Recent comments

  • Ask the Readers: Do You Buy Organic Food?   13 years 24 weeks ago

    Yes, I buy organics for some things. I go by the Environmental Working Groups listing of what is the worst for us and buy those in organic. Aldi stores will have a lot of organic products this week so I will shopping there to reduce my costs. :)

  • Ask the Readers: Do You Buy Organic Food?   13 years 24 weeks ago

    I try to buy the "dirty dozen" vegetables organic. I also buy organic milk and eggs.

  • Ask the Readers: Do You Buy Organic Food?   13 years 24 weeks ago

    Not only do I buy organic foods, but also grass fed meats often. Keep your eyes open for sales, shop seasonally and smartly, and in the long run you won't spend too much more because of the health benefits and the fact you won't waste any of the foods.

  • Ask the Readers: Do You Buy Organic Food?   13 years 24 weeks ago

    We do buy organic, but not exclusively. My wife has an elaborate system that determines which item she buys as organic. I believe she chooses items based on what is perceived to have had more exposure to pesticides and the like from research she has done.

    Bonus: captcha eriveloc sawyer (if only my first name were eriveloc)

  • Ask the Readers: Do You Buy Organic Food?   13 years 24 weeks ago

    I do not buy organic food. Mostly, I do not buy organic because the selection of organic foods are very small and not very high quality at my local stores. Also, since I live alone, a food co-op program would provide more than I could use.

  • Ask the Readers: Do You Buy Organic Food?   13 years 24 weeks ago

    I don't buy organic food. It's crazy expensive. I do shop for healthy food though. My basket is usually loaded with produce, beans, and grains!

  • Ask the Readers: Do You Buy Organic Food?   13 years 24 weeks ago

    I don't buy organic. I cannot justify the added expense in our budget.

  • How to Escape Reward Card Spending Traps   13 years 24 weeks ago

    I disagree, back in the early 90's I was perfectly capable of sending my CC's checks every week to keep my nearly maxed out cards usable:) In the bad old days of paper statements and landlines I could dial my CC phone number and punch in the 20 or so digits required to get to the current balance all in one quick button mashing session. Then repeat for the other 5 cards...all from memory:)

    Thankfully I've since moved on to better habits:)

  • Ask the Readers: Do You Buy Organic Food?   13 years 24 weeks ago

    I don't buy organic because of the high cost.

  • Ask the Readers: Do You Buy Organic Food?   13 years 24 weeks ago

    I try to buy organic with the dirty dozen produce, so apples, bell peppers, berries, etc. Also, when I can afford it, I do try and buy organic meats and dairy.

  • 7 Ways to Remodel Your Bedroom (Without Demolishing a Thing)   13 years 24 weeks ago

    My landlord won't let us paint ... which sucks. I've brightened up the plain white walls with colorful prints of my favorite photos in an eclectic mix of frames from Ross/thrift stores/etc, and will be adding big, insulated, colorful curtains soon since my bedroom is also the coldest room in the apt.

    I've cleaned out my nice big closet and decided that I can get rid of/sell the dresser. Next up was a desk I hated. Closer thought revealed that I never actually use the desk and could replace the whole thing with a large bookcase. I found a fun, open-design bookcase on overstock.com for about $120. I figure I'll get about $50-100 hucking the dresser and desk on craiglist, easily mitigating the cost of the new bookcase, which will be a much higher quality piece of furniture. The change requires/was born of major decluttering/purging of stuff, but that's been badly needed anyway, so it's a win-win!

    You also forgot to mention rearranging furniture! My plan allows me to rearrange the furniture in my room to improve the watching a movie in bed setup as well as consolidate the open floor space, allowing me more freedom of movement to do yoga and other bodyweight exercises in my room instead of hogging the living room.

  • 15 Wonderful Uses for Witch Hazel   13 years 24 weeks ago

    I used it on my dog for bug bits and Itching and dry skin she love it after I give her a rinse with it by pouring it strait on her with out getting any by her eyes or mouth . try it you will see it great

  • How to Travel Full-Time for $17,000 a Year (or Less!)   13 years 24 weeks ago

    Great tips and being an expat who's lived on a shoe string before I can honestly say people are often surprised on how little people can live. At the same time it is nice not to have to! Now doing the transient expat lifestyle while still living in Asia.

