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rigelmejo · 3 years

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April Progress Update, and May Goals:

*bear with me this is gonna get long.

I’m going to first just look at April goals and see if I did them, then afterward summarize everything I did this month (cause it was a lot more than I planned ToT)

Chinese study plan from April:

1. Read anything

Well, I did read. However my goal to read hanshe to chapter 80 and Zhenhun to the end of the sundial arc never happened. I did read a lot though. I ended up focusing mainly on extensive reading.

Chinese chapters read: 62 (I counted graded readers/小王子 as 1 chapter for every two that I read, but this number is probably still inflated... compared to my normal 20-pleco page chapters I probably read 31-40 of those-kind-of-chapters length wise).

Chinese stories finished: 4 (Pleco Graded Reader Butterfly Lovers, Chinese Short Stories, Mandarin Companion Journey to the Center of the Earth, 小王子 - you can tell this is where my attention went this month).

Chinese Listening Reading Method chapters done: 14.5 (4.5 Silent Reading, 2 Chapters of A History of Humankind, 1 chapter hp, 1 chapter Alice in Wonderland, iffy but like 3 chapters 小王子, iffy but like 4 chapters of the Xiao Mao cat story - I should note that for Silent Reading, 小王子, Xiao Mao I only looked at the chinese mostly so more step 2, and for the others I did step 3 as recommended). Also I realize... I should probably count this with hours instead of chapters, because hours are where the original poster about LR mentioned when milestones are hit. However, being realistic, I do not do things in hour segments so I’m not sure any tracking will be as easy as this way...

A cool thing potentially about L R Method? I found some resources recently that will make this a lot easier (Bidiread is a site that can make parallel texts for you, which made silent reading MUCH easier since the audio doesn’t perfectly match so you NEED to see the chinese even if only doing step 3, to make sure you can keep track of where you are in the text when the audio skips paragraphs). I also found Francais Par Le Methode Nature as videos on youtube with audio and the text visible (is that not simply L R method step 2 but its all comprehensible, i love that book). And I found a few files on youtube of audiobooks with english audio and chinese/english parallel text on screen (a bit backwards in process but i’m curious to test it), one youtube channel who does chinese audio with parallel texts on screen (phenomenal!), and I remembered the site bilinguis exists which is excellent for French if you wanna try L R Method (it has a few french audios with the parallel texts). Also in the case of A History of Humankind - the audiobook for once is very closely synced to the actual chapter start/ends, so it was just easier to do L R Method with.

2. Listen to Chinese Spoonfed Audio, shadowing when I can

YES I did this! I was on 11 last month, now I’m on 15. (so 4 audio this month) Yes I realize that wasn’t a lot of improvement T-T. What can I say I am not very good at being disciplined. However I did learn something interesting this month ABOUT listening to these so I think I might do it more - I listened to some in the background while playing games, then later listened to them again (also why I only got through 4 - I was replaying audios maybe 2 times). And when I listened the second time I could understand nearly all, whereas obviously when playing my game I only caught parts of it. So I suppose what this showed me is partially listening and partially focusing still may have some benefit in helping to learn the info - and well obviously its easier to make time to play audio when u don’t need to focus 100% on it.

I also did some other misc listening to random stuff without any plan: 6? audio 1 of DeFrancis Beginner Chinese Reader, 1 audio of FSI Chinese, 2 condensed audios of Guardian (which was so cool?? also so cool i can follow along so well now??), 1 dracula chapter audio (don’t even ask i don’t know either), tian ya ke audio drama ep 1.

Chinese show episodes watched: 28 (You can see here is where my time went listening wise lol - Two Souls in One is GOOD u might wanna check it out, is all I’m saying, especially if the taiwan drama Bromance was ur thing, or the anime Ouran Host Club, or even Bureau of Transformer to a degree. I watched up to ep 25 and once its all aired to the finale I’m gonna finish it.

Optional going through my hanzi book: I burned out on this, but it was a good use of my time when I felt like writing. I only wrote/studied maybe 30 hanzi, and maybe 50 hanzi+radicals in my Radical-Specific hanzi book. If I continue, I think my goal will be to just continue the Radical-book to completion. Realistically, longer term, I need to go through the freaking Alan Hoenig’s Chinese Character’s book just to get the hanzi and their rough meaning to stick in my head (and learn the pronunciations through well context and vocab how I normally do). Right now I just learn through reading, but its an issue of sometimes I just end up associating one hanzi with the new word I learned but then as soon as I see it in a new word I don’t even remember having seen it before. If I paid a bit more attention to distinguishing I might notice when I’ve seen them before or they’re new, and have more starting info to relate to the character to attach the word info onto. (its a convoluted way of me saying if I have things to connect to each other I remember better even if it makes little sense to connect them - if I know car and pet, carpet’s easier to remember even though it has nothing to do with cars, cry in french ‘pleurer’ was easier to remember once my brain thought ‘plume of tears’ even though that makes no sense. i just remember things better than seeing pleurer and having no idea what to attach it to at all - even if i heard it means cry, if i don’t have a thing to associate it with i’ll forget easier. or melancholy - i had to associate it with melons, and cholly - reminds me of words for sickness so heavy-sick +sad is how i started finally remembering that word cause wow did i look it up over and over as a kid).

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Japanese study plan from April:

1. continue through nukemarine’s memrise courses.

Okay I did do this!! Congrats! In March I had completed LLJ 3 - Kanji, 289/318 finished in LLJ 4 Tae Kim part 1. As of April, I have completed: LLJ 4 Part 1, LLJ 4 Part 2 51/365, LLJ 5 Core Vocabulary 420/1020. So yeah! Going quite well, in that I consistently did it - I realized for me the best time to do it is playing video games oddly enough, or watching youtube - just do it in between areas, or ep scenes/videos, as a short 5-10 minute break. Since I like taking breaks from things anyway. Like audio, its hard for me to find ways to get myself to do stuff like this (except worse cause I don’t vibe with flashcards).

My goal for May will probably be finish LLJ 4 Part 2, LLJ 5, and start LLJ 6? I can dream right...

Also, a cool note: I found audio-flashcard files that people made of the Japanese Core 2k vocabulary deck and sentences, with english-japanese audio. (If anyone wants a link just let me know). So now if I DO eventually get burned out on flashcards, I could switch to using those. They would work about as well as the Chinese Spoonfed Audio files I have (which work extremely well for me - audio flashcards I just listen to are so much more suited to how I study lol). However, I’d like to stick with Nukemarine’s decks as long as possible while I can focus - they cover grammar explicitly which helps me a lot, and the reading practice COMBINED with constant audio really helps me learn the readings of words. Which is something I need for japanese a LOT more than chinese.

