Top 5: Free Music by the Mile... (gallon? bushel? ipod?)

I love music. Passionately, sometimes obsessively. I also love expanding my music collection, but being a Thriftie, I don't love paying for that collection. However, I have scruples and principles, and by that I don't mean Russian money and school disciplinarians, I mean the type of conscience that glowers at me resentfully if I even think about using KaZaa or ripping a library CD. So, since acquiring my MP3s legally is a priority, and I don't really enjoy lining the coffers of iTunes more than I have to, I've accumulated rather a stockpile of interesting options for finding and/or acquiring legal music for free or cheap. Here are the top five.

1. eMusic.com. This site is a subscription service that sells you a monthly chunk of downloads for far cheaper than you can get elsewhere -- I've been an avid user for a couple of years now. You may be thinking, What?? Advocating an automatic monthly expenditure is *not* appropriate behavior for a Thriftie... But wait! Don't lose faith in me so quickly. Even if you not interested in the actual subscription service, you can still receive 25 downloads for free just for trying it. And really, if you're a music junkie like me, this is probably an expense you can justify to yourself, based on an amazing selection (unless you're looking for the really huge labels that is...) and what ends up being very affordable downloads. This is kind of like a virtual, musical Costco where you can buy Indie/oldies/cool music in bulk. You can find everything from Frank Sinatra to Dar Williams to M. Ward here, so you shouldn't have trouble discovering something you like. Helpful hints for eMusic: Your download "allowance" doesn't roll-over by month, so create a calender reminder for yourself somewhere so you don't lose any on the 31st. If you sign up and later your pocketbook wants a break, you can put your account on hold for up to three months without having to actually cancel anything. The site also offers a good number of free downloads organized by genre, so be sure to take advantage of those to find new music, and use eMusic's refer-a-friend service to score even more free MP3s.

2. Free-and-legal MP3 blogs such as Fingertips, Muruch, and 3hive. These blogs provide a wealth of free MP3s each week, each accompanied by an insightful, engaging review of the song and artist. Helpful hint for music blogs: If possible, take advantage of streaming music options to listen to the full range of what's available while minimizing the clicking involved. Search 3hive and Muruch by artist if you're looking for somebody in particular, or check out Fingertips' alphabetical master artist list. I dare you to look up an artist there and not get sucked into browsing! Fingertips also has great "Top 10" that highlight the most popular recent downloads. Finally, be sure to note that these MP3 postings frequently have a shelf-life (since they're usually made available for promotional purposes), so don't procrastinate on downloading any interesting ones. If you don't know where to start, check out Fingertips for Sam Philips and TV on the Radio, and then Muruch for Caroline Weeks. You'll never look back.

3. Label and artist websites. This one takes more research, but can be a real goldmine... Labels like Barsuk and Asthmatic Kitty often post multiple MP3s for each of their bands. You can get everything from old Death Cab, to Mates of State, to Sufjan Stevens and friends here. Artists' websites frequently do the same -- Josh Ritter being probably the best example. So. Much. Music. I'm pretty sure they'll be playing Josh and Sufjan in heaven, so get a head's start now. They're just that good.

4. Weekly free downloads on iTunes and Amazon This one is more obvious, but Amazon recently had a track from the new banjo album from Steve Martin (yes, the father of the bride himself), and not too long ago iTunes highlighted a great download from Nigerian artist Asa, so there are definitely winners here if you keep your eyes open. Helpful hints on iTunes: Don't forget that iTunes has a total of three free downloads per week -- the one highlighted predominately, then a "Discovery download" (which was where I found Asa), and a"Cancion de la Semana" as well. Obviously the last one is in Spanish, but even if you don't speak the language, you can enjoy the rhythm! Helpful hints for Amazon: Sign up for their MP3 email alerts here via the Amazon Delivers link... or, to cut down on inbox clutter, follow them on twitter for updates on the best deals. I found an immensely discounted Weepies album this way, so it can make a great addition to your twitter-life...

5. Streaming sources, such as Pandora, Last FM, and Relevant TV. Pandora is probably the most accessible online music player, creating "stations" based on your favorite artists and groups, and allowing you to customize further from there depending on your likes and dislikes. Last FM is another solid option, with a social networking component that can allow you to connect with friends and other listeners with similar tastes in music. Relevant TV is the streaming music video channel that first introduced me to Interpol and Regina Spektor, and currently is highlighting Au Revoir Simone and Conor Oberst (though selections change continually).

I could go on to discuss my favorite music podcasts as well, but I think that might be enough for now. I'll end with pointing you on your way to a hilarious preschooler's interpretation of cover art. Have fun downloading -- let the flood of music begin! Keep me posted on any jewels you find... and if you have sources of free-and-legal music that I haven't stumbled across yet, let me in on those too!

Note: Please consider any artist I mention here as highly, highly recommended.Edit: At the end of July I expanded this list into the top 10 sources of free-and-legal downloads, in a guest post over at It's Frugal Being Green. Check out the new additions, and then come back by to tell me what you think!

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My oh-so-insightful take on The Simple Dollar vs I Will Teach You To Be Rich...

