Frugal

Frugal Ideas To Help Your Home Sell

We recently put our home on the market to sell. Man, do we have a lot to do to get the place in ship shape! We have been busy for the past couple of weeks doing what we could to make the place look more appealing to a potential buyer. Living there for so long we didn’t realize how much stuff we had and how many little things could be fixed. I’d be lying to say we weren’t concerned about getting a good price in today’s market!

Our goal is to make our home look as clean, big, and attractive as possible without breaking the bank! Fortunately there are many things we can do to help achieve this.

These are inexpensive ideas to help sell your home:

Paint (@MoneyMatters) – We hired someone to paint most of the place for us. It wasn’t that expensive and it’s made the place look so much bigger and brighter! We used light, neutral colors that would be appealing to most (our prior colors were great but too dark for most people’s tastes). This could be done yourself to save more. We just didn’t have the time to do it ourselves (and we got a great deal on a local painter).

Replace Light Fixtures – We replaced our dining room, bathroom, and the bedroom’s light fixtures. We bought them at Home Depot and they weren’t that expensive. Combined with the new paint job, the apartment looks much bigger than before. Add to that we used fluorescent lights so we can tell prospective buyers that the light costs will be lower.

Remove Clutter (@nomorespending)- We’ve already removed all of our CD’s and their shelves as well as our books and bookshelf. It’s really opened up the place (I have a LOT of CD’s). Remove, give away, put in storage whatever you can. Get down to the bare minimums to make the place look as big as possible and let a buyer step in and imagine it as theirs. This will also help you when you move as you will have less to box and bring with you.

Clean Carpets/Wax Floors (@thepassivedad) – Renting a machine for the day to clean your carpets can be inexpensive. Same is true for a floor buffer. There’s also less expensive cleaners you can use that may require more elbow grease but can be as effective. If you’re able add no base board molding. Basically give a buyer the thought that they don’t have to do any work on the floors if they don’t want to!

Landscaping (@misformoney)- If you have a garden or lawn space do what you can to spruce it up and make it lively! New plants don’t have to be expensive and can make the front of your home look much more inviting!

Take Great Pictures (@pffirewall) – Your home will most likely be online somewhere for sale and you will need photos of it. Make sure the photos are good quality taken at the time of the day the light is the best. Wait until you have everything ready and use a good camera. If you have a friend who’s a photography buff ask him to come over and take a few shots for you. You want big and clean! I’ve seen people post photos of cluttered rooms that make me instantly go to the next listing on the site.

Re-Grout Wall and Floor Tiles - This sounds like more work than it really is. I’ve discovered it takes some elbow grease but doesn’t cost too much. And new grout will make your tiles look almost new again. Go ahead and take a close look at how dingy they may be… I’ve been slowly re-working the tiles in our bathroom!

Replace Old Sinks, Cabinets, Faucets – You can go crazy replacing these items and spend thousands for sure. But sometimes if yours are beat up and old an inexpensive replacement will look much better than what you have. New usually equals clean and that helps a buyer!

Replace Outlet Covers and Light Switch Covers – Over the years these can get beat up and dirty. But they cost little to replace. Put these in after you have painted to keep them clean.

De-Personalize Your Home – Put away all of your photos and pictures. You can leave a few up to display but you want a buyer to walk in and imagine the place as theirs. Seeing your face all over doesn’t help that. It also helps remove the clutter too!

Read Magazines/Watch TV (@nodebtplan)- No, I’m not saying you should sit around and be lazy. What you can do is look at what homes look like in advertisements and shows. There are also plenty of home shows on TV these days to give you ideas as well. You can get a good idea of what a model home should look like.

We Need More Light! – When you are showing the home turn on the lights to make the place look bigger even if it’s during the day!

Bake Before a Showing – This one is a bit cliche but you would be amazed how well it works! We had friends over and one was helping me install a new dining room light. At the same time my wife happened to be baking a cake. It smelled amazing and really made the place feel “home”-ey. (And really how much do those instant bake cookies cost?)

Build a Website – A friend mentioned that when he was selling his Manahttan apartment he put up a quick website with some pictures and contact forms. Six months hosting isn’t very expensive and a lot of hosting companies will give you a free domain name and web site kit. He ended up selling the place himself! You can also list your home on Craiglist.

Clean, Scrub, Sweep, Repeat – Clean like a madman. Then go do it again. Then ask a neighbor or friend to point out what still seems dingy and hit the cleaners again. Make the place sparkle! The cleaner the better. A clean place tells a buyer that you take care of the home (and it makes it look great).

