Free! Friday

Should you find yourself in the Boston area this summer and fall, here are a couple of free things (free= money saving!) to check out (the list focuses on stuff you'd normally have to pay for and also stuff that you might not be aware of):

1. Like movies? Free Friday Flicks (they copied my alliteration idea...jerks) every Friday night (now through August) at the Hatch Shell. Shown at sundown in good weather, click here for schedule.
2. Like Italian stuff/ the North End? Check out the Boston North End Italian Feasts (summer feasts, festivals, parades, etc., often complete with marching bands) now through August
   
3. Like the night sky? Visit the Coit Observatory at BU: Wednesdays after 8:30pm = free stargazing (times differ by season)
   
4. Like (or like to dislike) Shakespeare/ like to laugh? The complete works of William Shakespeare (abridged) to be presented OUTDOORS AT CHRISTIAN HERTER PARK (Home of The Publick Theatre) 1175A Soldiers Field Road, Brighton, MA. I can't wait to see it - apparently, it's real funny! Also, you can bring your own food to cook out! Now through August.
   
5. Like lunch? Every Wednesday, restaurants in Quincy Market with the "Taste of Quincy Market" sign offer samples as a part of their International Food Festival.
6. Like music and free samples? The WBOS Summer Concerts at Copley run on Thursdays from July 12 to August 16. Shows are free and begin at 5:30pm in front of historic Trinity Church in Copley Square Park. The August 16th one looks good: Jonatha Brooke and Matt Nathanson!
   
7. Like the Temptations and/or the Beach Boys? Oldies 103.3 has a free concert series at the hatch shell featuring those two bands. I think it's just July.
8. Like boats and free samples? Head of the Charles Regatta October 17th and 18th on the banks of the Charles. There's tons of vendors there, too, giving out free stuff.
9. Like arts? The Boston Arts Festival is Sept 11-13 noon to 6 at Christopher Columbus Park
   
10. Like wine? Best Cellars (745 Boylston St.) has free weeknight tastings from 5 to 8 p.m and on weekends 2 to 5 p.m. Oh and the Wine Gallery (375 Boylston St. in Brookline or 516 Comm Ave in Boston, or the one in Dedham) always has that cool tasting jukebox. Sometimes there's tasting events and stuff - check their website.
11. Like beer? There's always the free tastings and tours at the Samuel Adams Brewery in JP and at the Harpoon Brewery on Northern Ave in Boston.
    

Money saver/maker/excuse to have a BBQ: Yard Sale!

We're having a yard sale this weekend. Actually, I don't know if we can call it a "yard" sale, as there's hardly a yard where we're selling our stuff. It's more of a driveway. Does that make it a driveway sale? Probably not because then nobody would know what that was. "I'm going to go score some cheap crap at the driveway sale over on Main Street. You wanna come?" Yeah, it just doesn't have the same ring. So if not "yard" or "driveway" sale, is it a "tag" sale? This stuff's old, i.e. I ripped those tags off long ago. (Unlike a wedding guest I saw once whose tags were still on part of her dress. OH, and her hot pink bra was intentionally visible in a way that said "this is the only undergarment I'm wearing." I wouldn't want to buy that dress. Nosiree). Ok, so not tag sale either. You know what, I don't freakin know. I won't even pretend to know what the difference even is, so we're going to go with "yard" sale because that's what I saw used most on Craigslist. Thank you for listening to me think out loud.

The yard sale was mostly my idea. I know that my old tapes (yes, VHS...you know you want my copy of You've Got Mail) and computer games (for Windows 95...and earlier) aren't what you'd call "hot cakes," but 50 cents is 50 cents. Actually, I really think my old bike helmet from Costco could be worth something. It is an antique, afterall. Honestly, I really just have a lot of crap and would like to think a yard sale could assist in helping me get rid of it, as well as make me some sort of dough.

At first, it was just going to be me. Nobody was really into the idea...until the word BARBEQUE was uttered. And then people repeated it and told their friends, someone volunteered to make the burgers, another person asked what kind of keg they should get, one guy said he'd contact his circus connection and get a clown with balloon animals to show up...and then it got out of hand, reigned in, and now it's just a simple yard sale/BBQ/fiasco.

Initially, I didn't need the BBQ or other people to get excited; I would have done it if it were just me and my crap on the corner. But now that there's a few people in on it, I'm looking forward to not only getting rid of my crap and making a buck fifty; I'm looking forward to burgers and beer. AND, there's something else that's just as important as all that: Now my crap will be sold alongside other people's crap, and honestly, my crap feels pretty good about that. I also feel good about that because it makes me feel like less of a homeless person.

Really the moral of the story is that I'm excited to eat burgers, drink beer, and watch people buy my crap! I just hope it doesn't rain. That could add a dimension to this whole mess that I'm not really prepared for. After all, you can't have circus clowns and animals drinking beer in the rain.

Money Saver: Being Unemployed?

