Comments on: Reader Mailbag #56

By: Georgia

Georgia — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 16:34:33 +0000

About sleeping, I usually took up to an hour or more to go to sleep. My husband’s head would hit the pillow and he would be asleep. What I used was audio tapes of natural sounds. I love thunder storms and I have one of waves slapping against the side of a boat. These are 30-45 min long and I have never heard the end of one.

Also, I read a doctor’s idea that we spend too much time under light, which causes us to get a second wind just as we’ve become sleepy. He says to turn all lights off about and hr or two before bedtime and use only candles or the light of the TV, if you want to watch that. Isnt’ that why they keep chickens under constant light? To keep them awake and growing more.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:49:23 +0000

Trent – I have a question about starting a new business…

I am starting a new business and will soon be having some income from it, hopefully. I want to find a good (preferably free or inexpensive) program to track my income and expenses, but don’t know what to look for. I don’t anticipate I’ll need anything very complicated, at least not right away. Do you have any tips?

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:29:17 +0000

Your response on setting aside $25-$50 (to each his own, just your example, that’s cool) is about the most important thing you can do for yourself (or as a couple). Just as a diet, restraining yourself will only cause denial, resentment and, eventually, blowing your budget. Giving every one a sense of freedom while staying within your budget provides that sense of reward and accomplishment that you just can’t live without. Also, giving yourself a weekly allowance is a budget in itself. If that latest videogame comes out and you want it… there goes your $50. If you’re willing to wait for a sale or in a few months and find it for $20, you in essence have more money to spend on something else… like another video game :)

It’s this logical common sense type stuff that keep your posts interesting, Trent. I’d prefer if you try avoiding listing subjective arguments and/or outlines, and go for topics that really hit home — like your homemade laundry detergent, or how to make cheap bread, etc. :)

By: Marguerite

Marguerite — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 20:50:42 +0000

I love the idea of “fun money.” I tie mine the the amount of overtime I work on a paycheck. I give myself a set amount each payday, and a small bonus if I worked a certain number of hours. That way my hard work gets rewarded, but the majority of that money goes to other things. Nothing’s worse than working a 100 hour week and then feeling like you can’t reward yourself for having gotten through it.

By: bay

bay — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 03:04:57 +0000

I know of someone who has a nearly identical “glowing orb” type story…she thought for sure it was some type of ghostly presence, not necessarily an ‘alien’ one.

But I had to chime in on the cheese. Nothing does it for me like cheese. The stinkier the better! All of my favorite foods are cheeses or have cheese in the title ;)

And for insomnia…it could be anxiety. I am prone to anxiety attacks and have generalized anxiety…I recently started having sleep problems and my dr. prescribed Ambien. The Ambien would get me to sleep, but then I’d have bad nightmares. I now take an anxiety med (Buspar) and I sleep well and no nightmares.

By: Lily

Lily — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 03:00:24 +0000

I travel a lot and have found that the best hotel deals are either through hotwire.com or priceline.com. As one example, last year I stayed at a Sheraton in Bakersfield, California using the Priceline bidding option and it accepted my offer of $40 for one night. It was divine and regularly costs $120/night.

By: Shauna Redmond

Shauna Redmond — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:22:47 +0000

For the insomnia try Valerian Root. You can find it at almost any health food store, including GNC. I get mine from Melaleuca. Helps you to fall asleep and cost about $10 a month to purchase. Not a big price tag for peace of mind.

By: Karen Mitchell

Karen Mitchell — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:29:55 +0000

Hi-I would like to become a writer and make some money from my home. I am also looking for legitimate work that I can do from my home because my health issues. I use to have a pet bunny that literally ran my house. He was my son. I kept sorta a journal on him and my mother feels that I should write a book about him. She has always said that I have a wonderful immagination that I should be able to write or do something with this. How do I proceed? I read your articles all the time and find that they are very helpful to me. They really make me think of changes I should be making in my life. I am unemployed and need a source of income.
Thank you,
ksmitchell@jetbroadband.com

By: ChinSister3

ChinSister3 — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:21:09 +0000

Insomnia….while going thru a difficult period in my life & not sleeping well due to too many things racing thru my brain, an older friend gave me some advice that a doctor had given her…..breath deeply, calmly & slowly, and in your mind spell out the word “RELAX”. I do the “REL” on the breath in, and the “AX” on the way out. It takes a little while, & your mind may wonder off path a few times, but just come back to it & do it over & over. It actually did help me go to sleep.