Empty Those Closets - As best you can clean out the closets. Again, live with the bare minimum that you need and get those closets looking as big as possible. Buyers will want to see how much of their stuff they can put in them not how much of yours!

Visit Other Homes In Your Area – Take an afernoon and go visit the open houses in your area. See what their homes look like and what they offer and the price they ask. If you see a similar place as yours take note; this is your competition and you want your place to look better! Is it cleaner? Newer? You may be surprised to find out it won’t take much to make your place look nicer.

Replace the Toilet Seat – Seriously! People will notice that it’s sparkling clean which will get you big points. Either they don’t need to get a new one themselves or they believe you keep things super-clean, you win.

Yes, it takes some work on your part to do these things. But if it will help you sell then it will more than pay off!! A couple of years ago you might have had a bidding war for a home that wasn’t all done up. But in today’s economy you have to put your best foot forward just to get the sale! Don’t let something small keep a buyer from wanting your place.

Any other ideas?

photo credit: mach3

Ask And Save On Your Cable Bill

Written by Glen Craig 44 Comments

My wife was getting sick of the cable bill.

It’s gone up recently to the point where we had to question whether it was worth keeping or not.

I mean, remember when TV was free?

Now to get reception you have to pay (at least until the digital boxes take effect in February).

So my wife said it was time to get rid of cable!

Whoa! I gotta admit, I’m an addict. I’ve been glued to the TV since I was a wee little pea. I know that’s not the best thing but I wasn’t ready to go cold turkey just yet. But I also understand that we’re spending way too much money for the privilege of watching a ton of commercials on shows we mostly don’t care too much about.

I told my wife to let me take a shot at calling the cable company to see what they can do for us.

So I grabbed our latest bill, a pen, and some paper and gave them a call.

I got a friendly woman who asked how she can help me. I asked her what can be done to lower the bill as the rates have gotten real high and we were ready to drop cable if the rates continued as they were.

Immediately she said they had a 12 month promotion that would save us $25!

Oh yeah!

I checked with the Mrs to see if this was acceptable (we’re cool like that in that we clear money issues with each other). I got the yes nod and told the woman we’d take it.

Just like that we saved roughly $25 a month on our cable!

I took the person’s name and company number in case any issues arise on the next bill. I also wrote the details down so I can refer to then when the next bill comes in.

Lesson – If you want something to change you have to ask! It won’t happen on it’s own.

Some things to keep in mind if you’re calling to change your cable bill:

Calmly but firmly state that you want to find out how your bill can be lowered.

Always remain friendly when speaking to the customer representative. If the person you get can’t help you ask to speak to their superior or someone that can.

Be nice! Customer service probably gets hundreds of calls in a day, many of which are not too friendly. Being nice can go a long way in getting what you need.

If needed, state that you are prepared to drop their service or go to another service provider. Have an example of a competitors lower prices if possible. Many companies have a customer retention department who are equipped for these kind of calls. Remember, only go the drop route if you are really prepared to drop their service.

You might not get the answer you want the first time through. Nicely hang up and call back in a few minutes to see if you get another rep.

Ask about combination packages. You might get a lower cable rate if you combine cable service with internet and/or telephone service.

Get the rep’s name and customer number or ID. They should have some sort of ID to trace the call back to them. Write down the details and repeat them back to make sure you understand correctly. Watch for deals that require a contracted time. That might not be an ideal situation for you.

Do you have any other tips? Let me know what’s worked for you!

photo credit: jessicafm

6 Ways Eating Out Less Has Made Our Family Better

Written by Glen Craig 22 Comments

As you know we are living off of one income now. It’s been a bit different but I think we’re doing well so far. One thing we’ve done to help stretch my paycheck is to cut back eating out so often. I didn’t think we ate out too much before the income switch but now I can see that we had a budget leak that could have been more savings for us. And we’ve discovered there are more benefits than saving money!

We were already in the habit of making dinner at home and having family time together. It was the weekends when we usually ate out. Saturdays were probably the worst culprits. We would get up and go to our favorite diner for breakfast. Then as we’d go and take care of things during the day we’d find lunch somewhere. This would also tend to be pretty unhealthy. I’m talking mall food here. Afterward we’d be too beat to make dinner so we go out for dinner or order in. Three meals may not seem like a lot but it would drain my wallet pretty quick! I would usually go to the bank on Friday to take money out for the weekend and often I’d find that I was broke by Sunday!

And that was just eating out on Saturday! I didn’t even get to eating out on Sunday or during the week. Sundays would usually be breakfast and lunch out again. During the week we usually ate in but if we were tired we would easily get food out!

