tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51522394677731520302024-03-13T12:15:30.237-07:00Lemonade: Your Guide To Creative PovertySurvival tricks from an old pro.Jessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152239467773152030.post-4990123486269893402015-07-15T10:02:00.001-07:002015-07-15T10:02:44.909-07:00A Quick Update On An UpdateHowdy, Folks! Long time no write!<br />
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Since I am recently totally poor again and seem to excel at it, I am bringing this blog back to life with dreams of spinning it into something bigger. Or at least coming up with more ideas on how to make life easier for all involved and offering them out to the world. I want to be a professional poor person!!!<br />
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So here's the deal. I will keep writing new blogs and revamping these older nuggets to make them relevant . If you like them, spread the love so that maybe some day maybe someone will love them so much, they will employ me and I can get that 2005 Toyota Camry I dream of having someday.<br />
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A new domain has been purchased and I will be figuring out how to get these into that soon too.<br />
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Thanks for reading! Happy Summer aka That Time We Don't Pay For Heating Bills!!!<br />
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<br />Jessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152239467773152030.post-47874881435912715302012-04-30T20:00:00.000-07:002015-07-15T05:36:38.578-07:00My eyes adored you: The reprise.I am reposting this because I now have 6 pairs of glasses and four of them are missing. Actually, 7 but one is bent up and cockeyed. So they don't even qualify as emergency back up glasses unless my cheekbone on the right side rises two inches higher. Otherwise I have to hold it to my face with my finger. The point is, I have 6 1/2 pairs of glasses. Somewhere. This is why.<br />
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For years I wore the same pair of glasses. They were from the Harry Potter children's line and had little glow in the dark balls at the ends in case I needed to find them for Quidditch in the the pitch black. My head is large child size. My glasses fit me perfectly. Which is why I was so bummed when they fell out of my sports bra when I was running on the beach. Well, mostly why. The other why was because I am, as we have established, flat broke and could not afford another pair at conventional prices.<br />
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Most of us figure out a way to meet the bills. Or at least know that we are quickly approaching not being able to meet the bills. Or know the structure of our financial woes when it comes to not meeting the bills. But when the car breaks down and it turns out to be your catalytic converter. Or your teeth start aching from a hole rotting in them and you don't have dental insurance. Or your glasses fall out of your bussom and you can't drive without them, you sit down and weep because you go from barely surviving to feeling helpless and ruined. I couldn't get to work if someone called me for a job or go to the store or take my child to the doctor because I cannot drive without them. This wasn't a "want a latte" situation. This was a "can't function in society" situation.<br />
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Well, friends, desperate times blahblahblah. I remember hearing about this website called <a href="http://zennioptical.com/">zennioptical.com</a>. In fact, I had perused the site prior to this sceptically because the glasses started at very low prices. Prescription ones. My Harry P's were old and bent by the time they fell out of my chest. I had toyed with ordering a new pair but I am a conditioned name brand snob. And I couldn't see what I was getting. The glasses are all presized and the dimensions are millimeters. Plus the prices went up in level with better materials at the top of the price chain (around 40 something....wooheeee...fancy!). How good can a pair of low budget glasses be?<br />
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I love them. LOVE them! They are pink wire frames. Not the most lavish materials.Very light.You might even say disposable. But they look nice. They have UV protection and have anti scratch coating on the lenses and even come with a full guarantee. They will last awhile unless I use my bra to hold them. They cost less than an entree in jungle themed chain restaurant. The website has a good instructional how to order area when you aren't too lazy to go look deeper like, say, me initially. I found out how to convert inches to millimeters and got a general idea of my dimensions.<br />
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There are a whole lot of styles, not all of them would fit me but there were so many that I had choices. I considered going nuts and buying ones in the less cheap but still cheap area. In the end, I took my chances and ordered a pair of low priced plus reasonable shipping fee prescription glasses. They arrived in a timely manner in a little hard plastic box with a cleaning cloth in a padded envelope. Which may have cost more than the actual glasses. <br />
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I may even go nuts and buy another pair. Maybe acetate frame ones. Maybe prescription sunglasses! I always wanted to have a variety of choices. And when I have money again, I think I will buy 20 of them in all different styles that I can lose without weeping. Because that is what one pair normally would have cost me. How cool is that?<br />
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Post Update: I did order that pair of prescription sunglasses. And two pair of plastic frame panther pattern glasses and another pair of plastic frame tortoise shell glasses. The pink metal frame glasses sit in my car to assure that I can always drive even if the ones in my bra get lost. I still LOVE this place!<br />
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Image via hill.josh/flickr at <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jbhill/3393879474/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/jbhill/3393879474/</a><br />
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</a>Jessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152239467773152030.post-52496873774433623182012-01-05T08:02:00.000-08:002015-07-14T13:53:25.442-07:00Googling Marriage: Money Stress Combat 101I spent the better part of a decade completely wound up about money. My
husband is in school, living in a lab trying to finally get done with
ten years of life in higher education and get on with life. I am a
control freak who uses focusing on minutiae to avoid internal issues.
It's not a good combination when dealing with finances.<br />
<br />
Our
communication issues didn't help. I would obsess about finding money to
get from debt A to debt B and he would turn to worrying about future
expenses. I would resent him and block him out. He would feel left out
in the cold. So, of course, eventually everything blew up in our
faces. And I'm glad. He began to look for solutions for future debt
resolution and I quit caring about what happened to money when I needed
to work on the multitude of problems I'd been avoiding with the
obsessing. We began to communicate. And we came up with a neat trick to
cover each other's asses.<br />
<br />
Both of us use Google products. We have several blog sites, email
addresses, etc. A while back, the husband's lab started using Google Calendar to
coordinate their projects. He suggested I add on to it so that we can
both see each other's schedules. His work needs, my gigs, what have you.
His schedule is in blue, mine is in red. It is free. <br />
<br />
I began to write down gig payments in detail and keep my book on my
calendar. That way when tax season rolls around, I could get a better
look at my expenses. There are options to look at the calendar weekly,
monthly, etc. so I could look at the whole picture or concentrate on a
smaller amount of time. Also, there is a section on the event that you
can put notes on. So, if I did a show, I could put down who for,
location, payment type, etc. We decided to take this a step further.<br />
<br />
I have been the keeper of the bills for the duration of our marriage. If
something needed to be paid that he had the most access to, I would
tell him the day of to do it. This probably lead to a little resentment
because I felt like I was doing all of the thinking, having to remind
him of everything sometimes multiple times because it was not in front
of him. And he felt like he couldn't tread into my control freak turf
without angst. Now, I put it on the schedule, marking the day we should
pay it, the day it is due and whoever pays it marks it as done. I can
alert him of our money...or lack there of...situation in the bank
account and what I've paid on the calendar. Every day we update it and
check it.<br />
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Lately, I've been keeping my money stress isolated to the calendar. Say
the bank account is low in funds? I don't need to bother him at work. I
just write what is in there, what has been written against and the end
results. He's a smart man, a scientist. He can figure out why pulling
out 50 dollars when you only have 40 is a bad idea. And if it falls
through? We miss something? Oh well. Two of us did it together. It's not
just my problem...not that it ever really was....anymore. <br />
<br />
Also, I used to be adamant about protecting my performing stand up
schedule and he would have a hard time figuring out his own evening life
around it. Part of the problem was that it as often short notice and I
had planned my set, my travel, whatever else around the event and part
of the problem is he didn't feel allowed to work around it, assume that
it was a done deal without finding alternative solutions.<br />
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We have
recently shifted to include his needs more and by marking everything on
the calendar, he can see what the conflicts are...and I've dumped the
ones that aren't necessary to manage the family better...and if we want
to do something at the same time we usually have some time to figure out
how to address child care issues, appointment bookings, and how to
coordinate potential conflicts down the road. <br />
<br />
At first, I was a little skeptical about this new system flying. Letting
control go really kills your inner self martyr. This whole I do all of
the thinking thing that I had going on took a boot to the proverbial
crotch. But we both read the calendar daily. We both deal with what's on
there. We both note when the deeds that need to be done are finalized.
