If you have chronic conditions you really need to know more about them than your doctor does. There are plenty of reputable sites with patient education information and study information is readily available online.
There are also some doctors that are heavily invested in putting you on certain drugs because there is a gain for them if they do. Some also have rigid agreements or some other incentive in who they refer you to for tests or other treatment.
If a doctor is very pushy about a certain drug or certain referral without giving you a medical reason why this is to your benefit you might want to think twice about the relationship. We ended up firing our family practice doctor over this. It got to the point we might as well have been seeing the drug company rep rather than the doctor.
I have become a big advocate of supplements and natural remedies but it is very hard to sort the scams from the beneficial things. If an actual MD suggests it or a reputable source like a research university or the NIH has studied it and finds some benefit I will try it. I also try to stick with individual supplements rather than the blend intended to cure something specific. The packaged herbal cures seem to not be clear about what is in them and are far more expensive than just buying individual bottles of a specific vitamin. Those packaged cures are also going to be a nightmare if you have a reaction and a doctor needs to know what you took.
Great idea Luke -- anything to somehow use the change and avoid tapping into other funds! Not all coinstars have the giftcard feature but you can check online to find one.
I am going through this huge dilemma right now. I quit my job about 2 months ago. It was in the technology field. I like technology but I felt that I needed to be doing something more creative in possibly fine art or writing. I took a long vacation to visit family and now I am back.
During the vacation I was bombarded with comments from my family on how I made a bad decision by quiting my job and that I should get married, have a family, get a normal paying job and make money, and live like how normal people do. But for some reason I just don't relate to that right now.
I am on the verge of deciding that I will stick to my original plan and do what I set out to do. I am planning to move back to my college town and be an artist and writer for atleast 6 months or so. If I feel that I am any good at it, then I will continue doing it. Otherwise it is back to the corporate world of computers for me.
Thank you so much for the post. I relate with every single comment here.
I deliberatly put a small clump of the moon sand into water, just to see how destructible it was, (I have 5 kids, and I'm not spending money on something that doesn't hold up), whenI took out the moon sand the water just ran off of it, and it squished together more. If you are going to add water, do it by the drop, not the tablespoon.
After about 17 kids played with it for 4 days in a row it did dry out a little, I don't think adding a little water would hurt anything.
I need help with your DIY Mortgage Acceleration spreadsheet. My current mortgage $337,995 at 6.25% 30 year fixed
Payment $2,646.34 I am trying to figure out how much I can save by sending an additonal $100 or $200 dollards towards the principal.
We keep our expenses down my doing restaurant Mystery shopping. Since we have done it so long, I can say it is easy and we are able to eat for free or for virtually nothing on average about once a week. We love doing it and we get to try new restaurants all the time. It takes a little work to get started. It takes some experience and practice to feel comfortable with it. And it takes some discipline to follow through with commitments and type in the evaluations...but it is worth it.
Great list especially numbers 1 and 45. As someone who works in public health, I am often appalled at the tests and screenings care providers will try and convince worried patients they need, especially when they will gain from it.
If you grew up in the suburbs of southeastern Los Angeles County, anything 12 miles northwest is an artistic enclave--we didn't allow artists in the suburbs where I grew up. (But we did have good thrift stores---there all gone now that Whittier is no longer the poor man's Pasadena!)
Others have commented on how they don't like the fee for coinstar and don't want the giftcard to Amazon etc. This past year I saved my change all year and then got an Amazon gift card at the beginning of December and used it for a decent percentage of my Christmas shopping. I realize I'm not getting interest on that money, but it is an easy way to save. It also saved me money buying from Amazon as I live over an hour from a major city, so shipping is usually cheaper than gas, especially when I qualify for free shipping.
It's not surprising the very kind feedback from readers today! (I especially enjoyed the link to Jill's book.) The more I learn, the simpler things become (isn't that how everything is?)