2. continue reading Tae Kim’s grammar guide

Ahahahahaaa hahaaa... did not do it. Nope.

What I did do that was grammar related:

Watched Cure Dolly lessons 1-5 (and will probably watch more as I seem to click well with those explanations)

Read 24 pages of Japanese in 30 Hours while transcribing actual japanese into it (and will probably continue to read it, its so short I should just DO IT in a couple days, it also fulfilled my desire to write stuff)

JapaneseAudioLessons.com - read the wa vs ga explanation, reading the portable japanese grammar notes document right now (its 11 pages I’ll finish it today). I’ve said it before but i really LOVE this resource, and they have so much for free. I absolutely recommend if a beginner wants Pimsleur or Michael Thomas or some other paid resource etc, to just go to this site, download their full lesson grammar guide (its like 311 pages like a real textbook) and go through all their free audio lessons. You will cover a lot of ground (more than Pimsleur or Michael Thomas), and all for free. In addition, I’ve bought some of their kanji teaching books and they’re overall my favorite for remembering kanji specifically (yes more than Heisig’s RTK by far, and more than KKLC - although the Kodanshi book is a good reference to have around). I’m not kidding at all when I say just try this site’s free resources if you’re trying to use free stuff, its the closest I’ve found to an audio only teaching method, or an audio/textbook-like combo, that’s this much stuff and free. (For non free, I actually liked Genki if you do everything in it).

Other misc things done in japanese:

Watched Dracula the Musical in japanese with no subs. It was super hard, but also not so hard. It changed my life. 1000/10 would recommend watching it if you even remotely like dracula OR vampires - featuring a lesbian Dracula/Mina, and more importantly a story change about who kills Dracula, and Dracula and Mina’s agency and choice being the driving force of the ending. These story changes I LOVE and I now want them in more adaptations moving forward, its what I always craved of the ending of Dracula and never got - Dracula as a person (not monster), Mina as a person (not prey), and their choices influencing how the story ends and by whom (versus Van Helsing/the establishment symbol regaining control through annihilation of the ‘threat’ to that norm). Also it gave me a new interest in Japanese plays which is cool. I did not expect to love them this much! Also gave me a boost in japanese confidence, in that I no longer feel as “scared” to try immersing in japanese or in some kinds of content that seemed ‘harder’ - and that was a big hurdle I was too afraid to do, in the past when I studied.

Watched a few more lets plays (lets guess maybe 3-5 sections of 20 minutes?). Persona 2 innocent sin (cool to see me follow along despite not knowing the game), Final Fantasy IX (this one I saved, and could definitely pick up words from since I know some of the story and the lets player read everything - I should look up FFX), random stuff.

Tried to play some games in japanese! I’m going to go with this was about 3 hours. I tried crisis core’s opening to the first save point - it was playable (I can read most of the menus), and I can follow enough text to get the overall gist - however it was draining as so much is text only (I FORGOT how much reading is in this game). Great for reading practice I suppose. Also great in that it definitely reset my expectations about what is ‘doable’ for me - however I do think KH2 is probably still the easiest game i should start trying games with (since I have so many of the controls/menu memorized and can waste less time re-reading the tutorials), and since I know so many words by memory I’ll be able to focus more on grammar (whereas in CC I was glancing through kanji trying to keep up with the live action scenes). A bit too much reading for me to tackle again for a while, it was draining lol. Then I tried persona 3 for psp - first, i like the ps2/ps3 version better ToT. Second, also somehow I could read enough to survive - but the reading again took time, a lot isn’t voiced, and there are not frequent save points. So again I just played to the first save point. That one I may try again before CC though, because a lot more of the language is daily life stuff I could glance through and speed-read-guess lol, or could actually use if I learned it. Also occassionally p3 reads out loud which is nice. I suspect the Visual Novel I got will actually be best for practice (despite me not knowing the plot at all), because I’m guessing more of the lines will be voiced. All this reading would help me more if I could hear it voiced - and I may want to watch more Lets Plays, and Audiobooks on youtube, mainly for that fact: subtitles that i can read WITH audio so i can practice listening and reading together.

Tried reading a bit! First, some mangas I had (though I only read a page of each) - mainly it was just nice to see mangas are more accessible now. they’re about as readable to me rn as manhua were in chinese at 6-8 months in. I can just about follow the main gist, more if I use a dictionary for details. Also thanks to @yue-muffin telling me, learned I can look up words on iphone in the web browser just by highlighting words and clicking “look up.” Life changing. That in combination with me finding some japanese scripts of Final Fantasy games online (and I’ve always been curious what localizations changed), and this has been a little reading I found myself doing just because i felt like it. I didn’t read much - the equivalent of several dialogue boxes (the games i played made me read a LOT more lol). but I liked that i could see their kana when i looked them up, sound the sentences out to myself, contemplate them (so intensive read). Also if you have Speech tools enabled on your phone, you can swipe down with 2 fingers and it will read the page aloud - I used to do that a little with chinese on dual chinese-englist mtlnovel pages since it WILL read both, but Pleco reads chinese better so unless i’m only-listening i switched to pleco for that. But for these scripts it works great! (occasionally it will read all-kanji titles like chinese though lol - not once its into japanese sentences though). I thought it was really cool I could basically emulate what I do in Pleco for chinese, in a normal web browser for Japanese. (Also, for websites, Idiom app seems to work ok for reading Aloud as well - possibly better - but ios iphone “Look up” dictionaries are MUCH better than Idiom app’s).

In summary basically I surprisingly enjoyed reading and might keep trying to do it just because its interesting. However in general, first: I really want 2k words done in Nukemarine’s LLJ courses (LLJ 7 would put me at 1k common words, LLJ 12 would put me at 2k so...), and I’d really like a better grammar foundation (Cure Dolly, or japanese audio lessons grammar, Nukemarine LLJ also obviously fits that task with the grammar portions, really anything). While I want to play games, again I just really realize... how much easier my life will be with a better basis of knowledge first lol. Reading I can do in bite size if I want, but playing games is Draining in between saves right now lol. While i CAN do it right now, unless its a game i really can tune out with (like KH2 maybe) then its just too intensive right now for me to tolerate too much of.

Also, again, I think doing Nukemarine’s LLJ decks as breaks while playing games/watching stuff is working great, going to keep doing that. And listening to audio flashcard files while I have dead time (like level grinding). I have been listening to the Chinese Spoonfed audio, but other options could be: the english-japanese Core 2k audio files, the Japanese Audio Lessons files (which once years ago I’d listen to while excerising). For now I’ve focused on Chinese Spoonfed audio because I know I need to FINISH something before jumping to something else lol.

