As a retail specialty sales person, my comment is that some of the so-called mystery shoppers are brutal and take up your precious time away from your real customers. I think it borders workplace harrassment. I'd love to hear what workplace attorneys say about this.
Those are some good tips. The key for me is to be patient and wait for the right things to show up at the thrift store. I also keep an eye on Craigslist for furniture and other used goods. The thrift store was also a great place to buy ties. My job required me to wear a tie and I found some funny and classy ties at the thrift store.
It amazes me how we accept these low rates on CD's. I remember years ago when my grandparents would get over 10% on a CD and were able to live nicely on the income during their retirement.
I utilize REIT's or RealEstate investment trusts instead as a way to make over 10% dividend yields on my money instead of tying it up in a CD. Sure, it is a stock but if you review a company like NLY or AGNC you will find these very well managed and as a stock they pay out all profits in dividends.
I just thought I would mention my strategy to help you visitors learn about the REIT strategy vs traditional savings and CD's that even at 1.5% are not even keeping up with inflation.
I sew all my husband's work shirts, repair and alter our clothes and made all our window coverings. My husband made the majority of our furniture. We work together on any plumbing projects (me with the reference/repair book or manual and to hand tools and equipment and with him providing the mechanically minded labor). Also, we work together on a weekly basis to meal plan and do batch/freezer cooking.
I agree about the belts and the books. I don't know how comfortable I'd be with lounging on a couch each night that I had no idea where it came from. Shoes are on the fence for me. Another good thing you could get at thrift stores are sunglasses and jewelry like necklaces, rings or bracelets.
Thanks for the comment Tim. It's not illegal to do what they're doing, but they are putting the same eggs into different boxes and charging different amounts for them. I think your suggestion is excellent, buy direct from the source if you can. That goes for as many items as possible, including dairy, meats and your fruit and veg.
The tactics that grocery stores use to make you buy more is actually pretty crazy and in depth. Everything from smaller baskets and bigger carts, to the bakery section being at the front, to forcing you through the right entrance so you grab things with your right hand. The best tip here is flexibility; if you go to the store and buy items that are on sale rather than ones that fit into the meal plans for the week, you will save a lot of money.
Soups, definitely. Home-can them in a pressure canner and they do not taste one bit like that nasty "C" brand. Rotel-type products, made with farmers' market case tomatoes, will cost far less than the store product. Pickles of all sorts are cheaper: pickled eggs and pickled okra are economical to make and both are nutritious, low-cal foods. Kim chi is $5 a jar in many places and can be made for under a buck; make Red Rooster sauce when jalapenos are in season and cut your cost up to 75%.
Great post, very helpful! I've been wanting to put some of my emergency fund in a CD to start a CD ladder, but unfortunately rates are in the toilet. This is a very handy list to get the best you can.
for some drugs it's not "just" a marketing tactic, though certainly that's part of it. While all those variations of excedrin may have the exact same ingredients, the directions for use are different. Migraine sufferers are directed to take more frequent doses of the medicine than regular headache/aches/pains sufferers. By all means buy the cheaper version, but make sure you're following the correct dosing schedule for your needs.
I never really thought about whether all of the various pain medicines were really that different, but what you're saying makes sense. After all, how much could they really change the entire formula in a way that's really going to target your pain? It kind of makes sense on why drugstores (as an example) have such a bigger footprint of those 25-40 years ago. The additional shelf space required to carry all of these identical bottles of medicine is so much larger than when they'd just have the original formula.
I a really disappointing with the savings rate. At this level of interest, I prefer putting money in a high yield checking account. It takes some work, but you can get 3% returns on your money.
I'm trying to parse the above article for you recommendation for "Organic Eggs." Are you saying that we are being fooled by the Organic label because of a case of a company cheating on labeling? The reason I ask is because in subsequent items you say "Here’s another example of an already scandalous industry" and "This is another example of blatantly deceptive language in an attempt to cash in on many consumers' desire to eat healthy and stay fit."
For the people who would like to purchase better eggs, why not suggest they purchase them directly from a farmer or farmers market where the production practices can be questioned?
I was wondering the same thing... author literally handed over $117 to the insurance company merely for the status of being insured. So the FEELING of getting refunded makes it "better than nothing?" Why write the the article?? SMH....
I'm going to disagree on #1- Shoes. Granted, I've bought 2 pairs of shoes before at a thrift store in all the years I've gone, but rarely do I ever look in that section. Shoes are too problematic due to the fact that how the previous owner walked in them can greatly affect the wear of the shoe for the next person. And it does not take long for someone to "re-shape" or break in a shoe. Closely examine the bottom soles of shoes and you'll see what I'm talking about. The soles could possibly be replaced at a shoe repair shop, but you can't undo the reshaping of the insides. For people like me who suffer from chronic foot pain, it's safer to stick with new shoes. The 2 pairs of shoes I previously purchased at a thrift store were both surprisingly in nearly new condition. I doubt if either pair were wore more than once. Plus, the idea of wearing someone's old funky shoes really turns my stomach. Especially considering most of the shoes I see at second hand stores are either in poor condition and are extremely fugly.