Gigs, doctors appointments, all potential conflict are put in as soon as
it is possible so that when something comes up we can communicate and
deal with solutions. And we haven't forgotten a thing so far.<br />
<br />
Bills aren't just my soul problem in my head anymore. He is getting
more freedom to go do things that he likes without a backlash from my
schedule conflicts. I have to say, it really has made a difference. And it didn't cost us a thing. Got
to love that Google.Jessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152239467773152030.post-83218555596416272682011-12-14T08:13:00.001-08:002015-07-14T11:30:58.952-07:00Shampoop: DIY Can Be Good For Your HeadI hate certain scents. It's hard to tell if I am actually allergic to
them or just hate them so much that they dry out my mouth and make it
hard to breathe. Things like fabric softener and Mountain Fresh Scent in
laundry detergent. If a person has really loaded it on, I can't be on
the same side of the room with them. So, in lieu of risking a wheezy
whiney wife and having to buy a 10 dollar bottle of laundry soap, the
husband began to make our own. And, besides having to own a large pot to
stir it in and a place to put it, it is fairly simple. And wicked
inexpensive. It made us take a step back and begin to suspect that there
was very little reason for the prices attached to these all natural
green products beyond greed and we began to look for other things to
make, leading us into the wild and woolly world of home made cleansing
and body products.<br />
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Okay. Maybe not wild. Or woolly, really. But I live with a scientist. Figuring out percentages in ounces can be fun. I swear. <br />
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We have begun to put together different products to start a line of skin
creams, body oils and soaps. I don't want to tell you how because when
we build our Etsy empire to be followed by our mail order empire to be
followed by our vendor table at street fair empire, I want you to NEED
us. But the truth is, you really don't. The advantage we have over you
is that we invested in the basics...which pay for themselves really
quickly....and we have been experimenting with different varieties of
smells and textures. Also, when it comes to soap, there is the issue of
some math to be done to make the fat vs. lye balanced. But, between you
and me and the wall, it takes balls to charge 5 bucks for a bar of soap
if you knew how much a batch costs and how much you get in it. Unless
there is money cooked into that fancy hippy soap, you are getting
schtupped.<br />
<br />
The laundry soap costs about three bucks a batch. All natural. Three
ingredients. Cleans great. It looks a little weird, but so what.<br />
<br />
I found a recipe for dishwashing detergent. Again under three bucks for a gallon of this stuff.<br />
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We also make our own mozzerella cheese. Super super easy. Renin, Citric
acid, milk and some salt. Takes twenty minutes. If you screw it up, it
is ricotta.<br />
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The husband makes his own beer and wine. Okay. THAT is a little more
expensive because you have to have equipment, but, really, after all is
said and done, he gets a lot of hootch that would cost way more in the
store and he has say about the elements that goes into it. <br />
<br />
In the long run, it is good to know the basic elements that make a
product work just to know what you is rubbing into your skin or onto
your dishes that you eat from. But people who normally will analyze
their food products down to the cow the milk came from don't think twice
about what is exactly in the soap you are dumping into the clothes you
are wearing as long as it is biodegradable and "green."<br />
<br />
What is it? Really? At least consider that if you look at the recipes
for some of these things, you will know what you are actually paying
for. Because you will be astonished at how often you are paying for
packaging and profit and then a little teeny bit of ingredient. And
maybe you might want to take a shot at making your own. Jessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152239467773152030.post-85890046415165230852011-12-10T10:33:00.001-08:002012-05-02T10:27:51.973-07:00It's Just A Thing....Or Is It? Thinking Twice About What You SellFor a long time now, we have been in a holding pattern. I watch my daughter during the day and work when I get it. My husband goes to college and is finishing...finally.... his PHD. We aren't living on the streets or anything. Our apartment is nice. We have clothes that get a little tattered but we can find ways to replace them when they become truly embarrassing. Some times are better than others. You can usually tell by how much we splurge on eating out. Once in a while we have enough to buy something cool, usually so that we can sell it when things aren't so good. And that's okay normally but there are two things that I regret selling. And one is my ukulele.<br />
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There is a musician named <a href="http://melverntaylor.com/home.html">Melvern Taylor</a>. He plays the ukulele like a champ. He makes it retro cool. He lives in Lowell and wears a porkpie hat with neat facial hair. My ex-boyfriend who used to be in charge of the music department of a huge advertising agency in NYC said that he knew who he was. Mel is that type of musician. The kind a lot of specific people know from all over because ukulele afficianados are a special breed. He was the first musician that I ever liked and sought out when we moved to Boston. And he made me want to play the uke too. <br />
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My husband has always been very kind when it comes to humoring my quirky wants. We went to Guitar Center and there was a beautiful Mitchell on sale for a little under two hundred dollars. It was fierce and fit my small hands and most of them had nylon strings that didn't look as painful as guitar strings. I took it home and compared it to the Hawaiian novelty ones that we had sent from my mother in law in Honolulu. It was obviously a better instrument (although the pink one looked wicked cool). Not as good as Mel's but it had mother of pearl inlay and felt right in my hands. I would sit at my dad's old desk after I downloaded chords, trying to play songs. Or I would try to study the lessons from my Ukulele instruction manual. Mel even gave me a names of recommended teachers.<br />
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But the money started running out again and there were so many other things that we needed besides my ukulele lessons. Eventually we fell into the inevitable pinch when I had to sell things again. My husband's guitar was sacred to me. We purchased it right before my daughter was born so that she would always be surrounded with people playing music. My husband had a beautiful voice and would sing to her. Later, we got an electric piano cheap. I held on to that second because I had dreams of our daughter learning to play and I loved banging away at it badly. We could always get another ukulele. So it went to a nice man on Craigslist who bought it for his son. I was glad that it went to an appreciative home.<br />
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We got a crappier one that my daughter drags around trying to teach herself now. She has potential. I regret never letting her play with my beautiful good one.<br />
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Some day I will get another one and I will get to keep it. Some day I will be able to buy one without thinking of it as not something to sell in a pinch but value it for what it is. A time when poverty doesn't rule our decisions and let us keep the things that we regret selling later. Not that the holding pattern has been so bad with occasional family trips and nice meals spun from creative spending. Some of those memories will be the best days of my life. And we had our good days when I was just selling stuff to get it out of the house. But, let's say, consistently better days on the other side of education and sporadic incomes. With <a href="http://www.music-mojo.com/default.shtml">ukuleles</a>.Jessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152239467773152030.post-38411977983563538642011-06-28T06:59:00.000-07:002015-07-15T06:44:34.946-07:00You Paid Too Much For Your Shopping Mall Ladle: Silverplate Is Your FriendI've got this stoneware handmade medium sized pottery pitcher that my mom made. She's a professional artist, not some lady with a group of other ladies in a basement of a community center pressing things from molds. It is a high quality piece of art work created by a skilled artisan. This pitcher is a rarity in my house....it doesn't have a chunk missing out of it anywhere on it. It could be resold if, say, I ran out of other things to sell. Not that I would but say it was between it and my left kidney...how much was it worth to the average folk on Ebay? I know how much it really is worth. Every town in the country with disposable income and abundance of yoga classes has one or two or five art gallery and home decorating joints. She used to sell stuff in them. Folks pay a lot for a fine piece of craft. So imagine my shock when I saw the going prices in the online auction world. You pay more for a piece of reproduced crap in a super sized department store. Same for a whole lot of other things.<br />
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Say you are strapped for cash. The credit card is maxed out. You cannot afford even a $25 gift card at Target for an anniversary present. The birthday's of your adult dear ones gives you night sweats. Your pie server's handle busted off and you have one steak knife with the tip missing. You need something for under fifteen bucks and it just doesn't exist out there. Or your options are just plain old bad quality bunk (Melamine tableware for 16 bucks. Seriously?! I don't care if you do get 12 pieces. It's plastic.) What is a soul to do?<br />
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I was looking at flatware at a fairly decent department store where one would go to purchase dining ware. Reasonable but with quality stock. There was a high-end name 65 piece set on sale for 190 bucks. Really good price one would think. BUT its stainless steel. Are they out of their fucking minds?<br />
I like to think in terms of resale value. You can't give that away.<br />
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It is worth, in the unloading it kind of way, about 65 bucks if you sold them today. Maybe. I don't care if Lady Gaga pressed the metal herself. Silverplate, which is basically a crappier metal like, say stainless steel (! ) or, in older days, copper or such with a layer of silver over it. And, right now, you can't give that away on auction sites either. If you are going to go drop money on an casual dining set of flatware and it is going to be cheap metal, don't be spending $190 dollars. Go to a cheaper store for the some poor quality metal with a lesser fancy name or get thee to Ebay and punch in the words "Wm. Rogers or International" under the "antiques silverplate" section and get yourself a pretty set for under a hundred bucks that you can hawk for at least maybe SOMEthing if you get desperate and have enough of it. Cake servers? Ladles? Meat forks? Poultry shears? You can get them for the same price, maybe less but far more gorgeous and they won't fall apart. Often mistaken for real silver without an experienced eye. Your welcome.<br />
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There are truly beautiful silverplate pieces out there that have very little value in this market. A lot of dealers don't like even bothering with them these days. Same goes with china that normally would have sold for a ton two years ago. And non-gallery functional artisan pieces. And glassware.<br />
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Need a nice birthday or wedding present? Punch in "Limoges" in your auction's china site. You'd be surprised what you can get. Or go to the glass section and shop it. A vase? Maybe even that same water pitcher new. Or better yet, go to the studio pottery or art glass section and get something unique and far more valuable in the future. There are literally thousands of quality choices out there. Many cheaper than that gift card you can't afford.Jessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152239467773152030.post-83955417360427926142011-03-05T10:51:00.000-08:002011-06-19T09:19:00.480-07:00Don't Look The Gifted Crap In The MouthSo your great great auntie passes away and it is up to you to get rid of the years of sentimental belongings that she had tucked in the back of the drawers and hidden on chotzke bookshelves. Old things that are, well, sort of ugly and dated. The first thought that crosses your mind is, "The thrift shop is going to be so pissed at me when I try to unload this on them." But you start looking at them a little closer. The materials are cheap but they are old and sort of charming in their ugliness. And she loved them for a reason. Kept them for 30, 40, maybe 50 or even 60 years. So you put them in a box in the basement and try to forget about them.<br />
<br />
Well, you may be glad you had. There are a series of collectible items that I have run across in auctions and antique stores and online whathaveyou that have suprised me. Because they are not made of silver or gold or porcelain. They tend to be a little tacky next to modern belongings. And they are collectible as hell.<br />
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For instance, chalkware. Chalkware looks like figures that are formed from dried up toothpaste, sanded down and painted. It is found in figurines, lamp bases, anything that you wouldn't eat off but can be pressed into a shape. You may recognize the material from manger figures and mid-century religious statuettes. Apparently Christians in the Truman era were wild about chalkware. Chalkware manufacturers were prone to kittens, doggies, cowboys, smiling fruit, and floating heads (sometimes with string coming out of their mouths). I found four from the 1950's in the shape of ballet dancers that were intended to hang from the wall. One didn't make it through the shipping process to California. Which explains why chalkware is collectible. It is really hard to keep it intact. That creepy looking clown figurine from 1952 that you always wanted to break? Be glad you didn't. <br />