I was driving home from yet another evening work event a few weeks ago feeling bad for myself and wondering why I ended up working where I work when NPR did an interview with the writer and his book. I heard it just when I needed to and it lifted my spirits. I'm doing everything I can to land a new great job and the interview inspired me to "double my failure rate" which to me meant doubling the amount of work I'm doing to secure the kind of job I want. Thanks for the inspiration.
I grew up in a very small town where this was an issue. My Dad used to network not only through the local chamber of commerce, but also through church, volunteer organizations, and the local Rotary Club.
When I was in high school I grabbed something out of our chest freezer and didn't make sure it was closed all the way. I'm not sure how much, if anything, was saved but it's nice to know that all is not lost in such a situation.
In my offline life, I do a lot of this old fashioned type of networking. Another useful thing to do is keep up with local media. Local newspapers have a loyal readership and you can get a lot of clues about how to pitch things when you make that first call.
Networking is not in what you know but who you know. Telling people about what you do can also make it easier for them to bring it up in a conversation.
This is one of the best ideas that the government has had in a long time. Cutting costs is essential to being as efficient and having as much control over your money as possible. It is important that they watch out for loopholes right now. Especially for garnishment.
Housingworks, a New York thrift shop, has just brought back it's bi-monthly warehouse sale. It's a massive warehouse filled with giant bins of unorganized clothes. People come early and wait in line. The way people fight over this stuff is something you'd only see in New York City. For $20 you can fill a bag with whatever you can find. My first (and only so far) bag included a red leather jacket from Gap, JCrew shirt, Trina Turk shirt, Bebe pants, Benetton pants, Theory pants, Escada dress, Max Mara dress, H&M dress, H&M shirt, Bisou Bisou tank top, men's Burberry shirt, a wool Gap jacket, belt, cute baseball hat, and a few more tank tops. Overall I walked out with about 20 items for a whopping total of $1 per item. I found out about this right before their "last" sale, but now they've brought it back. I can't wait to go again!
Great post Linsey! I just read “Get Noticed, Get Referrals” by Jill Lublin. She elaborates on the same things you suggest...The title of the book is a bit misleading in that she discusses a lot more just business referrals…she explains building and deepening relationships in painstaking detail, she gives specific advice on how to network through professional groups and local events, all by way of a systematic approach. I don’t see how even the most inexperienced couldn’t build their client base using Jill’s techniques. If you want more brilliant business tips from Jill, you can sign up for her free newsletter and be notified about special promotions happening this week with thousands of give-aways. Just click here: http://www.jilllublin.com/newsletter.php
The overwhelming majority of garnishments are being done for a reason, but I think that still falls a bit short of it being "obvious" that there's a reason. I've personally known people who've had money seized in error. They eventually got the money back (without interest), after proving that they didn't owe it, but it obviously would have been more convenient if it hadn't been taken in the first place.
More fundamentally, though, Congress has written rules for what can be taken in a garnishment and what can't--and it has decided that Social Security payments can't be taken (except to pay federal tax debts and certain child support and alimony payments). If you're an elderly or disabled person living on Social Security, you have a legal right to that money--even if you have some old debt or have lost a lawsuit. Obviously, it would be better to get those old obligations sorted out (through bankruptcy, if there's no other way). In the meantime, though, your Social Security payments may be all that's keeping you housed and fed.
Finally, the Treasury's point of view is simply that it needs to carry out the will of Congress (as expressed in statue) at the lowest possible cost to taxpayers. It costs a lot more to print a paper check than it does to send a direct deposit, and if fear of garnishment is what makes a bunch of people demand paper checks, any workaround that's cheaper than paper checks is a win for taxpayers.
It's a fine idea for those who don't have bank accounts. Although I don't think marketing it to those who are trying to avoid being garnished sends a good message. They're obviously being garnished for a reason.
Credit Card Roulette!
If you have chronic conditions you really need to know more about them than your doctor does. There are plenty of reputable sites with patient education information and study information is readily available online.
There are also some doctors that are heavily invested in putting you on certain drugs because there is a gain for them if they do. Some also have rigid agreements or some other incentive in who they refer you to for tests or other treatment.
