were approved for a 200k mortgage, we bought a house for 160k, we even pay an extra 200/mth on our mortgage to pay it off sooner. We own one car and 5k on the other and we make over 130k combined. We have a nice savings account and a decent retirement. We have a 6mths+ emergency fund and we can live off one paycheck if it came down to it. We tested that last year when my boyfriend lost his job right as we bought the house - we even calculated IF it happened again, we would be just fine. Its a great feeling.
I've given advice to my friends, but they don't listen. They laugh and poke fun that I'm the queen of frugal. I've given up being the voice of reason to them and will only focus on how we can improve our financial situation even more. Thank you for posting so much good information on your site. :)
Hi Charlie, you should not have any problem pulling the fridge out from the wall, most new ones have icemakers built in and the line is usually plastic and long enough to do so. The way they put them in is to have the fridge out far enough to get behind it, but if you are concerned, stand beside it and pull it out so you can see behind it as it is pulled out. If you see the line becoming to tight, stop and reach behind with a long vac hose and attachments. Good luck, don't worry, it is meant to be pulled out.
But consider this: Where are you going? If you're going to a city/town/stay with friends you can probably wash your clothes along the way and/or buy something if you need to. I often coached women colleagues in my travel-for-work days about packing. If you're going on a business trip to Cleveland, newsflash! They have stores and washing machines there.
If you're going to another country it's actually fun to take an hour or two to go to a self-service laundry and see how things work there. Drink some water, update your journal, write a few postcards and your laundry will be done!
Khurt's POV is one often cited, but it's fallacious for most people. You're only "losing" money if, instead of painting your own house or clipping coupons you'd truly be writing code, drafting a brief or removing someone's tonsils.
Most of us don't/can't/don't wish to work 20 hours per day. Most of us do our frugal activities in the time other people do other "hobbies" -- collect stamps, watch TV, fish.
I'm a voracious reader and I always have a book with me. I've often had strangers approach me and interrupt my reading (which they view as doing "nothing") to tell me they wish they could read more, but they don't have time. News flash: My day has 24 hours just like yours does. Each of us chooses how to spend that time.
Also worth mentioning is Wells Fargo's brokerage arm wellstrade. It gives you 100 free trades per account per year if you have a PMA status with them. PMA status costs $25 per month or $25,000 in total assets with them (including 10% of mortgage balance). At first I was skeptical of the deal but after two years as a customer, I am relatively happy. The big thing for me was that $25,000 does not have to be in a CD/savings etc. The invested amount counts towards the balance requirements. To be clear, I do not represent WF other than as a relatively satisfied customer.
add lemon juice. the good ole boys aroud here claim it will neutralize any remaining methanol. Plus it gives it a nice flavor to complement the taste of rubbing alcohol and liquid fire.
A/C is not a luxury - it is a necessity just like heat is necessary during the cold winter months. When temps soar into the 80s & above & are coupled w/high humidity, I have trouble breathing. I've also had heatstroke. People & pets can die from the heat. Also, health issues aside, why would anyone want to go around all sticky & sweaty? Who wants to smell other people's sweat? Gross.
Different company, but my THIRTEEN year old son got something very similar. When I called to ream them out, I was told that name and address are public record, and that it is legal to send him this "free" prepaid card!
Use bleach (diluted to 1 part bleach / 3 parts water) instead of those expensive "mold and mildew" fighters and spray the shower/tub tiles. I re-use what ever spray bottle I have around the house. Just remember to label the sprayer with a permanent marker so as not to confuse it with the original contents. I also re-use paper towels or napkins (moisten them before hand) to wipe up the bathroom floor before scrubbing the room down. The hair clings to the wet paper towel making it easier to wash the floor without stopping every few feet to remove hair from your rag.
for your coffee pots, you don't necessarily need to boil the water - if you take the salt and put some ice chips in the pot and "swirl" it around, the salt and ice chips will "clean" the coffee stains off the pot. If you are trying to clean a restaurant size coffee maker - that the coffee sits in the stainless steel "well" and you fill the pots from the spout - if it is stained use a lemon and "scrub" the sides with that....you will be surprised at how well this works. This is how we used to clean the pots and machines in the restaurant where I used to work way back when!
