My husband checks balance on all of his accounts on a daily basis, while I'm more fly-by-night about my finances. Several times a week, though, he sits down and inputs all of our latest receipts into Quicken, and as he's doing it, we have a not-terribly-formal conversation about what we've been spending and whether we're going overboard. It keeps us from facing big surprises because we're always aware of what's going on with our money.
Circumstances forced us to reinsulate our attic and to install a new HVAC system, at which time we also put in a programable thermostat. We also use a space heater in my husband's workshop, and we close the vent in the guest bedroom.
I believe that it is easier for some people to turn the thermostat down in the winter, and that for others, it is easier to turn it up in the summertime. I live in Atlanta, where winters are relatively mild, and summers can be scorching. Our A/C died of old age in late July. Since we were experiencing the mildest summer in over 25 years, we challenged ourselves to wait until fall to replace the entire HVAC system. Thanks to shade trees, ceiling fans, and a window box fan, we made it through the rest of the summer in relative comfort. We waited until December, when we began experiencing the coldest winter in many years before we replaced the HVAC. Personally, I have learned that I can live without A/C easier than I can live without heat in the winter. I look forward to this summer. Perhaps someone will initiate a "no air conditioning" challenge.
When my girlfriend and I go over our budget, we try to keep things very light-hearted, and we try to get it done quickly. It's all to easy fr one person to start nit picking at how much money was spent in a particular category, or certain expenses that were unnecessary and this will quickly lead to fights.
Another really important point for those couples who are serious about each other is to start talking about finances before you're married.
Do you know of any government that doesn't reward debt? I ask out of curiosity, not sarcasm. So if I wanted to be rewarded for my working hard and saving a lot, where would I ideally want to live?
My mother and husband also take half pills per doctors orders. Their prescription explicitly says a half pill each day, so their 90 day supply from the pharmacy is only 45 pills.
Double-check with your doctor, let her know that you would like to split a larger dose and make sure the prescription is written appropriately.
I agree the best way is our government not go down this path. As you know the government is a like a massive oil tanker, how quickly can it change course? My point is just accept the fact, understand it, and at least use it to your advantage. While doing this you also should do everything you can to reverse our government trend (maybe I should have stated this). Economic policies I don't think will change though, as this trend has been around longer than most of us have been alive.
Related to credit cards I'm firm believer you should also use credit cards to your advantage. By raking up points, and paying them off monthly.
You have made some excellent points and doing "the math" is absolutely key to helping people see the light on storing stuff they just can't part with. I apply the same math when walking people through their basements that have become nothing more than storage units. Many people are paying even higher annual rates (per square foot) in giving whole rooms over to stuff they don't use but don't want to let go of.
There are, of course, times when the math for a storage unit does make sense. We live in a very small condo. We rent a storage unit that houses our off-season items (only during the offseason) my husbands tools (which he uses regularly) extra storage for tools I need for my business and our archived paper files (which we are legally obligated to keep). Essentially, this storage unit is the equivalent of our basement/garage since we don't have one. To purchase this extra 120 square feet of living space in our neighborhood would cost substantially more than the monthly fee on this storage unit. It's one example of when the math does make sense.
Everywhere you go we are penalized for paying cash. Many companies check credit reports to determine the percentage or rate they will charge. Debt free is now used to work against a consumer. Our world is FICO induced. The thought of not submitting to the almighty FICO is laughed upon. So each person has to decide whether they will pay a little higher rate to be debt free or pay a lower rate and have it taken out the back door with other debt induced interest rates. Thanks for the post. It was thought provoking.
I really liked this article until I read to the section on taking advantage of the government policies. How I interpret this is that the government wants us to be in debt so we should just continue to follow along (but leverage it to our minimal advantage in the process). What would it take to advise people to not even mess with the government by paying cash instead of acquiring debt. I see the government as a great parallel to credit cards companies. If you don't mess with them they can't mess with you. Why don't we take on the mentality that cash is king instead of debt is bad BUT we should still use it. When you play with snakes (Left, Right, or indifferent) you get bit. Simple enough? Or is it...
Toni, what is your URL? Like I said, I'd love to go colder at night, and there is one room in particular that is very poorly insulated but can be cut off from the rest of the house (on it's own thermostat) that I'd love to set down to 50 even during the day, but it has water filled baseboards and I'm concerned about them freezing. It's a converted sunroom that really needs a new foundation.
