Ice maker! As an Italian married to an American, I do envy your big fridges/freezers with the ice maker. Here in Italy, then ones who have a regular fridge/freezer (the majority of us since our kitchens are rarely big enough) don't have that luxury. So I buy those purposefully made bags to put water in and make ice. However, a big nice American fridge/freezer is on our list for when we can finally afford to BUY a house!! But yes you can totally live without. You just have to plan to make ice :D
Tiles are easy to fix yourself, and not fixing can lead to bigger trouble if water is getting behind the rest of the tile. You can learn to repair all kinds of things by watching youtube videos, too.
We usually look up how to fix the problem and fix it ourselves. The latch on our dryer broke and it was easy and cheap to fix - maybe your dishwasher would be as well? I'm amazed at how many things we've fixed thanks to the information we've found via Google.
I'm glad you don't care what people think! You guys are troopers! I had a car that I had to open the window to open the door from the outside to get out. Co workers made fun but it was going to cost more then the car was worth to fix it! I'm not going to lie I couldn't wait to get rid of it!
Your nanny doesn't clean the dishes they use during the day?!? This is not meant to be a negative or rude comment, but I work as a full time nanny and always do the dishes that the children and I use during the day. I figure, I made the mess and I will clean it up. maybe that's just me though.
awesome video. I love it when people think outside the box and are able to not let peer pressure influence them too much. my one and only computer, a laptop, broke where it's more expensive to repair it than buy a new one but I'm not forking over the money for anything right now. We'll see how long I last. I can do a lot of things from my phone, and who knows, maybe I'll start to read more
My bathroom tiles are falling off, our microwave from college sounded like it was going to explode at any moment. Our inlaws got sick of it and bought us a new one lol. We have several doors that could be replaced, and a toilet that doesn't flush well. We just keep trucking along lol
Love your channel and your spirit Dana. I wish you and your husband well on your journey to get out of Debt. My Wife and I are also on this path and hearing your stories sounds so familiar. For us we have a dishwasher that I have been able to fix once thanks to youtube. a Hole in our pantry doorand other misc stuff. But right now we only owe on the house, we homeschool our sons, and are saving for retierment. So... progress....
IMO, a dishwasher is a waste of real estate, but that's just me. I raised 4 kids just fine without one. I entertain without one & get everything clean, dried & put away before the wash cycle is even done on a dishwasher. I'd much rather use the space a dishwasher would take up for other things.
drdianneLc. I never had any dealings with dishwashers. My parents always said why should they get a dishwasher when they had us kids to wash up! Since I grew up without one as a kid, I’ve never felt the need to bother with one as an adult!
I love this video. I refer people to it all the time. It's still hard to believe that there was a time when your videos didn't have that lovely whimsical intro. Take care!
Hair looks great on you Dana! The dryer is extreme when you have to deal with cloth diapers. I grew up without a dryer in the tropics, monsoon season is very challenging...humidity is high. At least in the Winter the air is dry. Our printer recently broke(I just replaced the ink) and I held off buying a replacement until it was a total pain. I had to take my daughter to the library just before closing time to print a State competition paper. It was also the scanner, and I couldn't scan documents to send out. Thankfully we received a refund from escrow and we bought the replacement in cash.
my question is, why did the tiles begin to peel so quickly? I know your children contributed to the problem, but they should not have been able to do that. What is wrong with the glue.
Yes Dana, in the U.K., it's TOTALLY normal to line or hang dry our laundry to dry! My husband and I would refuse a tumble dryer, even if it were gifted to us, as it uses SO much energy and ruins clothes. It looks like a Chinese laundry in our house most of the time, as we have a lot of rain in the UK, but any dry moment and everyone's laundry is outside on their lines. You can't beat that outdoor smell. :)
Bunchy The Budgeteer since you all hang dry everything, do you have any suggestions on softening towels and denim jeans? Our T-shirt’s dry lovely, but the towels are scratchy and crunchy if I don’t put them in the dryer.
@@katlyncornman7087 towels are meant to be like that to make them more absorbent, but you can always just add some fabric conditioner to your wash, they won't dry your body as fast but they'll be super soft :-)
Things we aren't replacing: Broken backpacks(rock them till you can't!-fishing line is amazing for repairs), glass stove top with 3 working elements, and our terrible (or amazing dandelion-farm) front lawn. Our money and time is better used elsewhere for now. Thanks for the video! I love to see and hear other families getting creative to make it work.
your bumper made me think of mine. after an accident a couple years ago my front end was pretty smashed in. Well after the needed mechanical work my mechanic lovingly banged it out and "stitched" it back together enough for it to be functional. It looks funny and probably bad but it will not cause me problems and it's only cosmetic now so I'll not be fixing it. I also received hail damage after and other dents. A well loved car, but as long as I can drive it, the cosmetic problems will not be taken care of for a long time
hey Dana, happy Tuesday! if you are self conscious about the missing tile in your bathroom, you could put your clothes airer on top of the area of missing tile and hang laundry to dry on it. it would reduce your electricity costs for drying laundry a bit, and hide the area of missing tile!
I also have 4 kids and I choose not to buy a new living room set even though a want a new one. My son while I was out decided to take the cushions off the couch and jump. I now have a huge hole in the bottom and when you sit it caves in a little in one spot. I refuse to buy another despite the fact that I am embarrassed to have people over.
our microwave broke a few months back. We decided to live without one we eat healthier without it. We have never had a dishwasher, I do find it a struggle to keep up with Dishes. we have 3 closets with broken doors. I find you realize that much of what we have is a luxury when it breaks.
Our dryer broke a few years ago and i started hanging clothes inside. I don’t miss it! We designated a bedroom to add lines close to the ceiling. They retract if not in use. My clothes are in better condition and we are saving in electricity as a bonus. I’m from Canada
We lived with a hole in our bumper of our old car for years lol. We actually sold it with the hole still in the bumper. Last summer I rear ended somebody with our SUV and it now has a crack lol and we are living with it
We have a dryer, but I still dry my clothes outside or inside if the weather is bad. I even have a video on my channel where I have ropes all over my living/dining room. The dryer works great 👍 but it takes way too much energy. I hang every little thing, even socks and undies. It does take time. But the big things like blankets, towels and jeans would take so much energy to dry, and it only takes a minute or so to hang them. Also, some things, if not fixed in time, would cost more to fix later when they cause more damage.
