Down shifting isn't hard on a manual transmission, especially if you math revs (only a extra shift to the clutch.) A automatic is better at down shifting, people just don't get involved to do it. But it can be hard on a auto if done without a transmission cooler for too long of a duration. It does add some wear to the engine, same as running it at a higher power, again insignificant saving thousands of dollars in brake changes over the life of the car.
Well there is so much I would like to do!
Being as though im only 19, at uni while living with my parent, i would go find the lawyer and accountant and financial advisor.
Collect my money
Buy a really modern house by the lake and move out!
Then i would buy my dream bed I keep seeing at the shops
The next day after waking up in my amazing bed, i would go buy myself a corvette and just go for a drive to my friends house to pick her up and fly us to america (I live in New Zealand) to go to a John Mayer concert!
When I came back I would buy all these guitars I have always wanted, buy drums and get lessons for that.
Get my best friend to move in with me and then we would go on a roadtrip around New Zealand for a few months.
After that I would come back and finish off my music degree while enjoying the perks of the extra money but also invest a few properties
I would only tell my direct family and my best friend about the money.
I appreciated these recipes. I am an older man (65) live alone and always looking for something other than canned chili mixed with rice, that I can take out of the freezer and pop into the microwave for dinner. Recently a friend offered me the remains of a chicken that he and his grandson had partially devoured. I graciously accepted it, put into a pot, added some stock, frozen veggies, rice and froze the chicken soup and have been eating chicken soup for lunch now when its been cold here in FL. (Watching for bones in the process, LOL)
I cannot afford to go out to eat, but I may be able to freeze ahead several meals. Once again, thanks.
Wow. I loved what you wrote! Listen I have been a SINGLE mom for 22 years, NO Child Support, and NO visitation..you name it, we had all the challenges.
BUT I followed my dream to be a single mom and raise my daughter on purpose. I started one of America's first home based businesses about 15 years ago. I put my daughter through college somehow, still without child support.
It was hard, but we are blessed.
My duagher is following her dreams. I am following my dreams.
I have written a Book Series entitled "Dreams to Reality: Author Your Dreams ACTION PLAN" and it just came out on Amazon and other major booksellers.
It is a 3 part series. The first part is the text book, the second part is the workbook, and the third part is the most exciting part...You, Your Published Dream Plan Book. I have an Author Your Dreams, Author Your Career, and Author Your Book workbooks.
I am so excited about what you and your husband are doing, I would like to give you a free copy of the book. I have the PDF version I can send you in the e-mail. Please just write me at info at author your dreams, and let me know that youw would like to accept my offer; and I will get it right out in the email to you!
I think it will help you and support you in what you are doing.
Deborah S. Nelson, Author
Dreams to Reality Series
Dude, you're an entitled piece of crap. It's not your friend's job to fund your life. Get a loan like a responsible person. Oh, the bank won't give you a loan? That's because you're a bad bet. Why should your friend lose ANY money just for the privilege of being your friend? You know what people who expect money for spending time with people are called? Hookers.
I clip tons of coupons each week, even ones I doubt I will use. Besides participating in a coupon swap, I keep certain coupons I am pretty sure will yield big savings on particular grocery items. With double and even sometimes triple coupons, I am able to get certain food and personal hygiene items for under a dollar, even free. I then put those in my giveaway bags for local charities and food banks.
I think that freezing homemade meals is a great way to save time and money, and get far better nutrition than fast foods and most restaurant meals (unless you dine at restaurants that purchase items daily rather than weekly) and, as many people already know, frozen vegetables are often just as (or more) nutritious than produce at the grocery store that has been transported from miles away and has been sitting around for a few days.
I do admire those who are able to shop daily for fresh, locally grown food and quickly prepare meals every day. My option though is to get the fresh foods and then prepare some meals daily and others ahead of time and preserve them through freezing. Thanks for the recipes!
