I'm in the middle of some pretty stressful renters/roommate/lease drama and looking for advice.

( Cut for length.. )

One way I've saved money in the past is by buying older (unused) versions of Adobe programs on ebay instead of buying the latest version.  I'm planning to buy a new computer sometime this year which means upgrading to Windows 7.

Does anyone know the oldest version of Photoshop, Illustrator, and/or InDesign that will play nicely with Windows 7? 

And yes, I need to get full versions and stick with Adobe.

Hello, everyone--

It's only every once in a while that I find or conceive of a truly good budget recipe. It's very disheartening to see "economical" recipes with ingredients (say, meat) that already cost good money or are just variations on rice and beans. But just yesterday such a recipe occurred to me.

My tuna (or salmon) repertoire is pretty varied. I am no huge fan of tuna salad (my mother is, which may have something to do with it ;-), but I do like it with red bell pepper (oddly, sometimes cheaper than green) and onions or black olives, or stuffed in a bell pepper, tomato, or celery.

The tuna and black olive concept (with canned olives on sale, of course) also makes a good tuna casserole or tossed with pasta.

Tuna croquettes are good with breadcrumbs, bread, stale chips, cornflakes, matzo meal, or whatever other rapidly molding complex carbohydrate you may have around. They are also fantastic with finely chopped potato peels, and no, you can't tell they're peels. If you haven't had croquettes since cafeteria days, try them again. If you drain them on newspaper and switch the newspaper out a lot, they certainly aren't any worse for you than hamburger, and probably better, in fact, being very low in saturated fat.

If you have no time to assemble and/or inclination to fry the croquettes, make baked croquettes or a loaf. Croquettes are good with dill sauce, tartar sauce, hot sauce, or (no joke) tomato sauce (the tomato sauce in particular makes a whole different meal).

For a change from a tuna melt, or if you have eggs but no cheese, put an egg over easy or even a poached egg on top.

For extra punch, mix a can of tuna with a can of sardines or kippered snacks. (Parents, don't let anyone see this going on. ;-)

But sometimes you are just sick of all the above variations. "No more," you cry. "I don't care that I got it for 67 cents a can." Enter the Tuna Turnover. Do NOT let the biscuit dough concept freak you out. It is not a dough/crust that requires rolling out. It takes absolutely no more energy than tuna salad or a tuna melt. I would absolutely, no question, serve it to company and will do so as soon as I get my house clean.


Tuna Turnover

1 can tuna, drained but not dry
Add-ins of choice (e.g., onions, or for this application only, frozen peas or canned cream soup)
Grated cheese (optional)
Bit of butter or margarine (if tuna is packed in water)

Biscuit dough (essentially the Hillbilly Housewife's recipe)

1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Salt to taste
1/8 cup oil
1/3 cup milk (regular, instant, evaporated, or soy all work, or for this, even water)

1. Get a cookie sheet or foil ready for the oven or toaster oven. Grease very lightly.

2. Mix up the dough, adding only enough milk or water to make a dough. Don't knead--it'll be tough.

3. Put the dough onto the foil or pan. Pat it into a circle the size of a dinner plate. Roll it out if you must, but it's not necessary. Spread a little bit of butter or margarine on the dough if you're not using rich fillings.

4. Put the tuna and extras in a strip down the middle of the circle. Fold the dough over and seal. Don't let the tuna be too dry. The biscuit dough can take a little moisture, unlike a pie crust.

5. Bake at 400 degrees in a regular oven or toaster oven. Done when golden brown. Serves 2 with something else to eat or 1 (heartily) by itself. Also good at room temperature. Would be good with a gravy or (gasp) cheese sauce.

Goes very well with soup or:


Corn Salad From the Freezer & Pantry

Canned whole tomatoes
Frozen corn (like the tomatoes, it tastes better on special)
Other vegetables as available (onions, garlic, bell pepper, green onions, grated carrots)
Cumin
Salt & pepper

Drain the tomatoes very well. Save the juice and any soggy, unappealing tomato parts for another time. Cut them carefully into small, cute chunks so that it is less obvious they're canned. Once chopped, take out any (or even most) excess pulp to use elsewhere. Mix with the corn and other ingredients. (This will also fly with a lettuce salad, believe it or not.) Delicious! A good canned tomato is certainly more tasty than the average winter grocery store tomato.