I'm having many the same issues have mention. Our dishwasher no longer works,and is our second dishwasher since we moved in our house 13 years ago. I also have four kids and feel like I'm always washing dishes. I was surprised to hear your nanny leaves you a sink full of dishes for you when you get home. When I was younger and worked as a nanny, I always cleaned up the dishes and other messes the kids and I made while I was taking care of them. Well at least you have a dishwasher that mostly works now.😊 I feel for you for the bathroom tiles too. We also have some missing bathroom tiles that we haven't fixed yet, as my husband wants to eventually remodel the whole bathroom, after we finish remodeling our basement. That has been taking forever in itself. It is nice to see we are not the only ones that have things in our house that need a lot of work:)
I see here this was last year - BUT regarding your tile in bathroom...where was it breaking off from specifically? If you already got it fixed - great. However, we've been in construction for 40 years - tile is not really something you can let go. Tile is a protective surface to prevent water and moisture from creating mold in your walls. We suggest you check very carefully especially around the water sources like tub and sink. Mold will grow into the walls and into other rooms. There are tons of articles on how dangerous this is. Just be safe and check it out real good. We'd help ya for free but we live 3K miles away. Good luck!
My husband ran into our garage and part of his bumper above the tire ripped off. Doesn't affect anything just looks ugly so we never paid to replace it. Your homeowners insurance might cover the roof. Everyone in my neighborhood is getting new roofs due to a hail storm. I'm so happy about it because we were due for a new roof.
I love the video. makes me feel better about my situation. I have been living without air conditioning and the ledge on the window outside fell apart. the car I'm driving is slowly dying and I've decided just to use it when I have to and when I don't the bus is my friend. keep up the great videos.
Thankyou for the video Dana. Its a good subject. It is amazing how some people seem to think it is impossible to cope without a laundry drier or washing up machine, neither of which I have ever had. I dont have children but have shared houses with people who did and we still managed without and thought nothing of it. What worries me is the de-skilling of society. A lot of younger people now dont know how to do basic tasks because they have always had machines to do them. They actually dont know how to get dirty pots clean. They dont know how to clean a floor by hand. They have no idea how to wash clothing by hand. They dont know how to get a greasy mark out of a shirt, without buying some fancy stain remover, when ordinary soap will do the job. They dont know how to spread wet clothing out properly so that it will dry and not go smelly. Basically they are rendered totally dependent on the manufacturers of machines etc. How are they going to cope when they leave home & have to manage on a low/lowish income. If you cant manage without something, for a while at least, it can make it impossible to budget properly. Which I suppose renders these young people also dependent on the purveyers of loans. Many of them are also dependent on expensive ready prepared foods and cant knock up a cheap but healthy and filling vegetable soup for example. Sounds like a recipe for a downhill slide into financial chaos and poor health to me. I feel concerned for young people who have missed learning these skills and the next generations who may learn even less of what they need How will future generations manage?
You are very inspirational! I have to say, we live in Europe and maybe things here are handled differently. We finish college and theoretically we are not in debt (our parents normally pay for our college education and here it is all statal and it is a fraction of what it costs in America). However, my husband is American; he came to Italy to stay when we were 23 and 24. I was still studying and we arranged our wedding in just 3 months (that was what his touristic visa allowed him to). Then we stayed with my parents for a couple of months, and we moved into a furnished apartment for about 6 months. I had a part-time job and was studying, and my parents helped out with the rent. Then we finally moved into another apartment (and into another one after a few years) and we were proud to be paying everything with our money. My parents did pay for our kitchen (which we still have now) as a belated wedding present. After that we were on our own legs, and proudly. However, when we had to purchase our first car (a used one) they wanted a guarantor... I was so ashamed my mother had to cosign with us. We recently had to purchase a new car (my husband was involved in a bad wreck and destroyed our car and we got from insurance just a fraction of the value) and I was so proud when we could purchase it without any strings attached and nobody that had to sign on our behalf. It is hard... it is hard when you are in your thirties and still need your parents' help. We are proud to be on our own, but I can see your point, and I feel for you. As I said in a previous video of yours, we don't make big money. We break our ass and NOW we do make decent money, and because of what we had to go through before in our life, now I feel like "relaxing a little more" and get things or stuff I really want. But we were in that place before, and I know how it feels
My 2000 Camry, the trunk won't pop open with the lever from the driver's seat it will only open by key, and I'm leaving it. on a smaller scale, my purse has 2 zipper pockets on the outside where the zipper broke on them both and I've been using the purse a least a year that way and just wear it with that part facing my body...I'm just not interested in buying anything unless I absolutely need to!
I think often reparing, patching nd fixing is often preferable over replacing - you always should keep the follow up costs in mind - if you don't fix your roof and water gets in that's gonna do a whole lot of additional damage and cost you much more in the long term - getting out of debt is an endurance race and you reallt need to keep the long term in mind. The new dish washer does not have guarantee any more? I bought our washing machine at ikea since they gave (I think still do, here) 5 years of guarantee for all big electronic devices. I wished you had shown the tiles that sounds like something you could easily DIY fix at last to a level that makes sure the kids don't break it any further for very little money. (here in Germany it's quite common that they pack you at last one additional package of tiles in there so you can fix broken ones even if that stile / color is no longer available.) Yea Stil have not fixed the light switch in the dining room... Gotta get in touch with that estranged friend who is actually a qualified electrician. (if neither of you is handy you sure know someone who is and most handy guys really like to show off their prowesses and tools.... 😉) Actually I saw our home Depot equivalent stores all started free DIY classes to bind customers - my wife went to 2 of those and even got free stuff - also worth looking if similar stuff exists in the US..!
We have a tumble drier but we hang all our laundry even if it takes up the whole lounge, it saves us money so we do it. I finish our bedsheets for five mins in the drier before putting them back on the bed. Our dishwasher on the other hand saves us money on water due to the eco function and I would struggle to wash dishes for 6 people bless you!!! Love the broom handle fix!
