[sixpakistan]

Originally Posted by zzze

assalamu alaykum

i second what Fatima said - move out at the same time as ur husband? You'll be saving money that way, too (nice food, cosy room, company - no tv, net or husband = crazy) even if you feel you might not be making use of the house.

surah waqia :flower

+1, that makes sense

living in an empty place with noone around and no internet can be a real drag (speaking from considerable experience)

[shadha]

Hijabigirl, since you deleted the post, I will not respond to it.

But yay thanks everyone!

Bluestar, lol it took me awhile to figure out what skipping was. Even now, I'm still not so sure. Is it dumpster diving?

fatima/zzze, the apartment is really cute and thankfully utilities are included in the monthly rent, which is really uncommon for this area. The apartment was too good to pass up [the guy is even putting wood floors in for me, yay] so we decided to sacrifice a bit and have me move in before him. Also, I think it'll be a great time to decorate it as I please without having to hear him complain.

Jamroll, we do have an Aldis! We also have a Big Lots here. I think they sell some food? I'm not really sure. Alhumdulilah my mom taught me how to cook from scratch, so maybe I can make some bulk meals [which is totally cheaper than eating out as Pushpa mentioned] and freeze them? As rawwr suggested, I should just purchase a microwave. I do know we have a few farmers markets but I'm not exactly sure where they are located, I'll definitely ask mom.

sumiyia/shotgun-- I totally didn't think of craigslist. I was thinking that we could purchase furniture from Ikea? It's not that expensive? The hubster keeps saying that we may find better deals at mom and pop furniture stores? I personally would love to take my time with finding furniture, so that I can hit up all the flea markets and garage sells. I have a thing for old torn up looking pieces. No wonder my favorite interior design is country/shabby chic.

Keep posting tips! I totally appreciate it!


shadha-

[shadha]

Jamroll: Also, you don;t have to become a veggie. No one can bear that for very long, unless they willingly chose a vegetarian lifestyle. Get tinned meat, like fish. Okay so it's not the same as frsh from the butcher's or fishmongers but they taste okay, some taste pretty good. They last for ages, and they're much much cheaper than being fresh meat.

Come to think of it- WalMart sometimes has a sale on 4lbs of frozen Tilapia fish for 9.99. Not bad at all and they come individually wrapped so I can use then on a need basis.


shadha-

[ShotgunMessiah]

I looked at Ikea's website just now and the prices (while not outrageous) are probably not the best deal out there. What I am doing, slowly but surely, is getting kind of in-betweeners for furniture, utensils, appliances and the like that are free online but do what I need them to do. That way, I've got something sufficient until I can save up and get top of the line stuff for the house, and when I drop the cash on something nice, it's something REALLY nice.

You may not want to go that route, but it might be something to think about.

EDIT: Also, as far as internet and stuff goes, you can probably find a deal on the high-speed internet connection that it's either free or very cheap for the first three months. The first few months we lived in our house, the cable tv, DSL, and phone were together $30/month. That way, your husband will be around by the time the promotion wears off.

[Hussain87]

Originally Posted by shadha

Jamroll: Also, you don;t have to become a veggie. No one can bear that for very long, unless they willingly chose a vegetarian lifestyle. Get tinned meat, like fish. Okay so it's not the same as frsh from the butcher's or fishmongers but they taste okay, some taste pretty good. They last for ages, and they're much much cheaper than being fresh meat.

Come to think of it- WalMart sometimes has a sale on 4lbs of frozen Tilapia fish for 9.99. Not bad at all and they come individually wrapped so I can use then on a need basis.


shadha-

Seeing how this forum is supposed to be Islamic (judging from the word Islamica) surely it should be considered inappropriate for a sister to have the word "breast" highlighted in her signature!!!!!!!!!!!

[nectar]

^Ahahahahaha, can't wait for Shadha's reply!

[Bruinrab]

Originally Posted by shadha

Bluestar, lol it took me awhile to figure out what skipping was. Even now, I'm still not so sure. Is it dumpster diving?

sumiyia/shotgun-- I totally didn't think of craigslist. I was thinking that we could purchase furniture from Ikea? It's not that expensive? The hubster keeps saying that we may find better deals at mom and pop furniture stores? I personally would love to take my time with finding furniture, so that I can hit up all the flea markets and garage sells. I have a thing for old torn up looking pieces. No wonder my favorite interior design is country/shabby chic.