The moral hazard created by recent government policies in the U.S. and elsewhere has indeed punished the prudent and rewarded the profligate. But the question arises as to how long this can continue, especially considering the increasing amount of debt that exists, not just at the consumer level, but at the sovereign level as well. This feels like a giant debt bubble ready to pop.
In Canada, our mortgage interest is not deductible, and our banks did not lower lending criteria to the levels of the U.S. banks. We have not (yet) experienced the housing crash that our American neighbours have endured. But housing prices have recently begun to rise a lot here and I can't help but wonder how many people will be caught without a chair when the low interest rate music stops.
P.S. - It's great to read a thoughtful article from a fellow "junkie"!
Although I'm very frugal by nature, heating is one thing I won't budge on. For one thing, I live in upstate New York where it gets around 0 degrees F in the dead of winter. For another thing, there have been studies that show that the colder your house is, the more likely you are to be depressed, anxious, and otherwise unhappy. And it's been my experience that depressed people spend more money ;)
"Spreads like hummus and other bean-based spreads are a great way to make the sandwich moist without adding as many calories as mayo."
Wow...really? You're worried about the calories you get from the 1/2 oz of mayo you would use in a sandwich? It's not like hummus is calorie-free...it's BEANS.
I would venture that a given mass of hummus actually has MORE calories than (real) mayo, since mayo is whipped eggs...they gain in volume (2 eggs easily make a 1-2 cups of mayo). Even mass-produced mayo is made from soybean OIL, which means you don't have the bean BODY in the mayo, while hummus uses the whole bean...so you retain the protein from the bean...which equals calories.
Nevermind that calorie counting isn't very accurate for the average person, since protein calories don't contribute to total calories at a 1:1 ratio, since our bodies break them down into their constituent amino acids to use them.
...ignorance of the masses that have vilified things such as mayo, without really understanding them.
Just a word to the wise. The internet is a marvelous thing. It knows no bounds from borders or economic standings. You can learn to learn or to help your standing or station in life. Everything you read should always be taken with a grain of salt. Use your better judgment when you can, and research when you must. Don't just take the word or someone because you have seen it written by another, look it up.
Everything here is for knowledge. You can try making moonshine if you like, but know it is illegal in most areas. Some countries have a death penalty for it. Don't post anything that can lead anyone direct to you. Your name, location, email address or clues as to who you may be can be collected and figured out. If you mention you are in the south in one post, that you sell cars in another and your handle is g009le, they can put that together and locate you easily enough. You may have a visit one day.
If you build a still, make it so you can disassemble it and separate the parts so they can be used for something else. A coil of copper is common in a garage, but not the kitchen. If it's next to a spare sink makes for sense then with 3 glass jugs and hydrometer. Do not try this for making money; this is an art to be passed down. Don't draw attention to yourself by getting 300 kg of feed and yeast at the same time. Make small batches and don't sell a drop. If it looks to good to be true, it usually is. Don't fall for the lure of easy money.
If you apply for a distilling license and do not get it, they will visit you to see what you are doing. If I had a lawyer and the cash for pursue it, I would still try to get it. They are still catching people making shine, so don't think it's an outdated law.
I don't know, those prices seem mightly high for vegetables. Right now in midstate PA, cabbage is 50 cents or under a pound and depending on the potatoes, (ie russets, red, etc.) you can get a 5 pound bag for 2.50. Head lettuce is 99 cents apiece this week. And onions are less than what she quotes. Outside of CA most people could probably make the dish for around $3, even with the olive oil and butter.
Nax, thanks for the offer, but since we are all just theorizing on making this stuff, we would never really make it. Me, I am a teetotaler, don't drink a drop ;).
Remember, don't use an ALUMINUM pressure cooker, seal the holes with a cork is ok, I use silicone, black or red are heat and chemical resistant. To seal the lid to the pot, get some bread wet and make a paste. If the plastic bucket lids are the right size, they have a rubber seal you can use. To hold the lid in place, I use jumbo paper clips or clothes pins. Pull off the heads and tails, very little if you are using sugar only. Ounce or 2. The mash will boil at about 180; it can not get hotter until the alcohol is gone. So if it started to go up, it’s done, pull off the last as tails. You can take your product and add distilled water and run again. Since this is a sugar wash, that may not be needed. It will strip away the flavours you will get from sour mash. If you run this right, your product will be so strong, it is poison. Make sure you cut it with distilled water, just to the point that it will not flame when lit. You do not HAVE to filter it, but you should. Use an old Brita filter. You can age it with white American oak shavings, too. Coffee filter it out in a few weeks.