If you're a denizen of the financial blogging-sphere, then you've probably noticed the recent post-exchange between Trent of The Simple Dollar and Ramit of I Will Teach You To Be Rich. I just twittered about being indignant with Ramit about the whole thing, and to my surprise he actually responded.

So, I wanted to try to explain my thoughts, because a twitter-response just wasn't cutting it. I'm going to assume everyone's familiar with the exchange and not waste time explaining it -- so quick do a bit of reading if you're not.

1) The whole month-long-challenge deal -- when the original stance The Simple Dollar was highlighting how "small things" can be worthwhile over a longer period of time -- just doesn't work at all. Trent has dealt plenty of times with large-scale financial changes, so it's not like he's saying those things aren't imperative. I would really say his stance in general is that small things should follow the big changes, in order to keep frugal development 'evolving.'

2) If you're struggling or stunted financially (with school loans to pay and (at least for right now) a job that nobody could properly call a career, I lump myself in this group) then little things do matter. I myself measure my Thriftie investments based on whether the hourly time/money exchange comes out to at least what I'm making at my current job, so I can see if you have a higher income then the small things may appear neglible. However I felt as though Ramit's post didn't take into consideration that some people aren't at that point yet (and some will never be), and so came across as arrogant. Perhaps he does take that into consideration and doesn't mind alienating that segment of the blog-reading population... his seemingly devil-may-care-whose-feelings-I-hurt kind follow-up to Charlie's comment (it's in green if you keep scrolling down) would seem to fit with that. The overall tone came across as mocking. And if I'm scraping and pinching just to make an extra school-loan payment each month, then I'm going to find that offensive and perhaps eventually join the ranks of the alienated.

3) Ramit seemed to have taken Trent's comments personally. The whole, 'I woke up one morning to find my beautifully baby has been attacked!!" thing didn't feel humorous, it seemed as though Ramit honestly felt threatened by an alternative point of view. I felt like I needed to admonish Ramit that if everybody agreed with and followed his exact method, it wouldn't be his method at all it would be the norm... And I think he didn't mean it to be taken seriously like that, so perhaps the tone of the writing was just open to being misconstrued.

4) The thousand-dollar stake of the proposed "challenge" and the implication that frugal ideas can somehow be patented as 100% unique also was problematic. Trent is a freelance writer with a family --sure, I'm sure he's doing fine now, but did you really expect him to *snap* agree to what appears at first glance to be a rather dubious contest? Ramit is acting like frugal ideas can somehow be patented as mine vs yours, when in actuality Trent has highlighted many of the same topics (investments, dealing with credit card debt, things to know about insurance, etc) plenty of times, so the whole month of "your tips" vs "my tips" would overlap hugely. A whole lot more thought would have to go into a proposal like that to make it "scientific" (groups of similar socio-economic status, for one thing, and similar levels of financial savvy already possessed for another) so it seems as though the "challenge" was made with the knowledge that it wouldn't be accepted. And so, perhaps made just to make Trent look bad... which in my opinion made Ramit look bad (or at least, calculating, which maybe isn't "bad" but definitely unscrupulous).

I've been subscribed to both blogs since October, so I'm not claiming to have knowledge of either of their individual "doctrines" of either up until that point, past the limited clicking I've done in their archives. I very much value Ramit's more aggressive tactics in many cases (like with his post on negotiating auto insurance) and have greatly benefited from a lot of his advice, so I don't mean to seem harsh, but I feel as though his challenge was either not well thought out or not well-intentioned. I hope the former.

My dispassionate assessment is that with two very different styles and perspectives on approaching money-management and finances, the two blogs end up sandwiching the topic. I just wish they would step back far enough to gain perspective on the marvelous lunch that together they provide for their faithful blog-readers. :P

Disclaimer: The title is meant ironically.

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Lost Addendum: Is Penny Dead?? (and boardgames)

Ok, I was done with Lost until next week, honest, but just now my roommate and I were discussing the last episode and she had a very provocative question. Is Penny dead? I had been wondering about the beaten-and-blood-stained Ben myself but hadn't remembered to make the connection to his earlier threats aimed at Widmore. So, did he actually try to avenge Alex's death by murdering Penny? And even more pertinent... did he succeed? Ben was aware that Desmond was in the city after running into him in the church -- did that innocent momentary encounter prompt the "business" Ben said he had to take care of?

Then while clicking around the Lost wikipedia article (discovering that there is indeed another season coming -- !! -- for some reason I had thought this one was the last and am very pleased to discover that I was mistaken) I discovered that there's a Lost boardgame. I am wondering two things. Is it amazing in a convoluted and nearly mystical way, or just wearyingly complicated and rather illogical? Cuz it could go either way... But even more importantly, is anybody up for a game night??

Edit: I found Paste Magazine's review of this last episode too, if you're curious for more. I feel like the reviewer and I watched it with pretty much the same mind-set...

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Lost: Lotsa Locke

*spoiler alert* Hmmm I wasn't quite as edge-of-my-seat for this last episode of Lost -- I mean, we already knew more or less what was going to happen, with John dead and the Oceanic 6 disbelieving... Also, I've never really liked Locke as much since that time he beat on Charlie and got all weird about Claire, so I'm just going to be less invested in an episode solely devoted to him. But oh well.

