Frugal Living: misc.consumers.frugal-living - 21 new messages in 9 topics

Saturday, December 27, 2008

misc.consumers.frugal-living - 21 new messages in 9 topics - digest

misc.consumers.frugal-living
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living?hl=en

misc.consumers.frugal-living@googlegroups.com

Today's topics:

==============================================================================
TOPIC: .99 store complaint
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/344e32ee920ae3a2?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 2 ==
Date: Fri, Dec 26 2008 3:34 pm
From: John Doe

Try the dollar store, I've heard it's better.
haha

== 2 of 2 ==
Date: Fri, Dec 26 2008 4:26 pm
From: Auntielle

On Dec 26, 1:44 pm, The Real Bev <bashley...@gmail.com> wrote:
> val189 wrote:
> > With inflation, I wouldn't expect to find much for 99 cents. Since
> > their goods are mostly junk, I don't even bother shopping there.
>
> That's pure snobbery and indicates that you never even tried. Give it a
> shot, it's not likely to kill you.
>
> 99-Cents-Only Stores are really good. Dollar Tree not so much.
> Big!Lots sucks. There are three or four 99-Cents-Only Stores within
> bicycle distance of my house. WOO-HOO!
>
> Shampoo is shampoo and hand lotion is hand lotion; pick the scent you
> like. Standard brands of toothpaste -- Colgate, Crest, etc. Morell hot
> dogs and sausage. Milk (yeah, I saw the Simpsons with the rat dairy).
> American sunblock, just with a short use-by date. Nexcare duct-tape
> band-aids (yeah, they really DO stick well). Tons of fun stuff.
>
> --
> Cheers, Bev
> =====================================================================
> If violence isn't solving the problem, you're not using enough of it.

Big Lots doesn't always "suck", although the prices certainly were
better when the chain used to be Pic'N'Save. Things that used to be a
dollar or two at Pic'N'Save are $3 or $4, now that Big Lots owns the
stores. But one thing I've found that is a great deal there is name
brand craft/scrapbooking supplies. Scrapbooking is a hobby that is too
expensive for me, especially since I have no kids. But my elderly mom
is into scrapbooking big-time, and I can pick up several packages of
name brand scrapbooking items for $1 or $2 each. I take them to her
from time to time just as a little gift, and she's thrilled.

I have a Dollar Tree and a .99 Cent Store near me. They both sell
mostly junk, but if you have a good eye and are willing to give things
a chance, there are good deals to be had. At Dollar Tree, I picked up
a Sunbeam brand 4-pack of bulbs for my night light. Great deal, and
the bulbs all work so far.

I also decided to take a chance and try their "Cuddle Soft" brand of
liquid fabric softener. It was the "Mountain Fresh" scent, and was in
a bonus 40oz.(reg.32oz) size "milk carton" type container. To me, it
smells every bit as good as the Downy Liquid concentrate DH insists on
buying at Costco. The carton says to use 3/8ths of a cup per load, but
I only use a little less than 1/4th cup - the same amount I usually
use of the Downy concentrate. It seems to work every bit as well as
the Downy; I've had no static cling so far. I asked DH how it worked;
he shrugged and said "OK, I guess". I asked him if it was as good as
the Downy and he said "No". As to why not, he said "I just really like
the smell of the Downy better." I asked him if it was worth paying 5
or 6 times more for the Downy just for the scent. He's a bit reluctant
on this whole frugality thing, so I have to ease into it - LOL.

==============================================================================
TOPIC: Usenet being phased out
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/88e9e410905fb851?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 3 ==
Date: Fri, Dec 26 2008 4:49 pm
From: ultimauw@gmail.com

On Dec 25, 6:12 am, Shawn Hirn <s...@comcast.net> wrote:

> In Comcast's case, their decision to stop offering free Usenet service
> had little to do with service cost, it was legal issues that motivated
> Comcast to stop offering free Usenet service. New York State's attorney
> general launched litigation against ISPs to get rid of child porn on
> their servers. Since Usenet is largely uncontrollable in its content,
> ISP's such as Time Warner and Comcast decided that since Usenet usage
> was declining and its mostly spam, it wasn't worth the effort for them
> to monitor and defend in court. A Google search will yield tons of
> information on this issue.
>

Kiddie porn was just a pretext for the ISPs to do what they always
wanted to do: shut down their usenet servers. If they didn't want to
do that, they would have told that dork in New York to go
----------------- and continue to offer Usenet. If some book worm in
New York really did have this much power, then this country is really
screwed.

