Bargain of the Day

[Ace$Thugg]

Ok, I'm going to document my spendthrifty ways and dollar stretching actions. This is mostly a motivational tool for myself and I'm not sure and I don't really care if it's going to be a good read or not. I'm just a type of person that tries to negotiate every deal and only looks for bargains. I'll post the ones I find and if it helps you out too, great. Alright and I'm off.

Wednesday Money Decisions:

Breakfast: no breakfast $0
Lunch: Free pizza at work, $1 Ramen Noodles
Dinner: Free Bagel at work, $2.50 hotdog and Papaya juice
Beer: $10 for 2 beers
Taxi: $16 ride home
Entertainment: $5
Practice: $16

Total Spent Yesterday: $50.50

Could have saved $28.50 if I ate at home, ordered water and took the subway. Damn, Ace. But I do want to enjoy life, so I'll say $10 of beer goes to entertainment. I say $15 on entertainment is okay every now and then. Although I know tonight is going to be a big beer night. Arrgh.

Bargain of the day: I found at Duane Reade you can get 6 pack of Ramen Noodles for 99 cents. That is right, 16.5 cents each. This will be my lunch the next two weeks. Yeah!

Total money I could have in my pocket right now: $18.50

Oh, if you know of any good deals, please PM me.

[Ace$Thugg]

Ok, things are progressing wonderfully. I have spent $2.13 a day the past 7 days. Thanks mostly to free bagels at work for breakfast, 16 cent ramen noodles for lunch (previous Bargain of the Day) and I spent 14 dollars on peanut butter & jelly, bread, and milk to make dinner the past week.

Granted I'm not eating the most healthy, but my girlfriend has provided me with spinach ravioli and some fruits and vegetables during the week. I also spent no money on taxis or entertainment or beer. However, I perform enough during the week that it's just plain awkard to pay for entertainment at this point.

Scheemp provided me with a bargain idea:

Hey- just read your journal about saving scratch. I'm on the Atkins diet, which means no bread. I've found that ordering a sandwich in a deli with no bread, with all the other accoutrements, is about $2.50, versus 5 dollars or so. That means that bread is half the price! So, either you can get your bread elsewhere, or you can go without it...I've found it just as filling.

Good point Scheemp, but $2.50 for lunch is still waaayyy too much. You can get a hotdog for $1. Hunt around, I've found walking 3 blocks to a different hotdog stand can save me 50 cents. Also, I've found a way to get free hotdogs, but I won't reveal my secret just yet.

Also, slice of pizza is $1.25. This combined with a 25 cent (or less) banana can fill you up (or a 16 cent ramen noodle) and is still less the $2.50 a meal.

Sceemp also notes:

Also, I cannot stress Happy Hours enough! At Mo's carribean (76th and 2nd), I was able to get a JD on the rocks, a Margarita, and Absolut Cranberry for 8.50!

That is a good deal. But there are better deals out there. I've found these two are the best so far.

Rudy's on 44th and 9th. Free Hotdogs every night! It's a dive bar with free hotdogs. Can it get any more perfect?

Yes, it can with the

Bargain of the Day: Cellar's Bar.

Cellar's is in Fort Greene, Brooklyn (Clinton-Washington Stop on the G or Dekalb Stop on the N/R) It's on the Corner of Dekalb and Vanderbilt.

Cellar's offers free dinner every night from open to close.

This is in my neighborhood, so I've become a regular. I feel obligated to buy a beer on most visits, but it's not necessary, as long as you tip well. So far I've eaten my share of pork chops, shell steak, linguine, cheeseburgers, rice, vegetables, salad, and popcorn. All for free. I usually buy a $5 beer and watch what ever team is playing on the 5 tv's. Great relaxing time. And when you hit regular status like me, you'll get a free beer every now and then just to make things perfect.

[Ace$Thugg]

Alright, the fan mail keeps pouring in.

Dude! Alan! Keep the bargain journal alive. It has inspired me to try and live cheaply again. Because of it, I went out and bought PB&J materials last night, for my dinners for the next week or so. I also bought Pop Tarts because I need to eat breakfast. I can easily skip breakfast, and often do, but then find I am hungrier later and end up eating more and therefore spending more later in the day.

Anyway, seeya,
Porter

Well Mr. Porter Mason, thanks for the love. I've got a bargain of a breakfast just for you. PopTarts are cheap and fast. But, I still don't find it really that filling. For the same price (actually, cheaper) you can make stick-to-your-ribs cereal in the morning that will last you well past lunch time.

Here's the Bargain of the Day recipe:

Ace's Stick-To-Your-Ribs Breakfast Blend
Dry Oatmeal
Raisins
Milk

Ok, this is not prepared like normal oatmeal however. Just buy a big ol' container of oatmeal and treat it like dry cereal. Put it in a bowl, add raisins and milk, and serve cold. You now have a wonderful cereal-like concoction that tastes better than store-bought Raisin Bran and also it's more filling. Plus, it's much much cheaper. I bought a large container of dry oatmeal and a large container of raisins for under $4 combined. This can easily last me two or more weeks, and I've even started eating it for dinner when I'm sick of the PB&J's.

