Spring Cleanup the Aftermath

Weeks one and two of Cleanup have passed and I've finally gotten all the extras out of my car. Like any good holiday Cleanup came early and left slightly before the participants became sad, used up hulks.

My goals this year were an exercise bike, a skateboard, bookshelf, and outdoor privacy screen. The first 2 items were for me the second 2 for friends. Now I know that true, pure frugal exercise is a quiet walk however I cannot bring myself to think of this as anything but a distant and far too public second to the treadmills in the 3 person gym in my old college dorm. I find that any activity that involves that much sweating, jiggling and self conciousness should really be kept private.

Sometimes my life is like a movie. To the tune of Credence Clearwater Revival's Green River I took the grocery store by storm and scored name brand cereal for less than the price of bagged generic thanks to a sale and a cupon. The checker had to make sure this was ok (I knew it would be) but I considered this a positive investment of my time in grooming the cashier. Up the hill and CCR's Up Around the Bend I saw it. An exercise bike. This bike was providence, Calypso, a really good cheese steak all in one! The silver beauty was only a few yards from my own front door! A quick once over revealed that whatever it was that created resistance was malfunctioning but otherwise the beautious bike was fine. The repair should be simple. I lugged the bike across the street and around the block and realized that this equipment was old school...not in the good way.

The original inventors of the exercise bike were much like the inventors of the wheel in that they believed that the best results could be obtained if the wheel were something you could also grind axes with. A great, heavy millstone of a front wheel was beginning to wear down my enthusiasm. Just a few more yards. I began to estimate the weight of the freebie bike. The heaviest thing I know I can lift is my boyfriend who claims to be over 200 pounds. I'm not sure I could take him anywhere but I can lift him. The bike I deicded was somewhere around 100 pounds. If I dragged the contraption it would be glitter and rubber in the concrete before I made it 6 feet. I balanced the seat on one arm and the handles on the other and shuffeled a few more steps with while my prized cereal swung like a psychotic sugar filled pendulum from one of the handles. It began to rain. CCR asked me if I had ever seen the rain and I cursed them roundly in my head while straining and whimpering outloud. Sometimes my life is like a movie.

I made it to the front door with no internal injuries and remembered how it is that my appartment helps me stay frugal. My apartment is on the 3rd floor. I view all potential purchases as something to carry up 2 and 1/2 flights of steps. I suppose if I were a more free spender I wouldn't need an exercise bike. I took my cereal and work bag to the 3rd landing only half a flight from my appt. They would be fine there.

The best way I could work out to get up the steps with this thing was to put the back half on the step above and balance the millstone/wheel against my body while I ascended the next. The Dixie Chicks wanted a cowboy to take them away. I felt their pain and began talking to myself.
On landing 2 I left the albatross behind and dumped my coat on landing 3. My territory where my hat, bags, coat and self respect lay waiting for me to retrieve them. On the way back down I wondered why I had chosen the frugal life when nice plastic bikes were waiting in Sears to be picked up and weighed no more than a nice fluffy puppy. The bike glittered. "We're certainly getting our excercise now!"

On the second flight of steps I achieved a zen state and channeled the Dahli Lama. "I got this bike for excercise, look how well it's working!" Music filled my ears and sweat beaded on my forehead. My pathetic struggle became a tragi/comedy with a down home soundtrack. I reached the 3rd landing elated. I would leave the bike there and if it could not be fixed I wouldn't have to take it down as far. Endorphins surged, the bike glittered and the Dixie Chicks sang "When it's my turn to march up to glory... I'm gonna have one hell of a story!" I smiled deciding I had earned iced cream for dinner. Like I said, sometimes my life is like a movie.

The rest of cleanup was profitable if less eventful. I saw a lot of things I wish I had a need for particularly in the second week. I took care of a few gifts for later in the year and found a nice big pot that I'm hoping to grow foodstuffs in. Still looking for that skateboard. I learned to always travel in the car for cleanup since you never know what you'll find and when in doubt grab it. The bike is now in my apartment awaiting repairs and if those fail then I can at least sharpen axes with it.

Spare change and freebie heads-up!

Okay, first the freebie, since that's most exciting. I found a notice in the coupon section of yesterday's paper that Rita's Ice is giving away FREE regular Italian Ices on Wednesday, March 21st. There's one right down the hill from me, so I'm psyched. See http://www.ritasice.com for more details. I remember TCBY partnered with Yahoo! and gave all Yahoo! e-mail users a free waffle cone on the first day of spring a couple of years ago, so keep your eyes peeled for free ice cream on the vernal equinox. :D

Okay. So my small triumph! I have a money jar. I highly recommend that everyone have a money jar. A money jar is where you toss your excess change or one's. When you get back from the grocery store, pull out your receipt and see how much you saved with coupons and your shopper rewards card. If you saved $3, put $3 in your money jar. If you resist the temptation to buy a Diet Coke at the vending machine at the mall and use a water fountain instead, put the $1.20 you would have spent into your money jar. You get the idea.

Well, I emptied out my money jar this morning and took the contents to the bank. The teller was very nice but made sure to give me a big wad of coin rollers so I never do this to her again. Anyway, I was able to deposit $42.85! It went straight into my high-interest savings account. Hooray!