Soap nuts! These are brilliant. I bought a 1kg bag of them 2 years ago and I am still using them. They are natural products which come from the Soap Nut or Soap Berry tree. They contain a natural soap called saponin. You just pop about 6 into a sock or little linen pouch - tie up and throw into your washing machine instead of detergent.
You can use them to make washing up liquid, shampoo, household cleaner. After using in the washing machine, they work brilliantly in a damp rag as a scrubby product on all sorts of surfaces. They are also anti-fungal and repel moths.
One tip when using them in washing machine is to add some essential oils such as lavender to give a nice smell.
Re: cleaning behind the refrigerator. What if you have a water hose going into the fridge? I'm worried that if I pull the machine out I may also rip out the water hose and that's Trouble.
I'm like an armadillo! I have a tough shell when I want to. No one is going to sell me anything unless I can buy it with a coupon! I can last a long time in there!
I am a financial bumblebee. I do a lot of good with my planning and budgeting and saving and my household couldn't function without me...but I am always buzzing around and easily distracted!
Leo, good point. That had happen to a friend of mine. He took a job and was laid off from the company a month later. The company never paid him for the month he worked there (the company was crooked). The state would not pay his unemployment. He had to fight to get his unemployment.
Needless to say. Thoroughly, research the company before you accept the position.
Also, if you have to pay for childcare in order to work, you might want to seriously consider the cost of childcare vs. accepting a job that pays less than unemployment.
Best of luck to all the job seekers out there. I am in the same boat...heading to the sunrise.
You know, its a simple formula - spend less than what you make. I was in 11k in CC debt over 2 years ago and now I have 0. I vowed to NEVER do that again. I pay my CC off each month. We were approved for a 200k mortgage, we bought a house for 160k, we even pay an extra 200/mth on our mortgage to pay it off sooner. We own one car and 5k on the other and we make over 130k combined. We have a nice savings account and a decent retirement. We have a 6mths+ emergency fund and we can live off one paycheck if it came down to it. We tested that last year when my boyfriend lost his job right as we bought the house - we even calculated IF it happened again, we would be just fine. Its a great feeling.
I've given advice to my friends, but they don't listen. They laugh and poke fun that I'm the queen of frugal. I've given up being the voice of reason to them and will only focus on how we can improve our financial situation even more. Thank you for posting so much good information on your site. :)
Hi Charlie, you should not have any problem pulling the fridge out from the wall, most new ones have icemakers built in and the line is usually plastic and long enough to do so. The way they put them in is to have the fridge out far enough to get behind it, but if you are concerned, stand beside it and pull it out so you can see behind it as it is pulled out. If you see the line becoming to tight, stop and reach behind with a long vac hose and attachments. Good luck, don't worry, it is meant to be pulled out.
Yes, color coordinate your wardrobe.
But consider this: Where are you going? If you're going to a city/town/stay with friends you can probably wash your clothes along the way and/or buy something if you need to. I often coached women colleagues in my travel-for-work days about packing. If you're going on a business trip to Cleveland, newsflash! They have stores and washing machines there.
If you're going to another country it's actually fun to take an hour or two to go to a self-service laundry and see how things work there. Drink some water, update your journal, write a few postcards and your laundry will be done!
Khurt's POV is one often cited, but it's fallacious for most people. You're only "losing" money if, instead of painting your own house or clipping coupons you'd truly be writing code, drafting a brief or removing someone's tonsils.
Most of us don't/can't/don't wish to work 20 hours per day. Most of us do our frugal activities in the time other people do other "hobbies" -- collect stamps, watch TV, fish.
I'm a voracious reader and I always have a book with me. I've often had strangers approach me and interrupt my reading (which they view as doing "nothing") to tell me they wish they could read more, but they don't have time. News flash: My day has 24 hours just like yours does. Each of us chooses how to spend that time.
Also worth mentioning is Wells Fargo's brokerage arm wellstrade. It gives you 100 free trades per account per year if you have a PMA status with them. PMA status costs $25 per month or $25,000 in total assets with them (including 10% of mortgage balance). At first I was skeptical of the deal but after two years as a customer, I am relatively happy. The big thing for me was that $25,000 does not have to be in a CD/savings etc. The invested amount counts towards the balance requirements. To be clear, I do not represent WF other than as a relatively satisfied customer.
add lemon juice. the good ole boys aroud here claim it will neutralize any remaining methanol. Plus it gives it a nice flavor to complement the taste of rubbing alcohol and liquid fire.
