Think Outside The Piggy Bank

black friday and buy nothing day AGAIN

Good grief. I was going to add a pithy post about Black Friday/Buy Nothing when I decided that I had better check and see if I had written anything last year, and lo and behold I had even come up with the same post title! (Now changed a bit of course.) But there's no point in restating what I said about Black Friday a year ago, so if interested, have a gander at last year’s post. Alternatively, take a look at why one person feels we really SHOULD shop on Buy Nothing Day. And if you are absolutely determined to drop your dollars, why, then you might as well drop in on the box below. ;)

razor-sharp thinking

It is vain to do with more what can be done with less. --WILLIAM OF OCCAM (1300-1350)

 

see Occam’s Razor

think inside the mouse

So I nearly killed my mouse the other day. No, not that kind of mouse (I'm vegan after all), but the mechanical one that you probably have your own hand on right now. It had been giving me trouble lately and I could barely get it to point to where I needed it to go. Even dragging was well, a drag, as it would only drag down and to one side. Finally I got so frustrated that in a fit of computer rage (yelling, "Bad, bad mouse!" -- as if that would really help) I slammed it several times on its pad (because you know, I couldn't throw it against the wall like I really wanted to do), when I remembered that I should probably just clean it. That, as you likely know, involves removing the ball inside and scraping the little bars with your fingernail of any dirt. Unfortunately that didn't do the trick, so I sadly pronounced the mouse dead and had my unofficial computer tech give me another one. But before attaching the new mouse I decided to open her up (note: vegans are officially opposed to opening up real mice, snort) and compared her to the old one. Sure enough I discovered that I'd overlooked the little white wheel and after cleaning that as well (a pesky job I admit), the old mouse glided across her pad like a graceful young figure skater and was as good as new.

The moral of this mouse tale? Computer mice get dirty on the inside real quick, and even though they're inexpensive to replace, a bit of elbow grease will get them squeaky-clean in no time and save you both a bit of money and a whole bunch of frustration to boot.

money quirk # 2

Not sure if this counts as a quirk, but whenever I get change I always look through it to see if there is anything from out of province or country. Or old, like the penny on the left. I've been handed back coins from Bermuda, Barbados and France, and so far have quarters from the following fifteen provinces and states: Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Yukon, Northwest Territories, North Carolina, Alaska, Missouri, Virginia, Connecticut, New York, Georgia, and Massachusetts. Eventually I hope to have quarters from each state and province, so if you happen to be able to add to my collection, I'd be more than happy to exchange good old Ontario change with you! :)

licorice and thrift stores

I'm not the only one who likes thrift store shopping! Donna Freedman (excellent personal finance writer by the way) explains why in this video.

And yesterday I picked up another bargain -- licorice spice tea! Now for those of you who just raised an eyebrow or two when you saw the word licorice, know that for most Dutch people licorice (called drop in Dutch) is not only an obsession, but also practically a sacred duty, snort. Don't believe me? Visit any Dutch store in North America and you'll probably find over 50 different kinds of the sweet and salty stuff. You can even get double salted licorice! Seriously. Oh, and for those of you who have never had the pleasure of tasting Dutch licorice, it's nothing like the licorice you're used to. REAL licorice (can you tell I'm addicted and am practically salivating as I type?) has licorice root powder or extract, whereas the North American stuff is usually just flour, molasses, and anise flavouring.

Now where was I? Ah, licorice spice tea. That, by the way, doesn't have a super strong licorice taste per se, but with licorice root, cinnamon bark, orange peel, ginger root, cardamom seed, and clove bud (doesn't that sound delicious?), it's flavourful and sweet. But for some strange reason licorice tea doesn't seem to sell well here, and I often have difficulty finding it. So I was mighty pleased to see it in a drugstore the other day, and although dismayed that it was being discontinued, was more than happy to take advantage of the discount price. Instead of having to pay $6.99 per box, I paid $1.99, so promptly scooped up the remaining four boxes. I saved $20, and as mom sagely pointed out to me, that means I can buy three of those for-$6-fill-the-bag-with-clothes next time. ;)

Now tell me you don't want to eat these right THIS second!

thrift store clothes shopping

We have an excellent thrift store here in town and every once in a while they have a fill-a-bag-with-clothes-for-$6 deal. I've taken advantage of this twice already, and boy, have I lucked out. The first time I got two pairs of jeans, a bathrobe, three long-sleeved tops and a T-shirt. Yesterday I picked up one pair of jeans, a beautiful dusty rose sweatshirt, a purple long-sleeved top that I'm wearing right now because I absolutely adore the colour, a T-shirt, and two dressy shirts. Not bad eh? Brought 'em home, popped them in the wash, and now they're officially mine.

And while I've seen others stuff their bags with even more clothes, I'm picky enough that I still try everything on, and still have to really like what I buy, because even averaging at about $1 per item, I'm frugal enough to not want to waste money on anything. A former friend of mine used to always say, "Oh, at that price I can't say no", which I disagree with because there's no point buying something only because it's cheap. Unless it's something you really need or want, you should ask yourself how much clutter you have already. My technique is to not go into the store too often, because too often too many things will demand that I become their new owner! Like the book, mug and trivet who now seem to feel right at home. Still, my total bill was $7.50, and if I say so myself, I look quite ravishing in purple. ;)

7 links to keep you busy

I promised you links to worthwhile sites a couple of posts ago, and they're up and running now. Just scroll down the left-hand column until you hit Smart Reading. Here you'll find tons of ideas covering creativity, productivity, personal development, happiness, organization, purpose, passion, growth, and ways to keep more of your dollars in your wallets. There are of course countless blogs devoted to any one (or all) of these topics, but if you're like me and easily get overwhelmed by the sheer number of sites you could potentially follow, then these select few are all you'll need to get started. Enjoy!

Dr. Seuss -- I love my job!

Have posted this poem elsewhere before, but always get a chuckle rereading it, so thought I'd share it here. And I wonder how many people actually DO love their jobs. I'm sure we've all heard the stats on how many people hate their jobs, which, considering how many hours they consume, is really sad. But what would a job worthy of loving look like anyway? Interesting and challenging but not unduly stressful, compensated fairly, and good people to work both with, and for. Hmmm, I've had some of these elements in all jobs, but not all elements in even one job. Too much to ask? Ah, one of these days I'll figure out what work would suit me best. Unless I hit retirement age first, snort.

How about you? Have you ever had paid work that you loved? Or figured out what elements you need in order to love a job? Or is loving your job a luxury these days that most people just can't afford? What do you think?