Christmas Run-Down

We ended up spending $255.07 for gifts (we've got 10 people in our immediate families- I have 2 brothers, a sister, a sister-in-law and my parents; Anthony has 2 sisters and his parents, so that adds up to about $25.50/person as we do not exchange gifts between us). Not horrible but I'd like to do better price-wise next year and start shopping/looking for the stuff I want earlier because it really took up a huge amount of time trying to find things. Plus winter is the rainy season here so it's nice to not have to go out and lug around a bunch of junk in the rain. We don't "go shopping" that often during the rest of the year so I think that makes it a little harder to get things as I see them, but I'd at least like to start brainstorming sooner and keeping my eye out anyway.

We try to be creative with wrapping (pages from magazines/newspapers, grocery bags (I used a Whole Foods bag for my Dad's gift - with ivy and birds on it and it looked awesome - tied it up with string too - cute!) and re-use cloth ribbons. We spent $0 on wrapping stuff - it's fun to be creative and the recipients seem to like it too!

Shipping ran us $23.90 - I'd like to do a little more research on what is the best option, though I feel that this turned out quite well. We went to FedEx and shipped via their Home Delivery service, though it cost more than their website quoted. (I think it was because it was a FedEx retail store?) Even then, it was less than what the Post Office quoted for even Parcel Post! There is a 24-hour FedEx/Kinko's nearby so we were able to bring our packages in Sunday evening and get in and out fairly quickly (maybe 10 or 15 minutes) rather than waiting for hours in line at the Post Office on Monday during work hours. Plus, they got our gifts there Saturday (the guy told us Friday, but they say 1-5 business days and my understanding is that the "business days" for the Home Delivery service are Tuesday through Saturday instead of Monday through Friday) whereas UPS Ground or Parcel Post would have not guaranteed that they would get there until next week.
These are the website quotes for an 11-lb package and a 7.75-lb package, respectively, going from San Francisco to NC.
UPS 3 Day: $35.01 / $28.88
UPS Ground: $15.27 / $12.94
USPS Priority: $22.05 / $16.60
USPS Parcel Post: $20.18 / $15.85
FedEx Home Delivery (what we paid): $12.95 / $10.95
Overall it seems great: Less expensive than other quotes, the stuff got there relatively quickly (so we didn't have to pay extra for 3-day or Priority) and in good condition, the 24-hour option is awesome because we could go when there is not a line and whenever it is convenient for us without having to interrupt our days.

We didn't send cards. I thought about it, but meh, I am not a huge fan of Christmas cards myself and have a hard time throwing things like that out anyway, so I think it is perhaps better to discourage people from sending me cards anyway. I had not thought about e-cards, maybe I will do something like that next year.

No gift-exchange at work. I thought about making something for the office, but I walk and it would be mildly difficult to bring in enough goodies for everyone. Not impossible, but we've been so crazy trying to find Christmas gifts that I haven't had time to do anything else on the weekends.

Which, consequently, is why we spent $130 (!) this month on eating out. Hopefully next year we can gather Christmas gifts more slowly for a longer period of time and/or work on ideas for things to make (I like the idea of food gifts or mixes, but we ship them and it seems like a waste to pay freight on some flour or beans or whatever)and not end up going out to eat a ton because we are stressed out and frazzled from the stores and having such a damned hard time finding things that aren't made in China and feel like they're going to fall apart in 3 days.

I am thinking about seeing if I can a little super-discounted faux tree and maybe some lights here after Christmas. We haven't had any kind of tree before, although my brother and his wife sent us a home-made wreath this year, which was lovely, but I kind of would like a little tree.

I would also like to work on a wish list for us. My parents have a lot of old, nice stuff around their house that they don't use and we would love to have. This Christmas, I got our wonderful family heirloom pepper mill (by Audibert, so I wonder if it's over 100 years old!) and my mom said that she is going to send us a digital camera that they got from my aunt last year that they do not care for (it only has a screen on the back, no viewfinder apparently) and therefore do not use. 2 things that I was wanting/needing and considering buying myself - at no cost to me and at no cost to them! Plus, as a lot of the stuff they have is older, it is nicer quality, more durable and better designed. We also got a Trader Joe's gift card from SO's parents which is awesome as that is someplace we go regularly anyway, so it is very useful.

So, in short:

Be conscious throughout the year of what gifts we would like to give.

Ensure that we are getting the best deal for shipping (and, yes, not having to wait in line for an hour counts as a deal!).

Consider and research home-made gifts.

Don't go out to eat automatically just because we're out at the stores!

Create a wish list - emphasize that I strongly welcome re-gifting/used gifts and specify gift card locations (i.e. no iTunes store (no iPod plus we like having good-quality music (ie CD-quality) not junky mp3s), no Anthropolgie (I hate that place and my aunt has given me several gift cards for there because her daughters love it - ick).

25 Gadgets That Actually Save Money response/analysis

The Simple Dollar posted a blog today about 25 silly gizmos you can buy to "save money". I was looking over the list and thought it was nuts so I went over it to see how his suggestions would fare for me:

1. Filtered Water Bottle
Sample Model: Katadyn Exstream Personal Water Bottle Purifier
Price: $39.95 + $32.95 cartridge refills
Time Until Break Even: 180 days of daily use

If you drink a bottle of water each day (as you should), but you buy bottled water instead of drinking tap water, you can pay for this nifty device in half a year. You can fill it from any tap and the internal filtering device will clean the water for you, eliminating viruses and bacteria. Thus, each day you use this bottle, you pay off a little more.

