On #s 15 & 16, I think it's important to point out that often the alternative to refi and the like is simply pay down the principle! Especially if you're early in the mortgage, every nickel you pay toward the principle means the balance of the loan's interest on that nickel goes into your pocket. Ol' Joyful, I'll need some of your expertise here, but could you figure a rough calculation of an average type house loan, average refi costs applied to the current loan and how that would compare in the end? I think it'd be interesting. Also, said before, but often people think they "need" a new car and don't consider if they put some money into the old one, it'd save in the long run. Remember, new cars have higher insurance and license costs so there's more than the initial price to consider. I would take a bit of issue too with the convenience store avoidance. You could actually save money if wise. Often, convenience stores sell eggs, milk, bread etc at very low prices, often far less than the markets. Plus it's not a special trip, saves time plus there can be (tho not guaranteed - it's up to you) fewer impulse buys. The longer you're in the grocery store, stats say you'll spend more. Again, it's how savvy you are, but be careful. #18 (Shudder) Buyer's Brokers are seldom a good thing. Let's face facts, no real estate agent/realtor or the like works FOR the buyer! Who pays them? The seller. How do they get paid more? By "benefitting" the seller. There's no way the buyer benefits from realtors. The fewer the better in most cases. Why? Because you can often negotiate the realtor fees. If you have one realtor taking the entire commission, it's far easier to negotiate them down than to negotiate with multiple agents and try to negotiate down when they're getting 1/4 or less of the commission. Beware of this statement and check into these claims. You're far better off to have a good real estate attorney on your side. S/He'll be working for YOUR benefit. Mine found problems in the paperwork and embarrassed the daylights out of the stack of realtors, closers and the like at my closing! It was hilarious! Now as for the inspector, yes, that can be worthwhile, but don't use one recommended by the realtor (kickbacks) and make sure you know what they're inspecting, their qualifications and the like. A good alternative can be a trusted friend with qualifications. Hire like any professional. Realize, though, that the inspectors DO NOT GUARANTEE the house! So if they overlook something, it's not their fault or responsibility and they won't be doing anything for you so know what you're getting. A title examination, especially of abstract properties, can be very important especially if you don't know how to read an abstract. Torrens is less problematic. Buying a home brings up a pandora's box of potential problems and far too many to go into here, but there's some things to be careful of. #21 Consumer Reports is a pet peeve of mine. They're often very biased in their reporting. Plus, keep in mind that they do not "test" ALL models and versions, even of similar products! Do you realize that the washer you buy at Home Depot is different than the one you buy at Best Buy and they're both different than the one you buy from a mom-n-pop dealer? That can have significant differences in the specs and needs. One can have cycles and features the other doesn't. Don't get caught up in the CR myth. Read their magazine with a shaker full of salt and do far more research than CR. You'll be doing yourself a favor. That's enough for now. There's more opinions coming, I'm sure! :) Happy saving all! Enjoy the frugal season!

I'm not sure I'll be much help on this subject since I'm just now decluttering and reorganizing my home. Here's a few little things I'm doing: Since I don't have a regular pantry (I'm going to make one somewhere, someday--lol) I keep all breakfast items in one drawer, like instant oatmeal, grits, hot chocolate, etc. So, I know in a glance what I need and don't buy extras. I just tear off the top of the pkg. and set the whole thing in the drawer. I also keep my ironing supplies on one drawer---irons, spray starch, etc. I actually had to buy a second iron because I couldn't find the first one---before I organized! I took all on my junky paper and cut it into note size, put it in my desk drawer. If I have pretty junky mail, or envelopes, I cut them up to use as gift tags or small note cards. I hate frying bacon, so I bake it now on a rack. It's healthier and I don't have to spend so much time at the stove. I actually baked a pkg. this morning, used it all at once---now, we have bacon for tomorrow. I don't have very many closets, so I'm using decorative tins and hatboxes (I went thru a hatbox-making phase a few years back) for storage of sewing and craft supplies, and anything else that I can't find a place for!!! LOL These things hold a lot, so I may not have to buy any shelves. In my foyer area, I have a narrow table with a mirrow above it. I just cleaned out that drawer in the table----I have a place for car keys (his & hers), gloves, hairbrush, and glasses. Since I wash my hands a zillion times a day, I keep either an old dish detergent bottle or shampoo bottle with soap, water (*and now hand lotion or baby oil mixed in) under the sink to wash hands with. I just saw a Dr. on Tv say that if you wash your hands too much and they're dried out, germs can enter your body thru the cracked dry skin EASIER!! They were talking about the flu viruses. He actually said that rubbing your hands back and forth, creating friction, would kill germs on your hands!! Rub your hands, rub your hands!!!!!!

she said the potted ones she bought were expensive.. the ones she potted herself much less ... they are stressed... not hungry ... fert is never an answer for stress ... i would cut the petunia back to the pot edge .. i would put both in full bright shade for a week ... just to get over the stress.. and bud out ... then i would move them back into sun... or throw them out ... lol.. live and learn ... but dont put up with ugly ... lol .. you are on a learning curve... so keep learning ... see if you can get them back in shape ... consider that the cement pad might be getting real hot.. but also.. retaining heat late into the night ... reducing the usual night time recovery period ... back in the day.. i could not grow pots on my cement brick patio for such ... why these two plants in these two pots.. is another mystery.. as i see other very happy pots ... if these were the two already potted ones ... first.. they were FORCED for early bloom.. and sale in full flower... so they look tired early .... second.. sometimes greenhouses use media in the pots.. that favor greenhouses ... and dont work as well out in the yard ... just a couple theories .... alwasy thinking.. always learning ... ken

Kristine, have you received more or less food for thought than you had imagined when starting this discussion? :+) "a state of enthusiasm" this made me giggle! I'm there, just not about sowing seeds in general. Paul, "permanently potted as opposed to being dug up and brought inside or having cuttings taken and rooted in pots" = houseplant to me. LOL! Good point about season longevity being a factor in the necessity of dabbling with winter sowing vs. starting flats of seeds indoors. Often very basic advice about both veggie & flower gardening says to start seeds indoors x number of weeks before hardening off outside. Although I agree, most people don't do this, the many instructions include this step. Often mentioned on the seed packs. Very intimidating, who's house includes a grow room? And if it does, why would they be looking for basic instructions? https://images.food52.com/Ifmr1oFfWOqODx_LuvAuXWpVr9c=/fit-in/800x0/9b15e879-f860-4a1c-919c-f6afbf37c0b2--IMG_0720.JPG If it's not a true annual, and not hardy here, I'm going to keep it indefinitely if I paid for it. It doesn't always work out, but nothing is purchased outside of this goal. Just because the store needed to sell it as "an annual" so nobody would expect it to survive in the ground here, it's a houseplant to me if it survives the regime for plants @ my house. The number of plants that do fit this goal is nearly infinite, I always have a full house and the last few years, a small but full structure I loosely refer to as greenhouse. I see no reason for my personal genré to go beyond this, when it comes to buying already-growing plants. Every year I buy a few different things, and even though there are few stores that sell plants near my home, I usually find something when I go, in either the houseplants section (emphasis foliage) or with the annuals (emphasis blooming.)