I shop at Costco and Trader's Joe. I pay Costco a membership fee of $55. Trader's Joe is open free to the public. Most of the time, I go to Trader's Joe for some cheaper and organic food. I go to Costco for its cheaper pizza and green/chicken salad.
I work with college students for a living, and I'm torn. I think they can be valuable in teaching financial responsibility, but can also go the other way!
Thank you for the wonderful feedback and for driving the main point home: we tend to get so focused on "living" our lives that we forget to enjoy them. I couldn't have said it better :)
I personally do a mix of quality dog kibble that I purchase at www.wallbyboypetproducts.com and give him fresh shredded chicken. He is a spoiled little Westie and I plan on keeping him that way.
My parents bought me an exquisite set of placemats from a yard sale. They are linen, hand-embroidered with delicate blue thread all around the edges, and contained a note from the original owner saying "SOMEBODY PLEASE USE THESE!".
I have yet to use them, although I do occasionally take them out and admire them. I feel bad about it, but the first red wine stain would mean that I wouldn't even get to enjoy LOOKING at them, you know?
It's funny, because I don't like to collect stuff at all, and my mother has always been super chill about stuff getting ruined - like when we accidentally break a nice champagne glass or something. She's always, like, "Eh, it's just a THING." And yet somehow I think I still have a collection of stickers that I bought in Japan, along with amusing stationery with amusing slogans. And for what??!
Don't people realize that if your kids know that moving back home is not an option they'll somehow find a way to make it on their own? I have two kids 25 and 27. Neither of them has been to college, and neither one has ever moved back into the house since they've been 18 y/o. One is an office manager and the other a welder/field supervisor. They learned trades by starting out in minimum wage jobs and worked their way up. I'm very proud of both of them. I'm not saying there aren't circumstances where a child may need a leg up, but always giving them a safety net doesn't help them grow up, it just keeps them dependent upon you.
I'm right there with you. I'm a pack-rat, and I'm working on heading in the "minimalist" direction instead of the "hoarder" direction. I can't say "reformed" or "reforming" or anything else, because while I'm working on it, I still haven't beat my packrat ways.
In my defense, it's inherited. :) My mom's the same way. Her whole family is. When they cleared out my grandparents attic after my grandpa died and my grandma was moving closer to the rest of the family, they found a box labeled "Bits of string, too small to save." Inside, sure enough, were bits of string in a variety of very short lengths.
...
So I'm very curious to read your post on "Getting Rid of Stuff." I've been doing better, I think. Every time we move, I make sure that every single box from the last move was unpacked and gone through (even if I only do it in the weeks before we move), so we don't keep moving miscellaneous stuff that we no longer need. I'm trying to implement a "one item in, one item out" policy for my clothes, but that's harder. Some of them I made, and... well, they're hard to get rid of, even if I never wear them.
It's a work in progress, as is the nature of life in general. It's nice to hear from people who are ahead of me on the path, though, who can offer encouragement and assurance that the terrain isn't too rocky up ahead, even if it looks steep and challenging. So, thank you.
On our recent trip to the US my wife discovered Trader Joe's and fell in love with the place. She was shattered when she found out the chain isn't in Canada. Costo isn't even on her radar when it comes to groceries, they just don't have tasty, quality products in her opinion.
The emotional side to spending and debt is a tricky subject for most people. Being able to admit that your debt accumulation was due to your own financial decisions is key. It takes hard work and discipline to get yourself out of debt but hard work always pays off!
I dont know anyone that would willingly offer up their maximum monthly budget total. If you are in negotiation with a sales person, that would probably be the dumbest thing you could do. And it's not surprising that when people believe they're receiving rewards on their credit card that they would spend a good amount more then if not. And good advice using it to pay for higher percent rewarded items like groceries rather than gas.
I tend to be guilty of this, myself. I had so many candles that were too nice to burn and clothes that were too nice to wear, and worst of all, pretty journals that were too nice to write in.
So when my husband and I got married, I decided to sometimes bring out our wedding china on a Tuesday, just because. I haven't done that in a while, but I think I'll have to do so this week.
Thanks for the inspiration to remind myself that I'm worth the nice stuff I have.
