The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Reader Recommendations => Topic started by: jengod on July 23, 2018, 01:40:17 PM
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What’s a thing you picked up from these forums that you didn’t know or do before?
Mine is so random and not like a good ETF reco but based on a post I read here I glued a magnet to a big Sharpie to keep on our fridge.
That darn fridge Sharpie is so useful. No one steals it bc of the weird magnet and I swear labeling and dating stuff helps us take better care of our things.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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The importance of wearing bike shorts while riding a bike. :P
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The importance of wearing bike shorts while riding a bike. :P
Haha I haven't picked this up yet. What's the reason for it? Comfort?
I get there's a bit of facetiousness in your comment, but I also think you meant it
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The importance of wearing bike shorts while riding a bike. :P
Haha I haven't picked this up yet. What's the reason for it? Comfort?
I get there's a bit of facetiousness in your comment, but I also think you meant it
I grew up in the 90s. Baggy stuff was in. Skin tight stuff . . . not so much.
Bike shorts are more comfortable, actually make you faster, reduce/prevent chafing and saddle sores, and are cooler than pretty much anything else you can wear.
So yeah, once you get over your 'jeeze that's a little tight' misgivings, they're pretty awesome.
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I've always chosen to live insanely close to school/work even though I pay a bit more for it in rent, but now I feel validated. I'm also about to start walking the 0.7 miles to work, which was previously not the best idea due to the issues with construction in the area.
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A couple of things.
1. The possible ways to save money/earn money/make money go longer. We now buy everything with discounted gift cards. I check 3 different sites to get the best value, and then to make the gift cards go farther, go through topcashback. We also use cash back apps for groceries (which we don't get a ton back, but like $20 per month) that we already buy anyways. I have also used ebay to purchase coupons for things...like $20 off of a $100 order at Lowes. This came in handy when I put LVP down in our basement. Each case of flooring was $52, so ordered 2 cases to get to $104, got the $20 off with the coupon, and used a discounted gift card to purchase through the cashback site. When all said and done, paid like $35/case. I picked up 9 "separate" orders of 2 cases each to get the $20 off of $100, all at the same time.
2. Make sure what you spend your money on does at least one of the following: 1. Increase your net worth (home diy projects, investments), or 2. Truly adds to your happiness through a shared experience or increased quality of life. I don't buy everything cheap, but I do make sure that what I buy is going to improve my happiness.
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A couple of things.
1. The possible ways to save money/earn money/make money go longer. We now buy everything with discounted gift cards. I check 3 different sites to get the best value, and then to make the gift cards go farther, go through topcashback. We also use cash back apps for groceries (which we don't get a ton back, but like $20 per month) that we already buy anyways. I have also used ebay to purchase coupons for things...like $20 off of a $100 order at Lowes. This came in handy when I put LVP down in our basement. Each case of flooring was $52, so ordered 2 cases to get to $104, got the $20 off with the coupon, and used a discounted gift card to purchase through the cashback site. When all said and done, paid like $35/case. I picked up 9 "separate" orders of 2 cases each to get the $20 off of $100, all at the same time.
This sounds promising. Which app do you use?
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I learned about the Plan To Eat app here. It's a menu planner, recipe collector, & shopping list all in one, fun to use, & we save mucho time & money using it. It has a 30 day free trial. The initial version is browser based, which means it supports multiple devices, not just mine. There's now a downloadable app for iOS & Android which can be used interchangeably with the browser based one, but they're not yet completely identical.
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A couple of things.
1. The possible ways to save money/earn money/make money go longer. We now buy everything with discounted gift cards. I check 3 different sites to get the best value, and then to make the gift cards go farther, go through topcashback. We also use cash back apps for groceries (which we don't get a ton back, but like $20 per month) that we already buy anyways. I have also used ebay to purchase coupons for things...like $20 off of a $100 order at Lowes. This came in handy when I put LVP down in our basement. Each case of flooring was $52, so ordered 2 cases to get to $104, got the $20 off with the coupon, and used a discounted gift card to purchase through the cashback site. When all said and done, paid like $35/case. I picked up 9 "separate" orders of 2 cases each to get the $20 off of $100, all at the same time.
This sounds promising. Which app do you use?
