Some thrift stores have certain days when they re-stock. I like to ask if the shop has a day (or days) in particular that they place new items on the shelves. If they do only unveil new items on specific days, it lets me get first shot at the better items.
I add some triple sec and some fruit to turn cheap wine into sangria, which tastes wonderful! I bet the soda water would make it even better, I'll give it a try this weekend.
I just wanted to make one additional comment concerning the comments of another over who actually owns auto company bonds. I don't see what it matters who owns the bonds. The corporate bonds were offered by the company which means they were available on the primary market and now sell on the secondary market. Anyone, be they individual or institutional investors, can buy and sell these bonds on the open market.
The point is that bondholders have inherent rights per the rule of law and I find it troubling that some are saying it is okay for the present administration to change the rules now.
Large Pension Funds typically hold lots of corporate and government bonds - what used to be thought of as 'safe' investments. Individuals own as much as 20% of the GM bonds ---- see: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123940497568709785.html
They are royally screwed by government coming in and changing the rules.
Yes, some big banks do own the bonds as well. But they purchased the bonds with the legal understanding the bondholders would be 1st in line in the event of a bankruptcy.
The real question is why is the government reshuffling the deck in favor of the unions now. (The answer is obvious.)
Anyone who has any trust in our government is either doesn't pay attention or is a fool.
This is a very thought provoking article. I agree that we have to act in our own best interests, which includes some distrust of the government(and I tend to agree with the thoughts posted by Kelja about the current goings-on).
One problem can be the idea of "making sure the changes in the law are for the better". Better is completely subjective, and opinions on legal changes can vary-for instance your example about bankruptcy judges. I would be against giving judges the power to modify mortgage contracts.
I guess at the end of the day, Diversify and Distrust.
Different gas prices depending on whether you pay cash or credit has not yet come to Canada. Credit cards offer many advantages such as free extended warranties on electronic goods, protection etc. but should be used appropriately. Have credit card with low monthly limit in order to avoid increased accumulation of debt.
This may be a bit of a tangent, but as usual Philip your posts are thought provoking. Rule changing does something else. It makes us think there are no absolute rights or wrongs. As a democratic republic should the government even own private businesses? In a socialistic society that's the norm. Why should an individual pay taxes on something they already own and lose it if they can't? Like property taxes. Should the government be involved in mandating prices paid for healthcare? Is it fair for individuals to pay for the overall costs of actual medical services (or more than actual cost) to cover the deeply discounted amounts Medicare or Medicaid covers? Should the government decide to print money with nothing to back it? Isn't that lying? But we live in the "new grey" and nothing is considered right or wrong, we decide by what's expedient. The big guy wins and squashes the little guy every time. Even though the ball is tossed back and forth between government and debtors and bankers and unions we all get hurt in the end. Bonhoffer said something like (correct me if I'm wrong), "First it was the Jews and we said nothing, then the Catholics and we said nothing, now it's us, and it's too late."
This is very useful and valuable information to share especially in the current economic situation. It will definitely help individuals get right advice in taking the necessary steps to cope up and live comfortably.
I agree with your ideas. Liberal ideas of entitlement are bankrupting our state and country. The whole idea of taking money from the "rich" and giving to the poor has a fundamental problem. Eventually, you run out of "rich" people to take money from.
As for prop 8, you took the words right out of my mouth. Where do these people come up with the crazy idea that they are being descriminated against? They have exactly the same rights as everone else. Everyone has the right to marry a person of the opposite sex (excluding certain family members). If laws were to be changed allow marriage between anyone who is in love, are we next going to see brothers and sisters, fathers and daughters, or maybe even fathers and sons demanding the right to marry?
As for balancing the budget, why is raising taxes always the first thing that our government wants to do? Cutting spending is the answer. And why is healthcare and education always the first areas targeted to cut? These are the last areas that should be touched. How about cutting money spent on rediculous grants. Stuff like researching the mating habits of snails, and multiple other useless studies going on.
As for raising funds, do not increase taxes on law abiding citizens. How about generating funds by enforcing the laws that have recently been put on the books. A significant amount of money could be raised by enforcing laws that pertain to automobile use. Millions could be generated by enforcing cell phone laws alone, not to mention headlights on when wipers are on full, and seat belt laws. Why put these laws on the books if they are not going to enforce them? In the past year, I have seen thousands of people driving while talking or texting on the phone. Yet, only once have I seen someone pulled over for the same. IS THIS STUPID OR WHAT? Either enforce the laws or do away with them.