Try it out and let me know if you like it. Also, keep the PM's coming in. You just might just inspire the next bargain of the day!

[Ace$Thugg]

No one likes to budget. It's not fun writing down how much you have, how much you can spend, bla bla bla. So, here's the easy hands on approach too budgeting that worked for me, so I'll teach it to you. And with no math.

First it should pain you everytime you withdraw money from the bank. How often do you say, "I'm going to the ATM again?" So follow this plan, and you will only incur the ATM sting once a week (and with no $1.50 service charge.)

The get rich plan: Every Saturday morning go to your bank's ATM. Withdrawl xxx amount of money. For this example $150.00. Now realize, this $150 is going to last you a whole week. So don't go crazy just yet, that comes later.

This budgeting process has a reward system automatically built in, which makes it fun.

Go out Saturday night, you have the money to do it. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday you have to be covered with that same $150, so spend wisely. Now Friday night the party begins. Go out and spend every single dime left in your pocket. If it's $5 or $125, spend it all. You deserve it, you kept to your budget, you only went to the ATM once that week. And that means you should celebrate!

Now do this for an entire month. Now when that month is up, lower the amount you usually withdrawl by $20 dollars. So when you wakeup hungover and walk to the ATM that next Saturday morning, just take out $130 (keeping to our example.) Repeat the $130 weekly sting for another month, then inch down to $110.

After awhile, you're saving money and you don't even know it. And once you reach a good comfort level, stay there, whether it's $100 or $20. You are fighting splurging and impulse purchases and also fighting against those nasty $1.50 service charges. And with no math!

[Ace$Thugg]

Ok, now this is the last time I'm going to mention ramen noodles, but really it can't be stressed enough how much it helps a brother out. Here's a shoutout from GinkoKitsune, all the way from Florida:

Walmart, if you have one in your area, has Ramen Noodles for 10 cents a pop. I personally don't eat Ramen, but since lots of other people do, why not?

Also, at walmart, tostinos Pizzas are only 98 a piece. Make a good meal.

Ginko

Yes! Tostino's Pizzas are great! When I lived down South, my store had a deal where if you bought 4 Tostino's, you got 1 free. Those things sold out fast (cause I bought them all.) But in NYC we've got nice warm pizza slices for about a $1.25 and no Wal-Marts. But I am going to hunt for that Tostino's deal here, I know they are around somewhere.

Tostino's frozen pizza is the Bargain of the Day. Seriously, it's great. Check your local grocery store, and don't pay more than $1 for it. Ask if there's a buying in bulk discount.

And for shopping at Wal-Mart, most New Yorkers here seem to favor spending that extra quarter to support the Mom n' Pop stores. Which is fine, but notice where you shop. Grocery stores are always cheaper than bodegas. At a bodega, you pay a little extra for convience. And when living cheaply, convience is usually a bad thing. So walk past the Mom n' Pop bodega and go the extra two blocks to the Mom n' Pop grocery store, and then everybody wins.

[Ace$Thugg]

Ok guys, do not pay for internet service. Not even if you have AOL. And you scream at me, "I can't live without my AIM buddy list! It's definitely worth $20 bucks a month. "

First of all, if you don't mind a little advertising you can use NetZero's free internet service (or any other free service in the world) and still chat on AOL's buddy list for free. Plus, you still use your same IM name, so nothing's lost. Just go to aol.com and download the IM buddy list software to your computer for no charge. Then you can run the AIM buddy list whenever you are online (whether you are using AOL, NetZero, or any ISP in the world.) You can also go to the AIM Express linkon AOL's website if you don't want to download anything, and you'll have instant messaging in a browser version.

I personally can't stand for paying to get online, but if you still really want to use AOL, this is how you can get it for free for the rest of your life.

All you have to do is attempt to cancel your AOL service. Just by attempting to cancel, you can get free AOL service. Follow the instructions of canceling AOL below as described by Clark Howard, one of my favorite people in the world.

Canceling your AOL service

If you're tired of the high-priced, low-end service you get from America Online but you can't seem to shake them, follow these steps:

1) Sign on to your AOL account.

2) Click on the "Keyword" box in the upper right corner and type the word "cancel" when the entry box appears. A screen will appear with a toll-free number and mailing address.

3) Call the number and follow the instructions to cancel your membership. A representative should be able to cancel your account within a few minutes. (DSL accounts may take longer)

4) Ask that a confirmation of your cancellation be e-mailed to you if you have another account, faxed or mailed to your home address.

*AOL does not allow members to cancel their accounts online.

Now, I did this and this is where the savings begin. When you try to cancel on the phone, they will offer you a free 30 days to keep using AOL. Accept this! They want to pad their subscriber numbers and would rather have you use their service for free than to lose you completely.