== 2 of 3 ==
Date: Fri, Dec 26 2008 4:53 pm
From: ultimauw@gmail.com

Kiddie porn was just a pretext for the ISPs to do what they always
wanted to do: shut down their usenet servers. If they didn't want to
do that, they would have told that dork in New York to go
----------------- and continue to offer Usenet. If some book worm in
New York really does have this much power, then this country is really
screwed.

== 3 of 3 ==
Date: Fri, Dec 26 2008 5:46 pm
From: John Doe

ultimauw@gmail.com wrote:

> Kiddie porn was just a pretext for the ISPs to do what they always
> wanted to do: shut down their usenet servers.

We still have text servers here on AT&T USENET. I haven't been using
my ISP's binary USENET servers in years, so it makes almost no
difference to me.

Yes of course they used child pornography as an excuse to shut down
binary servers.

If they had given users a line to make suggestions and report
violations, individual servers probably could have easily shut down
child pornography on USENET.

Whatever. Makes no difference to AT&T Prodigy users, yet. Those who
lose access can spend a few dollars a year for a text server if you
can't afford a premium server.

--
Land Skis (rough terrain skates). The first rollerblades with a big
front wheel and small trailing wheels, to help roll over obstacles
while maintaining a low stance.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27532210@N04/3056505603

==============================================================================
TOPIC: Really cheap tube TV's.
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/2ba22ba2916253d8?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 2 ==
Date: Fri, Dec 26 2008 8:49 pm
From: Elesee

On Dec 26, 10:11 am, James <j0069b...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> I see many good TV's on curbs ...

Because a converter costs money for a dubious "improvement"; because
they take up more space than a flat-screen, and the big ones require
real muscle to move; but, mostly, because, if one prefers wide-screen,
HD sound, Blu-Ray, etc., it can't be had with a CRT 4:3 TV. But, a CRT
could serve well in a garage, patio; and if it breaks, nothing to
worry about except getting rid of it--here, you'd have to lug it to
the dump, and pay them to dispose of it. But, you could donate the
converter to a digital-deprived TV watcher after you switch to 100%
digital. Best thing about free TVs is that they're free, and that's
not to be sneezed at.

== 2 of 2 ==
Date: Fri, Dec 26 2008 11:28 pm
From: meow2222@care2.com

MSfort...@mcpmail.com wrote:
> James wrote:

> > I see many good TV's on curbs because of the new flat TV's as well as
> > HDTV standard. Why not pick up a good free TV and just buy a
> > convertion box?
> >
> > My next door neighbor tossed a very good TV but I wasn't thinking at
> > the time. Of course it was taken by the time I decided to take it.
>
> Sure it will work, but does that make it cheap? I have not done a
> comparison on power with the new TV's versus a CRT, but I did before
> purchasing this monitor. The new monitor uses 35W and the old one used
> 275W. By the time the warranty is up on the new monitor, it will have
> saved the price compared to what the old tube used. I pitched it like
> an old TV.

Most CRT monitors eat more like 70w, and even with extensive use the
extra power they eat compared to an LCD is only a small fraction of
the cost of going LCD. TV power use is similar - you'd need a real
monster to eat 275w, and even then that would most likely be max power
at cinema volume levels rather than mean power, so the wrong figure
for comparison.

==============================================================================
TOPIC: Wanna be depressed?
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/d7707daeed27d957?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 3 ==
Date: Fri, Dec 26 2008 8:52 pm
From: "Rod Speed"

The Real Bev wrote:

> Who among us has not thrown out better stuff than this?

> http://stores.ebay.com/KPsurplusDotCom

I never ever thow anything out.

== 2 of 3 ==
Date: Fri, Dec 26 2008 8:53 pm
From: "Rod Speed"

The Real Bev wrote
> The Real Bev wrote

>> Who among us has not thrown out better stuff than this?

>> http://stores.ebay.com/KPsurplusDotCom

> They have lots of exotic stuff that we wouldn't be likely to have used, but what caught my attention was the
> Racal-Vadic acoustic modem for $519.00.

I've go one of those, different brand.

== 3 of 3 ==
Date: Fri, Dec 26 2008 9:14 pm
From: Mark Anderson

In article MSfortune@mcpmail.com says...
> Most people would not have a clue how to use some of those items that
> could be worth 10X the price. I did notice the two button mouse for
> $19.95 though that is not worth $10.

