Also, dollar stores and gas stations sometimes carry DVDs of old cartoons--loony tunes, casper, betty bool, felix the cat, and crazy fleischer brother's stuff--for a buck. Great for entertaining kids and freaking adults the fuck out! I buy 'em up when I can. Pawn shops are a great source for used DVDs and games, too; especially for hard-to-find games for last-generation consoles. Unlike most game resellers, a pawn shop will hold on to freakin' BETA tapes to the bitter end if they think someone will buy it. Pawn shops are also good for cheap bikes, small appliances, and power tools. Know where your local pawn shops are for this reason and so you know where to check if your skeezy friend of a friend steals your computer/iPod/chainsaw to sell for heroin money. They don't take macs, though, so you (and your skeezy friend's friend) are SOL there. On a related note, do not let serious drug addicts into your life. I speak from experience here. It's not a matter of prejudice; I fully believe that addiction is a mental illness. One of its side effects is that an addict WILL steal your shit, and probably have no problem justifying it, and even thinking they're entitled to do so, particularly if they are a friend or relative. So, you know, let them use your shower or spend a (SINGULAR) night on your couch, and even give them cash, as long as you understand you WONT get it back. But DONT let them stay with you, borrow your car, or work for you in any way.
Templar Connect » Inconsequential Prattle
Project: Poorcraft
(267 posts)-
maecrab
MemberPosted 1 year ago # -
Should we have a "last resorts" section? That'd be less frugal living and more "everything just went to hell aaaaaa", though.
EDIT: Also, I can (somewhat) help with a section on home remedies for common ailments (colds, flu, ear infections, etc).
Flee thee, icy Lucifer.Posted 1 year ago # -
A home remedy section would be awesome. the only one I know use is ginger tea for bellyache, and strawberries + baking soda for tooth-whitening.
There is always room for comics!Posted 1 year ago # -
The problem of course is that the majority of "home remedies" don't work.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I know how to macgyver an alternative to a heating pad, for injuries, earache, toothache and so on.
It goes like this: get two socks and double-bag them. Put salt (it must be finely ground, not crystal or seasalt or anything fancy - just plain, cheap salt) into the inner sock, until it's just over a half full and packed tight. Tie the socks off at the end. Heat either in the oven or in the microwave, wrap in a towel and apply to injured part.
There is also stuff of dubious effectiveness, since we've been using it for years and years, but I am not entirely sure what, if anything, it does. For example, hot milk, garlic and honey for sore throats and colds. The garlic probably does SOMETHING, but fucked if I know what the purpose of the rest of it is. The problem is what Wagner said, a lot of home remedies simply don't work. Some do, though.
Though I suspect this'll end up being a glorified first aid section.
It might also be a good idea to include a subsection on symptoms that shouldn't be treated at home and require a trip to the emergency room - for example, meningitis symptoms and how to tell a rash caused by meningitis apart from just any old rash. But that would require the assistance of someone who's either a doctor a nurse.
Posted 1 year ago # -
maecrab
MemberRight, like how sharp pains on your right side could be appendicitis. Something that happens to an alarming number of people, cannot be prevented or treated outside of a hospital, and has a high (by modern standards) rate of fatality if it progresses. Also, never put gauze bandaging on a burn. The skin, as it grows back, grows into the holes and... it's not pretty. Also, aloe vera is the best treatment for a burn there is; the gel in the plant dries into a thin film that helps the skin retain moisture (the biggest dangers with a burn are the skin getting dry and cracking and the risk of infection), keeps germs out, and is very high in vitamin E, which helps the skin heal without scarring. You can grow aloevera plants yourself, and I strongly suggest doing so if you're into cooking and/or welding. You can also get massive, 15" long leaves for about a dollar at Mexican groceries; this option might only be available if you live in the south or southwest, or have a particularly authentic import store nearby. And I mean 'cow brains for sale' authentic. The kind of aloe gel you get in a bottle actually makes things worse, at least for me, because of all the crap they put in it; even a plain preservative is tough on tender skin.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Yes, i want the home-remedy section to be hoodoo free, with a whole comic page or paragraph dedicated to when to go to the doctor. Fevers that don't break, sharp pains that don't go away, broken bones, etc.
Also, on the topic of a "goofus" character to play out the pitfalls of frugality: I'd want Nickel to do that. Here, see?
Showing th the dog being a dummy would prevent it from being mean-spirited, or giving the reader the suspicion that we're painting a target on anyone specific.
