Most of my relationship with Paul has been long distance. We met in Japan in our 20s, fell madly in love, and spent the next several years traversing the globe every few months to be together. I once spent a long weekend in Japan with him, he flew to Maryland next, and then when his grandfather died several months later we met one another in Tulsa, Oklahoma. One Christmas break I spent three weeks with him in Japan, and then he was sent to a school in Biloxi, Mississippi where we spent a wonderful week together (over spring break) months before Hurricane Katrina struck. Florida, Virginia, Texas, Pennsylvania…it didn’t matter where the other was; we would fly to be together. Because we went months without seeing one another we had to find ways to connect in-between. And not only connect, but to build and nurture a relationship through common experiences even though we were never on the same continent. We also were both dirt-poor and any extra money we could get our hands on was spent on airline tickets. This meant that whatever we did in-between being together had to be cheap and effective.

We tried almost everything. We wrote letters and included little insignias of affection, like a chocolate, a photo of something we had seen, a poem or snippet of something we were reading, confetti, stickers, a spritz of cologne/perfume, magazine articles the other might enjoy, etc. After each trip I would develop the photos we had taken and send him copies in a letter. Once I videotaped my letter as well as my home in PA so that Paul could get a better sense of my life. We even both read the same book at the same time. All of these letters and mementos were wonderful, but the most effective thing we started to do was a brilliant idea of Paul’s: dinner and a movie.

You may wonder how two people who were sometimes over 7,000 miles apart were able to enjoy dinner and a movie together. Very simply: we cooked dinner and watched a movie at the same time. One person would choose a recipe and a movie, and would email this to other person. Both of us agreed on a day and time we would start cooking. We would text one another during cooking, and when each was finished, put in the rented movie. If someone needed a break, they would text the other and we would pause at the same time, and restart together again. Not only did this have us eating good food and watching great flicks, but it created this experience we were sharing together. We could discuss the movie, we could laugh together, or get choked up and share it with the other person. This simple act extended both of our living rooms so that the distance suddenly shrunk dramatically.

What I love about this frugal date idea is that you can use it whether you have a long distance relationship or live with your partner.

Pick a Movie and Recipe: Possible Theme Ideas

You might want to introduce a family recipe to your partner, or try something you saw in a magazine from six months ago. Likewise, you could pick a movie that is an old favorite, or something new neither of you have watched before.

While you do not need to pick a recipe and movie that complement one another, it could really add to the experience.

• A mafia movie and an Italian dish. Paul and I watched the season finale of the Sopranos to a lovely chicken francesca recipe from the Sopranos Cookbook which I checked out of my local library
• Julie and Julia and a french dish
• Westerns and chili or barbecue
• Slumdog Millionaire, The Namesake, or other Indian movies and Indian-inspired dishes

Invite Your Loved One to Dinner and a Movie

Anticipation of a wonderful time together starts with the invitation. Photocopy the chosen recipe and bundle this together with the movie idea. You could roll it up and tie it with a bow. If you are long distance, create an email with the recipe attached (or written out in the email), and construct or copy and paste in some romantic text art like a rose, cupid, or a heart. Include the date on your partner’s calendar or a calendar you share together. If you are together, or have time to mail a letter, you can include a CD of some tunes to play while in the kitchen that you handpicked for the occasion.

Take a Free Online Cooking Lesson Together

Paul and I (along with lots of couples) love to take cooking classes together. The problem is that they can be expensive. For your frugal date instead of just cooking a meal and watching a movie, you could choose an online cooking lesson to take together for free.  Here are a few to get you started:

• PBS offers 28 free full episodes of Julia Childs (scroll down and click on “More Full Episodes Options” for more).
• Epicurious.com has some great menus with ingredient lists and videos detailing how to make each. They also offer technique videos.
• The Food Network offers cooking demo videos.
• The New York Times offers a series called Cooking with the Times (some with videos, some without).
• Thai Food Tonight offers many Thai food how-to videos, including Pad Thai from a chef in Thailand and Satay.

When it comes to the Superbowl what I look forward to the most are the commercials, the socializing, and the food. I get a little choked up at the singing of the national anthem, and I can’t help but smile when seeing the players hit the field in all their glory. But my true enjoyment comes from the gathering itself (especially those funny commercials).

Many Superbowl parties I’ve attended over the years involve party trays ordered from grocery stores. I’ve never ordered one myself because I assumed that they would be very costly. This year, I thought I would look into the cost of party trays, and then try to recreate them at home to see if doing so makes sense. What I found is that you can save around 34-37% of the cost by making your own fruit and vegetable trays. However, the cost savings on a cold cuts tray by making your own is not that much (8.4%).