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French stuff I did in April:

Listened to 6 chapters of Francais Par Le Methode Nature (and read some of them - oh i missed this book its my fave way to learn and it finally has audio!!)

listened to some bits of audiobooks (i don’t even know why, i don’t know - dracula, frankenstein, carmilla, sherlock)

read a little of Le Petit Prince (idk 3 chapters? browsing my book after finishing in chinese and... ok my heart is still a bit ;-; ... i’m gonna need to recover from this story...)

read a bit of dracula (again... idk why... also it was kind of a L R Method step 2 attempt in that I listened to audio too, but really I mainly just... read)

L R Method: 2 Chapters of Alice in Wonderland (step 2, because I have not tried step 3 yet).

What is funny as hell to me is both how many words I look up when I contemplate intensive reading (again life changed by the fact i can just highlight words and click “word lookup” on my phone). But also how I already... know I can thoroughly read without doing it. Like... yes I can look up a word I fuzzy-know to get clarification, but even my phone auto-gives me french-french dictionary first and sometimes only (is it because my google is in french), i’ve been used to french definitions only for years.. and also like... i know when i read a whole paragraph i get whatever words were fuzzy before? just read some of dracula again today and its fine. its fine. again informational texts are easier for me - but dracula being a lot of letters ‘describing what happened’ suits me quite easily (and somehow manages to be less annoying to me than the english version). like... alice in wonderland was probably the harder for all the quick adjectives/verbs used in just one or two paragraphs when i was still re-remembering vocabulary i used to know lol. Like... in a dream world i’d love to test L R Method and see HOW MUCH it can teach a person. But like... while french would be the easiest to test it with? I kind of realize i’m also at a point in french where i have more benefit just continuing to read in french and listen in french (to fix my poor listening skills). referencing the english is not really... particularly necessary, it just usually slows me down. while i’m missing a LOT of words for fluent speaking/grammatically ok speaking - i don’t think listening reading method would really help me with that, since reading sure hasn’t. if any readng material might it’s francais par le methode nature just because it drills simple correct grammar construction, and reinforces it, and teaches grammar through context. but all my other reading materials... are more comprehension...

Anyway in SUMMARY wow i did a lot more than i expected this month!

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Next months goals!

Chinese May Goals:

***Read anything. Great plan, has been working great. Ideally I would like to: finish Xiao Mao book one, and then either continue another Xiao Mao novel or start one of the other stories rated 2+ ease. I am considering 许三观卖血记 because its about as easy as the little prince, I’ve read an excerpt and its historical fiction so generally practical. Or 流星·蝴蝶·剑 by Gu Long if I want to work on a base in wuxia words from an easier novel. Or 他们的故事 by 一根黄瓜丝儿 if I’m ready to return to it - although this one is longer (the other stories being more like 12-20 chapters) so I’d prefer to save this for later. For any of these - look words up as desired since I’ll read them in Pleco. Ideally as my ‘harder’ reading I would like to either continue hanshe (intensive reading), or continue guardian (extensive reading) - so its a matter of if I want to look words up.

***Continue listening to Chinese Spoonfed Audio (please can i Finish it please ;-;)

Optional: experiment with Listening Reading Method. With the finding of those videos on youtube, I’d like to make my life literally as easy and streamlined as possible and literally just TEST L R Method by doing it with a few of the videos I found. It literally cannot get easier than premade videos with audio.

Other optional: listen to misc audio (I would love the time to watch the tian ya ke audiodrama WITH its subtitles then listen without again), watch shows, read Alan Hoenig’s Chinese Characters (i doubt this will happen), do some of my Radical-hanzi book.

Japanese May Goals:

***Continue: Nukemarine’s LLJ courses - ideally finish LLJ 4 Part 2, LLJ 5, and start LLJ 6. (this truly can be basically my only study method if I can’t do more). THIS IS THE PRIORITY. The quicker I get ALL of this done, the more of a foundation I will have to do Anything else.

Hopefully: Continue some kind of grammar explanation beyond Nukemarine’s stuff - either Tae Kim (unlikely but i was at chapter 10 before), Cure Dolly (i’m on 6), Japanese Audio Lessons Grammar, Japanese in 30 Hours while writing japanese in (I’m on page 24). Again this is a higher priority as it will make anything else easier.

Optional: Reading in any form - so video game time, lets plays, audiobook youtube with captions, actual reading as desired (like scripts). Including this because I know I will eventually try again lol.

Optional: listening in any form - so another musical! maybe listen to japanese audio lessons, or the core 2k audio, or a lets play, etc. I find I’m probably less likely to listen to something but it might happen!

French May Goals*:

*aka if I feel like doing it because french has no real goals at the moment! -3-)/

***Continue watching Le Francais Par Le Methode Nature videos. (There’s only 33, they’re like 10 minutes long or less, its about basics, PLEASE). I remember this book took forever to read 1/3 of when i was an upper beginner, well now surely its less slow going? especially because read aloud its as fast as the speakers voice! so it is not time consuming and i’ve wanted to finish this book forever! i could at least finish it up to where the audio files match to!

Read???? Read??? Honestly I’ve just been wanting to read Dracula and Carmilla in French its a vibe I’ve been in. Its not high priority or anything but hey it might happen. If it does happen, ideally I’d like to listen to an audiobook too around the same time (maybe after, or have the page read, idk). Just because while reading refreshes my vocab, what I really want to build up is listening/pronunciation. To get to a point where I can listen and shadow would be nice.

Tied to above, try L R Method? Not a high priority, though it would be super easy to test! Just because I already started testing it with Alice in Wonderland... but that basically amounts to just reading practice with audio again, for me.

I found Merlin in french so THAT is a thing.

Honestly the only thing I really want to do ‘study’ wise in french is finish that freaking book, especially now that I can listen to audio with it. It’s a nice foundation and I’d really like a refresher/fill in any big gaps in my learning. Anything else about french written here is mostly a reminder to myself to LISTEN to audio when possible, and try and improve that skill a bit if I go and read.

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Real fast CORE SUMMARY:

Chinese: READ easier stories rated 2+ and keep getting through some, in combination with reading the harder hanshe and Guardian. Also listen to Chinese Spoonfed audio whenever u remember! Attempt some L-R method with the youtube videos you found. Immerse as desired.

Japanese: continue Nukemarine LLJ courses. Also do some grammar study somewhere, and immerse as desired.

French: listen/listen-read to Francais Par Le Methode Nature. Also read/listen as desired - ideally combining the activities.