We have a good water filter at home and my office supplies filtered water from a cooler. Between the two I very rarely buy water. I love Volvic and I'll sometimes get a bottle of that if I'm feeling thirsty while I'm out and about in lieu of a bottle of tea or whatever - certainly less than 10 bottles a year, probably closer to $10/year (at $2/bottle).

2. Battery Charger
Sample Model: Rayovac Universal Battery Charger
Price: $17.95
Time Until Break Even: How many kids do you have?

My son has a bevy of toys that just gobble batteries. It seems like every day I’m dropping more and more batteries into these devices. Thankfully, a battery recharger can trim the costs down really quick. Just take your Rayovac AAs, toss them in this, plug it in, and they’re good to go again. It’s absolutely perfect for parents that have children with lots of battery-powered toys.

We use batteries for ummm... ummmmmmmmmmm... I use my old discman maybe once or twice a year and if I'm just using it around the house I have an adapter so I can plug it into the wall. We have a device that waters our tree frogs when we're out of town that uses a 9-volt. A couple flashlights which are also used rarely. My cell phone recharges; I specifically bought our remote mostly because it uses tiny lithium battery which doesn't need to be replaced as often as the normal kind. This would take me years to make this back.

3. “Smart” Power Strips
Sample Model: SmartStrip LCG4
Price: $34.95
Time Until Break Even: 60 days

If you use a desktop computer at home, it won’t take long until this device is a money saver for you. Simply plug in your main unit into the control outlet and all of your other peripherals (monitor, printer, speakers, etc.) into the other outlets. Whenever you power on your computer, the other devices power on; whenever you power off your computer, the others power off. Even better, it actually functions as a switch, so when your main unit powers off, there is no phantom “standby” electricity being drawn to the other peripherals. Not only will you save money on the powered-down peripherals, but you’ll save money from the lack of phantom charge.

Our electricity is included in our rent, but I don't understand this anyway. When the computer's not on I turn off the whole surge protector. The printer and speakers are off when not in use. I would think it would be better to get a good surge protector instead of some gimmicky thing that doesn't seem like it a great idea to me anyway just in terms of use. Your peripherals aren't meant to be powered up by essentially plugging them in while they're on...

4. Blender
Sample Model: Oster Classic Beehive Blender
Price: $47.99
Time Until Break Even: 6-12 months

A quality blender (like the one above) can save tons of money if you use it regularly. You can switch to grinding your own herbs, spices, coffee beans, and so on. A regular kitchen user can make back the price on herbs alone if they buy fresh herbs and grind them in the blender for long-term storage. Plus it’s invaluable for making drinks at home when you have guests, which ends up being much cheaper than a night out on the town. Get a good one, though, so it will chop and cut what you want.

Well, for one, buying fresh herbs is expensive (growing them is not, though) and they lose weight as they dry, which doesn't make them any cheaper. I buy my herbs and spices from the health food co-op and get them for PENNIES for lovely organic goodies and I don't end up with a bunch of stale spices because I had to buy a huge jar.
Yeah, mixed drinks are cheaper at home than out. Smoothies too. And there are lots of recipes and other things that blenders are good for, but frankly, good luck trying to grind coffee beans or spices properly in a blender. If that's all you're using it for, buy a $10 coffee grinder which will work better anyhow.

5. Electricity Usage Monitor
Sample Model: Kill-a-Watt Electricity Usage Monitor
Price: $24.99
Time Until Break Even: 3 years

With this device, you can see how much of a phantom load your powered-down electrical devices are still pulling through the wall outlet. If you discover devices that are pulling a significant load, unplugging them (or using an appropriate device to stop the drain) will save you money over time. This device is also useful for figuring out how much power various home devices are draining and, with some quick calculations, exactly how much it’s costing you.

These are interesting, but I'm not sure how useful. Unplug stuff that you rarely use or just use power strips/surge protectors that can be switched off. Who wants to waste a bunch of time unplugging and plugging stuff that is used frequently?

6. Flash Drive
Sample Model: Kingston Data Traveler 1 GB
Price: $17.95
Time Until Break Even: 1 month

I find countless uses for my flash drive, the best of which is for an emergency backup of key files. A flash drive has saved my cookie during hardware crashes and it has also saved a lot of money in terms of burning CDs for software installation packages off the network. In short, it’s invaluable.

I dunno, I've never felt the need for a flash drive, but you can get them cheap enough nowadays. I'll keep the 18 bucks, thanks. I don't know what I would use it for, honestly.

7. High End Solar Calculator
Sample Model: Texas Instruments TI36X
Price: $10.99
Time Until Break Even: 2 years

I like to keep one of these in my pocket for doing calculations at the grocery store. Which package is the better deal per unit? It’s always a good idea to figure this out before blindly making a purchase at the store. Plus, with a solar calculator, you don’t ever have to worry about batteries or anything else - just keep using it.

High-end solar calculator?? I would be willing to bet that almost anyone has a solar calculator in drawer somewhere. It seems to me that the majority of calculators seem to have solar power or at least a solar/battery combo. Don't have one? I bet someone you know has one that they wouldn't mind giving away. Businesses give solar calculators frequently as promotional items. Still no-go? You can buy them very inexpensively! Why in the world does it need to be high-end?? Pass.