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:37:02 +0000

Really enjoyed the UFO story. A set of them appeared over my hometown when I was growing up. Hundreds of people reported them and I know of two people who videotaped them. Pretty interesting, whatever they are.

By: Mule Skinner

Mule Skinner — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:58:00 +0000

Do NOT change the website format. It is very easy to follow, easier than almost any other. This is true because it is a FLAT FILE. Entries are in order according to the time they were created. The comments are expansions that can be hidden or made visible.

The lack of color is fine. Everyplace else is flashing rainbows at me.

I wish others would be more like this one.

By: michael bash

michael bash — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:40:00 +0000

I agree with you on changing the format. Why? Because it’s been the same for some time. So? What is he saying? Change because change is good, or change for the sake of change. Is there a problem? No? So leave it alone. Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose. Put another way, we must have better things to do with our time. Make soup!

By: Sara

Sara — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:51:46 +0000

Thanks for such an informative site.

A new questions: Do you recommend using a dealer for car maintenance and repairs or a garage you trust? I have a 2005 Honda Pilot and because it is a “certified” used car, I’ve been using a dealer but I feel like I’m throwing money out the window and possibly getting taken for a ride. Same deal with the last dealer I used (last car).

Thanks!

By: Shelly

Shelly — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:50:16 +0000

So glad to read about someone else who has splurge money! My husband and I keep a very tight budget, but one thing we’ve always allowed ourselves is a set amount of money each week to spend on whatever we want. Our money is really tight lately because my husband was laid off in October, but we still set aside $5 for each of us each week — it’s not a lot, but it allows us the occasional coffee with friends or the ability to save up for something we want.

It also cuts down on arguing about what we’re spending money on — if my husband wants to save up his “fun money” to get a bunch of Magic the Gathering cards, that’s his business. :)

And I’m with you on the love of cheese.

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:40:19 +0000

I want to start investing in some Vanguard Index funds – however I’m unsure whether to go with several individual funds (Shares, Bonds, Property, Cash), or the single diversified ‘LifeStrategy’ fund?

I have about $5000 to invest, which is the minimum balance for any of the funds – so if I go with the LifeStrategy, I would be immediately diversified, however if I go with the individual funds I could only get one now, and have to wait until I save more money to get into the others.

What would you suggest?

P.S – I’m in Australia – so it would be Vanguard Australia.

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:39:19 +0000

What would you suggest?

By: ben

ben — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 05:37:13 +0000

Sorry, for some reason, my comment wasn’t showing up…you didn’t remove it. Thanks for removing my fears that you were becoming a blog dictator.

By: ben

ben — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 05:34:53 +0000

trent, why did you remove my post about redoing your website? its just an opinion. the colors here are drab, at least add some blues or greens….and don’t remove my post.

By: Karen in Oz

Karen in Oz — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 04:19:02 +0000

To the insomniac, see a specialist!

As lovely and smart Trent is, there is no easy cure, see a psychologist who specialises in sleep disorders.

By: Meika

Meika — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 01:59:33 +0000

I agree with cv on the emergency fund. My husband just lost all his luggage on a business trip, and it’s going to/has already cost us hundreds of dollars to replace.

And on insomnia, my thought is similar to michael/comment#18. When I was pregnant, I was doing a self-hypnosis course as part of my preparation for childbirth (HypnoBabies; highly recommended). It’s essentially just profound relaxation with some visualization and positive affirmations thrown in. I’ve been an insomniac for YEARS, taking at least an hour or two to get to sleep each and every night, but these recordings knocked me out cold within minutes. It was amazing. There are loads of resources on this if you Google it.