Here’s a breakdown of store-bought trays from Walmart, HEB, and Kroger’s, as well as the cost to make my own. Please note that I tried my best to replicate the store bought trays (photos below):

Homemade Party Trays

For each of the party trays I purchased the actual tray from the 99₵ store. This cost, as well as the cost of the dips has been added into the overall cost above.

For the fruit tray I made a Dairy Princess fruit dip recipe (with a ton of dairy in it; and yes, yours truly was a Dairy Princess when I was 16). The recipe is at the end of this article. Fruits include grapes, oranges, apples, strawberries, and a pineapple (included in the cost, but not included in the tray because I could not find room).

The cost of the meat tray includes a jar of pickles. Also included is roast beef, honey ham, turkey, provolone, and cheddar.

For the vegetable tray I used straight Ranch dressing as the dip (included in price).

Tips to Save More Money on Homemade Trays

Since I was attempting to mimic the grocery store party trays for this article, I spent money that I did not necessarily need to spend. For your own homemade trays, you can save money by using your own platters or saved platters from previous party tray purchases (I would not recommend putting these plastic trays into a dishwasher). In order to accurately mimic these trays I also purchased mid-ranged deli meats. You could potentially save more money on your own homemade cold cuts tray by purchasing less expensive cuts of meat and cheeses.

Cost of the Football Field Tablecloth

I have an artsy/creative side that has needed an outlet lately. About a year ago I got the idea to make a green football tablecloth for food tables at football parties…and I am so happy I’ve been given the chance to do so! The cost for making this was $17.66 (this does not include the cost of painter’s tape, which we had on-hand). The supplies were a bottle of fabric paint, two yards of duck canvas fabric from Jo-Ann’s (scored for 50% off!), a foam brush, sharpie marker, a measuring tape, and painter’s tape.

Fruit Dip

8 oz. package cream cheese
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 cup cold milk
1 package (3.4 oz.) instant vanilla pudding mix

In a mixing bowl cream together cream cheese and brown sugar until smooth. Add sour cream, vanilla, lemon juice, milk and pudding mix and mix until smooth. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour. Serve as a dip for fruit.

According to the 2011-2012 National Society of Accountants (NSA) survey on tax preparation fees, the average tax preparation fee for an itemized Form 1040 with Schedule A and a state tax return was $233 for the 2011 tax season. For non-itemizing taxpayers, the average cost for Form 1040 with Schedule A and a state tax return was $128 for the same time period.

You may have a very good reason to be paying this much to have your tax return prepared for you (or for paying even more, depending on the complexity of your tax situation). For example, if you do not have the time or desire to learn about the tax code and feel that you will probably miss important deductions if you did the return yourself then it makes sense to have your taxes prepared for you. Perhaps your tax situation is so complex that it is a much better idea for you to pay someone for their services. Maybe you have a simple 1040 to submit, but it is just too confusing (as taxes tend to be).

I’d like to highlight some free resources for tax preparation and tax filing in the hopes that you might come in below the national average this year. Below are resources for both free tax preparation, free filing (that you do yourself), and free tax help.

Free Federal Income Tax Help and Filing Regardless of Income

• Free File with Fillable Forms: The IRS has partnered with 20 tax preparation software companies to offer a free federal income tax filing for everyone. Go to the IRS Free File website for a free fillable federal tax form (online versions of paper forms are designed for people comfortable preparing their own tax returns; offers basic calculations).
• TaxAct.com: This site offers free federal tax preparation software for everyone.
• Wal-Mart: H&R Block and Jackson-Hewitt are offering free preparation of 1040EZ forms at 3,000 stores nationwide. Refunds will be given through direct deposit into a bank account, to a prepaid card (watch out—it has some fees), or by a mailed check. Check with your local store to see if they are participating.

Free Federal Income Tax Help and Filing with Income Limits

• Free File with Software: Taxpayers with incomes below $57,000 2011 are eligible for a free tax software product. This offers assistance by prompts and calculations within the software.
• Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA): I took advantage of this when I was in college and a local AARP advertised free tax assistance on our campus. Taxpayers with incomes under $50,000 as well as taxpayers aged 60 and older can have their taxes prepared for them by IRS volunteer assistants. Eligible workers can locate a volunteer assistance site by calling their community’s 211 or 311 number for local services or calling the IRS at 1-800-906-9887 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting.