Personally, I think it is BS that this post has to exist in the first place. This is our food, or drink, and we have to go here or here to "decipher" if it is safe or not. What BS! I am sick of the lies everywhere...on everything I eat I have to decide if I believe the packaging. I am poor, I don't have a lot of money and I scrape together to get organic as much as I can because the pesticides cause cancer, are neurotoxins, cause birth defects, etc. I don't want that in my body! All of this makes me want to move to the country and grow everything myself! It's really sickening that the USDA is allowing all of these lies, but I am sure they are getting money in return somehow. Why is it that greed is the deciding factor for everything!?! I wish people would just tell the freaking truth...is that soooo hard?!!
What I also like to do is to freeze "bases" for future meals. If I am making a chicken dish that calss for a pound of sauteed chicken pieces, I usually sautee off about three pounds, divide up the extra two pounds into 1 pound containers, and then use those for future dishes.
Admitting that you may need some declutter help is a good first step to taking action to beat the clutter bug. Sometimes, people just need a helping hand with their home organization. Once they get started, the project will gain momentum and it gets easier.
I see your point here, and while I do not condone fast food, sometimes in the spirit of time I go pick some up. To me the taste would be a little better than frozen left overs (nutritional value aside).
Several fast food joints have dollar menus which are great. Also, Little Ceaser's has a large pizza for around $6 bucks. That can be 2-3 meals in itself.
If you want to go a little healthier, I often get can of soup for lunch at work. Something like a can of Healthy Request soup and a package of peanut butter and crackers makes a quick and easy meal that is not that bad for you.
Phil, this is a good thread. You are informative (and patient) without being a snooty connoisseur. Zorcy added a lot of useful info to the tread as well.
I think the methanol scare has gotten undue attention by many posters. Brewing, and especially distilling your own booze is something few people do anymore. This makes the practice seem rare and mysterious, and dramatic talk of "poisoning" and "going blind" makes for alluring urban legends.
It's been said (ad nauseum) that a must or wash made from sugar, yeast, and water will produce virtually no methanol when it ferments. Fermenting the sugars from fruits and grains may produce more methanol and other "funky" compounds, but still very small amounts.
Let's say someone makes a gallon (128 oz) of homebrew beer with an alcohol content of 5%. That's a total of 6.4 oz of alcohol. If they drink the whole gallon of beer, are they going to go blind? Of course not, even though it may contain a very minute portion of methanol. You can drink 2 or 3 gallons of that beer and not go blind from methanol. Of course, 3 gallons of beer is more than a 30-pack, so your vision may get impaired from the ethanol alone!
Now if you take that gallon of beer and distill it, you will not be "producing" more methanol, just separating the alcohols from the non-alcoholic ingredients of the beer.
But, methanol could be a problem if you are distilling a large batch. Let's say you have 100 gallons of wort at a strength of 20%. A theoretically perfect distillation would yield 20 gallons of pure alcohol. But the small amount of methanol would distill out first, and drinking that concentrated methanol could hurt you. But if you mix all your output together, you have nothing to worry about.
Someone mentioned earlier that much of the methanol poisoning in the past was not from moonshine. Some rotten people may have added cheap methanol to moonshine they sold to increase profits. I have also heard that it was not uncommon for poor alcoholics to drink the juice from Sterno (called the drink a pink lady). Yummy! But most of the hype over "deadly moonshine" was started by the government revenuers to scare the public and prevent moonshiners from selling their mountain dew.
As a financial therapist and money coach, I think it is vital for couples to know about each others money history and 'money type.' This emotional and psychological awareness actually leads to less friction when discussing family finances. Understanding the context of each others' beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors regarding money--often informed from messages we received from our families as children--helps each partner develop empathy for each other. It's this mutual understanding that helps the couple feel like a team rather than adversaries. I would offer that some of these early couple 'money dates' include an exploration and discussion about this. It's an incredibly valuable exercise.
And cushions? P'shaw. Both down and synthetic inserts can be machine washed and dried. Dry-clean-only covers can be put in the sun in a black plastic bag, or even dry-cleaned for a few bucks. Never had a problem.
