Cash flow is very important, especially now. I try to keep a good cash flow, if some customers decide to pay late or justy not pay, which has happen a few times I know i can still make payroll and still pay the bills. plus everything needs to be according to a budget. everything is percentage, labor %, material, equipment, insurances, sales, marketing. then you will always know your % of profit. and most important of all, keep business out of debt...
I'm a young adult and have recent experience with the health care circus. Since I'm not too long out of college and working a "starter job" I don't yet have much of a cushion for financial upsets, but I plan as best I can with a medical savings account. I've always been very healthy, but in the last year I was having frequent sinus infections and all the family doc did was issue several rounds of antibiotics to no avail, so I finally ponied up and saw a specialist (only by my own initiative) who determined I had to have my tonsils/adenoids and part of my sinuses removed, only to continue to struggle with ear and sinus problems. A friend recommended chiropractic so I tried it out of desperation (regretfully). I finally decided to try allergy testing only to find that it's likely that all my issues were allergy related (something I had asked repeatedly in the previous months, only to get the response "No, I don't think so, let's try this first" from the ENT). It took over 10 mos. and over $3000 out of pocket (I'm grateful that my job offers decent health insurance as it could have been much worse) and hours of frustration and appointments to find this out. I've been making payments as best I can, but it will likely take me at least a year or two longer to pay this off. I just hope there's nothing more that comes up that puts me back in the doctors' office several times a month.
As I am getting more savvy (and sick of the bills!) I try to call ahead to find out costs of procedures and visits, but it can take hours to speak with the doctor's office and then health insurance companies to see what is covered. Even then you only have a best guess of the bill. As health care consumers we need to demand more transparency and better cooperation between insurance and health care facilities; they are in business because of us anyway. More and more people are being forced to weigh the benefit of being healthy versus being in considerable debt before getting medical treatment. It's simply wrong.
It is difficult to get pricing information! I've tried and found that very often I need to be unusually persistent. There are some providers who offer this information upfront but there are many others that seem to have no idea why anyone would even ask.
Case in point: long story, but a doc tried to order an MRI for my son to diagnose back pain (from over training) despite telling us that the test probably wouldn't give us more info about the cause or influence the treatment plan. I pressed for a price and we were told to bring $200 the day of the session, and were assured that insurance would cover the rest. At the time, we had a high-deductible policy and I knew that it wouldn't be covered; we opted not to have the test and obviously won't be seeing that doctor again. The fee btw would have been $1800. We weren't in an emergency situation so obviously it was easier to make a decision. (I wrote about this in How Much for Healthcare? http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/money/article/how-much-for-heal...)
I think it's crazy that providers would think that people have thousands of dollars to spend on care, given the economic situation and problems with insurance. I do understand that they don't want to treat people based on wealth but they often seem oblivious to cost.
I am puzzled though that the regular doctor or someone in his office didn't have appointments available for emergencies; that is supposed to be one way that we can all avoid ER visits.
You should never visit the emergency room for a non-life threatening condition.
If your doctor's office can't make room in his or her schedule to see you on the same day for the condition you described, then it's time to find another doctor.
If you can't see your regular physician, then you should consider going to an "urgent care" facility. This is a bit more expensive than seeing your physician, but it is vastly less expensive than an emergency room hospital visit. Not only is it less expensive, but it is also more likely that you'll be seen sooner by a doctor there than by a doctor in an emergency room.
Obviously, the above does not apply for life-threatening conditions. Your friend with the chest pains did the right thing by going to an emergency room. For non-life threatening conditions, however, see your physician or visit an urgent care clinic.
one of my favorite things about the walk in clinics they now have in walgreens here is that they do have a price list up front... on the kiosk as you check in. you agree to the price upfront.... and even the times that its been more complicated than i thought (for example, sinus infection that had also turned into an ear infection and ruptured eardrum), they still have only charged the base rate ($65 in that case).
Bonus points for their openly telling me the prescriptions they wrote was on the walmart $4 list... rather than just automatically pushing me towards the walgreens counter 10 feet away.
Thanks for sharing your story. Being "targeted" is a great way of phrasing the approach that some of these companies take. Glad you went a different route.
Having to deal with aggravation of trying to get results from a company that may not deliver what's promised is extremely difficult at any time, especially when someone is under stress from job searching and unemployment, not just to mention the money outlay.