Never send any product. Transporting it is a very big crime.
If you want to try different recipes, I came across this idea for Peach. Soak fresh peaches, with pin pricks in the skin, in the high proof stuff. About a month. Pull the peaches out and dust them with sugar for a day. Pull of the liquid and put to the side. Repeat this till it stops giving you liquid. Now add that liquid to the high proof, filtered, liquor to taste, it will be sweet, peachy and will cut the proof down as you add the sugar.
Got to give credit where it's due, http://www.coppermoonshinestills.com/id28.html and http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1229
We won't benefit from this, but you won't catch me scoffing at it. Will the people who do qualify have their lives changed by it? No. But I'd be willing to guess that they will be grateful for it. An extra 2k wouldn't change our lives, but I know we would be grateful for it and put it to good use. It's not a save the middle class solution, but it is a step in the right direction. I think people have to learn to appreciate that nothing is instant where the government is concerned. These are small steps in the right direction and I'm choosing to be grateful for it.
I know this is bad but I hate freezing. I grew up in Africa where we never heated and now in Austria I am cold. I have how ever set the thermostat to switch lower in the night and i sleep with more clothes and thick socks - so sexyah this house is old I'm sure it looses a lot of heat.
Once the heating system broke down and the technician could only come 2 days later and damn it was cold. But still mankind has survived thousands of years in cold weather, even before he invented heating so it must be doable. Brrrrr....
keeping it at 50 to 60 degrees is probably a good idea. Broken Pipes will cost you much more..Check out my web site for many tips on insulating and keeping warm
My husband checks balance on all of his accounts on a daily basis, while I'm more fly-by-night about my finances. Several times a week, though, he sits down and inputs all of our latest receipts into Quicken, and as he's doing it, we have a not-terribly-formal conversation about what we've been spending and whether we're going overboard. It keeps us from facing big surprises because we're always aware of what's going on with our money.
Circumstances forced us to reinsulate our attic and to install a new HVAC system, at which time we also put in a programable thermostat. We also use a space heater in my husband's workshop, and we close the vent in the guest bedroom.
I believe that it is easier for some people to turn the thermostat down in the winter, and that for others, it is easier to turn it up in the summertime. I live in Atlanta, where winters are relatively mild, and summers can be scorching. Our A/C died of old age in late July. Since we were experiencing the mildest summer in over 25 years, we challenged ourselves to wait until fall to replace the entire HVAC system. Thanks to shade trees, ceiling fans, and a window box fan, we made it through the rest of the summer in relative comfort. We waited until December, when we began experiencing the coldest winter in many years before we replaced the HVAC. Personally, I have learned that I can live without A/C easier than I can live without heat in the winter. I look forward to this summer. Perhaps someone will initiate a "no air conditioning" challenge.
When my girlfriend and I go over our budget, we try to keep things very light-hearted, and we try to get it done quickly. It's all to easy fr one person to start nit picking at how much money was spent in a particular category, or certain expenses that were unnecessary and this will quickly lead to fights.
Another really important point for those couples who are serious about each other is to start talking about finances before you're married.
Oh, and I went to UR! (But not on debt, wooohoo for scholarships!)
Do you know of any government that doesn't reward debt? I ask out of curiosity, not sarcasm. So if I wanted to be rewarded for my working hard and saving a lot, where would I ideally want to live?
Great suggestions, Linsay, and also good for the environment to have a meatless meal once or twice a week.
I agree w/ you that while these suggestions are not necessarily "diet" or low-fat, moderation is key to enjoying a variety of our favorite foods.
Glad I found you through All You!
All the best,
Barb
My mother and husband also take half pills per doctors orders. Their prescription explicitly says a half pill each day, so their 90 day supply from the pharmacy is only 45 pills.
Double-check with your doctor, let her know that you would like to split a larger dose and make sure the prescription is written appropriately.
I agree the best way is our government not go down this path. As you know the government is a like a massive oil tanker, how quickly can it change course? My point is just accept the fact, understand it, and at least use it to your advantage. While doing this you also should do everything you can to reverse our government trend (maybe I should have stated this). Economic policies I don't think will change though, as this trend has been around longer than most of us have been alive.
