What amazes me is that, in this nation founded upon the principle of "Equal Protection under the Law", anyone can contend with a straight face that it is "fair" to confiscate a higher PERCENTAGE of what one person earns than what they confiscate from any other person.
I started out with NOTHING...living in apartments that most of you wouldn't keep your dog in. Paid my own way through engineering school because, as a "white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant" I was told that I was completely ineligible for any form of educational financial assistance because I was not a minority of any sort. I paid for my entire schooling myself, working two and three jobs in addition to taking extra classes because anything over 12 credit hours per quarter was free, lived in a condemned building (I mean that literally) with my pregnant wife while working on my first, miserably salaried job.
We got through the near death of our third son, who had to have a bone marrow transplant as a baby ($800K in medical expenses) without any help except from the company for whom I worked....who was a "self-paying" insurer. No government help (they said that none of our medical expenses were deductible). Oh, and help from the Ronald McDonald House, where we stayed after all of our savings were gone. Today I go to McDonald's whenever I can, just to put money in the Ronald McDonald Charities box, even though I don't even like their food!
Now I work two jobs to pay the tuition payments for two of my sons to go to college at the same time. Why? Because my second son, who was nationally ranked as a college football prospect, was told, by three different schools, that he was not eligible for a Div ! scholarship because he was not a minority.
Now I'm told that I pay such an obscene percentage of my income in taxes while almost half the people in the United States don't pay a NET dime because I'm "rich"...what a crock of crap. My son's are not eligible for any student loans or scholarships because I "make too much money", their college expenses are not deductible for the same reason.
Every single free republic in all of history has been brought down by exactly the same principle....the 80/20 rule. In every society, 20% of the people do most or all of the work and pay most or all of the bills, while 80% contribute little or nothing while enjoying the same right to vote. The math is easy, and it always ends up that the 20% paying the bills get outvoted into being slaves to the non-contributors. Until either a revolt happens, or the one's that are doing all the work either stop working or take their labors elsewhere.
All the liberal preachy crap on here cannot change the facts of history, nor the inevitability of it happening again here.
I bought myself an expensive Nesspresso coffee machine (~ $500). It saves me $6 p/day on coffee (starbucks coffee less price of ground coffee for machine), makes much better coffee and when entertaining friends it is always a great way to finish a meal. I would also like to think it has improved my writing, since good coffee = better buzz = more alert! Though hard to quantify this.
About a year ago, DH and I bought an old house that we still love. We were immediately shocked by the electric bills so we invested in upgrades to the HVAC system that included adding an electric heat pump that is now coupled to our natural gas furnace (since the EHP is inefficient and expensive below about 30 degrees F, and in SD that is the higher than the high temp for most of January and February). The HVAC service company that did the work was running a special on high quality Lennox units so we spent a little more money on the better brand and got a much more efficient unit. We've also been careful to replace all of the (very) old appliances in the house with energy star appliances.
Hi Ocell,
This list of jobs is numbered for ease of reading -- I never meant to imply that one job is better than another. You make some great points though!
Camilla
I didn't have much choice, but an entire new heatpump system for my townhouse. Old one was dying fast (25 years old) and winter was coming on quickly, so I had to do something.
My father works for an HVAC company so I got the equipment and labor at a little bit less than I'd expected, at least, but in the ensuing year when power rates in my area went UP, my own bill went DOWN because of the sheer number of kWH I save now!
Plus, the HVAC got me a tax deduction because of its energy rating.
What does it for me is travel -- even a day trip. We're fortunate to live close to the Rockies, so we have a plethora of route/destination options in our backyard.
When we went through a stressful time (the closing of a business) we took long road trips to California or Utah, and you're right. It was like rebalancing a washing load.
Now that our lives are less stressful, a sock does the trick, so to speak, and a two hour road trip into the mountains is all it takes to reset the balance.
This article was very informative. It gives college students that read this article hope that they can still earn extra cash while attending their university.
My fiancee' developed a case of recurring gastritis that landed her in the emergency room in a great deal of stomach pain. The hospital charged us close to $1000 in the end, since insurance didn't cover everything, plus we had to spend $100s on the meds that claim to resolve the issues.