A lot of viewers seem to be emerging from this episode with unexpected positive feelings, or even actual liking, for Charles Widmore. But I refuse to join in... I just don't trust either Ben or Widmore, though actually Widmore the least of the two if you come down to it. Penny is terrified of him. At least Ben actually loved his daughter...

One of my favorite Lost bloggers (Rocks in My Dryer -- check her out!) was hypothesizing that the focus of the show is developing into a power struggle between Ben and Widmore, but I disagree with that somewhat. With Widmore only just beginning to play an integral role, I think that the island really is the defining factor, and that Ben and Widmore are sort of little ants trying in vain to be in control, and causing a lot of furor in the process. Don't forget the whole Jacob/Claire/Christian thing... so far as we can tell, they are separate from Widmore and Ben entirely. I'm still waiting for Claire to pop back up somewhere, all eerie and vacant eyed...

Finally... Ben killed John. How does that work when the last few episodes we've seen him seemingly aware that John was to play the part of Christian (implication presumably being, "and come back to life") on the return to the island? If he was aware of that aspect, it makes the motivations for the murder even more of a brain-teaser for me.

What do y'all think???

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It's Like a Holiday in Your Mailbox!

Not to be repetitive here, but I found some more great freebies and I'm not sure how long they'll last so I thought I'd go ahead and post them... Yeah yeah, stop your whining, I know free stuff is such a drag...

Coupon for free Kashi frozen meal by mail
Coupon for free Diet Dr. Pepper by mail
Printable coupon for Free Quiznos sub

I totally just provided you with two free meals. You have to admit, reading my blog is pretty dang lucrative...

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Shock-And-Awe Savings Review

Best Free-and-Under-a-Dollar items last week:

CVS:
Colgate Advanced Toothpaste: free (money back in extracare bucks + $1 overage w/ coupon)
6-hr Energy Shot pack: free (money back with extracare bucks)
BodiHeat heat wraps: 1.00 (after money back with extracare bucks)

Publix:
Coffeemate Italian Creme creamer: .17 (w/ internet printable coupon)
Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamer: -.11 (sale + printable coupon and yup, that's a negative)
Betty Crocker Cookie Mix: .50 (sale + coupon)
Quaker Oatmeal To-Go: .80 (sale + coupon)

Kroger:
2 Reeses Whips candy bars: free (coupon + sale)
2 Rosarita Refried Beans: .75 e (coupon +sale)
Ocean Spray Cran-Grape Juice: .98 (coupon + sale)

Net out-of-pocket: $3.84 Ordinary Total: $30.27

Check out the sidebar for additional internet printable coupons. :) Last week was a good one... join the Thriftie revolution today!

Note: I'm actually pretty intimidated by these energy shot things... They *ID* you when you purchase them. As in... you have to be 18, because according to the register clerk they can be "habit forming.. for young kids you know..." Let's hope my moral fiber is strong enough to withstand the heathenish temptations of their oh-so-powerful caffeine buzz. Also, be careful not to spill them on any upholstery, because apparently they can eat through leather. Can't wait to give them a go... muahahaha!

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Free Stuff for Grown-Ups

Not For Sale audiobook
New Starbucks Instant Coffee
Dunkin' Donuts coffee
Organic produce pocket guide and coupons (they say they'll send you a coupon... I got a whole packet of stuff!)
Poptarts "Sprinklings" Club
Yogi tea

(I've posted the last one previously... but I just received my sample, and it was so great that I thought I'd post it again, for those who might have missed it. If you're a tea drinker at all, you definitely want to request your own packet of three fun and exotic teas...)

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Moving Blues...

It appears that my roommate and I will be moving shortly, into what feels like our backyard, but is actually a much cheaper apartment, the complex of which bumps up against our backyard. Handy, eh? Well, it would be, but for the tall tall fence separating us from it... Due to its uncompromising and unhelpful presence, we're still going to have to pack up and rent/borrow some form of truck, even though we're moving a grand total of (as the crow flies) about 100 yards. C'est la vie!

Moving stresses me out hardcore. Presently my plan for moving consists of:
1. Organizing
2. Packing
3. Executing actual move.

As vague and seemingly common-sense as that approach sounds, I'm rather worried that I'm just going to be stuck on Item One indefinitely. As quickly as I organize one stack/drawer/box, of items/material/paper, another pile seems to appear. Aghhhhh! I have resolved to eliminate this problem somewhat by packing said stack/drawer/box immediately after it is organized, but as some things are in daily use and really can't be packed yet, I don't know how successful this plan will be.

Have I mentioned that I'm awful at packing? Last summer, moving into this apartment, was the first time I actually had to fill boxes and transport furniture -- having lived in the same house during the whole of my childhood, my few moves up until that point predominately consisted of throwing a few suitcases and a desk-lamp into my car and driving the few miles to my new dorm room, and then (post-college) a mile further to my first apartment... So, this is definitely only my second attempt at a full-fledged, civilized, my-apartment-has-furniture type of move.

