Schemes and Finds

I love a good money-making scheme.  For me, the thrill of the hunt sometimes gets me into situations where I spent far too much time trying to earn a paltry amount of cash, but somehow this small amount of cash that I've gotten outside of my actual job is more exciting since it's unexpected. What's even better is finding low-maintainence schemes to make money doing things I already do, or things I should do.  I've had a few in play lately that I'm really enjoying, and I'd love to hear of others!

Fitness related:

• Pact--Pact is an app where you track the number of steps you take, and/ or you could also track the food you eat, and you earn cash on a weekly basis if you meet your goal.  For instance, the fitness pact requires you to pick a number of days each week where you will walk at least 10,000 steps.  You also establish a penalty for yourself if you fail to meet this goal.  My pact is that I will walk at least 10,000 steps five days a week, and if I fail to meet that goal, I am penalized $10. At the end of the week, if you've met your pact, you get a share of the pot from the other people who didn't make theirs.  You need to have a fitness tracker to record the steps, but other than that, it's pretty low-overhead.  I have been using this for about 8 months, and I make on average $.90/week.  That's not a huge amount of money, but for those 8 months, I've made about $30 doing something that I should be doing anyway.  Once you're in the habit, 10,000 steps per day is very achievable, and I've never not made my pact since I started using the app--even if that means walking laps around my apartment.
• Step Bet--Similar to pact, there is a newer app called step bet, where you pay a $40 buy-in up front, and then the app assigns you a daily step goal based on your previous data. The bet runs for six weeks, and at the end, the winners split the pot, and the losers just lose.  This one was a legitimate challenge, but I'm very proud of myself for completing every week, even though this has been a terrible winter and I wasn't been able to get outside to go running more than a couple times while the Step Bet was going on.  My step goals that the app assigned me were four days at minimum 13,401 steps and two days at least 16,493, then one rest day.  I'm a pretty active person, but that many steps was very tough sometimes.  At the same time, I met the challenge, and I'm pretty proud of myself.  For my efforts, I earned a cool $6.43, but I would actually do this again just because it's satisfying, and any little extra bit of money is nice.  Since winnings are based on other people not completing the challenge, your winnings can vary wildly depending on the people you're competing with.
• Dietbet--Dietbet is the same company as Step Bet, and it's the same concept except with weight loss rather than steps.  There are a number of different games you can join, all of which have various buy-in costs, different amounts of time the game lasts and different goals.  I've done The Transformers game for the last couple years.  That's a six month game where you pledge to lose 10% of your body weight, and there's a buy-in of $125, which is steep, but last year I doubled my money and lost weight!  You have to weigh in by taking a picture of yourself standing on your scale, and then a picture of the number on the scale, along with an index card with the secret word that's sent out during weigh in time.  The company verifies your weight, and you get a percentage of the buy-in at the end of the game.

Shopping:  One caveat with regard to shopping apps, it obviously makes no sense to try to save money by buying things you neither need nor want just because they're a great deal.  I use cash back and rebate apps only to buy things I either have bought before, or I've thought about buying.

• Ebates--I hate going to stores, so I buy online whenever I can.  Ebates is an online shopping website that gives you a percentage of cash back when you authorize them to see what you bought.  The number of stores Ebates is connected to grows all the time, and you can money quarterly via paypal.  You can either go directly to ebates.com and search for the online store you want to shop in, or you can download their browser extension, and every time you go to a website where they would give you cash back, the ebates button lights up and you can enable it for your shopping trip.  I've been with ebates forever, and apparently have gotten $529 cash back.  The cool thing is that you can get cash back on more then just online shopping in the traditional sense.  For instance the three most recent things I've gotten cash back on are online tax preparation via HR Block, a new phone plan through Verizon and cash back on hotels booked via Expedia.  All of those were things I was doing anyway, so getting a little extra money ($75 in the case of Verizon) is pretty awesome.
• Ibotta--Ibotta is a rebate app that you can use for groceries, liquor store purchases and a few other things I've never tried. It's basically like a coupon, except it gives you a discount after purchase.  Your rebate money is banked in your Ibotta account, and once you get to $20, you can cash out via paypal, or get gift cards.  The grocery rebates are frequently pretty small, so it takes a while to add up, but the rebates for beer, wine and liquor add up very fast. For instance it was just St. Patrick's Day, and my local liquor store was running a special on Guinness and Harp beer.  Guinness is usually 13.99 for an 8-pack; Harp is $13.99 for a 12-pack.  The store had them on sale for $11.99 each, and I had Ibotta rebates for $3 off each in addition to that.  So that's a tidy savings on something I would have bought anyway.  Once drawback with liquor store purchases, is that in order to get a rebate from Ibotta, you need to scan the items you bought and take a picture of an itemized receipt.  It can be tricky to find liquor stores that give itemized receipts--so make sure you're getting one before you go nuts buying things!  This week, I have both a $1 off coupon and a $1 off rebate for Fairlife milk, which is usually $3.99, so that's half price for me!  I always buy milk when it's on sale, since my preferred milk is more expensive, and then I portion it out into pint sized mason jars and freeze it. $2 isn't much, but if you found $2 on the ground, you'd probably pick it up, this is just another version of that.