Drove a car for almost 10 years where the intermittent function of the wipers didn't work. There were two options: off and super sonic. I was *really* good at turning it on and then back off at just the right second so it would wipe once and then stop in the "down" position and not be in my line of sight.
Elizabeth B that's totally me right now. I drove my moms car today with her and the car and started, instinctively working her wipers like that. Funny :)
I forgot it was the carport. Is this a closed garage, or an open space with a roof? In Seattle, we have a lot of the open carports. I can understand how the wind could blow it off. Just make that any rainwater is not running to the house's foundation.
Hi Dana! I'm a new subscriber and I love all your videos! You are really down to earth and real. Thank you for the work that you do! 😊 one thing that we have never replaced was our microwave. We've been without one since October last year so almost 8 months now. And truly I have no desire to get a new one. Food tastes better when it's not cooked in a microwave and I have not come across a single thing that cannot be done without having a microwave. Things might take a little longer... but that's where patience comes in. Lol
I did wait on a dishwasher for a while. When I bought one, I did a 6 month, no interest. I have now paid it off. When I wants something for the home, I make one purchase at a time. We needed a new door. I did it on a year, no interest. I will pay it off early. I also have some tiles that have come up/ We had some left over tiles. ( They were not of the same design) We put them down. I want to replace the floor, but will not work on this until my door is paid. The bottom line is, we each need to do what we feel best for our family.
My bumper came off on my van many years ago i never fixed it we did the same thing when our dryer broke we hung them on the banister to dry until i saved for a new one right now the microwave went out and so did the tv in the living room I'm not replacing them anytime soon
We still have no dishwasher 4 yrs later , we did live without a oven for 6 months , we used a crock pot , toaster oven , microwave , and electric skillet, you can get creative , we also replaced our whole roof for $1200 , we had a realative who did roofs for a living ,he showed us and supervise us on how to fix it , just paid cost of shingles and tools , and blood sweat and tears , lol but it saved us $12,000
Both my dishwasher and my current electric dryer are long used models. My sister got the dishwasher by helping someone move and gave it to me. The dryer was put out during a move, the guy said it worked fine. A handyman delivered and installed it for $50. Both work great!
If you are interested in a cheap fix on your bathroom floor. Have the kids finish ripping it up. Clean it, paint it with leftover paint and put a rug down. I put some vinyl peel and stick tile I got from family dollar ($8) in my entryway for a temporary fix and I could not get the stuff up.
Good point re: drying racks etc more commonplace in Europe than dryers! And yes, I grew up (in VA) without a dishwasher. We got one when hubby and I got married (at 27). I feel like I should be A-OK doing didhes by hand since that was my norm for most of my life. But I've swung the other direction, ha! I put EVERYTHING in the dishwasher (unless of course it's not dishwasher-friendly). But dishes, pots, pans, toys, crocs, you name it, ha. Dishwasher.
We had same problem with tile in our kitchen. It's the first thing people see when they come into our home so I had to fix it!! My cheap solution that worked was I purchased adhesive glue from dollar tree!! That stuff works!! It has held up with 4 tiles!!
I remember buying a fire damaged washing machine from a neighbour it was warped but worked fine paid five pounds and it worked fine it was 6 months old! They didn't want to keep it x
My list is huge. but main one is my car. it's soon old and crashed in the front and sides.. nothing works, no radio... nothing. but I don't want a new car payment. =0
RIGHT?? What's the point of having to work our fingers to the bones (literally in my husbands case ) to drive a fancy car? Just to show off to people that you CAN have a care liek that? I'd rather show how my house is paid off instead ;)
Charge people to use your bathroom and invite them over. 15 cents a sheet for the toilet paper. Use the liquid rubber roofing compound and roll some on the roof, stuff will outlast the shingles.
Yes, our dishwasher is currently broken. We had wash all our dishes. We used to anyway when the dishwasher worked. It was more work to pre-wash and then wash in the dishwasher. We have hard water and I hated the spots. I'm in Pennsylvania too! We've been in our house for 10 yrs now and it was new when we bought it. We are trying to save as much as we can because we know this is the time when it comes to due to replace things. We desperately need to replace our couch and carpet. We'd love to do hard wood, but so expensive. And my husband doesn't want to settle for the 'fake wood'. So saving up it is.
Yep! in Europe, having a dryer, a dishwasher, a microwave are optionnal. Even though where I grow up the winter were really cold (summer are hot though), having a dryer was like an extra in households, not a must. Also Americans just seem VERY preoccupied by what other people think. That's something that I noticed through watching TH-cam videos. It's like there is a lot of conformity, I feel more than in Europe where it's a bit more relaxed.
Our A/C compressor in our 2008 Toyota broke 10 months ago at the end of summer. I started a sinking fund $100 saved a month since last year. Now we have $1000 cash to fix it, but I don't want too. We worked hard for that money and I hate to give it up that CA$H. Back in the debt days we would of just charged our CC as soon as it broke. Being debt free thank God our habits have changed. As far as the dish washer, I would never have one. Even if it was free.
I understand that feeling of hanging those clothes everywhere. Good for you that you saved. But I know that was so hard, especially with 4 kids. Kudos to you.
My dishwasher broke after a year and did not replace. it's just a money pit. I prefer to wash by hand anyway. my solution to washing too many dishes was to minimilize my kitchen. I only have a set number of dishes and pans. I don't buy gadgets either. my water heater broke and have not purchased another one yet because it's still under warranty. we've been like this for 2 months but have made do with bucket baths. We have been using like 3 gallons of water per bath. not only has it saved us water but we haven't had a gas bill in 2 months. The part finally came in and husband will fix himself. I just refused to spend $500 Plus dollars for another one.
for the past 10 years my parents dryer door doesn't stay closed on its own, so they put a 5 gallon bucket full of rocks in front of the door to keep it shut every time they dry clothes. For me, I have duck taped a cracked toilet seat because I couldn't afford to replace it. this was at a time when I couldn't afford trash bags and had to use grocery shopping bags for all of our trash with my husband and me and 3 kids under 3. :) I love these budgeting videos Dana! do you have a video about what you would spend your emergency fund on?
I learned about home warranties. It would have saved me lots of dollars for repairs on washers, dryers, dishwashers, and my oven if I had know about this early in my life of home ownership.