Great article! It is always great when you find spare change lying around your home. And when you take it to your local grocery store which has a Coinstar machine, you can buy groceries with your change! Instead of giving out bills, the Coinstar machine will print out a receipt with the dollar amount value you have accumulated to use for groceries at that store! That's one free grocery trip.
It's not that I don't agree with your point Simple Life, and I believe I stated I wasn't trying to make excuses - just some reasons behind why these things can happen. And yes, I have had friends help out from time to time when my eyes are bleary and I just can't read it again. At the end of the day though, many people are maxed out right now with their own lives. So searching out that kind of support is something I admit to doing less of lately.
Just to clarify on the non-native language speakers issue, in no way was that intended to be negative. Anyone that speaks more than one language has my respect, hands down. I'm simply stating that these are weaknesses I've noticed in myself after having listened to those who haven't mastered it for years at a time. I'm certainly not asking for a pass, and as soon as I notice errors I've missed I log in to correct them.
Striving for excellence is something I would agree with completely. I think it is important to note however that many other forms and outlets of writing come with editors built in to the system. Editors that get paid. I think everyone here at Wise Bread takes their work seriously, even though for most of us it happens to be something we do in addition to many other things. If I personally make the call on getting information out quickly, and make an error in the process, I do my best to correct the situation as soon as possible. By the way, I've seen major newspapers make similar mistakes, including one owned by USA Today. These are publications that can (or at least could) afford to pay someone a full salary and benefits to crank out just a couple of main articles a week and still have a separate paid editor or two on staff. That's not even including the fact checking folks.
All in all, I think we're doing a pretty good job here at Wise Bread, and fix what needs to be fixed as the situation arises. Again, you're making valid points. And again, I'm not asking for a pass. I'm simply stating how these things can happen.
Don't forget about Freecycle! You can post your unwanted items to your local group and someone will likely come take it from you at no cost to you, giving it some additional life and keeping it out of the landfills.
I didn't realize the comments section was for commenting on grammatical errors in the article. I was under the impression it was for sharing additional information relevant to the article, which is what I hope I've done with the information below.
Freecycle is completely left out of this article as means of getting rid of things you have not been able to consign or otherwise sell. I cleaned my garage last weekend, and everything I offered was picked up. I didn't have to leave my house, saving me the cost of gas to haul it away. I also have the pleasure of knowing the things went to people who will use them rather than in the garbage.
The truth is that you (this includes you, too, Myscha) are making a living as writers. As such, you should strive for excellence. Own up to your mistakes; don't make excuses. You don't have do hire a professional proofreader--could a friend help? Or perhaps you could develop a system where all Wisebread writers help each other out with this task? After all, isn't this blog about being frugal? Lead by example! And if you don't have anyone to help you, maybe you can sit on that article for a few hours or a day, then read it again to make sure it makes sense. This will bring professionalism to this blog--and there's never too much of that.
I never post comments on this site to correct anyone about their grammar, orthography or punctuation. However, I have to admit that lately it has become more commonplace.
(By the way, I am a native speaker of a foreign language. Living in the USA, I have gotten used to people correcting me constantly. Even for my accent--when I use an accepted pronunciation that is unknown to the ones that correct me, they tend to think that I'm wrong, and not that they are the ones that are misinformed. We don't know it all -- let's be humble.)
Maybe it's not my place, but I have to admit to noticing a few errors in my own work from time to time. (And I spent years as a classroom teacher, to boot!) The thing is, or at least I'll speak for myself here, spell check doesn't necessarily catch everything and also (again speaking for myself) I've found that having spent SO many years outside of the country where English language newspapers and signs are so often completely incorrect and conversations with people aren't necessarily with those whose mother tongue is also English (and is in fact often their third or fourth language), I'm not necessarily spotting things as quickly as I used to when I was teaching English in an English speaking country. It's sad to say, but you really don't lug around an entire library of English books on your back and you spend a fair amount of time as an expat reading English news that isn't written by a native speaker. I don't know if that's Torley's reason, but I'll also point out that we try to get out so much content in a short amount of time in order to share the ideas, and we often do it in addition to numerous other duties when we're already exhausted. Sometimes things are so obvious when we go back and look at them live, but after you've proofread your own work so often, your brain tends to see what you think should be there. Paying for external proofreading services isn't exactly conducive to our bottom line. Not making excuses folks, just pointing out that we are all human, and doing our best to share ideas in a timely fashion.
I'll try not to shout here, LOL, but it's "avoid" not "void" the thrift stores on Saturdays -- voiding them gives the paragraph a whole new meaning.
Otherwise, this is a good, basic, how-to-get-started selling/buying at thrift store article. You obviously did a lot of research and gave this a lot of thought.