Great handle! There is a recipe for cornflakes too.
For all practical purposes, you are right. There is not enough baddies in the wash to be a nuisance. Sugar is a product of a plant. There will be some residual plant product in the sugar that will cause *some* oils and methanol. The amount is so small, you wont know its there.
You can ferment anything with sugar or starch. It can pick up the nasties you don't want. You should use what ever is free, close to free or as cheap as you can get. You will need to distill according to what you use. If you are looking for the flavour, may i suggest infusing your product? That is when you take 120-150 proof clear alcohol, soak the fruit (frozen and thawed to split cell walls). Depending on the fruit, will depend on the time. An example would be strawberries to apples. The strawberries will only need 2-3 days. The flesh is soft and delicate. Apples are a tougher flesh and may take a month or more. The flavour and colour will transfer to the alcohol. Add enough citric acid (or lemon juice) to preserve the colour. You can stop there and have a flavoured drink. If you want to keep working it, cover the fruit in white sugar. The sugar will pull out the rest of the flavours, colour and alcohol. It will turn to syrup. Pour that off and keep it separate. Sugar it again, and again, until it stops dissolving the sugar. Start with the first batch and add it to the alcohol until the taste is to your liking. It will be cut my the juice and sugar, but you may want to cut with water, too. You can filter it thru cotton if you like. Again, this was someone else's idea, and they need credit. There are more here, so visit: http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2199 You may want to join, but do not leave enough personal info that a court order could use to find you ;)
I think most people would agree that saving money is something “easier said than done”. Personally, I believe it’s a mind-set that needs to be developed by creating good money-saving habits.
Here are some things I’ve done to help change my spending habits:
- Cooking more at home ? Eating out is very expensive especially if you do it a couple times a week
- Shopping online ? You can find better deals than in the store and you save on gas (I recommend http://www.shoptivity.com)
- Paying the full balance on credit cards each month ? Interest charge is like giving away free money
- Don’t forget to pay yourself ? Set up an online savings account (they pay higher interest than a normal savings account)
- Setting a budget and goals ? It’s good to have your goals written down so you see them everyday and don’t lose focus on your ultimate objectives
Again, saving money requires a lot of patience and hard work. However, you’ll thank yourself later on in life. Good luck everyone!! =)
Thanks for providing really nice tips to short out the cost of traveling. Here you can also get innovative ideas, ways to travel, how to make your travel budget friendly on a single click
John, these are really great steps. I actually wrote about paying yourself first a while back. I tried to provide specific action items to help people get over that initial inertia and set up a savings account. You can check that out here.
India is a wonderful destination to spend your vacation and the ladakh region is just beautiful. chk out this site for more info - http://www.leh-ladakh.com
I use Thayer's Witch Hazel with Rose/Vitamin E/Aloe and I add additional aloe gel and blend it on a facial cotton pad at night. I can feel it working and it's very refreshing. I buy my Thayer's from Henry's and Boney's. During the day I use raw African black soap.
I have held and shopped at garage sales. I think they're great for getting rid of stuff you don't need/want and making some extra money. When done right they can be a very nice way to shop (if everything is clean and well organized and fairly priced). In fact, I'm considering holding another sale this summer or fall!
If you are remodeling your home office or building one and don't know where to start? Then come to Gallery Furniture, where we have the latest in home office furniture, such as the Antique Office Furniture
Ive been reading on this site forum for a few days and great info and i still have a few questions
what ive read is that if you just make a sugar water mash than there is no heads or tails is that true and if that is true the only thing i dont want is the water in it?
and if i just use a two liter bottle to ferment is it going to stink bad should i put it outside or can i just keep it in the house (id rather do that so i can keep an eye on it but outside is fine)?
also ive heard of people talking about cherry and green apple moonshine and id like to make that?
can i add apple or any fruits to the finished product in the bottle or will that be harmful to ingest?
and i would like to thank all the people on here with the useful info
Great article! I managed to sell all my crap in 2004 before leaving New Zealand and have felt free ever since. It took me 3 months to sell my stuff and what I couldn't sell I gave away. The only thing I stored was a record player in my friend's garage but that's probably gone now, haha.
