Free Fun Fountain #1

It's spring! Who doesn't enjoy watching flowers bloom as the weather warms? We are, after all, a part of nature. We come out of hibernation and make more time to do more stuff outdoors. We re-enter the world as explorers, as fun-seekers, and as recessionistas.

Hence, the hunt for free fun begins. Not to worry, I've got a scroll of fun free things to do for all ages. A Monday through Sunday guide to free fun. This will be one of many - the free fun fountain keeps flowing as the heat rises. This week's free fun list highlights cultural events in New York City ranging from art to science to animal appreciation. Check them out below then check them out for real. Have fun, honey!

Free Fun Fountain List #1: Free Culture in NYC
Monday: Tour the Fed
That's right, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York hosts free tours on the half hour Monday - Friday from 9:30am to 2:30pm. How timely, no?

Tuesday: Go Very Green
Visit the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. It's free every Tuesday, and it's so gorgeous. You'd be a fool to miss out. Open 8am to 6pm.

Wednesday: Be an Animal!
Or at least hang out with a wide variety of them at the famous Bronx Zoo! It's pay-what-you-wish every Wednesday. And don't be intimidated by their "suggested donation", just about everybody there on Wednesdays pays nothing. Enjoy!

Thursday: KidArt Time!
Gather the children...yours, your sister's, your friend's, or your inner and pay a free visit to the Children's Museum of the Arts. It's free Thursdays from 4-6pm and it's an excuse to let loose, be creative and have immeasurable fun.

Friday: How Very Modern
You can't be a New Yorker, even if only visiting for a week, unless you spend some quality time at the MOMA. It's free every Friday from 4-8pm, so you'd better go.

Saturday: More For the Kiddies
If you can make it before 11am, the Brooklyn Children's Museum offers free admission (both Saturday and Sunday). I've gone as an adult with no children...it's fun, but be prepared for the question, "where are your children"? If you don't have any of your own, now's a great time to help a friend gain peace of mind by offering to babysit.

Sunday: Drop Science
Again, if you can make it there between 10-11am, the New York Hall of Science is free for you! I know that's early, and trust me, I wouldn't recommend it if it weren't a smackload of fun. Expect an adventure for the mind. A guaranteed thrill for inquisitive types.



On another note, the Metropolitan Opera ("the Met") is offering tickets as low as $20. Ever been to the opera before? May be worth a visit...plus an excuse to dress up ;)

Start the New Year Off Right - at the library!

Just because we graduate from school and enter into the real world does not mean that we must automatically rely solely on Netflix and Barnes and Noble for all our storytelling needs. Hello! Don't - forget - to - use - your - library card!

Show of hands, how many of you actually have your local library card? Now, how many of you actually use it, say, at least once a month? If you're still raising your hand, this post is not for you. Pat yourself on the back and browse through the archives for some information that you may find helpful. The rest of you, read on because I'm concerned. I think you have a problem. Why are you paying for books and movies when there are these buildings all over town that are letting folks borrow them for free? I don't mean to sound harsh. Trust me, I was one of you. Foolishly paying for things like books and movies. But recently I've made the switch back to the stacks.

Now, I totally understand the "I want it now" philosophy, especially when it comes to movies. The selection at the library pales in comparison to that of Blockbuster, Netflix and, don't forget Hollywood Video (I had a love affair in college with their $1 five day rentals!). But if you're looking to find a good DVD you can snuggle up to on your couch with some hot cocoa and your boo - then I think it's worth a stop.

And if you're among the book reading population then there is one word for you: Duh!
Just stop it with the Dalton and the B&N. When you finish a book, do you really then need to let it collect dust on your bookshelf in your tiny apartment? And if you happen to be one of those people with books in storage, this post is especially for you.

They make it real easy these days. Many public libraries have their directories online. You can check to see if your book is available and hold it. In many cases, you can even have a book sent to your local library if it happens to be at a further branch.

Just remember to return your items on time because unlike Netflix, the library will charge you a late fee!

Now get to borrowing!

Hard Times = Back to School or Persuing Dreams

Layoffs. Everyone knows at least five people affected by them. And some of us know first hand. It's clear to most of us that things aren't going to get any better in the job market anytime soon. So what are people doing? Going back to school. Spending the economic downtime to cultivate skills and amass advanced degrees in the hopes that, upon graduation, the market will be optimistic and with better qualifications, a job will not be too far away. Those of us who can get student loans, that is. Kinda sucks when the job market is low and no one's getting approved for credit, no matter how high your FICO score.

For those of you out there surviving in the working world - best of luck. To those of you busy with college applications - best of luck. And for the rest of you, I ask...what is it that you've always wanted to do but never got around to it?

Seriously. Everyone's got some crazy "unrealistic" dream lying around. What's yours?
I feel like now, more than ever is your time to invest in yourself. Not necessarily in your "job-ready" self, but in your spirit. Often times it doesn't cost much to begin to pursue a dream, it just takes a lot of time. And time, many of us are finding more and more of since we're getting laid off. I say take advantage of this time allotted to ourselves and do a little dream chasing.

I promise to keep you posted on ways to make your life enjoyable, and, of course, ways to cut back financially while still being fabulous so that you can be free to hone the talents inherent within.

For now, here's a little inspiration...

