Love this thread, glad to see it still going with so much good advice!
After a week's long standoff between him and an urban
bush turkey who wanted his compost heap for an incubator pile, my housemate finally got to the point he was able to put seedlings in. Which were promptly eaten...
...by
bush rats, this time around. With all the time and money spent fucking around feeding the wildlife, it was much cheaper and easier just to buy what we needed from the supermarket.
You should've put out some traps, then you'd have fresh meat to go with the fresh veggies lol.
Not trying to be argumentative, just constructive, so let me pose this as a question instead: How?
It's never too late to start. When I was at trade school, we had plenty of guys in their thirtys and fortys training. Look for financial aid, FAFSA. I'd recommend this before you move
Yes, this. My father quit his office job at 40 and became a handyman/contractor with no prior experience. Back then it was less formal and fewer schools to learn at, so he picked up the trade working with a local construction company for a year before starting his own gig.
Related question about saving money in the longer run: how exactly do I know if a thing I'm gonna buy/consoom will serve me for years, if not decades? Is doing so always gonna be a shot in the dark?
I'll echo the advice others have already given, don't go for the cheapest version of anything. You get what you pay for and cheap stuff will break sooner and cost more in the long run. The majority of my tools, etc., are from 20+ years ago because I bought decent stuff - but not necessarily top-of-the-line, the most expensive model usually has features I don't need and won't use. I tend to go for the middle brand or model when there's multiple choices. Also learn how to maintain/fix equipment when possible, whether tools or appliances or whatever. Yes that includes the occasional duct-tape jury-rig, "it's ugly but it works fine!"
A lot of people despise the "cut out your Starbucks" advice, especially if they don't drink Starbucks to begin with. It's sound advice, however, especially once you apply it to other daily expenses/indulgences. <snip> maybe cutting your consumption in even half can help you even short term if you're truly struggling.
This is great advice, recognize your weaknesses and force yourself to reduce or eliminate them - especially if wasteful or unhealthy like fast food, or chips & soda all the time. It's hard at first, but it develops into good habits which continue even after you're no longer struggling.
Eliminate that $5 or $10 or $20 a day of wasteful spending, plus the other money-saving tips in this thread, and it's amazing how quickly you can get on track to having real savings and still afford the occasional well-deserved indulgence like a nice dinner out, or annual vacation, or whatever is truly important to you. Delayed gratification is much more rewarding than an overpriced fattening latte every day from Starcucks.
Another good tip -
don't be too proud to take hand-me-downs or other free stuff. Many communities have Facebook pages where people post items they're getting rid of. Just in the past week I've seen couches, lamps, cabinets, desks, children's toys & clothes & books, workout equipment - all for free in my town and sometimes like new.
This can even apply to electronics. If you work in an office make friends with the I.T. guys, you may be able to get equipment that's being decommissioned (i.e. thrown out). Over the years we've gotten pc's, monitors, hard drives, memory, cables, keyboards, mice for free.