I was thinking more about how to save money and realized that being unemployed is saving me money. Oh sure, I don't have an income other than my weekly gift from the Commonwealth and that's really not financially ideal. But, by not going to work, I save money because:

• I don't have to buy lunch (not that I could at my last job because I'd have to drive miles to one of the 3 closest Chinese places, but you get the idea)
• Like Trent mentioned, I don't have to spend money to de-stress as much. I'm still stressed (in a below-the-surface, mild kind of way) about not having a job, but I don't come home and burst into tears because I hate my job so much
• I don't have to fill up my tank once or twice a week (or for those of you who take public transit, you don't have to buy a monthly pass. Plus, you also don't have to deal with the smelly people during summer rush hour. That's an emotional sanity boost right there)
• I have more time to do all those healthy things Trent was talking about, which apparently save me money
• I have time to do things that I enjoy and that can potentially make me money, like entering writing contests and such
  
• I have time to do free things, like beer and wine tastings that happen between 5 and 6pm when I would normally be driving home from work
• I'm not at work, so I'm not being bullied into contributing to my boss's Christmas or birthday gift (look for this on a future Memory Monday...)
• Also, without an income, I'm focusing on more general ways to save money (as you could tell by my last 2 posts or so)
• I don't need to hire a dog-walker for the little idiots because I'm here all day
• I don't get sucked into stores on my way home from work, reducing window shopping and impulse buying

That's like $300 a week right there! I should look on the bright side more often!

Money Saver: Trent's list

I just found some more great tips for saving money in this list. For the most part, it really is quite good. I already do some of the stuff, like making meals at home, making a list before going to the store, repairing or reusing old clothing, etc.

There are, however, a few items on that list with which I have a bone to pick. Here are the top 3:

29. Don't spend money just to de-stress.
What is this Trent talking about here? I found the explanation a little vague, as he never explained what the money was spent on. Booze? Gambling? Yoga? Hookers? It could be anything! Maybe Trent was being purposefully vague so we could fill in our own blanks. If that's the case, I'd fill it in with Cadbury Creme Eggs because every time I eat one, I forget my joblessness and get lost in the Sea of Oooey-Gooiness. And you're telling me to give these up, Trent? How dare you?

51. Don't fear leftovers, jazz them up.
In this tip, he suggests actually *gasp* eating your leftovers. Why people seem to think this is a 'suck it up and just do it' kind of task, I'm not sure. I would like to point out that this is really easy to do if you make good food in the first place. Revolutionary, I know, but somebody had to say it. Also Trent, I worry about your suggestion to "chain," or use leftovers for the basis of an all new dish. When Jess was growing up, her mother used to do this. She called these creations casseroles, a word that to this day causes Jess to run from the room screaming, crying, and pulling out her hair. Such casseroles often included white rice from Chinese food over the weekend, pasta from dinner last night, salsa, a layer of tuna fish from lunch three days ago, and leftover veggies that were just about hangin' on, all baked in a casserole dish and topped with a layer of grated Parmesan cheese. Her heart was in the right place, but soon her family members' stomachs were not. So Trent, I'm surprised and dismayed that you would suggest this kind of indigestion.

65. Cut your own hair.
Are you kidding with me right now, Trent? I mean, maybe you're a hairdresser, who knows? Maybe you can pull it off, like this guy (if you watch no other part of this video, please fast forward to minute 5:40 or so...).

Or maybe you can't and you end up looking like this doityourselfer. Trent says practice makes perfect, but what about the first time when you end up with this do? No, I will not be adding "cut my own hair" to my list of Pamscaping activities, thank you.





Other than these three biggies, though, Trent's list was pretty good. I think most of the items can be summed up into:

• Don't buy stupid crap you don't need/Stop living like a rock star and live within your means
• Buy the generic brand of crap you need in bulk and freeze most of it
• Buy smart, like an old person (read: be cheap-- use coupons, camp out for sales, etc.)
  
• Be healthy, because there are a lot of indirect ways that can save you money
  

Money saver: Join a community band

As you may or may not remember, I've been a member of the Brookline Community Band for a few years now. Most of our performances are at retirement/ rehab/ convalescent homes. We sometimes get paid...in sugar-free cookies, fruit cups, and water. I love it. It reminds me a little of visiting my late grandparents. That is, without the smoke and the back-scratcher.

But then it gets better. In spring, there's the annual pancake breakfast. Put on by the Brookline Rotary Club, it's basically a benefit for some of the high school's sports teams and such. We play at the event every year, and every year we get free admission. That means free all-you-can-eat pancakes! And not only pancakes: there's breakfast sausage too, and you can add all sorts of toppings (like whipped cream and raspberry sauce. Also pancake syrup for the less adventurous). Then, you can wash the deliciousness down with Starbuck's coffee, OJ, chocolate milk, or apple juice. And it's all free! What a money saver! This year, I considered staying and having pancakes for lunch, too, but all my fellow bandies had left and I thought it might look a little weird if I stayed.

Yesterday was another money saver brought to me by the Brookline Community Band: Our annual performance at the Boston Marathon.

random marathon shot...I think about 2 feet to the right of where the shot gets cut off was a guy dressed as Captain America

It was rather chilly and quite windy yesterday, which made playing difficult, but I had NO problem housing my subsequent free hot dog, Doritos, and can of Pepsi.

So what is the moral of the story? Join a community band! The benefits might not always be healthy, but they're delicious and they're free!

Another useful money saver that is somewhat related? This free sample blog.
Excellent.