I agree with the rest of the list. I've found amazing deals on furniture priced for only a few bucks. Great books for a couple of cents; it all comes down to where you shop. One store might be good for one thing but bad for another. That's why you need to have a couple of different second hand stores you can hit up to search for great finds across all categories.
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I like to delay myself if I'm not sure that I want to buy something. Then I'll realize that I can live without it anyway making me save the money instead.
"CTIA reported in 2012 that there are more mobile subscriptions in the U.S. than there are people living in the country." -- Can we just stop for a moment and contemplate that piece of information? That's amazing. More mobile subscriptions than people?
Given that many people in the nation are either under the age of 10 (and therefore unlikely to have a cell phone), or elderly, or live in a very rural area without good cellular reception, that means that a very large sliver of the demographic that DOES own a mobile phone must own multiple phone subscriptions. I wonder why? Perhaps some people have one for work and one that's personal. Others may have an automatically-billed subscription that they forgot about, but that's a small enough amount that they don't notice it. Regardless of the reason, I think that's a pretty interesting statistic.
I particularly like the recommended answer to the question - "tell me about your biggest weakness." This is a tough question, since you're being asked to speak negatively of yourself, and the "I'm a workaholic" answer is overplayed and disingenuous. That's why I like that the author of this post recommended that "If you're asked this question, give a small, work-related flaw that you're working hard to improve."
I like this answer because, well, this is exactly how weaknesses are resolved in the real world. You find a minor, specific flaw about yourself: you tend to send grammatically-challenged emails, perhaps, or you often forget attachments in your emails. And then you target that specific flaw in order to change it.
I work at a well known silicon valley company and have had a standing desk for almost 15 years. Lower back pain, no shoulder "computer hunch" pain and lower weight, more energy, just from standing about 4-5 hours per work day. I highly recommend it!
If you work for a company ask Facilities for an ergonomic review and they will probably pay for the adjustment.
As a retail specialty sales person, my comment is that some of the so-called mystery shoppers are brutal and take up your precious time away from your real customers. I think it borders workplace harrassment. I'd love to hear what workplace attorneys say about this.
Those are some good tips. The key for me is to be patient and wait for the right things to show up at the thrift store. I also keep an eye on Craigslist for furniture and other used goods. The thrift store was also a great place to buy ties. My job required me to wear a tie and I found some funny and classy ties at the thrift store.
It amazes me how we accept these low rates on CD's. I remember years ago when my grandparents would get over 10% on a CD and were able to live nicely on the income during their retirement.
I utilize REIT's or RealEstate investment trusts instead as a way to make over 10% dividend yields on my money instead of tying it up in a CD. Sure, it is a stock but if you review a company like NLY or AGNC you will find these very well managed and as a stock they pay out all profits in dividends.
I just thought I would mention my strategy to help you visitors learn about the REIT strategy vs traditional savings and CD's that even at 1.5% are not even keeping up with inflation.
I love to alter my clothes and re-fashion them. I have a $25 sewing machine that i've been using for a while.
Another DYI is to making my own beans instead inf buying canned beans
I sew all my husband's work shirts, repair and alter our clothes and made all our window coverings. My husband made the majority of our furniture. We work together on any plumbing projects (me with the reference/repair book or manual and to hand tools and equipment and with him providing the mechanically minded labor). Also, we work together on a weekly basis to meal plan and do batch/freezer cooking.
I agree about the belts and the books. I don't know how comfortable I'd be with lounging on a couch each night that I had no idea where it came from. Shoes are on the fence for me. Another good thing you could get at thrift stores are sunglasses and jewelry like necklaces, rings or bracelets.
Thanks for the comment Tim. It's not illegal to do what they're doing, but they are putting the same eggs into different boxes and charging different amounts for them. I think your suggestion is excellent, buy direct from the source if you can. That goes for as many items as possible, including dairy, meats and your fruit and veg.
The tactics that grocery stores use to make you buy more is actually pretty crazy and in depth. Everything from smaller baskets and bigger carts, to the bakery section being at the front, to forcing you through the right entrance so you grab things with your right hand. The best tip here is flexibility; if you go to the store and buy items that are on sale rather than ones that fit into the meal plans for the week, you will save a lot of money.
Soups, definitely. Home-can them in a pressure canner and they do not taste one bit like that nasty "C" brand. Rotel-type products, made with farmers' market case tomatoes, will cost far less than the store product. Pickles of all sorts are cheaper: pickled eggs and pickled okra are economical to make and both are nutritious, low-cal foods. Kim chi is $5 a jar in many places and can be made for under a buck; make Red Rooster sauce when jalapenos are in season and cut your cost up to 75%.
