Things I got for free in November!

I have become the coupon Queen and have been seeking out and taking advantage of any free things that I come upon...

1. I babysat for my friend Juliet's kids and she graciously made me dinner, brought me a bagel and juice the next morning at work, and brought me homemade lunch another day. So, three meals for a few hours of hanging out with her supercute and fun kids.
2. A pair of underwear from Victoria's Secret-I don't know how I got on their coupon mailing list, but it's the best thing I ever did.
3. A steak dinner and two blueberry martinis from Outback Steakhouse from my yearbook rep. Being the yearbook adviser has it's perks. (Okay, that might be the only one. But it was a good one!)
4. A venti caramel apple cider from Starbucks (leftover from the birthday coupon stash.) If you register your Starbucks card online they mail you a free drink coupon on your birthday.
5. Free meal at Wahoo's-there was a coupon for their birthday celebration. Yum!
6. Read Nick Hornby's newest book sitting in Borders over a few afternoons. They wouldn't fill the place with comfy chairs if they didn't want me to sit and read!
7. Went to see Fame at the new Gold Class Cinemas in Pasadena. They needed to "practice" before the real opening, so I got to see a free movie, sit in an amazing recliner, enjoyed a free "pressed Cuban sandwich" and a free diet coke. Awesome.
8. Brave New World, for book club. I used my Amazon Mechanical Turk money to get it. :)

So there you go...I also started subscribing to The Freebie Blogger website and will be expecting some freebies my mail in the weeks to  come. Anyone else have an freebies to share?

Temptation

This morning I checked my email to see Amazon.com's Black Friday ad. My first mistake was clicking on the DVD link. There are some awesome deals! I mean, really, if I were in the market for those DVDs or needed them as gifts, this would be an entirely different post. But, there is a ban on shopping until the credit cards are paid off, and I've already planned what to get my family for Christmas. So, the following mental argument was taking place....

Bad, Irresponsible, Self: "Wow! The Office Season 4 is only $12.99! That's a great deal. I should get it."
Logical, Wise, Self: "No. You don't need to spend the money. Plus, there would still be shipping to pay."
BIS: "Not if I spend $25, then shipping is free!"
LWS: "See? You are just going to spend even more. You don't have the Mechanical Turk money or the Swagbucks for it yet. Don't buy it."
BIS : "But I'm saving money if I buy it today."
LWS: "No, you are still spending $12.99. Stop it."

Luckily, Logical Self won. But I pretty much repeated the same argument for a bunch of other movies and TV shows until I really wised up and closed the window on my browser. I think that's  a trap I really used to fall into, "I'm saving money by buying this!" No, you are still spending money. The only way you are saving is if it was something you needed and it's on sale.

I miss shopping, by the way. If you can't tell. :/

No Drive Days

I am working on having more and more No Drive Days. It's pretty much what it sounds like-days where I don't drive my car. I am in a carpool for work with two other people, so I can avoid driving to work a decent amount. (Of course, being teachers, we aren't always ready to leave at the same time and are on different committees; but the carpooling certainly helps). My goal for 2010 is to have 100 days where I don't drive my car at all. I know there are cities where this would be common; but I'm a Californian. We really like to drive.

Today I had a no-drive day. I hung around the house most of the day, to be honest. But, this evening I decided to walk to Ralphs to buy the ingredients for my green bean casserole that I am preparing for Thanksgiving. I bundled up, loaded This American Life onto my ipod, and walked to the store.

The result-I listened to a great podcast, got a little exercise, didn't buy more than I needed at the store (didn't want to carry it!), helped the environment, and saved some cash by walking instead of driving. Well worth it!

Shopping and lunch for free?

YES.

1. Print this coupon for The Limited. If you can find something not marked down and not jewelry for less than $15, it will be free. I am off to see if this feat is possible.

2. Wahoo's is celebrating their birthday TODAY ONLY. Go to their website, click the banner at the top of the page, and print your coupon for a free number 1 combo with side salad.

You're welcome.

Swag Bucks???

I am Swag Bucks' newest fan! Sign up is easy and you earn bucks by doing searches. The bucks can be redeemed for items or gift cards. I plan on combining my Swag Bucks with my Amazon Mechanical Turk earnings to buy the newest season of Big Love when it comes out (or I guess I should say when I have earned enough). Definitely easier than Mechanical Turk and seems less gimicky. Click the box below to join...I get bucks when you join if that's any incentive. :)

The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth...

I figured out how to make tracking bars thanks to Girl Makes Cents...but now it has really set in how much credit card debt I have...and that you will all know about it. Strangers, friends, familyl...it's out there. And it's embarassing, honestly. I could give the some reasons and extenuating circumstances...but if I were being honest I'd also have to admit to some Starbucks runs and unnecessary clothes purchases. I had pondered creating an anonymous finance blog to avoid this embarassment, but I thought about it and I think there is some value in admitting the truth. So many people I know are in credit card debt...but it's totally taboo to admit it and to admit the amount.

My name is Jessica and I am in just over $5,000 of credit card debt.

But, I am determined to get out of it. The last two months have been productive in getting on the right track and paying down my debts. And, if nothing else myabe my people will realize why I am saying no to going out to dinner, to getting drinks, and why I haven't clothes shopped since August (clothes shopping is banished until all my credit card debt is banished).

So, there it is. The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

New Blog...

Hello Blog Readers...

This is my Brand New Blog! I decided to make a separate blog dedicated to personal finance, since I know some of my friends probably have very little interest in reading about my money, while other readers are only interested in reading about finance and not my personal musings.

Ta-da!

The goal of this blog is to motivate myself and others to live more frugally. I have really enjoyed and been inspired by reading other people's personal finance blogs, and I am hoping to be part of the PF blogging community. Also, the accountability of putting it all out there on the internet is appealing as well.

For now, I just posted some of the finance posts from my other blog, but I plan to update often, especially when I start "No Spend January."

Enjoy!

-Jess