This is a generic problem with ebay. There are too many, perhaps the
vast majority, of sellers who try and sell their used junk for more than
what you can by new. The computer section of Craigslist is similar if
not worse. Now whenever I need some electronic doodad I just go over to
my local brick and mortar Microcenter and buy it hassle free, and
probably cheaper too.

==============================================================================
TOPIC: Your home very likely contains products created by slave labor.
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/0b572ee8ef647317?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 2 ==
Date: Fri, Dec 26 2008 10:04 pm
From: ultimauw@gmail.com

http://socialinvest.org/directory/

Who Uses Slave Labor?
Forced labor has become both a form a torture and a source of great
profit for China. With the enormous amount of free labor that comes
from Laogai, China has lured many overseas businesses into its profit-
through-slave-labor system. With ridiculously cheap wholesale labor
costs many cannot resist the bait and unknowingly come to support this
illegal practice.

Common everyday products ranging from artificial Christmas trees,
Christmas tree lights, bracelets, tools and foodstuffs, et cetera are
among some of the products manufactured and exported from these
facilities. According to a 1998 House Committee on International
Relations report, companies who reportedly have or had products made
in China's Laogai are Midas, Staples, Chrysler, and Nestles. A recent
report from one detainee in the Changji Labor Camp in Xinjiang states
the Tianshan Wooltex Stock Corporation Ltd., a contractor to Changji
Labor Camp, makes products for overseas companies such as Banana
Republic, Neiman Marcus, Bon Genie, Holt Renfrew, French Connection
and others. Orders from Banana Republic number between 200,000 and
280,000 pieces a year.

The products made in these facilities are produced by people who are
forced to work in unsafe and unhealthy conditions. Detainees in Laogai
have said that because of malnutrition, sleep deprivation and stress
they often contract lice, scabies, hepatitis, tuberculosis, and other
ailments. Sick detainees are still forced to work. Many are not
allowed to take showers for long periods of time, allowing all manner
of bodily substances to come into contact with the items they
manufacture. These products are then shipped all over the world.

----------------

US car makers use products made by slaves in Amazonian Brazil, Peru

Discuss Santaigo, Nov 2:

Labour inspector Benedito Silva Filho and six armed police officers
move cautiously through the grey smoke that hugs the ground in the
Carvoaria Transcameta work camp near the Tucuru city in the Brazilian
Amazon. Enveloped in the haze is a solitary man, Alexandre Pereira dos
Reis, who stops shoveling charcoal from a kiln after working for eight
hours and, wheezing, walks slowly toward the inspectors. The labourer
says malaria, a chronic cough and the 95-degree-Fahrenheit heat have
gotten the best of him.

The charcoal he and the other labourers produce by burning scraps of
hardwood will be trucked south to a blast furnace that's six hours
away. It will be used there to make pig iron, a basic ingredient of
steel. That pig iron will be purchased by brokers, sold to steelmakers
and foundries and then purchased by some of the world's largest
companies for use in cars, tractors, sinks and refrigerators made for
US consumers.

''This is slavery,'' Silva, 49, says. Silva has descended unannounced
in September on this charcoal-making camp—one of about 1,000 in the
Amazon—to investigate reports that it uses unpaid labour. The
policemen who flank him wield automatic weapons, ready to fend off the
deadly violence that Silva says is part of his job. They determine all
29 workers are slaves who haven't been paid in months.

The products of Latin American slave labour end up in cars and trucks
made in the US by Ford Motors, General Motors, Nissan Motors and
Toyota Motors. Pig iron that goes into steel used by Whirlpool Corp,
the world's largest appliance maker, and is used in foundries at
Kohler Co, which makes sinks and bathtubs, can be traced back to
slaves in Brazil. Nucor Corp, the second-largest US steel company,
buys pig iron made with charcoal produced by slaves. In Peru, slaves
mine gold that ends up at the world's biggest banks. Other Peruvian
slaves log mahogany that's been used in Andersen Corp windows and CF
Martin & Co guitars.

Socially responsible financial services directory:

== 2 of 2 ==
Date: Fri, Dec 26 2008 10:45 pm
From: Stan de SD

> The charcoal he and the other labourers produce by burning scraps of
> hardwood will be trucked south to a blast furnace that's six hours
> away. It will be used there to make pig iron, a basic ingredient of
> steel. That pig iron will be purchased by brokers, sold to steelmakers
> and foundries and then purchased by some of the world's largest
> companies for use in cars, tractors, sinks and refrigerators made for
> US consumers.