Little bits of money can add up to real savings, and once you're in the habit of looking for deals and rebates, it just become automatic.  Are there any other schemes you've found that I should investigate?

Reviving Lip Gloss

One of the biggest and most obvious rules of frugality is to use up every little bit of the things you buy.  Most of the time, even if a container feels empty, there are at least three more days worth of product in there--maybe more.  Yes, at first you may feel like a crazy person for cutting open a tube of toothpaste or something similar, but I prefer to think of the situation as what would I do if I was all out of product X, but couldn't make it to the store for a couple days.  Plus, you paid for the stuff, might as well use it.

Today's story is about lip gloss.  It has been a long winter, and I have been going through lip gloss like crazy it seems. I have a really bad habit of washing my lip gloss, so I've made some executive decisions in that area recently.  For the home, I buy Eos lip balm:

The reason I buy it is because I would never accidentally put something that shape into my pocket, and therefore I don't have to worry about washing it.  Also, it sits up quite nicely.  I bought one for my desk, my reading chair and my coffee table so that way I always have some lip balm at my reach.

On thing that is weird about this container as well is that the lip balm itself, sits in a sort of rounded cone on top of a lip gloss grate that holds it up.  Below the lip gloss, is just empty space, so as you use it, more and more gets smooched down through the grate until it looks like this:

There's still a lot of lip gloss in there, it's just really hard to get out.  Thankfully, the container comes apart quite easily (with a pair of pliers), which leaves you with 7 small triangles of perfectly good lip gloss that are a real pain to actually apply.

What I ended up doing was taking those triangle, melting them in a ramekin on the heating element of my coffee pot, and then pouring the liquid back into the bottom half of the lip gloss container.  It took about five minutes total, and now I have enough convenient, useable lipgloss to last at least another two weeks.  I save myself a trip to the store where I will inevitably forget to buy the one thing I went there for, and I get the smug satisfaction of MacGyvering something.

SCORE!

Tips For Getting Better Customer Service

There is no 100%, foolproof way to get excellent customer service every time, but there are good ways to make sure you get what you want,  even if the person you're dealing with may be being a bit rude.

Tip #1 Never Yell
It can be incredibly frustrating when you have a legitimate complaint and the person who is paid to help you is not at all helpful, but yelling will only make the situation worse.  Be calm, but firm, ask to speak to a supervisor if necessary.  It's also much easier to be assertive if you know exactly what you need to communicate.  Sure, sometimes a conversation can throw you for a loop, but as a customer, you can have expectations, but it's harder to give you what you want if you're screaming the place down.

Tip #2 Be Organized
Especially when you're dealing with important money issues that could require following up.  For example, I mentioned a while back that I get my birth control through a federal program called Title X.  This means that every three months, I go to the clinic, talk to a nurse for about two minutes, and then take home my stuff. For some reason, I kept getting bills in the mail from my clinic.  This is not right, because this is a free program, and the bills made it look like I was visiting my doctor, whom I haven't seen in nearly a year.