Cidre, if I stuck to a list I'd have missed my biggest thrift scores: a $1000 musical instrument for $12.50, All Clad pans, a cashmere overcoat, and numerous items, from vintage couture to rare books, that I've sold online for several thousand dollars total. I've also bought most of our electronics and small appliances (after testing them with the outlets most large thrift stores provide for the purpose). Often, just one part - a vacuum hose, for instance - will be worth as much on eBay as I paid for the whole item. Like J., I'll buy a junky older version of something for minor or craft use. And when I buy small appliances that don't work as planned, they go to a neighbor, who supplements disability income repairing such items and selling on Craigslist. Best use of an otherwise wasted five bucks *I've* ever seen.
I'd agree that it's important to be disciplined. Space, including mental space, is valuable. Don't buy junk. Don't buy stuff you're not excited about, that you're not pretty sure you can use or sell. If you don't have a data plan on your cel phone, have someone to call to check out an iffy item; this has saved me from a slick but poorly-reviewed or recalled "bargain" many times (I google the item name/model number plus the words recall, junk, broke, etc.). If you do gamble, make a decision quickly once you get it home, and put it into the donation box posthaste if it's not right. Date items you bring home as "projects;" if it doesn't happen in a month, or six, out it goes. Then get a receipt when you re-donate it. If you got a deal, the tax deduction may even approach what you paid.
and of course i forgot to put in the bit about actually COOKING them before freezing.
since the ingredients are all cooked, you just cook as long as the biscuit recipe calls for or until the tops are golden brown.
i tended to save leftovers for filling, or cook two chicken breasts for dinner instead of one and using the second one for pot pies.
i used to make bisquick dough biscuit pot pies in a muffin tin. i haven't thought about this in years as i now have a lot more cooking time on my hands, only working one job instead of one full time and one part time.
[any biscuit dough would work, i just happened to use bisquick at the time]
mix the dough and separate off a third and set aside
press the dough into greased muffin tin about a third of the way up the sides, making sure there are no holes
pop into the oven at 350ish for about 5-10 minutes to give the base a headstart
i did different versions:
mix together:
1. cooked chicken, diced or shredded
condensed cream of chicken soup [or mushroom, celery, etc] OR chicken gravy
2. cooked beef
gravy OR tomato sauce OR A1
add to either meat/sauce combo:
cooked potatoes, diced
frozen peas/carrots [you don't need to thaw them for this]
spoon the filling to about halfway full
press out circles of dough a little larger than the muffin holes, lay over the filling and tuck down [i used a spoon handle]
if you have it, a little shredded cheese worked into the dough is tasty too.
I do not have a cell phone, either, and I am certainly not getting one in the future.
Here are my reasons:
1) I hate interruption.
I do not think I am able to allow anyone to bother me while I am in the middle of something. I would not stop anything I am doing inorder to answer a phone call.
2) I am busy.
I am always in the middle of something.
3) I already have an e-mail address.
You can always send me an e-mail. The main difference between e-mails and cell phones is that e-mails let you know someone HAS contacted you, while mobiles let you know someone IS trying to contact you at the moment. You may or may not sign in and/or check your e-mail box, but with a cell phone, BUM, you are "caught" immediately. Cell phones and privacy are extreme opposites. They are freedom-murderers.
4) I am too good to have a cell phone.
I am not that easy to reach. You wanna get me, you have to work for it. Making a phone call is not enough. You may need to send me an e-mail and wait for me to get back to you. If I don't reply, that means you are not reaching me whatsoever. What matters here is what I want, not what you want.
5) I already have a home phone.
Eventhough I am nearly never home, you can always leave a message or something. Again, you will reach me when I want, not when you want.
6) Millions lived without it.
My great grandparents, The Pharaons, never used cell phones. However they were able to build a civilization which continues to fascinate the world every time we discover something new about Ancient Egypt.
The question should not be "Why don't you have a cell phone?" It should be "Why the hell do you have one?"