Bon appétit and happy New Year!

--skbw

I need to pick up a laptop next week, likely from Best Buy. This is to replace my failing laptop Dell. I've had Dells the last three years and none of them have lasted past a year. I'm not buying another Dell laptop under any circumstances. But the problem is, now I don't know what to buy.

I'm willing to go from good specs to moderate specs for this, as my school is buying me a Powerbook in February. What I care about right now is hardware quality, and that it stays around or under $800. This is being bought for me, so I'd rather not push the price to all get-out. I need a laptop that will be rugged enough to survive high-travel and high-impact but have a decent size monitor and a standard keyboard (not one of those tiny keys or anti-crumb keys or other special features). I have fibromyalgia, as well as other neuropathic disorders, and they demand both of these. It also needs to not weigh like a brick.

I am not buying a netbook and I haven't bought outside of Dell in a long time, so I post here. Does anyone have any advice, ideas or experience on this? :/

Thank you so much!

For the past year, I've been feeling a hard little lump in a very specific spot on my right breast. I've repeatedly felt soreness in that particular area, as well. I'm 25 years old, live on my own and have no health insurance. I've only ever worked for minimum wage and can't afford to pay out of pocket. I have no children.

What can I do? I don't really have anyone in my life I can turn to for something like this. Advice would be much appreciated, thank you in advance.

1. How much spending money do you give youself per week or month? A percentage of your income? A set dollar amount? None?

2. According to almost all financial advice, saving for retirement should be a priority in your 20's. The advice says start as early as you can and save, save, save. I am starting to wonder HOW this is possible with student loan debt, a potential wedding, down payment for a mortgage, and day-to-do living expenses in a time period of life when most people are making low(er) salaries straight out of college.

Yes, there is compound interest to consider, but what about practicality? Wouldn't it make more sense to get rid of any debt, buy a house, and then from age 30 on, put as much money as you can in savings? Especially when your income might be a little bit higher and there is breathing room?

Thoughts?

If you know a teacher, law enforcement officer, firefighter or emergency medical technician they are eligible for 50% off list price for a HUD home. Here is the link: Good neighbor Next Door
Note: I do not qualify for this, know little about it, and found it while searching endlessly for help fixing my non-hud home.

Quick question about Garmin GPS updates. Hopefully someone can answer for me!

Has anyone ever used Amazon to purchase Garmin updates? It's a pretty good poor skill if it works, since it's quite a bit cheaper, but I've never known anyone to do this. Will it work as well as if I purchased the lifetime updates from garmin.com?

I use my GPS pretty much on a daily basis and the outdated maps are becoming a big problem for me, but I don't have the extra money to put towards the updates.

Thanks in advance!

I'm looking into moving home with my mom and step-dad for about 6-11 months while I'm in school. I may only stay with them a few months and then rent a room elsewhere.

There's only one problem though...

I've been living in my own apartment for a year and I have an entire apartment's worth of stuff and furniture. Two pieces I splurged on, one being a chocolate brown sectional and my queen size mattress. The room at my mom's would only fit a single bed and the sectional would definitely need to find a new home. The sectional was $1300 and my mattress was $500. The rest of my furniture was free/cheap walmart junk.

Those two pieces I REEAALLY don't want to lose but I am going to have to downsize. I see only two options:
1. Put everything into storage.
or
2. Sell as much as I can and put the rest in storage.

I cringe at the thought of only getting 50% of what I paid for everything, if that... :(

So, my question is should I take the hit and sell everything for a longer-term gain? Should I put everything into storage? Something else? Help!

I know this is not the best community for this, but you folks seem to know a lot about renting laws. If there is a better community you can direct me to, please do.