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Then there is toleware. Aka painted tin. Sexy, right? You've probably seen a million pieces but they just never registered. A lot are painted with floral patterns, occasionally a Pennsylvania dutch motiff. Tip trays (small rectangular trays), round trays, serving trays, coasters, lampshades, most places where painted tin comes in handy. Items are being pursued by collectors as long as they haven't been dented or chipped or otherwise abused.<br />
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Enamelware is another surprising and hugely diverse type of collectible. Kind of the sometimes deceptively older and more practical cousin to tolewear. Again tin looking. Again painted (actually coated in thin glass). Sturdy in very specific colors, often used for cooking. You know those blue tin coffee mugs that you used for camping? That could be enamelware. Some pieces can be very very old. It is a huge market. And you can have a piece in front of your nose. Or more likely in your back yard or basement where someone used it as a planter or used it to haul water. It can be that coal bucket. Or the camping mug. Or the sentimental teapot that you kept on the top shelf of your hutch because it looked quaint. It reminded you of cooking over open flames. It didn't occur to anyone that it could have value because it was so darned useful. <br />
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What I'm saying is, before you pitch it out, if you have an item that is in pretty decent shape that is kitchy (aka ugly looking but sort of cool) or useful and even a little old, it may not be a bad idea to poke around a bit. Punch in the description and see what Ebay has to say on the topic. Other things like lighters and tin signs have very large collectors communities. And if they aren't worth anything, its an excuse to finally unload the bunch of crap in a box in your basement.Jessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152239467773152030.post-47615083530451235532011-02-02T21:08:00.000-08:002011-07-01T05:33:04.574-07:00Look...Under There...Stuff!It's easy to ignore the tremendous pile of virtual garbage that grows in one's email inbox. Every corporation that has your address in their craw will attempt to tell you that they should be paid attention to the hardest and the most. To spend your money HERE!!! Even if its in the spam folder, I feel compelled to look to see if the over zealous spambots have thrown something I actually want away. Perks, rewards, deals, bargain, discounts just today (again), buzzwords all engineered to lure you to their website and get you to spend money or not leave. Once in a while, though, its worth looking under the proverbial rock. <br />
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For instance, I found a free-ish thing in my utility website that surprised and pleased me. Verizon Fios had sent me emails regarding perks. Of course, I ignored it. Mostly because I always forget my password and didn't have the energy to go through my archived emails to find the information. It just didn't seem worth it to go read what seemed like someone's attempt to get me to buy something. Until I had to pay my bill. And I hate jumping through the automated phone service bills and whistles. Plus it was over due and I was going to pay it from an array of resources. Spread the pain around. You know. Poor people style.<br />
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Anyhoo, I found the information that I was looking for and decided to push the button that was entitled 'Perks.' I expected it to be something to do with Dunkin Donuts since I associate that word with that particular company (good job subliminal marketing department!). There were a couple of options listed and, amongst them,The Entertainment Savers Guide internet style.<br />
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The Entertainment Savers Guide is a book of coupons published for different cities throughout the country that I had been envying for many years. In the bookstores it cost about $25. And I never had $25 to spare enough to justify it. Or I forgot about it when I did. Besides I am relatively new to the concept that a coupon is not shunned by society for asking for something for free in lieu of bringing business where one would never have looked otherwise. But there it was. Up to 10 free coupons a month for Verizon customers. And it was not adhesed to one zipcode. I am traveling to North Carolina next week and it had coupons for all sorts of restaurants, stores, hotels, and any number of things. I could do one free shake at a North Carolina ice cream place, and two for one dinners at a restaurant that I loved in Beverly, MA (with an entree price maximum) all in the same shopping cart. And, as a Verizon customer, I got the same coupons that would have cost me $25 in a book, right there for nada on my computer. A real deal<br />
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My point is, when something that you are already paying for is offering you something as a deal, at least read it to see what it is. There is a corporate war going on out there. I left one cable company that did not wish to bend over backward to accommodate me, over to a company that I initially had great mistrust for due to bad business experiences many many years ago. And they deserve my business. Not only are there prices better....note to the other company: DUH!....they are giving the competition really something to worry about. Better customer service and perks. Real perks. Like any company that wants to give the enemy a run for its money. Bribery is a beautiful thing. And its out there.<br />
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So poke around those corporate websites. See if there are "member benefits." Hell, even my unions have things hidden on their membership pages that I wouldn't know if I didn't think to go looking. Any place that requires membership or customer enrollment will probably have something. And what do you have to lose besides a little time and maybe hand cramp from typing.Jessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152239467773152030.post-71098525853550874942011-01-30T16:48:00.000-08:002011-11-03T06:12:33.886-07:00The Great Amazing LibraryAnd then I go and worship The Library. Ah The Library. I get giddy when I think of Her. No membership fee. Encouraging behavior like taking out THREE books at once that you couldn't possibly read before they are overdue.<br />
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It's a bloody miracle that there is a place in the world where they don't have hidden costs and is open to every social and economic demographic. With free internet (Love ya, coffee bar, but someone has been sitting in that chair for so long that it has his body scent. ). And they let you rent movies for free as long as you aren't late (Got to admire chutzpah to charge a buck a day....no one messes with The Librarian!). In just about every town in the country.<br />
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Sometimes I will go there just to pretend that I am shopping again. Looking at all of the lovely choices. Feeling the same way about books as I felt about shoes. And coffee beans. Wandering the aisles taking in the sensation that there is no rush at The Library. As long as it isn't closing time and I don't have a child in tow, I can lurk and loiter in a public place without any legal repercussion. If I lean over a book in my lap and don't snore, I can maybe get some sleep if they can't prove that I am not actually reading. They even have discounted and/or free museum passes at some of them so that you can loiter in other public places. All the while leaving the utilities off at home. Not only making The Library free...making it profitable!<br />
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Today, I found out there is a new Christopher Moore book that has been released. I love buying Christopher Moore books. But I can't do afford to purchase it in a book store. So I will go to my noblenet.com and order it from The Library where The Librarians will hunt it down for you if The Library Branch doesn't have it (same for DVDs). And they will call me when it arrives and say, "Hey, come get your free temporary brand spanking new book! Just like the new ones in the store but covered in mylar and stamps!" And I get to read it! Then I will look at the inside cover price and say, "Some day, I will give you royalties, Christopher Moore. Some day. But today, I still get to enjoy you and save 1/4 of my YMCA membership fee." And I don't mind giving it back when I am done. Because The Library is also a kind public institution....an oxymoron even.....and will let me take it out as many times as I want. <br />
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<a href="http://www.publiclibraries.com/">http://www.publiclibraries.com/</a>Jessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152239467773152030.post-44645791899881152512011-01-30T16:22:00.000-08:002015-07-15T13:09:25.805-07:00Spending To Save Money! That's Crazy Talk!I'm not sure which is worse. Never having a latte now or thinking you may never have one again (or a quality pair of shoes or a really good fancy cupcake....you know what I mean). "Never" is a scary thought. And sometimes it feels just like that. Infinite deprivation. Well, truth is, thinking like that isn't going to help or induce proactive behavior. Action makes me feel better. <br />
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The husband got a decent sized check earlier in the year. We paid up all of those bills that had piled up. We bought lots of groceries. I got a latte. It tasted wonderful. The problem, though, is that our owed money was so backed up that the decent sized check disappeared almost instantly and here we are again. We held onto it as long as we could. We pondered what we could do to make the future easier when the money would dry up entirely while our employment status remained fixed in this situation. And we came to some conclusions that did seemed a little extravagant for poor folks trying to get by. But, in the end, I think it makes sense. <br />
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We always buy a monthly train pass even if we have to sell the cat. We have to. The husband uses the commuter rail to get to school. It is enormously expensive to take the long commute per ride and it is one fee that we expect. The car is worn out as it is. The less we use it, the less we spend randomly on gas and repairs. Sometimes we don't even use the car and I feel virtuous as a non-carbon footprinter. <br />
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We also keep our YMCA family membership, again, even if we have to sell the cat. (And we like the cat. So don't think we would actually do it.) (I say in case my daughter is reading this). (And its a nice cat but the market value ain't all that.) All Massachusetts and Rhode Island YMCA memberships are good at any in those states. Also, we get a certain amount of passes for other ones not in state. Our YMCA family membership for 3 of us costs about $90 a month. Sounds steep? But, I shower there every day that I work out there. So does my husband. It is a couple of hours of every day that I am unemployed when I am not in my house not using heat and water. Say the kid is getting antsy because you just can't pay to do something like going to the movies or something like that? There's always the swimming pool at the Y. My employment is attached to my physicality. I am also over 40 years old. I have to exercise somewhere or I get mean. And lose work when it comes knocking. It takes the edge of the money stress. It is one more thing that is an expected monthly expense that keeps me moving forward. It is worth keeping. <br />
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I like to think of myself as a squirrel. Not in a rodent way. In a storing things for the winter way. Which is why when the money is present, I pay extra attention to sites like Groupon and Living Social. These are daily coupon sites that make deals with restaurants, salons, attractions, hotels, pretty much any local business willing to make one huge cut to attract new business. You choose your location and you receive an email each day with a couple of offers. I look for specialty food stores and occasionally a restaurant with a really good deal. Then I put it in a tree for the winter. Or when the financial feces hits the fan and I need food products.<br />
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My favorite has been an Italian deli where I picked up 20 bucks worth of cold cuts that I had paid ten dollars for and a bakery with fantastic bread with the same deal. 10 dollars for 20 dollars worth of food products that I had already paid for a long time before the fact. My acorns. We also paid for a coupon for a trendy vintage/hipster clothing store that happened to run a store wide half price special the day we were there. So we paid 10 dollars for 40 dollars worth of products in the end which included new jeans and a shirt for the husband which he needed badly. Pretty danged sweet. Yeah, its spending money on something that looks a little luxury item. But in the long run, food is food. Clothes are clothes. And cheap is cheap. Even if it is in a gourmet deli. <br />