So, we use Topcashback for the actual shopping. The 3 sites I check for discounted gift cards are: Raise (which if you go through Topcashback you get 2% cash back), which tends to have 5% off of any purchase fairly often on top of the discount...great for Gas, Cardpool (Get a Target gift card for 7.5% off usually), and GiftCardZen (Petco, Ikea). I usually check all 3 to see which one has the best deal. Most are electronically delivered to your phone instantly. As far as groceries, we use ibotta, and Checkout 51. Checkout 51 usually has more of what we buy (organic), and both my wife and I have an account.
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The big thing I learned is that I could contribute to a 457 in addition to my 403. I'm not maxing out the 457 yet, but the $1,000 tax-deferred contribution is making a huge difference in my current taxes and my retirement prospects.
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I learned about the Plan To Eat app here. It's a menu planner, recipe collector, & shopping list all in one, fun to use, & we save mucho time & money using it. It has a 30 day free trial. The initial version is browser based, which means it supports multiple devices, not just mine. There's now a downloadable app for iOS & Android which can be used interchangeably with the browser based one, but they're not yet completely identical.
More expensive than Plan to Eat but we received a yearly subscription to PlateJoy as a gift. It's similar with the menu planner, recipe holder and shopping list but also supplies recipes and portions them to the number of servings. There are options for diet, specific food preferences, seasonality, bulk cooking and general budget. Not all the recipes are a slam dunk but about 20% or so I've printed off to add to my cookbook.
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i learned to appreciate older, higher mileage cars. i'm old enough to remember when cars over 90k miles were timebombs waiting to go off and if you got more than 100k you must have hit the car lottery.
my old method of finding a used car was to aim for under 20k miles and maybe 2-3 years old. i'm now driving a 97 lexus that's not even high mileage yet. just crossed 80k and plan to keep it til the wheels fall off or i'm so rich i can replace it. feels luxurious.
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I learned to freeze leftover tomato paste in ice cube trays, and transfer them once frozen to a ziploc or tupperware to keep in the freezer for long-term use.
I have a few favorite but infrequently made recipes that call for a few tablespoons of tomato paste, and always ended up throwing away the leftovers before I learned this trick.
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I learned to freeze leftover tomato paste in ice cube trays, and transfer them once frozen to a ziploc or tupperware to keep in the freezer for long-term use.
I have a few favorite but infrequently made recipes that call for a few tablespoons of tomato paste, and always ended up throwing away the leftovers before I learned this trick.
I do this with fruit when it's on sale. I'll cut up pineapple, strawberries, blueberries, banana's, etc. Cut them thin, put on a sheet pan, and put in the freezer for about an hour so they individually freeze. Then put in a freezer ziploc and use them for smoothies/sauces/toppings/stuffing for french toast, etc.
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1) New cars are a waste of money. I previously thought a brand-new small compact car was the best financial car choice.
2) I never liked commuting. This website validating my distaste for commuting.
3) You have a choice to "not buy stuff" and instead "buy your freedom" That was the light bulb moment for me.
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I did not realize until I read it here that there was a filter in the dehumidifier.
That was pretty gross, but the dehumidifier really does seem to be working more efficiently!
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To do the math.
As someone relatively good with numbers I usually intuited my way through financial choices. Now I do my best to do the math-and I'm learning a lot along the way. Still have a lot more to do.
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That I could max out my 457 AND max out my IRA. I had no idea I could do both. Extra $10K a year between my wife and I that I now put away for later.
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Many things. Just a few:
-Backdoor Roth IRA conversion
-Discovery of Personal Capital which I now love (and it’s free)
-The awesomeness of low cost index funds, and which exact funds to purchase
-How to leave my financial advisor to move everything to Vanguard
-The “investment order” which I had never heard of
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To calculate how many "forever days" I've endowed so far. It's a nice little concrete goal to tally on my way to larger goals, and it somewhat gamifies the progress to FIRE, which I find motivating, since we hit a new forever day about every 8 work days (it was 9 days in 2017, so that's also cool to see). https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/i-just-bought-2-days-per-year-of-free-life-indefinitely-363-to-go/ (https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/i-just-bought-2-days-per-year-of-free-life-indefinitely-363-to-go/)
To make a list of little chores that need doing and try to cross one off the list each day. Often, the idea of the chore is worse than the actual chore, and again, making a list gives the satisfaction of crossing it off. We keep the list on an adhesive dry erase sheet on the fridge and attached a dry erase marker to the wall next to the fridge with some adhesive putty.
