greedy thorn primitive tightens the belt, malnourishes the pet dog

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3253162

Oh my.

Yeah, right.

greenbriar  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Tue May-06-08 07:52 PM
Original message

what have you changed, done without or altered to make up for rising prices. Any tips for the rest?
   
We have gotten rid of all extra cable so no more Bill Mahar or Big Love

We make menus and only buy what we need for a specific meal

we do not go to the movies or even rent movies

We do not buy chips, ice cream or candy

We got rid of our house phone and only have the cells

We did not renew any magazine subscriptions

We do not take unnecessary trips to anywhere

those are but a few..

what have you done?

Liberal_in_LA  (1000+ posts) Tue May-06-08 07:53 PM
Response to Original message

1. less takeout food, more home cooking.

EOO  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Tue May-06-08 07:54 PM
Response to Original message

2. Nothing! That is exactly what those scum****s want us to do!

It's a big bonfire, but one doesn't notice any primitive giving up internet service.

zanne  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Tue May-06-08 08:00 PM
Response to Original message

5. We also let go of our movie channels...
   
We discontinued the daily paper, our grocery list contains things like meat, vegetables and soup. I'm making large casseroles and freezing portions so we have plenty of leftovers. The cats can't be as picky as they used to be (no more extra feedings), credit cards are used only to pay bills, etc.

greenbriar  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Tue May-06-08 08:01 PM
Response to Reply #5

6. the dog loved taking the cats food so now we only buy cat food and they both eat it

zanne  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Tue May-06-08 08:05 PM
Response to Reply #6

9. How is the dog digesting the cat food?
   
Any problems?

greenbriar  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Tue May-06-08 08:10 PM
Response to Reply #9

12. no problems at all. In fact, she eats better now. She is 10 years old and only picked out the little pieces and left the bigger ones anyway

I think she really likes the change and has been acting more spry

Rosemary2205  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Tue May-06-08 08:25 PM
Response to Reply #6

15. I don't think that's a good idea.
   
I'm pretty sure the taurine in the cat food is BAD for the dog.

greenbriar  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Tue May-06-08 08:30 PM
Response to Reply #15

16. I think she is healthier.. she acts like she feels better
   
her coat is more shiney

she is more active

Wcross  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Tue May-06-08 08:47 PM
Response to Reply #6

21. I wouldn't do that, the animals have differing nutritional needs.
   
Cat food is formulated for cats. Your dog is going to be coughing up hairballs pretty soon!

Horse with no Name  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Tue May-06-08 10:40 PM
Response to Original message

59. Good topic
   
We have gotten rid of the house phone.

I have purchased ceiling fans and trying to figure out the attic fan that this house has.

Planting a garden.

Considering buying chickens.

I have started buying more generics.

I have switched laundry soap.

Shopping more sales.

Spending more money in thrift shops.

Reselling clothing.

Curtail traveling.

And it still isn't enough.

Yeah, one supposes Ms. Ed the unappellated eohippus, an R.N. making only $24,000 a year, with $6,000 of that going to pay for medical insurance, and with five mouths to feed and four automobiles to gas up and insure. does have problems making ends meet.

[BlueStateSaint]

greenbriar  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Tue May-06-08 07:52 PM
Original message

what have you changed, done without or altered to make up for rising prices. Any tips for the rest?
   
We do not take unnecessary trips to anywhere

Now, wait a sec.  Didn't greenbriar just complain about going on a cruise with her hubby?  How "necessary" is that?

And there's those bills coming in, that she bitched about . . . 

[Flame]

What are these people bitching about?  They are giving up a few simple luxuries, that's all.   Some of us have been doing the same for years!

[franksolich]

What are these people bitching about?  They are giving up a few simple luxuries, that's all.   Some of us have been doing the same for years!

I notice none of the primitives have mentioned giving up internet service.

Internet service is usually about forty bucks a month.

Forty bucks won't buy four ounces of marijuana like it used to, until the marijuana industry started demanding excess windfall profits, but forty bucks would buy a lot of rice.

[FlaGator]

Heavens to Betsy, they're (gulp) having to do what people in the real world do every day and have been doing for years because it just makes sense. I haven't seen on original idea for saving money in all the  posts I've read on that thread. Not a single one.