Then 29 days later call and say you've thought about it and you really want to cancel. They will offer you another free 30 days or more. And if they really think you are serious, they will offer you up to 90 more days free. And trust me, you can do this for eternity.

So, for the 5-10 minutes it takes to call AOL to cancel your subscription, you can make up to $60 in free internet service. And you still have your precious buddy list.

[Ace$Thugg]

Ok, I blew $250 this weekend! But the thing is I'm not upset, as I had $250 dollars to blow since I lived superthrifty the past two weeks or so. And I spent $250 knowing it was a gamble, which makes things interesting, and this time I lost. Let me explain.

Craig's List is a website many of you are familiar with, and if not, you should check it out, just to peruse the daily bargains. I find a guy on there giving away a free working antique piano (circa 1899) this weekend, free as long as someone would come pick it up from his house. He, living in Huntington, Long Island and me, in Brooklyn with no car, made things a little difficult for an easy move.

So on Craig's list once again, I found 3 cheap college kid movers with a van to go retrieve the piano. Now, I don't play the piano, but my motivation to get it was threefold. One, I love the sound of the piano and my roommates know how to play it. Two, it would definitely be a nice conversation piece. (Indeed, the converstation would be entirely how Ol' Al here was super thrifty and got a free piano.) And lastly and probably most importantly, I knew I could always resell the piano for at least 500 bucks.

So, upon arriving in Huntington this weekend we find the piano down the flight of stairs in a basement. This piano is probably 600 pounds and we spend an hour to move it 5 feet and get it up on one step. Since I was paying $60 a hour for these movers, I decided to cut my loses right then, knowing it would take longer than planned to move this heavy classical instrument. I didn't want the cost of moving it to exceed the $500 I knew I could make in the future resell value of it.

So after a little more than 4 hours total, spending $250, I got a free ride to and from Huntingon, Long Island with nothing to show for it but a journal entry. However, it was a risk I knew going into it. I knew it would cost $400 for professional movers to move it, and I gambled with cheaper help, and this time I came out on the bottom. That's okay, cause I like I said, I can't play the piano anyway.

[Ace$Thugg]

From the Mailbag:

I find a good way to get cheap vitamin c and quench my thirst is to buy tang--there are also generic brands of said product. make a sports bottle of it in the morning and you're set for the rest of the day. Tang supply lasts for weeks.

Also, drinking and staying out late deplete your body's vitamin c. too many people do not realize this. then they get colds and may have to go to the doctor which costs a shitload.

keep guiding the poor,
kristaphone

Thanks kristaphone, but I disagree of this being a bargain. First off, Tang is 99% water plus 1% vitamin C. You get the equivilent nutrients just by eating an orange. And water is free free free, and always is free free free, and oranges are 10-25 cents each depending if you are buying in bulk or individually. I look at all powder drinks as a waste of money, as it just means you are paying to flavor your water. You can get water and flavor for under $1 as listed below.

First and foremost, don't buy bottled water as there is no need. If you are going to improv practice, about to go to rehearsal, or what have you- and you need to have water by your side- there is other ways to spend your $1 on water than buying it bottled.

Instead, go to any fastfood chain (they all have 99 cent menus now) and order something from it. Whether you get a taco, cheesburger, Frosty, or anything under $1 you are in good shape. Also order a supersize/Biggie-size/extra-large water. Now, for that one dollar you were going to spend on a 12 ounce bottle of water, you instead get a 32-ounce water and a free side order. Now that's a deal!

[Ace$Thugg]

I've found various ways to get books, never at full price. Luckily, by accident or "fate" last year, my two new roommates worked at a publishing company. The perks I received were that I can get any book published by this top-notch company for free. When I moved out I still had the opportunity to ask them for free reads, but it felt less of a favor, and all I had to offer from my company was various free software they found useless.

Now, one of those ex-roomies works at Barnes & Nobles and has offered me 30% off anything I want, cause that's his employee discount. But he even offered some other tips to me that other bookworms seem to be doing.

You can order any book ever published at the customer desk of B&N and they will ship it to your local store, and you will still have no obligation to buy. You can peruse it (or read it in its entirety) right there in the store. This is a very common activity according to numerous B&N employees, and one that's not even frowned upon.

B&N gets credit added to their account for every book they don't sell and end up shipping back to publisher. So there are no lost costs. Plus they have you in their store, which is all they really want anyway. Also, the big corporate publisher can most likely write off the shipping costs to and from B&N as business expenses. No one loses, and you get a free reading.

But if you really want to spend some money, I would recommend the used book section on Amazon.com. For every book on Amazon, check to see if there are used books also being offered, usually highlighted by a link near the book review section.

I just bought Trump: The Art of the Deal (like I need it) in hardcover for $3 plus $3 in shipping, for a grand total of $6. Upon purchase, Amazon also graciously tells you how much money you just saved by buying it used. In this case, it was 88%, which almost triples the employee discount I could have gotten from my friend at the ol' book store.