The blog https://www.askamanager.org/ (https://www.askamanager.org/) - it has been a great work resource, especially how to communicate with your boss, set boundaries and expectations, and how to improve your resume and cover letter. As a bonus, the commenters there are some of the most civil and supportive on the internet.
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The commenters here are like my second favorite on the internet (hard to compete with my gender inclusive sewing board, sorry MMMers). Seriously though everyone is very knowledgeable and helpful, making this a pleasant corner of the internet.
Key things I learned here:
1. FIRE is a thing, and a key point in my life, known as "the first time I had more money than I knew what to do with"
2. I could invest in real estate. I was always vaguely interested in it but didn't really know what or how to do any of it, forums helped me realize it was possible for, like normal people.
I really found MMM at the perfect time in my life. Thank Google!
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I was somewhat aware of all the cc and bank bonuses that are available and had gotten a few. But reading some folks' stories here motivated me to jump in with both feet. In the past 2 months I've racked up almost $1500 with another $600 pending. I've also compiled a list of many more I intend to pursue.
I thank this forum for showing me how easy it is to get all this free money! I wish I had started earlier as it seems $10k+ per year is very doable.
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The commenters here are like my second favorite on the internet (hard to compete with my gender inclusive sewing board, sorry MMMers).
Now that sounds like an interesting place - do tell!
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The commenters here are like my second favorite on the internet (hard to compete with my gender inclusive sewing board, sorry MMMers).
Now that sounds like an interesting place - do tell!
It's a really awesome Facebook sewing group called the self sewn wardrobe with Mallory Donahue. Lots of awesome people and very inclusive of men and LGBTQ people who sew, which do exist but lots of sewing groups are women dominated (I'm a straight cis woman). It's low drama and people are really supportive and helpful.
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Most importantly, the site/forums taught me to calculate how much I need to FIRE. Earlier I had no idea at all and had some random very high number in my head and a plan to FIRE at 50. Now I know that that is totally realistic and I can probably shave off a few years.
It also taught me to facepunch myself for wasting money on irrelevant stuff. We have always been able to unconsciously save a lot, but I've also wasted a LOT of money on BS, including a brand new car twice and a clown house. I am thinking very differently now.
One interesting thing to learn about was the true cost of living in a self-owned house versus renting. So far, we are still living in our clownhouse that will have to be sold to be able to FIRE. But in FIRE I will really consider renting as a good and cheap option.
I have learned to think more like a minimalist. My next house will not be so big as our current. And you don't need to store all the stuff you've ever owned, just in case you ever need a part of it later. A (slightly) minimalistic house is nice to live in.
I have learned to prioritize my mental health and will start working 4 days a week from next month. I was too stressed out last year to continue the rat race for 40 hours a week. I need more long weekends. Same for DH who will also ask for reduced hours soon.
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Biking to work / school. Never thought I could do it, but after reading posts from several other members, I learned that it was possible. And the idea of using baby wipes / wet wipes to wipe sweat was helpful.
I also like the idea of lean FIRE and fat FIRE, and how to calculate those.
And the MMM forum is where I first learned of FIREcalc.
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I learned that paying off my mortgage early isn't necessarily the highest priority.
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I learned to recognize the luxuries I grew up with and had taken for granted, and to stop expecting them from my own life unless they had real value of their own.
I'm still learning that, hopefully.
Also the mortgage thing.
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Library usage. It's something that I always used to do as a kid, and then at some point in my adulthood I decided that buying books rather than reading them for free was the way to go. :P
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That DH = Dear Husband.
I didn't have a DH when I joined the forum.
Now I do.
Does this count? Hope so, 'cause he's a keeper. ♡♡♡♡♡
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Oh, I also learned that mutual funds have different expense ratios and that I should care.
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1. Not paying down a low interest mortgage. By far the best thing I picked up here. Believe it or not I used to be on the other side of this.