*in all cases, where possible, combine listening-reading or try to practice both skills. (So reading in Pleco - play audio afterward to practice, play Guardian condensed audio in down time, with audiodramas follow subs when possible, when immersing with anything try L-R like strategies to add practice with both skills).

#rant #april progress #april goals #may study plan #study plan #may goals #may #what i learned from this is... i have no fucking structure guys #im a mess i just do Whatever #only thing close to ANY structure is that with chinese im fairly consistent about reading #someone help me come up with a cleaner study plan?#or is the fact just that this is Just how i study???#do i just need to bounce and do random stuff?

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perspective-series · 5 years

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Injured Perspective (1/12)

By: @arc852 and @hiddendreamer67

Warnings: Roman’s injured but that’s just a thing, he’s already in a cast

First Chapter (here) || Next Chapter

Summary: Roman wouldn’t stop bemoaning his broken leg, forced into bed by a stubborn mother hen Patton, but then a small discovery makes his required bed-rest a lot more interesting. Meanwhile, Virgil the borrower is freaking out- he’s been seen. He needs to move, right? That would be the smart thing to do; but then again, Logan’s looking a little too ill to travel... and it doesn’t look like the human’s going anywhere anytime soon...

(psst... lowkey this is like our favorite perspective story, that’s why it’s last)

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“This is torture!” Roman’s moans echoed throughout the hall as he was all but dragged to his bed like a limp rag doll. “Bedridden? Me?” It was all because of one stupid incident, and now, one broken leg later, Roman would not be premiering in the summertime production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Roman was not taking this development well.

Patton hoisted Roman into his bed with a small grunt. But after Roman was in bed, he gave him a small smile. “I know, Ro. But you need rest if you want to get better.” Patton placed the crutches he had also been carrying near the bed. “Here’s so you can get around for the bathroom but you should only use it if you have to. The doctor said you need to stay in bed for the next few days so your leg heals properly.” Patton explained.

“What does he know?” Roman muttered, crossing his arms like a pouting child. “Just because he went to nerd school.”

Patton looked at his best friend fondly. “Don’t worry, you’ll be back up and putting on a show in no time!” Patton exclaimed, before standing up. “I have to get to class, but I’ll be back to make you dinner. And if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call, okay?” Patton said.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaugh.” Roman threw his head back, letting out a groan. “I’m going to be so bored.”

Patton couldn’t help but chuckle at Roman’s dramatics. “Well, good. Maybe you’ll actually get some rest.” Patton’s lip twitched up in a little smirk.

Roman just glared at him, clearly not as amused.

Patton chuckled again. “Or, you could watch all the Disney movies I downloaded onto your phone while you were at the hospital.” Patton said with a grin, this time.

“Pat, you did that?” Instantly Roman’s face morphed into one of gratitude. “You are an angel, Pattoncake. The sweetest cherry to ever make it to the top of an ice cream sundae.”

Patton blushed at the compliment, grin growing wider. “Aww, Roman! Honestly, it was the least I could do.” Patton glanced at Roman’s bedside clock. “Oh, but I really should head out. See ya later Ro!” And with that, Patton exited the apartment.

Roman did end up watching his phone for a while. That was when the hours seemed to pass easily. Unfortunately, his phone battery didn’t last forever, and he had foolishly left his charger on the other end of the room. Roman groaned, feeling far too exhausted to try using his crutches again. He had failed at it the first few times to the point where Patton just offered to help him.

So instead, Roman spent much of his time trying to figure out things to do. He tried singing songs and telling himself stories, but soon his voice began to ache from constant use. Now Roman just sat staring at the ceiling, listening to the clock tick.

Was this what purgatory felt like? Roman felt trapped in this bed, slowly losing his mind.

Virgil peeked out from his entrance on the floor, eyes going to the bed. He sighed as he saw the human was back. Darn. And it had been so nice when he was gone those few days. He had been able to get an abundance of supplies with him being gone all day. In fact, he had been planning on getting the last of his items tonight, not realizing the human would be back.

Though...maybe he could still get it. What he needed was on the human’s nightstand, right next to where the human was right now. But...if the human was asleep then maybe Virgil could do this. Besides, the human seemed injured and injured humans tended to sleep longer, didn’t they?

Biting his lip and pulling together all his bravery, Virgil marched up to the nightstand and through his hook up. Once it caught, he started to climb. Just grab it and go. Simple enough.

Roman froze, hearing a soft scraping sound off to his right.

... that was new.

Did his apartment have mice? But why did it sound like it was getting closer? Cringing, Roman turned his head, hoping he could at least catch a glimpse.

Virgil pulled himself up, stretching as he stood up. Alright, now, where was it? He scanned the nightstand, wanting to grab it and go so he could get away from the human.

Roman’s eyes widened, hardly daring to breathe. Only in his wildest daydreams would Roman have imagined this would be the source of the noise. A miniature person, standing but a few feet away from himself.

Virgil made to step closer but paused. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and slowly, ever so slowly, Virgil looked up.

Only to meet the human’s wide-eyed gaze.

Virgil stood, frozen in fear as his eyes widened to match the human’s.

“Who are you?” Roman asked quietly, slowly reaching out a hand as if to confirm this was real.

Virgil backed away from the hand, almost falling off the edge as he ran out of nightstand. He had been so stupid. Why hadn’t he checked the human out more? Now, he was going to pay the price. He shut his eyes tight, waiting for the inevitable.

Roman grunted, his fingertips just falling short of the tiny person. No matter how he strained, his arm couldn’t reach from the bed.

“You are real, right?” Roman asked, setting his hand down defeatedly on the nightstand surface. “I’m not crazy?”

Virgil looked as the human spoke again. The hand laid there, unmoving and...unable to reach him. Oh, what a lucky break. “No, you’re crazy.” Was what Virgil said as he started inching his way towards his hook to get the heck out of there. He didn’t dare take a step closer to the human though, for the fear of being grabbed.

Roman grinned, too excited that the creature had spoken to feel offended. “This is wild. Who are you? Where’d you come from? Why’re you so small?”

Virgil didn’t answer, looking around for his hook. Where was...oh. Virgil stood there, staring at his hook that was well within the human’s reach. Well, that was just great.

Roman caught the person’s gaze, spotting the fishing hook embedded near his hand. He reached over, plucking it up in his fingers. Roman brought it closer to himself, looking it over. It had a string attached to it and appeared to function like a mini grappling hook.

Virgil blinked and then glared. “Hey! Give that back!” He almost stomped forward but stopped himself.

