My brother gave me a mini xmas tree, the ornaments were silver dollars and money rolls all over it. Another year he did the cold hard cash idea in a bottle of Canadian Mist, he said it was either that or jello!!
Love the extra recipe! But I can't do non-fat sour cream. I know it's better for me, but I don't like how it tastes. If I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do full fat. :)
That will be interesting - zero for the guarantee and zero for interest - I guess I will not be investing in I bonds in the next 6 month period.
Actually I will not be investing as I have over $200,000 in I bonds purchase in the 7-10 year ago range that have guarantees of between 2% and 3.6% - the good old days for I bond purchases!
I hadn't considered cost as far as dancing get-up goes, but I imagine that pretty much any sport can be pricey once you get serious. I take dance classes off and on, but the classes are $15 for 2 hours and my only other expense were some ballet shoes - but they weren't required. If I ever became GOOD at dancing (this will never happen), I can see where it might get spendy.
And I DID think of surfing, believe it or not, but decided to leave it off because it is an area-specific sport. Very specific - I live on the Puget Sound but couldn't hope to get any surfing in around here! But it's amazing exercise.
I like how you thought out of the box for these exercises. Many times people think they have to do a certain workout to exercise. In reality, they can do things they truly enjoy. I am all about doing things like soccer, swimming, basketball (exercise that you can do a lot of and realize after..."Hey, I exercised!") :). I have found that one of the coolest things out their are websites that allow people to turn fitness social and almost like a game. There are some great websites where people can track their workouts, gain points for working out, share with their friends, etc. That is something that I have seen people really start to enjoy.
Hey Mikey - make your spinach dip with the ranch mix and non-fat sour cream. Much healthier, waaaay less guilt, and it will taste just as good!
Another easy, quick meal for one - freshly made chicken-veggie soup. 1/2 bag mixed frozen veggies - Trader Joe's Harvest Hodgepodge works really well, or the Italian mix from the dollar store - 1 can Swanson low sodium chicken broth and half a chicken breast (raw is fine, but if it's already cooked then skip the simmering and just shred it). Simmer the chicken in the chicken broth until it's done, take the chicken out and shred it while you cook the veggies in the same broth (use two forks to shred the chicken so you don't burn your fingers). Throw the chicken back in, add some garlic powder, onion powder and black pepper and you're done. 20 minutes, max. If you like and have them on hand, fresh herbs like basil and oregano add extra flavor, so does a splash of white wine and a diced tomato.
I've at least tried most of these, Andrea (yes, LARPing included), but my favorite is dance, by far. The one Con (witha capital C) you didn't mention for dance is expense. Not just shoes, but the cost of lessons, costumes if you perform, and travel for both lessons and performances.
I take lessons 4 times per week in several disciplines and those run about $150 per month, and 1 of those each week is free because I help the teacher demonstrate, so if I paid for them all it would be closer to $200 per month. Those are all group lessons, private lessons are much more expensive, so I don't take them. I go through 3-4 pair of pointe shoes ($60 per pair), a couple of pair of dance sneakers ($40 per pair), a pair of ballet shoes ($12 per pair), a pair of character shoes ($50 per pair), 3-6 pair of tights ($13 per pair) and the odd leotard every year - I just use workout clothes for the swing lessons, and my flamenco skirt was a make-it-once-use-it-forever item. Fortunately, I make my own costumes for performance, but I still go through about $100 in fabric and notions (bought on sale) each year. Worth every penny to me, though!
Also, for those of us near an ocean, surfing!! Every time I fall off my board I laugh like crazy - stress relief, fun and exercise all rolled into one. :-D
Thank the Lord and live good. I'm not someone who cares about labels, so I'm still going to shop at Walmart. I'm going to check out all the high end stores too, but Dollar Stores won't be too good for me.
It's my understanding that paper I-bonds are no longer available, except optionally for IRS tax refunds. The next I-bond rates (for electronic and for paper if you can get it) are trending toward a rate of zero in May 2012, as explained in this update at Savings Bond Advisor.
I'm certainly glad I purchased as many as I did, when I did. I stocked up on a few extra paper I-bonds this past November and December, and probably won't order any more anytime soon.