So we bought a masticating Omega juicer for about $250 and became vegan together. The cost of fresh organic fruit/veggies is higher than our typical grocery costs prior to juicing, but staying away from the hospital: priceless. If we keep this up, we won't have to go to the doctor or ER when we know we can go to the farm-acy (what we call our local farm market lol) to find a healthier, natural alternative. Also, her gastritis has subsided...and apparently a lot of health issues I didn't even know I had have totally disappeared. I'm confident saying that the investment will save us tons of cash for the rest of our lives :)
Large supermarkets now bake and sell the same day/night. Next day (all day) they fresh baked more breads. Since cannot be bothered to make own bread. I wouldn't buy anywhere else since can have fresh baked bread right then or from one hour before. A medium white loaf from a large supermarket when stored in cupboard or bread bin. Can last up to 10 days sometimes less then go hard.
If kept in the bottom of fridge but not in vegetable draws. Will keep 2-3 weeks for medium slice and then start to mould, it can still be soft to touch. Those lightweight slimming breads more so and can go two months and still be soft when in fridge in their still unopened bread plastic bags. Though also by then have gone bad white mould, but not yet green mould. Must be some other ingredients they use on those breads.
White Mould as seen on white bread appears on all breads of age. Close look at old bread you will see it. Whiter than what was there previously. I have checked this with a few slices to verify it does go whiter for some reason before it moulds green.
I wouldn't use bread that has this white or green mould.
Bread without mould I don't mind toasting for consumption, nice with chips.
Bread will stay fresh when frozen. Though the thawing for some can be a problem. If have a fridge that ices up inside the bread bag. Best then would be when thawing to take bread out of the bag and dry the bag (without contamination).
Then put thawed bread bag in the bag and use the seal-tie-clip to maintain freshness while using it. When sealing without squashing bread expel the air from the bag to stay fresh longer.
If, like me you have a second (holiday) home, then try http://www.exchangeholidayhomes.com . They only have holiday homes and there’s no charge to join. You get credits if you give up a week and you can use them against any place that agrees to the date you want.
This is one of the best articles I've ever read. As a 65 year old, "panic" does indeed set in. But by looking back I can see how much I've done--and realize that OMG I haven't missed life--I've lived it. If I have time, there are things I'd like to do--and can relax about it. If there isn't time--it has been a heluva good ride!! Thank you for writing this!!
Hello Nora
I am going to retire in 2 years and plan to travel europe until I get tired two - three years at least. I want to blog to my friends and people who might be interested in knowing how I did it and who might want to do it themselves. As a senior traveler I need to know about everything. Some I have already learned but could use help in getting started
I want to rent apartments not stay in hotels, want to stay in some countries 3 to 4 months and just visit others. Want to live like a native and enjoy life that these countries have to offer. Any times you can give me would be helpful
French sticks (bloomers) can be revitalised if crust after some days by putting in microwave at full power for 30seconds to a minute. They come out smelling like fresh baked bread.
Thinking of this I should try it with sliced bread, maybe less time for same fresh bake smell and taste.
Bread in a freezer is the only way to preserve bread longer.
I have tried recently those plastic food storage boxes with a clip lock on each side. Since has for last eight years kept my screen wipes (I don't use them for screen wipes) wet in one of those boxes. And you cannot get many ways to preserve those in a anything for same length of time. Well maybe you could with those vacuum storage bags. While bread wouldn't be as good squashed with vacuum squashing.
To say the least even bread didn't last long in one of those clip storage boxes. Its the air that is the problem. Air trapped in the bread and the box itself. Air that mould need to grow from the yeast and other ingredients in bread.
Well this is coming from someone who has worked at Target and is currently enjoying her job at WALMART! When I worked at Target, I hated it! I was paid minimum wage and they treated their employees like crap! Sometimes I dreaded going to work, and although I like shopping at Target (sometimes) I hate going to that specific one..the employees at Target are stuck up! I'm guessing at minimum wage you can act that way since your store is prettier than Walmart..lol! Whatever I don't care about looks I just want to get what I came for and get out! If you want looks go to the mall! Btw..I make a couple dollars more at Walmart than I did at Target, I get more hours, they don't over work me I just do my job! My experiences with HR have been awesome..any days off I needed, no problem, no penalty! Schedule change, done! To me all Target cares about is looking good and paying everyone good salaries except the people who do the most work, the sales associates and cashiers..the team leaders just laugh and talk all day. At Walnart I can truly say they care about the customers and their employees..my supervisor is always on the run getting work done! And they get the issue resolved fast! It's funny how these opinions are coming from people who have never worked at these places and want a silver spoon shopping experience at a department store! Umm excuse me! These stores are not Sax Fifth Avenue! Take your stuck up selves there! Better yet shop at the expensive locally owned stores! No thanks I have a family to feed and Walmart serves me well..I went to Kroger yesterday to get sandwich meat and it was $5.00 (at Walmart $2.50 same brand) yes I was pretty upset but I didn't feel like driving anywhere else..yep! That's my two cents! Lol..sorry for the long message!
