Of course pets are worth the cost! My dog is part of my soul. You can't measure that in money. But being practical, one way I save money is by doing preventative stuff like brushing her teeth regularly. That saves my wallet from shelling out lots of money for expensive dental cleaning and teeth extractions done by a vet. And it saves her from painful procedures.
Do you another way for the Gluten Free Flout? I use Bob's red mill gluten free flour. Could I substitute that and add white/brown rice flour. We try to stay away from soy and corn as much as possible.
I really dislike working during a flight. I feel that, if I have to suffer the inconveniences of travel, the least I should get is some relaxing time. My favorite way to pass the time is with a glass of wine and a book.
I didn't like the idea of having a pet until a couple years ago when my girlfriend and I adopted a cat. I was worried about the added cost being a burden on my finances and lifestyle. Now, two years into it, I regret even thinking that it would be a burden at all. The cat is extremely independent and not very needy or clingy, which doesn't affect my lifestyle at all. We are required, however, to pay a teeny tiny bit more per month for our rent, but nothing outrageous. His food and toys aren't very costly either, especially since he goes nuts over just about anything we give him to eat or play with. The added cost and the time spent were definitely worth it in my book.
Good advice! I have found that I only need one device, my ipad (although other tablets would work as well) in a case with a bluetooth keyboard (I have a Zagg). That way I can open documents for editing while listening to music. You can also save webpages for offline viewing. Then i can watch a movie or read a magazine or book on the ipad. One other advantage is there is no startup time like a laptop. It's the ultimate in compactness and light weight. And if there is Wifi on the plane, the options are even greater. I haven't taken a laptop on a trip in a year.
I appreciate your perspective, Guest, but it is because I need to relax that I work hard on airplanes. I can get so many things done on my flights that it frees me up to spend time in the evenings at my hotel relaxing or even getting the 8 hours of sleep I would never get at home. It is also important that I maximize business travel time so that it doesn't cut into time at home with my family when I return. Being productive in flight creates more time for the things I enjoy in life!
Very good article. Your experience is a testament of to the truths of the article also. I shared the same exact experience when I was in college. I worked, went to school, and didn't do much else because I was busy paying off my student loans. I now work as a nuclear engineer and am spreading the word of this kind of living through the E.I. Financial Philosophy which related to this type of thinking. I do work a bit much but on my off time I can pretty much do anything I want.
First, the week after my cat moved in, a significant decrease in the rodent population of the house began. Sure, I had to dispose of the carcasses, but one month and five mice later, I'm confident the cat earned her keep for a while. Not to mention the added bonus of her hilarious distress when the awesome moving mouse toy stopped moving, and she would look up at me and wail "fix it!"
Second, my particular cat is an awesome social ice-breaker. She has been called "a dog in a cat's body": she is never shy, never bite-y, very chatty and always makes up to new people. She loves to be petted and snuggle with people. When I moved out of my shared house, my old roomies got a new cat immediately, but continue to lament that she's just not as good as mine.
Third, she's a rescue cat, so I get the smug satisfaction of being a do-gooder AND have insulated my conscious from those Sarah MacLachlan "Save These Animals, You Heartless Bastard!" commercials.
Fourth, anything that goes wrong: blame the cat! Someone farted? It was the cat! Someone drank all the milk? Clearly, it is the cat's fault. Getting behind on the bills? Berate the cat to "get a damn job, you lazy feline!" Satisfying, victimless, and way less stressful than arguing with the boyfriend.
In conclusion: I friggin' love my cat, and having her in my life is truly priceless.
I also have a similar story, rather my live-in boyfriend's story. He came in this morning early from work saying he got suspended without pay until further notice. He works for a private waste management and recycling company with an incredibly negligent boss. He has recently gotten his class a license and was promoted to driving the trash trucks. The trucks are deploreable and a dangerous risk to drive anywhere and despite the numerous complaints from my b/f an the other drivers nothing has been done to fix or replace these trucks. They've had four accidents this past week alone because his boss doesn't want to replace the cameras on the backs of these trucks. Trash trucks do a lot of backing up! Seasoned drivers are getting into these accidents. Now my b/f never had an accident with any other vehicle and has done nothing wrong but bring the attention to safety to his boss. Just yesterday my b/f had a scare with some of these greasy waxy cardboard catching fire in the compactor. He saved the truck and any possible explosions by pulling over and dumping it out and attempting to exstinguish the fire with the lousy exstinguishers they have on hand. Luckily fire dept came and put it out. Today he's asked to drive a dangerous truck and refuses stating the problems to his boss and gets suspended for "complaining" too much.
Thanks for your comment! The off-line reading applications were new to me until just recently. With 5 kids and trying to work from home, I find my airplane time to be precious. No diapers to change, and I get the laptop all to myself ;)
Thanks for the tips. I have never heard of those offline reading applications before. I will definitely look into them.