Free State Income Tax Filing with Income Limits

• Beehive.org: This site offers free federal and state income tax filing if your households makes $57,000 or less.
• TaxHawk: State preparation is free for those with an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $20,000 or less.

Free State Income Tax Filing with Age Limits

• OLT OnLine Taxes: If you are 20 years old or younger, you can file your state income tax for free using this site.

Free Federal and State Tax Preparation for Active Military Personnel

• Armed Forces Tax Council: The Armed Forces Tax Council provides free tax preparation services for active military personnel and their families in the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. They are trained for military-specific tax situations, and act as the coordinator for the VITA program mentioned above.
• TaxSlayer: Active military personnel can file their federal and state income tax for free using this website.
• H&R Block At Home: If you are eligible under the Military OneSource program, you can complete, save, and file your 2011 federal and up to three state returns online for free. You will need to register for the Military OneSource program and use the link through that page in order to get the free tax filing.

Free Tax Question Help

• Call the IRS Directly: In the past I have called the IRS with my questions (might as well go to the source, right?). While it can be a long wait on the phone as the tax deadline approaches, you will eventually be connected to someone who can help you. The general assistance line is 1-800-829-1040. For businesses and specialty help, call 1-800-829-4933. Finally, if you are a taxpayer calling from outside of the United States, dial 267-941-1000.

Comparing diet program costs is one way to maximize the amount of money you have to spend on dieting (or to make you run the other way with your hard earned money). But there are many other ways to still get the results that you want without signing onto or at least without paying full price for the expensive meal delivery programs.

Check out some options below, starting with discounts on the meal delivery programs and ending with a free diet kit from Atkins.

Meal Delivery Programs Using a Discount

• Health Insurance Discounts for Diet Programs: Check with your health insurance company and see what types of discounts they offer. Many health insurance companies offer discounts to Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and gym memberships. For example, I am with Blue Cross Blue Shield and I can get between a 10-35% discount on the Jenny Craig meal plans, as well as a discount of between $5-$30 on the Seattle Sutton’s Healthy Eating meal delivery program.
• Flexible Spending Accounts for a Tax Discount: If you participate in a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for eligible healthcare expenses, then you might be able to use the tax advantage as a discount on weight loss programs. In order to use your FSA for this expense, you need to get a Letter of Medical Necessity from your physician diagnosing you with a medical condition.

Grocery Store Diet Programs

There are several companies which offer frozen diet meals in grocery stores that serve as substitutes for meal delivery programs.

• Jenny Craig uses the American Diabetic Exchange System. If you are looking for a substitute to their delivered foods program, both Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice use the American Diabetic Association Exchange System as well (for example you might see this on the box: 1 1/2 Lean Meat, 2 Starch, 1/2 Fat). Also, Lean Cuisine offers a rewards program. This will not save you money, but it is a nice perk.
• Weight Watchers offers a line of frozen foods called Smart Ones. While they do not offer the American Diabetic Association Exchange System, they do provide points for those on the Weight Watchers diet. Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice both include Weight Watchers Points on their boxes; however each of these companies states that the point counts on the boxes are not endorsed by Weight Watchers.
• Slim-Fast has a diet program based upon 3-2-1: 3 snacks, 2 Slim-Fast Shakes or Meal Bars, and 1 balanced meal. I purchased a six pack of Chocolate Mint snack bars for $3.50, and an 8 pack of shakes for $9.99. An estimated cost per day of this plan without the “balanced meal” would be $4.25. Over a three month period, an estimated cost would be $382.50.

Without coupons I walked into a Kroger’s last Thursday to purchase a myriad of lunches and dinners from the companies above to sample as well as to price. The taste was decent, but the ingredient labels were all very scary. Pricing was between $1.78 and $2.42 per meal (Smart Ones had the lowest at $1.78 and also the costliest meal at $2.42; it really depends on what you purchase). At these prices, three meals per day would cost between $5.34 and $7.26. Over a three month period that would be between $480.60 and $653.40.

Book Diet Programs

Books provide all of the information that you need to count your own calories, personalize your own diet, and jumpstart some weight loss at a fraction of the price you will pay when signing onto diet programs. However, whether or not this will work for you is dependent upon your motivation and accountability level. Unfortunately, I think many libraries and kitchen shelves are lined with forgotten diet books that would most likely have worked if someone kept motivated and dedicated. Some diet programs offered in book form include the South Beach Diet, Atkins, The Sonoma Diet, etc.

