To me the ideal summer party involves good company, cold beer, and a grill. I've noticed that some form of meat is always on sale at my local grocery store, so I typically go with that. It gives my grilling some nice variety.
I just find it annoying to have more money than I have to tied up because of deposit minimums. $100 minimum in a savings account here, $1500 minimum there; it adds up
That's a great point - a lot of people in the world aren't minimalists by choice. Thinking of it that way makes it a lot easier to appreciate what we've got rather than always looking around for more, right?
So many people expect a trade in to be the same money as if they sold it themselves and some get upset. What the OP said is quite correct, dealerships are there to make money, and that car has to be resold. One customer recently got a rude shock: he wanted $5000 for his trade in, the car was valued at $1500: it wasn't a deal breaker, he bought one off me and went to sell his privately. Secured a buyer, and the law states the car must have a roadworthy certificate before it changes hands. The quote to get it to pass was repairs totalling $3500 (!)
Many - though not all - secured cards nowadays do report to all three major credit bureaus. You just have to look for that in the listed features or FAQs and usually it'll turn up. Secured cards are almost always marketed to those with poor or limited credit and promote themselves as a viable way to build positive credit history to rebuild or establish one's credit. It would pretty much be false advertising if they didn't back that up with reporting to the bureaus.
I definitely think that living smaller makes a huge difference. If you can't fit it in your house you aren't going to buy it. Does one need a sitting room, a living room, and often a 3rd room for relaxing. Less room, less stuff, more money and/or time = more fun!
I think there is a huge difference between what I could do and what I am choosing to do right now. I think I could be fine and learn to be happy with very little, as so many people around the world do without much choice, but since I have the option I do love to have family treasures, books, and pretty things around the house. I love to decorate and cook most of our meals from scratch. And when home is inviting I tend to want to spend a lot of time there, which ultimately saves money. While I have experienced the freedom of living with very little a few times in other countries (and I know I can do it!) I am very happy in our peaceful little 1500 sq. foot house with my memories. :)
Many of the "disposable" ink pens can take refills. The refills used to be sold at the discount stores right beside the pens. Now I have to order them from an office supply shop, but they are still cheaper than new pens. You don't have to use the same brand refill as the original pen. I find that the Better Refill by Pilot works in several other brands.
While it's true that the greatest bonuses come from credit card applications, as well as directing purchases online through "skymalls", there are still some ways to earn miles. It's not as fast, but the situation is different for everybody, depending on your credit situation and where you live.
I, for example own one frequent flyer credit card that I got ages ago (I charge everything to the card and pay it all off each month), but I don't apply for new cards as a way to accumulate points. I don't live in places where I can physically shop in stores that award miles, but when I need to place an online order I do it through a skymall.
I agree. However, I should point out that one of my main points was that people might get more pleasure from working less, which would require less money to be spent. So being frugal and finding ways to save money can in the long term lead to more pleasure by working fewer hours.
We have two magic jack+ that we use as a business phone. This is a terrible option for small business. I have had way too many frustrating "chats" with this company and nothing is ever resolved quickly. The waste of time spent during this process is infuriating a 2 hour long chat is standard. They have pulled the call forwarding option and, though we had it to begin with and was a major reason we selected MJ, we will now have to pay for call forwarding by the minute when ever they decided to have their "engineers" "fix" the now 2 year problem. Good luck getting the chat people to talk about this with you though. This may not be a scam but they are surely pushing the business ethics boundaries.
I own an All American and a Cuisinart, and love both. The Cuisinart will cook a pot of black beans in under an hour. Its high-pressure setting is 10 lbs so flatlanders will be able to can 3 pint jars in it. The All American is tough and heavy enough to hold steady pressure on lowe than usual range heat, enabling home canners to save a little extra. Gardeners, check out the canning blogs and the University of Georgia's National Center for Food Presentation web page and learn how to preserve your own food in the ultimate recyclable contsiner, the Mason jar.
"Conventional wisdom holds that people should spread savings across different accounts, and the typical American has multiple checking and savings and other types of financial accounts."
I've never heard that, unless you're near the FDIC insurance limits. Who's advising people to do this, and why?
I love this idea. I was just talking to a friend yesterday about how happy she was to sell her 3-story beach-front home and move to a smaller house. She would even down-size again if she could convince her husband to. She said that at age 80 it was too much maintenance and too easy to accumulate useless crap when you have a huge house. She's probably taken a boatload of stuff to the thrift-store and isn't done yet! :)
Great advice. The scanner is a life saver for those of us with lots of documentation, but no time or space for a filing cabinet. I would also suggest a cloud storage service like Dropbox or Google Docs. That way, you can access your files from anywhere that has an internet connection.
My wife and I pay a premium for our downtown loft, but it allows us to save money on lots of other things. Being close to my job and school allows us to share one car, and the limited floor space negates the need for more furniture. Living in Florida helps too, since everyone wants to visit us instead of us needing to travel. Great article!
My wife and I enjoy going on walks. Twilight in the city is very romantic and it gets us out and moving. We love to explore new neighborhoods and find hidden gems off the beaten path. Strap on some comfy shoes and get out there!
Well, I think you can easy record the phone call without legal trouble just say that you are recording it to your talk partner. I mean if you need help for example in setting up a internet connection, often times the big internet companies record the phone call.
To me the ideal summer party involves good company, cold beer, and a grill. I've noticed that some form of meat is always on sale at my local grocery store, so I typically go with that. It gives my grilling some nice variety.
I just find it annoying to have more money than I have to tied up because of deposit minimums. $100 minimum in a savings account here, $1500 minimum there; it adds up
when you pay cash, how long till the house is officially yours. Until the keys are in your hands?