If a doctor is very pushy about a certain drug or certain referral without giving you a medical reason why this is to your benefit you might want to think twice about the relationship. We ended up firing our family practice doctor over this. It got to the point we might as well have been seeing the drug company rep rather than the doctor.
I have become a big advocate of supplements and natural remedies but it is very hard to sort the scams from the beneficial things. If an actual MD suggests it or a reputable source like a research university or the NIH has studied it and finds some benefit I will try it. I also try to stick with individual supplements rather than the blend intended to cure something specific. The packaged herbal cures seem to not be clear about what is in them and are far more expensive than just buying individual bottles of a specific vitamin. Those packaged cures are also going to be a nightmare if you have a reaction and a doctor needs to know what you took.
Great idea Luke -- anything to somehow use the change and avoid tapping into other funds! Not all coinstars have the giftcard feature but you can check online to find one.
that you don't go out to eat with friends who like to split the bill evenly (especially if they drink and you don't)!
Julie, G-d bless you, really, for this all encompassing list of tips and care. You do such good service here.
Greetings from California. I love this post.
I am going through this huge dilemma right now. I quit my job about 2 months ago. It was in the technology field. I like technology but I felt that I needed to be doing something more creative in possibly fine art or writing. I took a long vacation to visit family and now I am back.
During the vacation I was bombarded with comments from my family on how I made a bad decision by quiting my job and that I should get married, have a family, get a normal paying job and make money, and live like how normal people do. But for some reason I just don't relate to that right now.
I am on the verge of deciding that I will stick to my original plan and do what I set out to do. I am planning to move back to my college town and be an artist and writer for atleast 6 months or so. If I feel that I am any good at it, then I will continue doing it. Otherwise it is back to the corporate world of computers for me.
Thank you so much for the post. I relate with every single comment here.
For the cooking rice at home tip. Where do you eat it? At home or do you actually take it to the restaurant?
I deliberatly put a small clump of the moon sand into water, just to see how destructible it was, (I have 5 kids, and I'm not spending money on something that doesn't hold up), whenI took out the moon sand the water just ran off of it, and it squished together more. If you are going to add water, do it by the drop, not the tablespoon.
After about 17 kids played with it for 4 days in a row it did dry out a little, I don't think adding a little water would hurt anything.
I need help with your DIY Mortgage Acceleration spreadsheet. My current mortgage $337,995 at 6.25% 30 year fixed
Payment $2,646.34 I am trying to figure out how much I can save by sending an additonal $100 or $200 dollards towards the principal.
Thanks
We keep our expenses down my doing restaurant Mystery shopping. Since we have done it so long, I can say it is easy and we are able to eat for free or for virtually nothing on average about once a week. We love doing it and we get to try new restaurants all the time. It takes a little work to get started. It takes some experience and practice to feel comfortable with it. And it takes some discipline to follow through with commitments and type in the evaluations...but it is worth it.
Great list especially numbers 1 and 45. As someone who works in public health, I am often appalled at the tests and screenings care providers will try and convince worried patients they need, especially when they will gain from it.
Diva you must be 500 lbs to object to this idea. Go eat your twinkee in peace and leave us weight losers to kick your ass.
If you grew up in the suburbs of southeastern Los Angeles County, anything 12 miles northwest is an artistic enclave--we didn't allow artists in the suburbs where I grew up. (But we did have good thrift stores---there all gone now that Whittier is no longer the poor man's Pasadena!)
Margaret Garcia-Couoh
Others have commented on how they don't like the fee for coinstar and don't want the giftcard to Amazon etc. This past year I saved my change all year and then got an Amazon gift card at the beginning of December and used it for a decent percentage of my Christmas shopping. I realize I'm not getting interest on that money, but it is an easy way to save. It also saved me money buying from Amazon as I live over an hour from a major city, so shipping is usually cheaper than gas, especially when I qualify for free shipping.