  • What to Buy, and Avoid Buying, in January   13 years 24 weeks ago

    I've never been much of a big Valentine's Day person, but it never occurred to me to look for Valentine's gifts in post-Christmas sales. I bet there's a lot of good, decadent food stuff on sale.

  • The vicious Home Rental Scam – don’t get conned.   13 years 24 weeks ago

    Glad you did some research before parting with your hard earned cash. The thing is, this scam is not getting away!

  • 22 Reasons to Stop Drinking Soda   13 years 24 weeks ago

    Soda tasted absolutely amazing as a kid, but ingesting it now, makes you wonder why did you subject your body to this awful drink. Stop drinking soda, save your life.

  • A Guide to Online Brokers for Investing Newbies (and Beyond)   13 years 24 weeks ago

    Glad you liked the guide. The guidelines for evaluating a broker could certainly be applied to the ones you mentioned, like TradeKing and Just2Trade. Besides the pricing, some of the biggest differences among brokers tend to be research & education, number of mutual funds offered at no cost, and financial advisory services (including portfolio management programs). Also, some brokers tended to promote their options and foreign exchange trading but those may not be as relevant to new investors; so, re-evaluating brokers as your needs change (and as brokers change their offerings) is a good idea.

  • A Guide to Online Brokers for Investing Newbies (and Beyond)   13 years 24 weeks ago

    Glad you liked the post. I also learned more when researching various brokerage firms -- mainly about various firms' strengths.

  • Ask the Readers: Do You Have Financial Resolutions for 2013?   13 years 24 weeks ago

    My financial resolution for 2013 is more thinking before I purchase to curb impulse spending. We've been on a tight budget for awhile and I notice that sometimes I "snap" and seem to try to rebel against my own best interests. So I'm trying to not buy anything that I don't plan to purchase in 2013.

  • The vicious Home Rental Scam – don’t get conned.   13 years 24 weeks ago

    This is the same exact email we received today after inquiring about a house that was too good to be true. We started to do some research and I am certainly glad I did. Wow!! People are unbelievable!!!

  • Curing Warts, Removing Splinters, and 19 Other Bizarre Uses for Banana Peels   13 years 24 weeks ago

    I scrape all the soft stuff out of the banana peel (leaving only the thin yellow-brown skin) and give it to our dogs. They love it and wait for it after their breakfast while I'm preparing mine.

  • How to Get Rid of All Your Crap   13 years 24 weeks ago

    I have to read a bit of these articles to realize that your meaning of "backpacker" is not some guy heading out for a few days into the wilderness, but more of what I call a "trekker". LOL!

    I am always fighting between hoarding and lightening up. What is bad is that some things have no value and you still like them. Do you throw away things you like?

    Same with cars. Although I'm a single dude, I like both a car and a pickup truck.

    Can someone give me the formula for staying light? :)

  • 7 Reasons Why Self-Storage Is a Really Bad Idea   13 years 24 weeks ago

    The one time I had to store most of my belongings for a year I did the math and it made much more sense to buy a small storage building and keep it at someone else's house. Then when I got my stuff back I gave them the storage building as payment. I know it's not an option for everyone but for some it would be.

  • 8 Truths From a Mystery Shopper You Must Read Before You Get Started   13 years 24 weeks ago

    I just started mystery shopping 6 months ago and I have to honestly say, I love it! I love to shop so why not get paid for it. I wish I could've started out with this years back. I do it part time and my day job full time. I earn an extra $250-$375 week. It really helps me out a lot to supplement my income. Of course you have to be reliable, responsible and you must have an excellent memory. I hope mystery shopping will be around for a while that I can do it for the next 10, 20 or 30 years.

  • Disneyland on the (Sort of) Cheap   13 years 24 weeks ago

    Oh!!! Good Idea! I was wondering how I was going to pull off getting the surprise in the hotel BEFORE the kids got in... Now we are set!!! THANK YOU!!!