I suspect I am late in coming to this, but I’ve just discovered this terrific site called Hulu, where you can catch up on missed shows. I neglected to Tivo Betty White on Saturday Night Live, and was able to see it there for free.
How great to see this classy old pro with impeccable timing. Maybe SNL should have a few more guest geezers: the show might actually become funny again!
I have been remiss about posting new entries, because I’ve been busy creating a new website. It’s called Annie Korzen.com and is a me me me site describing all the various things I do: write, act, lecture, and teach public speaking. Please check it out.
The average cost of creating a website is about $2,000. I, of course, did it for much less, with a little help from a friend who got low-cost guidance from a cousin who’s a pro. Then I wondered if one could get a site designed for free. I looked on Craigslist.com and sure enough, someone was offering that service. He was a graphics student, and wanted something for his portfolio.
I KIDNEY YOU NOT
Speaking of Craig’s List, last night I gave a Bargain Junkie presentation, and asked the audience if they had scored any fabulous freebies online. One woman told of a friend who had been waiting for a kidney transplant for 6 years, and finally found one FOR FREE ON CRAIG’S LIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Some good Samaritan was making an offer she couldn’t refuse. She is now alive and well with a brand new kidney. The donor is now looking for someone who needs a partial liver transplant. It strikes me as a bizarre form of altruism, but why look a gift organ in the mouth?
I just discovered a cool frugalista site called Rubbing Nickels. I like them because they gave my book a great review. I also like them because they list a variety of useful cheapo deals on travel, entertainment, eco-living and all that good stuff.
I also like their motto: “Cutting back while moving forward.”
One site they wrote about is called Dinner Garden.org. This is an organization that provides people and community groups with free vegetable seeds and growing tips for cheap gardening in whatever space they have available: patios, backyards, schoolyards, community lots, and church lawns. “They envision a nation where front lawns, empty lots, medians, parks, schools, churches, and community centers devote space to fruit and vegetable gardens.” Sounds good to me.
I just became a member of the Freecyle network. www.Freecycle.org It’s a really cool site where you can search for free goods, or recycle your own excess. It costs nothing to join, and the no-cost merchandise is varied. A glance at today’s posts included offerings of a vacuum cleaner, a wooden desk, 50 sheets of poster paper, and cherry-flavored Nyquil.
Last week, I scored a shopping bag full of gratis hair products, toiletries, and unused make-up. Then Benni needed to get rid of his computer monitor. I posted a listing, and it was gone within 24 hours, which is a lot better than having to schlep it over to the electronic waste dump.
Freecycle has thousands of local groups representing millions of members. As a result, they are currently keeping over 500 tons a day out of landfills. This amounts to five times the height of Mt. Everest in the past year alone, when stacked in garbage trucks. In spite of the old inspirational song, “Climb Every Mountain,” I say that’s one mountain no one should have to climb.
I live in Los Angeles, where water is scarce and costly. My plants were looking thirsty, and I was advised to put down a three-inch layer of bark mulch to help retain moisture. I have a very large front yard and a smallish back yard, so we’re talking mucho mulch. One bag at the nursery is about six bucks and I needed about 30 bags.
I went on Craig’s List and looked for freebies. Several tree services would deliver, but you had to take an entire truckload. This seemed risky. I had a nightmarish vision of getting a huge mountain of pine chips dumped on my front yard which I would never be able to use. Then I noticed another ad from a private person which said “A tree service dumped a huge mountain of pine chips on my front yard. I will never be able to use it all. Come and take as much as you want.” Perfecto!
We filled our station wagon twice – which barely made a dent in the poor girl’s mountain – and our formerly parched garden is now thriving. What a deal!
I do love a low price, and you can’t get lower than Zero. The good news is that there are a gazillion cool items out there that are just yours for the taking: everything from moving boxes to mature trees. And we all know how irritating immature trees can be.
The enlightened folks who donate these freebies realize that it makes more sense to give something away rather than dump it in the landfill. So when you take someone’s electric juicer, you are not just being thrifty: you are protecting the environment. Frugaholics tend to think green.
This is a great source of free stuff of all kinds.
Occasionally, the offerings get a little bizarre.
“I have the following items in size medium”
5 thongs (white, red, black, pink, purple)
10 half slip s(2 white, beige, pink, purple, baby blue, 2 black, red, dark blue)
8 bras (same color as slips)
3 garter belts (black, white, red)
1 corset in white.”
Or, on a different note:
“HORSE MANURE YOU HAUL ANY AMOUNT”
I check these listings regularly, because you never know when I might need some horse manure – or a white corset.
Most cities have periodicals that take free ads for goods being sold or given away. In Los Angeles, we have The Pennysaver and The Recycler. I use them all the time: both for selling and buying.
This is a terrific website with a difficult name where individuals list things they want to get rid of. You just enter your Zip code, see what’s being giving away in your area, and start hauling.
I find the first two items very tempting. I don’t need dishes or a house-trained bunny, but what great deals! Not sure about the last one. Do I really want to drive five miles for 39 Australia/New Zealand postcards?
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