My suggestion: have someone else proofread for you.
Thanks for the post on thrift stores. Many Goodwill stores have special half-off sales daily. The Goodwill stores in Northern New England featured a different color each week that is half off--this is another great way to cut down on costs.
What a wonderful thing this couple is doing! I'm sure that most people who eat at the restaurant really do pay what they can, and I bet they're very grateful for the opportunity to eat a good meal and don't abuse it. I absolutely love the barter system and think there should be more of that in all purchases/exchanges people make with one another.
I was a little offended by JerryC's comment, but think it probably paints a pretty clear picture of... well. I'm sure everyone can come to their own conclusion on that. But people who would be offended by a homeless person washing their dishes are not likely to be eating in this restaurant - since they would be able to pay full price somewhere else. For a restaurant in business more than 2 years, I'd say they've already been inspected by the health department and what do you know? Equal opportunity employers are really out there, and someone who is capable of washing dishes who looks like "riff raff" to someone who is better off financially can feel like more than a deadbeat and "pay" for their meal, even if it is paid through working rather than cash.
Great article, I didn't know restaurants like this existed and am happy to hear that they do!
I think it's terrific that so many people take the time to comment on Wisebread articles.
It is unfortunate, however, that so many people get all worked up over a typo or grammatical error, and use excessive punctuation to make their point. In most online communities, that would be the equivalent of "yelling" at someone, right?
When talking to people in person, I doubt very much these same "guest editors" point out grammar mistakes made in someone's speaking. "You said DON'T?!?!?! It was supposed to be "DOESN'T!!!" or "it's not ten items or LESS it should be ten items or FEWER!!!" Really. I'm positive the people who take the time to point out grammar mistakes online don't walk around correcting people when they talk, because that would be considered fairly rude wouldn't it?
Anyway. I thought the thrift shop tips in the article were helpful and I bet I would have known what you were writing about even if you didn't fix the "your" to "you are".
Some thrift stores have certain days when they re-stock. I like to ask if the shop has a day (or days) in particular that they place new items on the shelves. If they do only unveil new items on specific days, it lets me get first shot at the better items.
That's icky. Thanks for sharing your experience, Xin!
Linsey Knerl
I add some triple sec and some fruit to turn cheap wine into sangria, which tastes wonderful! I bet the soda water would make it even better, I'll give it a try this weekend.
I just wanted to make one additional comment concerning the comments of another over who actually owns auto company bonds. I don't see what it matters who owns the bonds. The corporate bonds were offered by the company which means they were available on the primary market and now sell on the secondary market. Anyone, be they individual or institutional investors, can buy and sell these bonds on the open market.
The point is that bondholders have inherent rights per the rule of law and I find it troubling that some are saying it is okay for the present administration to change the rules now.
Just so. I agree, Tisha.
we're all human...we make mistakes. No one should make an ass out of anyone else because of it. Now, how 'bout that thrift store info...
hi -
Glad to see someone else believes what I am beginning to conclude about First 5: that it is one big jobs program for the employees.
I think the state should just borrow the $2.4 billion they have sitting there by giving them CA bonds.
Large Pension Funds typically hold lots of corporate and government bonds - what used to be thought of as 'safe' investments. Individuals own as much as 20% of the GM bonds ---- see: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123940497568709785.html
They are royally screwed by government coming in and changing the rules.
Yes, some big banks do own the bonds as well. But they purchased the bonds with the legal understanding the bondholders would be 1st in line in the event of a bankruptcy.
The real question is why is the government reshuffling the deck in favor of the unions now. (The answer is obvious.)
Anyone who has any trust in our government is either doesn't pay attention or is a fool.
This is a very thought provoking article. I agree that we have to act in our own best interests, which includes some distrust of the government(and I tend to agree with the thoughts posted by Kelja about the current goings-on).
One problem can be the idea of "making sure the changes in the law are for the better". Better is completely subjective, and opinions on legal changes can vary-for instance your example about bankruptcy judges. I would be against giving judges the power to modify mortgage contracts.
I guess at the end of the day, Diversify and Distrust.
Different gas prices depending on whether you pay cash or credit has not yet come to Canada. Credit cards offer many advantages such as free extended warranties on electronic goods, protection etc. but should be used appropriately. Have credit card with low monthly limit in order to avoid increased accumulation of debt.
