Spend a little more to save a lot in the end? - Page 2

[crunchy_mama]

The sides of meat is a good example. My last grassfed beef (picking up today actually) works out to $2.38 lb(take home price). I cannot even find clearance CAFO meat at that price here. It helps to find little local farmers. I buy my chicken one yrs worth at a time as the grassfed chicken growers give the best price when you help w/ butchering and bag yourself. No way could I afford it otherwise.

I use cloth pads and they have paid for themselves and I like them better!

[elizawill]

yes, we had our attic and crawl space insulated a few years ago, which was a lot upfront but saves us a ton in the long run. a couple of months ago we puchased a new AC/Heat unit (to replace the dinosaur we had). we went with an energy efficient unit (with a $1500 tax rebate), so it was a lot more upfront but will save us a lot in the end.


ETA - and ditto to buying meat. we are about to buy our first 1/4 cow & it will be $400 upfront but last us for quite sometime, and actually be cheaper (and healthier obviously) in the long run.

[surrogate]

ooh yeah I forgot about my Diva Cup! Def paid for itself! It is 2 yrs old now.

Back to the clothes topic, I have noticed that older cheaper clothes (walmart/target) hold up better than the ones you buy now. I guess IMO they have changed their material over the last few years...there are no thrift stores where I live, so I have to trade online, and it just isnt cost effective when I can buy brand new quality stuff for less than i would pay to trade online with shipping...

[sanguine_speed]

Originally Posted by surrogate

ooh yeah I forgot about my Diva Cup! Def paid for itself! It is 2 yrs old now.

I've also used my Diva Cup for more than the manufacturer recommends, but I didn't actually know they recommend only one year of use until someone else told me.

From the website:

A. Because of the personal, hygienic nature of the product, we recommend that a menstrual cup be replaced at least once a year, depending on the factors unique to each woman like vaginal pH, how well and often the cup is cleaned, what cleansing agents are used, etc. The U.S. FDA requires us to provide women our informed opinion based on our experience concerning all aspects of our product. Other personal care items like contact lenses and toothbrushes are replaced regularly; similarly, a year’s use of a menstrual cup represents 120-160 uses! Our long experience in the menstrual cup category, as well as consulting tens of thousands of women on the use of menstrual cups, lead us to indicate a yearly replacement. Ultimately, it is still up to the consumer to decide when she feels it is necessary to replace the cup.

[_ktg_]

Originally Posted by SeekingJoy

Slightly OT, but can you share more info about the shower filter? I have been looking for something like this.

Yes OP - please share more about this shower filter!!!

[surrogate]

Originally Posted by sanguine_speed

I've also used my Diva Cup for more than the manufacturer recommends, but I didn't actually know they recommend only one year of use until someone else told me.

From the website:

A. Because of the personal, hygienic nature of the product, we recommend that a menstrual cup be replaced at least once a year, depending on the factors unique to each woman like vaginal pH, how well and often the cup is cleaned, what cleansing agents are used, etc. The U.S. FDA requires us to provide women our informed opinion based on our experience concerning all aspects of our product. Other personal care items like contact lenses and toothbrushes are replaced regularly; similarly, a year’s use of a menstrual cup represents 120-160 uses! Our long experience in the menstrual cup category, as well as consulting tens of thousands of women on the use of menstrual cups, lead us to indicate a yearly replacement. Ultimately, it is still up to the consumer to decide when she feels it is necessary to replace the cup.

i didn't know that either! between breastfeeding and being pregnant it has only been used about 5 times in the past 2 years or so I have owned it....wonder how that figures in...hmm

[FireWithin]

Originally Posted by sanguine_speed

Is there empirical data on the effectiveness of cranial sacral therapy in widening jaws?
I saw a cranial sacral therapist for my infant a few years ago, and found it really ineffective for its intended purpose. It wasn't a good investment in our case.

That is a good question and I will check it out if I have the time. I do believe a big part of it is who your practitioner is. I feel like I have really lucked out. (and trust be I have rarely lucked out with HCPs) I've seen him do good work with other children for a few issues, and I know he is a very well respected ICPA educator. He just took pictures of my son for a big conference with dentists to educate them that sometimes braces are not always needed. It is sad to say that my son has the perfect "distortions" for this issue.


I agree though that doing alternative medicine for for healing can be a gamble. But, so can spending thousands on big shot gi and allergist docs in a top city hospital. Ask me how I know.

[honeybunmom]

We do cloth diaper and after this child I switched to cloth for me, and I've switched my kitchen to cloth. I am considering Snugglewool wool matress covers for the family for winter in hopes of lowering our gas bill. With wool underneath us and down on top, I can't imagine we would need much heat throughout the night.

[savithny]

We buy LLBean or Lands End parkas, snowpants, and boots for the kids.

I buy them in the most gender-neutral colors I can. Every set so far has been worn for 2-3 years by Child #1 and then 2-3 years by Child #2 and still been in good enough shape to hand on or resell. The lower quality (but almost as expensive) "fashion" coat that a friend got for her DS one year was literally trashed by the end of the year. It still fit, but it was ripped out, the zipper destroyed, and was unwearable and unhanddownable.

[PPK]

Originally Posted by _ktg_

Yes OP - please share more about this shower filter!!!

I'm not the OP, but I got one recently at Whole Foods in the Beauty section. I remember getting one at Home Depot years ago, but remember it was hard to locate in the store and no employees knew what the heck I was asking about! I think it was about $40 but not positive on that.

You can look online for other brands, but this one seems to work well.

I can't stand the way my hair feels/acts without the filter head since we live with chlorinated city water. HUGE difference for hair and skin.

[PPK]

Oh and to answer the thread, yes, I do spend more on certain things. For instance I use a pricey natural shampoo and conditioner, but now I'm down to just one condish and one shampoo...period. Before I'd have a million barely used bottles of cheap stuff that made my hair feel terrible.

Same with clothes for myself. I want durability and style so I buy what'll look good years from now and hopefully wear well-this doesn't have to be pricey, but if it is, I'll usually go ahead if it makes sense.

I bought a diesel car that I love and gets about 2x MPG what my old car did...its supposedly very reliable too, so that was worth paying more IMO.