Instead of reaching for Gatorade (or other sport drink) after your next run, try a tablespooon full of honey in a tall glass of water. You'll still get a pick-me-up, some essential nutrients and no high fructose corn syrup!
is a good idea no matter where it comes from. And if Oprah can encourage people to take stock of their lives and their habits and help inspire them to change, then I don't see what's wrong with it. If you don't like her then don't watch the show. Don't slam her for trying to help ordinary Americans get their acts together.
@Linsey: Thx for sharing your experiences. In some cases I like to buy ONE thing to last... but with eyeglasses, having multiples to go through and a variety of frames is actually cheaper, and more fun.
As with many goods, buying "brand names" can be too pricey, and you may be paying more for the intangible emotional satisfaction of the label than the build quality...
I've had to eliminate dairy from cooking, because I have an allergy. But, when baking or made frosting without dairy lately, I've been using "earth balance" margarine and it has been a big hit with people who can even eat dairy :) I'll have to try the applesauce.
I have to agree. All that trans-fat in margarine is really bad for your health. I either use butter or olive oil (or a mix of butter, olive oil, and applesauce).
I have four of my own, but somehow this valid point escaped me! Yes, it is pointless to invest in new, shiny things when you have 3 of your brood under age 5. If there is a permanent marker within 6 acres, they'll surely find it -- and your furniture will tell the tale.
Yes, I sometimes long for a day when I can use cash to buy something a bit more stylish, but then I remember that this will mean all my babies are grown up and gone! I'll appreciate what I have while they are here with me. :)
My husband and I both wear glasses (although I prefer the 30-day continuous wear contacts.) We usually get one decent pair of glasses straight from the eye doctor and then take a copy of the prescription and sizing with us. We use this to buy "backup pairs" from 39dollarglasses.com. The quality of the online pairs are nothing near what I get at my eye Dr., however, it has been a very affordable option for us. Since you can order as many pairs as you wish, we get them any time our other backup pair has gotten to bent, scratched or (heaven forbid) lost. When you do alot of outside work, this can take a toll on your eye glasses. I also like to take a cheap pair along with me for business trips -- much less to replace if I leave them on an airplane or they get squished.
Then we save the nice pair we got from the clinic as our "going out" pair. (As long as my prescription doesn't change much, this pair can last me years-- 10 in my instance.)
Having a good experience as a mystery shopper is all about finding the right mystery shopping company (or a couple great ones to work with). I worked with a lot before I found companies like BestMark, Second-to-None and About Face. All great companies from a shopper perspective.
Although I agree it's easy to write off Oprah/Suze's advice as elitist because they don't need to follow it themselves, I think we should acknowledge these women are using their media reach in a generally beneficial way for the general public and not so beneficial to their big-business corporate advertisers. There HAS to be some backlash from their corporate sponsors.
Having been on both sides of the credit card issue, I can attest that not using your credit cards, not eating out, and not shopping for a month while you're weaning yourself off addictive consumeristic behavior is good advice. It's kind of like the "induction" phase of the Atkins of South Beach diet ... the point is to stabilize blood sugar (budget) and reduce sugar (shopping) cravings so you can be successful in your (budgetary) diet. Once you get your blood sugar (shopping impulses) under control, you gradually add items back in until you learn how much you can eat (shop) without gaining weight (debt).
Once you can look at a chocolate cream pie (30% off sale) without wanting it unless you are really hungry (need it), you can start carefully indulging from time to time, within your dietary (budget) restrictions. Credit cards become useful (as previous posters commented) when you use them to collect cash-back rewards and you pay off your debt in full every month. Restaurant meals become a meaningful way to eat good food and spend quality time with family and friends instead of a meaningless junk-food drive-through at a fast food restaurant. You find yourself shopping carefully for a few quality (hopefully American made) items which last a long time and you really enjoy instead of filling your closets with junk.
Oprah and Suze may be wealthy beyond most people's comprehension, but a lot of people trust them and I think overall it's a good thing the media queens are preaching responsibility (even if they're so wealthy they don't have to live it themselves).
I checked out Zinni optical since our teenager is hard on glasses and our vision coverage only buys a pair a year. It looked like a great option. My only concern was how to adjust the bows on a plastic pair you get online. I know the opticians office uses some sort of warm sand to heat and bend. IIRC Zinni also asks for the eye distances so the lenses are oriented right.
We decided to only buy vision insurance every other year to save money and since we really only get our eyes checked that often. In between we can buy online.
I agree that credit cards, themselves, are neither good or bad. It's all about how they are used. I also use my credit cards for just about every purchase. I find it more convenient than cash and I earn airline miles which saves me money on the flights that I regularly take to see my family. I also pay them off each month.
