The smartest investment I ever made was adopting my dog. Seems silly I know, but all of those nights when I thought it was the worst night of my life, she was there..smiling and ready to give me kisses. She can always sense when something is wrong. She is always there to greet me at the front door when I come home from work and is more excited to see me than ever before. She isn't just my pet, she is my best friend. I am really not sure what I would do without her...she is my Megan-Jo.
Great post. I have a pretty strict budget right now for most items, but groceries tends to get us. I have not done the envelope system before, and am thinking that it will help us tweak the smallest of details in our already laid out budget. Its too easy to use the debit card and go "over" our budgeted amount when you have money in the account.
The smartest investment I've ever made was getting my CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) certification. It has proved to be a valuable asset for me in the IT field and helped to open new career opportunities for me.
I have accepted a layoff without letting it get the best of me! What I did not know is that during the time I got laid off my dad- who was never sick- would get very sick, eventually passing away. I was there with him 24/7 for the last 7 monthes of his life. It made me realize things really do happen for a reason!
I'll make an add. 99 out of 100 times the beekeeper, or partner is at the market and it's never cut like supermarket honey is, and hardly over priced compared to the grocery store. It does not get any better. Buy honey from beekeepers near where you live and it will help with allergies from local plants. I live where we have the largest farmers market in the midwest and believe me not even one of these ten rules is followed at this market. The biggest rule I follow is know what you are planning to buy before you go to the farmers market, then have a little extra cash for one thing to splurge on, if you can. Next rule is get to know your farmers, learn to buy in bulk, learn to freeze, and can. Don't view your farmers market experience as a shopping trip, look at it as a continual lesson on sustainability and your own personal way of shorting the interests of big agriculture while knowing that you are eating your way to a healthier you.
Putting money into a 529 fund for my sons' education. Then being very conservative with that account has allowed the fund to stay intact the last few years.
I feel the smartest invest I ever had was when I bought my home and decided it's better than renting because in the end you have something to show for and not just sinking money into something that won't be yours in the end. It's been paid off for 5 yrs. now and it was well worth the investment made.
The wisest investment I ever made was accepting a job and moving to a new state. I was in Atlanta working for an internet company that went bust. As I was putting together a plan for my job search, I decided to try to combine a new job with a lifelong dream to live at the beach. I found and accepted a great job on the Gulf coast of Florida. That was 11 years ago and although I no longer work for that company, I've never regretted my decision to leave Atlanta and consider this move the best personal investment I ever made. Living at the beach has been even better than I expected.
I started walking 2 miles every day when I was about 25 years old. It's been an awesome investment in my health and well-being. I'm still doing it and have picked up other healthy habits along the way: gardening, using white whole wheat flour, cooking a lot at home and reading a lot.
Unless you actually weighed the cuts you brought home, it's unlikely that a hanging weight of 158 pounds yielded 134 pounds of meat. That would be an 85% yield, which is higher than any that I've heard of. As the University of Minnesota Extension notes, the actual yield will vary depending on the amount of fat and how the beef is trimmed and boned. Also, if you take home bone-in cuts of meat (like T-bone steaks or ribs,) then the yield will seem higher but it won't all be meat.
My experience has been that you should expect a yield of 65% or 70%, so that a hanging weight of 158 pounds will provide about 105 pounds of meat. If this was in fact the yield on your half side then the price was closer to $4 per pound, and your savings was around $200.
I think this is a great way to save money - I buy a hind quarter from a local farmer each spring - but people shouldn't have unrealistic expectations about the net cost and savings.
The smartest investment I've ever made is my college degree, it enabled me to have higher earnings. I would count my 401k investment but that is not as robust as it used to be, I wish I had more financial smarts.
I read this article and decided to try the Ginger. After boiling and getting a good concentrate, I mixed it with tap water and put it in the freezer until it was half frozen. It works great! It's slightly spicy, so it helps me stay up while studying.
The smartest investment I ever made is attending college. Even though it took me 6 years to get my BS (I did it part-time as my 3 kids were small then), it was worth it as I have a very good paying job now and a good life.
I'd second this, and I think it can apply to anyone at any point in life. If something interests you -- especially a skill -- follow it in your free time. One of the most useful career moves I think I ever made wasn't purposefully a career move at all -- I taught myself HTML in middle school so I could make my own website.
The smartest investment that I've made was going to collage to become a news broadcaster after so many people said i couldn`t do it because a had my son when i was 15 years old i didn`t let nothing stand in my way and proved them all wroung.. lol haha
The best investment I made was when my dad purchased my first computer, who would have known back then, because of that one computer, I would make IT my profession.
Won a $50,000 car in a sweepstakes from Pepsi, went ahead and sold the car, paid off all credit card and medical debt, then bought myself a Jag! Best damned investment I've ever made!
My best investment was the fouir years I spent going to college to become a registgered nurse. The RN license has allowed me to earn a living for over 30 years now.
My smartest investment is.... my HP Laptop! I am a big fan of laptops because of the mobility that it has over a desktop which allows me to do my work anywhere! Next up... an iPad! :-)
The smartest investment I ever made was adopting my dog. Seems silly I know, but all of those nights when I thought it was the worst night of my life, she was there..smiling and ready to give me kisses. She can always sense when something is wrong. She is always there to greet me at the front door when I come home from work and is more excited to see me than ever before. She isn't just my pet, she is my best friend. I am really not sure what I would do without her...she is my Megan-Jo.
