Based on the first paragraph and the headline, I really thought this article would be about cashing in your tin cans and other things that might just go in your waste stream. I was thinking "well, when there's nothing else to cut, where can you make money? Oh, the title says waste not..." I'm glad it was a little more conventional - and sparked such lively discussion about paper towels!
For the curious, the cost of scrap is way down right now, so you'd be saving your cans for 5 years or more to meet the $20 minimum my local scrap yard has set.
i tried toothpaste both the gel and the baking soda one it worked a bit then it just freezes a few hours later lulz i tried brasso but i cant find a cloth so i used paper towel btw scary ending
actually this article is useful. americans usually take having hot water for granted. i know i do. my parents are both from rural china and we still have relatives there. they have propane heated water. so most ppl just do a quick sponge bath. my cousins recently visited there and they said they didn't wash their hair for a week which is pretty gross considering how freaking hot it gets there. i think they could've done it if they knew about these tips. so this isn't stupid!
When I empty my purse every week (or so) of the accumulated change, I put half of it into my piggy bank (which is actually an old pickle jar with a crocheted 'hat' on top) and the other hald into our tzedakah box. (Tzedakah is a Hebrew word that roughly translates to charity.) I use the piggy-bank money to buy grocery 'luxury' items I wouldn't otherwise buy (like a really good bottle of EVOO), and the tzedakah money gets donated once a year at our synagogue's Mitzvah Day. Times are tough around here, but in this way, I'm able to make a pretty generous donation to charity at least once a year, with (relatively) no skin off my nose!
It's amazing what can replace cable. I've replaced cable with OTA TV channels, netflix (at first, but I've cut that out too), online TV, blogs, library books and conversations with friends. When we have something we can almost always justify why we "need it" or "can't live with out it", but the truth is you can live without it and you don't need it. Once gone you hardly miss it.
P.S. Comedy Central and CNN also have a lot of online content.
Your articles are this site are consistently top-notch. I commend you for turning your back on the high-earning job in order to pursue your deeper interests. It has positive externalities as well, since readers such as myself are able to enjoy your thoughtfulness and insight.
From what I can tell, Wanda is more of the public face and Frank is more of the behind the scenes guy so I am not sure if the magazine article was telling us anything or just focusing on who most people are used to hearing from. I like the idea that the media can portray cultural and counter-cultural trends.
I already have a computer. I already have a TV. No one is suggesting buy a new computer to attach to the TV. Just use an existing one. Broadband cost at most $50/month and can be used for Internet AND TV viewing.
I was looking at all our household bills yesterday and while cable is the highest it is just something I am not willing to part with. I actually get very good use out of it and while I don't think it is actually worth the large amount of money I don't even want to write down I just don't want to part with it. I am however getting rid of the two movie channels I have and while I will miss the 5 or 6 shows I watch on them, I guess I can just wait for them to be on Netflix and catch up that way. I do believe some of the shows are available online so I am hoping for that once the seasons start up again. It is definitely not worth the $21 just for the movie channels when I only watch two of them, they come with at least 5 each and while I do watch the occasional movie I rarely even stop on some of the other channels. Depending on how the next few months pan out though I might just be forced to scale it down even more.
I'll be using a combination of TiVo HD/Netflix and Boxee on my MacBook with my broadband connection to get all my video entertainment needs. I expect to save over $1000 this year. I already had a Netflix Unlimited plan and the TiVo HD was a gift. I connect the MacBook to my TV via a DVI to HDMI cable.
This doesn't make any economic sense. Computer costs 500 dollars. Internet costs 50 dollars a month. Computer needs to be maintained and you have to put up with firewalls,viruses,malware, freezes,updates internet going down, etc. For 500 dollars you can get a nice 32 inch HD TV and get the cable with HD channels and lots of free movies. Then go to the library for free internet.
My mom really could use this. :)
I've been a lurker on this site for some time now, this is my first post, but would like to say keep up the great work!
i recently bit the bullet and purchased an Apple TV for me and my wife. We've canceled our Comcast digital cable about 8 months ago and now have the 'basic' of basic packages (around 30 channels). I used to hook up my laptop to play hulu and itunes content but that got rather annoying and tedious to do. Plus no remote for lappy. So i purchased an apple product (shudder) and read up about putting boxee on it so we could watch all that great content on the big screen.
So far its been great! hook it up to wifi, tweak it a little... its awesome. no netflix support yet (apparently the apple tv cpu isnt fast enough to handle it). but the ability to watch virtually anything we want on tv and only pay $15 per month... priceless...
this motivation grew solely out of my hatred of comcast...
Unfortunately, most of the shows I watch (a lot of HGTV, some PBS, Discovery, "Nat Geo" etc.), are still not available online. For example, the Discovery Networks site you link to offers full episodes for only two shows, and short clips for a couple dozen more. The HGTV site likewise only offers a small fraction of their full offerings as full episodes.
Ditch-the-cable might work if you really only watch a few blockbuster series, but if you like talk shows, DIY shows, etc., it's still slim pickings. I may only watch 10% of the channels on my cable package, and watch only 10% of the shows those channels offer, but *I* get to pick which 10%!
