I have a breathing exercise that I use where I inhale, and then push the air down toward my diaphragm to stretch it. I hold for about three seconds. Three reps, and they're gone.
I occasionally find outstanding unworn underthings - not so much lingerie, but more like Spanx and slips with the purchase tags still attached. A good slimming undershirt can cost $20 or more retail, but I find them at Goodwill for $4.
One thing I love about the idea of painting your own house -- once you've done it, you have the tools and the skills to help your friends/family/neighbors do the same.
Has anybody here painted their own house exterior? I'd love to hear about your experience (I've only done interiors).
I have gambled in the past, but I wouldn't consider myself a gambler. I had a surplus of cash once in Vegas in 2007 and decided to budget myself about $100 to play some slot machines and ended up winning pretty big, essentially earning enough money in less than 20 minutes to pay for my entire trip 3 or 4 times over (hotel, flight, food, the whole shebang!). I knew that was rare occurrence, so I considered it a blessing when it happened. But I haven't gambled since. I know for a fact the odds are massively unfavorable and just don't have the money to waste anymore.
Holding my breath and counting is the most common way but as a wind musician, I had a really large air capacity so holding my breath was really easy. It usually took a long time for it to start to get uncomfortable enough for me to really concentrate on holding my breath.
My mom used to say that a teaspoon full of sugar worked (your sugar cube method). When I was little I would fake the hiccups just so I could eat sugar.
My husband and I tried the no cable experiment. We use the antenna and netflix streaming instead. While that has been perfectly adequate for most of our habits, we found we aren't saving any money. I am a huge sports fan, so during football season, when I could not get Monday Night Football, we went to a sports bar. Turns out we spent for more on going out to watch sports than what we saved on cable. We will go back to cable in the fall just because of sports programming.
I do not spend my allowance on gambling. My husband, however, plays the lottery regularly. When he does play he usually picks up scratchers for me. It's nice to win a dollar or two but I totally wouldn't be paying for the tickets if it came out of the money I have for my "extras."
When I hit the gym, I tend to just use the treadmill and work on a few weights. So what I did was buy a 2nd hand manual treadmill, and I bought a few dumbbells as well.
I do gamble, but only once every few years. Casinos are a fun out-of-the-ordinary destination. What other activity is fun and gives you a chance to win money with your "throw away" money. Worst case, you have fun. Best case, you win a few bucks.
Very interesting post. I never thought about the fact that your financial savings, however I think that there are many other reasons to cut cable. My family has never had cable to begin with, so living without it is not a huge adjustment for us. However, we do tend to collect DVDs and TV series on DVD, so we actually get to watch what we want to watch, rather than whatever happens to be on. Also, there is much less pressure to watch TV just because we pay for it. In fact, during the summer months our television is barely ever on.
I guess my question is, why do you pay for all the extras? There are so many shows that are available via the internet on major networks and on other networks that one really should not have to pay for all the "alternatives". We have not had cable for 7 or 8 years. The best decision EVER! We do pay for Netflix streaming but other than that we utilize online viewing IF we choose to view at all.
We have VERY limited viewing time. Winter we might see 2 hours in the evening. Summer? Maybe 3-4 hours total a week....... we spend the time outside, swimming, playing, etc.
I guess I am struggling with why cancel cable if you are going to have all these other expenses? But then again, maybe losing an unnecessary expense was not the goal. It was part of our goal those many years ago but the main goal for us was to get rid of the smut coming into our home.
If you are paying $50 for an HDMI cable, you are severely overpaying. Unlike an analog signal, where quality of the cable can make a difference, HDMI is a digital signal. It either works, or it doesn't. There is no difference in picture quality between a $50 and a $5 cable. Places like Best Buy get you with expensive accessories. Stick to websites like Monoprice.com for cheap accessories.
An antenna hasn't proved useful to me. I played around with it for a bit, but it's simply not a video paradigm I'm interested in. I don't think it brings value to the table in the present age.
