that woman has a husband with a good job, most female artists I know do. I'd be surprised if she breaks even. Show me a real person supporting themselves, not living off their husband
I totally agree with comment #40 about marrying the wrong woman. Though oddly enough, that tip does highlight how we women get screwed over. Not only do we earn less, but we're also forking out for monthly supplies, underthings, make-up, etc. It's insane.
I wouldn't follow most of these tips due to the question ethics or "ew" factor, but the soft fruit one makes sense. Soft fruit works better than hard fruit in freezer jam. (you're just going to mash it up anyways).
85% of these are totally lame ideas. Most of the rest are illegal. The people that come up with these ideas may save money with their bizarre methods but with the money they save they will paying for a psychiatrist one day. These people defenitely aren't running on all cylinders.
There is a line between frugality and dishonesty (Amy Dacyczyn has a great section on this in her book Tightwad Gazette). I'm shocked by the number of "tips" that are dishonest and/or downright illegal. For shame.
These tips seem to fall into 3 categories. Ones that made me laugh out loud like number 3.
Uh, excuse me but I missed the news today. Do you mind if I just read your butt? LOL
The others I just pity. Except for the third and least prevalent category: the ones that seemed like a good idea such as 26 and 43. As far as the comments go I love the idea expressed by Kevin in number 13 and I wish I could find a lady like Amber #21 (except her making excuses for stealing) down here in Texas. It has been hard though. Maybe it is the toilet flower pots that line my driveway or how I dole out 2 squares of toilet paper when they need to go to the restroom LOL. Ellen #39 you forgot the question: How many times have you been arrested or fined? And finally #50 lighten up. These were not put here as things he believes we all should do but make us laugh and show us the funnier side of frugal living.
While I find regular lending and borrowing distasteful in acquaintances and friends, this is the real world where life without money is near impossible particularly for people with children. Moreover, occasionally destiny throws some really nasty hits our way. The fact is, sometimes when a friend is in truly desperate straits, to not lend or give money is simply morally WRONG.
If a person never asks for money, and then the time arises after several years of friendship the person asks to borrow either to start a business or because they are in dire straits, call the "friend" who refuses to lend them money, not cautious, but what they truly are: CHEAP.
My experience is the fear isn't over losing the friend, the fear is never getting the money back. And if you're so concerned about friendship, then think on this: a true friend is ultimately more concerned with not what they get out of the friend and the "friendship", but the well-being of the human being they call "friend" in the first place. If you need to make it a gift, do that. But a true friend, especially long term who is a friend only up to the point where their wallet is involved is not really a friend. They are somebody who you have shot the **** with for many years on a "friendly" basis.
I have a friend who earns $300K a year, and after several years of friendship, I hit a point of real desperation. I never ask for money, but the time came where it was necessary. Suddenly my calls weren't being returned and I got this weird message on my voice mail from my friend about how uncomfortable he was lending money. I asked for $1K. He knew I was desperate, and he knew that my mother was an older woman who lives on social security. I had known him a decade and shared many good times with him and considered him one of my closest friends. Gift or lending, he should have done it. In fact, he should have offered before I asked. It was the right thing to do. But then there is this stupid saying.
He did lose a friend that day. This is idiotic, and the lending and giving of money under certain circumstances is very much the right thing to do, particularly when you have a lot of it, and particularly when your friend is in serious desperate straits. The issue of losing the friend is should really be secondary under certain very real life circumstances.
I find this old maxim not so much entirely flawed, but morally wrong under many real life circumstances. It's entirely self-serving: if I lend money, I lose it, but if I lend it, I also lose the person I like to joke around with, especially if I want it back, and especially if ultimately, parting with the littlest sum of money freaks me out. So basically: everything is about the lender. The circumstances of the borrower are totally irrelevant. How very altruistic.
The maxim should clearly come with caveats, but it doesn't. You know why? Because the maxim was written by those with the money. When one is hungry and about to go homeless, it's not sensible to think about Calvinistic aphorisms, one thinks sensibly about FOOD.
In my case, my dad only had a junior high school education and my mom had no education whatsoever (education was not free back then in South Korea). When they came to the U.S. in 1971, they concentrated on working hard and saving money, but they trusted the local public school system to take care of us kids' futures.
I think that was not seeing the big picture. Maybe because they had so little education themselves, they didn't know any better. They pushed us to excel in school, go to college, and become doctors or lawyers. Meanwhile, my dad's welding business was so successful that our whole family became spendthrifts. Our parents didn't teach us frugality or any other financial literacy skills. I think this is the more common picture of the "successful" immigrant story than the excellent example your parents set.