Because of this I've managed to live and work in various countries around the world. Occasionally I will accumulate stuff, but now I tell myself before buying anything that I have to be willing to give it away when I move again. This generally stops me from buying too much crap. Also I try to get stuff like furniture from Craigslist for cheap/free. Much easier to give away when you've already got it for free!
I don't generally spend a lot of time at garage sales; it's generally when I need something specific and common (like Tupperware or kids jeans) that I'll start hunting through them on my weekends at random. I do, however, keep an eye on the ads for those oddball things that are always on my "acquire when price is right" list - like last weekend: http://www.denofchaos.com/2010/05/passing-batons.html.
I have a very cheap Curtis DVD1041. I was unable to find a code for this. Has anyone been able to unlock this model. Please let me know how you did it.
Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Thanks a lot.... your this post is appreciable... it really works... I had tried it and I am able to save money and there are many more tips which could help you out.
=========================================================
Danracliff01 Money
I think garage sales are great if you are in need of a specific item. Where the danger lies is if you go to window shop and find and bring home too many unneeded treasures. I would say if you don't have a must have item on your list. Don't go.
I've been trying to simplify our life so find most of what I need to get rid of is clothing. Clothing swaps are becoming popular with parents. Or you can always donate clothing items and get receipts for tax purposes.
@Guest (both above) - I am sorry you feel that way. As I continue to go through the course material, I will formulate a more "constructive" review of this course and edit this post above, if that helps. It was a bit of a push to write this post in time for the 24 hour launch, and I didn't have a lot of time to thoroughly review the course material. (What I saw, I liked. What can I say?!)
I wanted Wise Bread readers to have the opportunity to get in on the action (and there are a number who have done so), but it certainly was not my intent to come off as sales-y. I simply wanted to let people know the opportunity is there - and I still believe it's an excellent opportunity. The daily updates are guiding me through a process that is helping me to conquer a few entrepreneurial goals of my own.
Wise Bread relies on its writing team to come up with thought-provoking posts on a variety of topics related to personal finance. This seemed like a good fit. I hope that you both will see fit to continue following!
Cash flow is very important, especially now. I try to keep a good cash flow, if some customers decide to pay late or justy not pay, which has happen a few times I know i can still make payroll and still pay the bills. plus everything needs to be according to a budget. everything is percentage, labor %, material, equipment, insurances, sales, marketing. then you will always know your % of profit. and most important of all, keep business out of debt...
Robert
http://rjcleaningservice.com/
I'm a young adult and have recent experience with the health care circus. Since I'm not too long out of college and working a "starter job" I don't yet have much of a cushion for financial upsets, but I plan as best I can with a medical savings account. I've always been very healthy, but in the last year I was having frequent sinus infections and all the family doc did was issue several rounds of antibiotics to no avail, so I finally ponied up and saw a specialist (only by my own initiative) who determined I had to have my tonsils/adenoids and part of my sinuses removed, only to continue to struggle with ear and sinus problems. A friend recommended chiropractic so I tried it out of desperation (regretfully). I finally decided to try allergy testing only to find that it's likely that all my issues were allergy related (something I had asked repeatedly in the previous months, only to get the response "No, I don't think so, let's try this first" from the ENT). It took over 10 mos. and over $3000 out of pocket (I'm grateful that my job offers decent health insurance as it could have been much worse) and hours of frustration and appointments to find this out. I've been making payments as best I can, but it will likely take me at least a year or two longer to pay this off. I just hope there's nothing more that comes up that puts me back in the doctors' office several times a month.
As I am getting more savvy (and sick of the bills!) I try to call ahead to find out costs of procedures and visits, but it can take hours to speak with the doctor's office and then health insurance companies to see what is covered. Even then you only have a best guess of the bill. As health care consumers we need to demand more transparency and better cooperation between insurance and health care facilities; they are in business because of us anyway. More and more people are being forced to weigh the benefit of being healthy versus being in considerable debt before getting medical treatment. It's simply wrong.
Thanks for your perspective; glad that's working for you.
It is difficult to get pricing information! I've tried and found that very often I need to be unusually persistent. There are some providers who offer this information upfront but there are many others that seem to have no idea why anyone would even ask.