If you're not picky about what or where you eat and your city has a Chinatown, take a look at it. My favorite is to go to Flushing Chinatown in Queens, New York City, get a meal for around $5 and some takeout to reheat in the microwave oven for the next day.
I'd love a copy to share with my mother-in-law, who is willing -- I'd even say bold -- but doesn't always know where to begin. It would be awesome to get her on Facebook with my kids!
Thanks for the contest and a happy and frugal NY
Ruth Mullen
Does anyone know of a full list of the content Netflix offers online? I can only find a sample offering on their website and want to know everything they offer before we bought a subscription or used their free trial.
We are not quite ready to give up cable but we are seriously considering switching to one of the dish services and buying a lower service tier. We will also have to get an antenna to get all of the local PBS but we intended to do that anyway even with cable. Our cable service has jacked the price, downgraded service and their customer service has become horrible. Another company bought our cable company.
We can get some of the content we want via the internet. Honestly, the things we have found online had better picture at full screen than our cable broadcast.
Until we can get live cable news some other way and a few channels we watch all the time we won't cut the cord. If certain channels started providing a subscription to stream live we would be all over that as an alternative.
For those with new(er) TVs with VGA and/or DVI/HDMI inputs, it's pretty easy to connect a computer (think older laptop for noise considerations) to the TV. voila! Streamed online content on your TV! And *possibly* all for nothing but the cost of a cable (VGA to VGA or whatever inputs your TV may have. pun intended btw).
A wireless mouse in conjunction with the on-screen keyboard helps with navigation so that you don't have to get up to go the computer each time you "change the channel."
I have been using Skydrive for about a month now. 25 gig of free storage. quick and easy to upload and/or download. I recommend you try it at skydrive.live.com
When I bought my house, it didn't have an antenna. As a result, I pay $10 a month for basic cable (just the local channels) that should be "free." To buy in and install and antenna would cost upwards of $600! I know I'd eventually save money, but I'm really torn. Do I spent the big bucks for the antenna or keep shelling out the $10? I'm definitely not willing to give up TV just yet and hate watching TV on computer. Don't even know if rabbit ears will work (pretty rural area). Any suggestions?
Unfortunately, my cable TV is just one of those things I am willing to pay to play for. I'm a bit of an addict that way. I concept of watching it through a computer with my wife just doesn't thrill me the way chilling on a couch and clicking through does. Plust the DVR is great!
Based on the first paragraph and the headline, I really thought this article would be about cashing in your tin cans and other things that might just go in your waste stream. I was thinking "well, when there's nothing else to cut, where can you make money? Oh, the title says waste not..." I'm glad it was a little more conventional - and sparked such lively discussion about paper towels!
For the curious, the cost of scrap is way down right now, so you'd be saving your cans for 5 years or more to meet the $20 minimum my local scrap yard has set.
Fancast.com has TOOONS of stuff, movies, tv shows, etc.
watchtvsitcoms.com is ok too
i tried toothpaste both the gel and the baking soda one it worked a bit then it just freezes a few hours later lulz i tried brasso but i cant find a cloth so i used paper towel btw scary ending
actually this article is useful. americans usually take having hot water for granted. i know i do. my parents are both from rural china and we still have relatives there. they have propane heated water. so most ppl just do a quick sponge bath. my cousins recently visited there and they said they didn't wash their hair for a week which is pretty gross considering how freaking hot it gets there. i think they could've done it if they knew about these tips. so this isn't stupid!
When I empty my purse every week (or so) of the accumulated change, I put half of it into my piggy bank (which is actually an old pickle jar with a crocheted 'hat' on top) and the other hald into our tzedakah box. (Tzedakah is a Hebrew word that roughly translates to charity.) I use the piggy-bank money to buy grocery 'luxury' items I wouldn't otherwise buy (like a really good bottle of EVOO), and the tzedakah money gets donated once a year at our synagogue's Mitzvah Day. Times are tough around here, but in this way, I'm able to make a pretty generous donation to charity at least once a year, with (relatively) no skin off my nose!
It's amazing what can replace cable. I've replaced cable with OTA TV channels, netflix (at first, but I've cut that out too), online TV, blogs, library books and conversations with friends. When we have something we can almost always justify why we "need it" or "can't live with out it", but the truth is you can live without it and you don't need it. Once gone you hardly miss it.
P.S. Comedy Central and CNN also have a lot of online content.
Mr. Brewer,
Your articles are this site are consistently top-notch. I commend you for turning your back on the high-earning job in order to pursue your deeper interests. It has positive externalities as well, since readers such as myself are able to enjoy your thoughtfulness and insight.
From what I can tell, Wanda is more of the public face and Frank is more of the behind the scenes guy so I am not sure if the magazine article was telling us anything or just focusing on who most people are used to hearing from. I like the idea that the media can portray cultural and counter-cultural trends.
I already have a computer. I already have a TV. No one is suggesting buy a new computer to attach to the TV. Just use an existing one. Broadband cost at most $50/month and can be used for Internet AND TV viewing.