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No one said it was easy. We do still have some choices. And sometimes the choice doesn't look like the right one. But in the long run it may help you get through to the other side in a less tattered condition.Jessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152239467773152030.post-73384519394103029382010-03-03T16:37:00.000-08:002010-03-12T08:36:04.228-08:00Is that a soundbyte plugged into your head or are you just happy to see me<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The downside to poverty in this modern era is, well, most things. One of the few positive points not terribly effected by financial loss is the technology to tap into new resources (if you can get access to the internet). I've already covered the area of boredom and as promised, here be one more way to not go broke trying to get some distraction while you are waiting for that next paycheck opportunity to arrive. Podcasts. Free podcasts.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">New to podcasts, possibly? Well, okay. Have you ever heard of Itunes? It is where many of the kids these days purchase music that they download onto their computers. From there they can listen to it directly on the computer, burn it onto a cd to listen to in the car or on other computers or upload onto their portable MP3 players (Ipods, etc.). Well, it ain't just for music anymore. There are tons of movies, tv shows and podcasts for a very small price. And, occasionally, for free. You do not need to buy anything to sign up for Itunes. You only pay when you purchase a download. For free ones, you type the title in the search area, make sure that the price confirms "free" and click on the download button when the shows pop up. That simple. So no need to be a scaredy cat. There is a world of talk shows and music and informational podcasts just waiting to inspire, entertain and kill that big elephant of boredom in your head. Possibly even while walking or driving (burn to cd if you don't have a MP3 player) to employment. So, to get you started, I have asked the stand up comedy peanut gallery for suggestions and added a few of my own.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">NPR has a great selection of shows that I listen to regularly. These are my two favorites. "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" is a game show that generally runs once a week on the radio. I have to be careful when I listen to it on the treadmill because I have been driven into giggle fits and fallen off. Also, "This American Life" with Ira Glass is outstanding and lasts for almost hour. It has a three part story format on a specific topic. Always really interesting. You could even learn something while being entertained. Poking around the <a href="http://www.npr.com/">www.npr.com</a> website might even give you a few more directions of interest or just plug in "NPR" into the Itunes podcast section. One of the great things about any radio based podcast shows is that it usually has company on the station websites. Many many radio stations make their programs available for downloading after the show has aired, using, amongst other things, Itunes as a source. For free. Did I mention for free? For free.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Another show that goes along those lines is that old chestnut "A Prairie Home Companion" from the cornerstone of old fashioned entertainment, Garrison Keillor <a href="http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/about/podcast/">http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/about/podcast.</a> I have had the opportunity to see Mr. Keillor speak twice live. Don't no one do it better.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For the hipper set, a great comedy talk show that has been around for some time now is Keith and The Girl. Think of it as a pop culture "A Prairie Home Companion" with less music and more dirty words and two people that aren't Garrison Keillor. But funny. Very funny. <a href="http://www.keithandthegirl.com/">www.keithandthegirl.com</a> or just search for it in Itunes like the rest of them. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Looking for pure good old fashioned storytelling? There is the spectacular The Moth series also found for free on Itunes. This gathering of people trading tales has been taking place in various places throughout the country, going back to spoken word entertainment in its purest form. <cite><a href="http://www.themoth.org/">www.themoth.org</a>.</cite> Go hear it for nada. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For the geek driven, pop on over to Itunes and download The Nerdist and enjoy head nerd Chris Hardwick discussing other nerdy things with fellow nerds </span><a href="http://www.thenerdist.com/" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">www.thenerdist.com</a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">. Also WNYC's Radiolab is another thinking man's podcast also found on your friendly neighborhood Itunes. There's a little something for everyone folks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You can't afford to go out? My fellow comics have also suggested their favorites bringing a little showbusiness to you. Jon Fisch interveiws different funny folks to see what makes them tick called In The Tank with Jon Fisch <a href="http://jonfisch.com/inthetank">http://jonfisch.com/inthetank</a>. More on general showbusiness business can be found at KCRW on a show called "The Business." <a href="http://feeds.kcrw.com/kcrw/tb">http://feeds.kcrw.com/kcrw/tb</a>. Bill Burr has a great comedy podcast <a href="http://www.billburr.com/">www.billburr.com</a>. </span><cite></cite><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Marc Maron has the most popular one amongst the comics that I asked called <a href="http://wtfpod.com/">wtfpod.com</a>. He has a suggested small donation on his website (man's got to eat) but it is way cheaper than paying for the in-person experience and he asks whatever you want to give. Visit character actor Stephen Tobolowsky and hear his stories at <a href="http://www.slashfilm.com/category/features/slashfilmcast/the-tobolowsky-files">http://www.slashfilm.com/category/features/slashfilmcast/the-tobolowsky-files</a>. Love movies? Listen to comic Doug Benson and friends give insight and opinion passionately uncensored at "I Love Movies." Itunes free. One of the great things about podcasts is that it truly lets the freedom of speech rip and these guys are the best at voicing their unique opinions with style. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Music heads? TV geeks? Gamers? Moms? Movie freaks? Sports enthusiasts? Religious nuts? Politicos? How to seekers? Gossip mongers? You got a taste, its out there for free. Search Itunes in the podcast section. Check out radio stations. Ask friends. It's out there to stimulate your mind and give you something to think about....or not think about...until you can afford a movie again. If you don't have an MP3 player, you can always plug straight into a computer until you can get your hands on one. It's out there. Enjoy!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">PS Thanks for the suggestions Boston comedy folks! You really helped!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">PSS If you want to add some of your favorites, please feel free...there's that word again...to throw some in the comments section. The more info in the world the better! </span><br />
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</cite>Jessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152239467773152030.post-64526372039864814682010-02-28T13:24:00.000-08:002015-07-14T12:08:31.752-07:00The fuzzy end of the auction site lollyHey! Guess what! I bought another thing that I am going to lose money selling because I goofed! This is normally how I justify buying old things. Go to the consignment store or the antique store or the auction, decide I don't want it and then get rid of it on an auction site. Which is good if you are in it for the adventure. But the truth is, I am too broke to be taking a bath on this stuff and the profit part is necessary but not always the end result. So here's what I'm going to do.....I am going to let you benefit from my auction site idiocy so that you don't grow up to be like me some day. And possibly make some money from this nonsense. Here are some what not to do's.<br />
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<li>Don't purchase anything to resell without looking at the closing prices on similar auctions on line. I don't care if it is made out of solid gold and belonged to Princess Margaret. It is only worth what it will sell for and the buyers won't change just for you. Save your novelty collecting for after you are rich. If possible, go to the auction sites on your smart phone. If not possible, go home and look it up and go back or call someone with the info to look it up for you on the "completed" selling section of your favorite auction site. Think of it as insuring that you have one more latte in your world in the future. </li>
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<li>If you go to an auction site and some items in excellent condition are selling well and some aren't? It is almost always because the shipping is priced to high. Which is very difficult to do these days since the auction site police are strict about their pricing policies. Odds are, they are taking the most expensive, fastest high fallutin' route to post an item and folks just don't want to pony it up when things can be had cheaper. Also, sometimes the auction site will not let you post it about a certain price and you have to move, say, a very heavy book into a non-media mail category because it is simply too heavy and the auction site has a cap on $4.00 for books. Will the buyer be willing to pay for the difference? Be careful of the totals with shipping, tax and insertion fees. If you are not allowed to charge enough to cover the cost or you are posting them at a price that will not sell, you will lose money. And this is not the point of this endeavor. </li>
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<li>Detail your needs. This includes how you are going to package your shipping and international shipping policies or anything else that could cause consternation in the future. Look at the individual sellers with over 300 good comments in their feedback statuses and see what they include in their completed sales as far as shipping/buying policies (not the power sellers/stores...the sellers like you who have to schlepp to the post office and don't have an office set up to deal with massive amounts of sales). Then do what they do. </li>
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<li>Be political. Bad feedback is box office poison for auction site sellers. There will always be incidents with things like the post office destroying goods (no other business could get away with mangling a product and not apologize when delivering it), tempestuous personalities looking for a reason to get in a fight with someone (auction sites don't have a "crazy bastard/beeyach" filter ) or just a customer misunderstanding the nature of the goods. This is especially relevant when handling collectibles. Super picky folks looking for specific things in certain conditions are the bastions of unhappy purchase experiences. I have found that it is always better to swallow your pride even if the buyer is difficult and always allow them to return the item, noting that you would rather have a happy buyer than the money. It may not be true but bad feedback could lose possible future bidders. So kiss ass and return it.</li>
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<li>Condition condition condition. Telling every stinking detail about the item that you can pull from the recesses of the most paranoid part of your mind. Color. Weight. Demensions. The tiniest scratch or chip. The size of the tiniest scratch or chip. The name of the tiniest scratch or chip. There is no such thing as too much. Every detail is an "I told you in the item description" if there is ever a dispute. It will prevent people from bidding on your item incorrectly, taking it away from a person who does want you to keep their money. </li>
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In a nutshell, do research and write down every detail that could possibly cover your ass in the future. There is money to be had. But there is also money to be lost if you go into the auction site world without precautions. <br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1267393857744"><br />
</a><br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1267393857744">www.ebay.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.usps.com/">www.usps.com</a><br />
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Jessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152239467773152030.post-46969267471997474302010-02-28T10:36:00.000-08:002015-07-15T09:48:43.168-07:00Poverty Is BoringI'll be doing a series of things to do that don't cost. This is the first piece in the pool.<br />
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So you can't go to the movies because there is no extra money. HBO and Showtime are no longer cable options. Or even cable maybe. It is too cold out to go take a long walk. You already looked for jobs on the internet. Made your phone calls. Forget shopping. Poverty is really really boring. Here are some things that you can do to tap into some more creative interests and give you a chance to exercise those parts of your brain that are feeling stagnant.<br />
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The internet is a miracle. Even if your electricity is turned off, you can find it at the library waiting to show you the world. The only problem is there is so damned many options. Right now my favorite choice in the road to creative stimulation is <a href="http://hitrecord.org/">hitREcord.org</a>. This is really neat site created by actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt. You can contribute graphics, words, sound bytes, video to or grab a few that other people contributed to it and produce your own mash up of creativity. It costs nothing but time. And you feel like a working genius even if you aren't getting paid. Screw poverty! Bring on the starving arteests!<br />
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My next favorite somewhat free thing is mine the library for treasure. Oh, sure all of those books and dvds and magazines that normally would cost you the electric bill (or 2-4 lattes) are there. We all know that. But our library also has classes, knitting circles, reading groups and....bless them to pieces....museum passes. Nothing is a better healer of poverty woe than appreciating what probably other at one time poor people created. Sometimes the passes offer a discount but its still better than full price. And it gives you a place to go that actually requires you to move. A definite downside to the internet.<br />
