The Frugal Bostonian

I was in Target buying light bulbs.  I use the “reveal” bulbs, which claim to generate a more “natural’ light.  My bathroom does not have a window, so these bulbs make the room much nicer.  The difference in the quality of the light is significant, and I am willing to pay a bit more.

Target had a three bulb value pack (globe style) for $7.19. That seemed a bit much, so I checked out the price of a single bulb.  Single bulbs in the exact same style were $.68. I found this hard to believe, but the small tag on the shelf said they were $.68, and the price checker also rang up as $.68.  So I bought two bulbs, for a grand total of $1.36.  I could have bought three for $2.04, saving more than $5.00 than the cost of the value pack.

I decided to get some regular sized reveal bulbs for the living room.  I found the same scenario: the prices made no sense.  The two bulb “value pack” was more than $3.00, the four pack (no “value” language on the label) was $2.14.  So I got the four pack, and am getting more pleasing light in my abode.

Several people I know have extolled the virtues of those new energy efficient light bulbs and insisted that I get them.  I do not like the quality of the light they generate, and I use so few lamps that the energy savings would not be measurable for years.  The “reveal” bulbs are a very inexpensive way of making my place a little bit nicer.

Had I not looked at the labels and prices, I would have gotten fewer bulbs for more money, not a frugal outcome.

I have a digital camera, nothing fancy, just a basic model. It has an SD memory card (one gigabyte), and on maximum resolution holds 263 or so pics.  A  1gig SD card can be had for less than $10 (Microcenter in Cambridge sells them for $5.99).  Once upon a time I downloaded pics onto my computer, now they mostly sit on the memory card.  Sometimes I get prints made.

When I pulled out the camera on New Year’s Eve, I realized that I had taken fewer than 200 pictures in 2008.  One of my 2009 New Year’s resolutions was to take more pictures.

Assuming you’ve already got access to a digital camera or a cell phone with high resolution photo abilities, digital photography is practically free. Take as many pictures as you want, deleting those that don’t turn out “just right.”  The only cost to take the pictures is the batteries.  My camera uses two AA batteries.  Just to be safe, when I go somewhere where I’ll want to take pics, I bring an extra set of batteries.

Photos can be printed inexpensively: CVS will print 4×6 pics for $.20 each.  Walgreens, Target, Wal-Mart and other major retailers also have in-store photo printing.  Often you can send the photos to print online and just pick them up in the store.

Digital pics can be shared for free via email on online photo albums.  Looking at a photo of a fun time with friends and family brings the event back to mind.  Foolish pet tricks can be captured and shared with others.  Prints of beautiful and bizarre images make memorable gifts.

If you don’t already have a digital camera and plan to buy one, many models sell for less than $100.  Do your research online to make sure you get a quality camera for your budget. The maximum resolution is essential (this controls how sharp the image will be), and you’ll want to know what features it has regarding zooming.  You don’t need to spent alot, but not all cameras are equal.  An even more economical option would be to find a friend who got a new, improved camera for Christmas and borrow or buy the old one.

I posted about mycokerewards.com earlier, this is the program where one collects the caps from specially marked bottles of coke products, or the flaps from specially marked twelve packs.  Bottle caps are three points, flaps are ten points.  Friends have generously given me their flaps and caps, as they have no desire to do this (it is a bit of work).

I have accumulated quite alot of points.  The movie pass offer is back, but it now requires 485 points for one pass (previously, it was just 200 points).  I ordered a movie pass, and a $10 gift certificate for TGI Fridays (280 points).  So I can go to the movies, and get a free appetizer at Fridays (when the certificate arrives, I will check the fine print to see if more than one can be used at a time, if so, I will get several and have a free dinner).

I ordered a magazine subscription a few weeks ago, and that just started arriving last week (114 points).

Go to mycokerewards.com, enter basic biographical information (use your real address, that is where the “reward” will be shipped) to open an account, then start plugging in coke codes.

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!

I am planning to see a movie with friends this weekend.  Unfortunately, I was unable to secure free admission (entertainment weekly has an advance screening program where you can enter for free passes to advance showings, and film metro has a similar program, more on these later).

But, I will get in for less than the usual $10.50 with passes from Triple A (the car folks).  For $31 I can purchase four passes to the AMC Loews chain, these are the “gold” passes that have no restrictions on new shows.  That works out to $7.75 for each admission. Still expensive, but I will be saving $2.75.  Triple A has passes to Regal and some other movie chains, just show up at the Triple A office during business hours, show your card, and they will sell you the passes.

I have an older but reliable car that gets me to work.  I enjoy the convenience of using it to go shopping at the supermarket and to visit friends who live outside of Boston.  But if I did not need the car for work, I am not sure that I would keep it.  It’s a nightmare looking for on-street parking when it snows.  Zipcar seems intriguing to me.

But, since I have the car, and occassionally take it downtown, one thing that I have found invaluable is keeping the car’s coin caddy stocked with quarters for meters. I don’t enjoy the feeling of finding a meter and discovering that I have no change for it.  Peering around the corner for the meter folks, hoping I can get back to the car with quarters before they arrive is no fun.

I take quarters out of my wallet to stock the coin caddie. If your car does not have one of these devices, you could use the ashtray or console.  I’ve seen some folks get a small dish and use it for change, something I don’t recommend as the window might get smashed by someone wanting the money.   Planning ahead by keeping quarters in the car may help you avoid a costly ticket (I think the last ticket I got for unpaid meter was $40, and the ticket was improperly issued and ultimately rescinded).

Some meters in Boston are being modernized to accept credit cards and paper money.  But I imagine there will always be a slot for coins.  Many meters (Cambridge) only take coins.  If you have the coins on hand, you can hunt for meters on the way to the garage.  For example, there are almost always meters near the Cambridgeside Galleria, two hours of parking costs $1.00, less than the garage.

I am not talented when it comes to sewing, but I can reattach a button.  I did just that today because the button was falling off the pants I wanted to wear.  This inspired me to do some minor repairs on some other garments that I have not been wearing because they were in need of repairs.

This was essentially free, as I had the needle and thread.  And I now have more clothing options.  I am going to go through my entire wardrobe and fix that which needs fixing, get a few pairs of shoes repaired, take some things to the tailor, and get rid of anything else that can’t be repaired.  This will make my closet seem larger and increase my wardrobe.

My next goal is to find an inexpensive shoe repair place, as I am tired of paying $15 to fix the heel stops.  Please leave any suggestions about where I might go in the comments!