If anyone has any suggestions or advice, let me know. I need it.

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Valentine's Adventure in the Realm of the Edible: Skillet Gnocchi and Florentine Steak Deliciousness

This last week was somewhat stressful for various reasons, so the cooking front was fairly quiet to compensate. It did, however, see the reincarnation of a beloved recipe from my home-schooled home-ec days... Black Bean Pizza revisited my life, and I remembered again how amazing, and simple, and good, it truly is. And frugal too, as I estimate that the whole thing probably cost $5, since I had gotten the vast majority of the ingredients very much on sale. I did a slight substitution by using Rotel instead of Italian tomatoes -- I figured it would kick things up a notch -- but otherwise just went by the recipe. But yeah, for a quick lazy-night or pizza-craving dinner... this one is a winner.

Our other cooking adventure was a Valentine's Day meal of Florentine steak and Skillet Gnocchi with Chard & White Beans... soo good. And when I say good, I mean that I sincerely doubt even a restaurant could do better on this one. We've been fans of gnocchi for a while, but this recipe surpassed even my expectations, and the red wine marinade and herbs really infused the steak with great flavor. It was also fun to cook the gnocchi in a skillet, as our past experiences had been strictly limited to boiling it pasta-style, and skillets are a lot more evocative of cooking shows and chef's hats to me. How can you go wrong there? We only made a few changes with the steak recipe, substituting fresh herbs in the marinade and then grilling it rather than broiling... personal preferences on both really. In any case, I recommend the whole meal enthusiastically, as fun, not overly strenuous recipes, that nonetheless turn out stupendous results... lending beautifully to a festive evening at home. :)

The photo below is from the Eating Well website... mine looked ALMOST as pretty, but not quite.  ;)

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Clickin' Through Thursdays

TV: Lost. *spoilers alert* Err, what? I've definitely come to the conclusion that I don't like all the rapid-fire flashing; I wince and grimace along with the characters and by the end of this episode was starting to feel a little crazy. Love the time-travel... hate the bright light/loud noise component. Also, Faraday's mother was unexpectedly sinister in that last moment and I got the distinct impression that they were going to start sending the Oceanic 6 (and Desmond, unhappily... why oh why did Penny let him out of her sight??) back to the island in shifts. Which is confusing, to say the least, because I thought they all had to go back at one time... so maybe I misread what was going on. I only have one new theory derived from this episode... perhaps Faraday's parents were part of the Dharma project? That would explain his mom knowing so much about the island, and the person Charlotte saw as a child who she thought was Daniel could perhaps be his dad. The other explanation would of course be that Daniel himself in the future goes back in time to vainly try to warn her, but as he would at that point be well aware of the futility of it, you would think he would have refrained. So... we shall see.

Also, fans of Lost have got to check out this "Perspective" video by Rhett & Link... it's highly amusing. The video is at the top right of the page, but there's a lot of other stuff on their site so click around a bit and see what you find. There's also an interesting and brain-twisting discussion of the time-travel complexities shown on Lost so far, and what it could mean for the rest of the show, here. (I have to kind of agree with the first comment on the post... "Brain. Explodes.")

Music: In the style of Sara Bareilles and Ingred Michaelson, check out an entire album by Mieka Pauley offered free right now on Amazon. Another new one to me is Marisa Nadler, whose album Little Hells is due out next month... her music is described on her record label's site as enveloping the listener "in splendid gauzy moods" and filled with "a gorgeous sense of serene hope." I can always do with more serene hope, and I like the free mp3 they're offering, so I'm definitely planning on looking for more from her. And in other news, I swear that I'll feature music other than female singer/songwriters in this category next week... I really do enjoy a wide variety of sounds, honest...

Shopping: Gotta love this robot-esque alarm clock, which in essence runs away from you when it's time to wake up each morning, forcing you to track it down before you can turn it off. And presumably, thoroughly waking you in the process. Created by a fellow Emory grad, this clock "is kind of like a misbehaving pet, only he will get up at the right time." If you have $50 worth of trouble waking up each morning, Clocky will be an endearing and helpful investment... and available in many colors to match your bedroom decor! If anybody is inspired to purchase one, you've got to let me know how it works, and whether its kind of like having your own miniature Wall-E on wake-up patrol...

Free stuff for grown-ups:
Total cereal

Ensure

Eucerine Calming Creme

Betty Crocker Warm Delights (this one is only good for new subscribers to their newsletter)

EmergenC

Organization printables

Dove Shampoo

Beyond Bodi Heat heating pads

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Crafting: An Avalanche of Hobbies...

I've been reading about some really amazing DIY and craft projects lately, and it's inspired me to take inventory of all the various projects I've started over the past few years, and have yet to finish. Maybe if I can keep track of them all, and their relative importance to me, I can actually make some progress with them! Which would be nice, because at the moment I feel as though my personal motto should be, Stockpile craft supplies against the coming apocalypse! When the day of Armageddon comes, I'll be serenely knitting and making collages off in some corner somewhere, and scrapbooking the whole experience too...