I've been without cable for years. If your TV has a VGA port in the back, you'll do fine without HDMI. I have both, and I use VGA rather than HDMI. When you've got a TV attached to your computer, it's simply a big monitor.
If you feel the need to spend $20/mo on TV series purchases while still using Netflix and Hulu, you're doing something wrong.
There is an overwhelming amount of video content available online. I can't fathom why you'd feel the need to spend $6/mo on Redbox video rentals. I imagine that someone who does that without cable was doing it with cable as well.
So long as you have a computer for each TV you want to use, then there's very little in the way of monthly costs. It certainly isn't as expensive as you make it out to be.
I agree, bikes and instruments are great items to buy on Craigslist. I think a lot of people that are looking to get rid of a bike or guitar are just looking to find someone that will appreciate what they are offering.
If a bike is worth $300 used, they will sell it for $125 to a buyer that will use and enjoy the bike.
If a guitar is worth $200, they will sell it for $75 to a musician that wants to use the guitar.
I disagree with several of your answers to questions but I've got a few years on you so may be you will also change your mind on these. I think the goal is to always come across genuine. I would always answer truthfully, of course some people you work with irritate you so I'd say yes to this. What you say afterwards is the important part, yeah they annoy me but I have stratgies for dealing with that... blah blah blah. Also if you didn't like your boss say so, my previous boss was the reason I was looking for a new job. I just told recruiters/potential empoyers I couldn't work for a boss that was un-inspiring, worked in silo and I didn't learn from. They all respected this comment. The style of your manager is very important thats the question you get to ask of them in the interview so it ties in with why you didn't like your last boss (if that's the case) or why you did like your last boss.
I have a breathing exercise that I use where I inhale, and then push the air down toward my diaphragm to stretch it. I hold for about three seconds. Three reps, and they're gone.
Power washing is, hands-down, one of the best ways to spend an afternoon. I am not ashamed to admit how much I enjoy it.
I occasionally find outstanding unworn underthings - not so much lingerie, but more like Spanx and slips with the purchase tags still attached. A good slimming undershirt can cost $20 or more retail, but I find them at Goodwill for $4.
One thing I love about the idea of painting your own house -- once you've done it, you have the tools and the skills to help your friends/family/neighbors do the same.
Has anybody here painted their own house exterior? I'd love to hear about your experience (I've only done interiors).
This does work wonderfully! I just completed the process and my glasses are usabe again!
I have gambled in the past, but I wouldn't consider myself a gambler. I had a surplus of cash once in Vegas in 2007 and decided to budget myself about $100 to play some slot machines and ended up winning pretty big, essentially earning enough money in less than 20 minutes to pay for my entire trip 3 or 4 times over (hotel, flight, food, the whole shebang!). I knew that was rare occurrence, so I considered it a blessing when it happened. But I haven't gambled since. I know for a fact the odds are massively unfavorable and just don't have the money to waste anymore.
"Angela said she doesn't like to gamble. Of course by saying that she was gambling that I wouldn't smack her." The Office
To answer your question, no I don't.
Holding my breath and counting is the most common way but as a wind musician, I had a really large air capacity so holding my breath was really easy. It usually took a long time for it to start to get uncomfortable enough for me to really concentrate on holding my breath.
My mom used to say that a teaspoon full of sugar worked (your sugar cube method). When I was little I would fake the hiccups just so I could eat sugar.
My husband and I tried the no cable experiment. We use the antenna and netflix streaming instead. While that has been perfectly adequate for most of our habits, we found we aren't saving any money. I am a huge sports fan, so during football season, when I could not get Monday Night Football, we went to a sports bar. Turns out we spent for more on going out to watch sports than what we saved on cable. We will go back to cable in the fall just because of sports programming.
I do not spend my allowance on gambling. My husband, however, plays the lottery regularly. When he does play he usually picks up scratchers for me. It's nice to win a dollar or two but I totally wouldn't be paying for the tickets if it came out of the money I have for my "extras."
When I hit the gym, I tend to just use the treadmill and work on a few weights. So what I did was buy a 2nd hand manual treadmill, and I bought a few dumbbells as well.