Loan and Debts are funny thing. I would like to add few more points here
1. Prioritize repayment
2. Cut spending if you must
3. Alternative sources of borrowing (Friends and Family)
4. Negotiate for lower rate
Oh yes, one more. We installed a water filtration system under our sink and stopped paying for monthly water delivery and buying cases of bottled water, for savings amounting to $50 a month. Not to mention the reduction in plastic bottles.
Just an update. I fixed the central air myself. It had a "tight" compressor so I added a 5-2-1 hard start kit and now it works great (and has most of the summer). It was good and hot before I got it fixed. Nevertheless, we kept it turned up pretty high all summer, 80 during the day and 78 at night. It's now been off for weeks since the temperature has never gone over the low eighties. We just let the window unit run at 78 to keep the dogs happy and safe and turn the central air off. I'll run it one more time this year so it doesn't go too long without running as I'll need it next year.
Anyway, it was bloody hot here for a few weeks this summer. My comfort range is pretty big as I condition myself for heat in the summer and cold in the winter but, relentless heat wears on you after a while.
If I had no other option I would at least get a cheap window unit at Walmart and cool a small space to sleep in.
@Gwen - Sounds like you have quite an adventure in store! The best places I can guide you for tips would be a recent post about services that allow you to rent apartments:
http://www.wisebread.com/got-extra-space-make-money-and-meet-travelers-w...
...and this post which shares most of my secrets to full-time travel:
http://www.wisebread.com/how-to-travel-full-time-for-17000-a-year-or-less
I'll also be publishing a post on Wise Bread soon with ways for travelers to tap into local knowledge, so keep your eyes peeled on this site!
Lastly, if you still have questions, feel free to contact me through my site here:
http://www.theprofessionalhobo.com
What amazes me is that, in this nation founded upon the principle of "Equal Protection under the Law", anyone can contend with a straight face that it is "fair" to confiscate a higher PERCENTAGE of what one person earns than what they confiscate from any other person.
I started out with NOTHING...living in apartments that most of you wouldn't keep your dog in. Paid my own way through engineering school because, as a "white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant" I was told that I was completely ineligible for any form of educational financial assistance because I was not a minority of any sort. I paid for my entire schooling myself, working two and three jobs in addition to taking extra classes because anything over 12 credit hours per quarter was free, lived in a condemned building (I mean that literally) with my pregnant wife while working on my first, miserably salaried job.
We got through the near death of our third son, who had to have a bone marrow transplant as a baby ($800K in medical expenses) without any help except from the company for whom I worked....who was a "self-paying" insurer. No government help (they said that none of our medical expenses were deductible). Oh, and help from the Ronald McDonald House, where we stayed after all of our savings were gone. Today I go to McDonald's whenever I can, just to put money in the Ronald McDonald Charities box, even though I don't even like their food!
Now I work two jobs to pay the tuition payments for two of my sons to go to college at the same time. Why? Because my second son, who was nationally ranked as a college football prospect, was told, by three different schools, that he was not eligible for a Div ! scholarship because he was not a minority.
Now I'm told that I pay such an obscene percentage of my income in taxes while almost half the people in the United States don't pay a NET dime because I'm "rich"...what a crock of crap. My son's are not eligible for any student loans or scholarships because I "make too much money", their college expenses are not deductible for the same reason.
Every single free republic in all of history has been brought down by exactly the same principle....the 80/20 rule. In every society, 20% of the people do most or all of the work and pay most or all of the bills, while 80% contribute little or nothing while enjoying the same right to vote. The math is easy, and it always ends up that the 20% paying the bills get outvoted into being slaves to the non-contributors. Until either a revolt happens, or the one's that are doing all the work either stop working or take their labors elsewhere.
All the liberal preachy crap on here cannot change the facts of history, nor the inevitability of it happening again here.