Case in point: long story, but a doc tried to order an MRI for my son to diagnose back pain (from over training) despite telling us that the test probably wouldn't give us more info about the cause or influence the treatment plan. I pressed for a price and we were told to bring $200 the day of the session, and were assured that insurance would cover the rest. At the time, we had a high-deductible policy and I knew that it wouldn't be covered; we opted not to have the test and obviously won't be seeing that doctor again. The fee btw would have been $1800. We weren't in an emergency situation so obviously it was easier to make a decision. (I wrote about this in How Much for Healthcare?
http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/money/article/how-much-for-heal...)
I think it's crazy that providers would think that people have thousands of dollars to spend on care, given the economic situation and problems with insurance. I do understand that they don't want to treat people based on wealth but they often seem oblivious to cost.
I am puzzled though that the regular doctor or someone in his office didn't have appointments available for emergencies; that is supposed to be one way that we can all avoid ER visits.
You should never visit the emergency room for a non-life threatening condition.
If your doctor's office can't make room in his or her schedule to see you on the same day for the condition you described, then it's time to find another doctor.
If you can't see your regular physician, then you should consider going to an "urgent care" facility. This is a bit more expensive than seeing your physician, but it is vastly less expensive than an emergency room hospital visit. Not only is it less expensive, but it is also more likely that you'll be seen sooner by a doctor there than by a doctor in an emergency room.
Obviously, the above does not apply for life-threatening conditions. Your friend with the chest pains did the right thing by going to an emergency room. For non-life threatening conditions, however, see your physician or visit an urgent care clinic.
one of my favorite things about the walk in clinics they now have in walgreens here is that they do have a price list up front... on the kiosk as you check in. you agree to the price upfront.... and even the times that its been more complicated than i thought (for example, sinus infection that had also turned into an ear infection and ruptured eardrum), they still have only charged the base rate ($65 in that case).
Bonus points for their openly telling me the prescriptions they wrote was on the walmart $4 list... rather than just automatically pushing me towards the walgreens counter 10 feet away.
Thanks for sharing your story. Being "targeted" is a great way of phrasing the approach that some of these companies take. Glad you went a different route.
Having to deal with aggravation of trying to get results from a company that may not deliver what's promised is extremely difficult at any time, especially when someone is under stress from job searching and unemployment, not just to mention the money outlay.
Branflakes
Great handle! There is a recipe for cornflakes too.
For all practical purposes, you are right. There is not enough baddies in the wash to be a nuisance. Sugar is a product of a plant. There will be some residual plant product in the sugar that will cause *some* oils and methanol. The amount is so small, you wont know its there.
You can ferment anything with sugar or starch. It can pick up the nasties you don't want. You should use what ever is free, close to free or as cheap as you can get. You will need to distill according to what you use. If you are looking for the flavour, may i suggest infusing your product? That is when you take 120-150 proof clear alcohol, soak the fruit (frozen and thawed to split cell walls). Depending on the fruit, will depend on the time. An example would be strawberries to apples. The strawberries will only need 2-3 days. The flesh is soft and delicate. Apples are a tougher flesh and may take a month or more. The flavour and colour will transfer to the alcohol. Add enough citric acid (or lemon juice) to preserve the colour. You can stop there and have a flavoured drink. If you want to keep working it, cover the fruit in white sugar. The sugar will pull out the rest of the flavours, colour and alcohol. It will turn to syrup. Pour that off and keep it separate. Sugar it again, and again, until it stops dissolving the sugar. Start with the first batch and add it to the alcohol until the taste is to your liking. It will be cut my the juice and sugar, but you may want to cut with water, too. You can filter it thru cotton if you like. Again, this was someone else's idea, and they need credit. There are more here, so visit: http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2199 You may want to join, but do not leave enough personal info that a court order could use to find you ;)
I do, but I try to keep it to a minimum because I find I end up buying unnecessary stuff!!
have learn something good that well help me in future
I think most people would agree that saving money is something “easier said than done”. Personally, I believe it’s a mind-set that needs to be developed by creating good money-saving habits.