I and my two roommates rent a basement apartment in Boston. We've had a lot of problems with the pipes (they're generally very loud, one has been leaking off and old since October) and especially the bathroom. Usually at about once a day, sometimes less, sometimes much more, the water will drain out out the toilet with a loud bubbling sound. Sometimes there is also a sucking sound in the bathtub when this happens. A few times the toilet has filled up with soapy water. A few times both the toilet and bathtub have filled up with dirty water (water with actual dirt in it).

And twice, they have filled up with human shit.

There is human shit in my bathtub. For the second time. The human shit of, presumably, everyone in my apartment building.

Like most landlords, mine like to do things themselves. So, while we obviously don't call them every time the toilet makes noises, we have called them each time about the feces, the dirt, and the bubbles. Because there is clearly a fucking problem here. Only once did they bring a plumber. That time they found that someone had ben flushing pads and accused "the female" (my roommate) of flushing them. She's not stupid and she doesn't flush pads. When we called this time they asked again if we have flushed anything unusual. We do not because, again, we aren't stupid and we don't enjoy having shit in our bathtub.

Adding to the problem is that there is a sizable language barrier between my roommates and the landlord.

I do not know what to do if they do not bring a plumber today. This is clearly a bigger problem can can be solved by spitting in my toilet and turning the shower on with your clothes on, which is all the landlord seemed to do yesterday when there was dirt water in the bathtub. They clearly cannot fix this alone. It sounds to me like something that involves all the fucking pipes in the city of Boston, but how would I know, I'M NOT A FUCKING PLUMBER AND NEITHER IS HE. How do I make them fix this? What agencies can I refer them to to force them to do their jobs? Can I call a plumber myself for another opinion and take that out of the rent? Can I take money out of the rent for pure fucking pain and suffering (including bladder pain because, hello, none of us can pee until they come deal with this)?

Help me.

Summary: My landlords do not have the skills do deal with plumbing problems that clearly affect the health of my roommates and I and are extremely resistant to calling a plumber. What recourse do I have?


EDIT: Thanks for all your comments. Yesterday the landlord told us they couldn't find a plumber, so I got one myself (after a Google search and a phone call, shocker, there are a lot of plumbers in Boston) and a few hours later, we had someone snaking the main drain. They found a couple tampons, so I think it's possible that when the landlords said pads before, they meant tampons.

The landlords cleaned the bathroom for us, but I am still going to contact the Board of Health on Monday. The toilet has already made a bubbling sound a few times and when I came home from staying at my girlfriend's fifteen minutes ago there was a puddle of rust water on the floor outside the bathroom and the pipes were even louder than usual.

The landlords really dragged their heels on this shit and kept trying to pin it on us, even though the three plumbers who came all said it was a problem with the main drain and not our specific toilet, as the landlord said. They told us last time that they would circulate a letter reminding people not to flush anything they shouldn't be (anything other than human waste and toilet paper), but I don't know that I believe that that happened.

The toilet, as it happens, is brand new; a few months ago a hole developed in the tank of our old one and it had to be replaced. I think the dirt thing is a bad sign, granted, it seems preferable to the feces.

The best part is that yesterday during all of this, we had two real estate agents call and ask if they could show our apartment.

EDIT: I just got home from work Saturday night and there is bubbles and dirty TP in the toilet and mulch in the bathtub. I dn't know what to do. None of my friends are in the city tonight to take me in and I don't have the money for a hotel.

Posting this for a non-journaling friend with money issues.

One of my three dogs, Maggie--a shih tzu that will be turning thirteen in May--is in very good health overall, especially considering her age. The only health issue that stands out is her teeth. They've always been pretty bad, and her breath is absolutely rotten. In the past, no one ever got around to taking her to the vet or see about dental care for her (me being too young), and now that her teeth are really bad, we can't foot the vet bill, especially if she ends up needing her teeth pulled. It's starting to be really worrisome; her teeth started bleeding today, and I was wondering if anyone knows anything about pet health on the cheap."

