I was thrilled to get this glowing write-up from Trent Hamm, author of 365 Ways to Live Cheap: Your Everday Guide to Saving Money. He is a personal finance expert and clearly a genius, since he liked my book so much!
You can read the full review at The Simple Dollar
I thought I’d share a few money-saving sites I’ve discovered in the past few months. Naturally, they are all free to join.
You enter your location and a map comes up with addresses and info in yard sales in that area. Plus, there’s no charge to list your own sale. The only flaw is that they are not quick enough to take down outdated ads, so that when I asked for Sunday sales on February 26th, I got some listings from February 21st. So make sure you read the fine print! There’s nothing more irritating than driving to a sale that isn’t there.
You get emails about restaurant deals in your area. You then have twenty-four hours to click on the discount passcode, and have to use it within 30 days. The day I signed up, I was offered 30% off the entire bill at Sofi, a local Greek place with a lovely garden. I’m already dreaming about the mixed appetizer platter.
They email you various kinds of deals. The system here requires a minimum number of takers for the deal to be valid. Today’s offer was a $70 mani-pedi for thirty bucks. Unfortunately, it was miles away from where I live. You can’t register by zip code, so I’m receiving deals that cover the entire suburban sprawl of Los Angeles.
I’m always glad to hear about more cheapo sites, if you want to share.
I just did a radio interview about frugal living with the Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist, Patt Morrison. (See the link in the sidebar.) We had a number of call-ins, and a few people struck me as not deserving to call themselves thrifty. I’d say they were just plain CHEAP!
One guy bragged about how he invites ladies out to lunch, then says he has to make a short stop at Costco. He picks up some small item, then steers his date to the food department where they fill up on free samples. The date then invariably says, “I’m not hungry anymore. Let’s not bother with lunch.” This guy is a shameless cheapazoid!
My friend, Ann Rita met a similar guy online. They chatted a few times on the phone, and finally agreed to get together for brunch. As they studied the menu, he suggested, “Why don’t we just split an order of toast?” I would have replied, “Why don’t you have the toast and I’ll just split!”
Then there was the wealthy woman who invited us to her penthouse apartment for lunch, handed out takeout menus, and collected our money when the food came!
People pay big bucks to join dating services, but there are cheaper ways to make connections. You might start with friends. I was fixed up with Benni on a blind date. We met in February and got married in April, because he had just arrived from Copenhagen and needed a green card. My friends warned me that I was marrying a stranger and after he got his papers I might never see him again. I felt we were a good fit, and decided to risk it. That was a zillion years ago, and we’re still going strong – although I do have moments when I think my friends were right: I married a stranger. Maybe all spouses have those moments.
I know one woman who started attending AA meetings in Beverly Hills. She had no addiction problems, but she figured there might be some interesting single men there. I’m not sure I’d recommend that ploy. But there are plenty of classes, church groups, political and charitable organizations, etc. where you can meet people who are not recovering crack heads.
My girl friend Sara Read More
Every primitive tribe has its status symbols. Who owns the most goats? Who wears the most beads? Who has the largest lip plate? In the supposedly advanced culture we inhabit, people strut around proudly displaying their labels. Maybe we’re not as advanced as we think we are: beads make more sense to me.
I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with wanting stuff that’s well designed and of good quality. I just don’t understood people who buy clothing that broadcasts the maker. Why wear a bag with a pattern that screams, “FFFF” or “COCOCOCO”– unless Fendi or Coach are paying you for the commercial?
Flaunting the brand has no esthetic value; it doesn’t make the item prettier or Read More
I hate gifts. I hate giving them. I hate getting them. I hate watching people open them. I hate unwrapping presents and having to pretend that I like them. “Wow! A vegan cookbook! I’ve been wanting one of these!”
Not only do I not want any kind of cookbook, but all our available shelves are crammed with rare books for Benni’s resale business. This little baby is going right back to Barnes and Noble to be exchanged for something useful, like a Bette Midler CD – which I will play while dining on non-vegan take-out.
I have very specific tastes, and I’m much happier picking out my own presents. My poor husband has learned, after many years of hearing “Is this some kind of a joke?” when I open his gifts, (like a toaster for Valentine’s Day) that the safest thing is to just take me out to dinner. Most of my friends also respect my preference for events over things-wrapped-in-boxes, so around my birthday I get a bunch of dinner invitations which stretch the celebration out to a couple of weeks. What could be better?
One present I always do appreciate is a houseplant. Some people say 
“You can’t be too rich or too thin.” I say “You can’t have too many flowering cymbidiums.”
