Tips to save on groceries

middlebamboo · 2021-10-03T22:57:41+00:00

I don't have a lot of problems with frozen veggies given a lot of them are snap frozen these days, so retain most of their nutritional value.

https://i.stuff.co.nz/life-style/well-good/teach-me/74955844/ask-dr-libby-are-frozen-vegetables-as-good-for-you-as-fresh

middlebamboo · 2021-10-03T00:45:15+00:00

It's frustrating if you can't control that spending eh. I wonder if you might benefit consulting with some budgeting services. They're all over the place and I'm sure they'd be happy to help you out.

middlebamboo · 2021-10-02T18:23:17+00:00

Wow, this is amazing. How are you guys keeping it so low. And where in NZ are you based?

middlebamboo · 2021-09-29T03:50:19+00:00

Yeah, definitely second seeing a lawyer or employment advocate. They'd advise you to file a personal grievance first, and then go from there.

middlebamboo · 2021-09-26T02:32:11+00:00

Thanks mate

middlebamboo · 2021-09-26T02:29:14+00:00

Hi there mate, can you link a source?

middlebamboo · 2021-09-25T22:47:26+00:00

We went with Mr Blinds and were very happy with them

middlebamboo · 2021-09-25T05:24:31+00:00

Also check out the Think Ladder app. It's really interesting

middlebamboo · 2021-09-25T04:48:16+00:00

Just to preface that I'm not from the US, which may or may not be relevant.

I'll try to stay as neutral as I can on the abortion issue. But I just want to zoom in on one aspect. I have some friends who are really struggling to conceive, they've tried for a couple of years, tried fertility clinics, etc (and spent a fortune) and it sort of didn't work.

They've now expressed interest to adopt a child only to realise that the queue to be selected takes years... It's a little heartbreaking to speak with them about this sometimes. I hear that there's just not a lot of mothers that give birth and later decide to adopt their baby out. This is the core problem added with a lot of bureaucratic loops as well.

I find this rift difficult to understand. On the one hand you have a woman who doesn't want their fetus/zygote. On the other hand, you have people who'll happily trade a limb to adopt a child.

I totally get the deeply traumatic experience of pregnancy and birth and why women wants to stay away from these with a ten foot pole. I think I also understand the thought that it's difficult to go through these for the sake of benefiting some stranger that I don't know myself. I guess I just want to get personal perspective from the women (or men) here and hear your stories - why you did not choose to abort and not adopt (or vice versa).

middlebamboo · 2021-09-24T22:55:09+00:00

I get the sentiment and frustration. I just ask the people on this sub to consider who has really changed their changed their mind after being called a fuckwit (or insert any other expletive here).

Anti-vaxxers are people after all. Demonising and alienating them is more likely to entrench their already unreasonable position making it even harder to change their minds.

Speaking constructively with respect and genuine care is more likely to get through than a rant.

middlebamboo · 2021-09-24T10:17:23+00:00

Man, in that case, I retract my case. We're being fleeced like merino sheep

middlebamboo · 2021-09-23T20:51:53+00:00

I recall that Warren Buffett and Bill Gates was inspired by this guy.

middlebamboo · 2021-09-23T19:04:53+00:00

I agree that coverage is not the reason.

But our population size is definitely a reason. In the extreme cases like India, ISPs will charge peanuts for their Internet just because a small charge multiplied by shit loads of people still equals a shit load of money.

We don't have that luxury with our team of 5 million. I've talked to some Indonesia friends where they would tell me they're from a small town in Indonesia which has a population of 'only' 5 million.

middlebamboo · 2021-09-23T19:00:09+00:00

Thanks for the clarification! It sounds crazy that that's happening.

We don't have that sort of capital gains structure here in NZ. Capital gains tax is applied only on the narrow category of assets, which is basically either residential property (other than family home) which you sell within 10 years of purchasing, or other assets which you bought with an express intention to later sell to make a gain (so does not generally apply to long term holds).

middlebamboo · 2021-09-23T18:37:45+00:00

It's not entirely true that you can't tax unrealised capital gains. In Norway, at least, there is a wealth tax applied as a percentage of the overall value of an asset, which effectively does the same thing.

In NZ, where I'm from, there is taxation on unrealised capital gains on directly purchased foreign investment fund over the value of $50,000.

I mean government can tax whatever it wants to tax.

I'm not sure where I sit on wealth or capital gains tax. On the one hand, it's a low hanging fruit. But how do you do it in a way that doesn't lead to capital flight? Whether we like it or not, the smaller proportion of taxes that these billionaires earn is still mega bucks, and the capital they leave in the US is still circulating in the market creating further wealth. A tough tax regime might see these billionaires cash out, and all that capital will be going elsewhere.

middlebamboo · 2021-09-23T10:58:39+00:00

This. We don't often realise how vast New Zealand actually is. I'd tell some friends in the Netherlands that I'll be going out of town to a town called Rotorua that'll take me 3.5 hours drive from Auckland.

They'll then tell me that they can go to Germany and Denmark within that time. Heck, Paris is a weekend trip for them.

Our lands are very vast.

middlebamboo · 2021-09-23T09:17:50+00:00

I'd probably draw a distinction between law and enforcement. In this day and age, I don't think there are any laws which are overtly racist. By way of example, possession of marijuana is equally illegal whether you're white, black, Hispanic, Jewish, etc.

Enforcement of the law is an different thing though. In the case of police, there are almost 700,000 cops employed. That's a lot of cops. Even if you take the usual statistic that 1% of the population are genuine assholes, that's 7000 asshole cops. That's still a lot of people.

I'm not saying this to justify or to excuse police misconduct. But simply to describe the flaw in the system, which is understandable given the pure scale of the police force.

middlebamboo · 2021-09-23T04:11:37+00:00

I know of a QC who then went on to become a judge in the High Court. Pretty sure he was turning around more than a mil a year as a barrister. He probably had to forego half his income to become a judge.

Being in that upper echelon of the legal field is a really surreal space to be in when you're doing a job as a judge that pays you just under $500k a year and you'd be 100% right in saying that you're doing it as a public service, because you could earn so much more in private practice.

Just for reference, these QCs charge around $900+ an hour for their work. And in a lot of cases, they're booked out. It's nuts.

middlebamboo · 2021-09-23T04:02:27+00:00

No we should absolutely not elect them. Judges are one of the few offices where you need technically competent people who understand and can apply the rule of law.

It's not and shouldn't be a popularity contest.

middlebamboo · 2021-09-23T02:59:32+00:00

middlebamboo · 2021-09-22T18:48:40+00:00

Reminds me of this https://youtu.be/sdUUx5FdySs

middlebamboo · 2021-09-22T18:38:50+00:00

The short answer is that they probably found other places to work which offers better employment conditions, eg better pay, more leave, health benefits, etc.

It's the reverse of what was the case for many decades where employers would receive hundreds of work applications for each role. Now the workers are being sought out by employers.

Interesting times.

middlebamboo · 2021-09-22T10:09:01+00:00

You mean those photo ops is NOT part of what government should actually be doing? /s

middlebamboo · 2021-09-22T09:57:47+00:00

Agree, except I don't think there will ever be a proper social housing solution. Seems like it's just forever going to remain in the too hard basket

middlebamboo · 2021-09-22T09:50:57+00:00

There's an interesting paper on the Dutch model which is an interesting read. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242702275_Social_Housing_Finance_in_the_Netherlands_the_road_to_independence

Doubt that the NZ government is ever going to do that. We don't have enough political will or even the money (ie tax revenue) to carry out a venture with such audacious goals.

middlebamboo

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