Intro and Spring Cleanup

I have never ground flour from feed store stock! Of course if I happen to find the tools to do so at a yard sale sometime... well... My frugality does not yet extend to grinding my own flour with 2 rocks. I'm pretty sure that falls under the category of saving money on dentist's bills.
Yes I do delve into the realm of frugal insanity on occasion. Perhaps this is because I am utterly comfortable with the term weird. Perhaps this is because having lots of money in the checking account reduces the need for tedious mathematical calculations of how many bills I can pay before the money runs out. Perhaps this is because I have dragon ancestry and need a horde to lay on to truly be fulfilled as a person. Perhaps I think too much. Come with Kelly and me on our journey.

The trip just happens to begin 2 days before the start of the best tightwad holiday I have yet encountered! On Friday this town holds part 1 of Spring Cleanup.
Feel that subtle tingle in your fingers? That's adrenaline.

It's Christmas multiplied by recycling! It's the joy of the hunt combined with the thrill (and occasional peril) of go-carting with your bloodthirsty friends! Spring Cleanup, when the good and occasionally wasteful, people of this town turn their houses upside down and put all unwanted items on the curb for an annual trash pickup. This magical time of the year is when every redneck with a beat up pickup descends to do a little shopping.

Many towns hold events like this to help their residents clear out their homes and I suppose keep garbage from collecting off the sides of large cliffs. There are rules like no tires, no chemicals, no freon and no paint which as a bargain hunter I tend to appreciate.

Why do I love Spring Cleanup so? Other than a deep and abiding love for free things? Well for one it is just as free as dumpster diving without the social stigma. One nice gent helped me load the top of his old, all wood kitchen table after I'd taken the legs and chairs. He then offered me a nice set of speakers with a short that his son had been unable to locate.

For another there is the adrenaline rush of trying to beat everyone else to the good stuff. I didn't get the wrought iron chairs from the Presby church but I did get the octagon end table which no matter how many skeins are tossed my way always manages to fit my yarn collection. Magic like that can't be bought. The other adrenaline rush comes from the fact that you are cruising through some of the town's main streets at a cool 2 miles per hour when you can and 25 when someone is behind you all the while scanning the pavement for "good stuff".

I also enjoy the creative challenge, this stuff is meant for the dump after all so not all of it is in pristine condition. I have sanded, painted, bleached and washed while kind relatives replaced fixtures or soldered. Some things can't be fixed or at least not by me but it's worth a try and you may learn something in the attempt.

One thing you have to respect is that you put in no investment, and therefore have no commitment. If you pick up and end table on one street and find a better one on the next you just swap them. If you spot something you like but would never actually buy... guess what it's free! The worst possible scenario is that you don't like it and have to hang on to it for a year until next cleanup.

I outfitted my first apartment largely with items gleaned from Cleanup. This year I'll have to be a bit more selective but I may still use the first apartment line. It seems to make people more sympathetic. When I'm done, I can kick back and watch out the window in the gathering dark as rusty pickups play ant farm up side streets and across town with old washing machines in their beds. Tomorrow I will wash, tonight life is good.

Keeping sickness costs down

As if being sick weren't enough fun on its own, physical illness can take a financial toll, as well. As you've probably noticed already, meds are EXPENSIVE. Unless you have pretty generous sick time at work, you could also be dealing with lost income.

So here are my unglamorous but easy tips for not running up a high NyQuill and Kleenexes bill.

* WASH YOUR HANDS. A LOT. Wash your hands all of the time. After the restroom and before you eat (of course). After using a public computer. After using a public door. If it's just been a while since the last time you washed your hands. And because frequent washing can dry out your skin and hand lotion is also expensive, head to the dollar store and pick up some hand sanitizer to fill in between real washings. Use it obsessively. Become a germophobe. Three dollars for hand sanitizer and soap sure beats $17 for DayQuil, NyQuil, Kleenexes, and cough drops.

* DON'T TOUCH YOUR FACE AND ESPECIALLY DON'T TOUCH YOUR EYES. A lot of germs enter the body that way.

* GET PLENTY OF SLEEP. Eight hours may seem unreachable, but you will have more energy and a stronger immune system, too. Besides, when you're sleeping, you're not spending money! Double savings!

* CUT BACK ON THE ALCOHOL. I know, I'm a killjoy. But booze hampers your immune system and can be expensive, too. :) Double savings!

* EXERCISE. It strengthens more than just the stuff you can see. It boosts your immune system along with your muscles.

* AVOID SICK PEOPLE. This is not always possible, but when you can, stay away from people who are coughing, sneezing, and sniffling. Give them a wide berth. Hold your breath til you're past. You know. :)

So, yeah!

Here's to saving money! Because who doesn't need more money, right? Whether you're cursing your four years of education while pulling turnarounds at the local convenience store or just wondering how you're supposed to make rent, get out of student debt, AND have a security cushion in place, you probably wish you had some more moolah from time to time. I know I do.

So here's the idea: My best friend and I (if I can convince her to join up) are going to share our adventures and insights in stretching a dollar farther and funner. She takes frugality to a whole new level and will inspire you with her tactics; I'm more for the soft-core types who are okay with brown bagging it to lunch but not so much with some of the more extreme measures (like buying grain at a feed store and grinding it into flour in the kitchen).

Stay tuned. It'll be fun.