Lemme answer it for you..
You carry a cell phone 'cause that is what everyone else is doing.
Greetings from Alexandria, Egypt to anti-cellphonists all over the world!
A little perspective: a $150 pair of flawlessly fitting, beautiful wool pants that you got for $5 is well worth the $15 a tailor will charge to replace a zipper or take in the back an inch or two. A new lining may cost $35, but if you paid $20 for the coat and it's cashmere... let's talk about the pilly acrylic nightmares you can get new for that price. Most tailors have a list of price ranges for repairs; keep one in your thrifting kit so you can evaluate on the fly. Know what your cobbler can do, too. My $4 Cole Haan heels were worth resoling. Thirty bucks to put a gusset in a fantastic pair of boots that's a little tight in the calf is nothing.
I'm with Pam. Most of these cautions don't reflect my experiences in 25 years of thrift shopping. The large charity and chain thrifts all bale damaged and unsold clothes for sale as rags. Many thrift shoppers are looking for damaged items to upcycle - the lower price just adds to the pleasure of making something from next to nothing. I love finding sweaters shrunk in the wash; they cost less and the felt is perfect for craft projects. I've bought items just for the fabric, buttons, or trim.
DIY fashion allows so many wonderful options for remaking clothes: lengthening a skirt with a contrasting fabric, silkscreening, fabric painting, unfinished rolled neck- and hemlines on knits, and some delightful new versions of the applique/reverse applique concept. A frayed collar on a great vintage shirt can be split along the seams with a razor to look on purpose or resurfaced with a bit of fusible webbing and a scrap of a vintage scarf.
Down shifting isn't hard on a manual transmission, especially if you math revs (only a extra shift to the clutch.) A automatic is better at down shifting, people just don't get involved to do it. But it can be hard on a auto if done without a transmission cooler for too long of a duration. It does add some wear to the engine, same as running it at a higher power, again insignificant saving thousands of dollars in brake changes over the life of the car.
@FinancialBondage: Very good point!
We just love ours@@@
Well there is so much I would like to do!
Being as though im only 19, at uni while living with my parent, i would go find the lawyer and accountant and financial advisor.
Collect my money
Buy a really modern house by the lake and move out!
Then i would buy my dream bed I keep seeing at the shops
The next day after waking up in my amazing bed, i would go buy myself a corvette and just go for a drive to my friends house to pick her up and fly us to america (I live in New Zealand) to go to a John Mayer concert!
When I came back I would buy all these guitars I have always wanted, buy drums and get lessons for that.
Get my best friend to move in with me and then we would go on a roadtrip around New Zealand for a few months.
After that I would come back and finish off my music degree while enjoying the perks of the extra money but also invest a few properties
I would only tell my direct family and my best friend about the money.
I appreciated these recipes. I am an older man (65) live alone and always looking for something other than canned chili mixed with rice, that I can take out of the freezer and pop into the microwave for dinner. Recently a friend offered me the remains of a chicken that he and his grandson had partially devoured. I graciously accepted it, put into a pot, added some stock, frozen veggies, rice and froze the chicken soup and have been eating chicken soup for lunch now when its been cold here in FL. (Watching for bones in the process, LOL)
I cannot afford to go out to eat, but I may be able to freeze ahead several meals. Once again, thanks.
Dear Sarah.
Wow. I loved what you wrote! Listen I have been a SINGLE mom for 22 years, NO Child Support, and NO visitation..you name it, we had all the challenges.
BUT I followed my dream to be a single mom and raise my daughter on purpose. I started one of America's first home based businesses about 15 years ago. I put my daughter through college somehow, still without child support.
It was hard, but we are blessed.
My duagher is following her dreams. I am following my dreams.
I have written a Book Series entitled "Dreams to Reality: Author Your Dreams ACTION PLAN" and it just came out on Amazon and other major booksellers.
It is a 3 part series. The first part is the text book, the second part is the workbook, and the third part is the most exciting part...You, Your Published Dream Plan Book. I have an Author Your Dreams, Author Your Career, and Author Your Book workbooks.