Overall we’re really happy with the fact that we have been eating at home more.

Here are six ways eating out less has made our family better:

We have more more family time together. When we eat we eat together at the dinner table. We have more time for conversation to talk about our days. Our daughter knows that dinner time is “family dinner.” “A family that eats together stays together.

We are eating healthier. Sometimes we would eat out at a nice restaurant with great food but most of the time it would be at a chain type restaurant. Yeah, we filled up but the food wasn’t really great for us. Now the food we eat is prepared by us and we know better what the ingredients are.

We’re setting a better example for our children. By eating together at home our kids see that we don’t have to eat out for every meal and they can learn how food is prepared. This will set them up to take care of themselves later on in life.

We’re saving money. This is a big one for us. This is Free From Broke after all! It’s tough to put a dollar figure on what we’re saving but I can tell you that I don’t have to go to the ATM twice in one weekend anymore!! We’re finding that although our food shopping expenses have gone up some we still have extra money at the end of the month that we didn’t have when we ate out more often.

We’re being more efficient. Now when we go food shopping we know that everything we buy on our grocery shopping list will be used. It used to be we would go out to eat and the food we had would spoil. Even when we ate out our meals were so big most of it would go uneaten.

Our home is a home! It’s hard to explain but our home is more complete now that we eat out less. We’re using our home to it’s fullest extent. All those things we got for our wedding like salad spinners and cooking sets are being used rather than sitting up on shelves. It just feels like this is what it’s supposed to be.

It’s a shame it took our going to one income to take advantage of all of these benefits! Imagine what we could have been saving when we had two incomes?!? Or how much healthier we would have been eating?

We haven’t completely given up eating out. We still have the occasional pizza night. And we’ll get together with friends every now and then at a nice restaurant. But eating out less has definitely benefited our family in more ways than we would have thought!

I’m Saving By Bringing Lunch To Work

Written by Glen Craig 17 Comments

So as you know, we’re living off of one income now as my wife took off from her education job to stay home to raise the kids. We’ve been looking for all sorts of ways to cut expenses to make my salary stretch a little farther.

One thing I’ve started to do is bring lunch to work a few days a week.

I work in NYC. I don’t tend to go too crazy on lunches in general. I tend to stay away from the expensive restaurants. This was a habit before we were on one income. But the costs of eating in Manhattan do add up anyway. A sandwich is easily $5 at least if I go to a small deli. More if I go to a bigger establishment. Salads cost at least $7. One thing to note is that I don’t eat at fast food places such as McDonald’s, Subway, or Wendy’s. I could get cheaper lunched there but I gave up that food long ago. I try to keep my eating healthy. It could cost more at times but I think the payoff to my health is much greater in the long run!

So now my wife has been making lunch for me around three times a week. If I would have spent $5 on lunch then that saves me $15/week. That’s around $60/month or $720/year! And that’s if I only spent $5. I’m saving more if my lunches were more expensive on those days.

I also don’t buy any beverages for lunch. We have a coffee machine and water cooler at work which I use instead. This also goes back to eating healthy since I wouldn’t buy soda or sugar drinks anyway.

So there’s one way we’re making our money stretch. I’ll be telling you about others ways in future articles.

How do you stretch your money?

photo credit: the prodigal untitled13

Our Vacation To Virginia Beach And Such

Written by Glen Craig 12 Comments

We got back a few days ago from our trip to Virginia Beach. According to Google Maps this was around 380 miles and should take about 7 and 1/2 hours to get there (more on that later). We drove down on Sunday morning and came back Friday evening.

I was originally going to call this our “staycation” but it seems that staycation really means that you stay home and go to local attractions. Still, this was our first driving vacation. In previous years we would fly to our destinations. Since we just bought a new mini-van we figured it would be a great time to drive and save money on plane fare too! Virginia Beach seemed close enough to drive to from NYC and we heard a lot of great things about it.

So we packed up our stuff and put the kids in the car and left Sunday morning. Many, many hours and rest stops later we finally made it to Virginia Beach (we had a major delay at one point but more on that later). It was basically an all day drive for us, what with stops and all. One exciting about the drive was going over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel which spans 20 miles (on the way back we saw what might have been a a Navy Destroyer passing through the channel section). It was also interesting to see all of the different towns and landscapes in the different states (four total: New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia).