Great post, very helpful! I've been wanting to put some of my emergency fund in a CD to start a CD ladder, but unfortunately rates are in the toilet. This is a very handy list to get the best you can.
for some drugs it's not "just" a marketing tactic, though certainly that's part of it. While all those variations of excedrin may have the exact same ingredients, the directions for use are different. Migraine sufferers are directed to take more frequent doses of the medicine than regular headache/aches/pains sufferers. By all means buy the cheaper version, but make sure you're following the correct dosing schedule for your needs.
I never really thought about whether all of the various pain medicines were really that different, but what you're saying makes sense. After all, how much could they really change the entire formula in a way that's really going to target your pain? It kind of makes sense on why drugstores (as an example) have such a bigger footprint of those 25-40 years ago. The additional shelf space required to carry all of these identical bottles of medicine is so much larger than when they'd just have the original formula.
I was under the impression you could name the star! oops. Well they should let you do it. It would be amazing and is a good way to remember someone
I a really disappointing with the savings rate. At this level of interest, I prefer putting money in a high yield checking account. It takes some work, but you can get 3% returns on your money.
I'm trying to parse the above article for you recommendation for "Organic Eggs." Are you saying that we are being fooled by the Organic label because of a case of a company cheating on labeling? The reason I ask is because in subsequent items you say "Here’s another example of an already scandalous industry" and "This is another example of blatantly deceptive language in an attempt to cash in on many consumers' desire to eat healthy and stay fit."
For the people who would like to purchase better eggs, why not suggest they purchase them directly from a farmer or farmers market where the production practices can be questioned?
I was wondering the same thing... author literally handed over $117 to the insurance company merely for the status of being insured. So the FEELING of getting refunded makes it "better than nothing?" Why write the the article?? SMH....
your funny, really funny.Thanks for the laughs!
I'm going to disagree on #1- Shoes. Granted, I've bought 2 pairs of shoes before at a thrift store in all the years I've gone, but rarely do I ever look in that section. Shoes are too problematic due to the fact that how the previous owner walked in them can greatly affect the wear of the shoe for the next person. And it does not take long for someone to "re-shape" or break in a shoe. Closely examine the bottom soles of shoes and you'll see what I'm talking about. The soles could possibly be replaced at a shoe repair shop, but you can't undo the reshaping of the insides. For people like me who suffer from chronic foot pain, it's safer to stick with new shoes. The 2 pairs of shoes I previously purchased at a thrift store were both surprisingly in nearly new condition. I doubt if either pair were wore more than once. Plus, the idea of wearing someone's old funky shoes really turns my stomach. Especially considering most of the shoes I see at second hand stores are either in poor condition and are extremely fugly.
I agree with the rest of the list. I've found amazing deals on furniture priced for only a few bucks. Great books for a couple of cents; it all comes down to where you shop. One store might be good for one thing but bad for another. That's why you need to have a couple of different second hand stores you can hit up to search for great finds across all categories.
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I like to delay myself if I'm not sure that I want to buy something. Then I'll realize that I can live without it anyway making me save the money instead.
I am definately going to try the alternatives
"CTIA reported in 2012 that there are more mobile subscriptions in the U.S. than there are people living in the country." -- Can we just stop for a moment and contemplate that piece of information? That's amazing. More mobile subscriptions than people?
Given that many people in the nation are either under the age of 10 (and therefore unlikely to have a cell phone), or elderly, or live in a very rural area without good cellular reception, that means that a very large sliver of the demographic that DOES own a mobile phone must own multiple phone subscriptions. I wonder why? Perhaps some people have one for work and one that's personal. Others may have an automatically-billed subscription that they forgot about, but that's a small enough amount that they don't notice it. Regardless of the reason, I think that's a pretty interesting statistic.
I particularly like the recommended answer to the question - "tell me about your biggest weakness." This is a tough question, since you're being asked to speak negatively of yourself, and the "I'm a workaholic" answer is overplayed and disingenuous. That's why I like that the author of this post recommended that "If you're asked this question, give a small, work-related flaw that you're working hard to improve."
I like this answer because, well, this is exactly how weaknesses are resolved in the real world. You find a minor, specific flaw about yourself: you tend to send grammatically-challenged emails, perhaps, or you often forget attachments in your emails. And then you target that specific flaw in order to change it.
To cge1234 - that is the most horrible thing I've ever heard a company do. Thank you for the warning for U.S. Bank. I hope you reported them.
I work at a well known silicon valley company and have had a standing desk for almost 15 years. Lower back pain, no shoulder "computer hunch" pain and lower weight, more energy, just from standing about 4-5 hours per work day. I highly recommend it!
If you work for a company ask Facilities for an ergonomic review and they will probably pay for the adjustment.