Tile should last longer. If breaking it was the wrong tile for the floor or needed subfloor or different glue. Too moist in bathroom is there a window or fan. Our insurance covers deer
I was going to say that lol I don't have a dryer never have done what a waste of electricity... llol have a to have a dishwasher tho family of 5 is a lot of dishes hehe there are many things broken in our house but we did buy a repo it's been a long road doing up the house on a budget great video thanks for sharing:)
When our 3 kids where very young we had a antique sofa set with jeans patch all over. I was not going to put a sofa on a credit card when I had one that was doing the job. Now we are in Italy and are better finance wise and I have chosen to not have the dryer. I dry outside or inside on a rack. The difference is that we do not have young kids anymore. I do not have a dish washer and do not miss it. My 22 years old car died this year and had to be replace (paid cash for a nice used one). We sleep well at night not thinking about how we will pay bills. Ciao
Maybe you can just glue the tiles back on in the bathroom. If you don't have them anymore just replace with others that are similar. My desktop computer stopped working and I haven't replaced as we just use our Laptops ( kids have these for school) and IPads. Although I have a dryer I don't use it too much as where I live in Australia we have good weather year round and I use an indoor clothes airer if it's raining just a little. I save the dyer for those times when it's been raining for several days.
I live in the north of England it's rare it's warm here yet we line dry most things, I think Europe generally though is a little bit more environmentally aware than America, that might be wrong though and that might be a huge generalisation! Got to say though ( I'm not in debt) I got a new dishwasher delivered the day after my old one broke LOL 2 teenage children, their girlfriends, a husband and a full time job life's just to short to hand wash dishes. love your videos xx
My air mattress died this past weekend. I have only 4 weeks left here and then I will get to sleep on a real bed for July lol. Then I'll bring a cheap air mattress with me when I move (I have a bunch at my mom's house) but probably won't buy a real bed until early next year. Thankfully I work at a school and my principal let me borrow some mats to sleep on for now.
LOL - we don't have a dishwasher or dryer (and no microwave) - power is very expensive here so we go without a few power hogs and have saved a ,out of $$$. And definitely patch your roof (otherwise you could compromise the structure of your carport) :)
My roof on my house needs replaced, my insurance will not cover it because of how bad it is. But its not leaking, so crossing my fingers till i can afford a new roof. Oh and my windshield on my car is cracked all the way across. I'm so glad to hear that I'm not the only one that has to wait to repair things.
In Ireland we live in small houses and you will nearly always see a clothes horse with drying clothes somewhere in a house. It's just the norm. I don't understand why Americans feel it's a necessity. It's a total luxury item! We have a drier and i consider myself extremely fortunate to have one. I only use it in the depths of winter. I live in a built up suburb of the city and everyone line dries clothes in their garden :)
Dana! this just makes you more adorable! haha. I can totally relate to this! I wish we lived near you, Jon could help you with your car port. We hired this guy to put in sidewalks for us and we paid him in beef part of the cost, upfront, then he flaked out for like a year, and now he's finally coming back. it's been a long, patience testing process, but totally worth it.
It’s so funny how reliant people are on a dryer. Many Australians use a drying rack and don’t have a dryer. It’s also much gentler on your clothes. If I bought a dryer I would save up for the most efficient one
I have just discovered your videos and really enjoy them. One thing I would like to comment on regarding repairing things: Here in south Louisiana, especially since Hurricane Katrina, our homes are inspected once a year by our homeowner's insurance company. Something like your roof situation would likely be noted and photographed and should a weather event warrant a homeowner's claim, they likely would dicker with you about your carport. Or even refuse to cover any damage to your roof. I would definitely patch your roof----a youtube video can show you how. You should at least put a tarpaulin over the damage so as not to allow your felt paper to get ruined. Oh and maybe one day you can do a video about pricing out a whole new roof? shingles vs shaker vs metal ----- 10 yr vs 20 yr etc
I obviously don't know what your insurance deductibles are, but your car bumper & carport roof should be covered under those policies. There might be a time frame requirement (i.e., within 6 months or 1 year of incident), so you'd probably want to look into that sooner rather than later. Also, if your dishwasher is under 1 year old, it's probably still under warranty.
This will be 2nd year without ice maker. $400 to fix in Los Angeles. We make our own ice cubes now. What a concept.
Ice maker! As an Italian married to an American, I do envy your big fridges/freezers with the ice maker. Here in Italy, then ones who have a regular fridge/freezer (the majority of us since our kitchens are rarely big enough) don't have that luxury. So I buy those purposefully made bags to put water in and make ice. However, a big nice American fridge/freezer is on our list for when we can finally afford to BUY a house!! But yes you can totally live without. You just have to plan to make ice :D
Tiles are easy to fix yourself, and not fixing can lead to bigger trouble if water is getting behind the rest of the tile. You can learn to repair all kinds of things by watching youtube videos, too.
We usually look up how to fix the problem and fix it ourselves. The latch on our dryer broke and it was easy and cheap to fix - maybe your dishwasher would be as well? I'm amazed at how many things we've fixed thanks to the information we've found via Google.
I'm glad you don't care what people think! You guys are troopers! I had a car that I had to open the window to open the door from the outside to get out. Co workers made fun but it was going to cost more then the car was worth to fix it! I'm not going to lie I couldn't wait to get rid of it!
Your nanny doesn't clean the dishes they use during the day?!? This is not meant to be a negative or rude comment, but I work as a full time nanny and always do the dishes that the children and I use during the day. I figure, I made the mess and I will clean it up. maybe that's just me though.
agreed with you
I am also a Nanny... always do children's and my dishes... And wow you have a Nanny...
I was gonna say!
Nanny is undoubtedly less expensive than day care for 4 kids. I agree, she should do the dishes during the day.
Kimberly Merrill yep, nanny should do dishes and light housework related to the kids
thank you for this video. when something breaks we feel we have to fix it, but if we think about it, we can live without certain things for awhile
we fixed our dryer! My husband checked out why the part wasn't working and he ordered one on Amazon and and he installed it.
I hang my clothes in my apartment in the winter too!
Love your hair in this video :) not about debt but paying the compliment anyhow!