Not entirety our fault but we have lot to do with it. Time to change the mindset and start saving. SAVINGS = INCOME - EXPENSES, why not make it EXPENSES = INCOME - SAVINGS?
Disappointed...I was rather upset to find that each time I use my Approved Card for salon services there is an additional charge, allegedly for a tip, that I did not approve. When I get service I pay tips in cash. When I called the Customer Service line to question the additional charges I was told I had to deal with the retailer and there was NOTHING could be done even though the receipts I signed DID NOT match the amount I was actually charged. Is this even legal???
I have an iPhone under AT&T and this bingoroo scammed me for 8 months straight. Whenever I try to text back stop it will spam me more. This is ruthless an it really angered me. I was surprised that AT&T support was very helpful and refunded me all the money charged without any much questions and help setup the purchase blocker. Right after I hung up I received text messages from bingoroo again telling about the subscription. The more I text stop the more messages I get. It's been about 4 hours now since I spoke to AT&T when I'm writing this letter and I already received 29 total messages from bingoroo flooding my SMS. Don't tell me to try 7726 because I did and all it tells me is to text stop to 30211. I think this really qualifies for some class action lawsuit. I'm open to any lawyers out there and I saved all evidences that we will need.
Given that this society requires consumers to build up a credit rep, I suppose it might be OK for college students to make use of some sort of limited credit card, so they don't foolishly run up staggering amounts of debt which they will never pay off in their lifetimes owing to the way debt is structured to favor the banks and slimy financial outfits that lure foolish people into thinking they can't live without a credit card.
Just got the word earlier this month. Companion tickets issued after August 1st with the Alaska Airlines VISA may only be used for coach fares. Sigh....
Great ideas. My best tip for saving money and time during the summer dovetails well with #14, grill a lot of meat and veggies and freeze them down for the coming weeks. With the grill you can do volume which helps save time.
I shop at Costco and Trader's Joe. I pay Costco a membership fee of $55. Trader's Joe is open free to the public. Most of the time, I go to Trader's Joe for some cheaper and organic food. I go to Costco for its cheaper pizza and green/chicken salad.
I work with college students for a living, and I'm torn. I think they can be valuable in teaching financial responsibility, but can also go the other way!
Thank you for the wonderful feedback and for driving the main point home: we tend to get so focused on "living" our lives that we forget to enjoy them. I couldn't have said it better :)
Can I use freeze jacking as a method of distillation of my sugar yeast moonshine must?
Leo
I am so glad you enjoyed it! Hope to see you again next week! :)
You are welcome!
I personally do a mix of quality dog kibble that I purchase at www.wallbyboypetproducts.com and give him fresh shredded chicken. He is a spoiled little Westie and I plan on keeping him that way.
I have a thing for beautiful table linens, too. Especially those with handwork.
Have you considered framing them or hanging them, as is, for wall decor? I've done this when things have just seemed "too nice" to risk the stains.
I used to take Vitamin B Complex 50 and garlic pills and I noticed how little I was bitten by mosquitoes.
My parents bought me an exquisite set of placemats from a yard sale. They are linen, hand-embroidered with delicate blue thread all around the edges, and contained a note from the original owner saying "SOMEBODY PLEASE USE THESE!".
I have yet to use them, although I do occasionally take them out and admire them. I feel bad about it, but the first red wine stain would mean that I wouldn't even get to enjoy LOOKING at them, you know?
It's funny, because I don't like to collect stuff at all, and my mother has always been super chill about stuff getting ruined - like when we accidentally break a nice champagne glass or something. She's always, like, "Eh, it's just a THING." And yet somehow I think I still have a collection of stickers that I bought in Japan, along with amusing stationery with amusing slogans. And for what??!
Well, it IS an article about food shopping.
Don't people realize that if your kids know that moving back home is not an option they'll somehow find a way to make it on their own? I have two kids 25 and 27. Neither of them has been to college, and neither one has ever moved back into the house since they've been 18 y/o. One is an office manager and the other a welder/field supervisor. They learned trades by starting out in minimum wage jobs and worked their way up. I'm very proud of both of them. I'm not saying there aren't circumstances where a child may need a leg up, but always giving them a safety net doesn't help them grow up, it just keeps them dependent upon you.
You are comparing apples to oranges...
