This weekend the 1775-1776 British Army will be encamped on the Boston Common and will feature three days of activities of a typical British Army camp at the time of the American Revolution. Free! (Although there will be stuff to buy). They pack up at about 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Go to http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/visitor/british_encampment_2010.html for details.
TD Bank recently had a promotion offering a free videocamera to folks who opened a checking account and made 8 debit card purchases and two online billpays.
I went to the bank and opened the account with $200. The bank immediately gave me a debt card, which I promptly used to make the 8 purchases. I bought things I would usually buy but just used the card instead of cash. There was no minimum purchase amount, so I made several small purchases. I signed up for online billpay and paid my cable and electricity bill. Bottom line - I didn’t spend anything that I wasn’t going to spend anyway, the only change was using the TDBank card instead of cash or my primary account.
Yesterday the free videocamera arrived in the mail. It is not a junky promo, it retails for $112-149 online, and it was something I had been looking at getting. It’s smaller than a digital camera and easily its in a pocket or bag. The box included the camera, batteries, carry pouch, and cords to connect it to a television. There was no paperwork to fill out, it just showed up in the mail, its been about 6 weeks since I opened the account.
The account is no fee as long as there is a balance of $100. I’ll be taking the debit card out of my wallet and leaving the money in the account as “emergency money.”
The promotion is over, but I am looking for more bank promos (I’ve seen some for a free itouch). Some of these deals have onerous requirements to get the freebie; I won’t sign up unless it’s something I can easily do. If you sign up for one of these. make sure you fulfill the requirements in the stated time period.
I finally got to attend a free summer movies at the Prudential Center. These are family movies that start at sunset in the outside courtyard (weather permitting, they cancel if the weather is bad). Last night’s movie was Wall E.
This is a good place to see a movie, somewhat reminiscent of a drive-in. People bring their kids and sit on the lawn (mostly blankets, not many chairs on the lawn as it would block the view). This is sponsored by a radio station and a few companies. At 6 p.m. the DJ started entertainment for kids. Some dancing and general fun. The other sponsors appeared to be holding coloring contests.
There are real benches and chairs which can be used to watch the movie. It looks like the chairs and tables are from the food court, and can be moved around. The benches actually faced the screen (which was a temporary set-up, but large and well-done). The sound system was good, and there’s plenty of space to sit (I stayed on the paved part, the view was fine, it looked a bit tighter on the lawn).
I liked this a bit better than the Hatch Shell because it was less crowded, it was easier to get a good view, and it was not necessary to bring my own chair (if you really need a chair, I’d consider bringing my own, as the Prudential Mall might bring them in due to weather, etc., and not get them out in time for the movie). The sound system was better. Maybe because it is in an enclosed courtyard, there were no issues of peculiar people wandering around (all sorts of people frequent the Hatch Shell).
You can get food at the food court, or bring your own stuff. There’s a huge Shaw’s supermarket just across the way, so there’s no need to lug things from afar. If I go again, I might get something at the food court.
Next week is the Little Mermaid, Cars is the following (and last) week.
Boston Harborfest runs June 30-July 5th. It’s a bunch of mostly historical activities (revolutionary war era, to tie in with Independence Day), some activities are free, some not, probably alot of folks in colonial garb wandering around downtown. One of the main draws in chowderfest on city hall plaza on Sunday, July 5th from 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. (chowderfest is $7-10, all you can eat). Many activities for kids and adults who like history.
If you go, I’d plan an itinerary (some of the demonstrations are at particular times) and coordinate bringing food and drink, or strategically plan where I would get my next diet coke (its cheaper to get snacks at CVS than at Fanueil Hall). Wear sunscreen, and bring rain gear if it looks iffy.
go to www.bostonharborfest.com for more information.
If you have an older television, it might not be designed to receive digitial broadcast. What that means is when the current analog broadcast is completely switched to digital only, your television will go black. The government postponed the conversion until June 2009.
Fortunately, you do not need to replace the entire television, you can get a digital converter. It is a piece of hardware smaller than a box of cereal (sizes may vary, mine is about the size of a frozen dinner). The government will give you a free coupon for $40 off the price. (they ran out of coupons a few months ago, but got more and reopened the program). The coupon is like a gift card, its a piece of credit-card sized plastic you surrender at purchase. I used a coupon to buy my converter box; the cheapest I could find was $49, so after tax and with the coupon, I paid about $12.