I am so excited about what you and your husband are doing, I would like to give you a free copy of the book. I have the PDF version I can send you in the e-mail. Please just write me at info at author your dreams, and let me know that youw would like to accept my offer; and I will get it right out in the email to you!
I think it will help you and support you in what you are doing.
Deborah S. Nelson, Author
Dreams to Reality Series
@ Jack:
Dude, you're an entitled piece of crap. It's not your friend's job to fund your life. Get a loan like a responsible person. Oh, the bank won't give you a loan? That's because you're a bad bet. Why should your friend lose ANY money just for the privilege of being your friend? You know what people who expect money for spending time with people are called? Hookers.
I clip tons of coupons each week, even ones I doubt I will use. Besides participating in a coupon swap, I keep certain coupons I am pretty sure will yield big savings on particular grocery items. With double and even sometimes triple coupons, I am able to get certain food and personal hygiene items for under a dollar, even free. I then put those in my giveaway bags for local charities and food banks.
If I were to ferment water, white sugar and yeast in a plastic container, would it still be safe if I did not distill it?
I understand that it would probably have an awful taste and low alcohol content, but does a plastic bottle make a difference?
If so, would the jacking technique solve this problem?
Thanks!
FYI, the above "Do Not Mail" link doesn't (now) lead to a solution, only a propaganda page from the DMA.
I think that freezing homemade meals is a great way to save time and money, and get far better nutrition than fast foods and most restaurant meals (unless you dine at restaurants that purchase items daily rather than weekly) and, as many people already know, frozen vegetables are often just as (or more) nutritious than produce at the grocery store that has been transported from miles away and has been sitting around for a few days.
I do admire those who are able to shop daily for fresh, locally grown food and quickly prepare meals every day. My option though is to get the fresh foods and then prepare some meals daily and others ahead of time and preserve them through freezing. Thanks for the recipes!
Personally, I think it is BS that this post has to exist in the first place. This is our food, or drink, and we have to go here or here to "decipher" if it is safe or not. What BS! I am sick of the lies everywhere...on everything I eat I have to decide if I believe the packaging. I am poor, I don't have a lot of money and I scrape together to get organic as much as I can because the pesticides cause cancer, are neurotoxins, cause birth defects, etc. I don't want that in my body! All of this makes me want to move to the country and grow everything myself! It's really sickening that the USDA is allowing all of these lies, but I am sure they are getting money in return somehow. Why is it that greed is the deciding factor for everything!?! I wish people would just tell the freaking truth...is that soooo hard?!!
What I also like to do is to freeze "bases" for future meals. If I am making a chicken dish that calss for a pound of sauteed chicken pieces, I usually sautee off about three pounds, divide up the extra two pounds into 1 pound containers, and then use those for future dishes.
It cuts down on the prep time significantly.
Admitting that you may need some declutter help is a good first step to taking action to beat the clutter bug. Sometimes, people just need a helping hand with their home organization. Once they get started, the project will gain momentum and it gets easier.
I see your point here, and while I do not condone fast food, sometimes in the spirit of time I go pick some up. To me the taste would be a little better than frozen left overs (nutritional value aside).
Several fast food joints have dollar menus which are great. Also, Little Ceaser's has a large pizza for around $6 bucks. That can be 2-3 meals in itself.
If you want to go a little healthier, I often get can of soup for lunch at work. Something like a can of Healthy Request soup and a package of peanut butter and crackers makes a quick and easy meal that is not that bad for you.
Phil, this is a good thread. You are informative (and patient) without being a snooty connoisseur. Zorcy added a lot of useful info to the tread as well.
I think the methanol scare has gotten undue attention by many posters. Brewing, and especially distilling your own booze is something few people do anymore. This makes the practice seem rare and mysterious, and dramatic talk of "poisoning" and "going blind" makes for alluring urban legends.