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And if those don't kill the doldrums, find yourself a reminder that there are worse things in the world than no cable. Volunteer to help someone else. Seniors, shelters, whatever appeals to your sense of virtue. It makes you feel better about yourself. It reminds you that you still have things when others don't. You are contributing even if it isn't in a monterary sense. And if you don't have a library with museum passes and you don't want to sit in front of the computer for an exhorbatant amount of time, this will fill that poverty boredum hole in a big bad way. <a href="http://volunteermatch.org/">volunteermatch.org</a>Jessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152239467773152030.post-76739623983087509002010-01-22T06:16:00.000-08:002010-01-22T06:16:06.856-08:00Station Break 2 I am very busy perusing virtuous poverty behavior for choice bits to offer you. New one coming soon I promise!Jessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152239467773152030.post-4339789092543551502010-01-14T12:30:00.000-08:002010-02-28T13:50:24.856-08:00I'd rather be in a tent in Florida Part Deux How not to starveThis one is about scheming and plotting skills. <br />
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So you are in your car for 12 hours and you want food. Now. The natural inclination is to start reading the road signs and take the first thing that appeals to you with a "Screw it! I'll deal with the finances later!" sort of attitude. Hunger rules your brain and eats your logic. Which is why you really need to think ahead with these things. And you know that whole diet thing I wrote about before? Throw it out. You are on vacation and it must be adjusted for monetary purposes. Plan on walking a lot, don't eat the kids food too and readjust back to your saintly ways later. I think we actually spent less albeit gained weight. It is possible. <br />
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In our case we drove a long time both coming and going on the first and last legs of our trip. We needed to cover at least three meals and two of them had to be outside of the car because if we didn't get out, we would have begun eat our own. These breaks were important to refresh and stretch but you don't want some place that is going to take a million years. We found that ye old Costco wholesale warehouse provided a lunch for three of us for about 6 bucks in their limited but ultimately useful foodcourt. The husband and I did large hotdogs and a drink for $1.50 each. The daughter had a very large slice of pizza for $1.99. Since we are not big on having her drink soda, we give her $.50 and let her go buy a bottle of water out of the multiple vending machines. In fact, if you have to feed a soft drink craving, this is the place to stock up. $.59 for a regular size fountain drink. Ridiculously cheap vended sodas. If you are feeling particularly famished, you can also get a very very large vanilla, chocolate or swirl flavored frozen yogurt. I suggest that you split it. Like I said, very large. The plus on this is that Costco is all over the place. The bad news is that you have to have a membership. That and it is pretty not healthy but freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose. No? How about we are on vacation lighten up?<br />
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Most meals came from the frequent flyer miles for restaurants that I spoke about in the "Frequent Flyer Miles Can Get You That Latte" blog. Many of the chains available as a choice for those cards are regional specific. Like Sonic will do you little good in the north (we did bring one with us because we were going south). Dunkin Donuts exists in the south but not like in New England. It is best to gauge a general idea of the area that you are going to be in by mapquesting the driving hours from different areas along your route, go to the websites of the places that you are interested in, and look at the closest ones. Redeem your reward points accordingly. Chilis saved us tons because we could look at the menus online and budget according to our two $25 gift cards. California Pizza Kitchen was just an fun place to stop because the ones in Florida tend to be nice in sunny shopping malls. We came home with one $25 card because their locations are limited.<br />
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The biggest food expenses are camping stuffs. It is better to shop for the basics before you leave because you know where to get the stuff for decent prices already. Bread, cereal for breakfast, peanut butter, stuff that doesn't require hard core refrigeration. Milk and juice boxes that do not need to sbe kept cold can be purchased in wholesale warehouses. Take as much as you think you can pack in the car and still not have to strap the child to the roof. Meat and dairy products need to be purchased in areas closer to camping. Try to stick to big groceries like Publix that have sane prices. I am addicted to Robert Is Here in Florida City. We attained large quantities of fruit and vegetables there for farmer prices, a lot freshly picked. The more remote to a large camping vicinity, the more likely it is that you are going to be purchasing last minute goods in a gas station convenience store out of last minute desperation. Stick to the list and shop where you can get it cheapest without the food rotting before you get to the campsite. <br />
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We planned on eating at two inexpensive restaurant type places that we can only go to in one area of the country outside of our rewards points system. We had to score cubanos because we were way too close to Miami to not get one. And Zaxby's, a relatively new southern fast food chain that is not afraid of hot sauce, was the other because we loved its deep fried indulgence the first time and we could take the leftovers with us. With the exception of carefully plotted car snacks, the aforementioned Costco, rewards card meals and the two surprisingly not bad complimentary breakfasts that came with our hotel rooms, this is where we ate. Nowhere else. Remember, this wasn't a normal vacation. This was one that we barely could justify going on to start. No extras. <br />
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And, speaking of snacks, here is where some of the nutritional value can be redeemed a little. It is fun to load up on junk and go a little nuts. It makes us feel like we are truly doing something outside of our home habits. However, think of being in a small area for 14 hours with a kid going on sugar swings? Or adults for that matter? We had a Starbucks card with us from our membership rewards because coffee is a necessity but it is possible to drink that away super fast and too much caffeine can be a mood wrecker. You know that at least once, people are going to get on each others nerves. Too much sugar and caffeine on top of really tired is a bad idea. Keep a small cooler in the backseat. Put foods high in protein like cheese or peanut butter on celery to help kick up the energy in reusable plastic containers. Vegetables and fruits cut up in sticks are good for something to chew on too that will cleanse the palate a little and not make you feel like a five year old after an Easter binge. Pretzel sticks can be purchased in bulk at wholesale stores and placed in plastic bags for easy transport. They are not high in nutrition but it satisfy that salt meets crunchy feeling that folks tend to crave. And bring a jug of water and water bottles. Those water bottles will serve you throughout all aspects of the trip, especially while camping.<br />
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It seems like it would be tricky to figure out these things ahead of time but it really wasn't. If the places you are sleeping at are predetermined and you know the routes that you are taking to get there a head of time, its pretty simple to research where you are going to be around meal times and plot accordingly. Besides gas, this is your largest potential travel expense. Conquering the money eating side trips of snacks and ditching the plan for indulging your yen for those tasty looking restaurants (La Toro Taco almost got me in Homestead) will make it possible to spend the same if you were at home. In our case, definitely less. Take that winter in Boston!<br />
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1267393807402">www.costco.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.points.com/">www.points.com</a>Jessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152239467773152030.post-5549436839318616802010-01-13T11:35:00.000-08:002015-07-15T06:21:42.912-07:00Is that ten dollars in your pocket or are you just happy to see me.One of the hardest part about this new poverty crap is learning how to maintain some form of discipline without prior training. Money in a credit card just wasn't real. Bank accounts didn't have a real bottom if you don't look at the balance at the ATM. You needed that money now. NOW. How else were you going to buy that bagel? Or the cool socks with the flying pigs you just saw in the window. Or the book on inner peace with the matching $10 meditation piece of rock? Inner peace was not cheap. And it was more meaningful than the bank account. And, like the bottom of a fairy tale well, the money filled itself when it ran low. Even if you only intended to pay the minimum to keep it that way when the credit card bills rolled around.<br />
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This is good for you, this reprogramming part. I swear. It will make you a stronger person. It will not last forever if you work hard to kill that debt and get work again. This is the part where we relearn how to be consumers so that when the bank accounts are full again, we will not set ourselves up for another fall.<br />
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Make money a real thing, not just expendable pieces of paper in your pocket or a number in an account somewhere. It seems like the less we have in our pockets, the more we are aware of exactly what we have, what we have "left." We value it more because if you think of it as gone forever, you let go of it less easy. Which is why I strongly suggest not keeping more than ten dollars in your pocket at a time for un-earmarked cash.<br />
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Say you have a twenty in your bag and you break it because you hear the siren song of a tall soy latte at the fancy coffee place. And what's a latte without a biscotti, right? It's tea time after all. Blood sugar and all. Right? After leaving a tip, you will probably walk out in the neighborhood of 13 bucks. A ten and three ones. You blew through a third of your money but you still feel okay about it because there is a large bill that is NOT a single plus a couple of others.<br />
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Okay, say you have a ten dollar bill. You do the same thing. That leaves you with three dollars. THREE. If you had to have a coffee, did you really need it to be a latte? I can understand the whole hanging out atmosphere thing, but a single cup of tall coffee probably would have tided you over and you would have more left for the next couple of days if you had a need for a coffee call again. Three dollars is almost nothing left. Thirteen not so much. Get it? We rarely value something till we don't have it anymore. <br />
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"What if I need something a little more substantial and don't want to keep racking up atm fees? What if I need it is something I need now with cash?" You ask. Well, that's where what my daddy used to call the band aid box comes in. He kept a metal band aid box with a couple of bucks in case of emergency. It had rocks in it in case sticky fingers tried to abscond with it from his bedroom closet. There was always at least a twenty in there in case the sky fell. Which did, occasionally, happen. Usually with me attached to it.<br />
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I think everyone should have a band aid box with money...even if it isn't a REAL band aid box....that is protected by a promise not to be touched unless you really and truly are in a pinch and there is no way to get to cash fast. Or if you flat run out. It cannot be touched without prescribing to a rule of conduct.<br />
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<b>Repeat after me: I will not touch the band aid box unless I absolutely have no choice. This is where you will keep the magical forty dollars. Two twenties. One to use. One to have just in case twenty ain't enough. More than forty isn't spending money any more. </b><br />
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Back in the day, I used to know people who had rolls of bills in their pockets. It was flashy. I admit to being impressed. But when I look back, I hope they were really really rich. There was no way they could have been keeping track of what they were spending. And if they weren't really really rich, there is a good chance they are sitting in the same place that I am. Wishing I paid more attention.<br />
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<a href="http://www.bandaid.com/"><cite>www.<b>bandaid</b>.com</cite></a>Jessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152239467773152030.post-48209203677101776932010-01-12T07:19:00.000-08:002015-07-15T07:16:29.584-07:00When in low budget Rome, do what low budget Romans do: Pocket Money Jobs Part One Okay, let's play fill in the blank. Finish this sentence: He is a struggling _________?<br />
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Yes! There is the quintessential stereotype of struggling poverty! The struggling actor. I know. I've been one for a very very long time. Which is one reason I am so good at being broke. When its good, its good. When its bad, you eat ramen noodles and walk everywhere. And here's one of the few positive points regarding poverty.......you've got tons of company with experience! <br />