Virginia Beach is beautiful! Our hotel really was just two quick blocks to the beach! There was a beautiful boardwalk on the beach to walk along with a separate trail for bikes (we wanted to rent a bike for all of us but we didn’t get a chance). Within two from the beach are places to eat (the four main food sources seem to be seafood, ice cream, waffle/pancakes, and pizza), shops, a fun house, a haunted house, lots of ice cream shops, outdoor performance areas, miniature golf, and more! It was really fun to walk around at night and take in the scenery. In fact one of the performances we saw was the Edgar Winter Group at a bandstand right off the beach (we caught Frankenstein and Free Ride)!

An interesting thing we discovered was that Virginia Beach is close to a Naval base. As a result there are military jets flying routes overhead all day. Living near two airports in Queens, NY I’m used to hearing planes overhead but seeing military jets is different. The last time I saw a military jet flying was on September 11th over the Empire State Building so it brought back some somber memories. Once I got used to that though it was pretty awesome seeing the jets flying. At times we would see three together flying in close formation. If we ever go back we’ll have to tour the Naval base!

Funny story…One day my daughter wanted to go to the pool rather than go to the beach. She couldn’t quite grasp that we didn’t drive 400 miles to go to a small hotel pool! Well the beach won out. As I was playing with her, jumping waves I saw a fin a little ways off. I noticed it was a curved fin. I told I thought I saw a dolphon but wasn’t sure. She got worried thinking it could be a shark! A few minutes later I saw for sure two dolphins swim to the surface. Other people noticed it too. In all there were about four dolphins swimming around and playing a little ways off from us. We saw a couple jump out of the water and twist. We must have watched them swim around on and off for the next hour! At one point, holding my daughter up to see the dolphins, I asked her if she would have rather stayed at the pool. Begrudgingly she said no, that it was much more fun at the beach. Ha! On a similar note, I had seen dolphin watching boat rides advertised for about $20 a person. We saved a bundle by just going to the beach instead!

As well as the beach and the local scenery we also went to the Virginia Beach Aquarium and spent a day in Colonial Williamsburg. The little princess loved seeing all of the old time building and costumes.

Remember how I said Google Maps said the trip should be 7-8 hours? I’ve discovered that with two kids we have to add at least 30% to the time listed! Coming home took much longer with stops and traffic entering NYC.

The trip was a lot of fun and I would definitely consider going back to Virginia Beach but it seems for us every silver cloud has a lead lining. While driving down there we got into a car accident. We got rear ended on the highway. Our brand new car now has a dent in the front and a smashed in rear door. No one was hurt and the car runs but it really hurts to have a new car get beat up like that. The accident was the other person’s fault and insurance should cover the repairs but it did put an ill feeling over the trip. We even considered going back home after the accident but we’re glad we went through with the trip.

In all I think we saved money by not flying off someplace. We certainly spent money but it was less than we would have flying to a Caribbean locale.

Accident aside, we had fun and I think we have more driving trips in our future. As you can see from the Frugal Things To Do series there’s so much to see and do in this country! Even a couple of days before the big trip we went out to Sesame Place and a couple of weeks earlier we went to the Bronx Zoo.

Do You Have Frugal Tips For Your City?

Written by Glen Craig 3 Comments

If you’ve been keeping up on things then you know the Money Life Network has just finished our series “Frugal Things To Do In…” where we listed out great things to do in each of the cities we live in. Check out the great map showing all of our locations!

Things is though, there’s only seven of us in the Money Life Network and that barely puts a dent in the map. We need your help to fill the map up! If you have a blog then write about frugal things to do in your city , link back to us and contact us and we’ll add you to our map.

Check out the Money Life Network cities:

Frugal Things To Do In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – Sense To Save
Frugal Things To Do In St. Augustine, Florida – Remodeling This Life
Frugal Things To Do In Washington, D.C. – Milk Your Money
Frugal Things To Do And See In New York City – Free From Broke
Frugal Things To Do In Dallas, Texas – Prime Time Money
Frugal things to do when you’re in Minneapolis, Minnesota – Bible Money Matters
Frugal Things To Do When Your In The Greater Seattle, Washington Area – My Investing Blog

Now let’s fill up that map!

Frugal And Free Things To Do And See In New York City

Written by Glen Craig 36 Comments

New York City. The city so nice they named it twice!

Before I show you frugal, cheap, and free things to do and see in New York City let’s look at the first paragraph from Wikipedia:

New York City (officially The City of New York) is the largest city in the United States, with its metropolitan area ranking among the largest urban areas in the world. Founded as a commercial trading post by the Dutch in 1625, it served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790, and has been the nation’s largest city since 1790. Located on one of the world’s finest natural harbors, New York is one of the world’s major centers of commerce and finance. New York also exerts global influence in media, education, entertainment, arts, fashion and advertising. The city is also a major center for international affairs, hosting the headquarters of the United Nations.