Always keeping it real - that's why I like your videos! 👍🏻☺️
awesome video. I love it when people think outside the box and are able to not let peer pressure influence them too much. my one and only computer, a laptop, broke where it's more expensive to repair it than buy a new one but I'm not forking over the money for anything right now. We'll see how long I last. I can do a lot of things from my phone, and who knows, maybe I'll start to read more
My bathroom tiles are falling off, our microwave from college sounded like it was going to explode at any moment. Our inlaws got sick of it and bought us a new one lol. We have several doors that could be replaced, and a toilet that doesn't flush well. We just keep trucking along lol
Love your channel and your spirit Dana. I wish you and your husband well on your journey to get out of Debt. My Wife and I are also on this path and hearing your stories sounds so familiar. For us we have a dishwasher that I have been able to fix once thanks to youtube. a Hole in our pantry doorand other misc stuff. But right now we only owe on the house, we homeschool our sons, and are saving for retierment. So... progress....
IMO, a dishwasher is a waste of real estate, but that's just me. I raised 4 kids just fine without one. I entertain without one & get everything clean, dried & put away before the wash cycle is even done on a dishwasher. I'd much rather use the space a dishwasher would take up for other things.
I use my broken dishwasher as a large drying rack for our dishes
drdianneLc. I never had any dealings with dishwashers. My parents always said why should they get a dishwasher when they had us kids to wash up! Since I grew up without one as a kid, I’ve never felt the need to bother with one as an adult!
I love this video. I refer people to it all the time. It's still hard to believe that there was a time when your videos didn't have that lovely whimsical intro. Take care!
Hair looks great on you Dana! The dryer is extreme when you have to deal with cloth diapers. I grew up without a dryer in the tropics, monsoon season is very challenging...humidity is high. At least in the Winter the air is dry. Our printer recently broke(I just replaced the ink) and I held off buying a replacement until it was a total pain. I had to take my daughter to the library just before closing time to print a State competition paper. It was also the scanner, and I couldn't scan documents to send out. Thankfully we received a refund from escrow and we bought the replacement in cash.
my question is, why did the tiles begin to peel so quickly? I know your children contributed to the problem, but they should not have been able to do that. What is wrong with the glue.
Yes Dana, in the U.K., it's TOTALLY normal to line or hang dry our laundry to dry! My husband and I would refuse a tumble dryer, even if it were gifted to us, as it uses SO much energy and ruins clothes.
It looks like a Chinese laundry in our house most of the time, as we have a lot of rain in the UK, but any dry moment and everyone's laundry is outside on their lines. You can't beat that outdoor smell. :)
Bunchy The Budgeteer since you all hang dry everything, do you have any suggestions on softening towels and denim jeans? Our T-shirt’s dry lovely, but the towels are scratchy and crunchy if I don’t put them in the dryer.
@@katlyncornman7087 towels are meant to be like that to make them more absorbent, but you can always just add some fabric conditioner to your wash, they won't dry your body as fast but they'll be super soft :-)
Things we aren't replacing: Broken backpacks(rock them till you can't!-fishing line is amazing for repairs), glass stove top with 3 working elements, and our terrible (or amazing dandelion-farm) front lawn. Our money and time is better used elsewhere for now. Thanks for the video! I love to see and hear other families getting creative to make it work.
Dana smith n
your bumper made me think of mine. after an accident a couple years ago my front end was pretty smashed in. Well after the needed mechanical work my mechanic lovingly banged it out and "stitched" it back together enough for it to be functional. It looks funny and probably bad but it will not cause me problems and it's only cosmetic now so I'll not be fixing it. I also received hail damage after and other dents. A well loved car, but as long as I can drive it, the cosmetic problems will not be taken care of for a long time
hey Dana, happy Tuesday! if you are self conscious about the missing tile in your bathroom, you could put your clothes airer on top of the area of missing tile and hang laundry to dry on it. it would reduce your electricity costs for drying laundry a bit, and hide the area of missing tile!
I also have 4 kids and I choose not to buy a new living room set even though a want a new one. My son while I was out decided to take the cushions off the couch and jump. I now have a huge hole in the bottom and when you sit it caves in a little in one spot. I refuse to buy another despite the fact that I am embarrassed to have people over.
This is excellent! It really helps when your spouse is on the same page. Have been/ currently doing the same , and I enjoy your vlogs! Be blessed.
our microwave broke a few months back. We decided to live without one we eat healthier without it. We have never had a dishwasher, I do find it a struggle to keep up with Dishes. we have 3 closets with broken doors. I find you realize that much of what we have is a luxury when it breaks.
Our dryer broke a few years ago and i started hanging clothes inside. I don’t miss it! We designated a bedroom to add lines close to the ceiling. They retract if not in use. My clothes are in better condition and we are saving in electricity as a bonus. I’m from Canada
Thank you for being so real. I don't feel bad about my bathroom which is falling apart also.
We lived with a hole in our bumper of our old car for years lol. We actually sold it with the hole still in the bumper. Last summer I rear ended somebody with our SUV and it now has a crack lol and we are living with it
We have a dryer, but I still dry my clothes outside or inside if the weather is bad. I even have a video on my channel where I have ropes all over my living/dining room. The dryer works great 👍 but it takes way too much energy. I hang every little thing, even socks and undies. It does take time. But the big things like blankets, towels and jeans would take so much energy to dry, and it only takes a minute or so to hang them. Also, some things, if not fixed in time, would cost more to fix later when they cause more damage.
Same as your #2...Our dishwasher doesn't work... We hand wash and use it as a big drying rack 😁. Family of 8... We don't plan on replacing it.
I'm having many the same issues have mention. Our dishwasher no longer works,and is our second dishwasher since we moved in our house 13 years ago. I also have four kids and feel like I'm always washing dishes. I was surprised to hear your nanny leaves you a sink full of dishes for you when you get home. When I was younger and worked as a nanny, I always cleaned up the dishes and other messes the kids and I made while I was taking care of them. Well at least you have a dishwasher that mostly works now.😊 I feel for you for the bathroom tiles too. We also have some missing bathroom tiles that we haven't fixed yet, as my husband wants to eventually remodel the whole bathroom, after we finish remodeling our basement. That has been taking forever in itself. It is nice to see we are not the only ones that have things in our house that need a lot of work:)
I was thinking the same thing. The nanny should be washing the dishes!