1. Knitting: I have two scarves mid-process... One of which is fairly urgent, since I'm making it for my boyfriend and he keeps reminding me that his neck is still distinctly chilled every cold morning at the train stop... or, to be a little more 19th century about it... I begin to fear for my dear suitor's health, as he is greatly at risk with his throat so exposed to the elements each day! Surely he will catch cold, and must suffer greatly, though in his infinite strength and kindness, of course he makes nary a murmur regarding the unpleasant situation. Of course, if I did go all 19th century like that, I'd be lying -- perhaps typical of many 19th century narratives? -- as I've heard quite a few "murmurs" regarding his ongoing lack of scarf. But it would be my first priority regardless, so I'll rate it a 10.

2. Decoupage: About a year ago I painted a side-table/drawer unit black, with the intention of decoupaging a calender cut-out of what appears to be a Japanese Phoenix onto the top, going for a kind of imitation lacquered look. To my frustration, it has remained un-lacquered in my living room ever since. I think I'm afraid of doing a poor job and ruining the very pretty print... I'll rate the priority of this one a 7, since it involves conquering a fear and that's always a good thing. Another ongoing decoupage project is making collaged picture frames as gifts for friends... I did finish these for several people, but I still have several more to go. This one I'll give a rating of 5.

3. Greeting cards: I'm make a whole batch of these at Christmas time, and they seemed to go over well... Besides holidays, my favorite technique at the moment is to clip cartoons out of the Sunday paper, and then make up a suitable greeting that matches it and fits the person/situation as well. In my first burst of crafting since the New Year, I just finished a Valentine's Day card for my boyfriend that I had been mulling over for a while, so I feel like I'm maintaining this hobby decently well. However, as it's particularly handy, Thriftie, and a very personal expression of caring, I'm pretty keen on continuing to develop the talent. I'll rate this one a 6.

4. Cross stitch / Embroidery: I've had the same cross stitch sampler for about 12 years (it's huge, ok? And counted-cross stitch is hard for me because I tend to get distracted and lose my place...) but haven't picked up in probably at least a year. It would be nice to get back to this one eventually... but really only rates about a 2 for me. Also, my great-grandmother taught me how to embroider a long time ago... French knots and daisy chains and all. I would like to keep that skill up because of its flexibility, and the emotional association, so I'd really like to try embroidering some towels or pillowcases soon. I'll rate that one a 3.

5. Scrapbooking: I'm currently scrapbooking things that happened 2 years+ ago. I want to catch up at least through college, ASAP, so that I can be scrapbooking memories more quickly after they actually happen, haha! Also, a good bit of my bedroom floor is covered in stacks of photo and paper memorabilia of everything I want to decoratively document for future remembrance, so this one is integral space-wise too. I give it a priority level of 8.

6. Painting pottery: I've promised my boyfriend a set of ceramic shotglasses painted with characters from his favorite webcomic Looking For Group... If I'm aiming for his birthday in September it's not exactly urgent... but I am planning on doing three or four of them, which is kind of a big project. It will also be probably the most detailed painting I've ever done. This one gets a 6 or 7...

7. Sewing: I bought a sewing machine for a good deal on eBay last year, and at the time was very excited about being able to make clothes/drapes/quilts/basically everything... and I got to where I could mostly sew a straight line. Mostly (but not quite). My roommate has some rudimentary sewing machine skills as well, so one of our joint New Year's resolutions was to learn how to use the thing, and then successfully create skirts we'd actually be willing to wear in public. Skirts have to be fairly easy right? Mostly just sewing two ends of a piece of cloth together, and making the top part the right dimension to fit your waist... That's our reasoning anyway. But I don't really know when we'll get around to tackling it, so I'm going to have to give it a 3, or maybe stretch it to a 4, since it would be cool bonding time with my roommate.

8. Furniture painting/redecorating: I have an unfinished wooden table currently in use as a desk, that I very much intend on painting/decorating in the near future... However, right now it's a little inaccessible (being buried in papers and books will do that), and the idea of wrestling it outside to paint it sounds unappealing. Hmmm, though come to think of it, I'm going to be moving in a couple of weeks so I'll be emptying out my apartment then anyway... in theory, if I got it all planned out soon, I could probably take that opportunity to at least give it a nice coat of spray paint. This one has a rating of 2, but if I'm struck by inspiration pronto, I'll change it to a 7.

9. Jewelry: I'm currently (and have been for years now) very well stocked in the arena of glass beads, macrame cords, necklace fasteners and earring hooks. I've had mixed success with this hobby, turning out earrings that were nice enough to wear to work, as well as necklaces that just looked dumb. A more encompassing issue highlighted by this one is that I tend to buy craft supplies as they strike my fancy, rather than specific components to fit particular items I'm crafting... and thus end up with an extensive inventory, and hardly any coherent plans. Frustrating yes, hopeless no. And I am determined to reform. Honest!

So yeah. To be perfectly honest, I didn't realize I had that many crafting projects/hobbies until I started typing and didn't stop... They're all things I enjoy and would like to master, so it's good to have them all clear in my mind. There are some other odds and ends too, that overlap the categories (like decoupaging necklace pendants) but we won't even think about adding those right now. Hopefully having anonymous cyber accountability will be helpful on this one too, so I'll keep you posted on my crafting progress! And if you have a project that you're feeling stuck on, whether a hobby or something that just needs to get done, I'd love to hear about it. With productive togetherness, we shall overcome! :P

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Coupon craze 101...