Additionally, credit cards give me some security. My whole family lives in different states and my parents are getting older. If something happens, I know that I can drive to the airport, get on a plane, get to where they are, rent a car and live for a week or two without having to worry about having enough cash to cover all of those expenses. Yeah, it would be crazy expensive to do that with no prior planning and I might not be able to pay off the whole trip at the end of the month (although I probably would). But just knowing that, if I'm needed, I can be with my family in less than 24 hours is a great comfort.
All that said, this is not an excuse to not continue to live frugally, be smart about what you buy, budget wisely and all of that sort of thing. But there's no one right way for everyone to handle money and live wisely. You have to find what works for you and your family. If that ways is Dave Ramsey's way, that's great. If it's the latest thing that Oprah's pushing, wonderful. But, for most people, it's going to be a bit from Dave Ramsey, something from Oprah, a tip from Great Grandmom, that budgetting spreadsheet that you put together in college, etc. And, yeah, you're gonna make mistakes. The key is not to give up. Financial responsibility is a lifelong pursuit just like a lot of things. If you take the long view while keeping an eye on your day to day actions, you're probably going to come out ahead.
I didn't realize that people think baking is difficult. Especially with boxed mixes and canned frosting, making a cake, brownies or cookies is incredibly easy. Yeah, the results may not look exactly like what's available in restaurants, but most of the time, the taste will be just as good.
And, once you master baking with mixes, you can start branching out. Add some chocolate chips (or better yet, decrease the oil and add some chocolate syrup and chocolate chips) to your brownies. Swirl a chocolate and vanilla cake mix in the pan and get a marble cake, or add sprinkles for "funfetti". Add extra cinnamon to those oatmeal butterscotch chip cookies, or substitute white chocolate chips for half of the regular chocolate ones.
From there, it's an easy step to finding recipes online and making things from scratch. And then, only another half step and you're combining bits and pieces of recipes and coming up with your own. Yeah, every once in a while, you'll fail. But it will still probably taste pretty good. If not, you toss it out, make a note not to try that combination again and give it another go.
My biggest problem is what to do with the rest of the cake after I've had my slice or three. But, most of the time, the high school kids at church or the guys at work are more than happy to finish up any leftovers.
I am so sick of Oprah telling me how to live my life by cutting back, living with less, blah blah blah!
It is sure easy to say stuff like that when you make that much money and have not a care in the world. But for some who work 40 plus hours per week (I work 60), is it really so awful to get some joy in my life by buying myself something I want, not need.
I would challenge Oprah to live like the average American for even one month. I guaratee that she would be running back to her palace in no time!
I can't imagine living on 100k
my step father brings in 159k and my mother 86k
they both work full time, we have an 07 cadillac cts, 02 ford f-150 super duty, and my suv the 04 ford explorer. new computers, new TVs, 4000 sq ft home, with imported wood, granite, and tile. a pool, hot tub, fire pit etc. we have lots of clothes to choose from from casual everyday, to formal wear for going to horse races and theaters. i get 100 dollars a month for lunch/breakfast at school, and i get about 50 dollars a weekend for "fun money" to spend on movies, food, clubs etc. my parents go out to nice restaurants, dinner clubs and jazz clubs most weekends where she can sport her 2.5 karat diamond ring. i am allowed to be in sports all seasons which cost about 200 dollars each, and i do specific training in the summer for about 400 dollars. speaking of summer, we just got two new four wheelers, for our renovated cabin on the lake. i also just got back from a school trip that involved going to new york for $1600 plus the extra $1000 in cash I was alowed for meals and shopping. i am also leaving for mexico in two days to enjoy some much desired heat haha. anyways we live in one of the wealthiest suburbs of Minneapolis. But then again I spose things could be more costly outside of Minnesota, but we seem to be doing just fine. i certainly wish the best for all of you who are struggling, and am giving kudos to those of you who are managing everything just fine! good luck to all of you (:
Interesting experiment/challenge I've been doing the last few weeks - trying to use whatever's in the pantry/fridge to make meals vs. stopping in the grocery every time the impulse to make something that I don't have ingredients for crops up. It's surprising how many meals can be made using what's already in the kitchen - and not grotesque stuff either. One bonus - the vegetables and fruit are actually getting eaten instead of making their usual trip to the compost bin after the obligatory 6-week detention in the fridge.