I see here this was last year - BUT regarding your tile in bathroom...where was it breaking off from specifically? If you already got it fixed - great. However, we've been in construction for 40 years - tile is not really something you can let go. Tile is a protective surface to prevent water and moisture from creating mold in your walls. We suggest you check very carefully especially around the water sources like tub and sink. Mold will grow into the walls and into other rooms. There are tons of articles on how dangerous this is. Just be safe and check it out real good. We'd help ya for free but we live 3K miles away. Good luck!
This was kind of fun to hear! Thanks for sharing!
My husband ran into our garage and part of his bumper above the tire ripped off. Doesn't affect anything just looks ugly so we never paid to replace it. Your homeowners insurance might cover the roof. Everyone in my neighborhood is getting new roofs due to a hail storm. I'm so happy about it because we were due for a new roof.
I love the video. makes me feel better about my situation. I have been living without air conditioning and the ledge on the window outside fell apart. the car I'm driving is slowly dying and I've decided just to use it when I have to and when I don't the bus is my friend. keep up the great videos.
Thankyou for the video Dana. Its a good subject. It is amazing how some people seem to think it is impossible to cope without a laundry drier or washing up machine, neither of which I have ever had. I dont have children but have shared houses with people who did and we still managed without and thought nothing of it.
What worries me is the de-skilling of society. A lot of younger people now dont know how to do basic tasks because they have always had machines to do them. They actually dont know how to get dirty pots clean. They dont know how to clean a floor by hand. They have no idea how to wash clothing by hand. They dont know how to get a greasy mark out of a shirt, without buying some fancy stain remover, when ordinary soap will do the job. They dont know how to spread wet clothing out properly so that it will dry and not go smelly.
Basically they are rendered totally dependent on the manufacturers of machines etc. How are they going to cope when they leave home & have to manage on a low/lowish income. If you cant manage without something, for a while at least, it can make it impossible to budget properly. Which I suppose renders these young people also dependent on the purveyers of loans. Many of them are also dependent on expensive ready prepared foods and cant knock up a cheap but healthy and filling vegetable soup for example.
Sounds like a recipe for a downhill slide into financial chaos and poor health to me. I feel concerned for young people who have missed learning these skills and the next generations who may learn even less of what they need How will future generations manage?
You are very inspirational! I have to say, we live in Europe and maybe things here are handled differently. We finish college and theoretically we are not in debt (our parents normally pay for our college education and here it is all statal and it is a fraction of what it costs in America). However, my husband is American; he came to Italy to stay when we were 23 and 24. I was still studying and we arranged our wedding in just 3 months (that was what his touristic visa allowed him to). Then we stayed with my parents for a couple of months, and we moved into a furnished apartment for about 6 months. I had a part-time job and was studying, and my parents helped out with the rent. Then we finally moved into another apartment (and into another one after a few years) and we were proud to be paying everything with our money. My parents did pay for our kitchen (which we still have now) as a belated wedding present. After that we were on our own legs, and proudly. However, when we had to purchase our first car (a used one) they wanted a guarantor... I was so ashamed my mother had to cosign with us. We recently had to purchase a new car (my husband was involved in a bad wreck and destroyed our car and we got from insurance just a fraction of the value) and I was so proud when we could purchase it without any strings attached and nobody that had to sign on our behalf. It is hard... it is hard when you are in your thirties and still need your parents' help. We are proud to be on our own, but I can see your point, and I feel for you. As I said in a previous video of yours, we don't make big money. We break our ass and NOW we do make decent money, and because of what we had to go through before in our life, now I feel like "relaxing a little more" and get things or stuff I really want. But we were in that place before, and I know how it feels
My 2000 Camry, the trunk won't pop open with the lever from the driver's seat it will only open by key, and I'm leaving it.
on a smaller scale, my purse has 2 zipper pockets on the outside where the zipper broke on them both and I've been using the purse a least a year that way and just wear it with that part facing my body...I'm just not interested in buying anything unless I absolutely need to!
peace andlove
I think often reparing, patching nd fixing is often preferable over replacing - you always should keep the follow up costs in mind - if you don't fix your roof and water gets in that's gonna do a whole lot of additional damage and cost you much more in the long term - getting out of debt is an endurance race and you reallt need to keep the long term in mind.
The new dish washer does not have guarantee any more? I bought our washing machine at ikea since they gave (I think still do, here) 5 years of guarantee for all big electronic devices.
I wished you had shown the tiles that sounds like something you could easily DIY fix at last to a level that makes sure the kids don't break it any further for very little money. (here in Germany it's quite common that they pack you at last one additional package of tiles in there so you can fix broken ones even if that stile / color is no longer available.)
Yea Stil have not fixed the light switch in the dining room... Gotta get in touch with that estranged friend who is actually a qualified electrician. (if neither of you is handy you sure know someone who is and most handy guys really like to show off their prowesses and tools.... 😉)
Actually I saw our home Depot equivalent stores all started free DIY classes to bind customers - my wife went to 2 of those and even got free stuff - also worth looking if similar stuff exists in the US..!
Our hear and air went out and we are making due with window unit acs and fans during the summer and heaters and fireplace in the winter.
We have a tumble drier but we hang all our laundry even if it takes up the whole lounge, it saves us money so we do it. I finish our bedsheets for five mins in the drier before putting them back on the bed.
Our dishwasher on the other hand saves us money on water due to the eco function and I would struggle to wash dishes for 6 people bless you!!! Love the broom handle fix!
Drove a car for almost 10 years where the intermittent function of the wipers didn't work. There were two options: off and super sonic. I was *really* good at turning it on and then back off at just the right second so it would wipe once and then stop in the "down" position and not be in my line of sight.
Elizabeth B that's totally me right now. I drove my moms car today with her and the car and started, instinctively working her wipers like that. Funny :)
Elizabeth B “Off or Super Sonic” 😂 I love it! We all do what we gotta do don’t we?
I forgot it was the carport. Is this a closed garage, or an open space with a roof? In Seattle, we have a lot of the open carports. I can understand how the wind could blow it off. Just make that any rainwater is not running to the house's foundation.