Pretty cool, huh?

NYC is made up of five boroughs – Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island – though many people mean Manhattan when they say NYC. All but the Bronx are islands. I tried to spread the love around the entire city as much as I could but don’t be offended if I don’t give every borough equal weight.

So here are Frugal And Free Things To Do And See In New York City (in no particular order):

Statue of Liberty

Dedicated to the US by the people of France in 1886 to commemorate the centennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Statue of Liberty stands on Liberty Island to greet visitors to the US and NYC (immigrants to the US would first pass through nearby Ellis Island before entering the US). The ferry fee to visit is $12 and $10 for kids under 13. Nowadays you can only enter the statue up to the pedestal (You used to be able to visit up the statue itself and I remember a time when you could go all the way up to the torch!). If you ask me $12 is a lot! A frugal way to get up close is to take the Staten Island Ferry from the Whitehall Terminal in lower Manhattan near Battery Park City. Fare for the SI ferry – FREE! The SI ferry runs between Manhattan and Staten Island and passes close to the Statue of Liberty. It’s a beautiful ride across the New York harbor with additional views of Ellis Island, NYC skyscrapers, and the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (One time the longest suspension bridge in the world and also the start of the NYC marathon).

Wall Street/Financial District

This area, located in lower Manhattan, is home to the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange, City Hall Park, Federal Hall National Memorial (where George Washington was sworn in) and is close to Battery Park and the South Street Seaport. To walk around this area is to truly take in the early history and continuing legacy of NYC!

Brooklyn Bridge

NYC is home to well over thirty bridges! But in my opinion the Brooklyn Bridge, connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn, is the most beautiful. Having just celebrated it’s 125th birthday, the bridge was the largest suspension bridge in the world and the first steel wire suspension bridge when it opened in 1883. What makes this bridge truly special is the pedestrian/bike pathway in the center of the bridge above the vehicle lanes. The Manhattan entrance to the bridge is located close to City Hall. Walk across and see the bridge up close as well as see an amazing view of the East River and NYC! Feeling adventurous? Sign up for the NYC Century Bike Tour which crosses the Brooklyn Bridge as part of the 100 mile ride (I’ve done three of them and they are a great way to see NYC!).

Empire State Building

It’s hard to think of NYC without imagining the 102 story Empire State Building (located at Fifth Ave and 34th st). Completed in 1931, it was the world’s tallest building for more than forty years until the completion of the World Trade Center’s North tower. The building can be seen from all around, from New Jersey to Queens! The building has an observatory on the 82nd floor ($17.61 fro adults) you can visit as well as one on the 102nd floor (an additional $15). I can’t say it’s cheap but the panoramic views of NYC are spectacular (even King Kong had to see the top)! Other notable buildings to see: Chrysler Building, Flatiron Building, St Patrick’s Cathedral, Trinity Church, Woolworth Building

The High Line

So what do you do with an old train freight line that sits above-ground in Manhattan’s west side?

That’s right, you turn it into an awesome walkway and garden!

The High Line runs from West 30th street down along the old line to Ganesvoort Street in the Meatpacking District. It runs through Hell’s Kitchen/Clinton through West Chelsea, and into the Meatpacking District (don’t worry, those neighborhoods aren’t as scary as they sound!).

Along the way expect to see wonderful gardens, included big lawns to hang out on, art installations, as well as incredible views of NYC, its architecture, and the areas around it (you can see the Statue of Liberty from one spot). There is a water spot for the kids to run in barefoot as well as a picture window that hangs over the street to look eastward over the city.

The High Line truly a remarkable place to see when you consider it was all train tracks in the past!

Zoos, Gardens, and Aquarium

NYC is home to the world famous Bronx Zoo, Brooklyn Botanic Garden (Free; check out the cherry trees from late March to mid-May), Central Park Zoo ($8 for adults), Prospect Park Zoo ($6/adult), Queens Zoo ($6/adult), New York Aquarium ($13/adult), Staten Island Zoo ($7/adults), New York Botanical Garden ($6/adults, extra for special events), Queens Botanical Garden (Free), and Staten Island Botanical Garden (Free).