I don't suppose you have ever seen the inside of a modern steel mill,
or any other type of large-scale industry. Steelmaking is a tightly
controlled process, necessary to ensure proper chemical composition,
hardness, ductility, etc. I seriously doubt that charcoal is being
used for the coking process, as carbon content is super-critical. Most
steel is made in electric arc furnaces nowadays, so the charcoal isn't
being used as a heat source. Methinks you're being fed a line of BS by
someone...

==============================================================================
TOPIC: Don't forget, YOU may end up homeless and you will end up getting spat
on like you did to the homeless.
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/409073ca23af5885?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 3 ==
Date: Fri, Dec 26 2008 10:15 pm
From: ultimauw@gmail.com

On Dec 24, 12:34 pm, "Strider" <fgevqre1...@tznvy.pbz> wrote:
> "Shawn Hirn" <s...@comcast.net> wrote in message
>
> news:srhi-628AAC.10083724122008@74.sub-97-136-209.myvzw.com...
>
> > I think it sucks, but it seems to me that in many situations, employees
> > can see the writing on the wall. Unless the bosses are cooking the
> > books, when business drops significantly, any employee who doesn't
> > notice that and doesn't start thinking about his or her job security is
> > living in an alternate reality.
>
> True. Newspapers are notorious for folding with very little advance notice.
> In Dec. 1991 the Dallas Times Herald announced its demise on a Sunday
> afternoon. The paper published its final edition the next day. It was hardly
> a surprise, though -- they'd been in the proverbial "downward spiral" for a
> couple of years at least. I've read instances of editors sending the
> completed pages to the pressroom, then having the publisher arrive in the
> newsroom an hour later saying "You've just published the last issue."
>
> Back in college a classmate had been chosen for a summer internship at an
> out-of-town newspaper. A week or two before he was scheduled to report, the
> paper abruptly folded. No one so much as hinted to him that any trouble was
> afoot.
>
> Strider

The Orthodox Capitalists who love to crow about how the homeless are
druggies, idiots, immoral sub human creatures need to take note of
this and realize that they too may be walking the streets eating out
of soup kitchens if/when their company decides to close down, and
sometimes close down abruptly.

== 2 of 3 ==
Date: Fri, Dec 26 2008 10:36 pm
From: Stan de SD

On Dec 26, 10:15 pm, ultim...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Dec 24, 12:34 pm, "Strider" <fgevqre1...@tznvy.pbz> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > "Shawn Hirn" <s...@comcast.net> wrote in message
>
> >news:srhi-628AAC.10083724122008@74.sub-97-136-209.myvzw.com...
>
> > > I think it sucks, but it seems to me that in many situations, employees
> > > can see the writing on the wall. Unless the bosses are cooking the
> > > books, when business drops significantly, any employee who doesn't
> > > notice that and doesn't start thinking about his or her job security is
> > > living in an alternate reality.
>
> > True. Newspapers are notorious for folding with very little advance notice.
> > In Dec. 1991 the Dallas Times Herald announced its demise on a Sunday
> > afternoon. The paper published its final edition the next day. It was hardly
> > a surprise, though -- they'd been in the proverbial "downward spiral" for a
> > couple of years at least. I've read instances of editors sending the
> > completed pages to the pressroom, then having the publisher arrive in the
> > newsroom an hour later saying "You've just published the last issue."
>
> > Back in college a classmate had been chosen for a summer internship at an
> > out-of-town newspaper. A week or two before he was scheduled to report, the
> > paper abruptly folded. No one so much as hinted to him that any trouble was
> > afoot.
>
> > Strider
>
> The Orthodox Capitalists who love to crow about how the homeless are
> druggies, idiots, immoral sub human creatures need to take note of
> this and realize that they too may be walking the streets eating out
> of soup kitchens if/when their company decides to close down, and
> sometimes close down abruptly.-

People with initiative don't sit on their fat fucking asses waiting
for a company that in financial straits to fold - they take the
inititative and move on. I have been laid off exactly once, at the
tail end of the dot.com boom/bust. I saw it coming well in advance,
planned accordingly, collected my notice and severance pay, and within
a week was working again, with a 40% raise. Most people who lose their
jobs may not have as much foresight, but typically they are working
again within a matter of months.

As far as your assertion that we're all in danger of being thrown out
on the street is total utter bullshit. The vast majority of homeless
in this country are NOT hard-working citizens who suddenly lost their
jobs. Studies of the homeless show that the primary causes are
substance abuse (including alcohol) and mental illness, in some cases
the former causing the latter. Unfortunately, disingenuous types such
as yourself peddle this crap to push your own left-wing agenda.