Hi Dana! I'm a new subscriber and I love all your videos! You are really down to earth and real. Thank you for the work that you do! 😊 one thing that we have never replaced was our microwave. We've been without one since October last year so almost 8 months now. And truly I have no desire to get a new one. Food tastes better when it's not cooked in a microwave and I have not come across a single thing that cannot be done without having a microwave. Things might take a little longer... but that's where patience comes in. Lol
I did wait on a dishwasher for a while. When I bought one, I did a 6 month, no interest. I have now paid it off. When I wants something for the home, I make one purchase at a time. We needed a new door. I did it on a year, no interest. I will pay it off early. I also have some tiles that have come up/ We had some left over tiles. ( They were not of the same design) We put them down. I want to replace the floor, but will not work on this until my door is paid. The bottom line is, we each need to do what we feel best for our family.
Idk having some tiles loose or breaked could by worse, humidity can goes deeper and make a big damage..
My heater! Where I live though it's never cold so it's no big deal.
My bumper came off on my van many years ago i never fixed it we did the same thing when our dryer broke we hung them on the banister to dry until i saved for a new one right now the microwave went out and so did the tv in the living room I'm not replacing them anytime soon
We still have no dishwasher 4 yrs later , we did live without a oven for 6 months , we used a crock pot , toaster oven , microwave , and electric skillet, you can get creative , we also replaced our whole roof for $1200 , we had a realative who did roofs for a living ,he showed us and supervise us on how to fix it , just paid cost of shingles and tools , and blood sweat and tears , lol but it saved us $12,000
Might be worth a try to file a claim with your homeowners insurance for the roof damage since it was in a storm. They may cover the patching!
The nanny should make sure the house is tidy and clean. I used to be one!
Both my dishwasher and my current electric dryer are long used models. My sister got the dishwasher by helping someone move and gave it to me. The dryer was put out during a move, the guy said it worked fine. A handyman delivered and installed it for $50. Both work great!
If you are interested in a cheap fix on your bathroom floor. Have the kids finish ripping it up. Clean it, paint it with leftover paint and put a rug down. I put some vinyl peel and stick tile I got from family dollar ($8) in my entryway for a temporary fix and I could not get the stuff up.
Always check for recalls. I know our dishwasher did that and it was actually recalled so we were able to get it fixed.
Good point re: drying racks etc more commonplace in Europe than dryers! And yes, I grew up (in VA) without a dishwasher. We got one when hubby and I got married (at 27). I feel like I should be A-OK doing didhes by hand since that was my norm for most of my life. But I've swung the other direction, ha! I put EVERYTHING in the dishwasher (unless of course it's not dishwasher-friendly). But dishes, pots, pans, toys, crocs, you name it, ha. Dishwasher.
We had same problem with tile in our kitchen. It's the first thing people see when they come into our home so I had to fix it!! My cheap solution that worked was I purchased adhesive glue from dollar tree!! That stuff works!! It has held up with 4 tiles!!
I remember buying a fire damaged washing machine from a neighbour it was warped but worked fine paid five pounds and it worked fine it was 6 months old! They didn't want to keep it x
I just visited Poland with my girlfriend. Nobody even had a dryer. They’re very environmentally conscious.
My list is huge. but main one is my car. it's soon old and crashed in the front and sides.. nothing works, no radio... nothing. but I don't want a new car payment. =0
RIGHT?? What's the point of having to work our fingers to the bones (literally in my husbands case ) to drive a fancy car? Just to show off to people that you CAN have a care liek that? I'd rather show how my house is paid off instead ;)
mitz r. Hope you took public transportation until you could save up for new wheels!
Charge people to use your bathroom and invite them over. 15 cents a sheet for the toilet paper.
Use the liquid rubber roofing compound and roll some on the roof, stuff will outlast the shingles.
Yes, our dishwasher is currently broken. We had wash all our dishes. We used to anyway when the dishwasher worked. It was more work to pre-wash and then wash in the dishwasher. We have hard water and I hated the spots.
I'm in Pennsylvania too!
We've been in our house for 10 yrs now and it was new when we bought it. We are trying to save as much as we can because we know this is the time when it comes to due to replace things. We desperately need to replace our couch and carpet. We'd love to do hard wood, but so expensive. And my husband doesn't want to settle for the 'fake wood'. So saving up it is.
If you dont fix your roof that can lead to much bigger problems like flooding and mold. Cant you get insurance to kick in the money for that?
Yep! in Europe, having a dryer, a dishwasher, a microwave are optionnal. Even though where I grow up the winter were really cold (summer are hot though), having a dryer was like an extra in households, not a must. Also Americans just seem VERY preoccupied by what other people think. That's something that I noticed through watching TH-cam videos. It's like there is a lot of conformity, I feel more than in Europe where it's a bit more relaxed.
Our A/C compressor in our 2008 Toyota broke 10 months ago at the end of summer. I started a sinking fund $100 saved a month since last year. Now we have $1000 cash to fix it, but I don't want too. We worked hard for that money and I hate to give it up that CA$H. Back in the debt days we would of just charged our CC as soon as it broke. Being debt free thank God our habits have changed. As far as the dish washer, I would never have one. Even if it was free.
I understand that feeling of hanging those clothes everywhere. Good for you that you saved. But I know that was so hard, especially with 4 kids. Kudos to you.
I love these videos. I'd love for you to make a video on why you chose to have so many kids and how
it's affected your budget. etc thanks a lot
My dishwasher broke after a year and did not replace. it's just a money pit. I prefer to wash by hand anyway. my solution to washing too many dishes was to minimilize my kitchen. I only have a set number of dishes and pans. I don't buy gadgets either. my water heater broke and have not purchased another one yet because it's still under warranty. we've been like this for 2 months but have made do with bucket baths. We have been using like 3 gallons of water per bath. not only has it saved us water but we haven't had a gas bill in 2 months. The part finally came in and husband will fix himself. I just refused to spend $500 Plus dollars for another one.