8. Efficient Power Supply
Sample Model: Antek EA 380
Price: $81.00
Time Until Break Even: 1 year

A high-efficiency power supply not only protects you from electrical faults, it also ensures that your devices drain electricity at the minimum rate, which means your power bills go down. If your home has any sort of questionable power distribution, this device is essential for protecting your electronic equipment, but even if you have normal power, you can save money with this gadget because of the power drain that it reduces.

What? Can I plug the "smart" power strip into this??
I feel that this is generally a good idea, however mine cost far less than the one he recommends (like 1/4th as much) and came with all kinds of guarantees that my equipment would not get messed up by power surges while I am using their protector.

9. Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs
Sample Model: GE Soft White Spiral T4
Price: $1.79
Time Until Break Even: 4 months

CFLs can easily save $100 a year, plus they look a lot cooler than ordinary bulbs. The simple fact of the matter is that by merely replacing a regular bulb with a CFL, you’ll save about a dollar per bulb every two months or so.

Like I said, I don't pay our electricity bill. I have compact fluorescents in some places, but the quality of light is kind of crappy. I've been trying to see if I can get Reveal-like CF bulbs, but I haven't made the leap yet. Generally, a good idea, I think.

10. Efficient Shower Heads
Sample Model: Niagra Conservation Earth Massage Showerhead
Price: $15.99
Time Until Break Even: 10 months

High efficiency showerheads save money by reducing the amount of water that needs to flow through your hot water heater. An average American household can save as much as 15,000 gallons of water per year by installing high-efficiency shower heads. Even better: that’s 15,000 gallons of hot water that your heater doesn’t have to heat, cutting down on your energy costs as well.

My apartment's already got one of these. Yeah I guess it's a good idea. I miss my shower being wet like it used to be. :(

11. Fuel-Efficient Scooter
Sample Model: 2006 Vespa PX 150
Price: $4,200
Time Until Break Even: 4 years

A high-efficiency scooter is perfect for people who have a relatively short work commute that’s just a bit too far to walk every day. Leave that car in the garage and travel on a scooter. Plus, you can scoot around town and quickly run errands on this thing. Of course, a bicycle is even less expensive, but scooters are much faster and won’t leave you sweaty when you arrive.

I walk!

12. Solar Outdoor Lighting
Sample Model: Silicon Solar Innovision LED
Price: $12.95
Time Until Break Even: 180 evenings

This is a great choice if you want to light your yard and patio in the evening but don’t want to spend on electricity all the time. Solar powered outdoor lighting will provide adequate lighting for much of the night after recharging themselves during the day. Their design incorporates solar panels, a nice geek factor, and they can provide wonderful low light in the evening, perfect for a nice ambience.

Oh, to have a yard and patio... this doesn't seem like a bad idea though and not very expensive. I'm more of a porch girl, though. I actually like dark porch a lot too.

13. Dance Dance Revolution
Sample Model: DDR Extreme 2 (plus peripherals)
Price: $200
Time Until Break Even: 8 months ($25/month gym fees)

If you use the gym for a cardio workout, cancel your gym membership and get a home video game system, DDR, and a good quality dance pad. The game itself provides all the motivation you need, plus you have to be in pretty good shape in order to play the game for extended periods. I lost about 20 pounds playing DDR instead of going to the gym once upon a time.

Once upon a time, I walked everywhere and I have free weights at home. I guess this is still combining tasks - Dance, Dance Revolution is exercise and entertainment; walking places is exercising and getting where you need to go... and entertainment (scenery, discussion walking with Anthony) and meditation and so many other things. I'd much, MUCH rather do that than run on a treadmill or dance with my TV set.


14. Self-Cleaning Electric Shaver
Sample Model: Braun 8995 360 Complete
Price: $169.13
Time Until Break Even: 8 months of daily shaving

A top-quality self-cleaning rechargeable electric shaver saves significant money for each shaving over disposable razors and shaving cream. Although there are still upkeep costs (recharging, a rare replacement of the blades, and facial wash), the costs are much less than what you’ll incur with shaving cream and blades. Plus, you get the unbridled joy of owning a new gadget.

ALMOST $200!!!!!!!! We spend like $25/year on razors/blade refills. No shaving cream; it gives me razor burn and Anthony just uses water. This would take me over 6 (closer to 7) years to "break even" and I wouldn't be surprised if the thing doesn't even last that long.


15. Espresso / Cappuccino Machine
Sample Model: Gaggia Carezza
Price: $200
Time Until Break Even: 80 visits to a coffee shop

Do you stop by Starbucks each day to pick up a fresh cup on your way to work?
No.
If you invest in a decent cappuccino / espresso maker, those visits can go right out the door; you can make it at home and it tastes at least as good as the stuff at the shops, especially chain ones like Starbucks where they have the “process” down to an art form. Plus, once you get used to using it, you can experiment a lot with different beans and grindings and make some truly sublime homemade coffees.
The glass in my French press was recently broken. I've just been doing without coffee at home for the past couple weeks. I have some sometimes at work, but that doesn't cost me anything; my employer supplies it, but I don't have it daily or multiple cups a day, typically. I'm waiting to see what I can find good deal on before I replace it.

Lots of kitchen gadgets mean you need junk to organize them and supplies to clean them and time to maintain them and, eventually, a bigger kitchen to store them all in.

