Swagbucks and No Spend March

You guys already know about Swagbucks*, so I won't bore you with the details of how it works. But I did want to let you know that my casual use of it has netted me 165 dollars in Amazon money. I imagine I make an extra 5 dollars a month just searching, so that's cool.

If you're not a member, you should be. That being said, my new favorite thing is the Bing Rewards. I used to do Club Bing and that was boring as heck. In fact, I only cashed in points for airline miles. I can never get that time back again.

They just changed to a new system, so go ahead and check it out already. For simply following directions** I was able to get enough credits for 100 xBox live points. There are a lot points flying around.

Bing searches are pretty much identical to Swagbucks searches (try to stay with me) and the point systems are different and award at different levels. Either way you can fund your various and sundry habits hobbies with little to no interest/work/bandwidth.

So that brings us to March. This month George and I have decided to make it one of those classy "no spend" months. We can obviously spend money on groceries, personal care items and bills. We make the rules here.

Here's why: we used to use a cash only system when Jord brought in cash tips from work. In fact, we literally*** used envelopes. Paper ones. It was a great system, but that's just not the best thing for us right now. Fortunately, Mint is my digital envelopes, if my envelopes reminded me about my upcoming student loan payments.

Mint recently reminded me that we spend a little over 200 dollars on entertainment, eating out and other things that aren't necessary.

We also spent a little over 150 on mystery shopping. We'll get this back, but we're not doing that this month. We may wait until I get paid to start again, and use that as a revolving budget for restaurant shops.

350 extra dollars this month would be fantastic, you know? And when I'm in the middle of it, a quick pizza purchase seems to make a whole lot of sense. And sometimes, it really does. But we're going to try to just put that stuff off for this one month. We'll see how it goes.

Either way, it's just the 1st. Things are looking up.

*Gotcha! Or also: www.swagbucks.com
**Very simple. You do need to know how to read.
***Chris Traeger, anyone?

Valentine's Day and a New Blog Name

In the spirit of our weirdo obsession with having fun on very little money, we ate dinner on a Groupon and ate dessert at a mystery shop. Specifically, we ate dinner at Redbones and dessert at J.P.Licks.

We've had the Groupon for quite a while. In fact, Redbones isn't really a date night type of place* and we didn't really plan to use it for Valentine's. It's also located in one of my favorite areas of Boston, Davis Square. It was a fantastic night.

You don't want to hear anymore about my aWEsomE lyFE.

The mystery shopping thing was spur-of-the-moment. Different programs have different rules, but the one I use most--Goodwin & Associates-- allows shoppers to sign up for shops on the spot. Earlier that day I was perusing my usual frugalz sites (sexy, ya heard?) and saw that there were multiple J.P. Licks shops open. This chain is based out of Jamaica Plain and is known for being very tasty.

But back to my story: I was jonesing for some cheesecake. As Redbones only had pecan pie on the menu grody I decided to hold off and wait until we got to our neighborhood to find some excellent dessert. My intention was to go to Mike's Donuts**. It was closed.


"If we're going all the way down there, why don't we just get some cheesecake ice cream from J.P. Licks?" he says.


"Omg. Hold my coat," I say.


Remembering the open shop assignment, I got on my sexy Android device, read the requirements and signed up, then and there. Actually, I was signing up as I was crossing the street.


It was easy easy. We had to order ice cream and a coffee. We actually ended up 3 dollars richer.

We actually had a no-spend Valentine's Day-- we had to get each other gifts for nothing. We were both pretty successful, I think. Really, it's not that hard to find free things for someone you know well and love. I don't mind spending money for things like Valentine's Day, and I expect there will be many, many years where we spend Valentine's Day in London and St. Lucia. You get me.

And speaking of spending no money, today we cashed in our Papa John's Superbowl pizza. We walked quite a ways to get it, but it was pretty good.

Also, they charged us a nickel. I don't know why.

And finally, all both of you that read this blog may have noticed the name change. I was never fond of the other name(s), and I settled on this as it's a family term for awesomely cool advancements***. I'm trying to advance my life, you know****.