I live in Massachusetts and have never owned a dryer or a dishwasher. I am in my sixties. Why does anyone need them?
for the past 10 years my parents dryer door doesn't stay closed on its own, so they put a 5 gallon bucket full of rocks in front of the door to keep it shut every time they dry clothes. For me, I have duck taped a cracked toilet seat because I couldn't afford to replace it. this was at a time when I couldn't afford trash bags and had to use grocery shopping bags for all of our trash with my husband and me and 3 kids under 3. :) I love these budgeting videos Dana! do you have a video about what you would spend your emergency fund on?
I learned about home warranties. It would have saved me lots of dollars for repairs on washers, dryers, dishwashers, and my oven if I had know about this early in my life of home ownership.
Tile should last longer. If breaking it was the wrong tile for the floor or needed subfloor or different glue. Too moist in bathroom is there a window or fan. Our insurance covers deer
I was going to say that lol I don't have a dryer never have done what a waste of electricity... llol have a to have a dishwasher tho family of 5 is a lot of dishes hehe there are many things broken in our house but we did buy a repo it's been a long road doing up the house on a budget great video thanks for sharing:)
Wright At Home Are all of the other people in the house too young or disabled to do some of the washing up?
When our 3 kids where very young we had a antique sofa set with jeans patch all over. I was not going to put a sofa on a credit card when I had one that was doing the job. Now we are in Italy and are better finance wise and I have chosen to not have the dryer. I dry outside or inside on a rack. The difference is that we do not have young kids anymore. I do not have a dish washer and do not miss it. My 22 years old car died this year and had to be replace (paid cash for a nice used one). We sleep well at night not thinking about how we will pay bills. Ciao
Your videos are so inspirational! Especially when we have about 9 -12 months to go on baby step 2😬
+Mercedes Gilligan WAY TO GO! You're so close!!!! ✨👊🏻
Freezer, full food (no kids at home now)(uk) so can't afford to replace or refill with food but not a problem
We live in a rental, and we refuse to spend money on anything that we can’t take with us.
Doesn't your dishwasher have a warranty?
Maybe you can just glue the tiles back on in the bathroom. If you don't have them anymore just replace with others that are similar. My desktop computer stopped working and I haven't replaced as we just use our Laptops ( kids have these for school) and IPads. Although I have a dryer I don't use it too much as where I live in Australia we have good weather year round and I use an indoor clothes airer if it's raining just a little. I save the dyer for those times when it's been raining for several days.
Jennifer Norton r
I live in the north of England it's rare it's warm here yet we line dry most things, I think Europe generally though is a little bit more environmentally aware than America, that might be wrong though and that might be a huge generalisation! Got to say though ( I'm not in debt) I got a new dishwasher delivered the day after my old one broke LOL 2 teenage children, their girlfriends, a husband and a full time job life's just to short to hand wash dishes. love your videos xx
My air mattress died this past weekend. I have only 4 weeks left here and then I will get to sleep on a real bed for July lol. Then I'll bring a cheap air mattress with me when I move (I have a bunch at my mom's house) but probably won't buy a real bed until early next year. Thankfully I work at a school and my principal let me borrow some mats to sleep on for now.
I have to admit I buy paper plates but hardly pay anything sometimes free. Saves my sanity . I cover my missing tiles with mats .
LOL - we don't have a dishwasher or dryer (and no microwave) - power is very expensive here so we go without a few power hogs and have saved a ,out of $$$. And definitely patch your roof (otherwise you could compromise the structure of your carport) :)
In Trinidad and tobago we do line dry our laundry always
My roof on my house needs replaced, my insurance will not cover it because of how bad it is. But its not leaking, so crossing my fingers till i can afford a new roof. Oh and my windshield on my car is cracked all the way across. I'm so glad to hear that I'm not the only one that has to wait to repair things.
Can you get it patched? Might not look great, but might get you through until you can save up. Good luck!!
Be careful with missing tiles because you might get water damage and that will cost even more $$$$
Super glue or gorilla glue 👌 works wonders ! I did it on a ceramic soap dish years ago!
I live in a apt with no dishwasher... so use to it.. I want to buy a house soon but, still in debt so it kind of sucks lol
I would get a long rug for the bathroom. No one would ever know.
outside wash lines are outlawed in some communities for view.
We use pliers for the cold water faucet. Our kids know how to do it & know it's better to save money.....for now at least.
In Ireland we live in small houses and you will nearly always see a clothes horse with drying clothes somewhere in a house. It's just the norm. I don't understand why Americans feel it's a necessity. It's a total luxury item! We have a drier and i consider myself extremely fortunate to have one. I only use it in the depths of winter. I live in a built up suburb of the city and everyone line dries clothes in their garden :)
Dana! this just makes you more adorable! haha. I can totally relate to this! I wish we lived near you, Jon could help you with your car port. We hired this guy to put in sidewalks for us and we paid him in beef part of the cost, upfront, then he flaked out for like a year, and now he's finally coming back. it's been a long, patience testing process, but totally worth it.
Actually lot of this we try to fix ourselves. I think that's kind of mind set. In Europe generally.
It’s so funny how reliant people are on a dryer. Many Australians use a drying rack and don’t have a dryer. It’s also much gentler on your clothes. If I bought a dryer I would save up for the most efficient one
I have just discovered your videos and really enjoy them. One thing I would like to comment on regarding repairing things: Here in south Louisiana, especially since Hurricane Katrina, our homes are inspected once a year by our homeowner's insurance company. Something like your roof situation would likely be noted and photographed and should a weather event warrant a homeowner's claim, they likely would dicker with you about your carport. Or even refuse to cover any damage to your roof. I would definitely patch your roof----a youtube video can show you how. You should at least put a tarpaulin over the damage so as not to allow your felt paper to get ruined. Oh and maybe one day you can do a video about pricing out a whole new roof? shingles vs shaker vs metal ----- 10 yr vs 20 yr etc
I obviously don't know what your insurance deductibles are, but your car bumper & carport roof should be covered under those policies. There might be a time frame requirement (i.e., within 6 months or 1 year of incident), so you'd probably want to look into that sooner rather than later. Also, if your dishwasher is under 1 year old, it's probably still under warranty.
Why didn’t you file a claim with your home insurance for the carport roof???
No dryer, microwave or dishwasher. Don’t miss them.
hey, I'm right there with ya Dana!
This is why we have a home warrenty for appliances.
Great Video!
+Jsb Apple Thanks!!