If you don't like America and/or free-market economics yourself, fine.
Why don't you put your money where your mouth is, and move to a
country that practices full on socialism/collectivism, like Cuba,
Zimbabwe, or North Korea? There are plenty of people living in those
commie-created shitholes who would be more than happy to swap
passports with you and let you enjoy the fruits of the Worker's
Paradise in your place. Meanwhile, the vast majority of us are happy
to live in a society where our own personal industry and initiative
are the primary factors to the path to success, instead of waiting
with our hands out for Dear Leader to feed/clothe/wipe our asses for
us... :O|

== 3 of 3 ==
Date: Fri, Dec 26 2008 11:19 pm
From: meow2222@care2.com

Stan de SD wrote:
> On Dec 26, 10:15�pm, ultim...@gmail.com wrote:

> > �The Orthodox Capitalists who love to crow about how the homeless are
> > druggies, idiots, immoral sub human creatures need to take note of
> > this and realize that they too may be walking the streets eating out
> > of soup kitchens if/when their company decides to close down, and
> > sometimes close down abruptly.-
>
> People with initiative don't sit on their fat fucking asses waiting
> for a company that in financial straits to fold - they take the
> inititative and move on.

often, yes. Sometimes they have everything they own tied in and cant
get out, and their best option, risky as it is, is to sit tight and
see if they lose everything or make it. Many have had the illusion
that good times means it'll always be good, and many of those have had
rude awakenings.

However, as you rightly say, if one loses it all the choice is then
whether to stay there or whether to put together another plan and
change your situation.

==============================================================================
TOPIC: Why don't camera reviews cover the data connection to the PC?
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/48cf431298caff77?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 4 ==
Date: Fri, Dec 26 2008 10:50 pm
From: Pat Cheney

On Fri, 26 Dec 2008 23:37:07 -0500, tony cooper wrote:

> If it is a lie ... then all manufacturers and all review sites lie.
> No one specifies the camera-end fitting type or size.

The better camera reviewers DO mention the camera-end fitting type!

Look here:
http://reviews.digitaltrends.com/review/4701-3/casio-exilim-ex-z77-review-full-review

Here's a direct quote from that Casio Exilim EX-Z77 camera review:

"Sadly, Casio felt it necessary to equip the Exilim EX-Z77 with a
proprietary mini-USB jack, forcing users to keep yet another USB cable at
hand. With so many other camera manufacturers using standard mini-USB
ports, it's a wonder Casio doesn't make it easier on consumers by hopping
on the universal mini-USB bandwagon."

== 2 of 4 ==
Date: Fri, Dec 26 2008 11:02 pm
From: John Navas

On Fri, 26 Dec 2008 22:50:48 -0800, Pat Cheney <pcheney@ymail.com> wrote
in <8hk5l.11145$x%.8722@nlpi070.nbdc.sbc.com>:

>On Fri, 26 Dec 2008 23:37:07 -0500, tony cooper wrote:
>
>> If it is a lie ... then all manufacturers and all review sites lie.
>> No one specifies the camera-end fitting type or size.
>
>The better camera reviewers DO mention the camera-end fitting type!
>
>Look here:
>http://reviews.digitaltrends.com/review/4701-3/casio-exilim-ex-z77-review-full-review
>
>Here's a direct quote from that Casio Exilim EX-Z77 camera review:
>
>"Sadly, Casio felt it necessary to equip the Exilim EX-Z77 with a
>proprietary mini-USB jack, forcing users to keep yet another USB cable at
>hand. With so many other camera manufacturers using standard mini-USB
>ports, it's a wonder Casio doesn't make it easier on consumers by hopping
>on the universal mini-USB bandwagon."

Unfortunately, that misses the point of having a dual connector. Had
Casio used standard Mini-USB, then it would have had to make room and
cost for another connector for A/V.

--
Very best wishes for the holiday season and for the coming new year,
John

== 3 of 4 ==
Date: Fri, Dec 26 2008 11:29 pm
From: Pat Cheney

On Fri, 26 Dec 2008 23:02:49 -0800, John Navas wrote:

> Unfortunately, that misses the point of having a dual connector. Had
> Casio used standard Mini-USB, then it would have had to make room and
> cost for another connector for A/V.

Hi John,
Yes. This is well known to you that a dual-purpose camera port can't
possibly use the mini-USB connector ... even if the Camera manufacturer
says it's a USB port ... but I would guess it is not well known to the rest
of us.

Now that we know a dual port can't possibly be mini-USB or micro-USB even
though it says it's USB, we can now steer clear of any camera that uses a
single port for AV and USB purposes.