I called the billing office a while back and the woman I spoke to said that it was just a charge that my insurance had charged them, so the sent me a bill, she didn't know what it was for.  So I went ahead and paid it, since it was a small amount.  Then I got another, larger bill earlier this week.  I called my insurance provider, and they told me that they were not charging me for anything, but if the clinic continued to do so, they would open an inquiry.  I called the clinic again, spoke to a different woman, who realized they were making a mistake, and the whole thing got cleared up.  After the call, I made a note in my google calendar of what time I called and who I spoke to, just in case I need to follow up again.

For my student loans, since I make extra payments that I only want to go to the principal balance of the loan, I have to send them an email requesting that the adjust the payment manually.  This always takes forever, but when I follow up, they do it right away.  They might think I'm the most annoying person ever, but I don't care.  I make a note in my calendar to check in a couple weeks to make sure they did what I asked, and then I follow up--again.

Tip #3 Use and Remember People's Names
This might feel a little awkward at first, but repeating someone's name back to them let's them know that you're paying attention.  Similarly, if you need to follow up on a situation again, you know the last person who helped you.  If someone in person is not wearing a name tag, ask their name.  People on the phone should always introduce themselves by name, so jot it down at the beginning of the call and make sure at some point to say something like, "I understand what you're saying, Martha, but..."  This is something I figured out when I was working in telephone sales.  I had to introduce myself to people at the beginning of each call, and the people who addressed me later by name were always the least distracted.  I adopted the habit, and it has worked very, very well over the years.  Plus, it makes the interaction feel more like an actual conversation, which almost makes the two of you friends for a brief moment in time.  Who doesn't want to help their friends?

Tip #4 Be Honest
Thankfully, I've never had this happen to me, but apparently there is a trend in retail where people just complain for the sake of getting free things--even to the point of trying to get staff fired.  For instance, the customer will act as if something wrong has been done to them, or as if there's something wrong with what they're purchasing, and then demand a discount.  Certainly you can ask for a discount if something is legitimately defective, but don't lie just to save a few dollars!  That's insane behavior!

Tip #5 Be Reasonable
If you're at a restaurant and you find a hair in your pasta, it's perfectly reasonable to expect a replacement dish and for it to be taken off the bill--probably for free dessert as well.  It's a unreasonable to demand the entire meal to be comped.  This does depend on the level of fanciness of the place, but I kind of feel that demanding extras when you've only been mildly inconvenienced is just unnecessary.  By not being greedy when something goes wrong for you, you're making it much easier for that restaurant to do right by someone else in the future.



Any other tips that you've discovered work in your favor in customer service situations?

Tracking the Savings

I did it.

I bought my first smart phone.

I still feel weird about it, but I'm adjusting.

Basically, when I switched to Ting a while ago, I could not get my picture messaging to work.  I never thought I would consider picture messaging a necessity, but being without it for two weeks was driving me crazy.  Not only could I not see pictures sent to me, but I also couldn't take any to send to myself or other people.  I like to take pictures while out running, so I knew I would miss that, but I just didn't realize how much I rely on that feature.

I emailed back and forth with Ting's support staff, who were really great, but eventually I came to learn that Sprint is discontinuing that feature for all non-smart phones.  Since Ting uses the Sprint network, that meant me as well.

One of the great things about Ting is that there are no contracts.  One of the drawbacks of not having a cellphone contract is having to pay outright for a phone.  That means, depending on what kind of smartphone I settled on, I was staring down the barrel of a very big charge on my credit card.  So I waited.

I managed to go a whole month without my beloved picture messaging, but finally, in the span of one afternoon I:

1. Found a really good deal on a used phone via Amazon
2. Got a picture message of a friend of mine wearing Google glass that I couldn't actually see
3. Got offered an extra shift at job #3

These occurrences were the perfect storm I needed to make me pay the $226 for an excellent condition Apple iPhone 4s.  I ended up going with the iPhone because pretty much everything else I own is Apple (which makes me feel a little hipster and filthy), and I just wanted the transition to be as easy as possible.

Now, I'm $200 over on my cell phone budget according to mint.com, but My monthly bill is half what it used to be, and I intend to use little-to-no data, so my bill should stay low.  I'm also going to keep track of the money I save via various apps, and count that toward how long it takes to recoup the expense of the phone.  I've already used Target's Cartwheel app to save a cool $.63 and earn a badge! It's amazing how excited I get about badges which both do and mean nothing, so I'm well on my way.