I live in Los Angeles, where plants are cheap. I was staying with a friend in New York, and went to a florist to buy her a house gift. The potted orchid that I can get in L. A. for twenty-five dollars was sixty bucks. When I pointed out the price difference, the florist explained that the plant, like me, had also flown in from California, and I was paying its air-fare. As with food, I guess it’s better to buy plants local.
One of the loveliest and most original gifts I’ve ever gotten 
was a birthday present from my friend, Rowena. She paid in advance at my local florist for four lavish bouquets that I could order at any time during the year. How luxurious to be able to just walk around the corner at Thanksgiving and get a pre-paid centerpiece!
WALK THE WALK
When I watch those Jane Austen series on Masterpiece Theatre, I’m always impressed by how much walking everyone does. They stroll to the village, they saunter to the squire’s mansion, they meander through country lanes just for the simple pleasure of moving one foot in front of another. I always knew that Jane Austen and I were soul mates, and this proves it. I find walking is the cheapest, healthiest, pleasantest way to get from one place to the next.
I read somewhere that New Yorkers live longer than anyone in the country. You would think that the pollution, the stress, the noise of The Big Apple might not make it the healthiest place in America, but you would think wrong. Apparently, the reason for this longevity is that New Yorkers walk. They walk fast. And they walk while carrying things. I’m based in Los Angeles now, and I’ve noticed that when I spend a few weeks in Manhattan, I eat everything in sight (you can’t get cold sesame noodles or a decent pumpernickel bread in L.A.) and always lose a few pounds.
New Yorkers are the fastest pedestrians in the U.S.A. I once arrived at Kennedy on a flight from Houston. As I sprinted off the plane, one ambling tourist drawled, “These New Yorkers are always in such a hurry!” I didn’t stop to explain that it’s because we have something interesting to hurry TO! I was in too much of a rush.
Lecco, a town in Italy, turned its school-bus system into a walk-bus system. The kids who had previously been driven to school now follow the same route on foot – accompanied by paid staffers and parental volunteers. This pied-piper arrangement diminished traffic, cut down greenhouse-gas emissions, and reduced childhood obesity: a win-win-win situation.
WORK IT!
Exercise is a way of life for many Americans. Whether it’s Curves, Swerves, or Yoga Booty Ballet, we like to get out there and make our muscles tough and buff. I used to love dance classes: jazz, tap, modern – actually, that’s a lie. I did not love modern. That class was a little too airy-fairy for me. When the instructor said, “Now turn yourself into a flower blossom and float over to your neighbor’s garden,” this little blossom just floated right out of the studio and never went back.
Benni and I took some ballroom dancing courses. We learned swing, fox trot, and some rumba, but never worked our way up to salsa. That’s still on my to-do list.
I’ve also enjoyed Yoga classes: the serene atmosphere, the gentle spinal stretches and the soothing chants. During the guided relaxation, I was, for the first time in my life, able to reach a true meditative state – if snoring with your mouth open while spittle runs down your chin can be called a true meditative state.
I have a friend who has a house in France, and was suddenly taken ill. A visit to the local doctor would have cost four dollars, and a house call was eleven bucks. These big spenders decided to splurge and spend the extra seven dollars. American medical costs are a real problem, and I’m not the one to solve it. There are, however, a few tricks that can help ease the burden.
• The most obvious way to lower your medical bills is to live a healthy life-style. That means cutting back on the booze, smokes, pork rinds and certain – but not all – recreational drugs. It also means having a daily exercise routine, and walking or biking instead of driving. These are all no-brainers.
• You can go online and order your medicines from Canada. It’s legal, and safe, and much cheaper than buying the same item here. One southern U. S. senator objected to this practice, warning against using “socialist medicines.” If you are absolutely dedicated to unregulated free-market capitalism, then I think you should stick to your guns and pay full price.
EBAY
This is, needless to say, an incredible resource for bargainistas. I’ve gotten everything from Arche sandals to Chantelle bras at lower-than-low prices. It does take a little effort. You have to study the measurements carefully, or better yet, know your size in each label because all brands vary. High-end European labels tend to run small: yet another reason to hate the French.
One neat little trick is to deliberately misspell the item you’re looking for. You’d be surprised at how many sellers list Chanel as Channel, so you can bid on that bag without much competition. I personally wouldn’t wear Chanel since she was a Nazi collaborator, but not everyone is as politically correct as I (sometimes) am.
CRAIG’S LIST
You can find anything on this site, from a one-month sublet to a gently-used coffin. Some of the listings, though, are quite poignant, and I often wonder about the back story.
• “WEDDING GOWN, Cost over $5,000.00. Asking $750. NEVER WORN.”
• “HUGE DIVORCE SALE – FORTY YEAR COLLECTION – EVERYTHING MUST GO”
There’s a lot of human drama going on here.
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