I was at a friend's house on Friday. Another mom was there - we had never met before, although our teens have known each other for about 3 years, and we have some other mutual friends. So my friend (the hostess) said that the other mom and I should be Facebook friends - sure, why not? I looked her up on Saturday and sent a friend request, which she accepted. This morning a strangely familiar photo showed up on my newsfeed. The new friend had posted a photo with a comment. And the more I looked at it, the more familiar it became, until I realized it was MY photo! She had not "shared" the photo from my page - she had downloaded it and reposted it on her page. The funny thing is that I almost commented on her photo, "Oh this looks like a photo I took, too!" until I figured out it WAS the photo I took. Maybe I should have. Maybe I still will. I am kinda creeped out by this and I'm not sure why. The picture is of an inanimate object. It's not great photography, so I'm not worried about losing my royalty rights or anything. It just feels wrong. And how did she not think I'd see it on my newsfeed? Would it bother you?

That's what I don't get. I would absolutely ask a family with a sick child to leave. I had to do it last year. A teen boy showed up for a party at our house and as I greeted him with a "How are you?" he informed me he had been sick and was still running a fever. Luckily his mom hadn't left yet.

I'm sorry to hear about your parents. I can relate. My husband is in the process of getting inherited money from his parents. My mom-in-law just died a couple of months ago, and I really want her back instead of the money. :(

I got a 35. I'd have gotten half that (basically just answered the questions that involved Greek mythology & word derivation correctly!) if I hadn't recently helped ds w/ biology, chemistry, & algebra 2. The physics questions had me pretty well stumped.

I just did a quick google on this question and the first 2 websites I opened both estimated less than $.40/load. But this would totally vary based on your electricity costs and whether you have a gas or electric dryer.

But it's not even the same thing! To the cheap box of macaroni & POWDER you have to add your own milk & butter to reconstitute the POWDER into something resembling cheese. The only thing I can think of that might be more expensive from scratch is ice cream. By the time I add up the cream & eggs, plus all the extras that go in it - it's probably at least as much as store-bought. But we love it anyway. :)

We like their organic hot dogs & whole wheat buns. I adore the heirloom tomatoes they sell - add some of their fresh water-packed mozzarella for a great salad. (it's what I had for lunch yesterday!) I buy tilapia filets in the freezer section and either bake them in the oven w/ a veracruz sauce, or oven "fry" them as in this recipe:Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia

Yes, that was part of it. We're saving a fortune on gas b/c dh no longer has a long commute. Also, dd can now live at home instead of in the dorm. So overall it's still a savings. I gotta remember that next time I buy a 3-pack of paper towels instead of a 12-pack. :D

Oh, another question! The ceremony and dinner are several hours apart. How long should we expect the ceremony to be? I'm wondering if we can come home in between.

I read Amy Dacyczyn's Tightwad Gazette books about 15 years ago and was an instant fan. I especially liked her advice about stocking up on sale items that you know you'll use. I've always bought in bulk at the warehouse club (after carefully comparing prices to make sure I'm getting a bargain, of course!). We just downsized our house a few months ago. I can't stock up any longer. I just can't. My "pantry" is outside in the garage. (I have a cupboard pantry that holds about a third of what my former walk-in pantry held). My fridge is smaller - stuff is literally falling out. I don't have a laundry room - just cabinets above the washer & dryer, again, in the garage. So no room to stockpile paper goods & cleaning supplies. I remember she said you should use space under your bed for food storage. Can't do that - THAT space is for boxes of books that I no longer have shelves for! It's very strange paying a few cents more for an item because I'm buying it in a smaller size... Where do I turn in my tightwad membership card? :001_unsure:

Thank you! I'm relieved that you don't think it's tacky. :)

I just purchased several books from Better World Books through their half.com site. They were much cheaper that way! I looked them up on both half.com and directly on the Better World Books website. Even with adding the per-book shipping charge for half.com, ALL of the books were more expensive on their website. Here's an example: ISBN: 0140440755 @Half.com - many used copies in the BWB storefront for $3.03 @betterworldbooks.com - they all start at $6.48 For paperback shipping, half.com adds $3.49 for the first book and $1.89 for additional books. So after the first book you save money through half.com Here's a link to their shop: BWB at Half.com

In a 2 month period, we've had the following events (with people close enough that we wanted to give a gift): 1 wedding 6 graduations 1 18th birthday I'm so happy to be part of these events, but...we have spent a lot of money on them this summer! The wedding and one of the graduations also involved travel. So now we've been invited to an Eagle Scout Court of Honor and party at the new Eagle's house. This young man is someone to whom we just gave a graduation gift. Do we need a gift for this occasion, or will a congratulatory card suffice?