Now I need help from my frugal friends.  What apps can you not live without? How do you save money using your smartphone?  I shelled out a lot of cash for this thing, I want the savings to be worth it!

I'm a Ting!

After a while, if you're like me, you've cut all the expenses that you can or are willing to cut.  My rent, and internet are a fixed amount.  My utilities, I try to keep low, but when it's 15 degrees out, a girl needs to stay comfortable.  Gas for my car, phone bills, groceries--I try to keep those as low as I can without feeling like I'm depriving myself, but it still feels incredibly frustrating to get my paycheck and spend it all in a single day with little-to-nothing left over for savings.

So this is why I'm really, really excited to have found a way to cut back on one of those bills.

I've been with Sprint for nearly ten years, and I've hated Sprint for nearly that entire time.  Their service in the part of town where I live is lousy; they renew your contract for two years every time you get a new phone; they've tricked me into getting a new phone when I didn't actually want one; for some reason, they claim that my email address doesn't work every time I sign up for paperless billing (note: I've had the same email for longer than I've had sprint--it works fine); and for what I use my phone for, I'm just paying what feels like way too much money.  For instance, last month's bill, I used eight minutes of talk time, and sent and received 48 text messages.  My bill was $46.  That $46 also includes a 15% discount that I get because I used to work for Pepsi.  For what I use my phone for, that's just too much money, but I've always been too lazy to shop around for a better deal--if there even is one.

I've had Ting on my radar for a while now.  I actually blogged about them a year and a half ago, but at that time, if I had switched, I would have had to get a new phone, the only phones they supported were smart phones, and you couldn't keep your current phone number.  So I got on their email list and kept up with new developments.  Finally, they posted that you could port your number from your old phone AND, they had a lovely picture of my current cell phone on their website:

It's not fancy, but I love it

Last night, I made the switch, and when I woke up this morning, I had an email telling me how to reactivate my phone.

So far, there are two downsides:

1. I use google voice instead of listening to voicemail, and that feature was disabled.  I'm not sure if I can get it back, but I haven't tried yet.
2. There are issues with texting pictures to your email, which is something I did do a lot.  I saw that in their terms of service,  so I was prepared for it, but I'm not sure how much I'm going to miss having that option.

The upside: Currently my bill is $6.  Obviously, that will go up when I send more texts, etc., but now I have a lot more control of my expenses AND I'm not locked into a stupid plan.  If I decide that Ting doesn't work for me, I can just bail.

I'll keep you posted, but I'm feeling pretty smart right now.

Craigslist Bragging Spot

I don't use Craigslist for a ton of things, generally because it's super annoying, and people are crazy, but I have had good luck with exercise equipment.  About four years ago, I bought a treadmill for about $100 and then proceeded to just wear the damn thing out.  I realized recently that the belt is just slowly crumbling away and likely to completely snap very soon.  So I started shopping.

I emailed about five people on Craigslist who were selling treadmills for as much as I wanted to pay, and none of them wrote back to me.  Then I started looking into buying a new one.  The biggest problem with Craigslist for large items like a treadmill is that I don't have a vehicle large enough to transport it.  I'd have to try to borrow one from someone and/or rent a truck, which takes more planning and time.  If I buy a new one, I figured, I might pay a little more, but I can get free shipping.

I started to get bummed out looking at prices for new, kind of crappy treadmills online.  Turns out that the amount of money I want to pay doesn't really get you much in treadmill-land, and I struggled to come up with a new plan.

Thankfully, I was on Craigslist one day as a new ad for a treadmill was posted, and I emailed the guy right away.  After some back and forth, he even agreed to deliver the machine for an extra $25.  So my new treadmill arrived last week and I forked over some hard-earned cash after hauling it into the basement and doing a quick walk on it to make sure that it worked.

Then I tried to run on it.

Turns out that the reason I probably got such a deal on it is because the belt was slipping.  I could barely walk at a brisk pace on this thing, let alone run, and I started to feel even sadder than before.  I hoped that it was just dusty from sitting in storage, but after cleaning it off, no luck.