Another way you can save money is by purchasing cookbooks by the diet program companies instead of signing onto the programs themselves. By following the dishes in these books you know you will be eating low-calorie/low-carb/low-fat meals. Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Atkins, and the South Beach diet all offer cookbooks.

Used book sales, eBay, and other used sites are littered with copies of diet books and diet cookbooks. Not only that, but you can also purchase an older set of Weight Watcher’s Points system from people on eBay.

Mimic Established Diet Programs

There is science behind each of the different dieting programs. While this information is proprietary to an extent, some of it is available for free.

• Glycemic Index Diets: The Glycemic Index is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels. This is the basis behind the South Beach Diet, NutriSystem, the Zone Diet and the Suzanne Somers Diet. Instead of purchasing these books and/or meal plans, you could consult a free list of foods and their glycemic index and follow the guidelines yourself.  You can also find a great free glycemic index list here.
• Portion Control Diet: The food part of Jenny Craig’s three-tier system is based on portion control and calorie counting. Calorie information is available on every package of food, and if it is not, then that probably means you are eating a fresh fruit or vegetable (calories will be much less, but you can also look it up online depending on how strictly you want to count calories). You can figure out your personal caloric needs after taking into consideration your current weight, height, and weight goal.  The Mayo Clinic has a great slide show on portion sizes with visuals of common household items to help you remember them.

Free Diet Kit

Atkins diet quick start kit offers a quick start guide, the Atkins comprehensive carb counter, and three Atkins bars. Best of all, you can get it for free!

Dieting, as with anything else, does not have to be an expensive endeavor. You can still reach your weight loss goals without signing onto expensive meal delivery programs, or if you have enough money budgeted for these programs you can do your best to find discounts available to you so that you do not pay full price. After all, if you spend all of your money on a diet program then you won’t have any left over to reward yourself with a new outfit or two once you reach your goal.

Have you dieted in the past, or are you currently dieting? How are your results? Have you found ways to save money? 

Part of Yakezie Carnival at Little House in the Valley.

Since I discussed a “stick” approach my health insurance company began on January 1, 2012 by charging a higher premium for smokers than for non-smokers, I’d like to take the time to discuss a “carrot” incentive sponsored by them: a reward points program. And reward points mean free stuff!

I am with Blue Cross Blue Shield and take full advantage of their Blue Points Reward System. Every six months I take a health risk assessment online for 2500 points. During the week (when I remember), I record my eating habits and any exercise I have done. In return I am given calorie and fat counts and access to lots of great recipes.  Since I started these activities in 2009, I have earned a total of 23,280 points. With these points I have gotten a free Starbucks gift card, a yoga mat shoulder holder, a 9” springform pan (to use in making cheesecakes, an admittedly unhealthy dessert), and two movie tickets to the theater near our home.

Many health insurance companies offer incentives for good health habits. In the long term this benefits the insurance company and the employer because they save money when the plan participants are healthier. Originally I wanted to research individual health insurance companies and provide a list of which ones have incentive programs. However, the research was very complicated; it appeared that even under one company of health insurance (Blue Cross Blue Shield for example) whether or not a rewards program was offered could differ among state, employer, etc. Some programs offer rewards points you could redeem for gift cards and items. A few programs even allow you to redeem reward points towards reduced co-payment costs. If you have health insurance, you might want to call your provider to find out if they offer something similar and ask how to enroll.

I would hate for you to miss out on free rewards!

Does your health insurance company offer a rewards program? Have you redeemed for anything yet? 

Part of Carnival of Financial Camaraderie at Financial Success for Young Adults, Totally Money at Passive Income to Retire, Festival of Frugality at Squirrelers, Carnival of Wealth at Control Your Cash, Carnival of Financial Planning at Credit Cards Canada, and Carnival of Retirement at 20′s Finances.

Author’s Note: There are no referral codes in this article, and I have not been paid for my review. It’s just a great frugal tool!

I’ve mentioned Magazines.com on this website before, but thought that it deserved its own post because I am just continually amazed at the amount of quality free and close-to-free items I receive from them (Magazines.com if you are reading this—please don’t stop the free gift cards and coupon codes!). And don’t just assume that I am only referring to magazines. This company has added to their repertoire over the last year to include books and a few other random items to choose from.

Why I Love Them

The biggest reason why I love Magazines.com is because once you are on their email list, they are quite generous with free $5 gift cards and coupon codes, as well as the occasional $10 gift card! In addition to this there are no shipping costs, even for the books that they now carry. While the book selection is small compared to traditional book sellers and Amazon, finding free shipping for books is difficult to do.