I like to buy something to feed my needlework addiction. A nice ball of soft yarn that's under $5 is a few hours of crocheting bliss while I make a scarf to give as a gift. I did that driving cross-country from Iowa City to Chicago one winter - my boyfriend drove, I crocheted and his sister received a gift (that she wears to this day) when we arrived at her home in Chicago - that's a lot of enjoyment out of $5. :-)
Love the idea about surprising a friend. And I agree with the candy bar! I have one of the salted caramel ones from Trader Joe's in my freezer right now. =)
As an engineer, I am constantly telling people that they don't need to be good at Math, or even enjoy Math to be a fantastic engineer. You do end up doing a fair amount in college, but since graduating in 2007 I haven't worked a single position that has required me to do the math I learned in college. Anything I do end up calculating is done using spreadsheets and other tools. The idea of not liking math equaling not liking engineering is leading to a great dearth of engineers in our colleges.
Mr. Meighan, I just got audited for my 2008 M1pr form and found that it was line 5 in error. It was for rental losses and that should have been added back in making my refund $580 less and thus the interest and audit. This was a clear error on turbotax fault as I see all the info was entered correctly on my end. I no longer trust your software.
One of my favorite things to pick up for $5, besides pens, are those thin plastic folders that hold a few sheets of paper. You get them from Staples and they come in all kinds of colors - the see through ones. Staples is my one guilty pleasure and it's usually in the form of office org type stuff. I guess it's not all bad if my office is always over compartmentalized right?! lol
Why bypass free money? 30 year fixed mortgages are just under 4%, a low-risk investment (AT&T) is yielding 6%, both are tax-advantaged. Not to mention the loss of liquidity if you want -or suddenly need - to use the 80% of the cash left after down payment for something else.
Ok, these are great but what about the old standby beans and franks, Stewed tomatoes and spanish rice, and veggie fried rice. Not the most healthy options, but certainly ok for a quick once and a while meal.
The best way is add a tsp of apple cider in a glass of water. It will lower your blood sugar in 30 mins. Trust me
My brother gave me a mini xmas tree, the ornaments were silver dollars and money rolls all over it. Another year he did the cold hard cash idea in a bottle of Canadian Mist, he said it was either that or jello!!
Love the extra recipe! But I can't do non-fat sour cream. I know it's better for me, but I don't like how it tastes. If I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do full fat. :)
That will be interesting - zero for the guarantee and zero for interest - I guess I will not be investing in I bonds in the next 6 month period.
Actually I will not be investing as I have over $200,000 in I bonds purchase in the 7-10 year ago range that have guarantees of between 2% and 3.6% - the good old days for I bond purchases!
I can see where the social networking angle would be fun for people, for sure, especially if former workout buddies don't live in the same area.
I hadn't considered cost as far as dancing get-up goes, but I imagine that pretty much any sport can be pricey once you get serious. I take dance classes off and on, but the classes are $15 for 2 hours and my only other expense were some ballet shoes - but they weren't required. If I ever became GOOD at dancing (this will never happen), I can see where it might get spendy.
And I DID think of surfing, believe it or not, but decided to leave it off because it is an area-specific sport. Very specific - I live on the Puget Sound but couldn't hope to get any surfing in around here! But it's amazing exercise.
I like how you thought out of the box for these exercises. Many times people think they have to do a certain workout to exercise. In reality, they can do things they truly enjoy. I am all about doing things like soccer, swimming, basketball (exercise that you can do a lot of and realize after..."Hey, I exercised!") :). I have found that one of the coolest things out their are websites that allow people to turn fitness social and almost like a game. There are some great websites where people can track their workouts, gain points for working out, share with their friends, etc. That is something that I have seen people really start to enjoy.
Hey Mikey - make your spinach dip with the ranch mix and non-fat sour cream. Much healthier, waaaay less guilt, and it will taste just as good!
Another easy, quick meal for one - freshly made chicken-veggie soup. 1/2 bag mixed frozen veggies - Trader Joe's Harvest Hodgepodge works really well, or the Italian mix from the dollar store - 1 can Swanson low sodium chicken broth and half a chicken breast (raw is fine, but if it's already cooked then skip the simmering and just shred it). Simmer the chicken in the chicken broth until it's done, take the chicken out and shred it while you cook the veggies in the same broth (use two forks to shred the chicken so you don't burn your fingers). Throw the chicken back in, add some garlic powder, onion powder and black pepper and you're done. 20 minutes, max. If you like and have them on hand, fresh herbs like basil and oregano add extra flavor, so does a splash of white wine and a diced tomato.
