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Forum nameOkay Activist Archives
Topic subjecteven more
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=22&topic_id=23630&mesg_id=23635
23635, even more
Posted by guest, Thu Jul-20-00 03:04 PM
>C'mon, you own a car?
>I don't own a car

Me niether. Not yet anyway, I'm thinking of getting one for the long drive from college to home to other long distance trips. I guess added to this list would be to only buy cars with good milage, and DON'T BUY NEW CARS ON CREDIT.

>Yup - good one - think
>about using your company 401(k)

I'm thinking of using an IRA or a Roth IRA, not sure yet.

>C'mon, you own a TV?

No TV for me, I never bought one after I moved out of my parent's house. Alas, I'm thinking of getting one of those TV/VCR combos for watching movies and to take advantage of the free cable in the dorms. What can I say? There are a few channels that I like. Have mercy on my soul. But I'll still take a book over South Park anyday.

>and DO NOT PURCHASE BOOKS
>FROM AMAZON because they do
>not support literacy and they
>are not connected to your community.

I'm guilty of this one, I buy from Amazon alot since it's so cheap and easy to find books. I need to start looking for some local bookstores.

>C'mon, you have a printer?.....:-)

Gotta have a printer to go with my computer, it's like peas and carrots, or something like that.

Here are a few more little things I thought of:

-Borrow as much as possible instead of buying. Try setting up a collective of items that you and your friends can share. I've heard of neighborhoods pooling money to buy a shed, lawnmower, weedwacker, etc, that the whole nieghborhood has access to so that it saves everyone money.
-once again, since it's the most important: DON'T BUY STUFF YOU DON'T NEED. I'm guilty of buying stupid crap over the last few years, and now I'm trying to get rid of it all, but since it's useless crap no one wants it. It's a vicious cycle.
-even though she may sound good, pay no attention to Matha Stewart. You'll end up buying more crap than when you started. I have relatives that live in the suburbs, trust me on this.
-cook your own meals. eating out is expensive and unhealthy. veggies and wholesale meats are inexpensive. If you have the storage for it, buy a whole cow (or pig, or whatever) from an auction or ranch and have it butchered. This will save you TONS of money since you'll have meat for a whole year. You'll need an extra freezer to store it all though, so this is impractical for alot of people (maybe do the collective thing and I suggested before and do this? hmmm...). My family does that since we inherited a freezer years ago (plus we used to live on a farm, so our nieghbors hooked us up with good beef), and let me tell you, not only does the meat cost less, it's much better tasting. Plus, you can have it cut to your own liking. Butchers are nice people like that.
-hold out doing your laundry as long as possible, and then squeeze three loads into one washer. This saves alot of quarters and trips to the washing machines. Try and time it so that washing day coincides with your last pair of clean underwear. To make the plan work better, buy more underwear.
-Don't get sick. Doctors are expensive. Don't get hurt, either, cause emergency rooms are expensive. Instead, just walk it off, soldier. (or get a job with benefits, or write your congressman to push for universal healthcare, or move to Canada)
-slow down. realize that you don't need the latest technology to live a happy life. take pleasure in simple things and eventually you'll be weaned off your dependance for material things (I'm getting there, and it feels... nice)

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All great truths begin as blasphemies.
--George Bernard Shaw