Whenever I receive an email with a gift card or coupon, I go to the website, select a category that I want to browse and then sort it priced from low to high. This way I can see if there is any low-hanging fruit for items I want anyway. If there is a book or magazine that I would buy no matter what the price, I will use the gift card/coupon code and free shipping to give me a discount on a new item.

Finally, they have great customer service. I’ve called a few times with questions and/or issues (see “cautions” below), and have been met with a cordial, knowledgeable rep each time.

My Purchasing History over the Last Year

To show you why I love this website I thought I would give you my purchasing history and the dollar amount that I paid out of pocket over the last year. Hint: I only go to Magazines.com when I receive a free coupon code or gift card, so you can tell how often they send them!

• December 13, 2011: Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom, $1.96
• December 13, 2011: Hungry Girl’s 300 under 300, $2.99
• November 28, 2011: Rich Dad Poor Dad* (see Caution below), $0.95
• June 29, 2011: Food and Wine Magazines (5 issues), $0.97
• May 2, 2011: State Quarters Collector Folder, $0
• March 24, 2011: Money Magazine, $0.97
• February 28, 2011: Newsweek Magazine (8 Issues), $0.97
• February 1, 2011: Field and Stream Magazines (6 Issues), $0.97
• December 27, 2010: National Park Quarters Collector Folder, $0

So for a total of $9.78 out of pocket, I received some great books and magazines for myself as well as a gift or two for others. The value for these items if I had paid full price would have been $70.73!

My Cautions to You

There have been only two negative incidents over the last year with Magazines.com that I would like to caution you about. First off, each magazine order is defaulted to be on “automatic renewal”. So when you order through the website, you need to go to your account, click on the “My Magazines” tab, and check to see if anything says “Automatic Renewal”. If a magazine says that, reply to your confirmation email or call the website to turn this off. If you miss turning it off, when it automatically renews you will receive another confirmation email (this is how I found out about this). You can call at that point and get a refund.

The other negative incident I experienced was when I ordered the book Rich Dad Poor Dad.  It was priced at $5.95, I received $5 off via a free gift card, and so I paid $0.95. Instead of receiving the book, I was quite surprised to get a mini-edition! I looked back at the description and noted that it did not specify anywhere that it was the mini-edition of this book. I used their Live Chat to discuss my displeasure at the mis-advertisement and clarified with her that not all of their books are mini-editions. Hopefully the customer service representative will take my comment into consideration and specify “mini-edition” on any products that are not the full-sized version (she said they would be changing this in the description for Rich Dad, Poor Dad based on our conversation).

Do you have any experience with Magazines.com?  

Part of the Yakezie Carnival at Prairie Eco Thrifter, the Carnival of Financial Camaraderie at My University Money, Totally Money at Family Money Values, the Carnival of Wealth at Control Your Cash, the Carnival of Financial Planning at Skilled Investor Blog, and the Carnival of Retirement at Retire By 40.

This year my husband and I are hosting a holiday party. We hope to have around 20 family members and friends coming over and are very excited! I have a number of frugal and festive ideas that will dress our home for both the holidays as well as our party and thought I would share in case any interest you.

The Christmas Tree

First of all, let’s start with the tree. The IKEA in our area is selling Christmas Trees for $20 this year! This is a better price than the competitor’s ads around our home, and also better than chopping our own Charlie Brown tree down from the backyard (yes…that was our tree in 2009!). (Correction–they had trees for $20; they sold out on the second day and we did not snag one!). We all ready have Christmas bulbs because my mother purchased a Christmas bulb once a year for each of us kids from the year we were born until we turned 18. We’ll be using these for our tree decorations this year. If you do not have a stash of bulbs to decorate with, I would suggest going to a craft store like Hobby Lobby and Michael’s because you’ll likely get a better price than department stores and can use the weekly 40% off/one item coupon in Sunday papers to save even more.

Another fun garnish for the tree or door frames is to make popcorn and cranberry strands. Also, you can make a twig star or two to decorate your tree, serve as your tree’s star, or nestle into corners around your home.