Edited for Clarity

So the comments have been quite helpful, but I need to clear something up- she's sixteen years old and one of her parents recently left the family. They're in a money bind right now. She came to me and I offered to post this up to try and help her while her family looks into other options because I knew that the people here were rather clever and would offer good suggestions for the current problem.

While I do absolutely understand the comments (and would make them myself!) and am extremely happy/greatful for the dog's welfare and care, if we could keep the comments here to advice and privately message me with the other sorts of comments, I would appreciate it.

Hey, kids.

It's been a while.

I've been busy with more poverty, but I have internet access again, so things are okay.

And to show you that things are okay, I bring you a recipe.

( Bad-quality pictures inside! )

Enjoy it, kids. xD

Probably this has already been posted here, but I'm sure it's worth repeating. If you are receiving any social services benefits, in some states, you can also get a free cell phone with 68 minutes per month on it. Perfect for emergencies and keeping in touch with potential employers. I just applied. They approved me instantly and said I'd get the phone within 10 business days. It's through tracfone. I've had a tracfone for quite a while now. It's a good company that provides decent coverage. Go here to see if it's available in your state and if you qualify.

https://www.safelinkwireless.com/EnrollmentPublic/home.aspx


What other government assistance is available outside of food stamps and medicaid?

So a friend of mine is dealing with harassing phone calls from a creditor. She made some sort of arrangement (deferment?), they forgot about it or something, which made her behind, so she made another arrangement whereby they take some money out of her checking account automatically every two weeks. They call several times a day, every day, still. She misses most of the calls (she works regular business hours, Monday through Friday), but she gets them on the weekends. They'll phone, she'll answer, she'll inform them of the payment arrangements, and most of the time, they'll back off immediately upon verifying the accuracy of what she's saying. Usually, they stop the phone calls for the day, but they'll always start again the next day.

So I told her she doesn't need to deal with this, if she doesn't want to, and dug up the language for her to put in a letter to mail to them to make them stop. I figured some of you might benefit from it, too, so I thought I'd post it here. There's no need to pay anyone (at least in Louisiana) to "make the phone calls stop," as so many businesses advertise; just write them a letter with the correct information.

( Read more... )

Now, this is for Louisiana, but I'd be surprised if at least some of the other states don't have similar statutes. Ours are searchable online, so perhaps yours are, too.

I swear, the roaches in my apartment are immune to borax and boric acid- I've sugar-coated them and watched them walk around for HOURS without issues. So much for THAT method. And I've put tons of those roach bait traps around, and I've never seen a roach go near one. Ever. Fail on that one. I have cats, and I've had cats die before after pest control sprayed for bugs, so I'm a little leery of going the liquid chemical route. Our landlord refuses to hire someone to do it anyways.

I don't have a job, so I've got nothing to do but clean and blog. Guess what I do a lot of. Yep- cleaning. I'd say the place is not the most habitable to roaches. However, they're living in the walls and I suspect festering in the neighbours' apartment, coming in through the hole in the shared wall by the oven. They're everywhere, and I was FED UP.

Then I discovered something. I was taking a break from laundry and poured myself some deliciously cold champagne. Drank almost all of it, left a little in the bottom of the mug (no, I'm not going to bother with proper champagne glasses mid-day. Mugs I can put in the dishwasher!) Forgot about it and left it on the counter while cleaning the bedroom. Came back hours later. Check glass. Dead roaches floating in it. A lot of them.

AHA!

Sugary liquids draw them like mad- crappy $5 Arbor Mist strawberry wine has more than enough sugars to draw them. And because of the alcohol content, they drown and die off! w00t! All you need is a 25 cent thrift store mug and a bottle of Arbor Mist, or something similarly sweet and cheap. I recommend getting a small cup different from any other you own strictly for this purpose, and make sure it's small so that smaller roaches have no trouble climbing it and finding the alcohol. I used a small teacup and about 1/8c of sweet wine each time. I let it sit out for a day or two before rinsing it out and pouring a new glass. So far, I think I've killed about 30 roaches today, not counting the ones I killed without the alcohol.