I did become a lawyer and it took me 10 years to pay off my student loans. Many of my colleagues, also children of immigrants, remain trapped in professions they hate because of their loans and high-spending lifestyles. Nowadays, I'm happy 'cause I taught myself how to be frugal by reading blogs like this one. And, thanks for this great post! It reminds me of "10 Things I Wish My Dad Taught Me" at http://shanelyang.com/2007/11/16/10-things-i-wish-dad-taught-me/
i also got the card yesterday...unfortunately i activated the card. now i m trying to reach there customer service but i cannot get them because there is no option for customer service but automatic system. can anybody help me with the information how to contact their human customer service.
#19 -- Most of the wear and tear done on an engine is during start up, when it's cranking itself and running with little gas and nearly no lubrication.... GREAT way to grenade your engine faster than normal, though! So keep it up cheap ass, you'll need to replace your car years earlier with all that gas money you saved!!
*Roll eyes* Are you f'ing SERIOUS here? People, come on....
#1 is just heresy to me too. Cars are some of the most expensive items we own, but most can't seem to take the time to properly care for them? Ugh, how horrible.
@comment 42 -- LOL, "They'll feel violated, and you'll have a plant." I don't know why, but that is one great line.
I loved all of the things you talked about. Fall is my favourite season, but I still want it to be summer. :) But this is very useful to people who do that kind of stuff...
wow some of you complaining about 1200 calories a day are in for a rude awakining. that is pretty much average what you should be eating. the 2000 is for pretty active people. Just look at the number of overweight people we have walking around EVERYWHERE.
I work a 8-10 hour job powerwashing and painting everyday and running and lifting weights in the evening and take in 900 to 1300 calories a day. Depends on if I forget to eat dinner or not.
I went to Uluru in June and couldn't imagine spending a significant amount in Australia but missing out on that experience! If you do it the backpacker way, it can be quite reasonable. Just don't go staying at the Ayers Rock Resort :P
RE Message #38: "this comment is beyond comprehension:
'It is better for the environment if your a renter. A renter takes up less space on the planet and uses less resources.'"
I use to live in a 3,800 sq ft house with a heated pool, but decided to sell and rent a condo closer to work instead. My natural gas bills and C02 emissions are substantially reduced. Now I don't have a long commute to work or need a car to pick up something at a corner store.
Renting a smaller place uses less resources has a direct impact on the environment.
Oh my gosh - some of these tips are absolutely precious!
Although I don't mind using just two sheets of toilet paper (there have been numerous times when I couldn't use any at all! I've learned to be frugal in this dept), but using old envelopes?!? Ouch.
The Canadian coin in the laundromat is a keeper too! Too funny.
Oh yeah - and ordering the biggest meal I can find on the menu because I'm on a date with somebody else who is paying is sure to endear me to my potential partner for life....(tee hee!)
Thank you very much for the thoughtful comments! I agree that there probably is no hard and fast answer; walking the line between frugality and being miserly is a personal journey, dependent on how deep - and deeply important - certain goals are.
Thank you, recent commenters for your positive reviews of passportphoto.org. I'll have to check it out! I'm researching a new article about online passport photo carriers, which have popped up all over the place since this post was written. If any readers have other good online passport photo producers, please let me know in the comments!
Hardly. I brown bag it EVERY DAY and my boyfriend won't eat leftovers...even if he says he will, miraculously he gets home that night and "doesn't feel like it."
As someone said, taking a mortgage is also a bet on inflation (especially today) as if inflation kicks in (as expected) your principal will be reduced.
Now this bet makes sense if you think about the end of the 70s and beginning of the 80s where inflation helped our parents pay their mortgage but WAIT! [sorry for the caps ;)]
What people seem to forget is inflation doesn't kill your debt if what you make is not indexed on inflation!
The 70s were very different than today because today the concurrence of countries like China / India / Brazil etc (BRIC) will "moderate" any indexation of wages on inflation contrary to the 70s were this lower wages pressure was not felt.
The last 10 years we've seen the effect of that pressure: we've lost purchasing power because wages do not follow inflation anymore :(
So if inflation kicks in and of wages don't follow (as we can expect) the bet on inflation reducing the mortgage principal might be moot and you might even be caught between a rock and a hard place (your available income become less to pay the mortgage and you might end underwater...)
that woman has a husband with a good job, most female artists I know do. I'd be surprised if she breaks even. Show me a real person supporting themselves, not living off their husband
Sorry but you are NEVER too poor to have quality TP in your bathroom.
I totally agree with comment #40 about marrying the wrong woman. Though oddly enough, that tip does highlight how we women get screwed over. Not only do we earn less, but we're also forking out for monthly supplies, underthings, make-up, etc. It's insane.