But my friends' generious offers has given me an idea. I would like to start a company swap list. PM or email me what you can legally get from your company for free, and I will start a list of things we can all swap with each other. This list can be tangible items like books, software, keychains, beer, strippers, etc. that you feel people might want. Also send a list of discounts you could finagle for people. To keep it anonymous and to keep you employed, I will act as the mediator with no names revealed.
I've gotten free Letterman tickets, free Yankee tickets, free shampoo, toothpaste, hair gel and other things all from friends who work in those said product-related fields. So if you want to swap something and the person doesn't have anything you want on return, maybe just do it for karma. Because there is no better return on investment than free good karma!

[Ace$Thugg]

Best deals are often found right before a bakery is about to close. Not just any bakery, but those bakeries that advertise "Fresh bread, doughnuts, crossaints made daily!" Well, if everything is made fresh daily, what do you they do with the old stuff every night? They throw it out.

Yes, most bakeries throw out all the unsold bagels, bread, etc. at the close of each day. I've had a bakery-working roommate who would bring home bags of 20 bagels a night that we could never possibly stomach, and we'd end up tossing them out ourselves.

Brooklyn's Bergen Bagels on Myrtle Avenue tries to rid their excess dough with "buy one, get one free" deals from 9 pm to 11 pm every night. Au bon Pain in Battery Park has daily 1/2 off all baked goods sales from 4:00-6:00 pm. And even if you don't see a sign advertising a discount, it never hurts to ask. I've gotten free hot dogs, whole pizzas, and an assortment of cookies at some delis because I asked them if I could have it for free before they threw it away. And they always said yes.

And as I learned from my mother, bagels can be frozen for months and still taste alright once you toast them. So buy the discounted bagels in bulk on your next midnight run, and store up for the winter. It will taste much better to be eating breakfast for half price when the gas bills are doubling up.

[Ace$Thugg]

Have you ever read *Ace NYC*? No, neither have I, but that didn't stop me from being the "arts and music writer" for the monthly publication when I was in college. Oh yes, the perks of writing for a magazine include such things as free press packets, cd's, tickets, backstage access and more.

That's right, with a little leg work I got into most concerts for free. And I'll let you know how to do it. First I must preface this entry with the disclaimer that in college this activity is acceptable to those broke and creative. But when you are earning a decent income this practice can cause the guilt-conscience folk to go a little batty. I no longer do this, however, I will pass my wisdom on to you, as it worked wonders for me (and my bank account.)

All musicians have publicists and promoters. Their job is to get their artist's face, name, album, dog, or whatever in as many print and media publications as possible. And how to they do that? By sending out complimentary albums, cd's, phtos and more to the press (i.e. comp tickets.) And how do you get on the receiving end of these gifts? By contacting the promotions team!

All it takes is some smooth talking and decent photoshop skills. First, create a name for a magazine, newspaper, radio station, or whatever you choose to invent. I recommend being broad, so you can use the name for things outside of music. *Ace NYC* worked for everything from reviewing movie premieres to an interview with Vanilla Ice (seriously.)

Next create a wonderful title for your new found position. I choose "arts and music writer" cause that sounded low on the totem pole. I didn't know how to speak to people as an "editor-in-chief" or as a "syndicated radio dee-jay," so I went with my run-of-the-mill title.

Third, create a business card and letter head using basic photoshop skills. No one is going to call you out on a shoddy job, so don't fret too much. Just make sure you make your address a business address by replacing "apartment 15J" with "Suite 15 J" or "Floor 15, Studio J." Simple changes like this carry you a long way.

And if you are going to be "employed" by this new "company", you have to be on top of current music events and know that The Roots and Goodie Mob are going to be in your town in 2-3 months. It's a little easier if you target the opening act. Everyone legit is hitting up the headliners, so your precentages are increased by targeting the smaller name. (Also, the publicists for the openers want to milk everything out of the tour if it's sharing the bill with a major act.) However, I successfully targeted the big names directly and acheived success that way as well, but it'll work better if you are living in, or the concert is in, a small college town rather than a big city.

So next, you would figure out Goodie Mob is on the Arista Records label (which owns Organized Noise and other smaller labels, but the publicits will tell you that.) And you look up Arista Records phone number and give them a call. This is crunch time. The receptionist will answer and you ask for the Promotions Department. And she may ask for what band, and you say "Goodie Mob, yo!"

And then you you be connected with an Arista Records promotions employee and you give them your short brief speil. "This is Alan Corey, arts and music writer for *Ace NYC*, and I was looking to see if I could get a press packet, press pass, and photo pass to the Goodie Mob show in Portland, Oregon December 15 at Roseland Theatre." Talk as little as possible about your magazine, just about the act. (That's what promoters get paid to talk about anyway.) If they ask about your magazine, just say it's a monthly publication distributed on-campus, or a weekly report of live shows in your city and then change the subject.

