spending

My first laptop, finally.

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Two years ago I wanted a laptop. I thought my life would easier if I could write during my 50-minute bus rides to the University of Washington.

But then I examined the potential purchase the way I examined all others:

  • Can I really justify the expense vs. the payoff?
  • If I got it, would my life be significantly improved?
  • If I didn’t, would my life by substantially diminished?

No, no and no. Buying the laptop would have meant dipping into my nascent emergency fund. It also would have meant one more thing to carry – and a backpack jammed with textbooks and my daily brown-bag lunch already had me feeling that I was toting my house on my back.

In other words, it would have amounted to a very expensive shoulder ache.

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Jam jars and laminate flooring: Why Freecycle rocks.

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You can get rid of anything on Freecycle, and I can prove it: A woman came to my house the other day to pick up five empty 42-ounce oatmeal boxes.

Bonus: The lady is a Yup’ik Eskimo so while we chatted on the phone I had a chance to use one of the approximately three Yup’ik words I know: “Akleng,” or “I’m sorry,” when her toddler daughter woke up crying from a nap.

I wasn’t sorry to be giving her the boxes, though, because it gave them one more use before they hit the recycle bin.

I also wasn’t sorry about having five empty oatmeal boxes. I kept them because I figured someone would want them. And someone did.

 

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When you buy cheap, you get…longevity?

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I am wearing flip-flops that I bought at Rite Aid when my daughter was two years old. Abby will be 32 in August.

Granted, these zoris didn’t get a whole lot of use during my 17 years in Alaska. But I’m still amazed how well they’ve held up. I’m also grateful: They kept my feet off the ground for three days straight when my broken toe convinced me not to put on a real shoe.

Abby has her own cheap-but-dependable anecdote, which she detailed in a blog post called “Unexpected quality.” Her favorite pair of shorts, which she’s been wearing for 11 years, cost $10. It amuses her how “some of the cheapest things turn out to be so ridiculously durable.”

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Calypso bread.

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Every so often I stop by the Jimmy John’s sandwich shop near my apartment. Not to buy a sandwich, though: To spend 50 cents on one of yesterday’s baguettes, which I call “calypso bread.”

That’s because it’s day-old.

Daaaaaay-old.

Daaaaaaa-aaaay old.

Any of you who aren’t laughing yet, follow this link. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

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Happy graduation! Here’s a toilet brush.

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thKnow a college senior who’s moving into his own place post-diploma? Want to give a gift even though you’re on a budget? Forget the $20 bill or the iTunes card. Instead, buy some dishtowels, a laundry basket or a johnny mop.

Your preparing-to-launch student may have saved up the first and last month’s security on an apartment. But does he have a can opener?

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BOGO, meet GOGO.

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Surviving and Thriving is not a “bargain of the day” site. Plenty of other blogs already do that, and do it much better than I ever could. However, at times I’ll be writing about deals that I think are too good to pass up.

The “GOGO” deal at CVS is a good example. The drugstore chain has introduced e-gift cards, and during the month of May you can get a free gift card every time you give one.

(“Give one, get one” as opposed to “buy one, get one.” Cute, huh?)

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A little love is all I ask. (That, and a Swagbucks signup.)

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First and foremost: Many thanks to all who have stopped by to read and/or leave comments. Writers are the most insecure people on Earth, always wondering, “Is anyone even reading this stuff?” Well, because of the comments and the magic of Google Analytics, I know that someone is reading it. And I’m grateful.

Now, on to the favors:

Please consider clicking on the Facebook and Twitter buttons under “Follow us.” I’d love to get suggestions for topics, interesting URLs, photos of your dog, whatever. Let me know what you’re doing and thinking.

Also: The Swagbucks widget is fixed! (They call it a “swidget.” Ain’t that adorable?) Off and on during the day click the “Swag Codes” button and then click “Check if there’s a Swag Code.” They become available randomly, and can mean a bunch of extra Swag Bucks for you.

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I glean cracker wrappers.

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Want to be considered weird, embarrassing or just plain cheap? Be frugal among people who aren’t. Even the folks who say they love you may criticize your 10-year-old car or your thrift store habit.

And if you want to send strangers over the edge, just flash a manufacturer’s coupon in the checkout line. It’s like waving a red cape in front of a rabid bull. Indeed, the noise that some shoppers make is positively bovine: Mooaawwwww…another one of those coupon queens! Groan, sigh, mumble, JEEEZZZZ….

(Wonder if any of them have ever held up a line an extra 30 seconds while searching pockets or purses for debit cards or exact change?)

 

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