It's been said (ad nauseum) that a must or wash made from sugar, yeast, and water will produce virtually no methanol when it ferments. Fermenting the sugars from fruits and grains may produce more methanol and other "funky" compounds, but still very small amounts.
Let's say someone makes a gallon (128 oz) of homebrew beer with an alcohol content of 5%. That's a total of 6.4 oz of alcohol. If they drink the whole gallon of beer, are they going to go blind? Of course not, even though it may contain a very minute portion of methanol. You can drink 2 or 3 gallons of that beer and not go blind from methanol. Of course, 3 gallons of beer is more than a 30-pack, so your vision may get impaired from the ethanol alone!
Now if you take that gallon of beer and distill it, you will not be "producing" more methanol, just separating the alcohols from the non-alcoholic ingredients of the beer.
But, methanol could be a problem if you are distilling a large batch. Let's say you have 100 gallons of wort at a strength of 20%. A theoretically perfect distillation would yield 20 gallons of pure alcohol. But the small amount of methanol would distill out first, and drinking that concentrated methanol could hurt you. But if you mix all your output together, you have nothing to worry about.
Someone mentioned earlier that much of the methanol poisoning in the past was not from moonshine. Some rotten people may have added cheap methanol to moonshine they sold to increase profits. I have also heard that it was not uncommon for poor alcoholics to drink the juice from Sterno (called the drink a pink lady). Yummy! But most of the hype over "deadly moonshine" was started by the government revenuers to scare the public and prevent moonshiners from selling their mountain dew.
Can somebody please help me, I need to covert Sony DVP-NS710H/B into multi Region.
Thanks.
As a financial therapist and money coach, I think it is vital for couples to know about each others money history and 'money type.' This emotional and psychological awareness actually leads to less friction when discussing family finances. Understanding the context of each others' beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors regarding money--often informed from messages we received from our families as children--helps each partner develop empathy for each other. It's this mutual understanding that helps the couple feel like a team rather than adversaries. I would offer that some of these early couple 'money dates' include an exploration and discussion about this. It's an incredibly valuable exercise.
And cushions? P'shaw. Both down and synthetic inserts can be machine washed and dried. Dry-clean-only covers can be put in the sun in a black plastic bag, or even dry-cleaned for a few bucks. Never had a problem.
Cidre, if I stuck to a list I'd have missed my biggest thrift scores: a $1000 musical instrument for $12.50, All Clad pans, a cashmere overcoat, and numerous items, from vintage couture to rare books, that I've sold online for several thousand dollars total. I've also bought most of our electronics and small appliances (after testing them with the outlets most large thrift stores provide for the purpose). Often, just one part - a vacuum hose, for instance - will be worth as much on eBay as I paid for the whole item. Like J., I'll buy a junky older version of something for minor or craft use. And when I buy small appliances that don't work as planned, they go to a neighbor, who supplements disability income repairing such items and selling on Craigslist. Best use of an otherwise wasted five bucks *I've* ever seen.
I'd agree that it's important to be disciplined. Space, including mental space, is valuable. Don't buy junk. Don't buy stuff you're not excited about, that you're not pretty sure you can use or sell. If you don't have a data plan on your cel phone, have someone to call to check out an iffy item; this has saved me from a slick but poorly-reviewed or recalled "bargain" many times (I google the item name/model number plus the words recall, junk, broke, etc.). If you do gamble, make a decision quickly once you get it home, and put it into the donation box posthaste if it's not right. Date items you bring home as "projects;" if it doesn't happen in a month, or six, out it goes. Then get a receipt when you re-donate it. If you got a deal, the tax deduction may even approach what you paid.
and of course i forgot to put in the bit about actually COOKING them before freezing.
since the ingredients are all cooked, you just cook as long as the biscuit recipe calls for or until the tops are golden brown.
i tended to save leftovers for filling, or cook two chicken breasts for dinner instead of one and using the second one for pot pies.
i used to make bisquick dough biscuit pot pies in a muffin tin. i haven't thought about this in years as i now have a lot more cooking time on my hands, only working one job instead of one full time and one part time.
