frugal hacks

Tight belts, Capt. America and a Swagbucks promo.

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thI’ve got two new pieces up at Money Talks News, one of which is serious and one of which has comic-book references. Both can help you marshal your finances.

“How to survive when your income drastically drops” is an article some people would just as soon not read. After all, who wants to think about hours cutbacks or having a spouse lose a job?

But stuff happens whether you want to think about it or not. Put another way: You have the option of a little prep work now or a lot of regret later on.

“8 personal finance tips from ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’” is another of my “PF is where you find it” pieces. Having done money-advice pieces based on “Parsifal,” “Gotterdammerung” and “True Grit,” I figured it was time to take on the latest in the Marvel franchise.

“The Winter Soldier” was great fun, by the way – as much political thriller as straight-up action flick. In fact, at least one reviewer warned fans of the first film that the sophomore effort contained less action.

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Be yourself, and save.

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thFrugality bloggers are all about the hacks, i.e., the conscious ways they stretch every dollar. My daughter recently wrote about unconscious savings – or, rather, savings she didn’t specifically pursue.

“I have an awful lot of unintentional frugality, just based on how I live my life,” Abby notes in a piece called “Life’s accidental savings.”

Among them: working at home (huge savings there), not having a pool (they’re fairly common in Phoenix), skipping manicured hands and a manicured landscape, not eating red meat or drinking coffee, having hermit tendencies, and laziness.

What she calls “laziness” has to do more with spoon theory than sloth. A near-fatal neurological illness left Abby with some permanent health issues, one of which is chronic fatigue. So when she says she’s sometimes “too lazy” to make a junk food run, it probably means she’s not sure she would be able to get back out of the car and into the house after the errand was completed.

(True story: Once when walking home from the bus in Seattle, Abby considered lying down on the public sidewalk because the two steps up to her front walkway seemed just too much to manage. She did make it into the house, but I expect she used her last spoon to do so.)

Judging from the comments sections, she’s not the only person accidentally saving money.

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9 smart ways to use all that “extra” cash.

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thOver at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff, Crystal writes about a friend with a problem that plenty of people wouldn’t mind having.

“They are now earning more than they need to pay their bills, and they wanted my advice on what to tackle next.  I love those kinds of conversations!” says the blogger.

Among her suggestions: emergency fund, retirement, various types of insurance, paying down existing debt, and health savings and/or flexible spending accounts. All good choices.

What would you do with extra cash? Maybe you haven’t thought about it, being too focused on keeping the books balanced or paying down debt. But there could come a day when you either get more money (a raise, a windfall, a side gig) or need less money (debts paid off, kids leave home).

Start thinking now about what you’d do with it, for two reasons:

  • It helps keep you focused on your goals (prepaying a mortgage, helping a child through college), and
  • It will help you spend when the time is right.

You might think that second one sounds silly. “Help me spend? I can’t wait for the day when I don’t have to agonize over every dime!”

Then again, you might be surprised.

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Gardening on a small scale.

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thIt’ll be several months more before DF and I can put any plants in the ground, but we’re definitely looking forward to seeing green rather than white outside. My desire to play in the dirt was exacerbated by the arrival of a media kit from Renee’s Garden, purveyor of more delicious-looking seeds than you ever imagined.

Or maybe you can imagine quite a lot – especially in light of the particularly ugly winter weather in much of the Lower 48. Maybe you’re dreaming of things like Peppermint Stick Chard, Lace Perfume Dianthus, Black Cherry Tomatoes, Baby Snack Peppers and Heirloom Chocolate Daisies.

If so, now’s the time to plan those dreams into vases and onto your dinner plates. Not everyone is able (or willing) to care for a giant backyard spread, but why not consider container gardening and/or edible landscaping? Even condo dwellers can harvest small versions of greens, vegetables and herbs, and food crops can do double duty in terms of visual interest and palate pleasing.

Put another way: You can even grow zucchini in containers. Honest.

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Vegan condoms. Who knew?

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thMy new once-a-month gig at The Real Deal has begun and it’s going to be a keeper. How do I know? Because the editor left in my reference to “ethical, vegan and fair-trade condoms.”