16. Programmable Thermostat
Sample Model: Honeywell 5/2 Programmable Thermostat
Price: $39.99
Time Until Break Even: 6 months

If you have central air conditioning, you need programmable thermostats. They provide very precise temperature control and can be programmed to automatically lower your air conditioning and/or heat use while you’re not home. Just program it and forget about it; it will automatically adjust things for you so that you aren’t wasting electricity and money.

Thermo-what? Here in San Francisco if you're hot you open a window or turn on a fan. Cold? Close the window and turn on the radiator.

17. Coin Sorter
Sample Model: FastSort Electric Coin Sorter
Price: $95.99
Time Until Break Even: 2 years

Most banks will no longer count change for you, but they will accept pre-rolled coins as deposits. CoinStar, on the other hand, will cash out change for you, but they have a 10% surcharge. Why not just sort and roll them yourself? Keep this device on the dresser, dump in your pocket change each night, change the rolls in and out (the device comes with a bunch of coin rolls), and when you go to the bank, take in a bunch of coin rolls and deposit them. Over time, the device pays for itself over the amount you would lose using CoinStar.

I try to use cash as little as possible. Why? Because when I was a teenager in high school I used mostly cash and was AMAZED at how much change piled up. It was a pain to roll and take to the bank. I'd much rather let that change sit in my bank account where it's actually usable than have to lug it all over the place and then go to the bank to put it in the account where it should be anyway. I would never pay CoinStar to roll my money. It's really not THAT hard to do it yourself. Ridiculous.

18. Efficient Space Heater
Sample Model: Honeywell HZ-315
Price: $19.95
Time Until Break Even: One cold winter

Small, efficient space heaters can save a lot of money because they allow you to not have to spend lots of extra energy keeping some rooms heated (such as the bathroom). Instead, just put in a space heater and turn it on when you take a shower. It’s substantially cheaper than keeping that spare room heated. Plus, you can use them when working in the basement or other rooms that you don’t bother to heat, or in the bedroom at night if you lower the house heat during the nighttime hours.

Small, efficient rooms can save a lot of money on heating - try living in a studio apartment! The temperature in here is very easily controlled - radiator, windows, oven and a little fan do the job quite well for me.

19. Solar Christmas Lights
Sample Model: Silicon Solar LED Christmas Lights
Price: $59.95
Time Until Break Even: 2 Christmas seasons

Instead of buying strands of electric lights for outdoor Christmas decoration, get a set of solar LED Christmas lights. They eat no electricity as they charge up during the day, come on automatically in the evening, and stay on most of the night. You can just set them up and let them be with no maintenance cost or effort at all. The start-up cost is a bit high, but the cool factor of LED solar Christmas lights, plus the energy savings, quickly makes up for it.

I don't have any Christmas lights. $60 for ONE STRAND!? I'm pretty sure that you can get LED Christmas lights for cheaper than that. Geez.

20. Remote Control Power Strips
Sample Model: Lacrosse RS-204
Price: $29.95
Time Until Break Even: 2 years (depending on use)

Quite often, we find ourselves plugging lots of lights and decorations in during the Christmas holidays, and it becomes a hassle to power them all off and on, so we often leave things on more often than we’d like, sometimes even overnight. To solve this problem, install a remote control power strip. This device can be turned on and off by remote control, meaning that you can have all of the cords out of the way and flip the Christmas tree lights on and off with just a button click.

Maybe it's just me, but, stop plugging so much junk in. It's rarely tasteful.


21. High Efficiency Washing Machine
Sample Model: Whirlpool Duet Front-Loading High-Efficiency Washer GHW9150P
Price: $859
Time Until Break Even: 3 years

If you buy a large-load high efficiency front loading washing machine, you’ll do many fewer laundry loads per month and each load will take less water than before. A machine like this can easily save $10 over a regular machine in water usage in a family home per month; even better, a large load machine will save a lot of time. Given the cost of a normal low-end washer, it should only take three years or so for this machine to pay for itself.

I can not wait for the day I have a washing machine again. I hope to get one of the most efficient/green ones I can find, perhaps depending on what I can get used. I haven't done much research on the matter because I expect it to be a while until I have my own machine.

22. A Laptop
Sample Model: Dell Inspiron E1505
Price: $819
Time Until Break Even: 1 year

Now that laptops have reached a usability and reliability standard that approximates desktops, it becomes a serious choice whether or not to replace a desktop with a laptop. If you make the leap, you’ll find that the energy savings are tremendous. I often run it from battery at home and charge it using available outlets in other places, such as the local bookstore, meaning I have very little home energy use from the laptop. It won’t take long for this savings to make up for the differences in cost, plus you’ll have all of the laptop portability advantages.

I love my desktop. It's cool (temperature) and won't get overheat like laptops can and I don't feel obligated to drag it places with me. I'm addicted enough to the internet already. I'll get a laptop someday but I like the stability of my desktop.

Just wondering - when you take your laptop to charge at the local bookstore, are you also buying a book or a magazine or a coffee or something? That'll eliminate your savings right there. What about gas for driving there? Obviously, you could charge it at a public library as well, but these little not-so-obvious expenses end up being a lot bigger than some other little things like the electricity to charge your laptop at home.