Wait for it, wait for it, here it comes...

How can they pay for all that stuff in this Bush economy?

I thought that they had all lost their jobs, their unemployment had run out and they were living off welfare and surfing the internet on library computers.

[DixieBelle]

So I guess greenbriar won't be accepting any more cruises from her hubby? *eyeroll* That is unless she can convince him to stand really, really close to railing.

[Miss Mia]

greenbriar  Donating Member  (1000+ posts) Tue May-06-08 07:52 PM
Original message

what have you changed, done without or altered to make up for rising prices. Any tips for the rest?
   
We have gotten rid of all extra cable so no more Bill Mahar or Big Love

We make menus and only buy what we need for a specific meal

we do not go to the movies or even rent movies

We do not buy chips, ice cream or candy

We got rid of our house phone and only have the cells

We did not renew any magazine subscriptions

We do not take unnecessary trips to anywhere

those are but a few..

what have you done?

I believe that cruise you just took and the one you've said your planning for next year would qualify as an "unnecessary trip."

They gave up luxuries.  I mean, some gave up HBO but not cable all together.  What's that like an extra $5-10/month savings.   

[FlaGator]

Maybe they're smoking a few less joints a day in order to make an ounce last a day or two longer/

[BlueStateSaint]

Maybe they're smoking a few less joints a day in order to make an ounce last a day or two longer/

Not a chance.  OTOH, they're probably smoking more dope to get the delusions they have been getting about the Obamination.

[dandi]

All that stuff they claim to have started sounds like what I've been doing for a while now. Not because I couldn't afford it, but because I want to make sure that when I retire in a few years I don't have to depend on Government or anyone else for a damned thing. DUmmies want to spend like a drunk sailor now and then when hard times come, they'll demand what I have worked and saved and invested and sacrificed for, because I'm "more fortunate", you see.

Based on all they've cut back, I'd say they were living pretty high on the hog previously. How was that possible in the past seven years of The Worst Economy Everâ„¢, and if they can make those cuts now, why haven't they already been living like that so they could take the surplus cash and help out the uninsured homeless malnourished GLBT Mexican immigrants?

[MrsSmith]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3253162

Yeah, one supposes Ms. Ed the unappellated eohippus, an R.N. making only $24,000 a year, with $6,000 of that going to pay for medical insurance, and with five mouths to feed and four automobiles to gas up and insure. does have problems making ends meet.

Woah, hold on a minute.  An RN making $24k a year?  Doing WHAT?  RN's starting salary is something like $30 an hour, plus they get overtime, shift differential, and an extra $10 a hour for every extra shift they work, AND every hospital I know of is offering $5000 to $10,000 bonuses if they stay on for 6 months.   If Ms. Ed is making $24k a year, she doesn't have a job.

[Chris_]

I'm pretty sure cat food is more expensive than dog food.  Why not feed dog food to the cat?

[franksolich]

Woah, hold on a minute.  An RN making $24k a year?  Doing WHAT?  RN's starting salary is something like $30 an hour, plus they get overtime, shift differential, and an extra $10 a hour for every extra shift they work, AND every hospital I know of is offering $5000 to $10,000 bonuses if they stay on for 6 months.   If Ms. Ed is making $24k a year, she doesn't have a job.

Some months ago, Ms. Ed talked about how her medical insurance was costing her $500 a month, ostensibly 25% of her income.  Which is, of course, $2000 a month, or $24,000 a year.

There is no R.N. in America making $24,000 a year unless a nun in some religious order that demands vows of poverty.

So, either Ms. Ed is an R.N. but lied about her income, or Ms. Ed told the truth about her income but lied about being an R.N.

While the lying titty primitive is seen as the biggest liar on Skins's island if not the entire universe, the lying titty primitive's lies are so blatant even a blind man can see them.

What are more dangerous are those who lie in increments, a little bit at a time, so no one sees they're lying.

This is why I consider Ms. Ed the unappellated eohippus and the burderned primitive (Tyler Durden) the two biggest liars on Skins's island.