This is the best laundry stain remover and works well for cleaning bath tub soap scum.
equal parts ammonia, water and liquid dish soap (like Palmolive)
A/C is not a luxury - it is a necessity just like heat is necessary during the cold winter months. When temps soar into the 80s & above & are coupled w/high humidity, I have trouble breathing. I've also had heatstroke. People & pets can die from the heat. Also, health issues aside, why would anyone want to go around all sticky & sweaty? Who wants to smell other people's sweat? Gross.
Different company, but my THIRTEEN year old son got something very similar. When I called to ream them out, I was told that name and address are public record, and that it is legal to send him this "free" prepaid card!
Use bleach (diluted to 1 part bleach / 3 parts water) instead of those expensive "mold and mildew" fighters and spray the shower/tub tiles. I re-use what ever spray bottle I have around the house. Just remember to label the sprayer with a permanent marker so as not to confuse it with the original contents. I also re-use paper towels or napkins (moisten them before hand) to wipe up the bathroom floor before scrubbing the room down. The hair clings to the wet paper towel making it easier to wash the floor without stopping every few feet to remove hair from your rag.
The B&W wardrobe idea is great...it's all about versatility and multi-use when you're on the road. Thanks for the tip!
for your coffee pots, you don't necessarily need to boil the water - if you take the salt and put some ice chips in the pot and "swirl" it around, the salt and ice chips will "clean" the coffee stains off the pot. If you are trying to clean a restaurant size coffee maker - that the coffee sits in the stainless steel "well" and you fill the pots from the spout - if it is stained use a lemon and "scrub" the sides with that....you will be surprised at how well this works. This is how we used to clean the pots and machines in the restaurant where I used to work way back when!
Soap nuts! These are brilliant. I bought a 1kg bag of them 2 years ago and I am still using them. They are natural products which come from the Soap Nut or Soap Berry tree. They contain a natural soap called saponin. You just pop about 6 into a sock or little linen pouch - tie up and throw into your washing machine instead of detergent.
You can use them to make washing up liquid, shampoo, household cleaner. After using in the washing machine, they work brilliantly in a damp rag as a scrubby product on all sorts of surfaces. They are also anti-fungal and repel moths.
One tip when using them in washing machine is to add some essential oils such as lavender to give a nice smell.
Thanks for the mention to my post, Linsey! What a great round-up of money tips this week too!
Re: cleaning behind the refrigerator. What if you have a water hose going into the fridge? I'm worried that if I pull the machine out I may also rip out the water hose and that's Trouble.
If you know where you're going a head of time, just mail/UPS/Fedex your clothing to your destination and back to your home.
Its less expensive and you can save your bag for your core essentials.
I might be switching to Straighttalk. (www.straighttalk.com) They seem to be the best plans for the money.
Where can you buy a pack of diapers for 20 cents? I would love to know, especially since I pay $14.00 for a small box of diapers.
Very succinct David!
I'm like an armadillo! I have a tough shell when I want to. No one is going to sell me anything unless I can buy it with a coupon! I can last a long time in there!
Sadly enough, I am a snail. My movement with money is way too slow to make much significant progress (but at least I am still moving!).
I am a financial bumblebee. I do a lot of good with my planning and budgeting and saving and my household couldn't function without me...but I am always buzzing around and easily distracted!
More like a bear, since I am in hibernation mode, avoiding shopping malls and other temptations while paying off credit card debt.
Haven't tried that, but it sounds delish! (I could see my kids dipping those in ketchup!)
Leo, good point. That had happen to a friend of mine. He took a job and was laid off from the company a month later. The company never paid him for the month he worked there (the company was crooked). The state would not pay his unemployment. He had to fight to get his unemployment.
Needless to say. Thoroughly, research the company before you accept the position.
Also, if you have to pay for childcare in order to work, you might want to seriously consider the cost of childcare vs. accepting a job that pays less than unemployment.
Best of luck to all the job seekers out there. I am in the same boat...heading to the sunrise.