23. TiVo
Sample Model: TiVo Series 2 80 Hour Dual Tuner
Price: $49.99 + $9.95 a month
Time Until Break Even: 6 months

If you have cable and a TiVo, your needs for DVD purchases and rentals will almost disappear simply because of the plethora of programming you’ll be able to watch commercial-free. This will begin to save you money before long, plus it will give you a much greater control over what you watch on television - I skip a lot of programs simply because of the commercials and the inability to pause them to chase my child.
I don't have cable and I don't buy or rent DVDs. I check out DVDs for free from the library and I play them on my computer because it works for that and I don't want to spend money on a DVD player for my TV when I have something that already works. I would virtually never make this back versus my current spending ($0).


24. A Hybrid Car
Sample Model: Toyota Prius
Price: $22,175
Time Until Break Even: 5 years

If you compare a hybrid side-by-side with a non-hybrid, the hybrid costs more up front. The savings, though, kicks in over the life of the car with much lower fuel costs. Plus, it has a great “geek factor” and it’s a solid environmental decision.

I walk and if it's too far, I take the bus. If it's still too far I can rent a car or fly. Whatever happened to that scooter from before? You need both? I don't need either!

25. A Residential Windmill
Sample Model: Skystream 3.7
Price: $8,500 (including installation)
Time Until Break Even: 8 years

If you want to be “king geek” in your area, few things will top this. $8,500 will get you a windmill on top of your house, which can, by itself, take care of almost all of your home electrical needs. It looks like a high-tech antenna up there, quietly whirring away, using the wind to provide your juice. For an average household, the device will pay for itself in eight years; after that, it’s all gravy. Plus, you’re helping the environment by almost eliminating your load on the power grid.

Ok, that is cool and I might go for it if I had a house, BUT is it the best, most efficient and the most energy-producing device for my money? I plan to research this stuff once I get a house, but I sort of doubt that a $9k windmill is going to beat out all the other options available.

Gone 'til November

I know I haven't posted here in a long time, but I feel I have fair reason!

This summer included:

Sibling being involuntarily committed to a mental institution for about a week. (Long story, but she got trapped in a bathroom in a deserted building for several hours, and since she was delirious she was put on meds she didn't need and was made worse... not a good experience for anyone.)

Anthony's mother suddenly being diagnosed with a brain tumor. We went down there for several weeks to help out while she was having surgery. She is apparently only the 4th known case of this type of tumor in the world, ever. She also had to have a tube put in that connects her brain to her stomach since her brain fluid wasn't draining properly. Scary time... I am still not sure what will come of it in the end.

Other more normal summer things like a number of friends coming to visit us unexpectedly.

I had insane amounts of work in July and now one of the staff at work has been fired and I have had to absorb his job... which means a TON of work for me (11 hour days plus some time on the weekends, often) and a lot of new stuff, but the really unfortunate part is that I have not been offered any monetary compensation from work. I was hoping for either a pay raise, a temporary pay raise until they hire someone new (which I think will be in in January) or some kind of bonus. But, I haven't seen or heard of anything coming my way. I don't need it so I'm kind of torn, but frankly I find it insulting. They cut a whole full-time employee and I absorb 90% of his work and continue to do most of mine and I get nothing. I really don't get it.

In any case, I've finally had a chance to start tracking spending again and I feel like November was a good and pretty normal month. Unfortunately all the hubbub this summer caused my tracking to look really wonky due to the all-too-frequent purchase of last-minute plane tickets and other weird emergency expenses.

Transportation: $15.00
Comments: Just about right, perhaps a little higher than normal, but still in the desired range.

Groceries: $368.61
Comments: Very good, actually a little lower than many months... I'm really not sure why because I feel like we bought more "special" stuff than usual.

Phone: $19.74
Comments: Normal basic rate; didn't have to top-up our OneSuite account this month.

Internet: $21.95
Comments: Normal; Earthlink has bothered me to no end (trying to charge me wrongly repeatedly) so once our contract is done with them I think I'll be trying AT&T (I think ~$14.99/mo) or maybe I will just see if we have wi-fi in our apartment and get a wireless card if we do. And there is supposed to eventually be free citywide wi-fi in San Francisco, but who knows when that will actually happen.

Cell Phone: $0.00
Comments: I feel like I've been doing really well with my cell phone lately. My phone says as of right now I still have $2.30 left and I will NEED to top up by December 12th, which means that a little more than a week from now it will have been 3 months since I have topped up my phone, which is great. Unfortunately, I have been having some problems with the phone itself (it still sometimes just disconnects from the battery and won't turn on and I have to remove the battery and put it back in to get it to start AND then a few weeks ago it was going from fully charged to completely dead in less than 12 hours, but fortunately that seems to have stopped for now.) Virgin is offering a K10 Royal (a Kyocera like my old much more durable/reliable phone was) for $20 with $20 bundled airtime, so basically, free. I think I am going to going to go ahead and take them up on that deal so at least once this phone dies I will not have to rush out and spend whatever they are asking on whatever phone. This way I get to use the $20 airtime and I get a free back-up phone. Seems okay to me. Oh, and I switched my plan to the new $0.18/minute all the time plan instead of the $0.25/min for the first 10 minutes and then $0.10/minute after that... I actually rarely talk for more than 5 minutes on any given day I use my phone so that is actually a better deal for me.