Go to https://www.dtv2009.gov/ to get your coupon, fill out the information and it will arrive in the mail. The web site will also explain the whole digital switch-over. If you have cable or satellite, you don’t need a converter, but if you have any old televisions that are getting over-the-air reception, you might want to get your converter now. When you hook it up, you may also need a digitial antenna, the cheapest one (which I bought) is $9.99 at bestbuy.
I currently have a telecommunications package from the cable company: phone, internet, and television. I don’t use the television much, but need the internet. I’ve done a few posts about the saga of trying to reduce service to what I actually use at a reasonable price.
I had yet another lengthy conversation with the people at the cable company about reducing the level of service. Finally, I was offered a new package: phone and internet for $40. After taxes and fees, it should cost less than $50 per month. This is what I requested months ago. It’s still too expensive, but getting better.
The television goes black on Monday. I need to return the cable box and get my own digital antenna (I just ordered one at bestbuy for $10). I am optimistic this is going to work, or I am going tv-free. I will be spending some time this weekend getting the dreaded cable equipment out of the house and hooking up a new-to-me dvd player. Supposedly the internet service is going to be faster (something none of the customer service reps mentioned previously), so I need to power cycle the modem to get that started.
When I started talking with the cable people, I was paying more than $100 a month for tv, internet, and phone. With this latest adjustment, I should be paying less than $50. That’s a savings of more than $50 a month. I can think of lots of things I would enjoy more than the television for $50 a month.
The cable folks kept asking what I did not like about the television service. In addition to the expense, I told them i loathed the arrangement of channels. There did not seem to be a way to limit the stations that appeared to those I was paying for. The channels were all over the place, from single digits into the 400’s. The remote (from the cable people) seemed to operate on “delay,” so simply getting to a station was annoying. And, most of the programming did not interest me.
If you want to reduce your cable costs, keep calling! They do keep notes of each call, so you can always call back and tell them you’ve reconsidered and want whatever was on the table last time. I am hoping that with the much-discussed problems with the economy, the cable folks start making it easier for people to buy just the services they want at a reasonable price rather than a “package” of stuff. Otherwise, folks facing reduced income are going to shut the whole service down and the cable people will get nothing. I am so annoyed by the whole experience that I will keep researching alternatives (the $40 rate is a promo for 12 months, I want to have other options when it’s up).
Goodbye Cable TV!!!
Many electronic devices are purchased for one primary purpose, and often have features that are never used. For example, I bought a dvd player to watch movies on the television, but I can also use it to listen to music cd’s.
I previously wrote about using my iPod in the car, http://www.frugalbostonian.com/?p=543. I am able to use the iPod as an add-on to my existing radio / stereo set up. My home radio has an “aux” port. All I needed was a $5 cord from Radio Shack, and the iPod hooks into the home system. The only drawback is that the iPod does not charge, but I’ve run it for over 10 hours without it running dry, and charge it when I am away. For $5, the radio became an .mp3 / iPod player.
My DVD player also plays cd’s, so the TV is also a cd player.
The old computer can be a DVD player for the kids. Even older computers have DVD players. If you’ve got a useless hulk of a computer sitting in a back closet, use that for the kids to watch dvd’s instead of getting them a new player.
Need a portable DVD player on a car trip? Bring a laptop computer and a car charger (or, use it in the hotel where you can plug it in).
Need to fax something? If you’ve got a scanner and a computer, you can email it as an attachment instead of sending it as a fax. This is also a good back-up for photocopying, just save a scan, or send the scan to a printer.
When something electronic finally dies, I examine my other electronics to see if something can pick up the task. My electronics are primarily on the low end of the scale, so if my stuff has the features, they must be fairly standard. Check what you have before getting something new.
I am fortunate to have an iPod Nano (which I bought refurbished through apple.com). My particular model holds 4 GB of information. While smallish on the scale of things electronic, that’s actually alot of music, my whole U2 catalog takes up a small fraction of the total storage capacity. So I decided to expand my musical “library.”