Lighting

Lighting, and specifically candlelight, can add so much to a home or room for a very small amount of money. Not only are we getting our tree at a great price, but when we trim the bottom branches we will use them as evergreen garnish on each of our windowsills. In the middle of the garnishes I am going to place $0.99 glass votive holders that I purchased for half price and fill each with a tea light candle. We did this a few years ago and it felt so warm and cozy. Also, during the drought several of our smaller trees died along our fence line. What did we do? We made lemonade out of lemons by chopping up the trees into logs and placing them in a basket around our fireplace for decoration (as well as to burn). We also filled another basket with branches for decoration. One of the branches was in a beautifully peculiar shape, so I affixed tea light candles to it and will use it for a centerpiece.

A roaring fire will be in our fireplace all throughout the party (as well as on other nights throughout this winter).

Punches of Color

For punches of holiday color throughout our home, we filled a large glass container with red colored Christmas bulbs. You could use green, purple/lime/blue (my sister used these colors on her tree several years ago and it was magnificent!), or whatever colors reflect the rest of your decorations. We also are filling two smaller vases with green and silver Hershey Kisses—this serves as decoration for the party as well as food! Get creative with sources of color: you could use cranberries, holly leaves, red/green M&Ms, whole nuts, green limes, etc. For discounted glass containers you can use vases from flower deliveries you’ve had in the past, or sift through thrift stores.

Bringing More Natural Elements Indoors

I wanted to purchase pinecones a few years ago to place in a bowl, but my husband had a much better alternative—go on a walk and pick them up ourselves! We found more than enough, got some exercise, spent time together, and it was all free. I am debating about whether or not to spray paint the pinecones in the season’s colors, or to leave them natural (we are leaning towards natural as that is our style).

Finally, we were going to purchase mistletoe to place above a doorframe. But then I found out that mistletoe grows in the wild in Houston! I gathered some from the property of a yoga retreat center I recently visited and it looks fantastic.

When decorating this holiday season remember that using inexpensive things like candlelight and natural elements can add a whole lot of charm and enjoyment for you and your family.

Have you ever met someone who chases after electronics? They seem to survive in a whirlwind of batteries, plugs, beeps, vibrations, and the occasional sidewalk wrap-around product debut line. This is not a financial sin by any means—so long as that person has the money to do so—but you could certainly save money and some aggravation by waiting to purchase a “new” electronic until it is deemed “old” in technology years where products age much more quickly than dogs. That is because there are known truths of electronics: prices always drop, and the technology always gets better. It just takes time, and typically not much at that. Let me show you what I mean.

MP3 Player - iPod

The iPod was introduced to the market on October 23, 2001 at a price of $399. It had 5 Gigabytes of storage, and could only work on Macs. On July 17, 2002, just 9 months later, the price of a 5 GB iPod drops to $299. At this point there is also a 10GB model being offered at $399 (twice the memory of the first model for the same price), and a 20GB offered at $499. The 10GB and 20GB models are equipped with an improved user interface: a new touch-sensitive Scroll Wheel instead of an actual moving wheel (which early users found to damage easily). On April 28, 2003 the third generation of iPods was introduced. This time the price points came down more again with the added bonus of increased storage:  10 GB ($299), 15 GB ($399), and 30 GB ($499). These third generation iPods also work on Macs or PCs, and had touch-sensitive controls. Of course today you can get an 8 GB iPod Nano for $149, or a 2 GB iPod Shuffler for $49.

It is possible that by 2002, just 9 months after rushing out to purchase the first generation of iPods, you would have felt “behind the times” all ready, with your possibly damaged $399 product.

Flash Drives

Flash drives were outside of my budget when I lived in Florida near my aunt and uncle (2006-2008). I remember many dinner table conversations with Uncle Andy where we touted the latest 8 GB flash drive prices. I was horrified at the $80+ price tag when I first moved to Florida, and then near the end of my time there, Uncle Andy had announced that he had found a price of under $20. That is more than a $60 price drop in less than two years.

The first flash drive product (available commercially on December 15, 2000) provided 8 MB of storage. I have researched for hours and could not find the price of this first product (does anyone know either from a link or from personal experience in purchasing one?). However, the first generation of flash drives had a short estimated lifespan due to device fatigue from too many read-write cycles, and came with only a one year manufacturer warranty (warranties for flash drives now can be found for five years). Less than three years later you could purchase one with 128 MB for $33. Today, you can get 8 GB for under $10.

e-Book Reader – Kindle

The first Kindle (e-book reader) was introduced in 2007 for $399. This device had 250 MB of storage, and had expandable storage through an SD Card slot. The Kindle 2 was introduced in February 2009 for $359 months before being reduced to $299, and then months before another reduction to $259 ($140 cheaper than the debut product less than two years earlier). This model offered 2 GB of internal storage. In 2011, you can purchase a Kindle for $79 (ad-supported) and $109 (non-ad supported).

