Where i grew up, you can still purchase very modest fixer upper homes for $30K. To me, $30K is a decent sum of money. Heck, i lived on $14K (with car) for 4 years in grad school and again recently being underemployed for 2 years. Totally doable with a little effort.

And if the poster is rural? There are no buses between, for example, Gladstone and Escanaba, Michigan. And plenty of people live in one town and work in the other.

I still don’t understand you humans you ENTER food vending establishments, instead of the time honored practice of ordering online, throwing tip money through the mail slot and yelling “Leave it on the front steps!” ;)

I concur heartily!

I grew up swimming in Lake Superior. I know i can make it across if the stakes are high enough.

Well, balance though. Some days i think attending practice (when i’m not working late) is better use of my time than laundry. And sometimes i just really can’t wear my work pants one more time. It’s always a choice, even when you’re scheduled down to every last 15 minute block. I am totally, ethically fine making a…

Mmmmmm, yes, but those of us who do have to skip important stuff like birthday gatherings or workouts in order to have the time to buy groceries or do laundry.

I’m not in that cycle now, but when things are busy at work i DO work a 12 hour day, come home, shower, eat dinner in bed, and fall asleep by 9 ish. My last…

Gods, yes, me too. I wear holey shoes and stained trousers and have the same pans and broken window fans (yay duct tape and zip ties!) i’ve had for 15 years, because i just struggle to replace something that still “works”.

Dear Adrienne-

This sounds like personal preference. I still keep each of my calendars color coded and as a separate calendar. That way i can uncheck “facebook events”, “practices”, “workouts” etc separately to see how that affects my free time. If the only way to get laundry done this week is to skip 1 practice, 1 workout, or 1…

I always avoided it and had zero interest in ever trying, preferring more “active” sports like, hockey, tang soo do, mountain biking, skiing. Then 6 years ago i started roller derby, and last year i started dating a personal trainer. He’s making me lift, along with a few other team members, and dude. Honestly, it’s…

I have no clue how to make an electric toaster with a pop up button and darkness control.

I could, however, make a device that toasts bread. It would probably be open flame and a metal cage to hold the bread. BUT if the fall came tomorrow, between me and various of my friends, we could live comfortably. Sure, surgery…

Man, this is a tough one. I could work out tonight, but it’s also the only night all week i can empty my bathroom and thoroughly mop it after a thunderstorm caused a minor flood 2 days ago. My next block of free time to do that is Sunday afternoon. So, for me it’s priorities. I’d certainly PREFER to work out, but i…

I do this. Most of it are things i will need eventually - replacement curtains for the shredded ones, a new shovel, work shoes, etc. So they sit in my cart for even months at a time until either i really have no more holey underpants, or the sale is good enough to justify purchasing sidewalk salt in August.

Sound advice!

It was liberating in my late 20s to realise, after starting a few new hobbies and sports, that basically everything i try i am significantly less than average at. As far as i can tell, i have very few natural aptitudes for sports, art, music, crafting, home improvement, etc.

HOWEVER anything i apply…

Yeah, i think all things in moderation and to each their own. Yes, there is a cost to not buying quality items and having to replace them more often, and other reasons why extreme frugality can bite you in semi-hidden ways.

On the other hand, my teacher salary parents raised us on Goodwill clothes and generic brand…

It’s on my back burner to do so, but there are no employers for what i do within a few hundred miles. Relocating isn’t impossible, but it’s inconvenient for a zillion reasons. So for now, i continue to value my ethics and do the best i can with what i have.

Dang, i just high five. Am i old school? Or progressive?

Man, current moral dilemma covered by lifehacker again.

I have a job i basically mostly like in an industry i feel passionately about, for a company that treats us like disposable diapers. However, i have laid down roots in this area, and there are no other employers in this industry for several hundred miles in any…

I’ve done this twice in my life now. In grad school i cut from 2 pots to 2-3 cups. And gained 15 lb. Whoops.

And then about 2 years ago i cut out my after lunch cup, so now i only have 1 cup every day, except on workout days i’ll have fountain diet coke from the cafeteria, or half a cup of actual coffee. I don’t think…