*It's not got sawdust on the floor or peanuts in buckets. It's not, like, Cowboys Seafood, or anything.
**FOOD IS IMPORTANT TO ME.
***When my youngest brother was very young, he was informed by my father that some vehicles were being manufactured with built in DVD players and little screens in the headrests. His jubilant exclamation-- "That's the future of human cars, man!"-- has entered into our family's lexicon. In fact, I use that phrase as a matter of course to refer to anything that seems particularly technologically advanced. I mean, am I the only one that sees Siri as ushering in a Minority Report-esque future? Probs am!
****In the sexyfun cool frugals way, you know.

No new clothes. OK.

I've not posted about the no clothes buying in 2012 thing in a while.

I've not really needed to, as I haven't worked outside my house for a while. Jord already has plenty of clothing for school. School clothes, if you will.

When we were packing up our clothing for our move, I got rid of most of our clothes and kept some that needed some slight mending (hemming stuff, or repairing small tears). As we've needed to repair more items, I've just put them aside in a bag in our closet. My intentions are pure; when I sit and watch TV, I mean to bring out my "mending" things and repair them.

I've repaired like one thing.

I've been applying to jobs that would require me to have business-appropriate attire. I believe I have a selection of church clothes that I could wear. Sunday best.

Anyways, it's almost March and I've made one purchase: some snow boots. Surprise! I don't need them this winter.

Freecycle and SAD study

I've now been initiated into the Freecycle clan and I love it.

Freecycle is a brilliant, very simple system in which people get rid of their old stuff (or new stuff). They post about it, other people read about it, and SHAZAM. Free stuff.

I've used Craigslist in a similar way before, but that place is a feeding ground for crazies.

And for some reason, people on Freecycle are nicer. Go figure.

I joined about a week ago (I should have done it months ago!) so I could list some items I wanted to get rid of. While I was there, I perused the "Offers" section. A brand new cheese making kit! Whaaa? I immediately emailed the poster and she said that she had just promised it to another person. Just promised it? This isn't Craigslist behavior. I was already in love.

I didn't have any more luck (though I listed some items of my own) until two days ago. A very kind person had a huge bag of unopened all-natural litter. Just giving it away. I immediately replied and we set it up so I could get it the next morning.

She lives very close to me and so Jord and I trekked out around 8 am to pick it up. It was pretty nice outside and we picked it up and brought it home in under 30 minutes. And the bag was huge, and it was awesome.

As you already know, we make our own litter. It's not particularly fun at all. This was such a welcome change that I basically clicked my heels all the way home.

And speaking of clicking heels, I haven't really felt like doing that much lately. In fact, I've been pretty, well, down in the dumps. After talking it over with my husband and evaluating my behavior I decided to look into light therapy options. I know that I have SAD, but I've not really been in a funk like this before. The light therapy stuff seemed to be the best course of action.

After a quick Google search I stumbled upon a study that is offered by Brigham and Women's Hospital, a very reputable (and close) hospital that has been historically a part of the Harvard Medical area. It is essentially a 6 week study in which I will have a not-yet-on-the-market light therapy device from Philips in my home; I will also keep a diary of my wake/sleep times, wear an activity monitor and use the device at prescribed times.

I went in on Friday to meet with the doctor in charge of the study and I'm going back today to get a physical and to get some blood work done.

Honestly, I can't wait to have this thing. I've felt like a zombie for the past 6-8 weeks (even longer, really) and if this works, I'm going to be clicking my heels for realsies.

Update on Homemade Laundry Detergent and our Gas Bill

So the results are in: it works. Pretty well, too.

It doesn't have a smell, which is strange, and it doesn't foam up. Those are the differences. I've stored it in an old Oxyclean container we had.

But I've amplified its power (occasionally) by doing a long soak. My husband's workout shirts, dish rags and sheets all get an extended soak in the laundry detergent. I find that it cleans just as well as All, Seventh Generation and Purex, and when I do an extended soak it cleans as well as Method and Tide*.

I haven't bought bleach since we've been here. I can, but that means that the trip is sort of wasted**. I did find that it didn't completely remove a red sauce stain on a kitchen towel, and I'm hoping that when I do add bleach I won't really have any more issues. Who knows.

Our dryer is a gas dryer (just like the Amish, natch) and I've been using it lately. I know, I know. My rationale was that we pay a flat rate every month for gas and using the dryer occasionally wouldn't change anything. That was before I found out how it works.