[MrsSmith]

Woah, hold on a minute.  An RN making $24k a year?  Doing WHAT?  RN's starting salary is something like $30 an hour, plus they get overtime, shift differential, and an extra $10 a hour for every extra shift they work, AND every hospital I know of is offering $5000 to $10,000 bonuses if they stay on for 6 months.   If Ms. Ed is making $24k a year, she doesn't have a job.

Some months ago, Ms. Ed talked about how her medical insurance was costing her $500 a month, ostensibly 25% of her income.  Which is, of course, $2000 a month, or $24,000 a year.

There is no R.N. in America making $24,000 a year unless a nun in some religious order that demands vows of poverty.

So, either Ms. Ed is an R.N. but lied about her income, or Ms. Ed told the truth about her income but lied about being an R.N.

While the lying titty primitive is seen as the biggest liar on Skins's island if not the entire universe, the lying titty primitive's lies are so blatant even a blind man can see them.

What are more dangerous are those who lie in increments, a little bit at a time, so no one sees they're lying.

This is why I consider Ms. Ed the unappellated eohippus and the burderned primitive (Tyler Durden) the two biggest liars on Skins's island.

Well, I missed that one, too, or I'd have called total BS on it, also.  A working RN works for...wait for it...the healthcare industry.  Strangely enough, the healthcare industry has mostly gone to PPO and HMO plans, making them basically self-insuring.  My healthcare position offers 2 levels of coverage, one at $200 a month for a family, the other at about $300 a month for a family.  (The cost has been similar through the 15 years and 3 facilities where I've worked) 

If Ms. Ed is working as an RN, her insurance costs would likely be in that area...and it would come out of a gross income of $62,000 a year, if she worked NO extra shifts in the whole year.  She is lying through her teeth.

[franksolich]

Well, I missed that one, too, or I'd have called total BS on it, also.  A working RN works for...wait for it...the healthcare industry.  Strangely enough, the healthcare industry has mostly gone to PPO and HMO plans, making them basically self-insuring.  My healthcare position offers 2 levels of coverage, one at $200 a month for a family, the other at about $300 a month for a family.  (The cost has been similar through the 15 years and 3 facilities where I've worked) 

If Ms. Ed is working as an RN, her insurance costs would likely be in that area...and it would come out of a gross income of $62,000 a year, if she worked NO extra shifts in the whole year.  She is lying through her teeth.

You know, I had all but begun actually believing Ms. Ed was an R.N., a bona fide R.N., until she made this comment, about $500 being 25% of her monthly income.

After that, I backtracked.  I still sort of think Ms. Ed is an R.N., and lied about her income.

However, there is a peculiarity in the way Ms. Ed posts at bonfires on Skins's island, strongly suggestive of a job involving data entry or keyboarding; if one ever tries to format her comments so as to make them more aesthetic (the appearance, not the comments), one sees it right away.

I assume there are some jobs in data entry or keyboarding that pay circa $24,000 a year.

Now, this leads to something else.  Twenty-four thousand dollars a year, of which $6,000 is for medical insurance, isn't a whole lot of money to feed, clothe, and roof five mouths, to gas and insure four motor vehicles, and to enjoy life on a rustic acreage far from the crowded city.

There's been allegations on Skins's island at various times about "paid posters;" primitives who are paid by special interest groups to post there.

One wonders if Ms. Ed is picking up twenty bucks a post, or something, posting on behalf of the abortion industry, which enables her, if not an R.N., to enjoy the life of Riley down there in eastern, er, northern Texas.

[MrsSmith]

Well, I missed that one, too, or I'd have called total BS on it, also.  A working RN works for...wait for it...the healthcare industry.  Strangely enough, the healthcare industry has mostly gone to PPO and HMO plans, making them basically self-insuring.  My healthcare position offers 2 levels of coverage, one at $200 a month for a family, the other at about $300 a month for a family.  (The cost has been similar through the 15 years and 3 facilities where I've worked) 

If Ms. Ed is working as an RN, her insurance costs would likely be in that area...and it would come out of a gross income of $62,000 a year, if she worked NO extra shifts in the whole year.  She is lying through her teeth.