I'm all for more time for fun - and less time for cleaning!
That's a great point - a lot of people in the world aren't minimalists by choice. Thinking of it that way makes it a lot easier to appreciate what we've got rather than always looking around for more, right?
Thanks! It sounds like you've struck a great balance:-)
So many people expect a trade in to be the same money as if they sold it themselves and some get upset. What the OP said is quite correct, dealerships are there to make money, and that car has to be resold. One customer recently got a rude shock: he wanted $5000 for his trade in, the car was valued at $1500: it wasn't a deal breaker, he bought one off me and went to sell his privately. Secured a buyer, and the law states the car must have a roadworthy certificate before it changes hands. The quote to get it to pass was repairs totalling $3500 (!)
Many - though not all - secured cards nowadays do report to all three major credit bureaus. You just have to look for that in the listed features or FAQs and usually it'll turn up. Secured cards are almost always marketed to those with poor or limited credit and promote themselves as a viable way to build positive credit history to rebuild or establish one's credit. It would pretty much be false advertising if they didn't back that up with reporting to the bureaus.
I definitely think that living smaller makes a huge difference. If you can't fit it in your house you aren't going to buy it. Does one need a sitting room, a living room, and often a 3rd room for relaxing. Less room, less stuff, more money and/or time = more fun!
I think there is a huge difference between what I could do and what I am choosing to do right now. I think I could be fine and learn to be happy with very little, as so many people around the world do without much choice, but since I have the option I do love to have family treasures, books, and pretty things around the house. I love to decorate and cook most of our meals from scratch. And when home is inviting I tend to want to spend a lot of time there, which ultimately saves money. While I have experienced the freedom of living with very little a few times in other countries (and I know I can do it!) I am very happy in our peaceful little 1500 sq. foot house with my memories. :)
Many of the "disposable" ink pens can take refills. The refills used to be sold at the discount stores right beside the pens. Now I have to order them from an office supply shop, but they are still cheaper than new pens. You don't have to use the same brand refill as the original pen. I find that the Better Refill by Pilot works in several other brands.
While it's true that the greatest bonuses come from credit card applications, as well as directing purchases online through "skymalls", there are still some ways to earn miles. It's not as fast, but the situation is different for everybody, depending on your credit situation and where you live.
I, for example own one frequent flyer credit card that I got ages ago (I charge everything to the card and pay it all off each month), but I don't apply for new cards as a way to accumulate points. I don't live in places where I can physically shop in stores that award miles, but when I need to place an online order I do it through a skymall.
I have one savings account. Once all the bills are paid I transfer funds over from checking. It's nice to see how much I have saved in one glance.
Jenny:
I agree. However, I should point out that one of my main points was that people might get more pleasure from working less, which would require less money to be spent. So being frugal and finding ways to save money can in the long term lead to more pleasure by working fewer hours.
We have two magic jack+ that we use as a business phone. This is a terrible option for small business. I have had way too many frustrating "chats" with this company and nothing is ever resolved quickly. The waste of time spent during this process is infuriating a 2 hour long chat is standard. They have pulled the call forwarding option and, though we had it to begin with and was a major reason we selected MJ, we will now have to pay for call forwarding by the minute when ever they decided to have their "engineers" "fix" the now 2 year problem. Good luck getting the chat people to talk about this with you though. This may not be a scam but they are surely pushing the business ethics boundaries.
I heat my home 50-80% with firewood...but extreme minimalism isn't the least bit attractive to me!
I own an All American and a Cuisinart, and love both. The Cuisinart will cook a pot of black beans in under an hour. Its high-pressure setting is 10 lbs so flatlanders will be able to can 3 pint jars in it. The All American is tough and heavy enough to hold steady pressure on lowe than usual range heat, enabling home canners to save a little extra. Gardeners, check out the canning blogs and the University of Georgia's National Center for Food Presentation web page and learn how to preserve your own food in the ultimate recyclable contsiner, the Mason jar.
"Conventional wisdom holds that people should spread savings across different accounts, and the typical American has multiple checking and savings and other types of financial accounts."
I've never heard that, unless you're near the FDIC insurance limits. Who's advising people to do this, and why?
I love this idea. I was just talking to a friend yesterday about how happy she was to sell her 3-story beach-front home and move to a smaller house. She would even down-size again if she could convince her husband to. She said that at age 80 it was too much maintenance and too easy to accumulate useless crap when you have a huge house. She's probably taken a boatload of stuff to the thrift-store and isn't done yet! :)
Great advice. The scanner is a life saver for those of us with lots of documentation, but no time or space for a filing cabinet. I would also suggest a cloud storage service like Dropbox or Google Docs. That way, you can access your files from anywhere that has an internet connection.
My wife and I pay a premium for our downtown loft, but it allows us to save money on lots of other things. Being close to my job and school allows us to share one car, and the limited floor space negates the need for more furniture. Living in Florida helps too, since everyone wants to visit us instead of us needing to travel. Great article!
My wife and I enjoy going on walks. Twilight in the city is very romantic and it gets us out and moving. We love to explore new neighborhoods and find hidden gems off the beaten path. Strap on some comfy shoes and get out there!
I love getting my reward points and statements so I can visualize what I can and can not do. They make traveling and spending a lot easier.
I use the venture card. I don't travel as much, so when I do I just use the miles and credit the money to my account.
Well, I think you can easy record the phone call without legal trouble just say that you are recording it to your talk partner. I mean if you need help for example in setting up a internet connection, often times the big internet companies record the phone call.