Note: I was uber productive last night and got my coupon system all hammered out -- my couponing enthusiasm spilled over to produce this post...

To begin being a Thriftie, for real and earnest, you've got to start gathering strategic coupons. We're not just talking snack items and frozen foods here -- medication, cleaning supplies, contact solution, and hygiene products are all regularly advertised through coupons as well... even organic foods and environmentally friendly cleaning and paper products. If you don't believe me, check out this great compilation posted by the blogger Afflunt Pauper... even I was impressed! (and promptly started printing...)

The most obvious way to begin coupon collecting is to buy a Sunday paper, pull out the inserts, and start snipping. The other two main methods for procuring coupons are both online, either printing them off of specific sites like coupons.com or getting them from individual manufacturers' websites and mailing lists. One thing to note is that many bloggers have the coupons.com sidebar on their sites, and get "commission" for clicks... an easy way to help out your favorite bloggers is to print your coupons from there rather than the site itself. If you know you like a certain type of cleaning product, or yogurt, or shampoo, you check out the manufacturer's website for promotions and join a mailing list if you can (I have a whole separate email address for these, but it pays off!) -- otherwise, you check coupon websites every few weeks or months for updated coupons and just see what's available. Usually online coupons will require you to download a special app, since it is printing a barcode that will need to be read on the machines at the grocery store. Its a quick download and no big deal -- I've never heard of anyone having any issues with spyware or anything with them.

People have plenty of different systems for storing their coupons -- after all, its a complete waste of time if you can't find 'em and use 'em when their time comes, and our whole goal is to avoid waste... My own system goes like this: On Sunday, I buy a double-stack of papers (early and late editions sold together for a discount) and immediately take out and file all the inserts from one of the papers into a clear plastic file-folder, and label them with the date. I thumb through the coupons from the other paper, and cut out any for items I regularly buy or will need soon for upcoming recipes. These I tuck away in a little dollar-store photo-album, using a different photo-pocket for each 'category' of coupon (the obvious ones -- dairy, meat, vegetables, snacks, etc). I'm analytical like that, so this is easy for me and I like the feeling of organization. My "coupon-album" is thus easily transportable and keeps the discounts for the products I'm most likely to use readily on hand(some people like a baseball card album for this, but I'm not quite brave enough to go lugging that through the store...). The inserts in my file-folder I let percolate, neatly organized for when The Grocery Game or other blog references a great coupon (now lined-up perfectly with a sale for an amazing deal...) by booklet and date, for example, "Red Plum, 2/8." I'm ready and waiting for sales with every available coupon... without having to hassle with clipping and categorizing the majority of them.

That's the scoop on collecting and storing coupons... once you've got that down, you're well on your way to being a Thriftie extraoirdinare. Happy clipping! And be sure to share your tips and ideas, so I can hone my own skills too. :)

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Thriftie shortcut #1: The Grocery Game

If you're a Thriftie wanna-be, the first thing to do is to check out The Grocery Game -- an online system designed to maximize savings while drastically reducing "research time" for the savvy shopper. Each week the site posts lists for most major grocery stores and pharmacies, compiling all of the sale items advertised and indicating if/where coupons can be found for each item. By tracking price trends over time, the site indicates when prices are "rock bottom" and when the "deal" isn't so great after all, and has a handy function to print a customized shopping list to take along with you.

How to score high by using The Grocery Game: This site can be great when used correctly, but can borderline on information-overload and end up wasting your time if you're not careful. So here's how to cut down on the complicated and still leave more money in your pocket where it belongs. When you join the site, you have a $1 trial month that gives you access to as many store lists as you like. This part is *definitely* overload (at least if you're in an urban area with a lot of store options, like I am), so I'd still suggest sticking to the store or two that you already use most, and not try to shop from all the lists at once. When you log in, immediately choose the "print list" option for the store you're investigating, and as you look over it go ahead and start "graying out" the items you definitely don't want. Once you've finished your overview, go ahead and print the list. You *don't* want to have to go back to the website later and look over the list item by item right before you leave for shopping -- it's much easier to have the products you're likely interested in already consolidated on paper. However if you do want to check for a single item on the website (say, to see whether soup is on sale or something), use the Ctrl+F function on your web browser to find it more easily. The formatting and organization of the lists are a little jumbled, and not set up very well for skimming, so you don't want to waste any time trying that.

Then, once your lists are printed, take a few minutes hunt down the coupons it mentions for the products you want. At this point you may need to print the index section off of their website as well, as all their little abbreviations and asterisks that tell you where to find the coupons aren't exactly intuitive. Once you've gotten your shopping list narrowed down and your coupons together, then shop away! And watch your savings increase exponentially. :)

Details: Subscription costs are $1 for a trial month of access to all of the lists -- after that (if you decide to continue) its $1.25/week for your first list, and .63 for each additional list (though you do have to pay for two months at a time... ie, two lists = $15 for two months). Be sure to put me as your referral source -- use the email address: misseliza123 at gmail dot com. And let me know how it goes!