Museums

Are you a museum person? Do you like American history or do you prefer modern art? Whatever your tastes there’s a museum for you in NYC! Check out the admission rates if you plan to go to one of the following. Many are private museums and may be pricier while others may have suggested donations. There also may be free or discounted days at many of the museums. American Museum of Natural History (you remember Night At The Museum, right?, American Museum of the Moving Image, Anne Frank Center, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Center For Jewish History, El Museo Del Barrio, Guggenheim Museum (the building itself is art), Louis Armstrong House & Archives, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, New York Hall of Science (fun for the kids), Skyscaper Museum, Transit Museum. There are so many museums in NYC that it’s hard to list them all! Personally I love the dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History. The New York Hall of Science is fun too (and it’s not far from the Queens zoo and also a great park for the kids)!

Transportation

How do you get around to all of these places in NYC? Driving is an option but you have to listen to the traffic reports and know the parking situation where you’re going. You can find taxi cabs all over Manhattan, and that could be good for a short trip, but they can get expensive quickly and they aren’t as easy to find in the outer boroughs (not Manhattan). Another option is to use the city’s own transit system, the MTA. There are tons of buses and trains that can bring you all over NYC. The out the MTA Trip Planner site. You put in where you want to go and where you’re coming from and it will suggest ways to get there via bus and train! Oh, the bus or train is only $2.50 (more if you take an express bus)!

Parks

With the millions of people that are in NYC you might think there’s no room for parks. That would be a wrong assumption! There are tons of parks in NYC!! Here are some you might want to check out: Central Park – A biggie, located in Manhattan and home to the Central Park Zoo, Museum of Natural History, Metropolitan Museum of Art and much more; Bryant Park – another Manhattan park, much smaller than Central Park but home to the HBO Summer Film Festival (free movies on the lawn) and Good Morning America Summer Concert Series (free concerts); Flushing Meadows Corona Park – a huge park in Queens which is home to the New York Hall of Science, the US Open, the Mets (Citi Field), Queens Museum of Art, 1,255 acres of athletic fields, and includes many sculptures and building (such as the Unisphere) built for two World’s Fairs; Jamaica Bay Wildlife Reserve; Prospect Park; and many smaller neighborhood parks!

Biking/Walking

NYC has built over 100 miles of greenway trails for walking, running, skating and bicycling across the five boroughs. These are great trails to get out and exercise on! As well as the greenways NYC also has two mountain bike trails, one each in Highbridge Park, Manhattan and Cunningham Park, Queens.

Sports

NYC is home the the Mets, Yankees, Knicks, Rangers, US Open, NYC Marathon, Brooklyn Cyclones, Giants and Jets (though they play in New Jersey, go figure), Liberty, and the Staten Island Yankees.

For more frugal tickets in a smaller stadium check out the Cyclones and the SI Yankees which are minor league baseball teams. You can find less expensive tickets for the other teams, just watch out for expenses like food and souvenirs at the stadiums!

We went to a Cyclones game and had a blast! We started off with a walk along the boardwalk in Coney Island before we went to the game. That day’s game was bat giveaway day. My son was quite happy to get a full sized Cyclones bat as a souvenir (they have a lot of souvenir nights). At the game we got to meet two of the Cyclones mascots. Our littlest even got a autograph on her hat! Something goes on in between every inning to get the crowd involved, be it a silly race, food eating contest, or launching shirts into the stands. Really, minor league game is a lot of fun for the family and it costs a fraction of a major league game.

Food and Shopping

Seriously, if you can’t find the food or shopping you want in NYC then you really aren’t trying at all! You can find virtually anything you want here! To dine we have everything from five star restaurants to hot dog carts on the corner. You can shop for the top designers or check out neighborhood flea markets.

NYC Neighborhoods

NYC has many great areas that you should check out. Among them: Times Square, Coney Island, Little Italy, Chinatown, Greenwich Village, Park Slope, SoHo, Flushing, and many, many more!

Other Events

There’s always something happening somewhere in NYC, it’s hard to keep up with it all! The NYC.gov site lists a good number of events going on. Resources – Here are a few places to further investigate frugal things to see and do in New York City: Time Out New York, NYC.gov, NYC Dept of Parks and Recreation, Village Voice, NY Times, nycgo.com.

If you are traveling to NYC, having a great travel rewards credit card can help you maximize what spending you need to make and potentially give you benefits like free hotels and more. The key, or course, is to make sure your card is paid off in full every month, otherwise your benefits probably won’t exceed the interest you will be paying.

This has got to easily be one of the longest articles I’ve written. I thought it would be easy since there’s so much to do in NYCbut it’s really tough trying to pick out the best stuff for you! To say I left out a lot would be a major understatement. Truth is there is just too much going on to put it all down in one article. You can easily spend thousands, if not more, in this city but there’s also plenty to do for free!