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Most professional actors are forced to take work to compensate for those slow days at some point. At least initially. They do work that enables flexibility. Which is also convenient for people who are looking for work in their future world after they are no longer poverty people. When they can have all the lattes they want. Some wait tables. Some temp. The least committal of them all is extra work. You work that day. Maybe a couple of days. You get a little more money in your pocket to help you survive the bad days. You never have to go back again if you do not desire to do so.<br />
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Me? A movie stah, you say? No. A movie prop. It's kind of cool to watch the process sometimes though. And most of the time they feed you. Free food. Paycheck. Or, as I like to think of it, part of a gas bill and two lattes.<br />
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Here's how it works. Go to your state's film commission website and find a list of local *casting directors and the names of production companies that are producing upcoming movies/television shows/commercials. "But, Jessie!" you say. "Movies television shows industrials and commercials are only shot in NYC and LA and possibly Miami or some other large city! I live in a small sized city or suburb. Possibly podunk near a city!" Well, shut your face, Sugar Pie. No one likes a naysayer. The film industry loves a good backdrop and, due to tax cuts in many states to entice production, there is a good possibility that they are shooting something within a reasonable commute. <br />
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Very often casting directors have sites that allow you to input your information directly into their site's listing. By all means, fill in the form with all necessary facts if it is at all possible. If not, snail mail your picture and resume/cover letter to the casting director and/or the production company that is doing the background performers for productions that are coming up. Important note: A casting director gets paid by the film production as a hire to cast their productions. NEVER PAY A CASTING DIRECTOR TO WORK WITH THEM. That is a scam. <br />
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The picture should look really like you. Not prettier or younger. A professional photograph would be nice but if you have a friend with a steady hand and a sense of how to light you so you look like you without huge shadows across your face that can be blown up to headshot size, it'll do. You are broke and this is not a career builder for you. If they are shooting a movie that needs 200 non-union actors to fill a stadium, they will not care who printed your headshots. Just don't be ridiculous and make an effort to give them an idea of how you really look without it looking like you lifted it from a passport photo.<br />
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If you are doing the snail mail thing, include a cover letter expressing your desire to do background work along with hair color, eye color, height, weight, pets, musical instruments and sporting equipment that you are willing to spend the day dragging around with you and special skills like being able to ski without hitting a tree and driving legally in your state. State that you are non-union. Let them know if you have professional clothing, evening wear, any uniforms, etc. Make sure that you include all contact information. A resume is good too but if you can't swing enough info to fit onto a sheet of paper, don't sweat it. Just make sure that they can read your specifics somewhere.<br />
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Often there are open calls to register to do background work when a production company is setting up camp in town for a shoot. Even better. Show up with your picture, fill out a size card and have them take their own little picture for their files. Keep an eye on the local casting director's websites and also the local professional actor's websites. For big shoots, sometimes there are also listings in your local paper. <br />
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Then, if fortune is smiling, they call you up and ask you come to work for them. Yeah! But don't just jump in there without a few questions. The reality is that you are going to be working long hours for not such great pay. This is strictly income to compensate, not carry you. You are a non-union extra which means that you do not have the same protection as the one's in the union. Don't be afraid to say,"No thank you. I believe I have a conflict that day" if you honestly think that one of these things are going to make you regret taking the work.<br />
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<b>What is the pay scale? Do you get over time? How long are they expecting to shoot? Are there multiple days</b>? Don't expect much. It is not uncommon to go 13 hours and most background casting folk do not like to give you a definite time frame because it is not in their control. Do not take it unless you are compensated for overtime unless you are willing to take the hit. <br />
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<b>Is this an exterior shot?</b> An "exterior shot" means that they are shooting outside. Make damned sure you need the money enough to be enormously uncomfortable if they shooting outside in the North. The crew under the AD (that's the "assistant director," generally the big cheese in charge of all background doings) usually do their best to see that you don't freeze to death by giving you breaks and possibly a heater but even a somewhat cold day can get to you after 8 hours out in bastard winter no matter how many hand warmers you have stuffed in your body parts. Same goes for the summer (or in the South) if there is a heat wave. Is it worth the heat stroke? Once you are committed to the work, you will not get paid if you walk off the set because the atmosphere was unbearable.<br />
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<b>Is this a union project?</b> I strongly discourage working on an all non-union shoot doing background work. Extras are the most disposable people on the set and can be easily abused. Union actors have rules that a production company is legally bound to follow. They do not apply to you but they do dictate certain conditions on the set. Normally, if this is a feature film, they have to feed people and keep a snack (craft service) table for all union actors. The set does not have to provide these things to non-union but occasionally, if it is a decent budget, they let the non-union slip in there too. In fact, the morning craft service truck can be pretty awesome when it comes to breakfasts cooked to order. Also, they have to make sure that union actors have water and a place to sit. Which means you get the over flow as well. Generally, production companies try to provide humane conditions. Sometimes,though, there are buttheads who will do anything to use you for all you are worth and give you as little as possible. Your chances are a lot better of having a pleasant experience if you work a gig that is required to take a percentage of their background actor pool from the unions. <br />
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The odds are good that you will see famous people (although approaching them is a big no-no because they can bite when in captivity). You will see how a movie shoot works and watch all of the worker bees involved doing their things. You will be doing a job that requires only enough brain cells to follow directions like, "Go over there over and over again" and "Everybody mime! Don't speak! Mime!" Free food. Minimal physical stress. It is small but easy paycheck in a job that has no future commitment. And, when you get past this hump, you can tell the people in your future more profitable life that you were in a movie. You might even see yourself on the dvd release if you have a pause button and a magnifying glass.<br />
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<a href="http://www.dga.org/sitemap/links_Film_Comm.php3">http://www.dga.org/sitemap/links_Film_Comm.php3</a><br />
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*"Casting directors" casts roles in movies. It is not the same thing as "Talent agents," "Modeling agents," or "Talent Management." Folks in this category pushing themselves as people casting movies are often unscrupulous or confused. Another reason to work on a union movie. <br />
** And, while I'm at it, people sending you out to be an extra for a percentage are doing you a disservice because you can be dealing directly with the casting director for no fee.Jessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152239467773152030.post-1071342870131377762010-01-11T07:40:00.000-08:002010-01-11T12:00:54.317-08:00There's A Sniper In My MailboxThere are thousands of sites that will give you advice on consolidating debt, how to approach attaining work, lifestyle tips, etc. Mine is about coping. This is how I have learned to alleviate some of the fear until I can get through to the other side.<br />
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Ah panic. One of the great bitches in life, idn't it? And many of us are feeling it a lot these days, especially when doing things like approaching the mailbox. Or looking at the stack of bills on your dining room table. Or checking your bank account balances. Many of us tend to want to erase the entire problem. Unless you knock over a bank...please don't...or you win the lottery or a rich relative leaves you a ton of cash, it more than likely ain't going to happen. But if you are doing at least something in the right direction, hopefully, you won't feel like it is ruling you.<br />
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First step, schedule your pain and consollidate it. Don't spend your whole day dreading the mailbox and its surprises. Leave the mail in there until the next day. It isn't going to expire in a 24 hour period. Wake up rested and centered, get your morning coffee, go to the mailbox, grab what is in there. Go into your bank account online, look at what is in there, look at what you owe. Deal with it. Then. There. <br />
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Second step, set up some routines to contend with the controlling factors. Plan for the bigger picture. Ideally, financial woes are a temporary problem, but it may take awhile standing with your finger in the dyke before the water goes down. One of the things that I found that has helped a lot is taking 5 to 10 dollars a day...if it is possible...and pay a little extra on credit card balances that are not due or chipping down utility balances. On line banking is your friend. Set up the ability to do one time payments from your bank account site to your different billers and pop the ones that make you feel best shrinking. Think about who is nailing you with the highest credit rates, who only lets you pay in cash, all of the factors that will justify that is the one you want to hit today. Then drop some coin on them and make them fade away just a little. It makes those utility bills less dramatic when they turn up in a smaller chunk and easier to cope with in the long run. Every bit that you chop out of the credit card bill is that much less being tapped with interest rates. And if you have very little in there, you are aware of exactly how much that extra cup of coffee is going to cost you in the long run. 5 dollars a day in extra little things like coffee or public transportation when you can walk? Or $150 a month worth of smaller utility bills and less money for the credit card companies to take from you? Which is worth more to you? Looking at your spending in detail gives you an idea of how even small spending ripple effects your ability to solve these issues in the long run.<br />
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Third step, make a plan on how you are going to approach the things that are looking a little tricky. Write a list of things that need to be tended to. Write a list of your resources. Think about how you are going to deal with and what you are going to do. Write those checks, make those payments on line that need to be sent, do all of those businessy things that need to be businessed. Then, with the exception of what you specifically need to do to solve these issues that day, put it away and get on with life for the rest of the day. It's bad enough the people in this country have gotten screwed as badly as it has already. Don't let it stop you from moving forward because you are hiding from it. Take control back and find some peace.Jessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152239467773152030.post-22607384442647521272010-01-09T15:17:00.000-08:002010-01-09T15:17:01.558-08:00Station BreakHey Kids! <br />
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Just a quick note that I will be back with all new stuff within the next day or two. Too many cookies over the holiday. Will resume consciousness from massive sugar crash shortly. Lots of new ideas and tales to tell!<br />
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Love and positive thoughts! <br />
Mama Bang BangJessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152239467773152030.post-21733978099190504612009-12-22T06:23:00.000-08:002010-01-11T09:44:38.490-08:00I'd rather be poor in a tent in Florida than rich in an igloo: Part One A place to lay your head.There's a lot in this one so I will write these in parts per topic. My apologies in advance of using the adjective "warm" a ridiculous amount of times. It is an obsession. <br />
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I hate being cold. My body is equipped with just enough bloodpressure to keep me alive. And yet some fool put all of the best science schools in the country in the ice cube capital of mainland USA so I have to live here while my husband gets his PHD. It is my lot in life to go through the winter months being swaddled in enough clothes to give me the figure of a corn dog. I may have aged ten years since we turned the heat on again and the freeze drying has begun but it is hard to tell under all of these layers. I would sell the dryer, the stove and the refrigerator...all of which we rent....to get the hell out of here for just a couple of days. To wear shorts and flip flops. To see the skin on my legs.<br />