So I did what any modern gal would do--I took to the internet to try to find a solution and it came in the form of this video:

After ransacking the basement and our apartment trying to find the appropriately sized allen wrench (seriously, how can we have a house full of IKEA furniture and only two sizes of allen wrench?), I FIXED MY TREADMILL!

I now have a functional, gym-quality treadmill of my very own!  I was so excited, I ran on it far longer than I should and now my legs are sore--but I don't care.

I was so, so bummed when I thought I spent $125 on a crap treadmill, but now I think I got such a good deal because the guy just wanted to unload it!  I'm damn near euphoric, and it took about 20 minutes total to fix (once I found the appropriate tools).  Double bonus, the city will haul away my old, broken down treadmill for free.

Money Smart Week 2

LOL cats, they make the awesome, awesomer

This week, I was pretty smart with my money, and I discovered a piece of good news that thrills me to no end.  Let's begin the back patting:

• The piece of good news that thrills me to no end (you didn't think I was going to make you wait, did you?) It's a three paycheck month!  I'm still slowly adjusting to only getting paid every other week instead of weekly, but this month I got paid the 4th and will get paid the 17th and 31st as well!  Usually that second paycheck is reserved for paying rent, but this time I can save almost all of it!  What a tremendous feeling that is.
• Time and a half!  I'm filling in a couple times at job #3 this month and two of the three shifts are Sunday shifts, which means time and half pay!  Plus, I have a poster presentation that I need to work on for the end of the month, and Sundays at this library are usually pretty low-key.  Ggetting extracurricular work done while getting paid--yes, please.
• So much free food.  Yes, free food and I have a rocky past, but I'm still pretty pumped at how I cashed in this week.  Thursday is my 12-hour work day between the two jobs, but this week  it was a great day because there was a box of pizza up for grabs at morning job (aka breakfast), then at afternoon job, my co-workers had a potluck which resulted in tons of leftovers, which they insisted I share (aka lunch and dinner).
• Cheap gas.  I knew that I would need to buy gas this week, so I purposely planned a big grocery shopping trip right beforehand so I could take advantage of the Stop and Shop gas points.  I went to the gas station Thursday, and got $.30 off per gallon!  Gas prices in my area have also dropped about $.05 in the last week or so, and I'm going to make this tank last as long as I can.
• Car Insurance Refund.  Since I reduced my car insurance coverage before my policy was due to be renewed, I got back $38 that I had paid six months ago.
• Big Fat Check. I got my big fat check from Ebates totaling a cool $22.42--that money went into the travel fund, as do all my Ebates checks and online survey monies.

Money Smart Week

I had a pretty good week spending/savingwise despite the fact that I went out to eat four times (that's insane!  How did that happen?).  For my Money Smart Week, I'm just going to reflect on the things I did in the past week with my money that were smart.

1. Shared an entree and appetizer at BYOB restaurant.  One of my favorite restaurants in Providence is a place that doesn't have a liquor license, so they allow you to bring in your own beer.  They also have a delicious menu full of vegetarian and vegan options, and they're right next to my house!  Whenever my friend Hailie and I go there, we always split the food and still wind up with leftovers.  Plus, buying a six pack of beer from the liquor store saves easily at least $10.
2. Reduced car insurance.  Since my car is seven years old, and I don't drive it nearly as much as I used to, I decided to reduce my coverage from collision to just liability.  This makes me slightly nervous because Rhode Island drivers are some of the worst I've ever encountered, but since my car is only worth about $4000, it just didn't make sense to keep paying $1200/year in insurance.  Cutting down to just liability saves me a cool $400 per year.
3. Avoided Target.  Job #2 is near a Target store that I drive past both coming and going.  I have just enough time between jobs that I can make a quick Target run for things like toilet paper and other necessities.  Somehow though, every time I step into that store, even with a list, I manage to walk away with far more than I intended.  This week, even though I had some good coupons, I just said no.
4. Saved!  I finally managed to sock away some money in my savings account, my travel fund and my IRA.  I paid off that niggling small balance on my Amex (I wasn't not paying it off each month, but it just seemed like I always owed about $300), set aside enough for the utility bils that show up at the beginning of each month, and moved the rest into savings!
5. Free Theatre on Friday.  One of the local theatres drops off posters of their upcoming shows for us to hang in the library.  The last two times, he's also given us a voucher for two free tickets!  On Friday, we went to see 1984, which was awesome.
6. Free food on Sunday.  Sunday is my first half marathon of the season, and it's also a great chance to get some free food after the race.  Yes, technically, I paid for the food with my registration fees, but I still make it a point to eat as much as I can--and drink my free beer.  I'm usually not even that hungry after a race, but I shove at least four pieces of pizza down my throat and smuggle out as much other stuff as I can carry.  I earned it, damnnit!