2. Index fund investing.
3. Tax efficiency.
4. Selling tradelines
5. Travel hacking.
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I'm sure there are many more but these are the two that come first to mind-
-How HSAs can be an effective non-taxed investment vehicle.
-Roth laddering.
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That *choosing* simplicity, downsizing, frugality & the like is empowering, not deprivation.
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Cutting my own hair! And my husband's.
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How to teach the concept of saving and investing to spendypants husband.
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That *choosing* simplicity, downsizing, frugality & the like is empowering, not deprivation.
This is a good one. Having savings really gives you choices and freedom, more than 100 $10 widgets do.
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Cutting my own hair! And my husband's.
Same for me. It's fun!
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1) New cars are a waste of money. I previously thought a brand-new small compact car was the best financial car choice.
2) I never liked commuting. This website validating my distaste for commuting.
3) You have a choice to "not buy stuff" and instead "buy your freedom" That was the light bulb moment for me.
I like #3!
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Instapot.
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Instapot.
+ 2, 'cause we bought 2 of them on Prime Day a couple years ago. We use them a LOT.
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Instapot.
+ 2, 'cause we bought 2 of them on Prime Day a couple years ago. We use them a LOT.
It's like a cult within a cult. :D
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Instapot.
+ 2, 'cause we bought 2 of them on Prime Day a couple years ago. We use them a LOT.
It's like a cult within a cult. :D
I'm going to third the Instapot, that thing is a beast, and finally let me make good creme brûlée and risotto that I didn't have to spend hours attending to lol.
Other then that I'd say running the numbers (and getting a ton of feedback) that made me realize I COULD quit my soul sucking vampire squid of a job and take care of me for a while and we'd be fine. A year and a half later, I've had badly needed spinal surgery, cleared my mind a bit and have a fresh start. We've traveled to several states and several countries (have Rome and Greece coming up!) and DH likes the flexibility of never having to do anything house related ever, so the weekends are his to do with what he pleases instead of a mad housework rush.
Compromise was I had to let DH buy his expensive ass new pickup when our 15 year old car flat out died this year. We looked at used ones but found quite a few that had been salvage titled in the Houston floods on the second hand market. Even with that expensive cash purchase our investments are up almost 400k from when I quit (and we really haven't saved much as DHs leech of a father moved in for a little over a year of that until we booted him).
Honestly though, I'm getting a bit bored now that I've decompressed. So I'm looking for a new job, no one wants to touch me with a 1.5yr gap but we are actually not stressing about it, which is nice, because I can tell you I was having a stroke about that before I quit.
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Instapot.
+ 2, 'cause we bought 2 of them on Prime Day a couple years ago. We use them a LOT.
It's like a cult within a cult. :D
Jumping back in to 'splain a little. Originally, I wanted an 8-quart IP, as I feed four adult sized humans every day and love to batch cook. On Prime Day, the 6-quart was cheap ($50, IIRC), but the 8-quart wasn't on sale, so two sixes cost less than one eight. After about a year and a half of steady use, they both died. Turns out the batch was defective and Amazon replaced each one with an upgraded model. Yesterday at Costco, I saw the new model for $109.99. Wow!
BTW, it's not a cult, it's a cult-ure. The IP makes great yogurt :p
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I was already a "Frugal Gazette" fan (great newsletter/book set from early 90's) so I though I knew all the money saving tricks. WRONG! So many things picked up from this site and from the various threads (many of which have already been highlighted).
The biggest were:
- A DIY attitude is awesome...not a necessity because you're poor and "can't afford a professional"
- Getting the f*ck away from "professional" financial advisors who steer you into high cost funds and charge huge fees
- Don't start a thread with B42 Titled "Why Paying off the Mortgage Instead of Investing Is Always Best" :)
-Last one was a joke B42...I've enjoyed the various threads examining both sides of THAT issue.
Besides understanding that personal freedom can be achieved by anyone, the best thing has been hearing and reading other's success stories. I'll probably never meet any of you in real life but there are so many people on these threads I'd like to buy a beer!
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#1 Finding a community where my approach to things, time and money was the norm!
#2 Travel hacking!
#3 For the rare times I rent a car I found https://www.autoslash.com/ (https://www.autoslash.com/) always got me the best price (even compared to coupons and spending time comparison shopping rates)
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Index investing. I was scared of investing before.
