hubby gives me certain amt cash for "household expenses"...sure i make a menu, have a small garden, make a list for grocery shopping, use phone as calculator while shopping, try to add dog expenses, etc...but sometimes i need more for items i feel are important to me, to our general health & well-being...since i'm on a fixed income, i "put away" cash to save for "those extras" so as to not create "illness" where there should be none (IMO he's getting sicker all the time)...but when his health "craps out", then i can take him to where he can be tended (LMFAO) since he "hates" docs
so to answer the question "do i follow a budget?" the conundrum is NO...i figure at this state of affairs, or since my life is already so messed up (TBN) life's too short to be TOO rigid about ANYTHING
like right now im trying to gather a little cash to pay my gasoline expenses to visit a wonderful friend (gotta get away from him sometimes) so i'm trying to figure where i can make those "exchanges"
Didn't ask to see the credit report of a guy I married. There's a lot more to this story, but that is the lesson learned. If it is that apparent that someone is not financially sound, go with your gut...it they resist this simple request, he/she is not for you.
the MAIN thing i DON"T know about money is WHERE IS HE HIDING IT? hubby is VERY frugal, which is why i left my $$$$$$ in his hands, but he's tucked away some here & some there & if i ask too many questions, he'll stop "keeping the books" & i need his expertise
the WORST $$$$$$ error i ever made was to not INSIST hubby spend my five-figure income on home repairs b4 my forced retirement & loss of my health...oh geez, i've kcked myself MUCH more than those acors on the V-8 commercial
I kept spending money up to $1000 on my credit card when I didn't have any money left and had no income during college. Afterwards, I paid off the debt asap after I got a job. From that point, I have not been in credit card debt ever again (I am much more cautious than I was before).
Bought something just to "buy something" on vacation. Had been so careful to stay within budget, but ended up spending $30 I didn't need to on something I didn't need. I know, $30, not a huge oops, but it was a turning point for me.
My worst money mistake was a used vehicle buying incident. I was in the market for a used truck about two years ago. I was well aware of what steps to take while looking for a used vehicle. I knew I wanted to take it to a garage and have them give it a once over, I performed all the functions (4x4), cruise, windows, and etc, I visually inspected the truck including underneath. I took it to a garage, they told me a, b, c, and d will go wrong with the truck in the next 10-20k miles. It will also cost x amount of money. Well I went back to the dealership with these issues negotiated 2k off the price, and was thinking hey this is a steal! I bought the truck, down the line and the price of the truck later in repairs yes... the PROFESSIONAL who I did not heed the advice of was right (a,b,c, and d) went wrong. Currently the (d) aka my brakelines went. It is now sitting in my parking lot of my apartment complex, and I will be taking a large loss. I learned to heed the advice of the professionals, and I am trying to sell it taking a large loss at this point. I will go through the procautionary steps next time, and actually LISTEN to them.
I let myself get caught up in an estate auction bidding war for an antique Victrola record player. Not that the item wasn't really nice, but it was big and heavy and cost me $450 that I never recouped. I tried listing it on ebay but had no takers for it there, so eventually I freecycled it to some guy who wanted to play his dad's old 75 rpm records to remember his father by...
I have lived all of my 65 yrs. in south Louisiana in Lafourche parish. We have regular hurricanes (Katrina), flooding from heavy rains and some tornados. We don't have snow, at least very rarely. I can count on one hand how many times I've seen snow here. I have never experienced an earthquake. We have long, hot humid summers and short winters. Our insurance for flooding is getting to the point we may not be able to afford it After Katrina our premiums tripled and Our coverage went from $500 deductible to $2,500. Plus we are still paying on our energy bill extra to cover the cost of reestablishing our electricity! That was 8 yrs. ago. Now our premiums may ride up to tens of thousands of dollars. If we get another Katrina we are done for!!!
I hate my tap water it taste nasty and buying bottled water gets expensive so I get some empty 2 liter soda pop bottles and add a tiny bit of salt and sugar then a tiny bit of lemon. I shake it up for awhile then chill it in the freezer for a few minutes till you see ice starting to form take out put in fridge overnight really good the next day.
Just pay one of your utility bills online. You can usually pay almost any amount (there may be a minimum), but it's easy to do and you can get rid of all that plastic!
The advice to get enough sleep is excellent. I know I'm much more in control when I am well rested. It totally changes my ability to handle the days events.