I bought myself an expensive Nesspresso coffee machine (~ $500). It saves me $6 p/day on coffee (starbucks coffee less price of ground coffee for machine), makes much better coffee and when entertaining friends it is always a great way to finish a meal. I would also like to think it has improved my writing, since good coffee = better buzz = more alert! Though hard to quantify this.
Love Love Love : )
Great article. I included it on Tuesday's Frugal News Review podcast. I particularly enjoyed weed killer and plastic chair restoration.
About a year ago, DH and I bought an old house that we still love. We were immediately shocked by the electric bills so we invested in upgrades to the HVAC system that included adding an electric heat pump that is now coupled to our natural gas furnace (since the EHP is inefficient and expensive below about 30 degrees F, and in SD that is the higher than the high temp for most of January and February). The HVAC service company that did the work was running a special on high quality Lennox units so we spent a little more money on the better brand and got a much more efficient unit. We've also been careful to replace all of the (very) old appliances in the house with energy star appliances.
Hi Ocell,
This list of jobs is numbered for ease of reading -- I never meant to imply that one job is better than another. You make some great points though!
Camilla
My car was one of my most expensive purchases, and I know for sure I wouldn't have gotten some jobs if I'd been car-free.
I didn't have much choice, but an entire new heatpump system for my townhouse. Old one was dying fast (25 years old) and winter was coming on quickly, so I had to do something.
My father works for an HVAC company so I got the equipment and labor at a little bit less than I'd expected, at least, but in the ensuing year when power rates in my area went UP, my own bill went DOWN because of the sheer number of kWH I save now!
Plus, the HVAC got me a tax deduction because of its energy rating.
What does it for me is travel -- even a day trip. We're fortunate to live close to the Rockies, so we have a plethora of route/destination options in our backyard.
When we went through a stressful time (the closing of a business) we took long road trips to California or Utah, and you're right. It was like rebalancing a washing load.
Now that our lives are less stressful, a sock does the trick, so to speak, and a two hour road trip into the mountains is all it takes to reset the balance.
Good perspective....
This article was very informative. It gives college students that read this article hope that they can still earn extra cash while attending their university.
I cancelled my cable after using Hulu. It saves me $100 a month!
My fiancee' developed a case of recurring gastritis that landed her in the emergency room in a great deal of stomach pain. The hospital charged us close to $1000 in the end, since insurance didn't cover everything, plus we had to spend $100s on the meds that claim to resolve the issues.
So we bought a masticating Omega juicer for about $250 and became vegan together. The cost of fresh organic fruit/veggies is higher than our typical grocery costs prior to juicing, but staying away from the hospital: priceless. If we keep this up, we won't have to go to the doctor or ER when we know we can go to the farm-acy (what we call our local farm market lol) to find a healthier, natural alternative. Also, her gastritis has subsided...and apparently a lot of health issues I didn't even know I had have totally disappeared. I'm confident saying that the investment will save us tons of cash for the rest of our lives :)
Large supermarkets now bake and sell the same day/night. Next day (all day) they fresh baked more breads. Since cannot be bothered to make own bread. I wouldn't buy anywhere else since can have fresh baked bread right then or from one hour before. A medium white loaf from a large supermarket when stored in cupboard or bread bin. Can last up to 10 days sometimes less then go hard.
If kept in the bottom of fridge but not in vegetable draws. Will keep 2-3 weeks for medium slice and then start to mould, it can still be soft to touch. Those lightweight slimming breads more so and can go two months and still be soft when in fridge in their still unopened bread plastic bags. Though also by then have gone bad white mould, but not yet green mould. Must be some other ingredients they use on those breads.
White Mould as seen on white bread appears on all breads of age. Close look at old bread you will see it. Whiter than what was there previously. I have checked this with a few slices to verify it does go whiter for some reason before it moulds green.
I wouldn't use bread that has this white or green mould.
Bread without mould I don't mind toasting for consumption, nice with chips.
Bread will stay fresh when frozen. Though the thawing for some can be a problem. If have a fridge that ices up inside the bread bag. Best then would be when thawing to take bread out of the bag and dry the bag (without contamination).
Then put thawed bread bag in the bag and use the seal-tie-clip to maintain freshness while using it. When sealing without squashing bread expel the air from the bag to stay fresh longer.
If, like me you have a second (holiday) home, then try http://www.exchangeholidayhomes.com . They only have holiday homes and there’s no charge to join. You get credits if you give up a week and you can use them against any place that agrees to the date you want.
