Ahh, Minnesota in the winter! Brilliantly blue skies, dreadfully dry air. Static electricity and dry skin abound! I attack the humidity level on several fronts:
-When I am home during the daytime (which is most of the time since I am unemployed) I keep a large pot of water simmering on the stove. When I’m feeling particularly festive, I even add a cinnamon stick! I’m a rebel like that.
-I run a humidifier next to my bed at night, in hopes of giving my sinuses some relief. Also a great provider of white noise!
But my favorite way to combat the dry air is super-yummy lotion! I tend to gravitate towards mostly-natural body products, and I am picky about scents, but I have found several lotions that moisturize wonderfully while smelling yummy and using lots of natural ingredients.
My old-faithful standby is actually unscented– Aveeno’s Skin Relief for extra itchy dry skin. A good, basic lotion that will keep you from scratching like a monkey all day long, hooray!
When you are in the mood for something more luxurious, try the Milk and Honey Lotion from Burt’s Bees. It smells incredible, and the formula is thick enough to provide some serious moisture.
My newest favorite lotion is Orange Honey Blossom from The Naked Bee. I discovered this amazing product during my recent 6-week sojourn with my dad. His local pharmacy had it displayed right by the register, and after using the tester every time I went in I finally broke down and bought some. I didn’t think it was possible for me to love a skin-care line more than Burt’s Bees, but The Naked Bee gives them a run for their money! Luckily, several stores here in St. Paul carry their stuff, so when I run out, I won’t have to make a trip to Southwest Missouri…
So, in the spirit of positive thinking, instead of cursing when the dry air causes my skin to crack, I am now thinking of it as an opportunity to use my collection of indulgent lotions. Give them a try– you won’t be disappointed!
Filed under: frugality, Stuff Jill Likes | Tags: baking, frugality, movies, tips
If you’ve ever read this blog, you should be well-aware that I am broke. Especially now that I am unemployed and repaying student loans! Fun. Clearly, much of my time is spent trying to get a job, but a girl needs a break once in a while! So, here are some things I have come up with over the years that are entertaining and cost very little money!
Project Gutenberg: I love love love reading, but I have never really liked to use the library, because they make you give the books back! How rude. Since I can’t afford to buy new books (and wouldn’t have anywhere to put them if I could!) I have turned to the internet to supply me with new material. Luckily, I am a huge dork, and really love reading classics, and older books that are in the public domain. Thus, Project Gutenberg is the perfect resource! Sure, reading a book on a computer screen isn’t ideal, but it’s free! Free is always good in my book (ha!) This is a particularly great way to read more obscure works of some of your favorite authors—things that wouldn’t be hanging out on the shelves of your local library or bookstore anyway. I’ve discovered some pretty great things on this site! I have always been a fan of classic children’s literature; Project Gutenberg has given me access to all of the best. In the past year, I’ve read the complete works of Louisa May Alcott, L.M. Montgomery, Frances Hodgson Burnett, and many more. If you don’t know what you want to read, take a look at the Top 100 lists or the virtual bookshelves.
Netflix: I have written before about my enduring love of Netflix, and have more posts planned in the future, but just wanted to include another shout-out. The great thing about Netflix is that it gets better over time. The more you use it and rate what you have seen, the more likely it is to recommend something you will absolutely love. Plus, it’s so cheap! Seriously, one of the best sources of cheap, quality entertainment the web has to offer. Sure wish they would pay me for shamelessly promoting them like this! 😉
Hulu: I don’t often turn on my TV. I don’t have cable, and it’s quite a hassle to coordinate the bunny ears and digital converter box to get the few free channels I can pick up. However, I do love a few of the network shows, so I of course turn to the trusty internet, where I can watch them for free! I can even have the site email me when I have a new episode ready to view. I can’t watch everything I would choose to see, but for free tv, it can’t be beat. They have a pretty crappy movie selection, though, so I would skip those and just head to Netflix for your movie needs. The repetitive ads can get boring, but they are short, and again, the whole thing is FREE. Sense a trend?
Cooking and Baking: Something that doesn’t require the internet, you say? Hold your horses, says I! Certainly, cooking and baking don’t HAVE to use the internet, but it’s a great resource for ideas, recipes, and information. Wonderful food sites abound, and they are a great source of inspiration! I have a lot of spare time these days, and not a lot of spare money, so if I want to eat something yummy, I have to make it myself. I recently discovered a recipe for the World’s Best Brownies. I’ll share in an upcoming post, never fear! Not only can cooking and baking be entertaining and cheap, people like you when you feed them! As long as you don’t give them botulism.