Call for experienced Thrifties! Does The Grocery Game work for you, or have you found other research-saving methods more effective? Advice and stories please! If you have solid tips on how to maximize The Grocery Game, or a shock-and-awe anecdote about how it's worked for you in the past, or a better alternative altogether, I'd love to hear about it! There's rarely a one-size-fits-all when it comes to organizing these techniques and integrating them into daily life, so the more perspective the better...

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Adventures in the Realm of the Edible: Black Rice Curried Meatloaf

Meatloaf was the order of business this past week.... but not just any old serve-with-ketchup-meatloaf. Lured as always by the mere mention of curry, we gave this recipe for Black Rice Curried Meatloaf a try to marvelous results. Highlighting shredded zucchini, wild rice, and a dash of curry, this dish is designed to break any preconceived notions of meatloaf.

Photo is from Eatingwell's website -- click through for the recipe!

 It also deserves extra kudos for being the only recipe I've found so far that will have my boyfriend eating zucchini without a murmur... If this recipe isn't already in that cookbook about how to trick your picky children into eating vegetables, then it darn well should be! The only "con" we found is that the recipe makes one huuuge loaf of meat-ness, and as we tend to get bored with the same meal over and over again, I felt pretty certain that the appeal would run out before the food did. But, inspired by this post at the Simple Dollar where Trent provides a "formula" for casseroles, I recycled the leftovers into a really good layered dish. This recipe, being of my own creation (or adaptation anyway) I provide below.

Extend-the-Meatloaf -Trend Casserole

1.5 cups mealoaf, crumbled
1.5 cups vegetables (we had leftover asparagus and corn)
1 cup seasoned wild rice (I used the Uncle Ben's Sundried Tomato blend)
1.5 cups garlic-and-onion tomato sauce
Italian blend cheese

All measurements are rough estimates, as I was mostly focused on keeping everything proportional while using up the leftovers. Also, no additional seasoning is really required, because the wild rice, tomato sauce, and meatloaf all have a plethora of flavors going on already. Layer the ingredients in the order given in a loaf pan, stick it in the oven at 350 for 20-25 minutes, and voila! a surprisingly good casserole. Preparation time: 20 minutes or less. Total time: 40-45 minutes. Dinner served, waste avoided, budget maintained, creativity exercised.

All in all, a good night.

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Buy those papers!!

If you're going to work on your Thriftie skills, be sure to buy a paper today! You will have taken your first step into a larger universe... (and be sure to read that last line with the proper Obi Wan intonations...)

If you're curious what coupon inserts that you will find in your paper, look here.

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Tons of TV: Lost, Heroes, Life, The Office...

Yesterday I went back to watching TV at work and upped my productivity by at least 30-45%... Its just too boring for me to be able to concentrate on file after file unless part of my brain is distracted from the tedium. So, I have a few updates:

Lost: **spoilers warning** This last episode fulfilled all my expectations... I think it did a great job reestablishing the different tensions and dynamics and moving the story progression forward. I was glad to have a couple of my hunches confirmed with Jin's reappearance (though pretty much everybody knew that one was coming... except my roommate who was very genuinely mourning his tragic demise) and the revelation that Ben was the one behind the vampiric lawyers vanting Aaron's blood. I also loved seeing the young Danielle, and that tie-in, though now that I'm thinking about it makes that whole storyline even more tragic... And oh Sawyer, it's fine to become friends with Juliet and let her play therapist on you (God knows you can use it...) but please don't fall for her. That would just be all kinds of backwards. My dominate emotions at the end of the show were: concern for the nose-bleed bunch, and curiosity as to how/when Charlotte and the psychic-guy were on the island previously, and sadness at the battle-hardened version of Sun. Lovin' the Lost! :P

Hereoes: As skillfully as Lost has hooked me back in, Heroes seems to be trying to do the opposite. This past episode seem primarily designed as a transition, so I haven't completely given up hope... However they're going to really have to make Peter buck up and be a man and Claire shut up and stop being stupid, or they're going to lose me altogether. Still keeping my fingers crossed for Syler's redemption -- they killed their best storyline when they had him revert to evil this last time. Back and forth, back and forth... I'd hate to be behind the show's writers in line at a restaurant, because I'm sure they'd take forever to decide what they wanted. Note to self, when looking at what appears to be a drawing showing the future, don't say, "Oh look, that's us. What's that weird dot on your neck?" Say, "DUCK!"

Fringe: Weird and wiggy as ever. Though in one of the last episodes, a dude turned into a porcupine and it was just kinda stupid and sad, and not actually freaky at all. Lately they have also been relying heavily on the whole "use-the-tank-to-remember-John-Scott's-memories!" trope (dude, they've used it so often, it feels like a trope). It's about time for the characters to stand on their own feet and have their own revelations for pity sake. John Scott has been dead since like the third episode, even though the producers have obviously regretted the decision ever since... Finally please let him rest in peace! I still recommend that you skip this show all together, unless you looooove gory mysteries seemingly birthed after a mating of The X-Files and CSI. Or of course, unless you had a mad crush on Pacey during Dawson's Creek and want to relive the palpitations. I've never been a fan of any of those shows, so I only watch Fringe when I am very, extra, impressively, bored at work.