I've never used the balance pay option before, so I thought it worked like this: I pay one flat rate, based on past usage. If I consistently go over or under, they reevaluate my payment and adjust it accordingly. That's not how it works here. The flat rate is one they give to most people. If our usage is under that amount, the "surplus" is stashed away. If we go over, our surplus is used to cover the overage.

We're in that overage.

I've started to hang our laundry again. Trust me, people. There is nothing worse than having cold hands and smashing your fingers on your drying rack.

*My version is dry, and I'm comparing it to liquid. I've heard that in general, liquid detergents work better. So what I'm saying is that my detergent is a champ.
**If my backpack is full of bleach, where will I put my Flavor Blasted Goldfish?

The Library: Weirdness Abounds

Patronizing the library is one of those essential tools for those trying to glean knowledge and entertainment on a budget. It's right up there with stealing boardgames and iTunesU*. Our old library was amazing and tragic. It had about 6 shelves of large print Janet Evanovich novels abutting old issues of Good Housekeeping. That was about it.

But they knew us and loved us. We used inter-library loan a lot, and it became our most common way of getting books. They would applaud as we entered and weep as we left**.

Fast-forward to now: we own an e-reader. The Gutenberg Project has given us over 20000 books we can read whenever we want, and we don't really need the library all that much.

Only I love watching DVDs.

I'm a big fan of watching television series(es?) all the way through but we sold the majority of our DVDs before we moved. So we have 30Rock, Bones and The Office. I want The West Wing, Modern Family and Law and Order: Criminal Intent. I'm hurting here, people.

Though we are taking advantage of the Netflix free month trial we were offered (again), I've been trying to fill in the gaps by using our local library.

And it is working against me.

I'm not talking about the central branch with its Nicola Sacco death mask and perfect copy of the First Folio. No. I'm talking about our local branch.

A branch that shall remain nameless.

The first visit we made to this specific library was odd and uncomfortable because it was packed out with people trying to escape the heat. We decided to go because we didn't have internet yet and we needed to do some banking. I also had to print a shipping label for something that sold on half.com while we were unpacking (accidentally, I guess).

I sat down to the computer and a rather brusque woman comes and tells me that I didn't sign up for a time to sit at the computer.

The computer was open, and there was no line. It turned out that if there was a line, I would have needed to sign up. Since I took the last available computer, a woman who apparently was in a hurry to check her Facebook went and signed up for the line a few seconds after I sat down. She then immediately proceeded to tell the librarian that I cut in said line.

This was explained to me in the most tedious, confusing way possible. Unfortunately, I understood what had happened immediately and had to wait through the 5 minute explanation. The accuser took the computer I vacated, though she eventually got kicked out because she refused to silence her cell phone. I know all this because I saw it all. Waiting in line.

It only got weirder from there. Once, the librarian put extra DVDs on Jord's account because she wanted to. Another time the librarian didn't scan our materials in and we were charged late fees. When I called to see what was up, I was told that at our branch, that's the norm.

And one of the librarians is straight up terrifying.

George worked a library for a while and he talked about people that poop in elevators and sleep behind the stacks. Weird people come to the library all the time. I mean, have you ever used a library bathroom? So I get it. It's just every time we go, they raise the bar a bit higher.

"Oh. You aren't sufficiently creeped out today? I'll go ahead and take this opportunity to flip out on a small child that is standing next to you. That didn't do it? Okay. Next time you're here I'll accuse you of breaking a DVD that you never checked out."

But alas, I had some DVDs due today and I'm trying not to use any extra transit fares. Also, I think I have SAD and I needed the walk. It's about 15 minutes away and the weather was pretty nice.

When I get in, I browse their selection. It's got like 6 copies of She's Gotta Have It and a copy of The History of Baseball. I walked up to the checkout and placed the DVDs I was returning along with a DVD I wanted to check out. I hand over my library card.

She lets out a deep sigh.

Immediately, without a word to me, she leaves and begins talking to the other employee working behind the desk. She brings her over and explains a computer problem she's having. I'm just standing there, looking like an idiot. They work on it for a second and then I guess it's fixed. I'm still just standing there. She looks at me and says "what do you want?"