“Relax, I’m not going to break it.” Roman assured him. Getting an idea, Roman set the hook down on the nightstand nearest to himself.

Virgil glared at the human. “Nice try.” He growled out.

“Oh come on, I’m not going to hurt you.” Roman assured him. He stuck out a finger, beckoning the tiny closer.

“Yeah, not taking that chance.” Virgil glanced at his hook but knew he couldn’t get it. Instead, he turned and started to climb down the nightstand without it.

“Wha-? Hey, where are you going?” Roman sat up further, trying to keep the person in his sights. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it. I’ll give it back for real this time.”

“Yeah, like I’m gonna fall for that.” Virgil said out loud. When he reached the floor, Virgil wasted no time in jogging across the floor towards his exit.

“No tricks, I swear!” Roman called out, having lost sight of the tiny person. “...hello?”

Roman groaned, realizing he was talking to the empty air again. Great, he blew it.

As soon as Virgil got back into the walls, he fell to his knees. His body shook as he processed what had just happened. He...He had almost gotten caught. Just because he had been stupid and had forgotten to check to see if the human was really asleep. Those days he had gotten alone must have lowered his guard. Well, never again.

He was just thankful that the human hadn’t been able to reach him. If he hadn’t been hurt and in bed, Virgil would have been...well, he wouldn’t have been able to go home, like he is now.

Still, it sucked that he lost his hook. It sucked even more, because he didn’t have any string to be able to make another one. Great, what was he gonna do now?

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Patton hummed as he used the spare key to get into Roman’s apartment. He had a bag of groceries with him, having seen before that Roman barely had anything to cook with. “Roman! I’m back!” He called out. He set the groceries on the counter and went to Roman’s room.

“You doing okay?”

Roman blinked, startled out of his thoughts when Patton returned later in the day. “What? Um, oh just dandy.” His hand clenched tighter around the hook, held under the blankets.

“That’s good! I’m gonna get started on dinner. Anything you craving? I bought a bit of everything.” Patton said with a bright smile.

“Anything is fine for me.” Roman shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant.

“Alright! Well, I’ll be right back.” Patton went back to the kitchen, looking through the food before deciding on making some green bean and tater tot casserole.

Roman pulled out his hand, slowly uncurling his fingers and looking at the fish hook. He debated back and forth about telling Patton. Should he? Patton might think he was crazy, but he did have proof...sort of. Then again, Roman kind of liked the idea of keeping this a secret. His own little mystery to solve while stuck in bed. Besides, he could always tell Patton later, but he could never UN-tell Patton.

Thus decided, Roman tucked the hook underneath his pillow.

It was about a half hour later when Patton brought up a steaming plate of food. Two, in fact, since he wanted to keep Roman company while he ate. “Here you go!” He handed the plate to Roman and then pulled out Roman’s desk chair to sit by his bedside as he ate his own.

“So! Anything interesting happen?” Patton asked, despite knowing that probably nothing did. Roman was stuck in bed all day, after all.

“Oh, just a few little things.” Roman sniffed the aroma coming off his plate with a smile. “Mmm, Patton this smells delicious.”

“Why thank you!” Patton grinned and then went to take a bite after blowing on it. He hummed. “So, did you want me to stay the night? Or are you okay here alone until morning?” Patton asked.

“I think I’ll be alright.” Roman said. “Besides, if I need anything I can just call you. Ooh, speaking of, could you move my phone charger closer? My phone died earlier and I can’t reach it.”

“Oh, yeah, of course!” Patton set his plate aside and got up to hand Roman the charger. “There you go! Sorry, I should have thought of that before I left.” Patton said sheepishly.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” Roman waved him off. Honestly, if his phone had remained charged he might never have noticed the little man.

Patton nodded, finishing up his plate. “Is there anything you need me to grab for you before I head back home for the night?” Patton asked, taking Roman’s plate after making sure he was done with it.

“No, I’m good.” Roman shook his head, giving Patton a sweet smile. “Thank you so much for all your help, Pat. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Aww, of course Ro. You know I’m always here for ya!” Patton stood up, heading towards the door. “I’ll see ya in the morning! Get some rest!”

“Will do!” Roman waved goodbye.

Virgil couldn’t actually believe he was entertaining the thought. He had already been stupid once today, he couldn’t afford to be stupid again. But...well, it was the middle of the night now. The human had to be asleep, actually asleep, this time. Right? And maybe, if he came back so soon, it would be completely unexpected and the human wouldn’t be looking for him.

Ugh, the only reason Virgil was entertaining the thought was because he wanted to get his hook back. He had already looked all over for supplies to make a replacement, but it seemed he was at a loss. And if he didn’t have his hook, it would be a lot harder to get around.

Virgil started walking towards another one of his exits. If he...if he was going to do this. He had to be sure the human was asleep this time. Which meant getting a higher point of view. He slowly and carefully exited out of the wall and onto the human’s wooden dresser.

His eyes scanned the room, landing on the human in bed.

Roman had his eyes closed, looking to all the world asleep. However, Roman was far from resting. His ears were focused in, trying to pick up any sign of the person’s return. He had no guarantee he’d see the little man again, but Roman certainly had to try.

Okay, so it looked like the human was asleep this time. Good. But he still had to be careful. Virgil’s eyes went to the nightstand, the one he had been on before, and saw his hook laying there. Okay, his target was in sight...but how was he going to get to it. He was loath to get that close to the human again, but if he had to…

Virgil couldn’t help as he started pacing, thinking up a plan.

There. Roman heard it, the soft pitter patter of tiny footsteps. He slowly opened his eyes, squinting in the darkness. His eyes widened, landing on the figure pacing back and forth on his dresser. Roman couldn’t help but grin at the sight of him.

Maybe if he just went up and got it real quick, everything would be fine...of course, that was the same line of thought he had before, and look how that turned out. Virgil sighed, at this rate he was never going to get his hook back.

He turned back to check on the human again, only to freeze for the second time that day as he met the human’s eyes. Oh...not again.

#injured perspective #perspective series #borrower!virgil #human!patton #human!roman #part 1

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pretzel-emoji-anon · 4 years

Note

I dare you to do all of the crayon asks :)

Bubble Gum: Gender? - who knows. Last night in a dream I had someone referred to me as agender and that made me feel great so probably agender

Almond: Hair color? - dark blonde but I wish I could dye it 😔 my mom doesn’t let me dye my hair though because it’d cause “””too much damage””” as if brushing my hair when it’s still wet and using hair dryers and th e unholy amount of hair products I use doenst already kill my scalp👀

Aquamarine: Eye color? - Grayish blue,,,,,,, they used to be really light blue but have since dulled

Asparagus: Birthday? - my mom doesn’t let me post that on the Interwebs 😔 but with the updated zodiacs I’m a Aries

Cerise: First name? - still figuring that out, but my ~borthname~ is 4 letters and has a red vibe

Dandelion: Middle name? - it’s 5 letters and has an orange vibe

Leather Jacket: Long or short hair? - short hair is more manageable, but I prefer having long hair. I used to have hair that went down to my ass but I chopped it off and donated it, then let it grow out again, then chopped it even shorter and donated it again.