Enjoy! Let me know what I left out in the comments!

This article is part of the “Frugal Things To Do In…” series by the Money Life Network. Check out the rest of the cities featured!

photo credit: wwarby Statue of Liberty, photo credit: lohit Wall Street Bull, photo credit: racreations Brooklyn Bridge, photo credit: ajagendorf25 Empire State Building, photo credit: Stig Nygaard Subway, photo credit: upabreak.com Flushing Meadow Park, photo credit: pwbaker NYC Skyline.

Money Life Network Summer Saving Series Articles

Written by Glen Craig 4 Comments

Real Joy

The Summer Saving Series has come to an end. In all there were 15 articles from the Money Life Network. We also had about 15 articles from other writers who wrote about Summer savings on their sites! Check the Money Life Network site for the contest winner announcement.

I hope we were able to provide a lot of info on how to save in the Summer! We’re thinking up some new contests/series so let us know what you thought of this one.

Here are the great articles written by the Money Life Network:

Monday 6/9: Summer Savings Series #1: Food is a big expense. How can you save?

Tuesday 6/10: Summer Savings Series #2: 9 Money Saving Ways to Prepare For a Vacation

Wednesday 6/11: Summer Savings Series #3: Everyone Can Save Money This Way In The Heat!

Thursday 6/12: Summer Savings Series #4: Fun Frugal Ices With Your Child

Friday 6/13: Summer Savings Series #5: Make Summer Activities Affordable

Monday 6/16: Summer Savings Series #6: Save like you’re paying off a high interest debt

Tuesday 6/17: Summer Savings Series #7 – Send Your Kid to Summer Camp Without Blowing the Budget

Wednesday 6/18: Summer Savings Series Tip #8 – Watch Movies And Play Video Games For Free!

Thursday 6/19: Summer Savings Series #9 – Our Disney World Vacation

Friday 6/20: Summer Savings Series #10 – What is a staycation?

Monday 6/23: Summer Savings Series #11 – Saving at the movies this summer

Tuesday 6/24: Summer Savings Series #12: Save Money and Get Fit with These Summertime Activities and Programs

Wednesday 6/25: Summer Savings Series #13 – Don’t Drive 10 Miles Out Of Your Way To Save $0.20 On Gas! Use GasBuddy!

Thursday 6/26: Summer Saving Series #14: New York State Empire Passport

Friday 6/27: Summer Savings Series #15: The art of Hypermiling

And these amazing articles were submitted to us from other sites:

8 cheap summer fun ideas @ Broke Grad Student

Military Discounts @ Military Finance Network

Summer Savings – What I did @ OneGirlsQuest

You Know What I Did This Summer – Save Money! @ Are You Going To Be This Way The Rest of The Time I Know You?

7 Ways to save money this summer @ Dreamline Savings

10 Money Saving Vacation Tips @ Think your way to wealth

Summer Savings Series: My Game Plan @ Kingdom First Mom

Freeze Your Air Conditioning Costs @ CashMoneyLife.com

How I Plan to Save Money This Summer @ Amelia’s Healthy Life

How I Will Save Money on My Summer Vacation @ The Dangling Conversation

Saving Money This Summer @ Keep it Simple

Here are some of the comment tips:

The Happy Rock “Get your air conditioning unit checked and tuned up to help save on energy costs.”

otherdeb (Deb Wunder)“Know that bicycle that’s been moldering against your back porch/in your attic/in your garage, etc? Get it out, get it checked over, and start using it for local errands!

If you are anything like me, as you build up a bit of endurance, you will also want to start using it to do some local sightseeing!”

Rachel“Summer Money Saving Tip: For a cheap sun burn treatment that won’t require an extra trip to the pharmacy, freeze some of the lotion you already have on hand on a piece of tin foil. Once it’s frozen, it cools and soothes the burn and also moisturizers to ease peeling and blistering. Works great too for those who are allergic to Aloe Vera like me! ”

Sam”Turn you thermostat up to 80 and use your ceiling fans or box fans.

We also turn off the AC at night and just use our ceiling fans.”

That One Caveman “Vacation in or near your hometown. There are often a lot of cheap or free ways to entertain yourself – you just have to look for them. We’ll be visiting a few local museums (free entrance + free air conditioning), the zoo, the lake, and a few parks this summer – all for free!”

Mercedes”This summer I have decided to quit driving my kids around for activities and stay local. I have been lucky to have found things to do in the small town that I live. So far I love this simple summer life. I am kicking back and enjoying the nice weather without a hectic lifestyle.”