I'm going to add a plug for Community Foundations which are non-profits that oversee grants and scholarships in communities. They often have an internal common application for all the scholarships they oversee. They may oversee scholarships on behalf of clubs/organizations, business, wealthy donors who have left large gifts, small/large memorial scholarships, scholarships funded by small donations etc. Many communities of a variety of sizes have a community foundation. http://www.cof.org/ The Council on Foundations can help you start to find a community foundation in your area
Haha, yes. Good point! I meant to write "tape" instead of "thread." This is all very good information as well, which is why we love comments! Keep em coming!
On #5 you wrote "If you have to replace the hose, then you'll need to make sure you have plumbing thread." I think you're missing the tape... and you'll definitely need it (grin). Don't forget to have a bucket or large bowl for places a bucket won't fit.
Seriously, I've done a lot of plumbing repairs, from installing sinks and fixtures, toilet replacement and repair, caulking and recaulking to replacing a garbage disposal. Probably the most frustrating thing I've encountered was needing a specialty tool for one repair; for me it was a basin wrench. Some hardware stores will loan tools, so it's worth it to find that out ahead of time.
Also, realize that some supply stores you may find online or in a directory are wholesale only and will only sell you supplies if you have a resale or contractor's license. Pretty important to know if you have to shut the water off at the main valve for the house for a repair and THEN find out you can't get the replacement part at Home Depot after you've already taken the fixture apart. Shower valves are infamous for this, since the older ones don't have shutoffs at the valve, which is in the wall, so you can't see it until you're in there - and you can't get in there until you've shut off the water at the main.
The next most important thing you can have handy is the name and phone number of a good local plumber, just in case you can't fix it yourself after all.
It would be great if more stories like this were in the news. Its great to see that some of them have enough sense to save and not live like all the money is going to be around for ever.
The worst money mistake I ever made was loaning a couple thousand dollars to my ex. I should've known I'd never see it again!
hubby gives me certain amt cash for "household expenses"...sure i make a menu, have a small garden, make a list for grocery shopping, use phone as calculator while shopping, try to add dog expenses, etc...but sometimes i need more for items i feel are important to me, to our general health & well-being...since i'm on a fixed income, i "put away" cash to save for "those extras" so as to not create "illness" where there should be none (IMO he's getting sicker all the time)...but when his health "craps out", then i can take him to where he can be tended (LMFAO) since he "hates" docs
so to answer the question "do i follow a budget?" the conundrum is NO...i figure at this state of affairs, or since my life is already so messed up (TBN) life's too short to be TOO rigid about ANYTHING
like right now im trying to gather a little cash to pay my gasoline expenses to visit a wonderful friend (gotta get away from him sometimes) so i'm trying to figure where i can make those "exchanges"
Not paying off student loans when I add discretionary income.
The worst money mistake I ever made was not using coupons. How did I ever go to the store and not use coupons!?!?!
Didn't ask to see the credit report of a guy I married. There's a lot more to this story, but that is the lesson learned. If it is that apparent that someone is not financially sound, go with your gut...it they resist this simple request, he/she is not for you.
the MAIN thing i DON"T know about money is WHERE IS HE HIDING IT? hubby is VERY frugal, which is why i left my $$$$$$ in his hands, but he's tucked away some here & some there & if i ask too many questions, he'll stop "keeping the books" & i need his expertise
the WORST $$$$$$ error i ever made was to not INSIST hubby spend my five-figure income on home repairs b4 my forced retirement & loss of my health...oh geez, i've kcked myself MUCH more than those acors on the V-8 commercial
I kept spending money up to $1000 on my credit card when I didn't have any money left and had no income during college. Afterwards, I paid off the debt asap after I got a job. From that point, I have not been in credit card debt ever again (I am much more cautious than I was before).
Bought something just to "buy something" on vacation. Had been so careful to stay within budget, but ended up spending $30 I didn't need to on something I didn't need. I know, $30, not a huge oops, but it was a turning point for me.
Worse money mistake was getting more than one credit card! Luckily I am paying them off and living within my means.
Feeling rushed in the home buying process and buying a house that was too expensive!!