For your knowledge, a press kit includes a cd. Don't ask, "Send me the new cd." Just ask for a press kit. A press pass means free entry to the show (and sometimes includes backstage pass.) Don't ask, "Can I get backstage?" If you are feeling brazen, ask for an interview. A photo pass means you can take pictures (usually no flash) and this request just legitimizes your company.

You will get a variety of responses from your call. Some will tell you that you need to fax them a request on your magazine's letterhead, some will put you on the guest list right there, and they might just tell you to call Mr. So-n-So closer to the date of the show. They will put you in the right direction regardless and remember to get that person's name. And after this connection, it's usually smooth sailing here on out. Just do what they tell you to do.

Now after everything is settled, and you are anxiously awaiting to get to the show, there are some crucial things to do. One, call the last person you spoke with one week before the show and also the day before the show. This might be the band manager, the promotions department, some intern, it doesn't matter. Call them the day before the show and get confirmation you are on the guest list. Also, get the band manager's cell phone number if you can. Nothing is more frustrating than getting there and not being on the list. A direct call to the band manager always fixes everything.

After gaining entry, and most importantly the last step, have fun! Once you are inside, the relationship ends and you are just a crazy fan. No need to send thank yous or follow ups tothe band manager or to the promotions teams. If you run into them again, they won't remember you. If they do, it so happens the editor-in-chief ended up cutting your review for some restaurant review. But maybe next time. Like when Goodie Mob is opening up for Outkast in two months. Read all about in *Ace NYC*!

[Ace$Thugg]

I just saw the worst salesman today. It was a guy wearing a poncho selling umbrellas. Come on, if you don't believe in your own product, who will?

Anyway, I didn't buy an umbrella from this guy and I never will. Basically, I will never buy an umbrella in my entire life. There is absolutely no need to buy umbrellas. Anyone in the United States can get a free umbrella, and I'm going to tell you how.

First walk into any restaurant, supermarket, or retail store. Walk up to the counter or help desk and say, "Do you have a lost and found? I think I lost my black (or blue) umbrella."

The clerk/receptionist/concerned employee will then bring out a box full of about 15 black and blue umbrellas to choose from. You say, "That one is mine, thank you." And you just got yourself a free rain-blocker.

Now, some may call this dishonest. I call it recycling. When you are done using your new umbrella, all you have to do is just conveniently "lose" it at the next store. Another wet person will eventually come in and claim it, and the cycle continues. It's a chain of karma and goodwill. Be apart of it.

[Ace$Thugg]

New reader and new love from Whines:

I just discovered this journal and I love it.

I am terrible with money. Your journal will inspire me, I hope, to be
better. Plus it's really funny.

Thanks Whines, I appreciate it. I hope that it's funny in a good way.

One of the easiest ways to save money is saving all your unused change. Now, I'm not saying throw all your coins in a bowl when you get home at night, though that can help somewhat.

An easier, and more managable solution is to invest in a coin purse (99 cents.) I love my coin purse! I would estimate it saves me about $9 a week (roughly $500 a year.)

Guranteed: A coin purse always puts more dollar bills in your pocket.

Proof: If every purchase you made you could pay the exact number of cents (rather than rounding off,) then you would always receive dollar bills in change (and not coins.) More paper money in your wallet -> More dollar bills in your pocket.

Example: A bouqet of roses costs $19.51. All you have is a twenty dollar bill (1 bill.) You buy it and get roses and 49 cents back and you are left with zero dollar bills in your wallet.

If you had a coin purse with your saved change, you could pay $20.51 and you would recieve roses and get $1 back and still have 1 bill in your wallet after the transaction. Granted, it's a one dollar bill and no longer a twenty, but you still have the same number of dollar bills in your pocket (1.)

That's taking things literally.

But not losing loose coins here and there or throwing change away or telling the cashier "to just keep it" is crazy. Think, "I want more dollar bills in my wallet!" and then you won't mind saving the change and using it over and over and over again.

Remember, change is good! And you'll quickly learn how handy that coin purse is when you get on the bus and find out your MetroCard has expired. Coins save the day once again!

[Ace$Thugg]

What about the fantastic money saver called the library???

movies, e-mail, internet access, BOOKS. ..

you've already purchsed it all with your tax money. those buildings aren't just for bums to nap in the halls.

good posts!
peace,
Sugar-Snit

Good idea Sugar-Snit! I didn't know you could take free naps in the halls of the library! No more renting hotel rooms by the hour. That could save you hundreds of dollars a year alone.

Honeslty, the library does rule in more ways than one. I know plenty of friends that check-out DVDs (new releases even,) videos, music, books and more all for free. All it takes is 5 minutes to apply for a library card and you are all set. You usually get to keep movies for about 5 days, which is more than most commercial video rental stores. And libraries are the perfect place to find that obscure subtitled documentary you have been hunting months for. And yes, it's free free free.