There are a bunch of other great tips as well. Make sure to check out the comments section of the original article!

Without you, the reader, the Summer Saving Series would not be possible. It’s great to see all of the articles and comments that were submitted!

photo credit: Todd Baker << technowannabe

New York State Empire Passport – Summer Saving

Written by Glen Craig 9 Comments

Summer’s here! How are you going to spend your time? Will you go to the beach? Maybe a pool or a lake is more your speed? Maybe go to the park for a picnic? How about camping? Perhaps you’ll go for a bike ride or maybe a nice hike through the woods on a historic trail?

If you live in or near New York State then you have access to all of these activities and more in New York’s State Parks!

A great way to take advantage of all that NY State Parks have to offer is to purchase the NYS Empire Passport. For $65 you get access to most of NY State’s parks and facilities. Consider this: parking is easily $8 for Jones beach. That means the pass pays for itself with about 7 visits to the beach! But what’s great is the pass can be used for so much more. In fact it’s good from April 1st until March 30th of next year. Using it 7 times over the year is easy!

My wife has the summer off as she works in education. This gives her all summer to go to beaches such as Jones Beach or Robert Moses State Park. We worked it out a couple of years ago and the Empire Passport easily saves us money! You can also use the passport to pay for parking for concerts at the Jones Beach Theater (park in an adjacent lot and walk over, it will also be easier to leave after the concert)

Outside of summer beaches we’ve also gone to Harriman State Park, Bear Mountain State Park, Fahnestock State Park, and Valley Stream State Park. Harriman and Bear Mountain aren’t too far from the Woodbury Commons shopping center where you can find some frugal deals.

I’ve gotta say, in putting this article together I’m seeing how much we can do and what we’ve been missing out on! I can’t wait to get out with the family again!

You can order an Empire Passport online. The site says it could arrive in 3-4 weeks but we got ours in a week. You can also visit a state park office and buy it direct. Check online to see which parks sell the pass directly. The quicker you get yous the sooner you can enjoy all that NYS Parks have to offer!

How will you use your NYS Empire Passport?

This article is #14 of the Summer Savings Series from the Money Life Network. Check out the article on the MLN site to see how you can participate in the Summer Savings Series and possibly win a $100 Amazon gift certificate! You can see tip #13 at My Investing Blog. Article #10 will be at Milk Your Money tomorrow!

One Hundred Pushups For A Healthy Fit Frugal Summer

Written by Glen Craig 19 Comments

One Hundred Pushups

Ok, I’m in! I’ve been seeing a lot about the site One Hundred Pushups around the blogosphere lately. I first heard about it from Pete at Bible Money Matters via Twitter. Then Pete posted about starting on the program. Then I saw Pinyo at Moolanomy mentioned it. And also JD at Get Rich/Fit Slowly fame. And Wazzy on Twitter. And I’m sure many others I don’t know about yet…

So what is One Hundred Pushups? It’s a site that lists out a six week program for increasing your strength to the point where, in the final test, you do one hundred pushups!

Why Pushups? From the site:

Push ups are one of the basic and most common exercises for the human body. Push ups are not only great for your chest, but do a tremendous job of defining your abs, triceps, shoulders and torso.

Push ups can be performed no matter where you are, and best of all, they are completely free – no expensive equipment or annual gym fees required! If you’re looking to develop a great chest and shoulders, you could do much worse than follow along with the hundred push ups plan. Your core strength will also go through the roof too!

Check out that second paragraph…”they are completely free.” How much is the average gym membership? I would guess you’re paying anywhere from $250 a year to $1200 a year. Free is a whole lot better.

And a pushup is a great measure of your overall fitness.

I’ve been looking for a good workout program for a couple of months now. I have some free weights but I haven’t been able to commit to a consistent plan. I’ll workout for two weeks then stop for two weeks; I don’t keep up with it. I even almost joined a gym about a month ago. That would have cost me about $500 for the year. I didn’t join since I wasn’t sure I’d use it enough to justify the cost.

But with all of the bloggers already on the One Hundred Pushup band-wagon I thought I’d give it a try. Not only is there a framework to follow for the plan (which I need) but by putting it out here on Free From Broke I’m making myself accountable for following the plan (I hope).

I’ve already done the initial test and the first day of week one (already feeling it in my chest). I set up a spreadsheet on Google Docs so I can track my performance. You can follow my One Hundred Pushup progress here. I hope you check it out and help root me on! If fact join in and we can go through this together!

Make sure you have clearance from your doctor before you start any fitness program.

So are you up to the one hundred push up training program?