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Think you can't go on vacation where its warm because you don't have a thousand dollars? Think again. I have devised a plan that does not involve thievery and potential eviction because you sold your landlord's appliances. It can be done if you are willing to invest some time and research into it, spreading out the expenses over a period of time. And you must own a tent. You don't like camping? Buck it up, Rockefeller, and stop being a wuss. It's warm there. Put a decent air mattress in it and it is not nearly as bad as some crap hotels I've been in. The bathrooms are usually kept very clean and you won't freeze to death taking a shower. I have yet to be disappointed in a Florida state park because the ecosystem is so varied throughout the state. Spanish moss hanging from big dramatic oaks in one, grassy rivers with big birds staring at you from the mangroves, beautiful white beaches, crystal blue springs, you name it. It isn't Disney. It is a different kind of good. <br />
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We have one particular park that we love going to called Bahia Honda State Park. It has camping on what is regularly listed as one of the most beautiful beaches in the country. I began trying to book a campsite there months and months ago to no avail because word is out on how cool it can be. The last time I was there a manta ray swam over my foot as I stood in the water watching my family kayak on the ocean. Seriously good. It is important to have a specific goal to get to when you go on vacation, something to shoot for that you can plan the trip around and then adjust to it. That way, you can build a time frame and travel distances that feel you can handle on a long drive.<br />
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And, oh yeah, plan on driving. Camping is cheap, equipment must be hauled, food supplies need space and a car is necessary. Plus, unless you are planning on going by yourself, I doubt if you have enough round trip frequent flyer miles to get you to somewhere warm with more than one person (which you will need to feed yourself with anyway...more on that later) and you will probably have to rent a car to boot. Get some decent cd's, download some free podcasts from Itunes (we listen to a lot of NPR shows on roadtrips) and look at it as an educational trip on Pennsylvania, the most endless not big state in the union. Or spend some time talking with the people in the car. Something I don't seem to get enough of these days.<br />
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We chose to take one long first leg, switching drivers periodically so that we can have a shorter shot into Florida the next day. Our first stop on our trip will be a Fairfield Inn hotel near Columbia, South Carolina. The hotel is part of the Marriott chain. I had an enormous amount of rewards accumulated in their program from business trips for my previous job. I thought that I was eligible for a gift certificate to take the edge off of the hotel price, but, as it turns out, I had enough points to purchase two nights. Actually, if I wasn't determined to have a really nice room on the last leg of the trip, I could probably have squeezed one more in a lower end hotel in the Marriott property food chain. But we opted for breakfast, a pool and fitness center and, most importantly, high speed free internet because I know you would miss me. So far the first night of sleep costs us nothing and gets us a free albeit probably carbohydrate laden breakfast.<br />
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The next night we land in Florida. We should be in Orange City home of Blue Springs State Park by the time check in rolls around. It is located about 40 miles north of Orlando. I chose this one because it is a sane amount of driving time after a long miserable one and because it is the home of the largest population of manatees in Florida during the winter months. My daughter loves large animals that look like Teddy Roosevelt. The water is a tad over 72 degrees year warm. And the air ain't bad either. Take that parka and your ugly friends clunky boots!!! The cost to camp here is $27 including taxes. <br />
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We will spend the next two nights in the Keys which is quite a haul so we will probably kiss the manatees goodbye at a fairly early.....but warm...hour and head on down the state. This will require pit stopping to pick up some groceries and getting some lunch on the way down but we want to get there at check in so that we get some chilling time in the Keys. Like I said before, I could not get a night or two at Bahia Honda but, after stalking the reservation website, someone canceled a couple of nights at Long Key State Park. It ain't Bahia Honda but it is a relatively short drive to it and we still get to wake up trying to decide which body of water we prefer to look at in the morning, the Gulf of Mexico or The Carribean, depending on which side of the highway we want to sit on. Blue blue waters and white sand and as little clothing as possible. Amen. Alleluiah. There will be sanity again. These campsites are $42 a night including taxes kicking us up to a whopping $84 for two evenings. Which is actually pretty pricey for a Florida State Park but these parks are special. <br />
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I couldn't get more campground time in the Keys no matter how hard I staked out the sites so the following three nights are going to be at the next best thing. The Everglades National Park. Moneywise, this is a real saver. You pay $10 per vehicle for 7 days. The campsites at the Flamingo area on the Gulf Of Mexico lower side is $16 a night. The total is $58 dollars for three nights. We are taking a ranger led 4 hour canoe trip complete with all needed equipment in the park for free. FREE! Yeah us! There are all sorts of hiking and outdoorsy kind of activities offered by the park to entertain and educate. Folks fret a little about snakes and alligators. I don't care as long as they don't make me put on a hat and gloves before they bite me. If it rains? Oh well. It's not snow. We have a car. Carry on. <br />
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On the last leg of the trip, we will get up bright and early in the lovely warm Everglades, take one last look at the Gulf of Mexico and begin to drive to Winston Salem, NC. It is a very long one so I picked an extra nice hotel to rest up and do one last lovely night before we go back to reality. We will be staying at the Springhill Suites by Marriott. They have a microwave and mini-fridge and a livingroom area. They are higher on the foodchain than the Residence Inn or Fairfield in the Marriott line and, once again, we get a pool, free internet and breakfast. And best of all it will cost me nothing but a maid's tip.<br />
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Drum roll please.....The grand total of all sleeping accomodations on a 8 night venture will come to about $168. Or less than one night in a decent Boston hotel would cost. Badow.<br />
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Wait till you hear what I am doing to feed us.....<br />
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<cite>www.<b>reserveamerica</b>.com</cite>Jessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152239467773152030.post-29426663432524995542009-12-20T10:11:00.000-08:002009-12-23T10:51:29.337-08:00Look! Your house is on fire! Aren't you glad you sold your books?Things accumulate. The item that you held so dear to you becomes one more thing in you life that you wind up donating to someone because it is too much of a nuisance to pack when you move five years later. That or you throw it out. Heaven forbid you are forced to move in a hurry and the opportunity has passed. Look at all of the crap that you have, even the little stuff. Do you really love it? Then think of the possibility of your cable getting turned off and having to live without your "Madmen" or ESPN. Selling that stuff can make the difference between you knowing what happens to Don Draper and if the French soccer team cheats. <br />
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I was avoiding doing a blog on auction sites because this is so damned obvious. This is Creative Poverty, not everyday knowledge poverty. But, you know, it ain't your grandmother's Ebay any more and there are a few things that I know that may help you out if you should decide that you really need help paying that bill. Creative thinking can apply. I will do several blogs on different types of items you may consider moving along into other hands for money. I am going to assume that you can read the instructions on auction sites enough to set yourself up. Ebay is a well policed entity that has worked out its kinks in the last couple of years. I will focus on the goods. <br />
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Let's start this first one by looking on your bookshelf. Most people think that a book is more valuable if it is old or signed by someone. The truth is they wrote bad books a long time ago too. And sometimes they signed them. Besides, if it is one that is old, signed and worth something, maybe you should make that a last resort unless you are really in a bad financial bind. You probably have something less dramatic to sell first. <br />
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The books that sell the best are usually brand new best sellers that came out within the last couple of weeks (because everyone is looking for a deal); true first editions of a book that was a famous author's first publication (that is one that either says "first edition" somewhere in the book or starts on the number line with the number "1"); technical books that are well known in their field; children's books in great shape with illustrations done by well known artists (rare since kids tend to love their books to pieces) or a signed autobiography of a well loved or infamous person who is dead. Sometimes not dead depending on how many book signings they did. All books must be in excellent condition, including the dust jacket. Expect to have to explain the condition in detail or incur the wrath of angry collectors.<br />
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There are some authors that are on the best seller list so often that the publishers print a ridiculous amount of copies. Often it is not worth the posting fee on an auction site to put a book up for bidding. So do some research. Look at the auction site's completed items listing for that book and find out if it is selling. That is how you determine demand. And an item is only worth what a person is willing to pay for it in Ebay land. <br />
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My favorite way around turning over less valued books is to define their categories and turn them into bulk lots. Multiple copies in certain areas can be sold together and increase the possibility of selling. A large paperback that has been dragged around the beach all summer and is a little bent in places is not worth much. But if you have a couple of really good titles in the same kind of genre like chick lit or mystery or how to's in one specialty (knitting, writing, gardening,etc.), then you may have the makings of a decent book lot. If the condition of the lot is passable. List them as "Summer Reading Lot" or "A Great Mystery Lot" or whatever catchy phrase to describes the genre appealingly. Hell, you may even put together a bunch of the previously mentioned worthless overprinted authors and get something. Start them at a bid a wee higher than the cost of posting (a little more if they are more recent books) and make sure you post shipping as media mail. <br />
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I know that sometimes it feels better to donate these things to groups that are in need. But, friend, right now, there is a strong possibility that you are the needy. Better to get rid of the loose bits and live to donate another day. You probably won't get a ton but you can get a little coin for the trouble and one less bunch of books in your house that you more than likely will never touch again. It's one more dollar or two on the utility bill payment pile. In your house. Now. And, who knows, maybe you will get lucky and find a hidden treasure on your bookshelf. And then you can buy a latte and pay your cable bill too.<br />
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www.Ebay.comJessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152239467773152030.post-46782871503131922942009-12-18T12:43:00.000-08:002009-12-18T15:13:47.866-08:00Mama needs her Outside MagazineMost folks know about focus groups. There are a ton of them out there. And they are worth registering with although I've noticed that they tend to favor a more income heavy demographic . The competition is stiff since the credit card companies have raised prices and stock dividends have gone into hopper. More "desirable" candidates are making themselves available when they would not have considered giving there time to answer questions about a topic for a hundred bucks. The good news is that if you happen to fall into a category that your income is still good on paper....say you are still employed but you are being battered by the overhead of your existence like debt ....this may be a decent way to pick up a couple of bucks. The big drawback is that if you don't live near a major city that you can access, you probably won't be eligible.<br />
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That's why I like doing online surveys. They don't take much time. This is the one that I use: <a href="http://www.e-rewards.com/">http://www.e-rewards.com</a>. I register with the program and when the company feels like I would fit the demographic for a certain online survey, they email me with a link with a defined topic, like "consumer products" or "financial institutions". If I don't like the topic, I don't respond, and so far I have not been penalized for lack of response. The company gives me a price that I would earn for doing the survey and approximate time it will take to finish it. Upon completion of the survey, the agreed upon price is dropped into my account that can be redeemed for different rewards.<br />