Pink Sherbert: Short or tall? - I’m low key like average height?? Idk if 5’3” is particularly short or y’all since it’s all relative. I’m taller than you👀👀👀

Lavender: Braces? - I had braces for several years and got them off this year

Manatee: Smoker or non smoker? - I do not smoke because smoking is Not Cool™️

Mountain Meadow: Drank or still drink alcohol? - I drank Champaign like twice and it’s yuck as fuck

Wisteria: Ever done drugs? - technically yes? “Drugs” is a very broad terms

Emerald: Favorite thing about yourself? - I can play the Entertainer by Scott Joplin in the piano really really fast (or at least a simplified version, I don’t think it’s rhe real deal)

Black Shadows: Something you’re allergic to? - practically every type of tree pollen, three types of other plants, the grass in my front yard, cats, dogs, and possibly gold (long story that involves earrings and U8 girls rec soccer)

Denim: Any diseases? - hopefully not ?

Raw Umber: Sexual orientation? - omnisexual but I might be demisexual? Also might be Reciproromantic or platoniromantic or some combo of the two

Misty Moss: Kissed anyone other than family? - no ;-;

Outer Space: Had sex? - no, I’m babey

Shadow: Name of crush? - none at the moment? I think?

Smashed Pumpkin: Why you like the person you do? - this post is already really long and a good response would be like a 1K word 4 paragraph essay 😔

Magic Mint: Number of people you dated? - 4, all long-distance and online

Steel Teal: Longest time you’ve dated someone? - a little over two months but still going strong :D

Thistle: Number of best friends? - uhhh a few? idk?

Eggplant: Number of siblings? - two older siblings

Fuchsia: Number of pets? - none ;—;

Plum: Still live with parent(s)? - yep

Razzmic Berry: Name of your mother? - G e r t r u d e

Sonic Silver: Name of your father? - This Is Dan™️ (inside joke in my family because of how he always answers the phone,,, Dan is actually his middle name but whatever)

Sea Serpent: Both parents still alive? - to my knowledge, yes

Eucalyptus: Country you live in? - the United States of America™️™️™️™️

Salmon: Place you wish to live or visit? - Greece, Sweden, England, or Italy,

Winter Sky: Number of days missed from school this year? - only a handful

Mystic Maroon: Met anyone famous? - not that I know of

Dark Venetian Red: Dream job? - writing! Maybe also being a comic book writer although that involves a lot of complications and teamwork👀

Radical Red: Aesthetic? - idk I’m just ten different tribes stacked on top of each other in a trench coat

Malachite: Something you love? - reading literature like a professor™️

Moonstone: Something you love the smell of? - Yankee Candle’s signature “pink sands” candle

Bittersweet: Favorite music artist? - Fall Out Boy, Taylor Swift, or Marina

Lemon Glacier: Favorite album? - the Family Jewels by Marina

Inchworm: Favorite song? - I have a lot of favorite songs 😔 atm probably Shampain by Marina

Scarlet: Favorite book? - the Ode Less Travelled by Stephen Fry or Batman: Under the Red Hood by Judd Winick

Unmellow Yellow: Favorite TV show? - Milo Murphy’s Law

Wild Blue Yonder: Favorite movie? - Heathers (1988) is the first that comes to mind

Blue Bell: Favorite restaurant? - there was this fast food place a few hours away that had really good tater tots but it closed down 😔 and it’s not a chain so it doesn’t exist anywhere else so I’ll never get those tots again😔. Other than that, Sweet Tomatoes™️ which also closed down😔

Medium Orange: Favorite fruit? - probably cherries, oranges, or lemons

Mulberry: Favorite vegetable? - s q u a s h

Canary: Favorite class in school? - English because I’m a literature nerd :p

Periwinkle: Favorite website? - tommymcmurty.com, slight nsfw warning, it’s a long story?

Black: Favorite season? - autumn, because leaves go cronch and the weather’s nice

Ruby: Favorite holiday? - Halloween :D

Midnight: Favorite day of the week? - Thursday’s have a nice vibe

Maximum Purple: Favorite time of day? - 1am is when I’m most productive

Permanent Geranium Lake: Favorite flower? - hibiscuses! They’re pretty and taste good and make great tea!

Sea Green: Favorite animal? - zebras! Or platypi! Or cats! Or turtles! I like a lot of animals!

Timberwolf: Movie theater or Netflix? - theater

Blizzard Blue: Buying music or downloading from YouTube? - downloading from YouTube, and when I say downloading I mean screenrecording it 👀👀👀

#swearing tw #food mention #family mention #long post #there are probably a ton of spelling errors

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novapark · 8 years

Text

I owe you all some replies

So let’s get to it. ^.^

msmidnightblonde replied to your photoset “Hey pretty thing how’s it goin’ on with you tonight?.” “Well I’m at...”

I like how he started singing a different tune preeeeeetty quickly. hah

LOL like the elimination made him wise up right? A couple of them seemed like that. And others seemed to get more angsty heh.

msmidnightblonde replied to your photoset “kittykat8311: sauvamente: Who are they waving too? Ghosts? Gotta...”

pahaha some people man.

LOL right? Even the one they shared looks pretty bare of spectators. *eyeroll*

msmidnightblonde replied to your photoset “Seriously with as dirty as you are you’d think you’d accept it a bit...”

lol hipster kissing lips. I. am. dying.

elisabettasims replied to your photoset “Seriously with as dirty as you are you’d think you’d accept it a bit...”

skank juice, LOL

They are both kind of eloquent with the way they talk aren’t they?

msmidnightblonde replied to your photoset “So Kelsey how many guys have you been with?” “Wow way to go...”

haha Oh Davis. I adore you. Also, yes, I see that he enjoys being shirtless. *takes notes* lol

Yeah like unless we leave the house he just kind of roams around in just his sleep clothes hahaha.

hureuf replied to your photoset “Course in some cases it didn’t seem to improve things all that much. ”

Keep trying bb maybe she's just pmsing

hureuf replied to your photoset “Course the fact I put in a spa might have something to do with it....”

