I got back from BlogHer 2011 late in the evening on July 9. Since then I’ve been hitting MSN Money and Get Rich Slowly deadlines pretty hard, and spending time (including a day in Vancouver, B.C.) with an old friend who’s here in town.
Just before midnight tonight I get on a plane for the East Coast, where I’ll be spending just over a month:
- Being in Philadelphia for about a day and a half (in a hostel, of course)
- Taking the Megabus to New York City for the three-day Affiliate Marketing Summit
- Hanging out for a few extra days (again, in a hostel) to do free tourist stuff in NYC
- Taking the Megabus to Washington, D.C., where I’ll stay in yet another hostel and do free/cheap tourist stuff
- Taking the Megabus back up to Philly, and then a New Jersey Transit bus down to where my dad lives
- Spending a couple of weeks hanging out with family and friends
To make a short story long (a trick that came in really handy in college), that’s why I haven’t been writing much lately. I needed to meet deadlines up through Sept. 7 in order to make this trip, and to set the wheels in motion for additional deadlines.
So all I have for you today is a series of linkages, and a reminder.
My current column at MSN Money, “Survive a disaster — in your condo,” addresses the need to be self-sufficient in case of disaster, vs. waiting for the U.S. government or the MRE Fairy to set everything right after earthquake, flood, pandemic or civil insurrection. Even if you’re in a tight space on a tight budget, you can do this.
Just FYI: One of the experts interviewed wrote a book called “The Prepper’s Pocket Guide: 101 Easy Things You Can Do To Ready Your Home For a Disaster.” That book will be a giveaway some time in the next couple of months, along with a prep-worthy lagniappe donated by the author herself. (You’re going to love it.)
Despite the attention-getting headline, “How to get cheap drugs” is not about making connections. For illegal pharmaceuticals, anyway. It’s my latest piece up at Get Rich Slowly, and it addresses the high cost of chemistry and how you can reduce the price of prescriptions.
Finally, MSN Money columnist Liz Pulliam Weston asks the musical question, “Can frugality be a cult?” on her website. To answer it, she talked with me, Ramit Sethi of I Will Teach You to Be Rich and J.D. Roth of Get Rich Slowly. Apparently we’re the “left, right and center” when it comes to frugality.
Have a wonderful vacation Donna!!!
I would love to hear your opinion of MegaBus. We have service to NYC from here and I’ve considered it but never taken it, as I’ve read both good and not-so-good reviews.
@Shari: I’ve taken it once before, round-trip from London to Cardiff, Wales. It was great. I don’t know if the U.S. version will be that good, but I’m paying only a dollar for each trip. Stay tuned.
Thanks for reading, and for leaving a comment.
Have a good time Donna. Don’t forget Maryland is just “the next hill over” from Washington DC. If your in the area just stop by…it would be great to see ya. Maybe share with us the Megabus experience and if the rates are all they’re cracked up to be. Sounds like you’re gonna be busy!
Your trip sounds fantastic. I wish you were going to be in Wash DC this weekend – we are going to be there for Restaurant week and would have liked to meet you if you could fit us in. We live about an hour south of DC. Looking forward to hearing about your trip- hope the hostels are good! Safe Travels!
Yeah when are you going to be in the DC area? Some of us are in Northern VA and would love to have coffee. . .
@CandiO: I’ll be in D.C. starting next Saturday, Aug. 27. If you guys could pick a spot and a time, I’d be up to meeting whoever wanted to show up. Maybe something a little outside of D.C., but accessible by Metro because I’m not renting a car?
Anyone who’s interested in this, please e-mail me at SurvivingAndThriving (at) live (dot) com with ideas of where and when a meet could be arranged. How about Sunday, Aug. 28?
If you want to come visit the Baltimore Area (1 hour north of D.C. and a hop, skip and MARC train ride away), let me know…or if there’s a meet up in DC for some coffee I would totally be up for it.
Happy travels! 🙂
I was wondering if perhaps you were suffocating under a BlogHer swagalanche.
Interesting perspectives on the frugality cult issue although you all seem to be giving the same answer to me LOL
Be safe! It’s like Where is Waldo but with Donna. You are everywhere. Or would it be like the old Visa commercial-everywhere you want to be. Donna is everywhere you want to be!
Welcome to the East coast Donna! I’m a little farther north than where you are planning to visit (New England), but maybe you’ll fit us in the next time you’re on this coast.. Enjoy your trip and have Safe and Happy travels….