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#1 Finding a community where my approach to things, time and money was the norm!
#2 Travel hacking!
#3 For the rare times I rent a car I found https://www.autoslash.com/ (https://www.autoslash.com/) always got me the best price (even compared to coupons and spending time comparison shopping rates)
I totally forgot I discovered Autoslash here! We've used it twice with excellent results. The other one is Costco Travel, which is occasionally even better. We were in Seattle and wanted to rent a car downtown and return it to the airport a week later. Only Costco said ""No problem" and didn't charge extra, plus their rate was great.
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I found MMM looking around to see if we were missing something on frugality. According to 99% of the websites available, we weren't. But the ideas here mean that instead of the long sabbatical we we're planning, we can take an extra couple of years to set ourselves up well for the sabbatical to be permanent, even with a higher budget.
Yes, I just said we will be working longer due to MMM and others of his ilk. We were willing to commit to a $30k budget for up to ten years, but not for 50.
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Reusing dryer sheets, cutting sponges in half, trapping stray cats for meat and fur trade.
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Reusing dryer sheets, cutting sponges in half, trapping stray cats for meat and fur trade.
They're called roof rabbits for a reason.
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Learning that my debt was an emergency, including my mortgage debt.
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/04/18/news-flash-your-debt-is-an-emergency/
That math is important, but behavior even more so.
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-simple-math-behind-early-retirement/
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Learning that my debt was an emergency, including my mortgage debt.
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/04/18/news-flash-your-debt-is-an-emergency/
Except that your mortgage debt isn't.
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Learning that my debt was an emergency, including my mortgage debt.
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/04/18/news-flash-your-debt-is-an-emergency/
Except that your mortgage debt isn't.
Yep! Mortgage debt is wonderful (at least in the US).
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Learning that my debt was an emergency, including my mortgage debt.
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/04/18/news-flash-your-debt-is-an-emergency/
From that article:
If you borrow even one dollar for anything other than your primary house or a profitable investment, the very next dollar you can get your hands on should go to paying that back.
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- Index fund investing
- The importance of savings rate.
- Little lifestyle tweaks that gets you rich in the long run! :)
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What’s a thing you picked up from these forums that you didn’t know or do before?
Mine is so random and not like a good ETF reco but based on a post I read here I glued a magnet to a big Sharpie to keep on our fridge.
That darn fridge Sharpie is so useful. No one steals it bc of the weird magnet and I swear labeling and dating stuff helps us take better care of our things.
Reminds me of the local post office taping a plastic fork to the end of all the pens on the forms table to
keep people from running off with them.
While at the post office waiting I couldn't help but announce to others in line, that I wanted to steal a fork,
but they have those stupid pens taped to them!
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Sell your Long Term Capital Gains while in a the 0% tax bracket to create a higher cost basis.
I had many years with kid deductions, college tuition credits and other tax deductions that put me
in lower bracket where my LTCGs would be taxed at 0%.
Now the kids are older and I can't deduct their costs so have missed the opportunity.
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I learned what seasoning cast iron cookware actually is. It has helped me do it right. You're actually polymerizing the oil into a homemade non-stick surface.
If you don't cook with cast-iron, you should try it. It's very robust, and unlike teflon if you mess up the seasoning, you just smooth it back out and reseason.
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1. To really examine my savings and how to optimize them
2. Not spending is a valid choice
3. I can bike and walk many places, especially after giving up...
4. ...my rental house with a 'short' (20 minute) clown-car commute in a 'nice' (completely car dependant) area was costing me a lot more in the long run than a centrally-located apartment in a newer building in a safe, walkable neighborhood.
5. +1 on Personal Capital--though I may have heard about it on frugalwoods first...
6. That there can be a savings goal beyond just 'saving' for a nebulous future, and how to put those little green soldiers to work!
7. The big one--to stop caring about what other people think and make the frugal choice! Still a work in progress, but it's so great to know there are others out there like me :)
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Mega Backdoor Roths, Credit Card/Bank Account Churning, how to actually calculate when we can stop working and most importantly, learning that we are not alone.
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1. The math behind it all - oh, finally simple math:) that I could understand to get us started on the right path.