Messing with my cats: I am guilty of terrorizing my cats for entertainment purposes. Don’t worry, no cats have been harmed in my pursuit of lolz, but they sure have been confused! I recently created a miniature cat-pond in my bathroom, which I’ll probably write about later, but believe me, it has provided fun for the whole family! I also like to mess with their minds by only putting food in their least-favorite bowl, putting tape on their paws, and hiding their toys. I should probably never have children.
Kitten gets eaten by the bedding!
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Things I am investigating:
E-books from the library: I have long wished that there was a Netflix for e-books! Project Gutenberg is fantastic, but sometimes a girl wants to read a book written in the last 100 years. Purchasing e-books actually doesn’t cost a lot less than purchasing a physical book, so just like Netflix, it would be great to have an option to read something silly and give it back. I am horrible about returning things, so checking out physical books at the library actually gets a little pricey. After some investigating, I learned that many public libraries allow you to “rent” e-books. You download the file from the system, but only have access to it for a certain number of days. Therefore, no late fees! Genius! Alas, the St. Paul library system has a truly crappy selection; however, the Hennepin County system (just over the river in Minneapolis) has a fantastic collection! Since I am already a library user in Minnesota, I was able to register my card with the Hennepin system. As soon as my application is processed, I should be able to download e-books to my heart’s content, allowing me to read things that aren’t in the public domain. I can’t wait!
Free things in the parks: My friend Sarah reminded me that many of the parks here offer all kinds of free entertainment in the summer, like live music and outdoor movies. I plan to start checking them out!
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That’s enough for now… If I think of more, I’ll let you know!
I didn’t get into this position by spending money with wild abandon. Mostly, it’s a combination lifestyle choices (eternal grad school), unemployment (what happens when you quit grad school during a recession), vet bills (when diabetes strikes!), an extremely low income (join AmeriCorps, receive foodstamps!), and poor money management (you mean you really need to PAY your bills? What’s that all about?).
I’ve been living on a fairly low income for years, but when I made the decision to join AmeriCorps, I knew I was going to have to make some changes to get by. Clearly, not enough changes were made, which is why you are reading this blog, but I think I have hit upon some fairly decent ideas in the past year or so.
On the plus-side, I have also found that being broke is really eco-friendly! So not only am I poor, but I am also “green,” which immediately makes me cool. I’ve never been cool before— it’s kinda weird.
- Instead of wasting money on paper towels and paper napkins, I started using the great collection of cloth napkins I have, but had only used on special occasions. I had always been a big user of dishtowels in the kitchen, but now I use them for even more things, like using a terry-cloth towel to clean the floors (more on that later). I do keep some paper towels on hand for cleaning up things like cat barf that I want to throw away instead of throw in the washing machine (gross! ). Instead of disposable Swiffers, I dust with re-usable microfiber cloths. I kill fewer trees and save money, hooray!
- Buying regular fruit and veggies and chopping them myself. No baby carrots in my fridge, but carrot sticks. Takes time, yes, but saves cash. Also, during the warmer months, there is an amazing Hmong farmer’s market near my apartment, which is incredibly cheap and delicious. I come away with huge bags of amazing local produce for less than 10 dollars! I just wish they took foodstamps! Yummy, trendy, eco-friendly. Go me!
- Along the same principle, grating my own cheese. Not only is it cheaper, but it tastes better, too! I have grated my knuckles a few times, but that’s mostly because I am a klutz.
- I clean pretty much everything in my apartment with white vinegar, baking soda, and lemon juice. It’s pretty much the best thing ever! Good for the wallet, the lungs, and the environment. My studio apartment is really tiny (about 250 sq ft) and has wooden floors. I mix some vinegar and warm water in a re-usable spray bottle, and just kneel on the floor and clean with a terry cloth towel. Works great!
- I work in downtown St. Paul, where the parking rates are exorbitant. For example, in the parking ramp across the street from my office, the daily rate is something like 17 bucks. No thanks! Taking the city bus system is a better option, but at up to $2.25 per one-way trip, not exactly cheap. Luckily, I live very close to downtown, so instead of getting on at the closest bus stop, I walk half a mile to the edge of the bus system’s designated “Downtown Zone.” If you get on and off within the downtone zone, the trip only costs 50 cents! So I get to work and back for a dollar a day, and I get to walk a mile, too! Again, better for my wallet, my health, and the environment.
- OK, this one isn’t a win for anyone but me, but I’ll include it anyway. The lovely and amazing Karen and her wonderful husband Jeremy generously let me do my laundry at their house for free! This isn’t without its hassles, since they live about 20 minutes away, but the savings far outstrip the annoyance of lugging around huge bags of laundry. I try not to abuse their generosity, and still do some laundry in my building’s coin machines, but it is a HUGE budget saver.