I wouldn't follow most of these tips due to the question ethics or "ew" factor, but the soft fruit one makes sense. Soft fruit works better than hard fruit in freezer jam. (you're just going to mash it up anyways).
85% of these are totally lame ideas. Most of the rest are illegal. The people that come up with these ideas may save money with their bizarre methods but with the money they save they will paying for a psychiatrist one day. These people defenitely aren't running on all cylinders.
There is a line between frugality and dishonesty (Amy Dacyczyn has a great section on this in her book Tightwad Gazette). I'm shocked by the number of "tips" that are dishonest and/or downright illegal. For shame.
These tips seem to fall into 3 categories. Ones that made me laugh out loud like number 3.
Uh, excuse me but I missed the news today. Do you mind if I just read your butt? LOL
The others I just pity. Except for the third and least prevalent category: the ones that seemed like a good idea such as 26 and 43. As far as the comments go I love the idea expressed by Kevin in number 13 and I wish I could find a lady like Amber #21 (except her making excuses for stealing) down here in Texas. It has been hard though. Maybe it is the toilet flower pots that line my driveway or how I dole out 2 squares of toilet paper when they need to go to the restroom LOL. Ellen #39 you forgot the question: How many times have you been arrested or fined? And finally #50 lighten up. These were not put here as things he believes we all should do but make us laugh and show us the funnier side of frugal living.
Now if you could just come up with some more ideas to replace some of the others on the list.
While I find regular lending and borrowing distasteful in acquaintances and friends, this is the real world where life without money is near impossible particularly for people with children. Moreover, occasionally destiny throws some really nasty hits our way. The fact is, sometimes when a friend is in truly desperate straits, to not lend or give money is simply morally WRONG.
If a person never asks for money, and then the time arises after several years of friendship the person asks to borrow either to start a business or because they are in dire straits, call the "friend" who refuses to lend them money, not cautious, but what they truly are: CHEAP.
My experience is the fear isn't over losing the friend, the fear is never getting the money back. And if you're so concerned about friendship, then think on this: a true friend is ultimately more concerned with not what they get out of the friend and the "friendship", but the well-being of the human being they call "friend" in the first place. If you need to make it a gift, do that. But a true friend, especially long term who is a friend only up to the point where their wallet is involved is not really a friend. They are somebody who you have shot the **** with for many years on a "friendly" basis.
I have a friend who earns $300K a year, and after several years of friendship, I hit a point of real desperation. I never ask for money, but the time came where it was necessary. Suddenly my calls weren't being returned and I got this weird message on my voice mail from my friend about how uncomfortable he was lending money. I asked for $1K. He knew I was desperate, and he knew that my mother was an older woman who lives on social security. I had known him a decade and shared many good times with him and considered him one of my closest friends. Gift or lending, he should have done it. In fact, he should have offered before I asked. It was the right thing to do. But then there is this stupid saying.
He did lose a friend that day. This is idiotic, and the lending and giving of money under certain circumstances is very much the right thing to do, particularly when you have a lot of it, and particularly when your friend is in serious desperate straits. The issue of losing the friend is should really be secondary under certain very real life circumstances.
I find this old maxim not so much entirely flawed, but morally wrong under many real life circumstances. It's entirely self-serving: if I lend money, I lose it, but if I lend it, I also lose the person I like to joke around with, especially if I want it back, and especially if ultimately, parting with the littlest sum of money freaks me out. So basically: everything is about the lender. The circumstances of the borrower are totally irrelevant. How very altruistic.
The maxim should clearly come with caveats, but it doesn't. You know why? Because the maxim was written by those with the money. When one is hungry and about to go homeless, it's not sensible to think about Calvinistic aphorisms, one thinks sensibly about FOOD.
In my case, my dad only had a junior high school education and my mom had no education whatsoever (education was not free back then in South Korea). When they came to the U.S. in 1971, they concentrated on working hard and saving money, but they trusted the local public school system to take care of us kids' futures.
I think that was not seeing the big picture. Maybe because they had so little education themselves, they didn't know any better. They pushed us to excel in school, go to college, and become doctors or lawyers. Meanwhile, my dad's welding business was so successful that our whole family became spendthrifts. Our parents didn't teach us frugality or any other financial literacy skills. I think this is the more common picture of the "successful" immigrant story than the excellent example your parents set.