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-simple-math-behind-early-retirement/
2. Thanks to yodella, today, I learned you can freeze unused tomato paste in an ice cube tray and then keep it in a freezer baggie.
I've never believed in wasting food and hated wasting the leftover tomato paste. Even Mr. R. noticed that it would start growing fuzzies in the fridge.
3. Becoming a bit less emotional and more pragmatic about money overall.
4. Confidence - that with smart money choices you can reach your financial goal. Stop believing the naysayers and get yours anyway:)
5. MMM forum peeps showed me possibilities and one day I gasped and took a step beyond what I thought possible, given my age and circumstances. Liberating:)
6. No - really, sometimes you don't deserve "IT":)
7. Just about everything on the stickies was new to me - especially the backdoor Roth and the steps to take before retirement.
There is no end to the things I have and am learning in these threads - beyond awesome, it saved our naive asses from doing all sorts of stupid shit, because we didn't know better.
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2. Thanks to yodella, today, I learned you can freeze unused tomato paste in an ice cube tray and then keep it in a freezer baggie.
Tomato products will stain plastic ice cube trays and tomato paste is thick. Just glop the leftover paste straight into a (reused, washed) plastic bag, seal it, then flatten it a bit so it's easier to store and defrosts faster. Boom!
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Learned to ignore the crowd better than I already was.
4% rule (and all the debate behind and around it). Old target was 3.5M, figured out it should be $1.6M, shaving a decade off my plans.
Free Fillable Forms for taxes.
Gained perspective on what real savings looks like. I was in the "10% is the goal" crowd, now the goal is >50%.
Learned to track down the various massive loopholes out there for frugal rich folks like me. Spousal IRA, Roth for me.
Many more small things...
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Your Money or Your Life - great way to think about money and values
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This financial stuff pointed me to J L Collins where I learned the importance of fees.
I also learned from him about index funds and the folly of trying to time the market.
I think the biggest thing I learned is that you can make your life very good by freeing up your time.
What do I wish to learn? I'd like to learn how to deal with medical costs, the 800 lb gorilla in the US retirement room.
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Learning that my debt was an emergency, including my mortgage debt.
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/04/18/news-flash-your-debt-is-an-emergency/
Except that your mortgage debt isn't.
Wow! Yeah, you're right, I misread that.
That being said I just paid off all my debts and my mortgage. Feels pretty good man.
Editing this post to attach MMM's accountant's take on paying off the mortgage vs investing the difference.
https://wealthyaccountant.com/2018/09/24/paying-off-the-mortgage-vs-investing-the-difference/
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Aldi. Vanguard. Credit card travel points. Debt means your hair is on fire.
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I learned, much too late at 50 years old, that I had been a clown for most of my working life. That was ten years ago, and I have been backpedalling as fast as I could since then.
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To stop working
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To stop working
You win!
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I learned, much too late at 50 years old, that I had been a clown for most of my working life. That was ten years ago, and I have been backpedalling as fast as I could since then.
LOL. When I first saw your post I read "backpacking".
I'm obviously projecting.
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2. Thanks to yodella, today, I learned you can freeze unused tomato paste in an ice cube tray and then keep it in a freezer baggie.
Tomato products will stain plastic ice cube trays and tomato paste is thick. Just glop the leftover paste straight into a (reused, washed) plastic bag, seal it, then flatten it a bit so it's easier to store and defrosts faster. Boom!
I measure it out by the tablespoon and plop each tablespoonful onto a parchment-paper-lined cookie sheet or something else flat and supportive. I put that in the freezer until the tomato paste is frozen solid, then pluck it off the parchment paper and put the individual tablespoons into a Ziplock bag. That way there's no need to measure later, and I can just defrost the amount I need.
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2. Thanks to yodella, today, I learned you can freeze unused tomato paste in an ice cube tray and then keep it in a freezer baggie.
Tomato products will stain plastic ice cube trays and tomato paste is thick. Just glop the leftover paste straight into a (reused, washed) plastic bag, seal it, then flatten it a bit so it's easier to store and defrosts faster. Boom!
I measure it out by the tablespoon and plop each tablespoonful onto a parchment-paper-lined cookie sheet or something else flat and supportive. I put that in the freezer until the tomato paste is frozen solid, then pluck it off the parchment paper and put the individual tablespoons into a Ziplock bag. That way there's no need to measure later, and I can just defrost the amount I need.