Consumable Household: $11.33
Comments: Tissues, a new toothbrush and spring water for our pet treefrogs. We've started getting this new toilet paper called Heron's Coreless rolls and I love it. It seems to do a good, er, job and lasts us longer than any other product I've used but also there are no annoying cardboard cores that I have to throw away (and waste trash bags too!) and they are actually unbleached (not just non-chlorine bleached like a lot of "natural" stuff) and are 100% post consumer recycled paper. I think they cost $5.00 and some change for 8 rolls which is actually less than I was paying for Scott even with a coupon and I like these a lot better both in use and because they are more "green." In any case, even without taking the price into consideration, the Heron rolls have helped us reduce our TP consumption, thus reducing the spending in this category. Yay!

Durable Household: $17.76
Comments: We bought a few tools to help properly install our new Multi-Pure water filter (vise grips and some teflon tape). We got our filter from Water2Drink.com which offers the filters a little cheaper than anywhere else I could find, plus no tax and free shipping. There was an issue with delivery, actually (DSL decided that our address doesn't exist for no reason) and their customer service representative was really great with helping us understand why our delivery was delayed and she set up a re-delivery with UPS (at no charge, obviously). I am very, very happy with the price, product and the customer service. But one neat thing is that I discovered while we were looking for hours for one of the tool stores I discovered the San Francisco Tool Lending Center... I had no idea something like that existed!!!! Next time we need some tools we are going there. Actually, we have an electric staple gun that we bought a couple years ago that didn't work for what we needed it for and couldn't be returned and I would like to go to the Lending Center and see if we can donate it. Oh, one other neat thing that happened - we exchanged the vise grips we bought at the hardware store for the larger (more expensive) size we needed. The guy at the register said they were having a 20% off sale so we actually ended up getting a small refund for our exchange even though it was for a technically more expensive item. $1.52 was returned to my card plus I didn't have to spend the $3.32 more I was expecting to spend.

Laundry: $12.75
Comments: Just did a few loads in the basement machines in our building. I would like to cut back further on my wardrobe so that I can wash ALL my clothes for this much a month, but I am worried that it's better to have a lot, just in case. I really would like to sort and get rid of stained/stretched out/too big/too small clothes but I just have this pathological fear... I'm trying to look more into how I can deal with this panic that sets in when I think of getting rid of stuff, but it's slow going.

Vitamins: $0.00
Comments: I have a 20% off coupon for the Rainbow so we'll be stocking up again in December.

Medical: $10.00
Comments: Just my monthly prescription... yeah. Much cheaper than a baby! And more pleasant than the mind-numbing cramps and crappiness I feel without some help...

Meals out: $113.00
Comments: My sister was in town at the beginning of the month, so $67.00 worth of this is me buying lunch and dinner for the 3 of us. She gave me a $20 so I guess it's maybe theoretically a little lower, but I don't have a huge problem with it. I'd say it was normal... we went out to eat about once a week, spending $10 (Vietnamese sandwiches at Wrap Delight, which is way better than the better-known Saigon Sandwich AND cheaper and run by a sweet husband/wife team instead of a crew of grouchy women), $16 on dim sum (at the Hang Ah Tea Room, which I love) and $20 on Cordon Bleu. All things we can't really make at home, all small local businesses with friendly employees and good prices... I am definitely ok with that.

Snacks out: $3.84
Comments: This is just me getting the munchies at work and needing a snack. I should start either brining a snack or eating more lunch or something, but I don't think that less than $4.00 for the whole month is too bad.

Outings & Rentals: $5.85
Comments: Cigarettes. I know I shouldn't smoke, but this workload has been really tough on me... :(

Beer: $29.00
Comments: This is Anthony and my "hobby" - fine beers. I feel that this is a fair price range for good beer. A lot of places we have tried (Plumpjack, the Rainbow Grocery, City Beer Store, Trader Joe's, some place in Oakland, and a few others) the beer has been bad (skunked from light exposure or tasted very old or turned sour and gross from heat exposure). The stores where we have consistantly gotten good beer that we have not had to pour out (eek! $$$ down the drain!): Blackwell's on Geary, the Jug Shop off Polk and any BevMo. They actually just put in another BevMo a block from my work which is neat and they have a bigger beer selection than the other 2 in town. They just moved the Jug Shop (just across the street from where it was) too and I was hoping they'd improve their beer selection, but no such luck. I'd rather buy from the small, local place instead of BevMo, but they have more things we are looking for and their prices are often significantly better... oh well...

Clothing & Haircuts: $74.83
Comments: This is some lovely $700-something dollar Bottega Veneta shoes on sale in the DSW clearance basement for $65 and insoles because we do so much walking. They are for Anthony and I like them a lot - one nice thing is that I think we will be able to re-sole them too which I don't think is possible with some of the other pairs of shoes we have bought him recently.

Fees/Fines: $0.00
Comments: No library fines or anything! Yay, that's good...

School: $1.81
Comments: Just a nice pen and a little keychain watch. Anthony's trying to take more classes next semester. Fall semester got ruined by the whole your-mom-has-brain-cancer thing.

Gifts: $12.14
Comments: The beginning of Christmas gifts! A couple of bags of Organic coffee ($3.99/ea), a couple of note cards ($0.50/ea) and a cute stamp set for Lorna ($1.99)... all from the Bargain bank at good prices.

Travel: $0.00
Comments: No travel. Yay!