Oh my god, you are FINALLY doing something

God they are just so damn infuriating right?

hellokawaiipotato replied to your photoset “If you want I can show you things I can swallow.” “C’mon girl now...”

My dirty mind immediately went to the best place

It’s really the only place to go in that reply, lol.

anchoredsims replied to your photoset “Obligatory omg I love teh tots post. ”

Oh how cuuuuute. ^__^

God I freakin love that kid, that save is just full of adorable toddling goodness. Course he is like more than half way to a teen in my game now. D:

s3ns2 replied to your photoset “Unsurprisingly it was a den of distraction and no one talked to each...”

Kai an Kels always seem to be sat next to each other so even if he doesn't win seems he got a bestie

They do seem to like to chat a lot and giggle between the two of them but whenever she hits on him it’s like waht wah.

s3ns2 replied to your photoset “Kelsey left their game to say hi to Kai since he was off all by his...”

ahahah hes such a dick bless her

I swear it’s like he’s okay with the attention but doesn’t approve with the way she does it, lol.

s3ns2 replied to your photoset “Wow… nice guys. “I can’t believe we just missed a high five.” “Hey I...”

lmfao idiots ;'D

I about died when I saw that. I had it happen before in game but it had been a long time, lol.

s3ns2 replied to your post “Ya know I don’t terribly mind when people use my sims, even as bases...”

Thats such a shame someone did that, takes 2 seconds to tag the creator :(

The thing with her is she didn’t want to say they were not hers. I didn’t even care if she didn’t recognize it publically, I just wanted her to admit they were mine to me personally cause seriously they were faves and I shouldn’t have uploaded them. One sims name was exactly the same and the others had like only the first bit of her name cut off, like a cutesy nickname of her actual name so it wasn’t as clear of a rip off. Like it was pretty blatant to me cause I know what they look like in various types of make up but she refused to admit she had done it. I even said “maybe you forgot downloading them’ and then she just blocked me. Then she went off publicly even though I didn’t call her out directly on here about it she started tagging all the posts with them “MY SIMS CAUSE I GUESS I HAVE TO SAY THAT NOW.” Whatever little bitch, if it helps you sleep at night.

s3ns2 replied to your photo “Quick look at the un-berried version. ”

do you know where his hairs from? i love!!!

I got his version from GLW here but I have since retextured it myself. It is a really nice one.

hureuf replied to your photoset “They put us all in the same fuckin’ room now! Can you believe that...”

Stop being a little bitch Fergus *rolls eyes*

To be fair, they all are kinda bitches, lol.

hureuf replied to your photoset “Made some changes round the lot to cultivate some more friendly...”

That fucking sauna set up is my BIGGEST regret from my "Josi's BC" because that's all they fucking did! Never. Again.

Yeah I had that issue in my last one I did last year so I tuned it down this time. It’s still a favorite place but it’s not like how it was in the other save.

simcatcher replied to your photoset “Hey Kelsey hold on, about earlier… I wanted to apologize.” “For...”

Okay he's my fave

Haha he’s such a dick sometimes though. Course most of my guys are kind of assholish so he fits right in I guess, lol.

msmidnightblonde replied to your photo “I’m alright… I mean I haven’t had a lot of boyfriends…” “I think...”

lookit this smooth talkin' fool. heheh

Bringin’ out the charisma like a boss.

simcatcher replied to your photoset “Seems actually the elimination may have lit a bit of fire under some...”

Omg ! They actually CAN not scream at each other eveytime ahah

I know I was surprised myself.

ciarasia replied to your photoset “So you wanna play tag or something? Usually you’re game for that by...”

only in the sims will grown adults play tag

I used to play airsoft all the time in my early 20′s, that’s kind of like tag for adults,lol.

gaiahypothesims replied to your post “The mysterious smoke monster”

Zeff is totally going to turn out to be a Werewolf. ;)

HAHAHA and he could feesably in my game too, though I don’t typically use the werewolf form cause the dang fool form always resets during the full moon. Like I’ll spend forever transferring over their sliders and it looks good until the next full moon and then RAAAAWRR. Idk how I would do it nowadays. My friend used a dog in her story to represent their form. I write them more as changlings, actually that’s essentially what Kataratosi (Kelsey’s family) were before Retirement day.

crownmesims replied to your photoset “And for the other, Wyatt.. I’m sorry. I just don’t think we’ve been...”

Kai looks so pleased about this XD

Yeah he is relishing a bit much in the poor dude’s misery there, lol.

ashuriphoenix replied to your post “The mysterious smoke monster”

Weird. You could always try to reset the object in DebugEnabler. :/ May or may not help, and may or may not kick the sims using it off, so wait until they're done. xD

I did try after I saw your comment, no dice! Thank you though, such a quirky glitch, had it forever.

#ashuriphoenix #msmidnightblonde #elisabettasims #hureuf #simcatcher #ciarasia #crownmesims #hellokawaiipotato #replies