I've at least tried most of these, Andrea (yes, LARPing included), but my favorite is dance, by far. The one Con (witha capital C) you didn't mention for dance is expense. Not just shoes, but the cost of lessons, costumes if you perform, and travel for both lessons and performances.
I take lessons 4 times per week in several disciplines and those run about $150 per month, and 1 of those each week is free because I help the teacher demonstrate, so if I paid for them all it would be closer to $200 per month. Those are all group lessons, private lessons are much more expensive, so I don't take them. I go through 3-4 pair of pointe shoes ($60 per pair), a couple of pair of dance sneakers ($40 per pair), a pair of ballet shoes ($12 per pair), a pair of character shoes ($50 per pair), 3-6 pair of tights ($13 per pair) and the odd leotard every year - I just use workout clothes for the swing lessons, and my flamenco skirt was a make-it-once-use-it-forever item. Fortunately, I make my own costumes for performance, but I still go through about $100 in fabric and notions (bought on sale) each year. Worth every penny to me, though!
Also, for those of us near an ocean, surfing!! Every time I fall off my board I laugh like crazy - stress relief, fun and exercise all rolled into one. :-D
Thank the Lord and live good. I'm not someone who cares about labels, so I'm still going to shop at Walmart. I'm going to check out all the high end stores too, but Dollar Stores won't be too good for me.
It's my understanding that paper I-bonds are no longer available, except optionally for IRS tax refunds. The next I-bond rates (for electronic and for paper if you can get it) are trending toward a rate of zero in May 2012, as explained in this update at Savings Bond Advisor.
I'm certainly glad I purchased as many as I did, when I did. I stocked up on a few extra paper I-bonds this past November and December, and probably won't order any more anytime soon.
I would love to buy a house with cash one day -- kudos!
Haha! Some of these were pretty funny :)
Cons of Boxing: Getting your butt kicked!
Cons of LARPing: Having no friends outside of your LARP crew!
I like to buy something to feed my needlework addiction. A nice ball of soft yarn that's under $5 is a few hours of crocheting bliss while I make a scarf to give as a gift. I did that driving cross-country from Iowa City to Chicago one winter - my boyfriend drove, I crocheted and his sister received a gift (that she wears to this day) when we arrived at her home in Chicago - that's a lot of enjoyment out of $5. :-)
Love the idea about surprising a friend. And I agree with the candy bar! I have one of the salted caramel ones from Trader Joe's in my freezer right now. =)
Along the lines of food, a good candy bar or two from Trader Joe's or Whole Foods can also be a fun and cheap indulgence.
What I like about your list is that these make fun treats for surprising a friend when they need a little pick me up.
As an engineer, I am constantly telling people that they don't need to be good at Math, or even enjoy Math to be a fantastic engineer. You do end up doing a fair amount in college, but since graduating in 2007 I haven't worked a single position that has required me to do the math I learned in college. Anything I do end up calculating is done using spreadsheets and other tools. The idea of not liking math equaling not liking engineering is leading to a great dearth of engineers in our colleges.
A new nail polish. Walgreens and Target both carry the Sinful Colors line & Walgreens has them on sale frequently.
Mr. Meighan, I just got audited for my 2008 M1pr form and found that it was line 5 in error. It was for rental losses and that should have been added back in making my refund $580 less and thus the interest and audit. This was a clear error on turbotax fault as I see all the info was entered correctly on my end. I no longer trust your software.
Awesome! I love the recipe stand idea. I'm going to try that tonight.
Another use is as an e-document repository ... I take photos of important documents and keep an electronic copy on the tablet.
One of my favorite things to pick up for $5, besides pens, are those thin plastic folders that hold a few sheets of paper. You get them from Staples and they come in all kinds of colors - the see through ones. Staples is my one guilty pleasure and it's usually in the form of office org type stuff. I guess it's not all bad if my office is always over compartmentalized right?! lol
Why bypass free money? 30 year fixed mortgages are just under 4%, a low-risk investment (AT&T) is yielding 6%, both are tax-advantaged. Not to mention the loss of liquidity if you want -or suddenly need - to use the 80% of the cash left after down payment for something else.
Ok, these are great but what about the old standby beans and franks, Stewed tomatoes and spanish rice, and veggie fried rice. Not the most healthy options, but certainly ok for a quick once and a while meal.
Money can make you feel less stress because you don't have all the pressure of losing everything you have
Checking the date is also so key when stocking up on discounts. Nothing worse than realizing a few months worth of product expires in a week.