Related to credit cards I'm firm believer you should also use credit cards to your advantage. By raking up points, and paying them off monthly.
http://www.storyofstuff.com/
This video explains the cycle of consumerism and talks about a lot of the same topics in your well written blog post.
Thanks for the reminder that we need to think for ourselves and take control of our finances.
I appreciate this site so much.
You have made some excellent points and doing "the math" is absolutely key to helping people see the light on storing stuff they just can't part with. I apply the same math when walking people through their basements that have become nothing more than storage units. Many people are paying even higher annual rates (per square foot) in giving whole rooms over to stuff they don't use but don't want to let go of.
There are, of course, times when the math for a storage unit does make sense. We live in a very small condo. We rent a storage unit that houses our off-season items (only during the offseason) my husbands tools (which he uses regularly) extra storage for tools I need for my business and our archived paper files (which we are legally obligated to keep). Essentially, this storage unit is the equivalent of our basement/garage since we don't have one. To purchase this extra 120 square feet of living space in our neighborhood would cost substantially more than the monthly fee on this storage unit. It's one example of when the math does make sense.
Everywhere you go we are penalized for paying cash. Many companies check credit reports to determine the percentage or rate they will charge. Debt free is now used to work against a consumer. Our world is FICO induced. The thought of not submitting to the almighty FICO is laughed upon. So each person has to decide whether they will pay a little higher rate to be debt free or pay a lower rate and have it taken out the back door with other debt induced interest rates. Thanks for the post. It was thought provoking.
I really liked this article until I read to the section on taking advantage of the government policies. How I interpret this is that the government wants us to be in debt so we should just continue to follow along (but leverage it to our minimal advantage in the process). What would it take to advise people to not even mess with the government by paying cash instead of acquiring debt. I see the government as a great parallel to credit cards companies. If you don't mess with them they can't mess with you. Why don't we take on the mentality that cash is king instead of debt is bad BUT we should still use it. When you play with snakes (Left, Right, or indifferent) you get bit. Simple enough? Or is it...
Toni, what is your URL? Like I said, I'd love to go colder at night, and there is one room in particular that is very poorly insulated but can be cut off from the rest of the house (on it's own thermostat) that I'd love to set down to 50 even during the day, but it has water filled baseboards and I'm concerned about them freezing. It's a converted sunroom that really needs a new foundation.
The moral hazard created by recent government policies in the U.S. and elsewhere has indeed punished the prudent and rewarded the profligate. But the question arises as to how long this can continue, especially considering the increasing amount of debt that exists, not just at the consumer level, but at the sovereign level as well. This feels like a giant debt bubble ready to pop.
In Canada, our mortgage interest is not deductible, and our banks did not lower lending criteria to the levels of the U.S. banks. We have not (yet) experienced the housing crash that our American neighbours have endured. But housing prices have recently begun to rise a lot here and I can't help but wonder how many people will be caught without a chair when the low interest rate music stops.
P.S. - It's great to read a thoughtful article from a fellow "junkie"!
Although I'm very frugal by nature, heating is one thing I won't budge on. For one thing, I live in upstate New York where it gets around 0 degrees F in the dead of winter. For another thing, there have been studies that show that the colder your house is, the more likely you are to be depressed, anxious, and otherwise unhappy. And it's been my experience that depressed people spend more money ;)
Have you lived in the Erie area?
March can easily be just as cold as January, if not colder. We also get "heatwaves" in December, so honestly, it averages out.
We get snowstorms into mid-April.
Another site you forgot to mention is http://www.couponsaver.org
There are over 2500 stores listed and over 15,000 coupons updated daily.
@#4 (Andrea Dickson,)
"Spreads like hummus and other bean-based spreads are a great way to make the sandwich moist without adding as many calories as mayo."
Wow...really? You're worried about the calories you get from the 1/2 oz of mayo you would use in a sandwich? It's not like hummus is calorie-free...it's BEANS.
I would venture that a given mass of hummus actually has MORE calories than (real) mayo, since mayo is whipped eggs...they gain in volume (2 eggs easily make a 1-2 cups of mayo). Even mass-produced mayo is made from soybean OIL, which means you don't have the bean BODY in the mayo, while hummus uses the whole bean...so you retain the protein from the bean...which equals calories.
Nevermind that calorie counting isn't very accurate for the average person, since protein calories don't contribute to total calories at a 1:1 ratio, since our bodies break them down into their constituent amino acids to use them.
...ignorance of the masses that have vilified things such as mayo, without really understanding them.