Still been to the market a few times, but probably only purchased a quarter of what I normally would have. Not that saving money is what's driving this, more like the challenge of coming up with something tasty with a limited set of ingredients. Or maybe it was that chicken I found in my freezer marked 'Best if used by 10/21/2005" that prompted this... :)
From a general personal-finance perspective, it's been really interesting to note how frequently the "I need to go to the store" or "I want this, therefore I should have it today" thoughts/impulses pop up. And people would not describe me as an instant-gratification kind of person, in fact, pretty much the exact opposite.
I was staggering around the kitchen the other day looking for something to eat in the early hours, and came across a mostly-depleted pot of mashed potatoes. Not knowing the wiser, I reached my hands into the pot and began to eat them. It was surprisingly good and not exactly the "potato flakes" you mention here, but they were definitely flaky and filling!
it comes around in circles. And what's not chic today may very well be tomorrow. Look at all the youth who weren't alive in the 70s, yet who shop at Value Village or Hot Topic to appropriate those styles. The same is true for non-clothes stuff which isn't so portable... like your furniture.
If your friends pressure you to get rid of something which is fully functional and serves its purpose without inducing health hazards (e.g., a 100-year old chair full of splinters), then these are apparently not the sagest friends to have when it comes to making something last and saving your nickels.
I found it very useful to use two basic categories in my budget: need / want. I need housing. Cable tv is optional. I need to pay the gas and electric. Books are a want. (And I love books--but the library is free.) Makes it pretty obvious how much you could live without if you had to do so and helps you create a realistic budget for an emergency fund (assuming that if you were tapping in to an emergency fund you wouldn't be spending money on your wants).
Sales:
A good price on something you don't need is still not a good deal. A sale simply sweetens the deal and perhaps makes the purchase come sooner rather than later.
Bulk:
Buy big containers, serve from small containers. Portions served from a large container are often larger and more frequent than they appear. Conversely, serving from a small container can help you use the product more frugally. So be sure to think as rationally as possible about what is a reasonable portion size (perhaps setting it on a small plate to avoid the relative size illusion) and divide up your bulk goods into small packages accordingly.
Instead of reaching for Gatorade (or other sport drink) after your next run, try a tablespooon full of honey in a tall glass of water. You'll still get a pick-me-up, some essential nutrients and no high fructose corn syrup!
is a good idea no matter where it comes from. And if Oprah can encourage people to take stock of their lives and their habits and help inspire them to change, then I don't see what's wrong with it. If you don't like her then don't watch the show. Don't slam her for trying to help ordinary Americans get their acts together.
@Dwight & Gail: I'm going to distill some goodies! In the meantime, like I mentioned in my post, GlassyEyes is a great resource.
@lucille: There's been some intriguing updates since that time! Such as Ira's unfavorable instances with Zenni.
@Linsey: Thx for sharing your experiences. In some cases I like to buy ONE thing to last... but with eyeglasses, having multiples to go through and a variety of frames is actually cheaper, and more fun.
As with many goods, buying "brand names" can be too pricey, and you may be paying more for the intangible emotional satisfaction of the label than the build quality...
Mo' money, mo' problems!
I've had to eliminate dairy from cooking, because I have an allergy. But, when baking or made frosting without dairy lately, I've been using "earth balance" margarine and it has been a big hit with people who can even eat dairy :) I'll have to try the applesauce.
I have to agree. All that trans-fat in margarine is really bad for your health. I either use butter or olive oil (or a mix of butter, olive oil, and applesauce).
I have four of my own, but somehow this valid point escaped me! Yes, it is pointless to invest in new, shiny things when you have 3 of your brood under age 5. If there is a permanent marker within 6 acres, they'll surely find it -- and your furniture will tell the tale.
Yes, I sometimes long for a day when I can use cash to buy something a bit more stylish, but then I remember that this will mean all my babies are grown up and gone! I'll appreciate what I have while they are here with me. :)
Linsey Knerl
My husband and I both wear glasses (although I prefer the 30-day continuous wear contacts.) We usually get one decent pair of glasses straight from the eye doctor and then take a copy of the prescription and sizing with us. We use this to buy "backup pairs" from 39dollarglasses.com. The quality of the online pairs are nothing near what I get at my eye Dr., however, it has been a very affordable option for us. Since you can order as many pairs as you wish, we get them any time our other backup pair has gotten to bent, scratched or (heaven forbid) lost. When you do alot of outside work, this can take a toll on your eye glasses. I also like to take a cheap pair along with me for business trips -- much less to replace if I leave them on an airplane or they get squished.
Then we save the nice pair we got from the clinic as our "going out" pair. (As long as my prescription doesn't change much, this pair can last me years-- 10 in my instance.)