It appears that different versions of the Kindle throughout the last several years have waivered in price (for example, the Kindle DX Graphite was produced after the Kindle 2 in July 2010 and cost $489 before being reduced to $379; then just one year later the price of the new model cost $79). So while this example does not necessarily show a continual reduction in price, each of the generations of Kindles saw an improvement in the product design and use. Overall, the price dropped by approximately $320 from 2007-2011.

Flat Screen LCD Televisions

As this article from CNN shows, 32” LCD flat screen Televisions averaged a staggering $1,566 in 2005. One year later they averaged nearly half of that at $873. If you had delayed your purchase by just one year, you could have saved yourself $693. By 2010, the average price was $374.

Being the first to purchase new electronics really puts you at two disadvantages: you are not getting the product at its peak when all of the glitches have been ironed out and maximum capabilities have been added in, and you are paying a very high price. Of course the people who are brave enough to purchase the first generation of a new electronic allow for the improvement of future generations of products, as well as for the reduction in price for the rest of us. If you don’t wish to be this person, something that you might want to consider this holiday season is purchasing last year’s model—unless your recipient is one of the people on the electronic treadmill. In that case, I might go with a nice pair of wool socks (those haven’t gone out of fashion yet, right?).

I was in college when Napster was in its heyday and sharing music among peers was all the rage. When shopping for my first computer for freshman year, I remember how important it was to me that it could burn CDs because back then (not that long ago—2001) CD burners were not standard equipment in all desktop computers (MP3 what?). Perhaps it used to seem like a legal activity to share and download free music, but culture and my respect towards and willingness to pay for people’s creativity have changed. Also, who can forget the woman who was fined $1.9 million for illegally downloading free music, or $80,000 per song?

Still, I am almost never an advocate of paying full price, especially when releasing free music is good marketing for the artist, the record label, companies, and various websites. Now that I have my own iPod Shuffle, I wanted to see if it was still possible to get free music online legally.

Companies that Sponsor Free MP3s

Starbucks gives away a free MP3 through iTunes each week. You can find the display on the counter of participating locations (it is on a card the size of a credit card). The free song can be downloaded in the coffee shop, through the Wi-Fi Landing Page, or directly from the iTunes store. iTunes offers free songs each week.  Also, Amazon.com offers free music to download. Finally, Spinner.com offers a free download of the day sponsored by AOL.

Artists Who Give it Away

Artists upload their own music to music.download.com, and there are about 25 pages of free downloads available. Also, it is becoming trendy to give away albums for free. Such big names as Coldplay, Radiohead, and Prince have done this in recent years. It is best to keep your eyes out on the websites of your favorite artists to see if they join in the movement for their next album.

Websites to Check Out

For classical music by specific composers, check out Classiccat.net, a website that indexes the web’s free classical MP3 downloads. A great place for Indie music is Epitonic.com where editors hand pick songs to feature from artists, and the Indie artists give permission for free downloads. For some free Indie Christmas Music downloads, check out Feelslikechristmas.com. The music is categorized by vocal, instrumental, traditional, and contemporary.

Public Domain Music

Music that is part of the Public Domain—because the intellectual property rights have expired,the intellectual property rights are forfeited,or the music is not covered by intellectual property rights—is free for downloading. Wikipedia is a great place to start to find songs in the Public Domain. Another great place to search is the Internet Archives for audio music for music from the early 20^th century.

Free Music Archives also offers free downloads under Creative Commons and other licenses.

On Demand Streaming

If you are looking to just listen to your favorite music over the computer perhaps at work or while cooking, there are several internet services that offer this for free. Pandora allows you to create your own music stations to listen to based on a small selection of songs or artists you provide. Live365 offers free online music listening without commercials. Two other websites to try are Jango and Shoutcast.

While you may not be able to find the all of the newest music for downloading, you could certainly fill your computer, CD player, or MP3 player with an array of free, legal music. As a final note, you can also score iTunes gift cards for free from places like Swagbucks (my referral code), your credit card/debit card rewards points, and other services that give reward points to use towards free gift cards.

It started in late September during the final load of “my-mom’s-coming-to-visit-better-get-things-clean-including-rugs” laundry. I put the last load of wash in and headed into the shower. When I came out I was met with a pile of drenched, semi-cleaned rugs and an inch of water on the laundry room floor. By rerunning the load I immediately saw what was happening: as water went into the basin it immediately filtered out onto the floor.