This is one of the best articles I've ever read. As a 65 year old, "panic" does indeed set in. But by looking back I can see how much I've done--and realize that OMG I haven't missed life--I've lived it. If I have time, there are things I'd like to do--and can relax about it. If there isn't time--it has been a heluva good ride!! Thank you for writing this!!
Hello Nora
I am going to retire in 2 years and plan to travel europe until I get tired two - three years at least. I want to blog to my friends and people who might be interested in knowing how I did it and who might want to do it themselves. As a senior traveler I need to know about everything. Some I have already learned but could use help in getting started
I want to rent apartments not stay in hotels, want to stay in some countries 3 to 4 months and just visit others. Want to live like a native and enjoy life that these countries have to offer. Any times you can give me would be helpful
French sticks (bloomers) can be revitalised if crust after some days by putting in microwave at full power for 30seconds to a minute. They come out smelling like fresh baked bread.
Thinking of this I should try it with sliced bread, maybe less time for same fresh bake smell and taste.
Bread in a freezer is the only way to preserve bread longer.
I have tried recently those plastic food storage boxes with a clip lock on each side. Since has for last eight years kept my screen wipes (I don't use them for screen wipes) wet in one of those boxes. And you cannot get many ways to preserve those in a anything for same length of time. Well maybe you could with those vacuum storage bags. While bread wouldn't be as good squashed with vacuum squashing.
To say the least even bread didn't last long in one of those clip storage boxes. Its the air that is the problem. Air trapped in the bread and the box itself. Air that mould need to grow from the yeast and other ingredients in bread.
Need to store bread longer - freeze it.
Well this is coming from someone who has worked at Target and is currently enjoying her job at WALMART! When I worked at Target, I hated it! I was paid minimum wage and they treated their employees like crap! Sometimes I dreaded going to work, and although I like shopping at Target (sometimes) I hate going to that specific one..the employees at Target are stuck up! I'm guessing at minimum wage you can act that way since your store is prettier than Walmart..lol! Whatever I don't care about looks I just want to get what I came for and get out! If you want looks go to the mall! Btw..I make a couple dollars more at Walmart than I did at Target, I get more hours, they don't over work me I just do my job! My experiences with HR have been awesome..any days off I needed, no problem, no penalty! Schedule change, done! To me all Target cares about is looking good and paying everyone good salaries except the people who do the most work, the sales associates and cashiers..the team leaders just laugh and talk all day. At Walnart I can truly say they care about the customers and their employees..my supervisor is always on the run getting work done! And they get the issue resolved fast! It's funny how these opinions are coming from people who have never worked at these places and want a silver spoon shopping experience at a department store! Umm excuse me! These stores are not Sax Fifth Avenue! Take your stuck up selves there! Better yet shop at the expensive locally owned stores! No thanks I have a family to feed and Walmart serves me well..I went to Kroger yesterday to get sandwich meat and it was $5.00 (at Walmart $2.50 same brand) yes I was pretty upset but I didn't feel like driving anywhere else..yep! That's my two cents! Lol..sorry for the long message!
Loan and Debts are funny thing. I would like to add few more points here
1. Prioritize repayment
2. Cut spending if you must
3. Alternative sources of borrowing (Friends and Family)
4. Negotiate for lower rate
Fintotal,
Finance for Non-Finance People
Oh yes, one more. We installed a water filtration system under our sink and stopped paying for monthly water delivery and buying cases of bottled water, for savings amounting to $50 a month. Not to mention the reduction in plastic bottles.
Just an update. I fixed the central air myself. It had a "tight" compressor so I added a 5-2-1 hard start kit and now it works great (and has most of the summer). It was good and hot before I got it fixed. Nevertheless, we kept it turned up pretty high all summer, 80 during the day and 78 at night. It's now been off for weeks since the temperature has never gone over the low eighties. We just let the window unit run at 78 to keep the dogs happy and safe and turn the central air off. I'll run it one more time this year so it doesn't go too long without running as I'll need it next year.
Anyway, it was bloody hot here for a few weeks this summer. My comfort range is pretty big as I condition myself for heat in the summer and cold in the winter but, relentless heat wears on you after a while.
If I had no other option I would at least get a cheap window unit at Walmart and cool a small space to sleep in.
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tweeted https://twitter.com/oshkoshbgosh321/status/250794506641870848
energy saving appliances