I rarely have enough room to fit a cookie sheet into my freezer. We are getting to the same result via different routes. Of course mine is the lazy one.
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2. Thanks to yodella, today, I learned you can freeze unused tomato paste in an ice cube tray and then keep it in a freezer baggie.
Tomato products will stain plastic ice cube trays and tomato paste is thick. Just glop the leftover paste straight into a (reused, washed) plastic bag, seal it, then flatten it a bit so it's easier to store and defrosts faster. Boom!
I measure it out by the tablespoon and plop each tablespoonful onto a parchment-paper-lined cookie sheet or something else flat and supportive. I put that in the freezer until the tomato paste is frozen solid, then pluck it off the parchment paper and put the individual tablespoons into a Ziplock bag. That way there's no need to measure later, and I can just defrost the amount I need.
I rarely have enough room to fit a cookie sheet into my freezer. We are getting to the same result via different routes. Of course mine is the lazy one.
... which is why I said "or something else flat and supportive." Could be a small plate, lid for something, etc. But of course you can do this however you want. I was just sharing what I do so that maybe someone else would benefit from it.
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And I was just pointing out that I'm lazy ;-)
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Pumping up my cars tires to optimal pressure using my BIKE PUMP (muscle over motor). Love it!
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And i was just pointing out that I'm lazy ;-)
:-) We all have those moments! :-)
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Voluntary discomfort. I love the challenge to see how long I can last before turning the heat on.
And a reverse rollover to a 401K so I could do a backdoor Roth without a big penalty.
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To stop caring about what others think of you and thus not keeping up with the Joneses. This is pretty difficult to do completely and there are still things I do for appearances. But I care less about appearances for more and more things.
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How much money I have been wasting over the years.
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To stop caring about what others think of you and thus not keeping up with the Joneses. This is pretty difficult to do completely and there are still thing I do for appearances. But I care less about appearances for more and more things.
Same here - and not just in a keeping up with the Joneses - must get a new kitchen and car kind of way. But also in the "will others think I'm weird/cheap?" way.
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1. That I can ride a bike around town. It would never have even occurred to me to ride a bike anywhere. I just thought, WHY would anyone do that. If you're trying to get yourself killed, just walk out into traffic blindfolded. I didn't realize that you don't have to ride the same route you would drive-you can take side streets. Wow.
2. That my cc debt is a roaring fire.
3. there's also lots of stuff I knew but wasn't motivated to do but the blog and forum have provided a huge push/shove in a great direction. I installed a new faucet, vanity, sink, light fixtures, and painted. It all cost less than paying a plumber to fix a leaky faucet, which is what I was going to do. But doing it myself made it financially possible--and I was so proud of myself.
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1. That I can ride a bike around town. It would never have even occurred to me to ride a bike anywhere. I just thought, WHY would anyone do that. If you're trying to get yourself killed, just walk out into traffic blindfolded. I didn't realize that you don't have to ride the same route you would drive-you can take side streets. Wow.
2. That my cc debt is a roaring fire.
3. there's also lots of stuff I knew but wasn't motivated to do but the blog and forum have provided a huge push/shove in a great direction. I installed a new faucet, vanity, sink, light fixtures, and painted. It all cost less than paying a plumber to fix a leaky faucet, which is what I was going to do. But doing it myself made it financially possible--and I was so proud of myself.
Point 3: well done.
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1. That I can ride a bike around town. It would never have even occurred to me to ride a bike anywhere. I just thought, WHY would anyone do that. If you're trying to get yourself killed, just walk out into traffic blindfolded. I didn't realize that you don't have to ride the same route you would drive-you can take side streets. Wow.
2. That my cc debt is a roaring fire.
3. there's also lots of stuff I knew but wasn't motivated to do but the blog and forum have provided a huge push/shove in a great direction. I installed a new faucet, vanity, sink, light fixtures, and painted. It all cost less than paying a plumber to fix a leaky faucet, which is what I was going to do. But doing it myself made it financially possible--and I was so proud of myself.
Point 3: well done.
Thanks. The powder room looks amazing and has inspired me to do more of my own stuff. You guys are so encouraging.