The internet access is fast and free there too. You could also bring an external hard-drive ($100) with you and download your favorite music albums from http://www.slsk.org (a free file sharing program like Kazaa or Napster, but without the spy-ware.) Or you could just browse the library's music collection and check out a couple cd's with your new library card and duplicate them on your computer at home. Buying a decent cd-rom burner for $75-100 bucks for your home computer will easily save yourself money in the long-run over buying cd's you might listen to twice. I haven't bought a cd in four years using these methods and I love it. (Disclaimer: some libraries have downloading restrictions from the internet, so you'll have to check that out for yourself or bring a tech geek with you to bypass the system.)

Oh yeah, libraries have books too. Never ever buy a book (unless it's one I write.) Books should be free, and they are. Come on, use the library. It's not just for geeks anymore.

[Ace$Thugg]

Hotels can be pricey and an unnecessary expense. I've gotten 4-star hotels on the Las Vegas strip for $35 a night, downtown Boston for $78 a night, and Manhattan for $100 a night all through beating the system of Priceline.com.

Priceline is set up so you put in a low bid on a hotel, and if it's too low, you are forced to change one of your hotel variables: date, star-level, or location. Therefore, most users bid high, to insure they don't have to change any of these prefered and expensive variables. The trick is going in to the bidding not trying to get your ideal location, but rather shooting low, taking full advantages of your missed hits, and then trying again. The more variables you have available to change, the more darts you have in your hand to throw. And the more darts you have in hand, the higher percentage you have to get the lowest price possible.

For example, first Priceline.com asks you to set your check-in and check-out date. This is a variable you most likely don't want to change. But if you can, that works even more in your favor. So, I reserve a room for a Friday-Sunday in Manhattan.

Next variable, you get the option of what neighborhood in Manhattan you want to stay in. This rarely is of issue, especially since you are traveling and are going to be renting a car or taking a cab around the city anyway, so staying 5-10 minutes out of the way in order some save money is a good idea. And who knows, you still might end up getting your ideal neighborhood. It's all the matter of how many darts you have.

First, select your ideal Manhattan location. I'll select Midtown South. Now only pick one neighborhood! Even if you are willing to stay in any location, any neighborhood, you must only pick one neighborhood. Even if you have to stay in these two neighborhoods or else, it's very crucial you only pick one here. Understand me, PICK ONE even though you have the option to pick them all.

Next, you have the option of 4, 3, 2.5, 2, or 1-star hotel. I always get greedy and aim high, but you can do what you want to do here. Once again, pick only one. It's best to aim high though, you get more darts that way.

Next you get to enter your price next to a suggested retail price. Totally disregard the recommended retail price. I've got hotels for 1/3 of the retail price before. A good thing to do is go to www.hotels.com and see what they have listed as the cheapest hotel rooms for those dates, then start your bid lower than that. Or you could go by my rule of thumb, and figure out the most you will pay for a hotel room, then start at little more than half of that.

Next, enter in your bid price and hit submit along with your credit card info and all that jazz. You will get a pop-up message that says something like, "Are you crazy? Do you really think you can get a hotel for this cheap?" And you click yes, and press continue.

*Realize if they find you a hotel for this price, they will bill you. There is no backing out of it. But don't worry, it'll be cheaper in the long run anyway, so you'll be okay.

Next you have to wait 5-15 minutes for Priceline to check their databases to see if they have any hotels at that price. After this quick check, you will recieve an email saying "yes, congratulations, you cheap bastard" or "no, try again."

Now, if you try again, Priceline makes you change one of your variables. You can't just change the bid.

So you start the process over, and you only change one varible! Do not change multiple variables, if you do, you are just throwing away your darts. Now either change one neighborhood or one star-level or one of your dates. And enter in a new bid, roughly about $15 dollars more than your previous bid. And hit submit.

Then you wait for your "Congrats" or "Try Again" email. And you repeat the process over and over changing one variable and adding $15 to each bid. Now Priceline will always try to get you the best hotel, so don't worry about that. They will upgrade you to the higher star level if they find one that matches your bid (even if you picked a one-star hotel.)

Also, it's important to know how many darts you have left in your hand at all times. This will tell you if you need to increase your bid amount higher than $15 or not. Never bid over your orginal set amount though. You can get a little bit of auction fever, so contain yourself.

Also, if you strikeout and miss with all your darts and couldn't get anything you wanted, but you feel really really confident you were only a dollar or two off on getting that cheap hotel, you can just register again under a new email address and start the process over. Just begin with the bid you left off with under the other name.

And now, since you got yourself a cheap hotel, throw a party, and invite me. I just saved you money for god's sake. And I'll bring the dart board.

[Ace$Thugg]

March Madness should mean money in the bank. Winning your annual NCAA basketball bracket is easier than you think, and the best part, you don't even have to know anything about sports! You just need to know a little mathematics and some background information on the other participants involved in the basketball pool, and it's smooth sailing from there. I'll let you in on my secret of winning an NCAA basketball pool, as things are looking good for me once again this year.


First, play the percentages. The higher seeded team is always more likely to beat the lower seeded team, that's why they are seeded higher. So, a good rule of thumb is always picking the higher seeded team all the way to the elite eight.