Keep posting tips! I totally appreciate it!


shadha-

Yes, UK skip = US dumpster.

As far as furniture goes, try looking for discount furnitures stores. I've done that for my upcoming move, and I've found that some of those places can be really reasonable - even compared to Ikea. I think Ikea is great for smaller pieces, but I've never really liked their sofas, and their beds are "meh". I found a lovely sofa set from Ashley furniture that I love for a little less an ok set from Ikea. Oh, and a comfy mattress is key - you spend a third of your life sleeping on it, might as well spend a little extra on it. You can get a "teen" bedroom set from one of the discounters - those are a lot more reasonable than the "grown up" ones, and some are fairly sophisticated looking.

I did a quick google search and came up with a couple in the Philly area that look promising:

The Dump
Neils Discount Furniture Outlet Incorporated (sorry, no website).

Overstock may also be an option.


Also, consider how long you want these pieces to last. If this is temporary furniture and you plan on upgrading to "proper" furniture within the next 2 years, then go with the cheapest possible option. If you need it to last at least 5 years, then spend a little money now and get something of better quality. Otherwise, you'll be replacing it before you want to.

[vegetables]

Originally Posted by nectar

^Ahahahahaha, can't wait for Shadha's reply!

lets do it for her!!

excuse you *******. It says "BEAT breast cancer". If you're too stupid to understand that then go **** *******. Thanks

[TrentReznor858]

Originally Posted by Hussain87

Seeing how this forum is supposed to be Islamic (judging from the word Islamica) surely it should be considered inappropriate for a sister to have the word "breast" highlighted in her signature!!!!!!!!!!!

Derka derka! Muhammad Ali Jihad!! ARGHGHGHGHGHHGGH!!!!!

[Bruinrab]

Originally Posted by Hussain87

Seeing how this forum is supposed to be Islamic (judging from the word Islamica) surely it should be considered inappropriate for a sister to have the word "breast" highlighted in her signature!!!!!!!!!!!

And that's why breast cancer is such a huge problem in the middle east. Women there are diagnosed at a later stage, with more advanced disease, requiring more radical treatment, and with higher mortality. Congratulations for fostering the attitudes which contribute to the continued ignorance of a potential fatal condition.



Vegetables and Trent - must spread rep.

[Laimuun]

Originally Posted by ChotooMotoo

do what everyone else does, go home on the weekend and do your laundry there. Your parents won't mind, they'll just be happy to see you.

Originally Posted by sumiyia

check out craigslist's free stuff section... you'll be blown away with the stuff people are just giving away for nothing....

I second these posts.

Originally Posted by shadha

Jamroll, we do have an Aldis! We also have a Big Lots here. I think they sell some food? I'm not really sure.

do your grocery shopping at aldi!! everything you need is there (mind you, its all generic brands, but who cares? it tastes the same). we would spend only about 20-25 bucks on groceries at aldi, whereas at a normal grocery store, we'd spend 60-70 for the same items!

also, go to msa free dinners/picnics and take home some leftover meat and store it in the freezer.

and about the furniture.. yea, you can go to ikea and buy 'cheap' furniture there, but the only way it's going to be cheap is if it's all mismatched (the sets there ARE expensive). and, frankly, their stuff isn't very comfortable.. we ended up hating the couch and loveseat we bought because they were soo uncomfortable. we went to ikea for our first apartment, but now, we're looking around at ma and pop furniture stores and if you can afford to put just a bit more money in, you'll get much better quality stuff.

make dollar stores your best friend!

ok, I can't think of anything else right now, I'll come back when I do.

edit: I just wanted to add about the whole ikea thing.. their furniture is sucky, but things like kitchen tables/coffee tables/etc aren't too bad.

[sumiyia]

dollar stores are awesome!!! and don't go the ikea route.

[nooni]

Originally Posted by Hussain87

Seeing how this forum is supposed to be Islamic (judging from the word Islamica) surely it should be considered inappropriate for a sister to have the word "breast" highlighted in her signature!!!!!!!!!!!

AHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

i cant wait to see shadhas response...

[moonlightrose]

yeah I am not a huge fan of ikea either, their stuff is not durable.