The Frugal Bostonian

A friend told me the tale of a young relative who claimed her iPod was broken in hopes that a new one would appear under the Christmas tree.  Thinking the young relative could use an upgrade, “Santa” furnished a new iPod for Christmas.  But my friend wisely required that the “broken” model be turned over.

Since I had some experience reviving electronic equipment, I volunteered to check out the iPod.  I visited the troubleshooting section of the apple.com site, and quickly got directions about resetting it.  All it took was holding two buttons for three seconds.  I charged it on my computer, and was even able to copy music from my library to it.   I gave it back to my friend, and it is now being enjoyed by someone who had been hestitant to make the leap from a CD player.

This was a positive situation for many people:

• the young relative was most likely going to get a larger capacity iPod anyway, but since there had been a claim that the current one was “broken,” it was easily surrendered.
• I learned more about how to resusitating electronics, and how iTunes works.
• The person who got the formerly “broken” iPod has made the leap to digital music without much thought or any expense.
• The “broken” iPod is still being used, thus not unnecessarily cluttering a landfill.

If someone is no longer using a piece of electronic equipment because it’s “broken,” they got a better one, they decided they did not like it, etc. and it’s just sitting around, ask if you can have it, or buy it at yardsale prices.  Go online to the manufacturer’s website and look in the troubleshooting section.  Sometimes it really is as easy as holding two buttons down for three seconds.

Everyone seems to be using reuseable bags these days, I even got a few for Christmas.  Some stores give you a discount for bringing your own bag (Whole Foods takes $.05 off the bill).  Some stores (Ikea) don’t even have bags (so you need to buy one of their reuseable ones if whatever you buy really requires a bag).

Most of the time I drive to the supermarket to get food.  But I was always forgetting to bring the reuseable bags, and ended up with more plastic bags.

My solution - keep at least three reuseable bags in the car, as I almost always have the car (thus, the bags) with me when I food shop.  After the food is unloaded, I put the reuseable bags with whatever I am bringing to work, so the bags get back in the car. 

This cuts down on waste (too many plastic bags), and saves some money at those places that discount for bringing your own bag.

I also have a foldable nylon bag that I can keep inside my regular bag, for small loads when I am car-free.

I recently got a notice in the mail from my employer about my insurance benefits.  My employer pays over $400 a month for my health, dental, and vision coverage.  My portion is almost another $100.  I am usually healthy and don’t often need medical attention, so the insurer should be making money from me.  But I am glad to have the coverage “just in case,” and even happier that I’m not sick and don’t need regular medical care.

But, I have been looking at the components of my insurance plan, and I intend to get all of those “routine” things that are recommended done each year.  Why am I doing this?  Because I am fortunate to have insurance (and a regular job), and who knows what the future will bring.  I want to find any problems early and have them treated before they become disastrous.

The insurance pays for two dental cleanings and exams a year.  I go every six months.  The insurance pays for 80% of a filling.  Last time I went to the dentist, I needed one filling, and I paid about $25.  If I had not had insurance, this visit would have cost over $200.  If I did not go, a cavity could progress to the point of being a root canal and crown, which is easily $1,500.  It’s way better to deal with it as an inexpensive filling than an expensive and painful procedure (this has happened to me).

If you have insurance, take a look at the plan and use whatever preventative treatment you are entitled to.  I’ve been without insurance and know what it’s like to hope for the best.  Luckily, when I most recently landed in the emergency room, the visit was covered.  If I did not have insurance, it would have been $1,000. 

Although I could go anywhere with my insurance plan, I go to the Boston Medical Center.  People sometimes ask me why I choose to go there instead of one of the “reknowned” institutions. It’s a long story, but I personally find BMC to be more efficient and better than some of the other hospitals in Boston.  Boston Medical treats alot of people who apparently don’t have insurance, but everyone I’ve seen seems to be treated with courtesy and kindness.  If you don’t have insurance and need medical help, consider going there.   I don’t know how they’ll figure out the billing, but you will at least be treated well when you show up and ask for help.  And, assess your situation realistically.  It’s crappy to need to seek out health care when you don’t have insurance.  It’s even worse to be carted off in an ambulance because you did not seek help sooner. 

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 went to Pizzeria Uno to eat with friends.  We had a variety of coupons/promo gift cards that knocked about 25% off the bill.

The receipt included a promotion: go online and complete the survey, and get a coupon for $10.  I went online and did the survey, and Unos emailed me a coupon for $10 off at my next visit.  It’s good until the end of February.  There are some restrictions: not good for express lunch specials, not good for takeout, or snack hours in the bar.  But, it’s $10 off a future bill, and I got it for 5 minutes of my time (I printed out the emailed coupon, and that’s what I present next time). 

There’s a separate benefit to this:  the server was great, and he will hopefully get some recognition from the company because I took the time to let the company know he did a good job. 

When your receipt offers a coupon in exchange for completing a survey, consider doing the survey if the coupon is something you might use.  It only takes a few minutes, and you might save some money next time.

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).

• Get there really early, at least an hour before the movie starts.  They want a full, full house, and send out way more passes than there are seats.   Once the theater fills up, you may be turned away.
• Get in line once you arrive at the theater, there will be alot of people there.
• Don’t bring anything resembling recording equipment, the last time I attended one of these, they confiscated cell phones (I hid mine, but they seemed way too serious to me).
• Although the passes might include your name (from whatever info you gave when you signed up), and they sometimes state that you need postive ID, no one has ever asked me for identification of any sort.
• Most screenings are on weeknights rather than weekends.
• Sometimes they have giveaways in the theater (usually some promo item associated with the movie).

This is a great way to see movies you might not otherwise choose to see, and its FREE!