I was looking at all our household bills yesterday and while cable is the highest it is just something I am not willing to part with. I actually get very good use out of it and while I don't think it is actually worth the large amount of money I don't even want to write down I just don't want to part with it. I am however getting rid of the two movie channels I have and while I will miss the 5 or 6 shows I watch on them, I guess I can just wait for them to be on Netflix and catch up that way. I do believe some of the shows are available online so I am hoping for that once the seasons start up again. It is definitely not worth the $21 just for the movie channels when I only watch two of them, they come with at least 5 each and while I do watch the occasional movie I rarely even stop on some of the other channels. Depending on how the next few months pan out though I might just be forced to scale it down even more.
I'll be using a combination of TiVo HD/Netflix and Boxee on my MacBook with my broadband connection to get all my video entertainment needs. I expect to save over $1000 this year. I already had a Netflix Unlimited plan and the TiVo HD was a gift. I connect the MacBook to my TV via a DVI to HDMI cable.
This doesn't make any economic sense. Computer costs 500 dollars. Internet costs 50 dollars a month. Computer needs to be maintained and you have to put up with firewalls,viruses,malware, freezes,updates internet going down, etc. For 500 dollars you can get a nice 32 inch HD TV and get the cable with HD channels and lots of free movies. Then go to the library for free internet.
I always direct my call to "company profitable area", and then tell them my problem. They connect me with the proper human.
I always direct my call to "company profitable area", and then tell them my problem. They connect me with the proper human.
My mom really could use this. :)
I've been a lurker on this site for some time now, this is my first post, but would like to say keep up the great work!
i recently bit the bullet and purchased an Apple TV for me and my wife. We've canceled our Comcast digital cable about 8 months ago and now have the 'basic' of basic packages (around 30 channels). I used to hook up my laptop to play hulu and itunes content but that got rather annoying and tedious to do. Plus no remote for lappy. So i purchased an apple product (shudder) and read up about putting boxee on it so we could watch all that great content on the big screen.
So far its been great! hook it up to wifi, tweak it a little... its awesome. no netflix support yet (apparently the apple tv cpu isnt fast enough to handle it). but the ability to watch virtually anything we want on tv and only pay $15 per month... priceless...
this motivation grew solely out of my hatred of comcast...
Unfortunately, most of the shows I watch (a lot of HGTV, some PBS, Discovery, "Nat Geo" etc.), are still not available online. For example, the Discovery Networks site you link to offers full episodes for only two shows, and short clips for a couple dozen more. The HGTV site likewise only offers a small fraction of their full offerings as full episodes.
Ditch-the-cable might work if you really only watch a few blockbuster series, but if you like talk shows, DIY shows, etc., it's still slim pickings. I may only watch 10% of the channels on my cable package, and watch only 10% of the shows those channels offer, but *I* get to pick which 10%!
If you're not picky about what or where you eat and your city has a Chinatown, take a look at it. My favorite is to go to Flushing Chinatown in Queens, New York City, get a meal for around $5 and some takeout to reheat in the microwave oven for the next day.
I'd love a copy to share with my mother-in-law, who is willing -- I'd even say bold -- but doesn't always know where to begin. It would be awesome to get her on Facebook with my kids!
Thanks for the contest and a happy and frugal NY
Ruth Mullen
Does anyone know of a full list of the content Netflix offers online? I can only find a sample offering on their website and want to know everything they offer before we bought a subscription or used their free trial.
We are not quite ready to give up cable but we are seriously considering switching to one of the dish services and buying a lower service tier. We will also have to get an antenna to get all of the local PBS but we intended to do that anyway even with cable. Our cable service has jacked the price, downgraded service and their customer service has become horrible. Another company bought our cable company.
We can get some of the content we want via the internet. Honestly, the things we have found online had better picture at full screen than our cable broadcast.
Until we can get live cable news some other way and a few channels we watch all the time we won't cut the cord. If certain channels started providing a subscription to stream live we would be all over that as an alternative.
For those with new(er) TVs with VGA and/or DVI/HDMI inputs, it's pretty easy to connect a computer (think older laptop for noise considerations) to the TV. voila! Streamed online content on your TV! And *possibly* all for nothing but the cost of a cable (VGA to VGA or whatever inputs your TV may have. pun intended btw).
A wireless mouse in conjunction with the on-screen keyboard helps with navigation so that you don't have to get up to go the computer each time you "change the channel."
I have been using Skydrive for about a month now. 25 gig of free storage. quick and easy to upload and/or download. I recommend you try it at skydrive.live.com
When I bought my house, it didn't have an antenna. As a result, I pay $10 a month for basic cable (just the local channels) that should be "free." To buy in and install and antenna would cost upwards of $600! I know I'd eventually save money, but I'm really torn. Do I spent the big bucks for the antenna or keep shelling out the $10? I'm definitely not willing to give up TV just yet and hate watching TV on computer. Don't even know if rabbit ears will work (pretty rural area). Any suggestions?
Unfortunately, my cable TV is just one of those things I am willing to pay to play for. I'm a bit of an addict that way. I concept of watching it through a computer with my wife just doesn't thrill me the way chilling on a couch and clicking through does. Plust the DVR is great!