Money’s been on my mind lately, as in, how do I get some? Because these South American trips and tricked-out trailers aren’t going to pay for themselves. (Please hold your comments about how I could use those things to create an income. This is a family show.) The flip side of that question is, how do I spend less?
I ran across a post at The Consumerist, “27 of the Sickest Things You’ve Done to Save Money,” which makes my switch to Three Buck Chuck seem like absolute luxury. (I know, Californians, it’s Two Buck Chuck for you. Braggarts.)
Any of the Sickest Things look familiar? In my youth my alternative to #25 was buying new underwear, which unfortunately defeated the purpose. And who knew ketchup was such a useful recipe ingredient?
I have a question for the person posting #8: Were they used? Because if not, it seems more expensive. Plus, I’d worry about the effect of grounds on one’s… tender regions. But it’s got to be better than an old t-shirt for a week. Unless the person was cutting off each piece of fabric as he went. (Yep, I said “he.” There’s no way a woman did that.)
Lastly, I have only one word for #23 and #6: Whoa.
What’s your Sickest Thing?
Thursday, August 12, 2010
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7 comments:
I did number 19 while I was in college, and not because I was poor, but because I HATED to do laundry. After I paid for the washer and bought new clothes, I'd learned my lesson.
Wow, Deonne, I had the same reactions to exactly the same ones that you did. GMTA!
I can't think of anything really egregious that I've done - probably the most extreme was eating that Cream of Chicken instant soup that my office used to keep in stock in the kitchen. Who says there's no such thing as a free lunch? LOL
Seriously? Two Buck Chuck is Three Buck Chuck outside of California? Why is that?
#6 makes me think of when my mom's friend would have her just snip her skin tags off with scissors. No, I'm serious. *eeeuuugh*
~c
Skin Tags and Health Insurance aside. In a private college where everything went toward Room and Board and Tuition. I supplemented 10 dollars a week budget with a session of sitting on a couch in the student lounge and writing poetry based on the first name of anybody who wanted to donate a quarter, to own their very own original poem written by me. I could write about 20 poems in an hour in flowery penmanship. Drawing Caricatures for a dollar a pop is also a good method to stretch the Artistic freedom. These are all exercises in Vision and networking and releasing inhibition. Sound scary, no more scary than eating Ketchup packets or a moldy burger. I was a good poet and an excellent sketch artist. Reconnecting with a young forgiving college crowd is one way to shore up ideas and resolve. Learn to write flowery or write tiny within a line, drafting penmanship or fluid pencil movements on lined paper or plain. Its easier than an Inkwell.
No One expects Calligraphy but you can learn to stylize your handwriting. Pop Artists sell CD's out of their trunk, MC Hammer Style, he became rich travelling from city to city selling to locals.
Make money by practicing your craft. As small as it may seem, you play and sing from what I've heard, gather some friends around a coffee shop, put some finger food out with a donation cookie jar. Give private lessons to a Nursing Home on how to use on-line computers, get local business to sponsor Wi-Fi free areas for local business to bloom, give blogging lessons for people to reach out to a global community to help them sell some of that great New Mexico Culture. Show off some of that Classy New York Attitude.
Your personal time is only worth something to someone when you say hello in there, hello.. the reward is ohhh so much more worth the giving, when you give the charmed gift of when you expect nothing in return.
Is it Money for Food we are really worried about? Hand Wash your clothes and clothes line dry them even if you have your own washer and dryer, the clean mountain air adds its own sweet smell, and the clothes have a much more refined mountain look, when worn off the line.
Ketchup has too much sugar in it.
Make your own tomatoe soup. Buy some Mason Jars and start some preserves. There is nothing like fruit cocktail minus the marachino cherries preserved in Rum. Find a dollar Tree Store or research how to start a dollar tree store and hire people to run it.
Go to the library to read your paper. Research and write. Eat every two hours and only eat fruit one day, Salad the next, Go Vegan... or you've done that already. Treat yourself to meats after you've accomplished something truly barbaric, like catching a fish in a local stream with a rod and reel.
Make your own practical twenty list. Publish your list and dare anyone to accomplish all twenty before you've done all twenty. Have a Scavenger hunt and charge admission, hide things of value(not so much value) but stuff you certainly have tried to unload on ebay but can't) write out the clues as riddles to where they are hidden. Who does't love a good riddle and a good scavenger hunt.
I'll bet, the local college kids who you have written poetry for would join in the hunt in a heart beat. Have them record their images of scavenger and salvage then you enter them into an online page displaying their efforts, successes and accomplishments.
Take a day off and go camping, pack only water and a loaf of whole wheat bread. Toast to your likeness. Eat wild berries. Skip the mushrooms, you still need those parts, of that part of your brain. That crazy brain and those crazy thoughts of yours. Be totally Ironic for one day all day.
Max - Right, not much of a money-saver in the long run.
Deborah - It's a crime, isn't it? I assume because it's made in CA and they have to ship it out here.
Con - Good lord. I would need a lot of Malbec to do that.
Tusk - This is a terrific list, and I love that you take the time to share your thoughts with us. Now I'm jonesing for a scavenger hunt!
Lived for the better part of a year on chicken livers, packaged mushrooms the grocer was tossing out and rice. This was NYC in the early 80's and for a while it was legal to sell horse. It was the only meat I ate while it was available.
Jim - I was thinking that sounded almost gourmet, until you mentioned the horse. You're a brave eater!
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