I got a bunch of used CD’s at yard sales, goodwill, and used book sales that I loaded onto the iPod, and I had some free downloads from Pepsi.com. I’ve added Johnny Cash, Jim Croce, some unusual stuff from the 1920’s (Good for What Ails You - Music of the Medicine Shows - nominated for two grammy awards), American folk music (Bruce Springsteen’s “We Shall Overcome” is an excellent collection of folk music), and some other “goodies.” I am not a huge fan of classical music, but I added it to my collection as I have some friends who prefer classical music and when we are together I’d like to be able to play something that we both enjoy.
Doing all this has made my music much more shareable. If I am on a car ride with folks I don’t know well (who may not appreciate the nuances of Depeche Mode, or might not be into eminem), I can offer up the Johnny Cash or Jim Croce. Or, Johnny Cash doing covers of Depeche Mode (Personal Jesus) and Nine Inch Nails (Hurt).
The folk music should be great for kids (way less annoying than a Barney or Dora CD, and the lyrics are appropriate for all ages). I suspect that people visiting from abroad would also enjoy folk and country music rather than generic top 40 (which is probably the same as what’s playing on the radio where they live).
My car stereo has an iPod / .mp3 port into which I can plug the iPod and listen to it over the car speakers (if your car does not have an “aux”, a/k/a iPod port, there’s a transmitter that will supposedly do the job, but check the reviews before buying). If you already have the iPod and the aux port, but no way to connect them, Radio Shack sells a cord for about $5.00.
The bottom line is that I can listen to the iPod in the car. Most newer cars have aux ports, so if you are renting or driving with someone in a newer car, there’s definitely a possibility that your iPod or mp3 player can be used.
The etiquette of offering your music in someone else’s car has yet to be definitively figured out, but it’s worth considering bringing along a variety of music on any extended journey (I don’t usually play anything for short trips with friends, but everyone is different).
If you already have an iPod or .mp3 player and you haven’t filled it up, consider going outside your usual musical selections.
Last week I was honored to be included in the Festival of Frugality. (http://www.frugalbostonian.com/?p=565)
I came across the Festival when randomly surfing online. A carnival is where a blogger finds blog posts on one topic, and collects them all on one site, with links leading to the site where the original post appears. Some of the carnivals and weekly, some are monthly, some are on irregular schedules. The Festival of Frugality usually shows up weekly, with a differing blog “hosting” it each week.
Blog Carnival, http://blogcarnival.com/bc/p_about.html, is the umbrella site, there are hundreds of carnivals and festivals, dealing with a wide range of topics, such as personal finance, pets, health, fitness, arts - you get the idea. Go to the link if you want to know more, they explain it much better than I could, and you can navigate to the list of carnivals and festivals.
Submitting to the Festival was very easy - I filled out a template that included a link to the post I wanted to include, and a way to contact me via email. No personal information was requested or required. There’s no charge whatsoever, either to submit or upon inclusion. I got an email that my post would be included, and then saw it in the festival.
I enjoy going to carnivals to see what others are saying about certain topics. It’s a good way to find new blogs, almost all my bookmarked blogs were found through the festivals and carnivals!
I’ve been a U2 fan since before they were considered “cool” (to the extent that a band that politicians listen to can be considered cool). I’ve managed to make it to every tour since the 1980’s (not a particularly frugal activity, but one of the things I do with the money I save on other things). The Band has always liked Boston, and always plays a few nights here when on tour. An unusual assortment of people turn out to concerts, I’ve personally seen Al and Tipper Gore, and John Kerry at the Boston shows.
The band has been getting around: U2 was part of the pre-Inaugural events for President-Elect Obama, performing their tribute to MLK, Pride in the Name of Love at the Lincoln Memorial. And, U2 has a new album coming out soon.
You can listen (for free) to the first single (Get On Your Boots) from U2’s new album at the band’s website, http://www.u2.com/news/index.php?mode=full&news_id=2292
This is not a download, only a chance to hear the song online (preferable to catching snippets on the radio). U2 has also posted the lyrics. The album will be available for download on February 15th, and in hard format on February 16th.