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themoneybuff-blog · 5 years

Text

A Loan Won't Solve Your Money Woes If You Don't Fix These 10 Issues First

Sometimes even the best-prepared households get knocked sideways, financially speaking. Illness, unemployment, divorce, a car accident that triggers a lawsuit these and other situations can quickly put a hurt on the budget. In such times a personal loan or one of several types of home equity loans can provide a little breathing room until you rebuild your finances. As noted, money woes are sometimes the result of plain old bad luck (illness, job loss). However, sometimes were our own worst enemies: We buy too much, we save too little, we plan not at all. You cant get ahead that way. And you cant keep borrowing your way out of trouble. A loan wont help you unless you fix the following issues. 1. Not having a budget The simplest way to wind up in debt is to spend without thinking. Stop, then, and think for a moment about what you would like to have happen five years from now: buying a home, starting a business, getting married, traveling? When you create a budget, youre not just allocating your dollars youre enabling your dreams. An easy way to do it is the 50/30/20 budget: Spend no more than 50% of your take-home pay on essentials, 30% on wants, and 20% on saving (including retirement planning and an emergency fund). Plenty of budgeting apps exist as well (some are even free). 2. Not tracking spending You cant plug budget leaks unless you know where they are. Track your spending for a month, using pen and paper or a budgeting app. The cumulative effect could be eye-opening. For example, a relatives ex-husband was shocked shocked! to realize that spending $8 a day on fast food added up to $240 a month. His wife had made more money than he did, and their commingled finances made it easy for him to swipe a card and think no more of it. Heres hoping that your own habits arent quite that clueless. But even those of us who think were doing pretty well could be surprised by the cumulative impact of certain habits: beef jerky and a soda every time we pay for gasoline, daily iTunes downloads, $20 a week on scratch tickets. Add up the opportunity cost of those non-essentials, and ask yourself if you could do better. (Spoiler alert: You probably can.) 3. Keeping up with the Joneses Just because next-door neighbor bought the priciest riding mower on the market doesnt mean you have to ditch your trusty Snapper. When your coworker talks about all the activities her kid participates in, you dont have to sign your own tots up for horseback riding and soccer camp. You should not let other people determine your clothing, dcor, automobile, or anything else. Its no ones business that you bought a fixer-upper, that you drive your car until the wheels fall off, that your idea of nightlife is to read a new library book once the kids are in bed. Remember: The Joneses may be up to their hairlines in debt. They might be focused on keeping up, too with the minimum payments, that is. 4. Wanting your kids to have things you didnt Theres nothing wrong with this! Except when there is. Obviously you want your children to be well-fed, reasonably well-dressed, and housed comfortably. You might also want to give them treats and opportunities you never had, such as vacation trips, a big allowance, loads of extracurricular activities, and fully funded education plans. But dont let this noble impulse bust your budget. Just because your kid wants snowboarding lessons, a new smartphone every year, and a car of their own at age 16 doesnt mean you have to give these things. Staying out of debt and funding your retirement should take precedence over granting every whim. At the very least they should have some skin in the game: doing additional chores to help save up for a big-ticket item, say, or mowing lawns or babysitting for extra pocket money. Besides, we arent doing our kids any favors when we give them everything they want. Setting the bar too high now could mean setting them up for problems later on. Specifically, when they move out on their own theyll want to keep living in the style to which we have accustomed them and if their salaries dont allow for that, theyll wind up in debt. 5. Automatic upgrades Whats wrong with your old smartphone or car or whatever? If you bought it relatively recently and it still works, whats with the rush to replace? If you get the newest phone as soon as it comes out, or trade in your vehicle every few years, or replace anything else before it really needs replacing, ask yourself why. Because your co-workers do? Because some commercial made you want a new car? Because you dont know why, but you really, really want to anyway? Think about the opportunity cost of that cash. Then think about the way you want to live, and whether or not you want other people making decisions about your money. 6. Shopping mindlessly If you dont need anything, stay out of the mall. Going shopping with friends puts you in a position to find something you suddenly cant live without, or something that looks so cute on you or would be so cool in your house or so useful in the garage. Except that you were doing just fine without that item until you saw it. Ditto online shopping: Dont cruise your favorite retailers websites unless you have a specific reason to do so. Better yet, undo the one-click function and remove stored credit card info from all sites where youve shopped in the past. Bonus frugal points if you change your online passwords to something that has personal significance, such as WeDDingDAy8192020, or 19YEarsLEftonMORTgage, or EARLYretire2028 these little reminders of where your dollars could be going instead might help you from overbuying. 7. Always buying retail Why automatically pay full price? Instead of heading straight to the shopping center when you need (or want) something, consider these options instead: Thrift shops: Some are junky, but others are great. Its like a treasure hunt. (Pro tip: Find out if there are senior discounts or other special deals. For example, a secondhand store my daughter likes offers 50 percent off every Monday.)Consignment stores: Like thrift shops, except theyre more discriminating about whats accepted.Flash sales: While online shopping should be approached with caution, sometimes a sale really is too good to pass up. Hold yourself to limits, though: Just because those slacks are a great deal doesnt mean you need to buy a pair in every color.OfferUp, LetGo, Craigslist: Sometimes people want (or need) to get rid of furniture, tools, bikes or automobiles without the hassle of a yard sale. Caution is required, but you can get some darned good deals this way.Newspaper classified ads: Yes, really. A guy I know recently bought a pickup truck (necessary for his job) from a newspaper ad, spending many thousands less than he would have paid at a dealership.Freecyle: You might be surprised at whats being given away, no strings attached. Ive seen beautiful furniture, clothing, bicycles, toys, books, and other useful stuff offered up.Yard sales: Another treasure hunt. Ive seen items still in the shrink-wrap at these sales. Its a great place to buy baby stuff, including newborn-sized clothing that seems never to have been worn.Buy Nothing Facebook groups: Last month my partner and I just picked up an almost-new Weber grill. Some of the other things Ive seen lately: baby stuff, solid wood table, sewing machine, board games, computer desk, cookware, and tons of childrens clothes. All of it is free.8. Overdoing it on special occasions Are holidays and birthdays completely over the top? Maybe its time to tone it down. When they become extravaganzas of gift-giving, we cheapen the meaning and also set the bar higher and higher. A kid who gets tons of presents is unlikely to appreciate each one fully and more to the point, he develops a sense of entitlement. As for birthday parties, when did they start resembling mini-coronations? Even one-year-olds are having party rooms reserved, decorations put up, and gift registries established. Really? Think of all the money thats spent and quickly forgotten. Now think what those dollars could have done for a childs education fund or your own retirement. Celebrate joyously, but celebrate sensibly. 9. Overbuying for grandchildren While waiting in line at a crafts store, I met a woman who developed the bad habit of having small gifts waiting for her granddaughters whenever they visited and they visited a lot. The woman was fretting visibly as she looked over the items in the stores dollar section. What do you buy for someone who already has everything? she asked me. After hearing her story, I felt very sad not just for her but also for the kids. A visit to grandmas house had become an exercise in acquisition. The first thing they do upon crossing the threshold is to ask what theyre getting. (Does anyone else find that quite sad?) Expectations are made, not born. If youve gotten into the habit of treats and more treats, scale back. Replace them with activities and gifts of time. The kids who are used to getting stuff will gradually become used to not getting stuff and when occasionally you do treat them, it will mean a lot more. Again, the money you save could go toward their education funds or toward shoring up your own budget. You cant finance retirement. 10. Giving more than you can afford Charity is a noble impulse. But giving to the American Red Cross or the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals should be done after youve taken care of business. Specifically, after youve built an emergency fund, started saving for retirement, and taken care of any consumer debt. Put on your own oxygen mask first, financially speaking. Award-winning journalist and veteran personal finance writerDonna Freedmanis the author of Your Playbook for Tough Times: Living Large on Small Change, for the Short Term or the Long Haul and Your Playbook for Tough Times, Vol. 2: Needs AND Wants Edition. Read more: https://www.thesimpledollar.com/loans/blog/a-loan-wont-solve-your-money-woes-if-you-dont-fix-these-10-financial-issues-first/

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themoneybuff-blog · 5 years

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A Loan Won't Solve Your Money Woes If You Don't Fix These 10 Issues First

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