13 miles is a long run!  I need sustenance!

So far, the month of May is totally awesome!  How did you do this week?  Any super awesome money smart moves you want to brag about?

There's Gotta Be A Way

I dislike throwing things away.  I do like de-cluttering, but I also like reusing as much as I can, especially if a product I buy semi-regularly comes in packaging that can clearly be reused in myriad ways.

Exhibit A:  The Trader Joe's Coffee Canister

This well-made container has a hard cardboard shell, and a metal bottom.  It is rugged and sturdy with a plastic lid that seals, and I would feel awful throwing it into the trash.  To date, I have mostly used these cans at the library when I needed a can for people to leave responses in (interactive displays are the best!).  Since the label is just paper, I took it off, made a pretty wordle picture and put that on instead.

The problem now is that I have four empties and no idea when else to do with them.  BF is accusing me of hoarding, but I just don't know what else to do with them!  There's got to be something.

Exhibit B: The Nuun container

Nuun is a fizzy vitamin supplement similar to Emergen-C though it mostly is supposed to help with hydration.  It comes in a variety of flavors, and I like to start the day out with one because the fizz makes it a little bit filling, and it perks me up.  The problem with this stuff is that it comes in hard plastic, watertight tubes.

That makes these perfect for the gal on the go, but what to do with the empties?  It says right on the bottle--"Reuse your Bottle", but there's no way, that I've found, to buy this stuff in bulk and put it back into the empty bottles.  What to do!?!

Thankfully, these are smaller and easier to hide than the coffee cans, but I was lamenting the other day to BF what I should do about these containers, and he looked at me like I'm deranged.  The funny thing, he hoards actual stuff--clothes from forever ago, books from college, etc.; whereas I hoard packaging--boxes and assorted other containers that I know will come in handy some day.

So I turn to my clever readers.  The Frugal Girl, a while back, asked for suggestions as to what to do with those crates that clementines come in, so I'm asking what in the world you can think of for me to do with these nuun and coffee containers.

OMG, That's Good

There's a restaurant down the street from me that I think I could easily call one of my top five restaurants in Providence.  They don't really have a particular style of cooking, except I once heard them described as serving "comfort food that your mom would make for you--if your mom was a really, really good cook."  My mom is not a really good cook (and she lives 1800 miles away), so I am adopting this restaurant instead.

Last time I was there, I was looking for something hearty but light, and warm because it is winter.  I'm also trying to eat more vegetables and do a bit of a detox from all of the heavy holiday foods and sweets.  Enter, The Warm Spinach Salad.  They made theirs with spinach, lentils, sweet potatoes, pumpkin seeds, shallots, cranberries and maybe something else.  As I was eating my leftovers, and scheming to get more of this salad, I realized that  I could totally make it myself! So here's what I made:

I ate a little divot in the front so you could see the layers...
No, that's a lie, I just wanted to eat it.

I didn't feel like cooking lentils (not sure why), so I subbed in some quinoa; and instead of using sweet potatoes (which I would have had to leave the house to buy), I used butternut squash (which I already had).

Ingredients:

1/2 medium butternut squash (or just use a small one, obv.)