Oh, I hope nobody tries to say that to my face. My teens both attended the midnight showing. How could we possibly plan to avoid a mass murderer? More mass murders happen in high schools, colleges, & restaurants - making the movie theater statistically safer.

Hilarious! I overheard a conversation between 2 stylists at a salon this week: Stylist 1: "You haven't read it? I can't believe you haven't read it!" (I IMMEDIATELY knew what she was talking about) Stylist 2: (speaks too softly for me to hear) Stylist 1: "Well, all of your clients have read it!" Stylist 2: (again, mumbles...I really wish I could have heard her side of it) Stylist 1: "You owe it to yourself to read it!"

Thinking about the amount I'm spending on textbooks for 2 college students literally makes me queasy! As someone mentioned...the STEM books are the worst. For example, they break up pre-calculus into 2 semesters, college algebra and trig, and each class requires a textbook that costs >$200 new. $400 for pre-calc, when I have a perfectly good Larson's book sitting on my shelf, grr.

My dd lived on campus last year, but she'll be a commuter student this year. I just got her bill - she is planning on purchasing a meal plan so that she can eat lunch or dinner with her classmates on days she's on campus. Somebody please check my math because I'm just baffled. For $470, she gets 40 meals during the semester, plus $50 in credits to be used at the coffee shop or snack shop. $470-$50= $420/40 = $10.50 per meal. The posted rates for meals purchased individually are $8 for lunch or $9.25 for dinner. Crazy! We will NOT be buying her a meal plan - we are able to load money onto her student ID, so it looks like we'll be doing that instead. Have you done the math at your student's school?

I really had to think for a minute about what a professional bOOk keeper might be.

This was my hubby's mid-life-crisis a few years ago. He turned 43 and bought a yellow Jeep. :)

I had to vote "once" but I was 16 so I don't think it should count against me. :)

:iagree: My first thought when I saw the thread title was, Welcome to the club! I know of several people IRL whose Keurigs died around the 1-year period (myself included). Costco took mine back. I didn't replace it. My S-I-L replaced hers with the Cuisinart brand. (yes, it uses the same K-Cups). Hopefully it's more reliable. Oops - never mind - I just looked it up, and apparently the Cuisinart brand has as many fails as the Keurig. :(

Yes. I don't understand why you think there aren't? I have had different PPOs over the last 24 years. We have always managed to find primary doctors, as well as specialists, that we like and who are on the plan. Last year I decided to go to a specialist who wasn't on the plan. It wasn't life threatening and it was a choice I made to go to a recommended dr. I had to pay more out of pocket. Don't we make cost/benefit decisions in everyday life about everything?

I'm in sunny SoCal. The weather. (did I say I'm in Sunny SoCal?) The cultural events. The natural beauty - everything from mountains to beaches to deserts within a couple hours drive.

This. I understand being on a budget, but I think your daughter was in an impossible situation when her friend asked for the cereal. What could she have said? 1. yes (disobeying your rules) 2. no (making her look cheap/selfish/weird) 3. let me ask my mom - and then YOU would have said, "No, you have to eat your lasagna first!" That really flies against your earlier statement that your daughter knows you want your guests to be comfy. If you want your guests to be comfy - give them cereal if they ask. I honestly don't understand how food was wasted - can someone else eat the lasagna at another meal? It's certainly a more costly item than the cereal. The ONLY thing I would talk to my daughter about after friend leaves is the locked door. "Remember our rule, honey - no locked doors!"

I got a new car less than 2 weeks ago. Before that, I drove my minivan for 11 years. Yesterday I took the minivan to Costco and stopped to gas it up. When I got to the pump, I couldn't remember how to pop open the gas cap cover. I just sat there and waited for a minute for it to come to me. It didn't. So I started looking around - couldn't find it. I got out of the van to see if it would give me a better view. After at least several minutes of this (with increasing panic as I realized all those folks in line behind me were wondering when I was going to start pumping gas), I finally found the switch. How is that possible? I drove this van for 11 YEARS until 2 weeks ago! I'm only 45 and I honestly felt 75 yesterday.