Alcohol FTW.

This article popped up through a government small business mailing list I'm on.

Thought it might be helpful for students to have an idea of what they should expect from an unpaid internship:
http://community2.business.gov/t5/Business-Law-Advisor/The-Truth-Behind-Unpaid-Internships/ba-p/9340#A270?cm_mmc=GovDelivery-_-111209-_-weekly-_-community

Or a paid internship:
http://www.dol.gov/whd/forms/fts_wh205.htm

Knowing the law behind something can help you spot whether or not it's hinky. Internships are a really great way to gain some experience and get your foot in the door...particularly in certain industries. You just want to make sure that you're not being abused in the process.

The first 30 people to comment with their e-mail addresses will get a code for 30% off their entire purchase. I am about to head into work so you won't get it until late tonight. Starts tomorrow and runs through the 15 i believe. Online is good for one time use only.

EDIT:Just so everyone knows.. the non-profit which I picked for the 5% to be donated back to is Teach for America like I did this summer. Also, this started on Thursday, but the post was not approved until last night? You still have through Sunday.

Right now i'm eating curry rice, with a hot dog chopped up in it. :( I'm moving soon and I refuse to go grocery shopping until I eat all the food I have, so nothing goes to waste.


I was just wondering what strange food combinations you guys have eaten when you were low on money and only eating things that were already in your pantry!

I really have tried looking, so I thought I'd seek input.

I'm finally moving in with my husband, after being forced to shell out 950 dollars a month in room and board on campus for the time up until our marriage. The agreement with him is that I pay for and prepare all foods, something he's not exactly the greatest at (and has been living on fast food). As we all know here, fast food is very expensive, especially when the costs start to add up.

Since neither of us will be at home at one set time for lunch, packing seems like the best option. We both will have access to microwave and refrigerating facilities.

So, what makes a good, cheap, packed lunch for someone older than 10? And please don't suggest lunch meat sandwiches unless you have a tip on making them cheaper, lunch meat is actually surprisingly expensive compared to the costs of most any kind of meat, and it's a pretty obvious option anyway.

So, share with us your recipes, any interesting links, any ideas, any suggestions, anything related to the process of lunch packing! Heck, I'll even take suggestions for things that reheat well.

My budget is pretty tight, but I really want to be able to save money. 

I can spare a little each paycheck to put into a savings account, but being that I most likely would be starting it with a different bank than my own(to prevent me from being able to transfer easily), I know a lot of banks have minimums for that.

Anyone know of a good bank I can use to build up a savings account that doesn't require a minimum? Also, is it even a good idea to start an account like that in this economy?

Eligibility:
Kmart customers who present state-issued identification (driver’s license or identification card) and a state-issued unemployment benefits enrollment confirmation are eligible to participate in the program (“Eligible Participants”). At checkout, cardholders will be required to show their valid discount card, their state-issued identification card for signature verification and their state-issued unemployment benefits enrollment verification. Valid signature verification is required to use the card.

This PDF explains what product lines are eligible and other details. They are only issuing cards for two more months, but the cards last for 6 months after you get them. Cards issued in December are good until 6/30, and cards issued in January are good until 7/31.

I don't do much shopping at Kmart, but I get a lot of the Great Value stuff at Walmart, and can tell you that most store brands are as good or nearly as good as the name brands. 20% off STORE brand can save you A TON off the name brands.

Signup at Kmart Smart Assist.

November 12th through 15th -- that's today (Thursday) through Sunday -- you can save 30% at Old Navy, Gap, and Banana Republic in-store.

5% of your purchase goes to DonorsChoose, a charity where teachers submit classroom projects for funding.

Print the coupon here: http://www.gapinc.com/giveandget/donorschoose/

Get yourself some sweaters and help some students!

