The Frugal Bostonian

Friends have discussed going to one of the Disney Parks later this year, something I might be interested in doing.  Such a trip would obviously be the subject of much research.

But, while I was reading my Triple A magazine, I came across information about Disney, including getting a free admission voucher in return for volunteering at thousands of places nationwide.  I went to DisneyParks.com and hunted around for the “HandsOn Network.”  I created an account (basic biographical and contact information only), and researched the volunteer opportunities.   I signed up to be a volunteer usher at a local theater, something I would have done anyway.  After I complete my volunteer stint, the HandsOn folks are supposed to send an email directing me to a place to print an admissions voucher.  I will post as to that process next month.

Disney has a mechanism where the voucher can be donated to a Boys and Girls Club or something equivalent if I don’t use it (vouchers are non-transferable, the volunteer’s name will be on the voucher, and that’s who needs to use it, unless donated through Disney).  I also do a lot of other volunteer at places not eligible associated with the Disney program, so I am just going to enjoy getting a freebie for ushering - something I do anyway.  And I am going to encourage others to try out volunteering - the motivation might be to get a voucher, but they might find that they enjoy volunteering.

Up to 8 household members can sign up, one voucher per person, and persons aged 6 and up are eligible.   I plan to get the voucher so that if I do end up at Disney, I will this option to get in for free.

I was wandering around CVS and decided to look in the after-Christmas clearance section.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Several Burt’s Bees trial size packages had been marked down to $3.  These are usually $12-$14 each.  Perfect travel sizes, and I had been wanting to try this product line (but not willing to fork over $12 for something I might not like.  I bought three of them (different products in each), for a total of $9, and can now try these products!  And I am all set for travel, these are airline sized, and come in their own zippered clear plastic case.

I don’t know why CVS decided to mark these down - they were “regular” products, with nothing making them a part of the holiday season.  Even if you aren’t looking for giftwrap or other “holiday products,” it’s worth checking out the clearance area as you never know what will be there.

I joined Borders Books rewards club last year - all I had to do was give them my email.  I regularly receive coupons for 30-40% off.  I’ve used these a few times for holiday shopping.  If you plan to buy books, consider joining Borders rewards.  It is totally free.  I don’t carry a card around with me, I just give them my email address at the register to look up, and a print out of the coupon.

I was surprised that many of the people in line ahead of me did not belong to the program or have the coupon.  One person was buying a book that cost $24.99.  He would have saved over $7 with the coupon. It is not necessary to give much personal information, all I ever gave was an email address, and you can make a free email account at gmail or some other place, and have it forward to your “regular” account.

I was disappointed the last time I went to my “regular” nail salon: the work was poor (I repeatedly asked the technician to remove a spot of colored polish, and she did something with polish remover, yet it was still there, peeking through the natural finish), the people were rushed, and the technicians are loud (yelling on cell phones, yelling to each other).  I frequent this place because it happens to be the closest to my place, and it also happens to be the cheapest.  But, I was so unhappy last time that I don’t think I will be back.

Fortunately, I found a freebie manicure on craigslist.  Go to the beauty section (they are still advertising).  I sent an email with my name and phone number, someone called back a few days later, and I arranged to have a manicure.

It’s an established, high end salon.  The technician was in training, and someone sorta oversaw her work.  I signed a waiver that I would not publicly complain if I was not happy with the manicure.  This salon was much better than my usual salon: no yelling, not rushed, and the job was excellent!  I was surrounded by “regular” patrons paying regular prices.  It was totally free to me, but ordinarily would have cost $18.  I tipped the technician $10 because she did a great job, I don’t think she is getting paid, and I may be back to this salon.   If I’d paid regular price with tip, it would have been over $20.  My other salon charges $12, but the experience would have been unpleasant, and I would have spent $15 after tip.

There are lots of freebies on craigslist, I recommend only going to businesses open to the public (or soon to be open to the public, if they’ve got signs and started advertising, I would go there).

Bostix offers half-price-same-day theater tickets.  If you decide last-minute to see a show, check whether Bostix has any available tickets - you’ll save 50%.  Bostix is located in freestanding kiosks in copley and at fanueil hall.

Here’s how to make the deal even better:  for every $50 of Bostix gift certificates you buy, you’ll receive a coupon/card good for $25 at Flemings steak house.  The only catch seems to be that you can’t buy the gift certificates then use them to buy tickets (I got around this restriction by giving the gift certificates to a friend right after I bought them, and my friend then bought the show tickets).  Ideally, if you expect you will use Bostix to buy show tickets, get the gift certificate in advance and keep it in your wallet (it is a print out from ticketmaster that looks like a ticket).  Then, when you decide to see the show, you’ll have some free money for dinner in the form of the cards to the steak house.