It's not surprising the very kind feedback from readers today! (I especially enjoyed the link to Jill's book.) The more I learn, the simpler things become (isn't that how everything is?)
I was driving home from yet another evening work event a few weeks ago feeling bad for myself and wondering why I ended up working where I work when NPR did an interview with the writer and his book. I heard it just when I needed to and it lifted my spirits. I'm doing everything I can to land a new great job and the interview inspired me to "double my failure rate" which to me meant doubling the amount of work I'm doing to secure the kind of job I want. Thanks for the inspiration.
I grew up in a very small town where this was an issue. My Dad used to network not only through the local chamber of commerce, but also through church, volunteer organizations, and the local Rotary Club.
When I was in high school I grabbed something out of our chest freezer and didn't make sure it was closed all the way. I'm not sure how much, if anything, was saved but it's nice to know that all is not lost in such a situation.
In my offline life, I do a lot of this old fashioned type of networking. Another useful thing to do is keep up with local media. Local newspapers have a loyal readership and you can get a lot of clues about how to pitch things when you make that first call.
Networking is not in what you know but who you know. Telling people about what you do can also make it easier for them to bring it up in a conversation.
This is one of the best ideas that the government has had in a long time. Cutting costs is essential to being as efficient and having as much control over your money as possible. It is important that they watch out for loopholes right now. Especially for garnishment.
Housingworks, a New York thrift shop, has just brought back it's bi-monthly warehouse sale. It's a massive warehouse filled with giant bins of unorganized clothes. People come early and wait in line. The way people fight over this stuff is something you'd only see in New York City. For $20 you can fill a bag with whatever you can find. My first (and only so far) bag included a red leather jacket from Gap, JCrew shirt, Trina Turk shirt, Bebe pants, Benetton pants, Theory pants, Escada dress, Max Mara dress, H&M dress, H&M shirt, Bisou Bisou tank top, men's Burberry shirt, a wool Gap jacket, belt, cute baseball hat, and a few more tank tops. Overall I walked out with about 20 items for a whopping total of $1 per item. I found out about this right before their "last" sale, but now they've brought it back. I can't wait to go again!
Great post Linsey! I just read “Get Noticed, Get Referrals” by Jill Lublin. She elaborates on the same things you suggest...The title of the book is a bit misleading in that she discusses a lot more just business referrals…she explains building and deepening relationships in painstaking detail, she gives specific advice on how to network through professional groups and local events, all by way of a systematic approach. I don’t see how even the most inexperienced couldn’t build their client base using Jill’s techniques. If you want more brilliant business tips from Jill, you can sign up for her free newsletter and be notified about special promotions happening this week with thousands of give-aways. Just click here: http://www.jilllublin.com/newsletter.php
The overwhelming majority of garnishments are being done for a reason, but I think that still falls a bit short of it being "obvious" that there's a reason. I've personally known people who've had money seized in error. They eventually got the money back (without interest), after proving that they didn't owe it, but it obviously would have been more convenient if it hadn't been taken in the first place.
More fundamentally, though, Congress has written rules for what can be taken in a garnishment and what can't--and it has decided that Social Security payments can't be taken (except to pay federal tax debts and certain child support and alimony payments). If you're an elderly or disabled person living on Social Security, you have a legal right to that money--even if you have some old debt or have lost a lawsuit. Obviously, it would be better to get those old obligations sorted out (through bankruptcy, if there's no other way). In the meantime, though, your Social Security payments may be all that's keeping you housed and fed.
Finally, the Treasury's point of view is simply that it needs to carry out the will of Congress (as expressed in statue) at the lowest possible cost to taxpayers. It costs a lot more to print a paper check than it does to send a direct deposit, and if fear of garnishment is what makes a bunch of people demand paper checks, any workaround that's cheaper than paper checks is a win for taxpayers.
It's a fine idea for those who don't have bank accounts. Although I don't think marketing it to those who are trying to avoid being garnished sends a good message. They're obviously being garnished for a reason.