Linsey Knerl
Having a good experience as a mystery shopper is all about finding the right mystery shopping company (or a couple great ones to work with). I worked with a lot before I found companies like BestMark, Second-to-None and About Face. All great companies from a shopper perspective.
Although I agree it's easy to write off Oprah/Suze's advice as elitist because they don't need to follow it themselves, I think we should acknowledge these women are using their media reach in a generally beneficial way for the general public and not so beneficial to their big-business corporate advertisers. There HAS to be some backlash from their corporate sponsors.
Having been on both sides of the credit card issue, I can attest that not using your credit cards, not eating out, and not shopping for a month while you're weaning yourself off addictive consumeristic behavior is good advice. It's kind of like the "induction" phase of the Atkins of South Beach diet ... the point is to stabilize blood sugar (budget) and reduce sugar (shopping) cravings so you can be successful in your (budgetary) diet. Once you get your blood sugar (shopping impulses) under control, you gradually add items back in until you learn how much you can eat (shop) without gaining weight (debt).
Once you can look at a chocolate cream pie (30% off sale) without wanting it unless you are really hungry (need it), you can start carefully indulging from time to time, within your dietary (budget) restrictions. Credit cards become useful (as previous posters commented) when you use them to collect cash-back rewards and you pay off your debt in full every month. Restaurant meals become a meaningful way to eat good food and spend quality time with family and friends instead of a meaningless junk-food drive-through at a fast food restaurant. You find yourself shopping carefully for a few quality (hopefully American made) items which last a long time and you really enjoy instead of filling your closets with junk.
Oprah and Suze may be wealthy beyond most people's comprehension, but a lot of people trust them and I think overall it's a good thing the media queens are preaching responsibility (even if they're so wealthy they don't have to live it themselves).
will be trying method 2 shorlty- wee let you know how it goes
will be trying method 2 shorlty- wee let you know how it goes
Gail, check out the article in the related articles.
http://www.wisebread.com/eyeglasses-stores-are-for-suckers-readers-tip
I checked out Zinni optical since our teenager is hard on glasses and our vision coverage only buys a pair a year. It looked like a great option. My only concern was how to adjust the bows on a plastic pair you get online. I know the opticians office uses some sort of warm sand to heat and bend. IIRC Zinni also asks for the eye distances so the lenses are oriented right.
We decided to only buy vision insurance every other year to save money and since we really only get our eyes checked that often. In between we can buy online.
I'd love to find out where to buy glasses online too.
I agree that credit cards, themselves, are neither good or bad. It's all about how they are used. I also use my credit cards for just about every purchase. I find it more convenient than cash and I earn airline miles which saves me money on the flights that I regularly take to see my family. I also pay them off each month.
Additionally, credit cards give me some security. My whole family lives in different states and my parents are getting older. If something happens, I know that I can drive to the airport, get on a plane, get to where they are, rent a car and live for a week or two without having to worry about having enough cash to cover all of those expenses. Yeah, it would be crazy expensive to do that with no prior planning and I might not be able to pay off the whole trip at the end of the month (although I probably would). But just knowing that, if I'm needed, I can be with my family in less than 24 hours is a great comfort.
All that said, this is not an excuse to not continue to live frugally, be smart about what you buy, budget wisely and all of that sort of thing. But there's no one right way for everyone to handle money and live wisely. You have to find what works for you and your family. If that ways is Dave Ramsey's way, that's great. If it's the latest thing that Oprah's pushing, wonderful. But, for most people, it's going to be a bit from Dave Ramsey, something from Oprah, a tip from Great Grandmom, that budgetting spreadsheet that you put together in college, etc. And, yeah, you're gonna make mistakes. The key is not to give up. Financial responsibility is a lifelong pursuit just like a lot of things. If you take the long view while keeping an eye on your day to day actions, you're probably going to come out ahead.
I'd be very interested in reading a post about online stores for eyeglasses.
I didn't realize that people think baking is difficult. Especially with boxed mixes and canned frosting, making a cake, brownies or cookies is incredibly easy. Yeah, the results may not look exactly like what's available in restaurants, but most of the time, the taste will be just as good.
And, once you master baking with mixes, you can start branching out. Add some chocolate chips (or better yet, decrease the oil and add some chocolate syrup and chocolate chips) to your brownies. Swirl a chocolate and vanilla cake mix in the pan and get a marble cake, or add sprinkles for "funfetti". Add extra cinnamon to those oatmeal butterscotch chip cookies, or substitute white chocolate chips for half of the regular chocolate ones.