Due to suddenly extremely straitened financial circumstances, my family is looking toward Angel Food Minitries for help, based on so many of your excellent recommendations here! However, with two adults working long hours and no car, I somehow can't envision myself maneuvering pounds and pounds of food all the way across the borough(s) (there's only one distribution site in Manhattan, where I live) after dark, when I'm off work. How does this "online ordering" thing work? Will they deliver, or is it just a more stream-lined way to pick it up yourself? Of course, this is all a moot point because I can't find anywhere even remotely local that even allows for "online ordering"...

I'm sure I sound like a spoiled Manhattanite, but it's been a horrible, stressful week of finding out that we have much, much less disposable income than I have been led to believe for the last two years. So please, please be kind. Thank you so so much for any advice you can offer - I really appreciate it :)

I know this type of thing has been asked before, but I couldn't find anything offhand...if I overlooked something, maybe somebody could point me to a link.

I am wanting to possibly make little bath sets for people for Christmas. I don't really have a lot of spare money this year, and I'd like to do something creative that doesn't require a lot of money going into it. I was thinking of doing like little baskets with soaps, bath salts, bath oils, etc. so forth. I looked around online for kits that would come with the molds and glycerin and oils and everything...but I can't find any kits that make more than 6 of anything. I am thinking maybe it would be cheaper to buy things separately, but not having done this before, I'm really unsure. There is a Joann Fabrics craft store in my area that would probably have some of the things I need, but I figure it'll be relatively expensive. Is there a place online that is reasonably priced? And does anyone have enough experience with this type of thing to recommend to me what I should or should not get? Thanks in advance!

"I realized just how effective the demonization of welfare has been when I was actually shocked to hear kids, in a show targeted at other kids, being led in a chant that said being poor or on welfare shouldn’t be shameful and did not reduce their worth as human beings. Can you imagine a TV show, even on PBS, putting something like this on the air today? Our public discourse at this point says that being on welfare is shameful, and that those receiving it in fact aren’t “somebody.” They are dependents, lazy loafers, and their kids are just additional burdens on the state; they don’t have the same rights to dignity and respect as other citizens, and they certainly shouldn’t expect to get it."

[Source]

This picked up my mood considerably today. And while it's not specifically advice or a suggestion of some kind, maybe it'll pick up someone's mood too?


------------------------------------------------
// edit: Throughout the course of the night I have been touched by so many of these stories and replies that I just wanted to say thank you. Just imagine.... For someone to reply, I think, there's someone else out there that isn't replying but might have been touched by this video, what you said, or what you're going through. And I think that's powerful. I also think it's evident that this is message has uplifted and made some of you stronger today so for those of you who would like, I have converted the youtube video to an MP3 so you can download it and listen to it when you need it.

Just hold on everyone, it'll get easier. We're not in this alone. (hug)

I've had a toothache since Sunday night; have been treating with lots of rinses of Listerine, salt water, hydrogent peroxide, and tea tree oil in an attempt to mitigate it until I can see a low-cost local dentist.

In the last hour, I've developed a serious pocket of swelling over where my upper wisdom tooth and the one next to it used to be. It's so swollen I can't comfortably put my teeth together. I've fot some kind of serious abscess under the gum there.

In the last HOUR.

I am going tomorrow to my dad's dentist; this is clearly an emergency.

Any other suggestions on what I can do until tomorrow? Anyone do the sticking a teabag in your mouth thing as a home remedy for relief? Please? Thanks!!!

Important note: Clove oil is said to be highly efficacious, but as it is the one substance on earth I know I am highly allergic to, anything involving cloves is...right out. Sadly.

Edit, or postscript, rather: this was in the queue overnight; since it was posted but not yet up, I did in fact go to the dentist, and have some lovely turbocharged antibiotics which, should you be wondering, cost something like 4 bucks. Wonderfully, the problem came from the remaining roots of a long-gone tooth, and were not caused by the tooth next to it (I was sure I needed a root canal; he says the tooth looks hunkydory in x-ray.) None of this will be overly expensive, and he will work with me on that. Once the infection has calmed, he will extract the remnant roots, and all will be well. I thank all of y'all for your great comments; not sure if I should andwer them individually. But: given the severity of possible consequences of this (as the comments show), I hope this post helps others in the future.