Apparently some condom manufacturers use “animal byproducts” in the manufacture of their love sacks. Fortunately for vegans, cruelty-free alternatives do exist – and you can even get coupons for them. 

The Real Deal is a blog published by Retail Me Not, the online coupon code behemoth (and finder of vegan condom coupons). I got hired to write a “best things to buy this month” feature, and since the editor is also a former print newshound I’m expected to do old print newshound things. You know, like research. And interviews. In return the editor will also do old print newshound things, like fact-checking and editing.

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Gift Card Exchange Day: A chance to fix Christmas.

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thShow of hands: How many of you have received an inappropriate gift card at Christmas?

Maybe it’s a steakhouse card from the grandparent who doesn’t understand what “vegan” means, or a gift card to a store where you’d never willingly shop.

Or perhaps a well-meaning pal sent a movie theater gift card, but your new apartment is an hour-long bus ride away from that particular chain.

The easy answer: Sell the gift card on the secondary market.

The best day to do it: Dec. 26, aka Gift Card Exchange Day. 

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A pair of Swag Code Extravaganzas, starting Friday.

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card129The Swagbucks rewards program plans extra earning opportunities, starting at 5 a.m. PST on Black Friday. On that day you’ll see seven codes for a total of 50 Swagbucks.

I’ll be posting any that I can catch on the Surviving and Thriving Facebook page. (Hint: I won’t be up at 4 a.m. Alaska Time.)

Since I can’t promise to get them all, I suggest you also check the Swagbucks Facebook page from time to time during the day.

The second code party takes place on Cyber Monday. The start time hasn’t yet been announced, but the reward has: codes worth 60 SBs.

Note to those using the Shop & Earn portion of the Swagbucks site: Watch for double and even triple SBs for some retailers. Specifically, triple points happen from 5 to 9 a.m. PST on Black Friday and from 6 to 9 a.m. PST on Cyber Monday.

And if you’re not yet a member? Join in the next few weeks and you might win a bonus of 500 SBs. Here’s how:

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Good to the last drop: Getting full use of condiments.

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Our fridge door is full of jars and bottles, some of which look odd. For example, the contents of a spicy brown mustard bottle may seem pale and grainy, or there might be a jar of brine without any pickles. A small jar of homemade jam looks all but empty; so does a bottle of ranch dressing.

When these and other condiments run low, we turn them into something else. If a mayonnaise jar has shoulders that keep us from getting all of it – even with a spatula – we take that as a personal challenge. That last little bit of catsup that won’t come out, even if the bottle stands on its head all night? It will be ours.

Sure, it’s just a few cents’ worth of food, if that. But we see no reason to waste it. Besides, it encourages culinary creativity.

If you too are frustrated by the inaccessibility of those last drops, try these tactics.

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A survival kit for Black Friday 2013.

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thSome people are wondering whether Black Friday is dead. I wouldn’t order funereal flowers just yet.

Sure, some retailers have been testing the waters with early-November sales and are planning to jump the gun with “Gray Thursday” doorbusters. In addition, shoppers are getting savvier; knowing that not every “sale” price is in fact the best price, we’re less likely to blow the entire holiday budget immediately after Thanksgiving.

Yet some of those Gray Thursday/Black Friday/Cyber Monday loss leaders really are pretty splendid. For example, you’re not likely to find decent-quality bath towels for $2 at any other time of the year.

That’s why we have deal-finding apps: They help us sort the wheat from the chaff. This week’s giveaway is sponsored by FatWallet.com, a site that combines online coupons, cash-back shopping, and a community of fierce deal hounds who delight in posting the best possible combinations of low prices, cash-back and rebates.

The FatWallet Black Friday app lets you search by category (towels, Barbies, camouflage) or by retailer. You can filter by price, search all doorbusters, inquire about rebates, collect e-coupons (no clipping), look for free shipping and even purchase the items immediately from your phone.

(Those of us who don’t own smartphones can access the app on our treadle-powered laptops. Woo hoo!)

What’s this got to do with surviving Black Friday? Good question.

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