- I have started cooking lots of things from scratch, which saves a ton of money, and generally tastes better. I do use my Crock Pot once in a while, but mostly I just do things on the weekend. Here’s a list of things I have learned to make all by myself:
- The world’s best tomato sauce- very flexible, very cheap
- No Knead Bread! It’s really easy and yummy.
- Corn bread- it’s almost as easy as mixing a box of Jiffy, but tastes way better!
- Dried beans- I was scared of dried beans for a long time, but it is so simple, cheap, and fairly yummy. My advice: add a little bacon, serve with sour cream and cornbread.
- Banana bread- I am super-picky about my bananas, and won’t eat them once they get a single brown spot. I used to throw them away, but now I just make banana bread!
- Soup- you really can throw a bunch of random things in a pot and make a pretty tasty meal. Triumphs have included potato soup made of things from the Hmong farmer’s market, and what I called “VISTA Foodstamp Surprise,” made out of random canned goods from the pantry.
- Steel-cut oats are amazing! I have always hated rolled and instant oats, but I recently decided to give the steel-cut variety a try, and they knocked my socks off! Great texture and taste, and a batch only takes 30 minutes to make. I make a batch every weekend and eat it for breakfast every day with some milk and jam stirred in. Yum!
- Instead of plastic baggies, I store most things in reusable containers. I already had some pretty high quality Rubbermaid things, but I also repurpose things like empty glass pickle jars. Again, cheap and green. I am so cool, I can hardly stand myself.
That’s all I can think of now, but since I am increasingly interested in frugality, I am sure to write about it again. Please pass along your own tips!
After making the choice to turn around my life, I instantly realized that I was going to need some help. Now, I have never liked admitting to needing help, or asking for it. I prefer to do all things well, and to just not DO the things I don’t do well (which, as it turns out, is a bad idea). I realized that I had an amazing resource in the person of my best friend. After I worked up the courage to admit to her that I was in over my head, the lovely and amazing Karen generously agreed to be my financial guru and sort through my monetary pit of destruction.
After I made some attempts to figure out my sources of income and expense, we sat down together for a few hours on Sunday afternoon. I learned all KINDS of things!
- Who knew that one could include annual expenses like car tags and gasoline for trips home in one’s budget and save for them all year long? Amazing!
- You can negotiate things like credit card payments. Again, who knew? Not me. I just don’t pay them!
- If you eat cold feta, garlic, and tomato pizza before working on your budget, you will be in a much happier mental place to work on said budget than you were when you were starving!
- I am actually capable of discussing money without crying. Hooray!
We made a fancy Excel chart to track everything, and now I have a clear idea of how much money I need to devote to every area of my life, every single month. It feels so grown-up and official! The end result of all this math was realizing that my expenses currently exceed my income by about $300, which could explain why I was having to pay my bills on a rotating basis… In order to make up the short-fall, I will be
- Rethinking my current cell phone and plan. I bought a smartphone last fall, not realizing that you are unable to turn off the data plan and just use it like a regular phone, so I am currently paying $30 per month on top of the regular plan. I still have a lot of research to do in this area before I decide the best path to take. It would be pretty pricey to break the contract and switch to another carrier, so I am looking at purchasing a used basic phone and downgrading to a basic plan without a lot of minutes. Anyone have any brilliant suggestions for affordable cell phone plans?
- Calling my credit card company to try and negotiate my interest rate and the minimum payment so that they are more budget-friendly. I am feeling pretty apprehensive about this, as I have never attempted anything like it. Ideas?
- Calling the loan company that refuses to put an educational loan into forbearance, despite the fact that I am volunteering for a year with AmeriCorps VISTA. All the other companies cooperated, but Great Lakes Financial Services refuses. Sadface! I could certainly put that 80 bucks a month to good use, like PAYING THE RENT or something!
- Trying to negotiate a lower premium on my car insurance. Again, no experience with this. When I got this policy, I was told that the rate is higher because I only live a mile or so from downtown St. Paul, which apparently costs more. Boo!
- Getting my food support re-established. AmeriCorps members are eligible for foodstamps, and the $200 per month has made all the difference in the world. Unfortunately, I am having to re-apply, and haven’t gotten any benefits since December. Beans are good?
- Getting my taxes done and figuring out if I will get a rebate, which could go towards rounding out the budget.
Based on how all of these negotiations work out, the amazing Karen and I will looking at the budget a second time and making adjustments. Hopefully we will be able make it balance! As an AmeriCorps VISTA, I am not allowed to earn any money outside of my monthly living stipend, which makes it a bit more difficult. I think we are up to the challenge!
PLEASE let me know if you have good tips for negotiating these kinds of things— I can use all the help I can get!
Becoming Jill: Adventures in Adulthood 