Secondly, you can't win your basketball pool unless you pick the national champion. It is crucial you pick the national champion. But don't pick the national champion based on who you actually think is going to win it all, pick the national champion by picking the highest seeded team in your elite eight bracket that no one else in your pool is going to pick.

For example, if everyone in the world knows Arizona is going to win it, it's not in your best interest to pick Arizona. The percentages of winning the pool lessen, since the winner of the pool is based on the randomness of the first 32 games. But if you are the only person to pick a unique champion, then you are guaranteed victory regardless of how great you picked the teams in the first 32 games, since picking the national champion is weighted heavier than picking the first 2 or 3 rounds correctly. And thus, being the only person picking a unique champion will put you in the winner's circle.

Realize if you are playing in an office pool and 75% of your office is from North Carolina, that probably means 75% of entries will pick Duke or North Carolina to win it all. So don't pick a team from North Carolina to win it all! And if you know the other 25% of your co-workers are graduates of Syracuse, then they are more likely to put money on their alma mater to be national champions. So all you have to do is look at your final 8 teams all seeded 1 or 2, and cross off the ones you know other people in the pool are picking as the national champs. You can even ask others entering whom they picked, and they will tell you! Gamblers like to talk, and they are proud to put their money where their mouth is, so let them talk. It will only help you. And also wait till the very last moment to enter the pool. Try to talk to as many people in the pool before handing over your completed bracket. Think: information is money!

Now that you got your elite eight teams whittled down to 3 or 4, it's time to pick the highest seeded team once again. Remember, play the percentages! Put the percentages in your favor.

Look at the rankings (as well as the seedings) on espn.com or cnnsi.com and see who college basketball experts think was the best team at season's end, and go with that choice. Whoever is ranked or seeded the highest, pick that team. This puts all the percentages in your favor, and since this is gambling, nothing is guaranteed.

But I can tell you, winning "most" of the time, is better than never winning at all.

[Ace$Thugg]

Being an alcoholic can be very expensive. So, I've found a way to get free alcohol, as well as a little culture, all for zero money. And this can be done every single night!

Welcome to the world of art galleries. There are hundreds of galleries in and around Manhattan and Brooklyn where you can see impressive works of art ranging from photography to sculpting to "other." But regardless, every single night there is at least 10 "openings" (the first public display of a new exhibit), which is open to the public. These openings are ALWAYS accompanied with free beer, wine, and cheese. Imagine drinking for free every night and learning something at the same time! Amazing.

Also you don't have to feel intimidated about being in these "artsy" situations; you'll soon realize that most people who go to gallery openings are only there for the free refreshments too. And there is no dress code. So come as you are!

Check out The New Yorker, The Observer, Time-Out, Village Voice and other New York-based media to find out what openings are going on in and around town. And you know what, meeting women in bars is so 90’s anyway.

[Ace$Thugg]

Anyone can buy a house. Even you can buy a house. It's one of the best investments in the world too. And it also means cheaper living! If you have ever thought of owning your own home, it's easier (and cheaper) than you ever imagined. You can even buy a house with no money down! Believe me, the infomercials are correct. It is possible. I've done it.

First, figure out your price range by going to the mortgage calculator at Realtor.com. Just enter in a loan amount (enter in the highest price house/apartment you think you can buy.) Then select 7% (this is about average since most people's credit is poor and this raises the current 5.5% interest rate a little.)

If this is your first starter home or apartment, I would say aim for the $90,000 - $100,000 range. If you enter $100,000 at 7% interest for 30 years, and hit 'Go', the calculator tells you that you would owe $665.30 a month. I imagine that's cheaper than what you are paying for rent. And imagine if you bought a place big enough for two, and you rented one of those rooms. You will be living very very cheaply. (*If you are buying a co-op or condo, add maintenance fees to the monthly mortgage cost. A maintenance fee is like paying for insurance. If anything breaks, the superintendent will fix it more free. If nothing breaks, the co-op board spends the money on making the building nicer. You win either way.)

Ok, where is the catch? There really isn't any. You don't have to stay in this place the rest of you life. You can always rent it out or resell it if you want. Now, if you are living paycheck to paycheck, how can you possibly do it? This is how.

Most real estate deals require you to put at least 10% down. So, if you want to buy a $100,000 place, all you need is $10,000. And anyone can come up with $10,000 in two years by just saving money alone (i.e. if you follow everything else in this journal.) But if you want to buy a place sooner than that, just raise the cash!

There are several ways to raise something as little as $10,000. You can use a trick from Russ Whitney's book where he would get a loan from a bank for $1,000 and deposit it in another bank. Then he would get a loan from that bank for $2,000 and pay back the original $1,000 loan. And then get another new loan for $2,000 from the first bank and go from there.