I'm right there with you. I'm a pack-rat, and I'm working on heading in the "minimalist" direction instead of the "hoarder" direction. I can't say "reformed" or "reforming" or anything else, because while I'm working on it, I still haven't beat my packrat ways.
In my defense, it's inherited. :) My mom's the same way. Her whole family is. When they cleared out my grandparents attic after my grandpa died and my grandma was moving closer to the rest of the family, they found a box labeled "Bits of string, too small to save." Inside, sure enough, were bits of string in a variety of very short lengths.
...
So I'm very curious to read your post on "Getting Rid of Stuff." I've been doing better, I think. Every time we move, I make sure that every single box from the last move was unpacked and gone through (even if I only do it in the weeks before we move), so we don't keep moving miscellaneous stuff that we no longer need. I'm trying to implement a "one item in, one item out" policy for my clothes, but that's harder. Some of them I made, and... well, they're hard to get rid of, even if I never wear them.
It's a work in progress, as is the nature of life in general. It's nice to hear from people who are ahead of me on the path, though, who can offer encouragement and assurance that the terrain isn't too rocky up ahead, even if it looks steep and challenging. So, thank you.
I love this! What's the point of having things if you don't use them. Great points :)
On our recent trip to the US my wife discovered Trader Joe's and fell in love with the place. She was shattered when she found out the chain isn't in Canada. Costo isn't even on her radar when it comes to groceries, they just don't have tasty, quality products in her opinion.
The emotional side to spending and debt is a tricky subject for most people. Being able to admit that your debt accumulation was due to your own financial decisions is key. It takes hard work and discipline to get yourself out of debt but hard work always pays off!
I dont know anyone that would willingly offer up their maximum monthly budget total. If you are in negotiation with a sales person, that would probably be the dumbest thing you could do. And it's not surprising that when people believe they're receiving rewards on their credit card that they would spend a good amount more then if not. And good advice using it to pay for higher percent rewarded items like groceries rather than gas.
I tend to be guilty of this, myself. I had so many candles that were too nice to burn and clothes that were too nice to wear, and worst of all, pretty journals that were too nice to write in.
So when my husband and I got married, I decided to sometimes bring out our wedding china on a Tuesday, just because. I haven't done that in a while, but I think I'll have to do so this week.
Thanks for the inspiration to remind myself that I'm worth the nice stuff I have.
Not entirety our fault but we have lot to do with it. Time to change the mindset and start saving. SAVINGS = INCOME - EXPENSES, why not make it EXPENSES = INCOME - SAVINGS?
Disappointed...I was rather upset to find that each time I use my Approved Card for salon services there is an additional charge, allegedly for a tip, that I did not approve. When I get service I pay tips in cash. When I called the Customer Service line to question the additional charges I was told I had to deal with the retailer and there was NOTHING could be done even though the receipts I signed DID NOT match the amount I was actually charged. Is this even legal???
I have an iPhone under AT&T and this bingoroo scammed me for 8 months straight. Whenever I try to text back stop it will spam me more. This is ruthless an it really angered me. I was surprised that AT&T support was very helpful and refunded me all the money charged without any much questions and help setup the purchase blocker. Right after I hung up I received text messages from bingoroo again telling about the subscription. The more I text stop the more messages I get. It's been about 4 hours now since I spoke to AT&T when I'm writing this letter and I already received 29 total messages from bingoroo flooding my SMS. Don't tell me to try 7726 because I did and all it tells me is to text stop to 30211. I think this really qualifies for some class action lawsuit. I'm open to any lawyers out there and I saved all evidences that we will need.
Given that this society requires consumers to build up a credit rep, I suppose it might be OK for college students to make use of some sort of limited credit card, so they don't foolishly run up staggering amounts of debt which they will never pay off in their lifetimes owing to the way debt is structured to favor the banks and slimy financial outfits that lure foolish people into thinking they can't live without a credit card.
Just got the word earlier this month. Companion tickets issued after August 1st with the Alaska Airlines VISA may only be used for coach fares. Sigh....
Great ideas. My best tip for saving money and time during the summer dovetails well with #14, grill a lot of meat and veggies and freeze them down for the coming weeks. With the grill you can do volume which helps save time.