1 c, quinoa rinsed and cooked

About four handfuls of spinach, wilted

Vegetable Bullion

Garlic

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Other spices as desired--I'm not going to tell you who to be

Slivered almonds and Craisins (garnish)

• Peel, seed and dice butternut squash into small pieces.  Arrange onto cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper and desired spices (I used rosemary--so good!).  Work the spices and oil through the squash with your hands and roast in oven for approximately 40 minutes at 400 degrees.
• Cook quinoa according to directions adding 1-2 veg bullion cubes.  That can boil on a back burner while the squash roasts, and you get started on the spinach.
• Add two glugs olive oil and 1 clove minced garlic to skillet (unless you want more garlic).  Heat and toast garlic until just brown.  Add four large handfuls of spinach (more if you want more spinach--it shrinks a lot), and cook over medium high until all spinach is wilted.
• Hang out for a bit while the squash cooks, maybe do some dishes or play with your cat (but be sure to wash your hands), or maybe you should have started the squash a bit earlier than the spinach and quinoa--did you ever think of that?  Finish up the quinoa and layer it onto plate or bowl.
• Layer spinach next.
• Layer squash on top and sprinkle with Craisins and slivered almonds (if desired).
• Pat self on the back because this is freaking fantastic.

I had  little extra quinoa, so I just piled it on top.  You can do whatever
you want with yours--follow your heart.

2012 a.k.a. The Year Everything Changes

Those loyal, longtime readers will (hopefully) realize that I am not often given to grand pronouncements like the one above, that's why, after officially signing the paperwork today, I get to say that I start 2012 with.....

A NEW, FULL-TIME JOB!!!

That's right, gentle reader.  At the tender age of 32, I have finally acquired my first full-time job.  Along with the professional satisfaction of advancing in my chosen career, this job also brings:

• A liveable wage 
• Health Insurance for the first time in nearly three years
• A retirement plan with employer matching
• A civilized schedule of 37.5 hours per week and TWO WHOLE DAYS OFF EVERY WEEK!!  What the hell am I going to do with all that downtime?  I need some hobbies...
• Dental insurance
• Vacation Days
• Sick pay
• No more commuting!!

New job, which will henceforth referred to as Perfect Library Job (PLJ) is two miles from my house.  It's actually my turnaround point when I run my four mile loop, so not only can I walk to work, I can also bike to work on my swanky new bike!

Bike is currently nameless, suggestions welcome

I bought my new-to-me bike yesterday from a very nice girl who is moving to Oregon, and who threw in two bike locks at no extra cost!  I found out very quickly, however, that while one never forgets how to ride a bike, one's skills do atrophy.  I haven't ridden a bike since high school, and I was a bit shaky, but with a few practice rides, I should be just fine.  I'm a little scared, but I'll persevere!

Fear not, those who were fearful, now that I have gainful employment I promise I won't go all Hollywood and forget my frugal roots.  Even though I'm making a little more money, and saving a TON on gas, I still have student loans to pay, and have no excuse to go nuts and become an extravagant person.  I now have the privilege of saving more, is how I'm looking at it.

Posting may be a bit spotty in the coming week since I'll have company, but I'll certainly be back with a year end post, and probably some other bits and bobs too--who knows!!  Frugality is everywhere!

Remix: Round Three

I got this dress for $4 at Target about two years ago.

Because it was hella on clearance, I had to take a size large, which is just a wee bit too big, but since it's all loose and flowy, it doesn't matter too much.

I just loved this detail too much to pass it up.  The problem is that this dress has pretty much no coverage on top, and because of the deeps V, I can't even wear a strapless bra with it, meaning I have to go braless.  I do not go braless.  Because of that, this has become my "lying around the house" dress, which works, but seems like a waste since it is so cute.  Now, I am going to try out that whole using a dress as a skirt thing, and I think this is an ideal first candidate.

First I tried wearing the skirt with a navy button-down over it:

Not bad.  The issue here is that because the dress is so large, the belt really pinches it making those gathers which I do not care for. I tried it first with a tighter belt, which was a huge problem, so I also had to settle for the belt with the cut-out shape in the front, which doesn't really disguise the shirt knot that well--that belt had a lot to contain.  Overall, I do not care for it.

I swapped out the button-down for a tank top and cardigan.  The cardigan serves both the purpose of keeping me warm, but also hiding some of the bunching around the waist.  End result:

Much better, I think.  The tank top is thinner, so I feel less bulky overall, and the cardigan handily disguises many of the weird wrinkles.  Add in my pair of brown boots, and we've got some hippie librarian chic!

What do you guys think?

Beans!

Anyone who has even dipped a toe into the waters of frugality  already knows that beans are among the frugalest food options out there.  They're super cheap, they're full of fiber so they fill you up and they're full of protein to give you energy.  But I have recently been stumped by the bean.