I usually use travel time to catch up on reading and sleep. Now that I'm trying to get my own business going, I am going to take the time to write and brainstorm ideas too.
Thank you for sharing this. I never heard of the term for this phenomena before.
I had a lot of trouble with this after buying my first house. After doing a little upgrading, it was hard not to compare the new areas with the old. Before I knew it, I was going out of control with upgrade ideas. I managed to slow down and get things in perspective again, saving me from getting into debt.
I'm re-learning how to live with the things that I have that function perfectly fine and are in no need of repair. Thanks for putting some perspective on life!
My husband is not a cook by any means, but he is all for having good tools. So when we were married, we decided to save up all of our money and gift cards and invested in a good set of Calphalon after doing research and talking with some foodie friends. It is totally worth every penny. Not having to worry about buying pans, handles being loose, screws coming apart, etc. Yes, it is money out, but good pans will make for great results and making cooking a lot less tedious.
When I was single, I did not need a dishwasher. After our son was born, we were so glad we had it. Though there is sometimes something to be said for washing dishes by hand...sometimes it is very therapeutic for me.....
A good knife set - with a sharpening tool, is a great investment too. If you can't cut veggies easily, you won't eat them.
I could go either way with the microwave, but I decided that the toaster oven is out. It's great if you are single, but for me I grew up with a toaster and an oven and with a small family, it just didn't make sense to have both a microwave or a toaster oven.
I love my breadmaker now, and I use my 14 cup food processor all the time to make homemade pizza doughs and breads.
The waffle maker is probably the only thing I have that I 'don't need', but we enjoy waffles a lot and our local IHOP just closed and it's just nice to have that fresh waffle.
Since I've been cooking from scratch more and more, I've invested in a lot of tools over the years, but I have to choose wisely so I don't get into overkill or get something I won't use.
I totally get what you mean! There are so many things I'd give up before giving up my dog. :)
Of course pets are worth the cost! My dog is part of my soul. You can't measure that in money. But being practical, one way I save money is by doing preventative stuff like brushing her teeth regularly. That saves my wallet from shelling out lots of money for expensive dental cleaning and teeth extractions done by a vet. And it saves her from painful procedures.
What constitutes raising a cat correctly? Do you mean like raising it not to use the furniture as a scratching post?
I LOVE that picture of (what I am assuming is) your dog! Too cute!
Aw your dog is so cute!!!!!
I have a golden as well! They are such great dogs!
Do you another way for the Gluten Free Flout? I use Bob's red mill gluten free flour. Could I substitute that and add white/brown rice flour. We try to stay away from soy and corn as much as possible.
I only have bad debt (student loans and a car payment), and a month-to-month lease. I feel so free. I'm not sure I'd want to buy a house...
I really dislike working during a flight. I feel that, if I have to suffer the inconveniences of travel, the least I should get is some relaxing time. My favorite way to pass the time is with a glass of wine and a book.
I didn't like the idea of having a pet until a couple years ago when my girlfriend and I adopted a cat. I was worried about the added cost being a burden on my finances and lifestyle. Now, two years into it, I regret even thinking that it would be a burden at all. The cat is extremely independent and not very needy or clingy, which doesn't affect my lifestyle at all. We are required, however, to pay a teeny tiny bit more per month for our rent, but nothing outrageous. His food and toys aren't very costly either, especially since he goes nuts over just about anything we give him to eat or play with. The added cost and the time spent were definitely worth it in my book.
What motivates me to save is my family. I have to make sure we have adequate at all times to meet out need.
Good advice! I have found that I only need one device, my ipad (although other tablets would work as well) in a case with a bluetooth keyboard (I have a Zagg). That way I can open documents for editing while listening to music. You can also save webpages for offline viewing. Then i can watch a movie or read a magazine or book on the ipad. One other advantage is there is no startup time like a laptop. It's the ultimate in compactness and light weight. And if there is Wifi on the plane, the options are even greater. I haven't taken a laptop on a trip in a year.
I appreciate your perspective, Guest, but it is because I need to relax that I work hard on airplanes. I can get so many things done on my flights that it frees me up to spend time in the evenings at my hotel relaxing or even getting the 8 hours of sleep I would never get at home. It is also important that I maximize business travel time so that it doesn't cut into time at home with my family when I return. Being productive in flight creates more time for the things I enjoy in life!
Lots of credit card controversy! :) We too use our credit card for everything
What a shame, what about just plain relaxing? people have forgotten the body's necessary restorative care in the rush to "get stuff done."