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It usually starts with a couple of questions to accertain if I am a good fit and, if I don't, they throw me a little something (like fifty cents or so) into my account. If I do fit what they are looking for, I spend any where from 10 to 20 minutes answering questions regarding the topic. This is how I have managed to keep my Smithsonian magazine subscription as well as my Outside magazine and my husband's Men's Health as well as $15 that were added onto my Border's rewards program among other things.<br />
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The drawback is that the rewards can be a little limited. There aren't tons in each price range and I seem to have used a lot of the magazines already. But then again, no one says that a soul needs to cash them in right away. Keep chipping away at them till you hit a money bracket that does have something that you like. They also has frequent flyer mileage, gift cards, etc. Tap a gift card that you don't want and flip it over on Ebay (you will see this mantra a lot in this blog). That makes you that much closer to one more latte in your life.<br />
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A good source of other sites like this is <a href="http://www.surveypolice.com/epoll">http://www.surveypolice.com/epoll</a>. This site tells you what's out there and details the level of trust they put in them. I give very little detailed personal information to the reward site and feel like its an easy safe way to get one more thing in your life that you may miss out on because of this whole poverty thing. But this will give you details to help you make a decision on who you want to go to. With a good survey company, the only thing this is costing is your time and, if you want to get picky, a small amount electricity to run your computer. You don't even have to leave your house. <br />
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IJessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152239467773152030.post-36501166271099668452009-12-18T08:55:00.000-08:002015-07-14T13:51:07.488-07:00Bankrupt by Cheeseburger<br />
Our family were big credit card abusers in grocery stores. We hadn't gone to the grocery store with a list on a regular basis in a long time. We would go and grab what we needed, usually supplementing our groceries with a lot of indulgent items like corn chips with flaxseeds, pure and virtuous cookies made by celebrities, antipasto from the olive bar by the pound.<br />
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Well, those darned credit card companies started a war with us, raising those rates so high that we can barely pay them. And it may be the best thing that happen to us in a long time because we began to really look at those little extras and ask, "What do we need?" And, even more importantly, "How much of a hippy are you really?" Surprisingly, we're still pretty much still a where the hell did my food come from eaters. Just because I'm broke doesn't give me the right to abuse my child with preservatives.<br />
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So this is what we came up with: the husband and I are dieting. Or that's what we tell ourselves in our denial of our poverty. We create menus and shop according to specific dining issues. We will still buy good cheese but we do not eat the whole damned thing in two days. It has to last because otherwise we are overindulging, off our "diet." Like a certain successful diet plan on a point system, we consider portions and content. For instance fiber heavy food fills you up and you don't eat as much. Items high in sugar tend to make be behave like a junkie. Same goes for salt. Must. Have. More. We think about what we are shoveling in our pie holes. We are on a diet. And we are saving at least a hundred bucks a month, probably more. <br />
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We are lucky enough to live within driving distance of a Trader Joe's, a store that seems to have more reasonable prices than a lot of retailers that are heavy on natural products. We always get cookies for school and baked tortilla chips for reasonable prices. Trader Joe's has fair trade large bars of super dark chocolate for around 2 bucks (good luck finding that price in a natural food store). I find that if I eat a square or two of that, it nails the sweet tooth.<br />
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In fact, anything with a strong flavor tends to keep me from eating much of it. Strong cheeses, extremely spicy foods, etc. This store is also great for accumulating bags of frozen vegetables, dumplings, peanut butter, mac and cheese without scary ingredients kits (for the kid), other food that can make light lunches. All are decent prices. And coffee. Fair Trade even. That is cheap, won't rot a hole in your stomach and you can grind yourself if you want which can be kind of fun. <br />
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Our favorite wholesale warehouse is great for boxed organic chocolate milk at decent prices. And we can get regular non-hormone ridden milk there at the cheapest price anywhere. We get 2 loaves of decent whole wheat bread for 6 bucks. Also, they have huge pizzas for ten bucks that we split in half, freeze and use for two meals. We take it home and load it with vegetables and the all natural chicken sausage that we also get in bulk there. Don't know how frozen pizza falls into the closely examined ingredients food stuff category but, hell, that's five bucks a meal. I turn a blind eye! Also, sometimes they have samples of specialty cheesecakes. Very small. Won't ruin the "diet." And if it has preservatives, well, its cheesecake. Preservatives wouldn't dare. <br />
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Unfortunately, fresh fruit and vegetables that aren't beamed down from God knows where are a hard one. We used to live near a farm that had cold storage and could score apples from there at a decent price but most farm stands close for the year. It can't hurt to look around and see if something local is still open if its close enough not to cost you the difference in gas. The best I can say is look for deals and hope to get lucky on the non-pesticide products. <br />
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The trick is to plan like you are going to war and that you really need to lose ten pounds. Think of every snack that you may want. Every meal that you may have that will not include everyone. Try to make dinner meals that you can stretch out for lunches too. Know your portions. Know what options your stores have to offer. Even if you have to go to several stores, it will save you gas if you don't keep running back again and again. And add the treats that you want for the week. These are important because this is a positive blog about surviving financial woes. Not a punishing blog. One grass fed steak all month is not going to do nearly the damage of not planning at all and shopping randomly. We do Sunday bacon. A half pound of fancy schmacy bacon at World Famous Massive Natural Food Store that rhymes with "Mole Thoods" is 4 bucks. The best four bucks spent all week. Because we know it is coming and from where it originated. And I am down at least a hundred bucks a month and 5 pounds to boot.Jessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152239467773152030.post-91796132493656683672009-12-16T11:57:00.000-08:002015-07-15T06:51:20.377-07:00Pardon Me, Sir? May I Have Your Printer Cartridge?<br />
An abnormal amount of people I know get a buyer's high going into Staples including me. There's just something about obtaining more quirky paper clips and high quality notebook paper that makes us get giddy. It's sort of sad that now I have to limit my number of padded envelopes and can't trust myself to be alone in the digital camera section because I may try to talk ourselves into "needing" one. The endorphins block out the logic that until there isn't a paycheck to back it up, that credit card money is based on fantasy. But it is not unjustified to go into Staples. Sooner or later our ink cartridges will run out. Resumes can't be printed on the back of phone bills. And when these expenses pop up....particularly the black printer cartridge one that can run you into the price of a small electric bill...where do you get the money if you ain't got none?<br />
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Well, Staples has this nifty program. You return a printer cartridge at your local Staples and they give $2 store credit for each. A certificate of your monthly accrued credit arrives in the mail and you get to smile. Because it is good mail giving you something, not the evil mail asking for more money. All that is required is enrollment in their rewards program and, well, a printer cartridge. There is a ten per month limit. That's twenty bucks.<br />
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"Ten?" you say. It can be done. I have a friend who works on a college campus. The department was being moved from one building to the next. Someone was ditching a copy machine and were going to throw out the catridges. Sure, they are really supposed to recycle them, but some folks are just plain lazy. So he opened up his mouth and asked. And then he put the word out to his friends and relatives. He let everyone on campus know that he can tell. So far he has purchased two sets of toners for himself and school supplies for his kid. <br />
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The lesson in this, my friend, is two fold. Don't be a pussy about asking for help when it really isn't inconveniencing anyone. And rewards programs are your friend. Always. They bring you coupons. They give you opportunities. They treat you special-ish. Because when you are no longer having to think of them in this desperate manner, you will hold a fond place in your heart for them and be the wonderful customers that you used to be.<br />
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July 15, 2015 Update: Yup. Still holds water. Pricing on this blog has been brought up to speed.<br />
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http://www.staples.com/sbd/cre/products/3dollar_inkrecycle/Jessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152239467773152030.post-18950176311966140182009-12-16T08:05:00.000-08:002009-12-16T16:45:49.017-08:00This will keep you from smelling badThis one started because yours truly is allergic to scented laundry soap and my husband secretly wants to be Martha Stewart.<br />
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We used to get them fancy laundry soaps that you can get at natural food stores. Stuff that had packaging that looked similar to certain natural feminine hygene products and cost an arm and a leg. We didn't really think about price as much because it was a necessity and we were all about the enviromental effects. But the stuff was about 12 bucks for 32 loads of laundry. And with a kid and a decreasing amount of owned clothing articles, that did not last long.<br />
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Lucky for me, the husband had a minor in Chemistry and was one of those guys who likes concocting things. Laundry soap wasn't making home brew, but it did have its appeal. He did some research and came up with a home made laundry detergent that has three basic ingredients, no allergins, environmentally friendly and...its a miracle...takes the stench out of his gym clothes the first time round. Even if you use the less utility bill abusive cold water.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Your Basic Laundry Soap That Even Cleans Dirty Gym Clothes Smells <br />
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- Makes 2.5 gallons<br />
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2 cups Borax<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">2 cups Washing Soda <br />
2 small bars (or one large bar) pure Soap<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Optional: Essential oil for scent <br />
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<ul><li>Bring about 6 cups of water to a near boil in a medium sized pot.</li>
<li> Use a cheese grater to shred the soap while the water is heating up. </li>
<li>Add the soap to the hot water and stir until completely dissolved. Be careful not to boil over. </li>
<li> Dissolve Borax and washing soda in at 1.5 gallons of water In a large 2.5 to 3 gallon bucket/container. Add the hot soap solution, mix well, add water so total volume is 2.5 - 3 gallons, cover, and leave overnight. </li>
<li>Add 5-6 drops essential oil for optional scent.</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The next day, the mixture will harden and become gelatinous. You can break the mixture up with a spoon or a hand mixture to place in used laundry bottles or use a ladle and scoop directly from bucket. This concentration is formulated for 1/4 cup per load although I do tend to use a little more. <br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">The husband recommends that for the soap, you use Ivory because it is really pure soap. Many others are actually detergent. Also, he uses Arm and Hammer Washing Soap and 20 Mules Borax. Nothing fancy. Real standard. <br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">He uses a plastic kitty litter container because it has a lid. We think of it as recycling so we feel virtuous. <br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">He says that every time he goes to shop for about a year's supplies at the local every guy supermarket chain it has come to around $8. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Mr. Earth Friendly No Allergins Commercial Hippie Laundry Soap!<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">It may cost a little more for a bigger family. It may cost a little more if you buy different basic brands. It may cost a little more if you use imported essential oils from some far off land (and you wonder why you are broke?). But it is probably going to be way cheaper that what you are doing now if you are buying if from a store.<br />
</div>Jessie Baadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129821290046965810noreply@blogger.com0