In my mind, you don't just eat beans on their own, you have to do something with them or put them in something, and I frequently got hung up on what that something you put them in is.  But then I realized that, as I often do, I was completely overthinking the bean because I was trying to look at it through the lens of frugality and not just as a delicious food item.

I made a kick-ass vegetarian chili when I was back in college, but haven't made that in years (not sure why--make a note of that...), and I come from a long line of Lutherans for whom the pot of baked beans is a constant at all holidays and family meals.  I used to actually eat garbanzo beans out of the can with a spoon, and love it.  What the hell changed? Why did I suddenly forget about my constant companion, the bean?

So  I've been making a conscious effort to change that.  To get back together with beans, or at least just be friends if not in an exclusive relationship.  To date: I've made my own hummus, I'm exploring the world of black beans, I made my own falafel, I frequently make awesome split pea soup and lentil loaf. Plus, I've finally gotten the hang of dried beans, which are significantly cheaper and lower in sodium (I sound like such a grownup!)

One of my favorite, and easiest way to eat beans is to just dump some pre-soaked black beans (or canned, rinsed black beans) in a bowl and season with this:

Spices!  The poor man's way to flavor!

I never would have tried this in the past because it's steak seasoning, and I do not eat steak.  However, I had dinner at a friend's house once and she sprinkled this little wonder liberally on some grilled zucchini (note, it's also great on grilled zucchini), and I was forever changed.  Sprinkle this on some black beans, and then just eat them with a spoon, I kid you not.  Plus, this stuff is super cheap, frequently on sale, and comes in a variety intended to be used with chicken, but that also goes well with not chicken.

If the thought of eating a bowl of beans for dinner makes you feel like a hobo, then just use them as an accent with rice or quinoa.  Or make this salad, or these spicy black bean cakes.

What I've discovered about dried beans, is that it takes forever to get them softened--unless you use a crock pot!  If you do not yet have a crock pot, start a smartypig savings account to get one post-haste!  I used to leave dried beans in tepid water on the counter for what felt like days.  Sometimes I'd jostle the container and get water everywhere, sometimes I'd get the brilliant idea that by adding a bit of vinegar, it would make the beans soften faster.  Then I read that that is exactly the opposite of what you want to do.

Either way, I'm good with my legumes now, and am super excited about experimenting.  Expect many more bean recipes to come as I traverse this new, and colorful land.

It's a banner day!

For at least three years, I have been looking for a single-serving yogurt container with a reuseable lid. This isn't all I've done in that time, but it has been something I've wanted. When I bring lunch or even a snack to work, it usually includes yogurt. I often get deals on the single serving containers with the foil lid, but I hate creating that much waste.

Victory is mine.

I went to the SuperTarget on a whim yesterday because a co-worker suggested it while listening to me whine about how I didn't want to go to both Target and the grocery store, but I had Target coupons that were going to expire (it was a great conversation, you wish you were there). She suggested going to a Target I've only ever been to once before because they have a grocery store as well. Though I was a bit disappointed in the fact that they don't have tartar sauce (but like 12 kinds of mayonnaise), the prices are really good, and I picked up a few staples to tide me over until my next big shop.

And I found the yogurt. For $.53, this store sells Archer Farms yogurt in a 6 oz. container with a reuseable lid. This means that I can buy the 1 quart yogurt container, and just spoon it into the smaller ones when I need to bring it to work. This is not only more economical, but it creates less waste, and I am so stoked!

I can get a quart of vanilla yogurt at Trader Joes for about $2.50 or a quart of Stonyfield Farms for $3.99. I can get about 5.5 6 oz yogurts out of the quart, meaning that my cost per unit for the Stonyfield is $.80 and for the Trader Joes $.50. Considering that the yogurt I usually buy in single serving portions is ~$1 apiece (depending on my coupon situation) this is a tremendous coup!

In the past year, I've gone from bringing my lunch in a sandwich bag (which I always threw away--I hate washing bags) to bringing my lunch in a reuseable gladware container, and now I'll bring my lunch in a reuseable container as well. One lunch, significant savings, no waste! I imagine I'll find dozens of other uses for these small containers, but I just bought five to start--no need to go overboard.