I Confess, I Enjoyed Confessions Of A Shopaholic

I confess: I watched a cheesy rom-com that has vaguely to do with money.Besides sleeping for about 18 of 24 hours on Sunday, I also happened to rent ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’. (Ironically, the fact I did a Redbox rental among a few other things triggered a fraud alert phone call from my credit card company. They are right; I never go out to lunch or rent movies!)

This movie had some great moments, and I appreciated how it addressed an attitude a lot of people have towards spending.

As someone who grew up solidly middle class, I differ from Rebecca (the main character), who grew up wanting things other people had. As a kid, I learned that stuff didn’t make you happy. I knew because I had the stuff that was supposed to, and I was just as happy as most anyone else I knew.

They couldn’t have timed a better release time for this movie about someone who goes from spending money like crazy to realizing she needs to save money. A few basics gleaned in between cute-borderline-repulsive overpriced outfits and some ridiculously obvious sexual tension:

How To Get Digital Television For $20

My friends Sean and Stacy are one of those couples who are able to save money without seeming like they are suffering. They grow their own food in a ginormous garden. They find the best stuff on Freecycle and in Uncle Henry’s. And up until two months ago, they got 10-12 channels with rabbit ears on their 20 year old television.

When stations started to go digital, Sean and Stacy figured out their old television probably wouldn’t handle it well. This was fine, because they had planned on getting a new one anyway. What they hadn’t planned on was going from 10ish decent channels to two channels with crappy reception.

Oh but not for long my friends…

Thanks to NPR All Tech Considered for having the perfect photo to accompany this post. Stacy loves cats, and Sean loves screwball humor. Can't think of a better tribute to the inspirations of this blog than this photo!

My Free Nightly Ritual

Something I’ve started doing in the last month has been really helpful, and hasn’t cost me a cent.

Every night around 9 pm, I go for a walk.

Sometimes I stop by a friend’s house and see if she wants to go with me, sometimes I go by myself. I may change out of my work clothes or check my email first but most every night, even when I’m tired, Sadie and I take a walk downtown.

Review of BudgetPulse Software

My buddy Craig is the Marketing Director at a site called BudgetPulse and sent me a nice request to review the software on the site. The company has recently revamped it and he wanted to know what I thought.

Personally, I’ve been a little bored with my current budget spreadsheet so the timing was perfect.

Ok, I’m just going to say it: this is slick and I think I am going to make the switch from my spreadsheets to this online system. And you know how resisitant I am to change so this has got to be good, right?

BudgetPulse shows you your budget, expenses, and income in both linear and graphical formats. This kicks my Excel spreadsheet's butt!

How I Magically Doubled My Favorite Deli Salad

So I have in the past prefessed my love for Hannaford’s edamame salad but my love has since turned to their seven bean variety. (Hannaford is a New England grocery chain.) But at almost $5 a pound, what’s a personal finance blogger to do?

I bought half a pound of my seven bean salad and took it home for a little doctoring up.

Seven Bean Salad, as one would buy in the deli, 0.5 pounds.

Starting material: 8 oz. ($2.72 worth) of seven bean salad (extra vinagrette please!)

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