Money on the Side Hustle

In case you haven't noticed - our collective economic stability is crumbling all around us. Our world is trying really hard to pay its bills and keep its job. America, in particular has been living way beyond its means for far too long. I hear the chant of my grandmother's pastor playing over and over in my head. "Live within your means, live within your means" he would have everybody repeat three times every Sunday.
And speaking of Christ, there are holidays coming up and all the retailers are crapping in their pants because suddenly, everyone wants to get creative this year and make handcrafted gifts. Even the tech industry is biting the bullet. Talk about a dry spell.
And you can't blame us. Layoffs are the new promotions and aside from gas, not much else is getting cheaper. Have you purchased a carton of eggs lately?!
My point is...how are we expected to live our lives as normally as possible under these ridiculous circumstances? We're not accustomed to living within our means - therefore, we must grow more means.
Here are some examples of ways to make a couple extra bucks. They're simple, require very little effort and can sometimes be interesting. And anybody can do them (no special talents needed):

University Psychology Experiments
Wait, wait. I know it sounds crazy. But I've done these before - there are no needles or other physically intrusive instruments. Mostly these experiments involve a written questionnaire or time spent looking at and responding to images on a screen. This is level A of the 'money on the side' hustle (aka "MOTSH") and can gain anywhere from $10-$50 per hour for experiments that last 1-3 hours, and I've seen returns as high as $500 for overnight sleep studies. More for 'effects of skydiving' studies - plus they pay for your whole skydiving experience (lessons included). Check your local university psychology department walls for posts. Take notes and start making contact. In NYC, I recommend NYU and Columbia.

Get focused
Focus groups. Every smart company needs at least one of these. Basically, companies across the spectrum like to test out the habits of their audiences, and they do this by assembling focus groups of about 10-15 people who they consider to be their "target market". They sit you down and ask you a bunch of questions about...your favorite soft drink...how often you drive during the summer...which shaving cream textures you're most comfortable with. These normally last up to two hours and pay on average $100/hr. And you usually get to walk away with a free product or two.
Check em:
Focusgroup.com
focusroom.com
findfocusgroups.com


This excerpt from the film Focus Room gives an accurate depiction of the focus room experience ;)

There are many other hustles I can list. Tutoring. eBay. Offering various skills and talents on craigslist (not in that section!). But the theme in today's entry is simplicity. Hustles that require very little thinking, cuz face it, sometimes we need to just veg out. I don't know about you all, but my brain is on overload. I don't have a sustainable amount of energy for strategizing and planning for my MOTSH.
If you have some similar MOTSH's, please share in the comments space.

$MH Manifesto

I know I haven't been a loyal blogger these past couple of months and for that I sincerely apologize. Through these "tough economic times" I'm sure we're all struggling to find some sense of clarity and direction when it comes to our own personal finances...our stability...our capacity to maintain fabulousness. Which leads me to this, what I call the $MH Manifesto ($MH = $ave Money, Honey). Read it. Live it. Enjoy.




$ave Money Honey ($MH) is a lifestyle guide. All who follow the beliefs, attitudes and suggestions of $MH are members of a class. This class echoes a standard appropriate to the current times, faithful to the mantras set forth by the ancients, and likely to continue to set the pace in the future.
To take care of oneself - that is the shared goal of the $MH class. One's self is a masterpiece comprised of spirit, mind, body, family, friends, lovers, planet, work, finances, and fun. All must operate at high frequencies in order to achieve fabulousness. And fabulousness we all deserve. But we must respect this notion of "taking care".
Hence, this blog. $MH publishes tips on how to holistically maintain fabulousness, without breaking the bank*. The idea that spending money will bring us to higher levels of freedom is not entirely true. Oftentimes we neglect to realize the simple belief that we create our surroundings. We design our lives. We read The Secret. We pray. We also don't keep our heads in the clouds. We read Suze Orman. We know where our money is going and where its coming from and how to make sure we keep it coming in. We're smart and we seek freedom to travel, to learn, to love and to feel sensational.
We've fought hard enough, we've dreamed big enough, and we've repented where necessary. Not only do we deserve our freedom, we also deserve to be free of guilt. We've all been tricked into believing that in order for us to enjoy, someone somewhere must suffer. We've identified a very unhealthy habit of turning the other cheek on our brothers and sisters working in sweat shops, in mines, and in kitchens for unlivable wages. We've long since turned the other cheek on our environment. Being indirectly responsible for the oppression of others does not absolve us of our responsibility to care for one another. We haven't given up the possibility of creating change. "That's just the way things are" is simply not a good enough answer anymore. The $MH class is creative enough to develop and share ways of contributing to healthy habits of consumption and leisure - while still achieving fabulousness!
$MH encourages all to step lightly, think critically, and be fly.

Take Care,

$ave Money Honey


*By bank, I mean personal checking accounts, banking institutions and the world bank, alike.

Attn: Online Shopaholics!!

Thanks to this service, I have saved at least 7 hours out of every week...time that would normally be spent combing all the great sale sites for boots, handbags, pants, dresses, shirts and coats to express the changing woman I am today...or the clearance bathing suits, shorts, sandals and summer dresses to express the woman I will be on vacation this winter.

Much thanks to my homegirl for putting me on to this site. How it works: you customize your profile by letting shopittome know what items you're looking for, your favorite designers or retailers, your size, price range and whether you're shopping for a woman, man or child. Then, you receive emails from SITM twice a week, or everyday or once a week, however you'd like, featuring sale items tailored to your desires. It's basically your personal online sale shopper -- brilliant!

I just put an order in for an amazing pair of Diesel overalls...70% off. Yeah. Get into it.

www.shopittome.com honey!

It's a madhouse...

...but you need to experience the fun. I'm going this week in search of "the bag". It's my latest quest.
I know I've been MIA this summer. But in my time away, I've discovered for myself that I would very much like to operate at a higher degree of fabulous.
Higher spirituality, higher standards, higher-end fashion. I'm like a drug-free Styles-P. I'm going this week, who's shopping with me?