Plus rent, all-in-all we spent $943.82 LESS than we made (not counting the bit I have automatically put in my 401K). AWESOME!
Rent = 34% of income
Expenses = 28.5% of income
Saved = 37.5% of income!!!

I feel good about that.

Total for August: $210.78 - and counting!

More $3,500 Challenge stuff for August! (Everything from different days is just lumped together, so its not terribly coherent.)

Well, I just avoided paying $23.95 in stupid tax. I was reading a Cindy's Porch newsletter about what to take to the grocery store with you and one of the things she mentioned was a calculator. A calculator is something I often find myself wishing I had when I'm at the store. (I have one on my cell phone, but I leave my cell phone home most of the time if I am just going to the grocery store with BF and it is kind of awkward to use IMO anyway.) So, I looked up "wallet calculator" and came up with this lovely one -recently featured in Dwell magazine- for $16.50 (plus $8.50 shipping & handling). I hate to admit, I was actually considering it... I mean, it would be useful, right? And it could save me money at the store, right? And I tend to only carry my small metal case with my debit card in it to the store, so that would be perfect, right? I checked eBay with only one result, then used Froogle with a slightly different search term... and found this. $0.97. Biiiiiiiiig difference. I can go pick this one up from the Radioshack a couple blocks from my work for a measly $1.05 including tax instead of $25.00 for the fancy one. Duhhhh. I think that a $1.05 investment is by far a better deal to help save money and compare prices at the store than a $25 one! Saved: $23.95

Stayed home instead of going out to a movie like we were pondering. I always get a cold after being in a movie theater anyhow. Saved: $20.00

Decided after much thought to not renew my annual premium membership at a recipe website. I just wasn't using it enough anymore and I wasn't getting enough value out of it. Saved: $24.95

Took a survey for Virgin Mobile's Sugar Mama program and earned 5 minutes. At $0.25/minute I Earned/Saved: $1.25

Decided not to go to the grocery store this evening with BF. He'll go tomorrow by himself, so we save my bus fare. Saved: $1.50

Used the 12% off coupon I found online to buy the shredder I've been pondering forever, some paper and a notebook-thing for BF's upcoming classes. Saved: $5.04

Bought the $30 shredder with a $15 rebate. Applied online so no cost of stamps. Saved: $15.39

Radioshack didn't have that calculator I wanted. They said it was a promo item and they don't expect to have it in stock again. Hmph. I guess I will just do without. Saved: $1.05

Walked to/from the grocery store instead of taking the bus. Saved: $3.00

Signed up for an Emigrant account (I love my ING account, but when Emigrant's at 5.15% and ING's still at 4.35%, it seems like it might be best to move some of that money over) with a sign-up bonus through this site. Earned: $10.00

Also donated a couple of my ING referrals and Earned: $10.00

I'm also thinking about opening a VirtualBank account, because I can earn another $20.00 sign-up bonus. Can't hurt.

Total for August: $210.78

$3,500 Challenge

I'm participating in the $3,500 Challenge this month on the SL Forums. The idea was started by Eileen in October- "It occured to me the other day, that if I could find ways to save $10 a day, I'd end up with almost $3500 extra a year. Obviously there are 365 days in a year, but I'm cutting myself some slack :)." It's pretty fun! Here's what I've got so far...

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August 1: Bought BF some good condition Bally shoes from the thrift store... they fit well and seem to be quite comfortable! Cost $7.32... last pair of shoes we bought him cost $82.53 (of course, these new ones retail for about $498, but I definitely wouldn't have sprung for that.)
Saved: $75.21

August 2: Got a free drink at work instead of going out and buying one.
Saved: $2.00

August 3: Printed a coupon offline for needed TP.
Saved: $1.00

Bought BF razor refills from http://shavethis.com/ instead of the drug store... Shavethis.com has free shipping, no tax (for non-NJ residents) and a ton of good merchant reviews on Yahoo Shopping. $16.99 at Walgreens + tax = $18.43 (~$1.83/blade) Cost $11.99 ($1.20/blade) at shavethis.com.
Saved: $6.44 (plus a trip to Walgreens)

We have some City Passes that work as bus passes for a week or so that a friend who visited SF briefly passed on to us.
Saved: $10.00 (estimate, but we've been riding the bus more since we got them so it's kind of difficult to get an accurate number.)

So far for August:
$94.65

A few savings over the last few days

Wednesday: Opted against going out to eat, even though BF and I both have a nasty cold and are feeling worn out. Made very yummy dinner with stuff in the fridge that needed to be eaten anyway.
Savings: $20.00

Did some quick online research on TV remotes (ours got dropped on the hardwood floor about 2 billion times and finally died about a week ago) online... checked out various websites for local places we could go- CompUSA, Staples, Office Depot, Walgreens, RiteAid, Circuit City, RadioShack. (Did you know that they sell a variety of $150-$300 remotes???? WTF???) Got a good deal for $9.99 at RadioShack which operates on an included lithium battery.
Savings: $6.50

[$14.09 (normal price for remotes including tax) + $3.25(batteries $2.99 +tax) - $10.84 (price of this remote +tax)]

Thursday: Took advantage of the Spare The Air day and rode the BART for free to Ikea in Emeryville instead of paying to take it over the weekend. Got some new lamps that we are very happy with so far... it was about $70 for all 4 so that is not too bad price-wise and they really make the environment in here a lot nicer.
Savings: $11.80

Friday: Spent a couple minutes and looked up coupons online for TP and lightbulbs that I was planning to buy anyway.
Savings: $1.40

Today: Walked to/from the grocery store instead of taking the bus.
Savings: $3.00

I would really like to say that I used one of those 20% off coupons that Bed Bath and Beyond sends out like crazy to buy the shower curtain I got, but I forgot it and really didn't want to have to make the trip all the way out there a second time.