I do gamble, but only once every few years. Casinos are a fun out-of-the-ordinary destination. What other activity is fun and gives you a chance to win money with your "throw away" money. Worst case, you have fun. Best case, you win a few bucks.
Very interesting post. I never thought about the fact that your financial savings, however I think that there are many other reasons to cut cable. My family has never had cable to begin with, so living without it is not a huge adjustment for us. However, we do tend to collect DVDs and TV series on DVD, so we actually get to watch what we want to watch, rather than whatever happens to be on. Also, there is much less pressure to watch TV just because we pay for it. In fact, during the summer months our television is barely ever on.
I guess my question is, why do you pay for all the extras? There are so many shows that are available via the internet on major networks and on other networks that one really should not have to pay for all the "alternatives". We have not had cable for 7 or 8 years. The best decision EVER! We do pay for Netflix streaming but other than that we utilize online viewing IF we choose to view at all.
We have VERY limited viewing time. Winter we might see 2 hours in the evening. Summer? Maybe 3-4 hours total a week....... we spend the time outside, swimming, playing, etc.
I guess I am struggling with why cancel cable if you are going to have all these other expenses? But then again, maybe losing an unnecessary expense was not the goal. It was part of our goal those many years ago but the main goal for us was to get rid of the smut coming into our home.
Good article. Thanks!
If you are paying $50 for an HDMI cable, you are severely overpaying. Unlike an analog signal, where quality of the cable can make a difference, HDMI is a digital signal. It either works, or it doesn't. There is no difference in picture quality between a $50 and a $5 cable. Places like Best Buy get you with expensive accessories. Stick to websites like Monoprice.com for cheap accessories.
An HDMI cable is $5, not $50.
An antenna hasn't proved useful to me. I played around with it for a bit, but it's simply not a video paradigm I'm interested in. I don't think it brings value to the table in the present age.
I've been without cable for years. If your TV has a VGA port in the back, you'll do fine without HDMI. I have both, and I use VGA rather than HDMI. When you've got a TV attached to your computer, it's simply a big monitor.
If you feel the need to spend $20/mo on TV series purchases while still using Netflix and Hulu, you're doing something wrong.
There is an overwhelming amount of video content available online. I can't fathom why you'd feel the need to spend $6/mo on Redbox video rentals. I imagine that someone who does that without cable was doing it with cable as well.
So long as you have a computer for each TV you want to use, then there's very little in the way of monthly costs. It certainly isn't as expensive as you make it out to be.
i like wisebread on fb
tweeted https://twitter.com/oshkoshbgosh123/status/215754312649949186
maybe the penny slots once a year, but no, i don't let myself gamble because i know i will get carried away!
I agree, bikes and instruments are great items to buy on Craigslist. I think a lot of people that are looking to get rid of a bike or guitar are just looking to find someone that will appreciate what they are offering.
If a bike is worth $300 used, they will sell it for $125 to a buyer that will use and enjoy the bike.
If a guitar is worth $200, they will sell it for $75 to a musician that wants to use the guitar.
No, I don't gamble. I especially don't buy lottery tickets. For me, a lucky ticket wins $1. 9 times out of 10, I get nothing.
I disagree with several of your answers to questions but I've got a few years on you so may be you will also change your mind on these. I think the goal is to always come across genuine. I would always answer truthfully, of course some people you work with irritate you so I'd say yes to this. What you say afterwards is the important part, yeah they annoy me but I have stratgies for dealing with that... blah blah blah. Also if you didn't like your boss say so, my previous boss was the reason I was looking for a new job. I just told recruiters/potential empoyers I couldn't work for a boss that was un-inspiring, worked in silo and I didn't learn from. They all respected this comment. The style of your manager is very important thats the question you get to ask of them in the interview so it ties in with why you didn't like your last boss (if that's the case) or why you did like your last boss.
I feel lucky because I can take or leave gambling. I do find casinos depressing.
Follow you on Twitter and tweeted:
https://twitter.com/ElenaIstomina/status/215631231805698048
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