I did become a lawyer and it took me 10 years to pay off my student loans. Many of my colleagues, also children of immigrants, remain trapped in professions they hate because of their loans and high-spending lifestyles. Nowadays, I'm happy 'cause I taught myself how to be frugal by reading blogs like this one. And, thanks for this great post! It reminds me of "10 Things I Wish My Dad Taught Me" at http://shanelyang.com/2007/11/16/10-things-i-wish-dad-taught-me/
i also got the card yesterday...unfortunately i activated the card. now i m trying to reach there customer service but i cannot get them because there is no option for customer service but automatic system. can anybody help me with the information how to contact their human customer service.
I'm actually surprised these ideas were posted on WiseBread, a website I respect.
#19 -- Most of the wear and tear done on an engine is during start up, when it's cranking itself and running with little gas and nearly no lubrication.... GREAT way to grenade your engine faster than normal, though! So keep it up cheap ass, you'll need to replace your car years earlier with all that gas money you saved!!
*Roll eyes* Are you f'ing SERIOUS here? People, come on....
#1 is just heresy to me too. Cars are some of the most expensive items we own, but most can't seem to take the time to properly care for them? Ugh, how horrible.
@comment 42 -- LOL, "They'll feel violated, and you'll have a plant." I don't know why, but that is one great line.
I loved all of the things you talked about. Fall is my favourite season, but I still want it to be summer. :) But this is very useful to people who do that kind of stuff...
Wonderful entry to the THC.
wow some of you complaining about 1200 calories a day are in for a rude awakining. that is pretty much average what you should be eating. the 2000 is for pretty active people. Just look at the number of overweight people we have walking around EVERYWHERE.
I work a 8-10 hour job powerwashing and painting everyday and running and lifting weights in the evening and take in 900 to 1300 calories a day. Depends on if I forget to eat dinner or not.
19. Turn off your car engine at red lights.
Haha, it'll save you gas... but you won't make up for it when you have to replace your starter WAY more often than is usual.
I went to Uluru in June and couldn't imagine spending a significant amount in Australia but missing out on that experience! If you do it the backpacker way, it can be quite reasonable. Just don't go staying at the Ayers Rock Resort :P
RE Message #38: "this comment is beyond comprehension:
'It is better for the environment if your a renter. A renter takes up less space on the planet and uses less resources.'"
I use to live in a 3,800 sq ft house with a heated pool, but decided to sell and rent a condo closer to work instead. My natural gas bills and C02 emissions are substantially reduced. Now I don't have a long commute to work or need a car to pick up something at a corner store.
Renting a smaller place uses less resources has a direct impact on the environment.
Oh my gosh - some of these tips are absolutely precious!
Although I don't mind using just two sheets of toilet paper (there have been numerous times when I couldn't use any at all! I've learned to be frugal in this dept), but using old envelopes?!? Ouch.
The Canadian coin in the laundromat is a keeper too! Too funny.
Oh yeah - and ordering the biggest meal I can find on the menu because I'm on a date with somebody else who is paying is sure to endear me to my potential partner for life....(tee hee!)
Thank you very much for the thoughtful comments! I agree that there probably is no hard and fast answer; walking the line between frugality and being miserly is a personal journey, dependent on how deep - and deeply important - certain goals are.
Thank you, recent commenters for your positive reviews of passportphoto.org. I'll have to check it out! I'm researching a new article about online passport photo carriers, which have popped up all over the place since this post was written. If any readers have other good online passport photo producers, please let me know in the comments!
@vik - your point makes loads of sense, since acid is a corrosive agent. Thanks for the input!
If you have to explain why it's not actually stealing, it probably is.
Regarding #3, setting aside the issue of smeared newsprint on your private parts, is this even remotely okay for the plumbing?
Hardly. I brown bag it EVERY DAY and my boyfriend won't eat leftovers...even if he says he will, miraculously he gets home that night and "doesn't feel like it."
Nice thread Xin.
As someone said, taking a mortgage is also a bet on inflation (especially today) as if inflation kicks in (as expected) your principal will be reduced.
Now this bet makes sense if you think about the end of the 70s and beginning of the 80s where inflation helped our parents pay their mortgage but WAIT! [sorry for the caps ;)]
What people seem to forget is inflation doesn't kill your debt if what you make is not indexed on inflation!
The 70s were very different than today because today the concurrence of countries like China / India / Brazil etc (BRIC) will "moderate" any indexation of wages on inflation contrary to the 70s were this lower wages pressure was not felt.
The last 10 years we've seen the effect of that pressure: we've lost purchasing power because wages do not follow inflation anymore :(
So if inflation kicks in and of wages don't follow (as we can expect) the bet on inflation reducing the mortgage principal might be moot and you might even be caught between a rock and a hard place (your available income become less to pay the mortgage and you might end underwater...)