Here are some things I’ve done to help change my spending habits:
- Cooking more at home ? Eating out is very expensive especially if you do it a couple times a week
- Shopping online ? You can find better deals than in the store and you save on gas (I recommend http://www.shoptivity.com)
- Paying the full balance on credit cards each month ? Interest charge is like giving away free money
- Don’t forget to pay yourself ? Set up an online savings account (they pay higher interest than a normal savings account)
- Setting a budget and goals ? It’s good to have your goals written down so you see them everyday and don’t lose focus on your ultimate objectives
Again, saving money requires a lot of patience and hard work. However, you’ll thank yourself later on in life. Good luck everyone!! =)
Thanks for providing really nice tips to short out the cost of traveling. Here you can also get innovative ideas, ways to travel, how to make your travel budget friendly on a single click
John, these are really great steps. I actually wrote about paying yourself first a while back. I tried to provide specific action items to help people get over that initial inertia and set up a savings account. You can check that out here.
http://aceofwealth.com/2010/02/pay-yourself-first/
This is a really great post!
India is a wonderful destination to spend your vacation and the ladakh region is just beautiful. chk out this site for more info - http://www.leh-ladakh.com
I use Thayer's Witch Hazel with Rose/Vitamin E/Aloe and I add additional aloe gel and blend it on a facial cotton pad at night. I can feel it working and it's very refreshing. I buy my Thayer's from Henry's and Boney's. During the day I use raw African black soap.
I have held and shopped at garage sales. I think they're great for getting rid of stuff you don't need/want and making some extra money. When done right they can be a very nice way to shop (if everything is clean and well organized and fairly priced). In fact, I'm considering holding another sale this summer or fall!
Great list! Most I haven't heard of and look forward to checking them out!
If you are remodeling your home office or building one and don't know where to start? Then come to Gallery Furniture, where we have the latest in home office furniture, such as the Antique Office Furniture
Ive been reading on this site forum for a few days and great info and i still have a few questions
what ive read is that if you just make a sugar water mash than there is no heads or tails is that true and if that is true the only thing i dont want is the water in it?
and if i just use a two liter bottle to ferment is it going to stink bad should i put it outside or can i just keep it in the house (id rather do that so i can keep an eye on it but outside is fine)?
also ive heard of people talking about cherry and green apple moonshine and id like to make that?
can i add apple or any fruits to the finished product in the bottle or will that be harmful to ingest?
and i would like to thank all the people on here with the useful info
Great article! I managed to sell all my crap in 2004 before leaving New Zealand and have felt free ever since. It took me 3 months to sell my stuff and what I couldn't sell I gave away. The only thing I stored was a record player in my friend's garage but that's probably gone now, haha.
Because of this I've managed to live and work in various countries around the world. Occasionally I will accumulate stuff, but now I tell myself before buying anything that I have to be willing to give it away when I move again. This generally stops me from buying too much crap. Also I try to get stuff like furniture from Craigslist for cheap/free. Much easier to give away when you've already got it for free!
I don't generally spend a lot of time at garage sales; it's generally when I need something specific and common (like Tupperware or kids jeans) that I'll start hunting through them on my weekends at random. I do, however, keep an eye on the ads for those oddball things that are always on my "acquire when price is right" list - like last weekend: http://www.denofchaos.com/2010/05/passing-batons.html.
I have a very cheap Curtis DVD1041. I was unable to find a code for this. Has anyone been able to unlock this model. Please let me know how you did it.
Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Thanks a lot.... your this post is appreciable... it really works... I had tried it and I am able to save money and there are many more tips which could help you out.
=========================================================
Danracliff01
Money
I think garage sales are great if you are in need of a specific item. Where the danger lies is if you go to window shop and find and bring home too many unneeded treasures. I would say if you don't have a must have item on your list. Don't go.
I've been trying to simplify our life so find most of what I need to get rid of is clothing. Clothing swaps are becoming popular with parents. Or you can always donate clothing items and get receipts for tax purposes.
@Guest (both above) - I am sorry you feel that way. As I continue to go through the course material, I will formulate a more "constructive" review of this course and edit this post above, if that helps. It was a bit of a push to write this post in time for the 24 hour launch, and I didn't have a lot of time to thoroughly review the course material. (What I saw, I liked. What can I say?!)
I wanted Wise Bread readers to have the opportunity to get in on the action (and there are a number who have done so), but it certainly was not my intent to come off as sales-y. I simply wanted to let people know the opportunity is there - and I still believe it's an excellent opportunity. The daily updates are guiding me through a process that is helping me to conquer a few entrepreneurial goals of my own.
Wise Bread relies on its writing team to come up with thought-provoking posts on a variety of topics related to personal finance. This seemed like a good fit. I hope that you both will see fit to continue following!