This may be a bit of a tangent, but as usual Philip your posts are thought provoking. Rule changing does something else. It makes us think there are no absolute rights or wrongs. As a democratic republic should the government even own private businesses? In a socialistic society that's the norm. Why should an individual pay taxes on something they already own and lose it if they can't? Like property taxes. Should the government be involved in mandating prices paid for healthcare? Is it fair for individuals to pay for the overall costs of actual medical services (or more than actual cost) to cover the deeply discounted amounts Medicare or Medicaid covers? Should the government decide to print money with nothing to back it? Isn't that lying? But we live in the "new grey" and nothing is considered right or wrong, we decide by what's expedient. The big guy wins and squashes the little guy every time. Even though the ball is tossed back and forth between government and debtors and bankers and unions we all get hurt in the end. Bonhoffer said something like (correct me if I'm wrong), "First it was the Jews and we said nothing, then the Catholics and we said nothing, now it's us, and it's too late."
This is very useful and valuable information to share especially in the current economic situation. It will definitely help individuals get right advice in taking the necessary steps to cope up and live comfortably.
I agree with your ideas. Liberal ideas of entitlement are bankrupting our state and country. The whole idea of taking money from the "rich" and giving to the poor has a fundamental problem. Eventually, you run out of "rich" people to take money from.
As for prop 8, you took the words right out of my mouth. Where do these people come up with the crazy idea that they are being descriminated against? They have exactly the same rights as everone else. Everyone has the right to marry a person of the opposite sex (excluding certain family members). If laws were to be changed allow marriage between anyone who is in love, are we next going to see brothers and sisters, fathers and daughters, or maybe even fathers and sons demanding the right to marry?
As for balancing the budget, why is raising taxes always the first thing that our government wants to do? Cutting spending is the answer. And why is healthcare and education always the first areas targeted to cut? These are the last areas that should be touched. How about cutting money spent on rediculous grants. Stuff like researching the mating habits of snails, and multiple other useless studies going on.
As for raising funds, do not increase taxes on law abiding citizens. How about generating funds by enforcing the laws that have recently been put on the books. A significant amount of money could be raised by enforcing laws that pertain to automobile use. Millions could be generated by enforcing cell phone laws alone, not to mention headlights on when wipers are on full, and seat belt laws. Why put these laws on the books if they are not going to enforce them? In the past year, I have seen thousands of people driving while talking or texting on the phone. Yet, only once have I seen someone pulled over for the same. IS THIS STUPID OR WHAT? Either enforce the laws or do away with them.
Great article! It is always great when you find spare change lying around your home. And when you take it to your local grocery store which has a Coinstar machine, you can buy groceries with your change! Instead of giving out bills, the Coinstar machine will print out a receipt with the dollar amount value you have accumulated to use for groceries at that store! That's one free grocery trip.
And yes, this is about sharing thrift store information. I agree. Again Tisha, cool post.
It's not that I don't agree with your point Simple Life, and I believe I stated I wasn't trying to make excuses - just some reasons behind why these things can happen. And yes, I have had friends help out from time to time when my eyes are bleary and I just can't read it again. At the end of the day though, many people are maxed out right now with their own lives. So searching out that kind of support is something I admit to doing less of lately.
Just to clarify on the non-native language speakers issue, in no way was that intended to be negative. Anyone that speaks more than one language has my respect, hands down. I'm simply stating that these are weaknesses I've noticed in myself after having listened to those who haven't mastered it for years at a time. I'm certainly not asking for a pass, and as soon as I notice errors I've missed I log in to correct them.
Striving for excellence is something I would agree with completely. I think it is important to note however that many other forms and outlets of writing come with editors built in to the system. Editors that get paid. I think everyone here at Wise Bread takes their work seriously, even though for most of us it happens to be something we do in addition to many other things. If I personally make the call on getting information out quickly, and make an error in the process, I do my best to correct the situation as soon as possible. By the way, I've seen major newspapers make similar mistakes, including one owned by USA Today. These are publications that can (or at least could) afford to pay someone a full salary and benefits to crank out just a couple of main articles a week and still have a separate paid editor or two on staff. That's not even including the fact checking folks.
All in all, I think we're doing a pretty good job here at Wise Bread, and fix what needs to be fixed as the situation arises. Again, you're making valid points. And again, I'm not asking for a pass. I'm simply stating how these things can happen.
Don't forget about Freecycle! You can post your unwanted items to your local group and someone will likely come take it from you at no cost to you, giving it some additional life and keeping it out of the landfills.
I didn't realize the comments section was for commenting on grammatical errors in the article. I was under the impression it was for sharing additional information relevant to the article, which is what I hope I've done with the information below.
Freecycle is completely left out of this article as means of getting rid of things you have not been able to consign or otherwise sell. I cleaned my garage last weekend, and everything I offered was picked up. I didn't have to leave my house, saving me the cost of gas to haul it away. I also have the pleasure of knowing the things went to people who will use them rather than in the garbage.