Or you can do what I did, and go to your family and friends. I drew up a chart showing how much money I was paying in my current renting situation. Then I compared it to how much money I would be paying if I paid mortgage payments to myself rather than paying rent checks to an absentee landlord. It came down to about $200 a month difference ($2400 a year.) So I showed these numbers to a financially stable friend, and asked to borrow $2,000 from him. I told him I would pay him the $200 difference every month for a year. It's no increase in expenses on my part, since I would have been paying that money in rent anyway. Also, my friend gets $400 extra dollars out of the deal. I also when to another friend and did the same thing, telling him I'd pay him $200 a year in year 2. And he agreed.

So now in my pocket is $2000 from friend 1 and $2000 from friend 2. Subtract that from the $10,000 down payment, and all I need to locate is $6000 to buy a $100,000 house.

$1000 comes from my rent deposit that I get back when I move out of the current renting situation. I guaranteed to pay back another friend that money if he lends me $950 now.

That, along with a work bonus, and successfully negotiating the price of the apartment for $10,000 less than it was listed for allowed me to purchase a one-bedroom co-op in Brooklyn with very little of my own money. After instantly turning the one-bedroom into a 2-bedroom and renting out the second room, I was able to pay back my debts to both my friends before the end of the year.

Home-ownership is very achievable, and you never know what can happen until you try. You might get a seller willing to take only 5% down payment rather than 10%. You might get a seller that's willing to drop the price of the apartment like I did cause he/she wants a quick sale. You might get a bonus at work, which you save rather than spend. One thing is for sure, it doesn't cost any money trying to buy a house. So go out there and see what happens, you might find yourself a homeowner by accident. And I promise I'll come to your house-warming party, as long as there's no catch.

[Ace$Thugg]

i love using priceline ... i've flown to europe for peanuts, which is cool because you can't really get screwed with some insanely early departure time ... all flights to europe leave in the evening and arrive the next AM! -dggoldst

Very true dggoldst! I get a lot of questions about how to find cheap airfare and my approach is pretty hands-off.

I use http://my.yahoo.com which is a personalized web interface and a very handy tool. Even if you don't have a yahoo-based email account, you can still use it. It's set as my home page, so whenever I log on to the internet, it's the first page to load. The "Best Fares" window is one of many options you can add to your customized page, and it's very useful. You just enter in your hometown and pick the destinations you fly to most frequently and it will give you the most up-to-the-minute prices for your preferred flights. Travelocity.com powers this, so there's no need to search their site, they come to you.

Now that you have this low price, you know where to start. Next go to www.orbitz.com and compare their deals. It should be very similar or somewhat lower. Between these two sites, grab the lowest deal and look at the airline that is providing the deal.

Once you figure out the airline, go to that airline's website. A lot of deals are even cheaper if you buy directly from the airline, so it's worth a shot. You're also favored when things go hairy at the airport and you have to deal with the airline's customer representative. Airline customer support doesn't like it when you show them a $14 ticket to New Zealand that you bought off Priceline. They will make NO effort to get you on the next plane out. Believe me, I've been through it.

Now that you have found the absolute cheapest price by comparing Travelocity, Orbitz, and the airline's website, now you get to bid. Bid on Priceline.com like I explained before in an earlier entry. This only works, like dggoldst mentioned, if you are VERY FLEXIBLE on flight times. However, Priceline is helpful in day of or day before purchases, since they want to fill up seats fast.

If you are not flexible on dates, you can pretty much stick with what you found on your previous bargain hunting adventure. Or if you are an extremely light packer, you have to try air courier flights.

www.Courier.org is one of many sites available for air/human courier flights. It is pretty neat how it works. You forfeit your rights to check any baggage to a third-party company. This company then uses your baggage allowance to ship whatever they want. And you get a reduced fare (since the company pays a big chunk of the airfare for you.) This usually works best if you are flying overseas, especially to Asia. But there are some domestic trips available for this too. It's not unheard of to fly to Japan for $50 bucks. How great is that? You don't have to worry about your luggage getting lost, it's very frugal, and it's perfectly legal. Just search "air courier" in Google, and you'll have tons of sites to choose from. Good luck, and be nice to the airline representatives. They can be helpful, when they want to be.

[Ace$Thugg]

I've found subscribing to SPAM email lists only pay off for entertainment events. You can get day-of tickets for half-price and sometimes free tickets sent to your inbox. I subscribe to the Yankees and the Mets email list, which you can sign up for from their respective websites. I get free ticket offers at least once a month from each team. I even have free Mets tickets for tonight. I'm not going, but if you want to see David Cone pitch tonight around 7pm, shoot me an email at xxx@yahoo.com and I'll forward the info on to you. (You have to have the email to get in free.)

If sports are not your cup of tea, check out www.seatfiller.com. This is a neat concept, and also one of several websites that pretty much offer the same thing. You get to see televised non-sporting events for free! You ever notice that the Oscars, or the Grammies, or any recorded live show never has empty seats? That's because they need people like you to sit there for free and be an audience. All televised shows have free tickets from talk shows to sitcoms, just go to the show's website and follow the instructions to get tickets. It's as easy as showing up!