Here is an interesting video. This seems to be targeted towards Generation Y, which would be the incoming users for credit unions. Check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWN0PAsJFAs
Very good article. Your experience is a testament of to the truths of the article also. I shared the same exact experience when I was in college. I worked, went to school, and didn't do much else because I was busy paying off my student loans. I now work as a nuclear engineer and am spreading the word of this kind of living through the E.I. Financial Philosophy which related to this type of thinking. I do work a bit much but on my off time I can pretty much do anything I want.
Absolutely worth it!
First, the week after my cat moved in, a significant decrease in the rodent population of the house began. Sure, I had to dispose of the carcasses, but one month and five mice later, I'm confident the cat earned her keep for a while. Not to mention the added bonus of her hilarious distress when the awesome moving mouse toy stopped moving, and she would look up at me and wail "fix it!"
Second, my particular cat is an awesome social ice-breaker. She has been called "a dog in a cat's body": she is never shy, never bite-y, very chatty and always makes up to new people. She loves to be petted and snuggle with people. When I moved out of my shared house, my old roomies got a new cat immediately, but continue to lament that she's just not as good as mine.
Third, she's a rescue cat, so I get the smug satisfaction of being a do-gooder AND have insulated my conscious from those Sarah MacLachlan "Save These Animals, You Heartless Bastard!" commercials.
Fourth, anything that goes wrong: blame the cat! Someone farted? It was the cat! Someone drank all the milk? Clearly, it is the cat's fault. Getting behind on the bills? Berate the cat to "get a damn job, you lazy feline!" Satisfying, victimless, and way less stressful than arguing with the boyfriend.
In conclusion: I friggin' love my cat, and having her in my life is truly priceless.
I also have a similar story, rather my live-in boyfriend's story. He came in this morning early from work saying he got suspended without pay until further notice. He works for a private waste management and recycling company with an incredibly negligent boss. He has recently gotten his class a license and was promoted to driving the trash trucks. The trucks are deploreable and a dangerous risk to drive anywhere and despite the numerous complaints from my b/f an the other drivers nothing has been done to fix or replace these trucks. They've had four accidents this past week alone because his boss doesn't want to replace the cameras on the backs of these trucks. Trash trucks do a lot of backing up! Seasoned drivers are getting into these accidents. Now my b/f never had an accident with any other vehicle and has done nothing wrong but bring the attention to safety to his boss. Just yesterday my b/f had a scare with some of these greasy waxy cardboard catching fire in the compactor. He saved the truck and any possible explosions by pulling over and dumping it out and attempting to exstinguish the fire with the lousy exstinguishers they have on hand. Luckily fire dept came and put it out. Today he's asked to drive a dangerous truck and refuses stating the problems to his boss and gets suspended for "complaining" too much.
Thanks for your comment! The off-line reading applications were new to me until just recently. With 5 kids and trying to work from home, I find my airplane time to be precious. No diapers to change, and I get the laptop all to myself ;)
Thanks for the tips. I have never heard of those offline reading applications before. I will definitely look into them.
I usually use travel time to catch up on reading and sleep. Now that I'm trying to get my own business going, I am going to take the time to write and brainstorm ideas too.
Thank you for sharing this. I never heard of the term for this phenomena before.
I had a lot of trouble with this after buying my first house. After doing a little upgrading, it was hard not to compare the new areas with the old. Before I knew it, I was going out of control with upgrade ideas. I managed to slow down and get things in perspective again, saving me from getting into debt.
I'm re-learning how to live with the things that I have that function perfectly fine and are in no need of repair. Thanks for putting some perspective on life!
My motives me to save is knowing how a little can really go a long way. Saving your change really adds up and make a difference.
My husband is not a cook by any means, but he is all for having good tools. So when we were married, we decided to save up all of our money and gift cards and invested in a good set of Calphalon after doing research and talking with some foodie friends. It is totally worth every penny. Not having to worry about buying pans, handles being loose, screws coming apart, etc. Yes, it is money out, but good pans will make for great results and making cooking a lot less tedious.
When I was single, I did not need a dishwasher. After our son was born, we were so glad we had it. Though there is sometimes something to be said for washing dishes by hand...sometimes it is very therapeutic for me.....
A good knife set - with a sharpening tool, is a great investment too. If you can't cut veggies easily, you won't eat them.
I could go either way with the microwave, but I decided that the toaster oven is out. It's great if you are single, but for me I grew up with a toaster and an oven and with a small family, it just didn't make sense to have both a microwave or a toaster oven.
I love my breadmaker now, and I use my 14 cup food processor all the time to make homemade pizza doughs and breads.
The waffle maker is probably the only thing I have that I 'don't need', but we enjoy waffles a lot and our local IHOP just closed and it's just nice to have that fresh waffle.
Since I've been cooking from scratch more and more, I've invested in a lot of tools over the years, but I have to choose wisely so I don't get into overkill or get something I won't use.
Happy cooking!
Great for putting into plastic food containers when they may get smelly. Just crumple in and leave for a while and the smell goes away......