My worst money mistake was a used vehicle buying incident. I was in the market for a used truck about two years ago. I was well aware of what steps to take while looking for a used vehicle. I knew I wanted to take it to a garage and have them give it a once over, I performed all the functions (4x4), cruise, windows, and etc, I visually inspected the truck including underneath. I took it to a garage, they told me a, b, c, and d will go wrong with the truck in the next 10-20k miles. It will also cost x amount of money. Well I went back to the dealership with these issues negotiated 2k off the price, and was thinking hey this is a steal! I bought the truck, down the line and the price of the truck later in repairs yes... the PROFESSIONAL who I did not heed the advice of was right (a,b,c, and d) went wrong. Currently the (d) aka my brakelines went. It is now sitting in my parking lot of my apartment complex, and I will be taking a large loss. I learned to heed the advice of the professionals, and I am trying to sell it taking a large loss at this point. I will go through the procautionary steps next time, and actually LISTEN to them.
The worst money mistake was buying a home when prices were sky high.
I let myself get caught up in an estate auction bidding war for an antique Victrola record player. Not that the item wasn't really nice, but it was big and heavy and cost me $450 that I never recouped. I tried listing it on ebay but had no takers for it there, so eventually I freecycled it to some guy who wanted to play his dad's old 75 rpm records to remember his father by...
I have lived all of my 65 yrs. in south Louisiana in Lafourche parish. We have regular hurricanes (Katrina), flooding from heavy rains and some tornados. We don't have snow, at least very rarely. I can count on one hand how many times I've seen snow here. I have never experienced an earthquake. We have long, hot humid summers and short winters. Our insurance for flooding is getting to the point we may not be able to afford it After Katrina our premiums tripled and Our coverage went from $500 deductible to $2,500. Plus we are still paying on our energy bill extra to cover the cost of reestablishing our electricity! That was 8 yrs. ago. Now our premiums may ride up to tens of thousands of dollars. If we get another Katrina we are done for!!!
Those celebrities are really inspiring, I can say that they are very resourceful and smart too.
I hate my tap water it taste nasty and buying bottled water gets expensive so I get some empty 2 liter soda pop bottles and add a tiny bit of salt and sugar then a tiny bit of lemon. I shake it up for awhile then chill it in the freezer for a few minutes till you see ice starting to form take out put in fridge overnight really good the next day.
Just pay one of your utility bills online. You can usually pay almost any amount (there may be a minimum), but it's easy to do and you can get rid of all that plastic!
The advice to get enough sleep is excellent. I know I'm much more in control when I am well rested. It totally changes my ability to handle the days events.
I'm going to add a plug for Community Foundations which are non-profits that oversee grants and scholarships in communities. They often have an internal common application for all the scholarships they oversee. They may oversee scholarships on behalf of clubs/organizations, business, wealthy donors who have left large gifts, small/large memorial scholarships, scholarships funded by small donations etc. Many communities of a variety of sizes have a community foundation. http://www.cof.org/ The Council on Foundations can help you start to find a community foundation in your area
Haha, yes. Good point! I meant to write "tape" instead of "thread." This is all very good information as well, which is why we love comments! Keep em coming!
Dont forget Ed Begley Jr - frugal and green!
On #5 you wrote "If you have to replace the hose, then you'll need to make sure you have plumbing thread." I think you're missing the tape... and you'll definitely need it (grin). Don't forget to have a bucket or large bowl for places a bucket won't fit.
Seriously, I've done a lot of plumbing repairs, from installing sinks and fixtures, toilet replacement and repair, caulking and recaulking to replacing a garbage disposal. Probably the most frustrating thing I've encountered was needing a specialty tool for one repair; for me it was a basin wrench. Some hardware stores will loan tools, so it's worth it to find that out ahead of time.
Also, realize that some supply stores you may find online or in a directory are wholesale only and will only sell you supplies if you have a resale or contractor's license. Pretty important to know if you have to shut the water off at the main valve for the house for a repair and THEN find out you can't get the replacement part at Home Depot after you've already taken the fixture apart. Shower valves are infamous for this, since the older ones don't have shutoffs at the valve, which is in the wall, so you can't see it until you're in there - and you can't get in there until you've shut off the water at the main.
The next most important thing you can have handy is the name and phone number of a good local plumber, just in case you can't fix it yourself after all.
It would be great if more stories like this were in the news. Its great to see that some of them have enough sense to save and not live like all the money is going to be around for ever.
Thanks for the oil change website, but it only lists cars from 2000 on. Is there a site that has this info for older cars? Thanks!