Here’s how it works in action:  $100 cash buys two $50 bostix gift certificates.  $50 off dinner at Flemings is included for free.  $68 theater tickets cost $34 each.  So, $100 cash turned into two tickets to the theater (regularly priced at $68 each), $50 at Flemings, and $30 in leftover bostix gift certificates for another show. In other words, if we had just gone to the theater and got tickets at the door, it would have cost $136, not included anything at flemings, and not have included $30 toward a future show.

Somehow I forgot to send this month’s payment to the credit cards folks.  I looked at the statement and realized it was due on Monday.  I quickly logged into my online banking and put through a payment.  But - that payment was not going to arrive until Tuesday.

I called the credit card people and asked if they could change the due date by one day.  The person was quite nice, but said that she could not.  I asked what I could do, she said I could express mail the payment, or make a payment through their web site.  I ended up making the minimum payment through their web site, and it should post on Sunday, so all is well.  The person with whom I spoke said that it would be ridiculous for me to incur the $39 late fee.  She was not being sarcastic, I interpreted her as agreeing that my request for one day was not unreasonable.

I don’t like that the credit card folks have my bank information (although all of this information could have been gathered from a check sent with a payment).  I have a separate checking account that I use for auto withdrawals and things like this, I am going to make sure to keep only a minimal amount of money in that account.  I’ve also been hunting around for deals when banks give you money for opening an account, and might open an account to use for electronic transactions.

I’m going to be more careful about reviewing my bills to avoid this sort of issue.   If I had not been able to pay electronically, I would have ended up using express mail, because it would have been cheaper than the late fee.

I needed a new ‘do, so I went onto craigslist in the beauty section, and found a stylist looking for a hair model.  It was at a high end salon.  We traded a few emails, and scheduled my cut.

The salon was very nice, one where they hand you a “robe” (more like a karate uniform in black) to wear while your hair is being cut.  They also hand out free coffee and herbal teas.

I sat in the regular salon, next to regular patrons, who were presumably paying regular prices (this place charges $35-100 for a cut and style).

The cut and style was completely free.  The stylist took a few pics of the back and sides of my hair (before and after) for her portfolio.  Someone “checked” the cut.  Although the service was free, I left a $15 tip, because that’s what it would have cost if I went to Supercuts, or if I went to the beauty school and left a decent tip after getting a $5-$8 haircut.   Its a nice luxury to sit in a nice salon, even nicer when it costs no more than Supercuts or the beauty school.

I have an Orange ING account.  Last year, I opened an “Electric Orange” checking account and got a $25 bonus.  All I had to do was set up the account and use the debit card feature three times to get the bonus.  Today only, Black Friday, they’ve got the same deal, but with $121 as a bonus (this apparently is the average annual overdraft fee paid by the average consumer).  Go to ingdirect.com/blackfriday to get this deal!

I like to read magazines, but rarely buy them.  I have subscriptions to two magazines that were free from mycokerewards.com.  But, having joined a gym, I now have a great opportunity to read lots of magazines.

The gym has a magazine rack near the exercise bikes.  I like to grab a few magazines to read while I pedal for an hour.  I always enjoy the usual staples - People, Time, Newsweek - but when none of these were around, I started branching into new genres just because they were there, and I wanted something to read.

Luckily for me, the consumer reports that was available was a current issue with camera reviews.  I’ve read quite a few car magazines - I’m not planning to buy any of the cars, but it provided insight into what to look for in a car.  I read a few alumni magazines from colleges I did not attend - it’s always interesting to read an “insider” view of something you don’t belong to.  A few newsletters from animal organizations, environmental concerns, and unions were interesting.  And I had a chance to read conservative and liberal magazines.

Since these magazines are there for the reading, I am using them to broaden my perspective.  I learned that the car magazines review mainstream “boring” cars in addition to sports cars, so I know one place to look if I end up in the market for a car.  I had long ago forgotten about Consumer Reports until I found it on the magazine rack, and it helped my finalize my decision about buying a particular model of camera.  While none of the “position” materials have changed my mind, I learned more about other points of view (and I am going to bring newsletters I have finished and leave them for others to read).

My old digital camera gave up, and I decided to finally break down and get a new one.

All cameras are not created equal, so I put some effort into deciding what model to get.  I asked around at work, someone recommended a canon pwershot a1100is.  Turns out I had used this model as a friend owns it.  Then I looked in consumer reports, this camera was a recommended buy. Given this consensus, I decided to purchase this model.  I was now on a quest for the best price.,

There was a large price range for this camera.  The best was at Amazon.com  for $129, but I kept looking around.  I found it at Staples for $129, but with a $50 rebate for a staples gift card,.

I ordered it at Staples.com, by going through my continental airlines frequent flyer account, so I will get frequent flyer points.  I used in-store pickup so I would receive the item in the store, and could check it there (and immediately exchange it if anything appeared amiss).  I went online to sign up for the rebate (not well advertised, I bet a lot of people will forget to get the rebate).

I am now going to read the owner’s manual and set up the time/date stamp, and learn about the extra features.