Posted 1 year ago # -
maecrab
MemberGod, this thread is addictive, both to read and to write in. I am buying the SHIT out of this book when it comes out. I love your ideas for the drawings, too, Spike! Have you guys thought of maybe doing expanded editions later on if the first book does okay, like specifically on travel, urban farming, home repair, etc.? It seems like these are all subjects with bookloads of information unto themselves, and there are some books out there on them, but not how to do it when your flat fucking broke.
Posted 1 year ago # -
If you want home repair, talk to Nesko.
His dad's a general contractor who used to manage large apartment buildings (and still owns and operates small ones). Nesko grew up painting, replacing screens and door locks, doing basic plumbing and electrical, patching holes in walls, etc.
Posted 1 year ago # -
A little note on buying stuff at places like Walmart. We could talk about the ethics but I'll save that for another time. The thing you should know about buying any kind of content there is that much of their movies/music/etc. is censored and not labeled as such. Walmart requires all the big media companies to make special Walmart editions of their products; editions, mind you, that are in no way labeled as being anything unusual. These special editions then have little cuts done throughout to make them more palatable to the Bible Belt. A movie may still say that it's rated R but curses will have been muffled, nip shots taken out, and so on. I made the mistake of buying Married To The Mob at one of the other big chains (K Mart iirc) and when I finally watched it months later I found that half of my favorite shots were cropped or simply not there.
In short, don't buy music, movies, books, or anything related at Walmart, KMart, or people like them. What you buy will be labeled the same, will be priced the same, will claim to be rated the same, BUT IT WILL NOT BE THE SAME.
Posted 1 year ago # -
OTOH, from what I've read Southland Corporation of all people (the guys behind 7 Eleven) have several times come out against this crap and insisted that it's nobody's business but theirs what they sell and to whom unless the complaintant can prove that they're doing something illegal. They have also openly admitted that they hold this stance so fimly in large part because porn is one of the most profitable things they sell.
Especially in the Bible Belt.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Oh, and maecrab, speaking as a guy who almost died from misdiagnosed appendicitis that turned to peritonitis because it was left untreated so long AND is pretty much covered in patches of burn scars, yeah, aloe kicks butt and yeah, one wants to be verra verra careful about what to write about home medical care.
Posted 1 year ago # -
maecrab
MemberOn the resurrected corpse of Jesus, I swear this is my last post. On this thread. For tonight.
Little known Ramen facts: 1. You don't have to use the flavor packets. Theyre what has most of the bad shit, and stock or bouillon cubes work just as well. 2. It's not against the law to add vegetables to ramen soup. Fresh ones, even. That said, ramen is probably the cheapest plain noodles you can buy, if not the healthiest, and can be a doable meal staple if used properly and in some moderation in desperate times. My former boss, a professional artist, had at one point considered writing a book himself called "1001 recipes with ramen". What do you wanna bet he'd sell a million copies?Posted 1 year ago # -
I like the idea of a brief last resorts section fwiw. Among other things, some of what's foolish as a long term frugal strategy works like a charm for the Oh Sh*t, I Have No Cash times and vice versa.
For example, I'm a hugungous believer in getting the right tools to cook with but in a pinch I'm totally down with, say, mixing a megabunch of salad in a shaken garbage bag or using cans to cook things in. And I've got to say, I've gotten out of some serious pinches by really and truly going through every pocket of every item of clothing and behind and under every last bit of furniture to get cash for a day.
One big point for those times and, differently for the longer stretches, is that I'm totally a believer in the limited and occasional random "stupid" expense. After a few months of watching every penny it's amazing how much it heals the soul to go out and buy a couple of utterly sadass stupid things at utterly stupid prices. We've all got limits to our self-discipline and sometimes if you're living at a whisper, you've got to take an occasional moment to shout until you scare the neighbors.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I think it goes without saying, but check cashing places and payday loans are evil. Sometimes a rather tempting evil, but evil nonetheless.
Instead of paying 120 in two weeks to get 75 now, look in to day labor locations. If you're poor enough to consider writing what amounts to a bad check, you're poor enough to pull a shift clearing rubble before your normal job.
Get a savings account. Put all your beer/cigs money (or the nonsmoker, nondrinker equivalent thereof) into it until you have at least a thousand saved up. This is your vehicle, medical, and bills emergency fund. Statistics suggest that everyone will suffer one financially catastrophic emergency a year, and if it doesn't cover the entire expense, at least this will help pad it out a bit.