Google freecycle to find a group in your area.
The truth is that you (this includes you, too, Myscha) are making a living as writers. As such, you should strive for excellence. Own up to your mistakes; don't make excuses. You don't have do hire a professional proofreader--could a friend help? Or perhaps you could develop a system where all Wisebread writers help each other out with this task? After all, isn't this blog about being frugal? Lead by example! And if you don't have anyone to help you, maybe you can sit on that article for a few hours or a day, then read it again to make sure it makes sense. This will bring professionalism to this blog--and there's never too much of that.
I never post comments on this site to correct anyone about their grammar, orthography or punctuation. However, I have to admit that lately it has become more commonplace.
(By the way, I am a native speaker of a foreign language. Living in the USA, I have gotten used to people correcting me constantly. Even for my accent--when I use an accepted pronunciation that is unknown to the ones that correct me, they tend to think that I'm wrong, and not that they are the ones that are misinformed. We don't know it all -- let's be humble.)
Maybe it's not my place, but I have to admit to noticing a few errors in my own work from time to time. (And I spent years as a classroom teacher, to boot!) The thing is, or at least I'll speak for myself here, spell check doesn't necessarily catch everything and also (again speaking for myself) I've found that having spent SO many years outside of the country where English language newspapers and signs are so often completely incorrect and conversations with people aren't necessarily with those whose mother tongue is also English (and is in fact often their third or fourth language), I'm not necessarily spotting things as quickly as I used to when I was teaching English in an English speaking country. It's sad to say, but you really don't lug around an entire library of English books on your back and you spend a fair amount of time as an expat reading English news that isn't written by a native speaker. I don't know if that's Torley's reason, but I'll also point out that we try to get out so much content in a short amount of time in order to share the ideas, and we often do it in addition to numerous other duties when we're already exhausted. Sometimes things are so obvious when we go back and look at them live, but after you've proofread your own work so often, your brain tends to see what you think should be there. Paying for external proofreading services isn't exactly conducive to our bottom line. Not making excuses folks, just pointing out that we are all human, and doing our best to share ideas in a timely fashion.
I'll try not to shout here, LOL, but it's "avoid" not "void" the thrift stores on Saturdays -- voiding them gives the paragraph a whole new meaning.
Otherwise, this is a good, basic, how-to-get-started selling/buying at thrift store article. You obviously did a lot of research and gave this a lot of thought.
My suggestion: have someone else proofread for you.
Thanks for the post on thrift stores. Many Goodwill stores have special half-off sales daily. The Goodwill stores in Northern New England featured a different color each week that is half off--this is another great way to cut down on costs.
I just posted my hair on thehairtrader.com last night... so far so good. I had 100 views and 5 offers overnight.
http://www.thehairtrader.com/viewlisting~lid~258055.htm
What a wonderful thing this couple is doing! I'm sure that most people who eat at the restaurant really do pay what they can, and I bet they're very grateful for the opportunity to eat a good meal and don't abuse it. I absolutely love the barter system and think there should be more of that in all purchases/exchanges people make with one another.
I was a little offended by JerryC's comment, but think it probably paints a pretty clear picture of... well. I'm sure everyone can come to their own conclusion on that. But people who would be offended by a homeless person washing their dishes are not likely to be eating in this restaurant - since they would be able to pay full price somewhere else. For a restaurant in business more than 2 years, I'd say they've already been inspected by the health department and what do you know? Equal opportunity employers are really out there, and someone who is capable of washing dishes who looks like "riff raff" to someone who is better off financially can feel like more than a deadbeat and "pay" for their meal, even if it is paid through working rather than cash.
Great article, I didn't know restaurants like this existed and am happy to hear that they do!
I think it's terrific that so many people take the time to comment on Wisebread articles.
It is unfortunate, however, that so many people get all worked up over a typo or grammatical error, and use excessive punctuation to make their point. In most online communities, that would be the equivalent of "yelling" at someone, right?
When talking to people in person, I doubt very much these same "guest editors" point out grammar mistakes made in someone's speaking. "You said DON'T?!?!?! It was supposed to be "DOESN'T!!!" or "it's not ten items or LESS it should be ten items or FEWER!!!" Really. I'm positive the people who take the time to point out grammar mistakes online don't walk around correcting people when they talk, because that would be considered fairly rude wouldn't it?
Anyway. I thought the thrift shop tips in the article were helpful and I bet I would have known what you were writing about even if you didn't fix the "your" to "you are".