Hosting a poetry club on Thursday, and usually the host makes the entire meal, but this time I delegated a few of the side items I was going to purchase anyway. Everyone in the group is a great cook (and enjoys it), so I don’t know why I didn’t think of steering us towards potlucks earlier! 
5 Likes
I call shenanigans, BART doesn’t go to SJ Cal train does! 
3 Likes
It does now! South Bay Extension! It was in the planning stages when I moved there in 2007 and only just starting to be constructed in 2017 when I left (LOL). It opened in 2020!
(Wait, I didn’t leave in 2017, but anyway it still stands. The Barryessa station was only a few miles from here my aunt lived, and it would have been so nice to use to travel down from the northern East Bay. Alas, it was still a glimmer then. Also, she just moved to another state, so no benefit anymore even if I was still there!)
4 Likes
Those are the best! Not only cheap but you get to try new things!
2 Likes
I stand corrected! I did Google a system map to check it hadn’t changed but got an old one I guess (from the Bart website!)
Or I just find it ridiculous it goes through East Bay. Because NIMBYS. SMDH.
4 Likes
It would be super inconvenient to get from SF to SJ via the East Bay, for real. The southern Peninsula had/has resisted BART expansion ever since it was built in the 70s.
1 Like
Yeah… Maybe kind of scenic, if you have the time trains are fun! But I’d probably take Cal train… Granted I never go to north SJ, I need the Palo Alto through Santa Clara stops, generally.
2 Likes
@CalBal exactly, took the extension! Our storage unit was a 5-minute walk from the Berryesa station, so it was perfect.
@galliver the layout was a total pain - I assumed the extension would go through Millbrae, but of course I had to cross the entire east bay. I should have checked the map before I booked the flight, and flown in and out of Oakland, but of course I didn’t think to.
3 Likes
Oh man that stinks! Finding out after the fact and having to go all the way around I mean!
3 Likes
One of my favorites for frugal inspiration, the comments section on each post are the best part. Her pantry/meal planning info is also really top notch. Oh and her garden is unbelievable despite being in a desert!
https://theprudenthomemaker.com/blog/
5 Likes
She’s great. While her lifestyle is not, you know, one I would chose, I love the problem-solving open-heart with which she embraces it.
Some years back I remember her doing some posts about remaking thrift store finds for her teenage daughter into these cute-as-a-button vintage duds.
3 Likes
Y’all, it is money hemorrhage season at my house. OMG, the school supply lists alone are going to set me back three figures, and LB wants an entire new wardrobe of uniform-type school pants. I mean, I get not wanting to wear your uniform polo with your camo sweats and the old uniform pants have long since dissolved (they didn’t wear uniforms last year because of covid), so this is reasonable. Fortunately the shirts seem OK and I can make them fresh masks from supplies on hand.
Side note: I really hate these school supply lists. They are classroom supplies, not for my personal children–in fact, we have been told not to put names on things because they are for everyone to share. It’s like a stealth tax on the subset of parents who have the money. What annoys me is that it would be SO MUCH more efficient in both time and money for the school to buy all this in bulk, but this is America so God forbid.
We do not have time to bargain hunt so I am just going to suck it up and make a big Target order. The pants I will get from Costco.com 2 pairs for $20. I have not had good success with other brands of chinos.
Just a vent on the American school system…
13 Likes
I love her!!!
2 Likes
Ooof. Just paid pet deposit for our new place. $300 (to be split between me and Wizard), gone forever into the ether.
Kitty is worth it – she is the best girl – and otherwise a very cheap kitty, but man that’s a good chunk of change all at once.
13 Likes
The apartment I’m in now has a $50 a month pet charge. My cat literally has rent. His credit is terrible, though. Too much QVC.
18 Likes
We are also going to have pet rent! $10 a month.
I suppose I will consider her as paying it to us in floof and snuggles.
(The pet deposit for the place we’re in was $500… so at least at the new place it’s smaller.)
4 Likes
I paid TWO pet deposits in the same apartment complex in the last couple years of Kitty Feroz’s life. I paid a fresh one when she was terminally ill. No regrets.
3 Likes
This is so ugh. Like, people complained about supplies when I was in school, and honestly most could easily afford a pack of tissues to maintain class hygiene. But at least you got to use what you brought! And take it home and reuse it year to year! We had a huge box of crayons and pencils and markers at home and mostly just used that! And reused notebooks even we only used like 3 pages.
5 Likes
And I kind of got sidetracked but I agree… If everyone is sharing anyways, charge a fee and have the school bulk buy.
6 Likes
Pet rent drives me insane! I can understand an extra security deposit in case the cat wrecks something, but I just don’t see the logic behind extra rent. (Other than: we can make more money)
I lived in a two bedroom apartment when I first got a cat. I could have had four people living in that apartment for the same price. But one person and a cat? Extra rent. (I was dishonest and just never told them I got a cat)
8 Likes