[any biscuit dough would work, i just happened to use bisquick at the time]
mix the dough and separate off a third and set aside
press the dough into greased muffin tin about a third of the way up the sides, making sure there are no holes
pop into the oven at 350ish for about 5-10 minutes to give the base a headstart
i did different versions:
mix together:
1. cooked chicken, diced or shredded
condensed cream of chicken soup [or mushroom, celery, etc] OR chicken gravy
2. cooked beef
gravy OR tomato sauce OR A1
add to either meat/sauce combo:
cooked potatoes, diced
frozen peas/carrots [you don't need to thaw them for this]
spoon the filling to about halfway full
press out circles of dough a little larger than the muffin holes, lay over the filling and tuck down [i used a spoon handle]
if you have it, a little shredded cheese worked into the dough is tasty too.
freeze in a gallon ziploc and heat as needed
I do not have a cell phone, either, and I am certainly not getting one in the future.
Here are my reasons:
1) I hate interruption.
I do not think I am able to allow anyone to bother me while I am in the middle of something. I would not stop anything I am doing inorder to answer a phone call.
2) I am busy.
I am always in the middle of something.
3) I already have an e-mail address.
You can always send me an e-mail. The main difference between e-mails and cell phones is that e-mails let you know someone HAS contacted you, while mobiles let you know someone IS trying to contact you at the moment. You may or may not sign in and/or check your e-mail box, but with a cell phone, BUM, you are "caught" immediately. Cell phones and privacy are extreme opposites. They are freedom-murderers.
4) I am too good to have a cell phone.
I am not that easy to reach. You wanna get me, you have to work for it. Making a phone call is not enough. You may need to send me an e-mail and wait for me to get back to you. If I don't reply, that means you are not reaching me whatsoever. What matters here is what I want, not what you want.
5) I already have a home phone.
Eventhough I am nearly never home, you can always leave a message or something. Again, you will reach me when I want, not when you want.
6) Millions lived without it.
My great grandparents, The Pharaons, never used cell phones. However they were able to build a civilization which continues to fascinate the world every time we discover something new about Ancient Egypt.
The question should not be "Why don't you have a cell phone?" It should be "Why the hell do you have one?"
Lemme answer it for you..
You carry a cell phone 'cause that is what everyone else is doing.
Greetings from Alexandria, Egypt to anti-cellphonists all over the world!
Love and respect,
Noblez Chavazelle
A little perspective: a $150 pair of flawlessly fitting, beautiful wool pants that you got for $5 is well worth the $15 a tailor will charge to replace a zipper or take in the back an inch or two. A new lining may cost $35, but if you paid $20 for the coat and it's cashmere... let's talk about the pilly acrylic nightmares you can get new for that price. Most tailors have a list of price ranges for repairs; keep one in your thrifting kit so you can evaluate on the fly. Know what your cobbler can do, too. My $4 Cole Haan heels were worth resoling. Thirty bucks to put a gusset in a fantastic pair of boots that's a little tight in the calf is nothing.
I'm with Pam. Most of these cautions don't reflect my experiences in 25 years of thrift shopping. The large charity and chain thrifts all bale damaged and unsold clothes for sale as rags. Many thrift shoppers are looking for damaged items to upcycle - the lower price just adds to the pleasure of making something from next to nothing. I love finding sweaters shrunk in the wash; they cost less and the felt is perfect for craft projects. I've bought items just for the fabric, buttons, or trim.
DIY fashion allows so many wonderful options for remaking clothes: lengthening a skirt with a contrasting fabric, silkscreening, fabric painting, unfinished rolled neck- and hemlines on knits, and some delightful new versions of the applique/reverse applique concept. A frayed collar on a great vintage shirt can be split along the seams with a razor to look on purpose or resurfaced with a bit of fusible webbing and a scrap of a vintage scarf.
I love the Trudeau Pot Clip Spoon Rest. It doesn't take up much room either so you can just throw it into the utensils drawer.