You know, I had all but begun actually believing Ms. Ed was an R.N., a bona fide R.N., until she made this comment, about $500 being 25% of her monthly income.

After that, I backtracked.  I still sort of think Ms. Ed is an R.N., and lied about her income.

However, there is a peculiarity in the way Ms. Ed posts at bonfires on Skins's island, strongly suggestive of a job involving data entry or keyboarding; if one ever tries to format her comments so as to make them more aesthetic (the appearance, not the comments), one sees it right away.

I assume there are some jobs in data entry or keyboarding that pay circa $24,000 a year.

Now, this leads to something else.  Twenty-four thousand dollars a year, of which $6,000 is for medical insurance, isn't a whole lot of money to feed, clothe, and roof five mouths, to gas and insure four motor vehicles, and to enjoy life on a rustic acreage far from the crowded city.

There's been allegations on Skins's island at various times about "paid posters;" primitives who are paid by special interest groups to post there.

One wonders if Ms. Ed is picking up twenty bucks a post, or something, posting on behalf of the abortion industry, which enables her, if not an R.N., to enjoy the life of Riley down there in eastern, er, northern Texas.

I could believe she is a transcriptionist...or a CNA...or a housekeeper.     If a transcriptionist, it's likely she's even working from home, greatly cutting her expenses.  Of course, since they get paid by the word, every word she types on DU is cutting into her income, explaining the paltry $24K she's bringing home.   

[franksolich]

Good post, Mrs. Smith.

If one is to believe the autobiographical bits-and-pieces Ms. Ed has scattered on Skins's island the past few years, Ms. Ed was of poor farmers in southern Oklahoma, near that one colored river bordering Texas, the little girl in pig-tails and hand-me-down overalls, running around in bare feet, tumbling in the dust with her brothers.

She appears to know her agriculture, knowledge of which had to come from real-life experience, and not from books (as franksolich's own "knowledge" of matters agricultural does).  In fact, Ms. Ed DOES seem to know more about things agricultural, horticultural, botanical, biological, than she knows about anything else in the real world.

Now, as we all know, primitives lie; all the time, primitives lie.

But those occasional autobiographical references, ephemeral and fleeting, seem to ring true.

And it doesn't take Sigmund Freud to see that alas, Ms. Ed has a serious self-worth problem.

It would be very hard--not impossible, but very hard--for a person of such background and character to get through nursing school.  Dirt-poor people have always come up in the socio-economic ranks in America, thanks to this being America, but it's not easy, and usually when they do, they don't turn into primitives.

I still sort of think Ms. Ed is in fact an R.N. (but lied about her income), but the more I think about it, the more I think Ms. Ed is not what she represents herself to be, to the other primitives.

[DixieBelle]

Frank on my SIL's is a nurse. Actually I should say that she's been trained to be a nurse having spent the time and money on nursing school. She failed the exam twice and got a menial office job in a medical clinic. If she had any self-worth, she would take the silly test again and boost her income tremendously. She's apparently happy living in semi-poverty and cleaning up exam rooms. Not that I'm knocking what she does. It's a noble profession. She's needed and appreciated. Just such a shame to see all of that schooling wasted because of an exam she won't tackle.

[stickyboot]

I'm pretty sure cat food is more expensive than dog food.  Why not feed dog food to the cat?

You're probably right about the expense factor; I don't know where she gets the idea it's more economical. Unless she buys the junk brand cat food vs. the better dog food?

However, the reverse you suggest is even more harmful than what she's doing now. A cursory web search suggests that cat food is too high in fats and proteins for a dog, but won't kill him unless it's the only food he eats. The reverse, however, can be deadly for cats because of what it lacks.

I have the best idea: Rather than abuse her animals, why not give them up for adoption to someone who's willing and able to care for them properly? Better still, why doesn't she just skip a few meals (and drinks?) herself? Might get her out of those probably size 18 jeans (she has to blur the waistband tag for the photo ops, but as Shakira said, hips don't lie).

[Chris_]

Better still, why doesn't she just skip a few meals (and drinks?) herself? Might get her out of those probably size 18 jeans (she has to blur the waistband tag for the photo ops, but as Shakira said, hips don't lie).

Ouch!