Posted 1 year ago # -
day labor locations
Expand on this, please. I know a guy who might find it useful info.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Around where I live there is just a sign, by the Centro Cultural that says "Day Labour Pickup". A person who wants help or workers or whatever drives up and explains how many folks they need, what they want done and how much they'll pay and if that is cool, then you go with.
A friend of mine in the city knows there is like, an area, by a bridge, and the same sort of thing happens, though the city also has an official day labour pick-up spot. Yes, I realise it sounds sketch as hell, but you get a day of work and pay.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Abandon
MemberI have recently moved to Cork, and next to the apartments where I am living is a small asian market. Since going there, the amount I have started spending on food has dropped by about half.
The sheer amount of product that you get for the money is insane (a bag of 25 foot-long cinnamon sticks for seven euro? Gallon jugs of soy sause for about five? Yes please) and most of the stuff I pick up there can either be frozen or simply lasts forever anyway.
The same goes for the various polish supermarkets that are around.
An inch. It's small and it's fragile and it's the only thing in the world worth having. You must never lose it, or sell it, or give it away. You must never let them take it from you.Posted 1 year ago # -
Good lord $200 iphones
As a dude who makes/repairs his own electronics I can't think of anything worse to own than a nice cellphone/MP3 player. If you are very lucky, you can keep one alive for over a year and a half, but they're really designed to be disposable, and you'll be paying all the way just for the privilege of having it turn on. Any parts under mechanical stress (switches, headphone jack) can go at any time, the LCD and battery will die within one to three years, they cannot be fixed by mere mortals, and everything but the battery will cost you upwards of a hundred dollars to replace. If a capacitator dies or the breadboard gets flexed, you need spendy conductive epoxy and the detailing skills of those monks who paint on rice grains to have half a prayer of doing anything about it and not just extending the irreversible damage - assuming you can even diagnose the problem which you can't with normal multimeters. The cheap Chinese models are even worse - the LCDs are a little more durable, it's a little easier to tell when a component has gone bad because it will fucking fall off the board, but everything else wears out 5x as fast. There's a reason portable electronics are the conspicuous consumption vehicles of choice for those who can't manage an Italian sportscar, and why more cellphones get thrown out in this country every year than there are people.
Laptops, okay. They're finicky horrible bitches and have some of the same cheap proprietary components problem, but they've got some commonality of parts and their construction is such that with some fine motor skills and a little education you can keep one working perfectly forever. Just like a car, if you choose not to know anything about how it works it'll be the albatross around your neck but if you take a week to get some basic education maintenance is a couple bucks a month until the end of time.
Businesses and government agencies are constantly dumping them as they go out of business or upgrade their inventory, and most old models have one or two known hardware faults you can find out about and deal with. I got an old Win2K-era clunker from some junk shop, found out the hard, stupid, entirely avoidable way that the mainboard flexes when it gets moved around, stuck a giant fuckoff aluminum cooling plate onto the thing to keep it protected and it's been a fantastic business asset ever since. Entertainment-wise, chugs a little on Blu-ray rips and gets a bit hot when I play something like Steel Panthers on it too long. If you're any kind of freelancer a laptop opens doors like a motherfucker, I don't know what'd happen if I tried showing a client design comps on an iphone screen but I can't imagine a good outcome.And of course everything to do with desktop computers and large electronics costs nearly nothing and involves all the advanced technical skill of putting the square peg into the clearly marked square hole. I don't even bother fix those parts when they (extremely rarely) go wrong, even on my budget I can spring for a $20 soundcard once every four years or so, assuming Goodwill doesn't have what I want for $1.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Yeah, avoiding the regular, chain grocery stores is key.
We shop for meat at the supermercado and there are way more selections of cuts than at places like Safeway or Fred Meyer and the thin ranchero cuts of steak were three dollars a pound. Also: three kinds of bannanas. Tortillas made that day.
It's really just more of the "know your neighbourhood" thing I'd mentioned earlier. We have great access to Mexican markets, but have to drive half an hour to get nice bulk noodles.
Posted 1 year ago # -
fishcake
MemberGonna have to agree on the laptop thing; if your employer expects any sort of measure of ability to work independantly from you, a laptop is a must. I get about half of my research done while on the move at Uni.