Over the weekend I called a washer repairman. After describing to them the issue they theorized that it was a bad water pump and estimated that the cost of fixing the washer would be $150. This was the washer and dryer set that the previous owners had left us (thank you!), and they had lasted us two years while we recovered financially from a down payment on our home, a few renovations, and paying off all of our non-mortgage debt. While repairing would be the cheapest option, these machines are definitely older and we thought it was not best to sink money into them.

This led us to somewhere I had not been since my post-college, first apartment days: the Laundromat. Back in 2005 I had this great routine that really optimized my time on Saturday or Sunday afternoons. I would put two loads of wash in simultaneously, read a magazine, then as soon as I switched them over to the dryer I would go directly next door and grocery shop. By the time I was finished at the grocery store my loads were dry. I folded them, lugged everything out to the car and called it a day. How nice and simple! Now our routine is different though. Over the last month and a half Paul and I have rotated turns at the Laundromat, typically on Sunday afternoons. I’ve had a lot of time to think in the Laundromat, and thought I would share these thoughts with you from the perspective of an outsider (i.e. previous owner of a washing machine).

Laundromat Economics

First off, Laundromats seem to be one of the great equalizers as far as time is concerned. I saw both single people with their over-the-shoulder laundry sack as well as large families with several filled trash cans rolling behind them both get their laundry done within the same time frame because of being able to simultaneously use 1-5 (or more) machines. Aside from getting bogged down during the folding phase, this seems to be quite a time saver for large families.

However, in my opinion the costs of using a Laundromat are substantial. Here is how this Laundromat’s costs broke down:

• Largest Washer: 14 quarters, or $3.50
• Triple Loaders: 10 quarters, or $2.50
• Regular Loads (a bit smaller than our washer at home): 4 quarters, or $1.00
• Dryer: 1 quarter for 8 minutes

In my old Laundromat days, I used to pay $3.50 per week (I remember trying to think of how to save money on this cost even back then!). For us to do our two loads per week as well as to dry them it averaged us $10.00—this is an average because it depended on the type of machine that was available. It would have been extremely cheaper to use the $1 machine that is roughly the size of ours at home (it is smaller, but I was okay with cramming); however, there were only six of these machines and they were constantly in use (for obvious reasons). We eventually minimized the $10.00 per week to around $5-$7 by just washing the clothes at the Laundromat and then using our dryer at home.

Another high cost is forgetting your soap, which at $8.00 for XXX ounces, is a hot commodity here. We forgot the soap one time and after I saw the price (and gasped!) I drove the one mile home to pick up my own.

Losing Money, Literally

I think they are running some sort of scheme with their machines as there are many without signs of “Out of Order” that will eat your change and the manager—the only person who would have a key to the coin box for the machine—is conveniently never around. Every single week, without fail, I lost money inside of a machine. And every week, without fail, I was denied a refund. Sometimes it was user error, like when I got to watch $2.50 swooshing around in an empty triple front loader because I put the money in first and the machine locked up and did its business. Regardless, I thought it was poor customer service on their part to put us out about $5.50. Fortunately for us there was a learning curve and by last week I only test-drove 1 quarter before realizing I was at a machine that would not work.

New Washer/Dryer, or Laundromat?

Over the entire month I estimate that we spent $30 on our laundry. If we had not used our own dryer, that would have been approximately $40, or $480 for the year. There is water and electricity (or gas) use for running a washer and a dryer as well, but it appears that you could purchase a new set and be paid back within two years (if you do two loads a week), or sooner if you have a larger family. For example, some of the families at the Laundromat were using 5 washers at once; at five loads of laundry per week (estimated at $80+ per month), their investment would be paid off in less than a year. Every year afterwards would be a nice return on the investment. And of course it is always much more convenient to own your own set. Before the washer broke down, I had a great routine of laundry on Friday mornings (I work a compressed Monday-Thursday schedule). It was almost a mental obstacle to figure out when to go to the Laundromat, pack everything up, and to actually do it.

In the end, we decided unanimously to purchase a new or new-used washer and dryer (the dryer is not going to last more than a year as sometimes I have to repeat half the time to get our clothes dry). To our local money-eating Laundromat, it’s been real. Sorry, but you’ve lost yourself another customer to the home washing machine.

Other Articles You May Enjoy:

Our $300 Pile of Laundry
DIY Laundry Room Renovation Results