Remembered that I have a $50 Amazon gift certificate from my birthday when looking at coffee pots while in BB&B. If I want a coffee pot I should buy it on Amazon, plus there's a better selection.
Savings:$20-$30

Bought some clothes at Goodwill. 2 Banana Republic t-shirts (retail: $34/each), one cute stripy polo-style shirt (retail equivalent: $10 at Ross or Marshall's) and a pair of J. Crew pants for BF (retail: about $60+).
Savings over retail: $118

Move it

I think I've gone stir-crazy.

I found myself looking up ballet lessons today.

Frankly, I'm really intrigued, although it does seem kind of intimidating. And it costs $88/month for twice weekly hour-long classes (or $44/month for once-weekly). I guess that's $11/class, which is really not that bad. It's $12 for a single class, but I think that ballet classes are an activity that you need to do more often than sporadically. I was thinking about yoga, but San Francisco is just such a cesspool of yoga-fiends, it's kind of scary.

I walk 15 minutes each way to and from work five days a week and Anthony and I do a lot of walking around to run errands and stuff, as well as walking just to get out and get some exercise. We bought a soccer ball a while back and spent a couple weeks going out every few days and kicking it around a nearby-ish field until the field suddenly started being consistently full of ultimate frisbee (I hate ultimate frisbee) players and peewee football teams whenever we went. Recently I started thinking about how active I actually have been over my life...

I was on swim team (although I was miserably bad) and lived at the pool every summer from when I could walk until I was 11 (kind of a necessity when you live in Houston where it's 104F every day in July), not to mention running around and riding my bike all over the neighborhood with my friends. I took once-weekly horseback riding lessons from when I was 9 or 10 until I was 18 or so, although there were some periods when I wasn't riding regularly in high school. I used to walk my dog fairly often in middle school and go for long walks in the park to talk and gossip with my best friend Lauren who lived nearby. I took occasional yoga classes with my mom, which I enjoyed. It's nice to take yoga with a bunch of middle-aged women when you're young, flexible and exceedingly self-conscious (which is exactly why I'm scared to take it here - people will be in better shape than me! be as young as I! be more experienced! want to talk and socialize with me! *shudder*). I took belly dancing classes for a little while with my friend Anderson, which was pretty much the same environment as the yoga classes in suburbia (us and the middle-aged women) and pretty fun. In high school I lettered in crew (rowing) and played a year on the soccer team. In the winter, when the lake was too cold to row on we went to a gym and worked on the weight machines and treadmills and the like.

For a while I had soccer Monday, Wednesday, Friday, crew on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning and horseback riding immediately after soccer on Wednesdays. I remember feeling really good and put-together, mentally and physically during that time.

Work offers a employee gym membership (not free, but a corporate discount)... I think it's at Crunch, but I haven't asked. I think Crunch is a little too "cool" for me anyway, although if they had a pool, which they don't, I might think about it a little more. I like weightlifting and I do a little sometimes with Anthony, but I wouldn't want to be trapped in some gym alone trying to get exercise. It's stupid and paradoxical I know, but I don't want to be around a bunch of strangers and I don't want to do anything alone. So I'm stuck. (Oh, I did look up horseback riding, but the stables in Golden Gate park have been shut down and there is no where else in San Francisco to ride and I don't even know if I could get to the stables in other towns without a car, which I do not have nor do I want.) Like I said, I was thinking about the yoga, and I did enjoy the belly dancing, but I am really just petrified. That's why I thought of ballet. It's kind of weird and not too terribly mainstream (as belly dancing and yoga have become), so maybe it would work.

I took ballet for a bit when I was in preschool. I quit. Why? We had a recital... it was Pinocchio. And, for some ungodly reason, the people in charge decided that adults should play all of the characters - I think it was a mix of teachers and parents who were Pinocchio and Geppetto et al. But I, I played seaweed under the sea in the scene where Geppetto is in the whale. I had to stand and wave my arms and I had a silly green spandex costume with long strips of fabric hanging off of it. I recall that my mom put some eyeliner on me backstage, which made me feel a little better and more respectable. But still. Seaweed?!? I was livid. Well, maybe not livid, but unduly insulted. I mean, it was a slap in the face to be told that you could not star in your own recital. I would have understood if they had at least had other students do it, older ones, as my class was full of 6-year-olds, but parents and teachers? Blasphemous. So, I quit. I don't know if that was the entire reason, but I did not want to do it anymore if all I was going to do was take classes and then be embarrassed when I was supposed to be showing off.

In any case, I'm going to think about it. They offer classes at City College which would be less expensive, but I'm afraid that they would be crowded and scary, plus I would have to buy a bus pass to get there because it is so far you have to take the BART and that adds up very quickly. Actually, that might make up for the money saved on the classes. I feel kind of like I might be shortchanging Anthony if I decide that this is something I want to do - like I am doing something for me without allowing him something for him, but I guess that it's not helping anyone if I just assume that it won't be good and crawl under a rock.

We'll see.