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1. That I can ride a bike around town. It would never have even occurred to me to ride a bike anywhere. I just thought, WHY would anyone do that. If you're trying to get yourself killed, just walk out into traffic blindfolded. I didn't realize that you don't have to ride the same route you would drive-you can take side streets. Wow.
2. That my cc debt is a roaring fire.
3. there's also lots of stuff I knew but wasn't motivated to do but the blog and forum have provided a huge push/shove in a great direction. I installed a new faucet, vanity, sink, light fixtures, and painted. It all cost less than paying a plumber to fix a leaky faucet, which is what I was going to do. But doing it myself made it financially possible--and I was so proud of myself.
Point 3: well done.
Thanks. The powder room looks amazing and has inspired me to do more of my own stuff. You guys are so encouraging.
I love this!! There should be a Mustachian Home and Garden Tour. Just like the snooty ones, only everyone's done it themselves and can share advice and ideas.
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The most I’ve learnt is from the DONT pay off your mortgage club.
But my partner is in the DO pay off your mortgage club so it’s challenging & contradictory.
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The most I’ve learnt is from the DONT pay off your mortgage club.
But my partner is in the DO pay off your mortgage club so it’s challenging & contradictory.
But it does depend on your mortgage interest. When we had our first mortgage, it was at 7,6% interest. It was a no brainer to pay it off.
Also, the stock market is volatile. Paying down your mortgage is a safe and stable form of saving, although the profit can be a lot lower than in the stock market.
Why not do both in your case?
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The most I’ve learnt is from the DONT pay off your mortgage club.
But my partner is in the DO pay off your mortgage club so it’s challenging & contradictory.
When you balance the benefits of paying off your mortgage vs the costs of divorce, one side comes out a clear winner. :P
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The most I’ve learnt is from the DONT pay off your mortgage club.
But my partner is in the DO pay off your mortgage club so it’s challenging & contradictory.
When you balance the benefits of paying off your mortgage vs the costs of divorce, one side comes out a clear winner. :P
Totally agree.
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Speed Queen washing machine.
It is a very nice machine, but I think it's tougher on clothes than our Maytag was. Should be built to last much longer than the Maytag!
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The most I’ve learnt is from the DONT pay off your mortgage club.
But my partner is in the DO pay off your mortgage club so it’s challenging & contradictory.
When you balance the benefits of paying off your mortgage vs the costs of divorce, one side comes out a clear winner. :P
These discussions do not create much debate. At least I would consider us both Mustacian.
Why not do both in your case?
Our interest is currently at 4.5% and variable. We are also Canadian, but this mortgage is on a rental so we can write off the interest. But being Canadian we have to deal with the mortgage renewal and headache every 5 years or so.
We are doing both, he used to make a lump sum mortgage payment and I would match it. Now he makes a lump-sum payment and I match it in our investment account where we split it equally into our RRSP or TFSA where is goes into Vanguard funds. I've also learnt more about asset allocation & location on this forum.
WIN WIN.
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Our interest is currently at 4.5% and variable. We are also Canadian, but this mortgage is on a rental so we can write off the interest. But being Canadian we have to deal with the mortgage renewal and headache every 5 years or so.
We are doing both, he used to make a lump sum mortgage payment and I would match it. Now he makes a lump-sum payment and I match it in our investment account where we split it equally into our RRSP or TFSA where is goes into Vanguard funds. I've also learnt more about asset allocation & location on this forum.
WIN WIN.
I can't imagine the stress/hassle of a mortgage that resets the way they do in Canada. Kudos to you for creating such a brilliant compromise. In your shoes, I'd hope to be smart enough to make such a wise compromise. WIN WIN indeed.
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That despite what the TV shows us, there are some very well adjusted people out there making thoughtful choices and making intelligent long term plans.
Also, that alot of people have "crazy" in their family and friends circle. Just let it go... ;)
Index funds. Appropriate savings rates. Riding (e)bikes vs driving. Cooking (for me, DW knows all the skills). Circles of Influence and concern and when they overlap. As others have pointed out that not spending is perfectly okay. The Joneses may not be making good choices, its tough to tell just looking at the new car(s) and delivery trucks.
That this group of sometimes contrarians are my favorite group of writers/talkers on the web.