My smartest investment was taking classes to learn computers. Now I have a machine that tells me I don't Know how to spell!
THE SMARTEST INVESTMENT I'VE EVER MADE WAS GOING TO RUTGERS UNIVERSITY. IT WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY YOUTH!
The smartest investment I ever made was paying to see Dave Ramsey Live. It was the smartest investment I ever made because I'm debt free now.
Great post. I have a pretty strict budget right now for most items, but groceries tends to get us. I have not done the envelope system before, and am thinking that it will help us tweak the smallest of details in our already laid out budget. Its too easy to use the debit card and go "over" our budgeted amount when you have money in the account.
The smartest investment I've ever made was getting my CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) certification. It has proved to be a valuable asset for me in the IT field and helped to open new career opportunities for me.
I have accepted a layoff without letting it get the best of me! What I did not know is that during the time I got laid off my dad- who was never sick- would get very sick, eventually passing away. I was there with him 24/7 for the last 7 monthes of his life. It made me realize things really do happen for a reason!
I'll make an add. 99 out of 100 times the beekeeper, or partner is at the market and it's never cut like supermarket honey is, and hardly over priced compared to the grocery store. It does not get any better. Buy honey from beekeepers near where you live and it will help with allergies from local plants. I live where we have the largest farmers market in the midwest and believe me not even one of these ten rules is followed at this market. The biggest rule I follow is know what you are planning to buy before you go to the farmers market, then have a little extra cash for one thing to splurge on, if you can. Next rule is get to know your farmers, learn to buy in bulk, learn to freeze, and can. Don't view your farmers market experience as a shopping trip, look at it as a continual lesson on sustainability and your own personal way of shorting the interests of big agriculture while knowing that you are eating your way to a healthier you.
Putting money into a 529 fund for my sons' education. Then being very conservative with that account has allowed the fund to stay intact the last few years.
I invested in family ,and i could'nt have made a better investment! Money comes and goes,You cant replace family,Especially mines!
I feel the smartest invest I ever had was when I bought my home and decided it's better than renting because in the end you have something to show for and not just sinking money into something that won't be yours in the end. It's been paid off for 5 yrs. now and it was well worth the investment made.
The wisest investment I ever made was accepting a job and moving to a new state. I was in Atlanta working for an internet company that went bust. As I was putting together a plan for my job search, I decided to try to combine a new job with a lifelong dream to live at the beach. I found and accepted a great job on the Gulf coast of Florida. That was 11 years ago and although I no longer work for that company, I've never regretted my decision to leave Atlanta and consider this move the best personal investment I ever made. Living at the beach has been even better than I expected.
I started walking 2 miles every day when I was about 25 years old. It's been an awesome investment in my health and well-being. I'm still doing it and have picked up other healthy habits along the way: gardening, using white whole wheat flour, cooking a lot at home and reading a lot.
Unless you actually weighed the cuts you brought home, it's unlikely that a hanging weight of 158 pounds yielded 134 pounds of meat. That would be an 85% yield, which is higher than any that I've heard of. As the University of Minnesota Extension notes, the actual yield will vary depending on the amount of fat and how the beef is trimmed and boned. Also, if you take home bone-in cuts of meat (like T-bone steaks or ribs,) then the yield will seem higher but it won't all be meat.
My experience has been that you should expect a yield of 65% or 70%, so that a hanging weight of 158 pounds will provide about 105 pounds of meat. If this was in fact the yield on your half side then the price was closer to $4 per pound, and your savings was around $200.
I think this is a great way to save money - I buy a hind quarter from a local farmer each spring - but people shouldn't have unrealistic expectations about the net cost and savings.
The smartest investment I've ever made is my college degree, it enabled me to have higher earnings. I would count my 401k investment but that is not as robust as it used to be, I wish I had more financial smarts.
Investing in myself is the smartest investment that I have made. It has yeilded me the ability to be self sufficent and provide for myself.
I read this article and decided to try the Ginger. After boiling and getting a good concentrate, I mixed it with tap water and put it in the freezer until it was half frozen. It works great! It's slightly spicy, so it helps me stay up while studying.
The smartest investment I ever made is attending college. Even though it took me 6 years to get my BS (I did it part-time as my 3 kids were small then), it was worth it as I have a very good paying job now and a good life.
I'd second this, and I think it can apply to anyone at any point in life. If something interests you -- especially a skill -- follow it in your free time. One of the most useful career moves I think I ever made wasn't purposefully a career move at all -- I taught myself HTML in middle school so I could make my own website.
The best investment was an investment in myself. My education gave me a career that I enjoy, rather than just a job.
The smartest investment that I've made was going to collage to become a news broadcaster after so many people said i couldn`t do it because a had my son when i was 15 years old i didn`t let nothing stand in my way and proved them all wroung.. lol haha
The best investment I made was when my dad purchased my first computer, who would have known back then, because of that one computer, I would make IT my profession.
Won a $50,000 car in a sweepstakes from Pepsi, went ahead and sold the car, paid off all credit card and medical debt, then bought myself a Jag! Best damned investment I've ever made!
My best investment was the fouir years I spent going to college to become a registgered nurse. The RN license has allowed me to earn a living for over 30 years now.
My smartest investment is.... my HP Laptop! I am a big fan of laptops because of the mobility that it has over a desktop which allows me to do my work anywhere! Next up... an iPad! :-)