Posted 1 year ago # -
RE: Ramen: there are cookbooks with 1001 ways of cooking Ramen in them. There's also a lot of websites with the same.
In Chicago, most day labor pick ups (at least the ones I know of and that N's dad uses) are at gas stations. Look for a large group of Hispanic or Eastern European looking dudes in really junky work clothes standing around hopefully early in the morning, many of them with small coolers/lunchboxes for lunch.
Posted 1 year ago # -
mioche
MemberChain grocery stores can be a good idea if you're able to plan meals around what's been steeply discounted (assuming you stick to what you will eat and not what looked tempting because it was cheap). Example being the $2 2-lb boxes of strawberries at the Safeway near me. One of my friends basically survives off the approaching-expiration date meats at the QFC near his house. We can regularly find pork cuts for less than $2/lb.
And: piggy banks. Well. A jar on the counter into which all your pocket change goes, so it's easy to get to your spare change when you need it.
Speaking of jars, old jam and peanut butter jars are excellent for storing supplies culinary or artistic.
Posted 1 year ago # -
maecrab
MemberI find jars of change to be ideal for finding bus fare. Another reason a bus pass is good, besides being cheaper in the long run, is that most bus drivers don't make change, so you've always got to have change or 1s on hand. Also, student fare and passes are usually discounted, so don't pay full price if you don't have to.
It seems like strategies for actually MAKING money while your poor as opposed to just stretching what you have could be another whole project, too. For example: girls, at least here in good ol' sexist America, no matter how butch they are, don't get picked up for day labor. However, through clever networking, you can get odd jobs like nannying, housecleaning, and light yardwork. I've found that the key is in having good references for people to check. And discussing the must-haves in the way of clothes, equipment, and hygeine to be a successful freelancing professional is a whole nother swimming pool. In that circumstance, things we've been talking about as money-savers like fixing old clothes, cutting your own hair, and fixing up old computers only work if you're actually GOOD at them.Posted 1 year ago # -
Oh yeah, women don't get picked up for day labor. In fact, horticulturists with ten years of experience in landscaping who are female have a harder time getting jobs in the landscaping biz compared to Joe Blow who used to mow lawns when he was a teenager. Because, you know, having a wang grants magical knowledge of planting zones, compost, and soil alkalinity. BUT THAT IS A WHOLE DIFFERENT TOPIC.
For extra cash, I'm considering stopping by a local thrift store that is half off on Mondays and picking up name brand baby and children clothing that is in good condition, washing it, and taking it to a consignment shop. Does anybody have any experience with this? I know that this plan generally yields more of a payout if you take store credit instead of cash.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I'm going to have to disagree with Ivan a bit. I have a cellphone which I've had for about five years at this point and it's still going strong, even though it was a cheap model I got for free when I signed up. I have, however, gone through three faux-leather cases for it, each of which cost me about $10.
I also have a refurbished iRiver MP3 player, the tiny kind with a one-color LCD and no moving parts, that has lasted me about five years as well.
Basically, if you take care of portable electronics, and (more importantly) stay away from the cutting edge, you can keep this stuff working for a very long time.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I agree with Wagner in disagreeing with Ivan about electronic devices. Dude, I have a patent in fiber optics, I *do* have fantastic fine motor control when I care enough and I just don't want to spend my time taking apart various devices and messing with fiddly bits nor do I want to have to keep around a full set of tools, remember to keep solder and flux around, and so on. I too have an el cheapie LG cell phone that I've carried around and abused no end for three years now and while it's a bit flaky it still works. I don't know about where you live, but around here an old laptop is a couple hundred bucks at most and given that NEW netbooks can be bought for, at most $250, they're damn useful if you don't need something able to play the latest video games and/or can use them to make a longer commute worthwhile abd thereby make more money.
Go to liliputing.com and then tell me that laptops are massively expensive. For most people if they take basic measures to keep a laptop protected (don't get it wet, use a neoprene case, don't shove things into the jacks), then it should last for about two years. This makes it a simple cost-benefit equation that will vary per planned use and per expected user. What does it cost to buy/own it? How much money will I save/make by having it? I would never presume to claim that this question will always get the same result.
Frankly, Ivan, this is a thread about advice that is useful for most people. If you're going to give advice that starts from the premise of stripping out and rebuilding compact electronics, you should be asking yourself if you're posting this to help those around you or to show off your "leet" skills.
