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.
i went to the movies using passes I bought at Triple A. I handed the ticket seller my AMC moviewatcher card. Much to my surprise, along with tickets to the movie I received a coupon for a free small soda (which was priced at the exhorbitant $2.75 rate).
The cards are free at AMC theaters (Boston Common, Braintree, and a few more in the suburbs). Each movie ticket generates 2 points (four points maximum per visit). At increments of ten points, you receive a coupon for a free soda or popcorn. When you get 100 points, you get a coupon for a free admission, free soda and free popcorn (I went online and looked up the program). This cost me nothing to join, and since I am going to see the movie anyway, I might as well accumulate points for free stuff. One can supposedly sign up in the theater (I’ve never actually tried to do this, so I assume it would be at customer service) or online).
If you go to the movies once a week for a year, you’d have over 100 points, and would have gotten several freebies. Points accumulate even with gold and silver passes. It’s a good deal!
The movie I saw was Star Trek. I thought is was great, an amazing reboot of the original series. I can’t wait for the sequel!
Every week I find my mailbox stuffed with supermarket fliers. As I was perusing this week’s flier in anticipation of tossing it in the recycling bin, I noticed a separate page with two coupons for free McCafe drinks at McDonald’s. It’s really a free coupon for a medium iced or hot drink, no need to buy anything else.
I was walking past McDonald’s today and got a free medium iced mocha. According to the register, the cost for this drink is $2.79 (plus tax!). I handed the cashier the coupon (hand in the coupon when you order, so it gets rung in as a promo) and got the drink.
I did not really care for this particular drink, and would probably not order it again. But, it was nice to try it for free. I am going to try the hot version with the other coupon. There are apparently four different McCafe drinks, and each comes in hot and iced, for a total of eight drinks. If McDonald’s sends me more coupons, I am going to try them all.
The bottom line - check fliers for freebies. A free coupon is a great way to have a treat.
I was hunting around in the “beauty” section on craigslist (in the “Services” catagory toward the bottom of the page) and saw a posting looking for a free manicure / pedicure with a salon trainee. I sent an email, and got a message a few minutes later scheduling an appointment. I looked up the salon online - it is an established place on Newbury Street (I would be unlikely to pursue such an opportunity in a private home or other non-public place).
I showed up at the scheduled time - this was not “training day,” regular customers were getting manicures and pedicures with regular staff. I got both a manicure and a pedicure. The technician was excellent, and I really liked the salon (it was much nicer than where I usually go). This salon charges $35 for a pedicure and $18 for a manicure, for a total of $53 for both services. The place I usually go to has a $28 special for both. My only cost today was a tip ($12) to the technician (I did not “have to” tip, but it was the polite thing to do, and i still paid about 1/3 of what I would have paid at my “usual” bargain place.
Here’s what was different from the usual salon experience:
I got a great manicure/pedicure out of this, and discovered a new place (I have not been going to the usual place because I don’t enjoy the atmosphere, and I have not found a frugal alternative).
I am amazed that these types of opportunities are still out there on craigslist; I got a luxury service (on Newbury Street) for alot less that the bargain place I usually frequent.
It would have been more frugal to skip the free services so as not to have to spend money on the tip. But I consider the $12 money well spent, I got a luxury service cheaply, the technician made a little bit of money, the salon got some free publicity (I will be recommending it to friends). I suppose this is the way us “frugal folk” do our part to stimulate the economy (and I got the $12 from the money I made at a focus group earlier in the week).
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 just got an email from Entertainment Weekly with a free pass to see an advance screening of “Taking Chance” next week at Boston Common Loews. This film stars Kevin Bacon and is based on the true story of a Marine bringing back the body of a fellow Marine killed in Iraq. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and looks quite good.
I got the pass by signing up at the Entertainment Weekly website link (http://www.ew.com/ew/static/freescreening/) . I check it every so often, usually there are no passes, but when it is open for sign up, I add my information and usually get a pass. I don’t subscribe to the magazine, and have never gotten anything bothersome from EW.
They don’t have any more passes for this film, but something new will eventually be posted. When that new film is there, sign up and request a pass (distribution seems to be until they run out of passes, so best to sign up as early as possible once a new film is posted). EW has movies nationwide, so this applies everywhere, not just in Boston (although most of the screenings are in major cities).
After signing up, you’ll probably get an email about a week before the movie (when you sign up, it lets you know when and where it is playing, its usually only playing once in the area, at one time, sign up only if you can actually attend). The email takes you to a link where you print the pass (they used to mail these, but it seems to all be online). Take the pass with you to the movie (most passes admit two people, so bring a friend).
This is a great way to see movies you might not otherwise choose to see, and its FREE!
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.