That's the secret decoder ring we needed!

In my particular case, I have never used the supplied AV cable with any
camera (I have a stack of them in a box somewhere), including the days when
the kids were young and I used the old-style tape-based video cameras.

So, I learned from you John, for which I thank you.

For me, if it says it handles both AV and USB in the same port, I don't
want that camera!

Had we only known before we bought the camera (sorry, I still fault the
reviewers for not making what is obvious to you clear to us).

Thank you John,
Pat

== 4 of 4 ==
Date: Fri, Dec 26 2008 11:38 pm
From: John Navas

On Fri, 26 Dec 2008 23:29:47 -0800, Pat Cheney <pcheney@ymail.com> wrote
in <KRk5l.11147$x%.3828@nlpi070.nbdc.sbc.com>:

>On Fri, 26 Dec 2008 23:02:49 -0800, John Navas wrote:
>
>> Unfortunately, that misses the point of having a dual connector. Had
>> Casio used standard Mini-USB, then it would have had to make room and
>> cost for another connector for A/V.
>
>Hi John,
>Yes. This is well known to you that a dual-purpose camera port can't
>possibly use the mini-USB connector ... even if the Camera manufacturer
>says it's a USB port ... but I would guess it is not well known to the rest
>of us.

It is well-known, and what Casio said is correct.

>Now that we know a dual port can't possibly be mini-USB or micro-USB even
>though it says it's USB, we can now steer clear of any camera that uses a
>single port for AV and USB purposes.

That makes no sense to me.

>That's the secret decoder ring we needed!

It's not a secret, no matter what you think.

>In my particular case, I have never used the supplied AV cable with any
>camera (I have a stack of them in a box somewhere), including the days when
>the kids were young and I used the old-style tape-based video cameras.

Part of why you're uninformed and mistaken.

>So, I learned from you John, for which I thank you.

You're welcome.

>For me, if it says it handles both AV and USB in the same port, I don't
>want that camera!

Suit yourself, but I think that's a poor primary criterion.

>Had we only known before we bought the camera (sorry, I still fault the
>reviewers for not making what is obvious to you clear to us).

You do yourself no credit by being unwilling to take responsibility for
your own mistaken assumption that you could and should have easily
checked before purchase, but failed to do so. I'm shaking my head.

--
Very best wishes for the holiday season and for the coming new year,
John

==============================================================================
TOPIC: poverty line
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/4eaa805a9a816468?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Dec 26 2008 11:14 pm
From: Dave Garland

Auntielle wrote:

> For anyone who is truly needy, please do what you can by using coupons
> on items you need, and learn to live frugally.

Indeed. Of course, you're preaching to the choir, anybody who is
"truly needy" and reads m.c.f-l is probably practicing those virtues.

In a major metro area (and some other areas as well) there may well be
ways to save even more by *not* using coupons.

For example, I find that almost anything involving national brands
(except perhaps a "double value of coupon" deal) even with a coupon
costs more than buying a different (not national brand) product.
Occasionally, the national brand is so much better or different as to
make the extra expense worth it, but not often.

Better yet are stores that specialize in "deals". They may have
national brands, but the products might be ones that didn't sell
elsewhere, or other vendors had overstocked, or that are past their
"sell by" date. (There are very few food products where honoring the
sell-by date is important.. the only one that comes to my mind is
things containing Nutrasweet, which as it gets old gets very nasty.)
Not everything they sell will be a good deal (stuff that they acquire
through regular distributor channels probably will cost more than at a
"warehouse supermarket"). But some things will be, and if you use
them they'll be worth stocking up on.

Dave

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TOPIC: Save up to 80% on Electricity Bill Every Month.
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/513e1beff3fcf3cb?hl=en
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== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Dec 26 2008 11:34 pm
From: meow2222@care2.com

eforce.ws wrote:
> ECONOMY MELTDOWN! Who Else Needs to Save Thousands a Year On Electric
> Bill Alone?
> How You Can Generate Wind & Solar Energy to Fully Power Your Home
> Inexpensively
>
> How to Cut Your Electricity Bill by Up to 80% And
> Generate Free Energy for Life

If you make your own wind gen from scrap, and batteries from off the
shelf parts, yes it is possible - as long as you ignore the value of
the labour put in, and accept the various downsides. There's no need
to pay for such info tho, its no secret.

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Saturday, December 27, 2008

misc.consumers.frugal-living - 21 new messages in 9 topics - digest

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