Posted 1 year ago # -
On the ramen kick, BrigidKeely is right - there are dozens of websites and at least a couple books about cooking ramen. Maecrab, while I energetically agree with your points 1 and 2, I've gotta disagree about their being "the cheapest plain noodles you can buy". I've reliably had decent luck in four states getting pasta at the dollar store and Asian markets sell all sorts of noodles (I'm partial to Wei Wei rice noodles) for under a buck. Most, on a per ounce basis are something like a third to a quarter the cost of ramen and tatse at least as good.
One classic thing to realize about ramen is that we use the flavor packets to give a richness to the taste, to get more of the taste called "umami" that is key to why things like meat appeal to people so much. Well, once you realize that it's the umami you're going after, you can start getting that in other healthier ways. First of all, there's south Asian fish sauce. It's wicked cheap, usually three dollars a bottle or less and amazing. Learn your options.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_sauceNext come a plethora of spices, starting with amchur, also known as "mango powder". This stuff seems kinda bland on its own but add it to noodles the way you would a ramen packet (especially along with some ginger, garlic, and soy sauce) and you'll get plenty of what you want. I usually add fresh lime juice, too. If you buy them at the ethnic markets, limes are cheap. Beyond amchur, trying adding a little bit of curry powder or tandoori powder, again with some garlic and ginger. If you don't want to be bothered chopping up garlic and ginger all the time, you can get either one minced in jars at Asian markets or substitute jarred fried onions, which you can get there or at Indian and some Mexican markets.
Then there's wine. Cheap wine is an easy way to add complexity to flavors and it can be added to damn near everything from ramen to spagetti sauce. One of my standard recipies is to fry up sliced zuccini with chopped "breakfast sausage" from the dollar store and then add some white or plum wine and soy sauce. Then add some kind of starch like tapioca powder or corn starch to thicken it (always remembering to mix the starch into a small glass of wine or cold water before pouring it over the food). Obviously this also can be done with chopped onions, garlic, or ginger browned in the oil first. Mushrooms are great if you can get them cheap. This makes a massive amount of food if you use three or four dollars of zuccini and a box of sausage and can be stretched out over five or six portions of noodles or, even better, brown rice.
Which brings us back to rice again. It took me years to get around to cooking rice well. Seems to me that the thing that finally got me to not burn it was when I finally decided that I needed to get my sh*t together and PAY ATTENTION to what I was doing.
Four rules are key
- stir it occasionally with a big spoon of a type that effectively scrapes accumulated rice loose (you can get excellent bamboo rice scrapers at any Asian grocery for about two bucks)
- keep the heat high enough for it to be boiling but just barely
- use an easy to clean pot that diffuses the heat from the burner (I always use stainless steel with a heavy base)
- and if your rice seems like it's drying out then add more water. Keep a lid on your pot but don't expect that lid to seal all the water in.Be willing to spend some time and money on this skill. Once you're good at cooking rice your baseline expenses go down forever and your options expand greatly. And you'll find that when you control the variety and how it's cooked, rice gets much better and you'll use it for more things, including having more really cheap but tasty foods you can make for potlucks or to trade.
Posted 1 year ago # -
And, if you can get it cheaply enough, never forget the glories of couscous. Nothing is easier to make (boil water, turn off heat, pour in couscous, cover pot, wait ten minutes, stir, eat) and you can damn near live on it. My standard version (before I ate so much that I got allergic to it
) was to use broth instead of part or all of the water or to at least add spices or boullion cubes to the water before I added the couscous. One great combination is dried parsley, a couple of chicken boullion cubes, and chick peas all added to the boiling water. Boil the water until you've mixed in the boullion, turn the water off, add the couscous, and as soon as it soaks uo the liquid, go ahead and feast.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Chiming in on the mp3 thing, I bought a fancy expensive brand new 60gb Video iPod back when I was a stupid Freshman in college with more disposable income than I had sense. However, I got that iPod for Christmas 2003 and it's still running strong with no problems whatsoever today. The battery still keeps a good charge, I've dropped it a billion times to no ill effect, and in addition to all of my music I also keep an extra backup of my entire comic on there in case something happens to my computer and my external drive at the same time.
I don't really know what point I'm trying to make, but I just thought I'd add my experience with the things to the mix here. I've never had an smartphone but I can see those being a terrible idea if you're on a budget, mostly because the monthly expense is ridiculous for a phone.
Posted 1 year ago #
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