From there, it's an easy step to finding recipes online and making things from scratch. And then, only another half step and you're combining bits and pieces of recipes and coming up with your own. Yeah, every once in a while, you'll fail. But it will still probably taste pretty good. If not, you toss it out, make a note not to try that combination again and give it another go.
My biggest problem is what to do with the rest of the cake after I've had my slice or three. But, most of the time, the high school kids at church or the guys at work are more than happy to finish up any leftovers.
I's true
All about finance
I am so sick of Oprah telling me how to live my life by cutting back, living with less, blah blah blah!
It is sure easy to say stuff like that when you make that much money and have not a care in the world. But for some who work 40 plus hours per week (I work 60), is it really so awful to get some joy in my life by buying myself something I want, not need.
I would challenge Oprah to live like the average American for even one month. I guaratee that she would be running back to her palace in no time!
I can't imagine living on 100k
my step father brings in 159k and my mother 86k
they both work full time, we have an 07 cadillac cts, 02 ford f-150 super duty, and my suv the 04 ford explorer. new computers, new TVs, 4000 sq ft home, with imported wood, granite, and tile. a pool, hot tub, fire pit etc. we have lots of clothes to choose from from casual everyday, to formal wear for going to horse races and theaters. i get 100 dollars a month for lunch/breakfast at school, and i get about 50 dollars a weekend for "fun money" to spend on movies, food, clubs etc. my parents go out to nice restaurants, dinner clubs and jazz clubs most weekends where she can sport her 2.5 karat diamond ring. i am allowed to be in sports all seasons which cost about 200 dollars each, and i do specific training in the summer for about 400 dollars. speaking of summer, we just got two new four wheelers, for our renovated cabin on the lake. i also just got back from a school trip that involved going to new york for $1600 plus the extra $1000 in cash I was alowed for meals and shopping. i am also leaving for mexico in two days to enjoy some much desired heat haha. anyways we live in one of the wealthiest suburbs of Minneapolis. But then again I spose things could be more costly outside of Minnesota, but we seem to be doing just fine. i certainly wish the best for all of you who are struggling, and am giving kudos to those of you who are managing everything just fine! good luck to all of you (:
Interesting experiment/challenge I've been doing the last few weeks - trying to use whatever's in the pantry/fridge to make meals vs. stopping in the grocery every time the impulse to make something that I don't have ingredients for crops up. It's surprising how many meals can be made using what's already in the kitchen - and not grotesque stuff either. One bonus - the vegetables and fruit are actually getting eaten instead of making their usual trip to the compost bin after the obligatory 6-week detention in the fridge.
Still been to the market a few times, but probably only purchased a quarter of what I normally would have. Not that saving money is what's driving this, more like the challenge of coming up with something tasty with a limited set of ingredients. Or maybe it was that chicken I found in my freezer marked 'Best if used by 10/21/2005" that prompted this... :)
From a general personal-finance perspective, it's been really interesting to note how frequently the "I need to go to the store" or "I want this, therefore I should have it today" thoughts/impulses pop up. And people would not describe me as an instant-gratification kind of person, in fact, pretty much the exact opposite.
I was staggering around the kitchen the other day looking for something to eat in the early hours, and came across a mostly-depleted pot of mashed potatoes. Not knowing the wiser, I reached my hands into the pot and began to eat them. It was surprisingly good and not exactly the "potato flakes" you mention here, but they were definitely flaky and filling!
it comes around in circles. And what's not chic today may very well be tomorrow. Look at all the youth who weren't alive in the 70s, yet who shop at Value Village or Hot Topic to appropriate those styles. The same is true for non-clothes stuff which isn't so portable... like your furniture.
If your friends pressure you to get rid of something which is fully functional and serves its purpose without inducing health hazards (e.g., a 100-year old chair full of splinters), then these are apparently not the sagest friends to have when it comes to making something last and saving your nickels.
Thankyou for sharing, Linsey!
I found it very useful to use two basic categories in my budget: need / want. I need housing. Cable tv is optional. I need to pay the gas and electric. Books are a want. (And I love books--but the library is free.) Makes it pretty obvious how much you could live without if you had to do so and helps you create a realistic budget for an emergency fund (assuming that if you were tapping in to an emergency fund you wouldn't be spending money on your wants).
Sales:
A good price on something you don't need is still not a good deal. A sale simply sweetens the deal and perhaps makes the purchase come sooner rather than later.
Bulk:
Buy big containers, serve from small containers. Portions served from a large container are often larger and more frequent than they appear. Conversely, serving from a small container can help you use the product more frugally. So be sure to think as rationally as possible about what is a reasonable portion size (perhaps setting it on a small plate to avoid the relative size illusion) and divide up your bulk goods into small packages accordingly.