Just a word to the wise. The internet is a marvelous thing. It knows no bounds from borders or economic standings. You can learn to learn or to help your standing or station in life. Everything you read should always be taken with a grain of salt. Use your better judgment when you can, and research when you must. Don't just take the word or someone because you have seen it written by another, look it up.
Everything here is for knowledge. You can try making moonshine if you like, but know it is illegal in most areas. Some countries have a death penalty for it. Don't post anything that can lead anyone direct to you. Your name, location, email address or clues as to who you may be can be collected and figured out. If you mention you are in the south in one post, that you sell cars in another and your handle is g009le, they can put that together and locate you easily enough. You may have a visit one day.
If you build a still, make it so you can disassemble it and separate the parts so they can be used for something else. A coil of copper is common in a garage, but not the kitchen. If it's next to a spare sink makes for sense then with 3 glass jugs and hydrometer. Do not try this for making money; this is an art to be passed down. Don't draw attention to yourself by getting 300 kg of feed and yeast at the same time. Make small batches and don't sell a drop. If it looks to good to be true, it usually is. Don't fall for the lure of easy money.
If you apply for a distilling license and do not get it, they will visit you to see what you are doing. If I had a lawyer and the cash for pursue it, I would still try to get it. They are still catching people making shine, so don't think it's an outdated law.
Enjoy the subculture and stay safe.
I don't know, those prices seem mightly high for vegetables. Right now in midstate PA, cabbage is 50 cents or under a pound and depending on the potatoes, (ie russets, red, etc.) you can get a 5 pound bag for 2.50. Head lettuce is 99 cents apiece this week. And onions are less than what she quotes. Outside of CA most people could probably make the dish for around $3, even with the olive oil and butter.
Nax, thanks for the offer, but since we are all just theorizing on making this stuff, we would never really make it. Me, I am a teetotaler, don't drink a drop ;).
Remember, don't use an ALUMINUM pressure cooker, seal the holes with a cork is ok, I use silicone, black or red are heat and chemical resistant. To seal the lid to the pot, get some bread wet and make a paste. If the plastic bucket lids are the right size, they have a rubber seal you can use. To hold the lid in place, I use jumbo paper clips or clothes pins. Pull off the heads and tails, very little if you are using sugar only. Ounce or 2. The mash will boil at about 180; it can not get hotter until the alcohol is gone. So if it started to go up, it’s done, pull off the last as tails. You can take your product and add distilled water and run again. Since this is a sugar wash, that may not be needed. It will strip away the flavours you will get from sour mash. If you run this right, your product will be so strong, it is poison. Make sure you cut it with distilled water, just to the point that it will not flame when lit. You do not HAVE to filter it, but you should. Use an old Brita filter. You can age it with white American oak shavings, too. Coffee filter it out in a few weeks.
Never send any product. Transporting it is a very big crime.
If you want to try different recipes, I came across this idea for Peach. Soak fresh peaches, with pin pricks in the skin, in the high proof stuff. About a month. Pull the peaches out and dust them with sugar for a day. Pull of the liquid and put to the side. Repeat this till it stops giving you liquid. Now add that liquid to the high proof, filtered, liquor to taste, it will be sweet, peachy and will cut the proof down as you add the sugar.
Got to give credit where it's due, http://www.coppermoonshinestills.com/id28.html and http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1229
Nice reads.
We won't benefit from this, but you won't catch me scoffing at it. Will the people who do qualify have their lives changed by it? No. But I'd be willing to guess that they will be grateful for it. An extra 2k wouldn't change our lives, but I know we would be grateful for it and put it to good use. It's not a save the middle class solution, but it is a step in the right direction. I think people have to learn to appreciate that nothing is instant where the government is concerned. These are small steps in the right direction and I'm choosing to be grateful for it.
I know this is bad but I hate freezing. I grew up in Africa where we never heated and now in Austria I am cold. I have how ever set the thermostat to switch lower in the night and i sleep with more clothes and thick socks - so sexyah this house is old I'm sure it looses a lot of heat.
Once the heating system broke down and the technician could only come 2 days later and damn it was cold. But still mankind has survived thousands of years in cold weather, even before he invented heating so it must be doable. Brrrrr....
vinegar can also tighten up the pussy "snap back"
keeping it at 50 to 60 degrees is probably a good idea. Broken Pipes will cost you much more..Check out my web site for many tips on insulating and keeping warm