The Office: Question one. Have there been a lot of chase scenes this season? I feel like there's a lot of running and screaming lately... Question two. When did Jim start being a bit of a goody-goody? I wish he would stop being a wet-blanket and fan the flames of Crazy the way he used to... Question three. Did you feel really attached to Michael, though in a I-still-want-to-hit-him kind of way, at the end of the Roast episode? I thought it harkened back to the endearing days of "When I grow up I want to have lots of children so I'll always have friends..."

My Name is Earl: Goodbye to Joy, Crabman and Earl's illegitimate sons? Say it isn't so... The episode with Joy's toe a while back made me laugh harder than anything in modern media history... and if you've seen it, you know exactly what I'm talking about. So yeah, no leaving the show y'all.

Life: Still no new episodes. Did they cancel this one and not tell me? Please no? Cancel Fringe instead how about... *EDIT* Turns out I just had the night wrong -- a new episode was posted today after all. (WHEW) As always, I enjoyed it -- the show is one of my favorites. Its one of those rare rare things, a detective show that actually can be funny and have intelligent dialogue in addition to solving creepy and/or impossible crimes with class and pizzaz. Plus, the star, Damian Lewis, looks eerily like Steve McQueen, and that's kind of awesome.

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Kitchen Evolutions

"Cook at home, cook at home!" We constantly hear that one of the key methods of saving money is to whittle down expenditures in the food/restaurants/groceries department. However, that's easier said then done for many people... in fact, the non-cooker or recent college graduate might certainly comprehend that she would save money by eating in more often, but if she's standing in front of a refrigerator that contains only yogurt, beer, french onion dip, a carton of milk, and eggs that under happier circumstances would likely be hens by now, the situation is indeed dire -- with a high likelihood of producing a few cries of "woe is me!" and then a quick run to Wendy's instead of any actual options for a home-cooked meal. Even under a slightly better-case scenario, where the refrigerator might contain an actual onion instead of the onion dip, and a few oranges or a bag of slightly wilted spinach too, the frustration would probably be largely the same. A person can only eat so many spinach-and-onion omelets before breaking down and going out for a three-course meal...

In any case, grocery bills can add-up horrendously, especially during that space of time when a person takes his or her own nutritional welfare firmly in hand for the very first time and decides to make a go of "that cooking thing." In fact, this one pretty much comes down to being one of those ironic situations where you must spend money in order to save money. So! To begin. Students of frugal living, please ready your pencils.

No matter where you are in your kitchen-skills evolution, the first thing you will need to do is to make yourself a meal-guide overview for the upcoming week or two. Start slow in easing away from the more expensive/unhealthy habits you might have, making choices according to your priorities. For example, if every day you're unhappily handing over money at a food court for lunch, resolve to bring it from home the next Monday and Tuesday (starting out strong early in the week, before you can lose your enthusiasm...) and decide what will be easiest to prepare and transport without boring yourself to death with a PB&J. Or, if you went to great lengths to avoid admitting to your coworkers at the Christmas party that your idea of cooking is EasyMac, then maybe you will choose to focus on finding some healthier options in the frozen meals / pre -prepared food category, while tentatively experimenting with cooking a few simple meals a week. A word of encouragement: "Recipe" is just another word for "directions" -- I promise! You obviously can read, as evidenced by your presence on this blog, so the most difficult part is already mastered...

Or you might be slightly further along in your kitchen development.. If you already do a bit of cooking and sometimes remember bring your lunch from home, but generally find your kitchen shelves naked and depressing, and yourself aimless and uninspired when dealing with them, then the next step is to go online and click around some recipe sites. Your goal is to make a Master List of Ingredients for four or five recipes in particular... Preferably ones that overlapping, at least with the perishable ingredients that might otherwise spoil forgotten in the back of your refrigerator. Begin by purchasing the ingredients for just one of the recipes, and then proceed with strategic grocery shopping to gradually build up a pantry of things that will actually be helpful to have on hand.

Once you have figured out your priority for the week and done any necessary recipe-research, create the meal-plan that will support your efforts. Don't view it as a strict guide, or as a taskmaster, but simply a tool to keep you aware of what food is readily available to you... hopefully helping to avoid both waste and the desperation-fueled purchase of Double-Stack Cheeseburgers at nine o'clock at night. When possible, shop sales to supplement your growing master list of ingredients, and frequently recycle these ingredients into new recipes as well. Keep the recipes that you have tried and liked in a centralized location... and if you are really inspired, develop a repertoire of four or five quick recipes that you could pretty much make in your sleep.

This approach to kitchen-life obviously requires you to sit down and do a few minutes work, and then muster the self-discipline to follow through with the plan you develop, but the nutritional and financial paybacks are well worth it. Keep it up for long enough, and it will become second nature… and French-onion-orange-yogurt omelets will thankfully become a thing of the long-forgotten past.

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