"I'm returning these and I need to check this out."

"Gimme your card." It's been in her hand for like 10 minutes.

I walk out with my DVD and a guy steps up to the counter. As I walk out she says "All these people coming up here, taking things. They just keep coming."

And he says "If you're going to be rude, I'll just leave."


*Hungry Hungry Hippos, natch.
**That's not even wrong.

Weak Coffee and Gardening.

I actually like weak coffee, so all of those above things are fun.

Before we moved from the south, neither of us had a strong desire to drink coffee. Geord likes very strong coffee (i.e. chickory) and will drink it if we're sitting at a Cracker Barrel, but I've always been an orange juice or soda or chocolate milk person*.

Mostly a soda person. A Diet Mountain Dew kind of person.

This is no big secret of mine, and those that know me well could tell you that about me. Maybe that's all they could tell you about me**, but it's a very well known fact.

Boston doesn't really care for DMD. They sell it in overpriced grocery stores but not in vending machines or hotdog stands.

And when we realized we had to hoof it back with this cancer causing drink strapped to our backs, I started to wonder if it was all worth it. -dramatic pause-

Shakespeare gotta get her caffeine.

My mother is a confessed coffee addict, as is the older of my two younger brothers and the girlfriend of said brother. When my mom came up to visit for the first time, she gamely brought instant coffee-- this is something she hates. She'll drink it-- oh yes, she'll drink it-- but she's a traditional coffee drinker at heart.

She was staying for 8 days, and my tender heart couldn't stand to see her mix one more powder into her mug***. The day she arrived, I ordered a 13$ french press from Amazon. I anticipated its continued use during my mom's stay and when my brother comes up to visit.

This little guy makes about 2 cups and has a convenient hook for us to hang him when he's done. While my mom was here it definitely served it's purpose (read: he was in constant use-- we're talking 4-5 times a day). When my mom left, we washed him out and hung him up.

Occasionally we would get him down and whip up a couple of cups, but it was a rarity. As soon as the weather changed, we changed. Suddenly we're drinking coffee like 4 times a week (compared to the everytime everyday schedule I'm on with DMD).

One of the most common money saving tips that makes it to all those helpful top ten lists is to a.) not buy coffee out and b.) reuse your grounds.

As I've never bought a coffee out (once, okay) the first part doesn't really apply to me****. The second part now does.

I don't wholly reuse them, in that I don't use the same exact grounds, no more no less, another time. I add half the amount of fresh grounds before I make a new batch and store the french press in the fridge with the grounds inside. Every few days we clean it out. I guess this stretches our coffee, but I've never had any coffee experiences to compare this with. We're still on the same Starbucks blend coffee we got when my mom was here (2 months ago).

Also, what I said about never wholly reusing them is not entirely true: I accidentally just did that. So weak.

While I'm finishing up this weak cup, I look over and see a seed packet on our counter. We're planning on starting a garden this late winter/spring. We don't have excellent prices on produce-- in fact, things that are seasonal, like carrots and cabbage, are ridiculously expensive at our local grocery stores. We're limited in our store choices (after all, we're limited in our money right now), so we've decided to grow some of our own. Hopefully we'll have enough to feed ourselves, though we know we'll have access to a local farmer's market in the summer that has pretty good prices*****.

We're planning on growing tomatoes, arugula, zucchini and squash. These things are supposed to be pretty low maintenance and grow well in containers.

After seeing a post on growing celery from the chopped off ends, I may do that too. I'm not sure-- I helped out with a pretty large garden when I was young and I really didn't like it. Now I'm all excited. Hm. This may not last.

Anyways, my constant goal is to keep our grocery budget for two people under 100 a month. I haven't been able to do that (well, this week being the exception) since we got here. I think a garden will be the just the thing.

*I'm also other kinds of people. I'm a Abraham Lincoln person. Also a basketball and sleeping-in person.
**They might know about my obsession with videos featuring cats, but I don't know. I don't want to speak for them.
***She was on like her eighth one. Also I tried it.
****I regret it to this day.
*****We only got to go on the very last day. We were exploring our neighborhood and stumbled on it. They gave us mounds of leftover produce for 5$.