Remember when I told you that I got a new job? I've been there two and a half weeks now, and it's working out really well! I couldn't be happier with the way things are going. There's one quirk, though: I only get paid once a month. This is nothing a little budgeting won't fix up nicely, but as I'm coming off unemployment at the moment, things are slightly tight. I don't have very expensive tastes: I could knit and read from my stash and to-be-read stack for almost a year without any new acquisitions, so in the normal run of things it's not a problem. But this Friday I really felt like doing something a little bit...unusual. A little festive. And I was brainstorming about fun, minorly celebratory things to do that are either free or cheap.
Here's what I came up with. In the course of thinking, I realized that there are certain little items, not expensive but just outside my everyday gambit, that give me that little-kid feeling of getting a special treat.
- Drive or bus to a neighborhood I don't usually visit, and explore it on foot. If the weather isn't totally gray, sometimes I bring my camera and take photos.
- Learn a new vintage hairstyle via a YouTube video, and try it out. I'm a little bit limited by not owning the three million hair products those ladies always seem to have, but it's amazing how far I can get with a few bobby pins, some styling gel, a 3/4" curling iron and a hair dryer.
- Wear my new hairstyle out to happy hour. Not free, but only $4-5 for a cocktail at the schmancy bar down the street, which is decorated like a lush mid-century science lab. A pretty frugal way to feel like I'm living it up.
(Image courtesy of Kevin at Beaker & Flask.)
- Make myself hot chocolate. Normally I never drink it because it just seems like so much sugar. But once in a while it's a special treat. Alternatively, I sometimes make a pot of Yogi Tea's Mayan Cocoa Spice, and add some milk. I bet it would be especially good with STEAMED milk! But I don't have a steamer.
- Rent multiple movies on a certain theme, and watch them while eating popcorn. I don't know why, but a themed "movie marathon" seems way more special-occasion to me than just renting a few random flicks like I usually do. Doing this activity in my pajamas is especially slumber-party-ish. Also, it helps if the theme is something totally ridiculous, like "beach party ghost stories" or "playboy spies."
(Image courtesy of Jason Whiton at Spy Vibe.)
- Paint my toenails. Larkin wrote a post the other day about nail polish, and she inspired me to raid my own cabinet. Apparently, I have four colors of polish left over from ages past. Right now, my toes are sparkly blue.
- Walk over to the Classical Chinese Garden. David and I are members, which means that while it's not really free, the average per-visit price does decrease each time we go. Even if we decide to have a cup of tea in the teahouse there, it's a great value for $4 or so, and amazingly beautiful. We don't have a yard, so this is kind of like having a private, manicured and landscaped paradise that we very generously allow other people to visit as well. Also, Someone Else handles all the staffing and maintenance decisions for us.
- When I'm grocery shopping, I usually try to stick to what's in season. Sometimes in the winter, though, when the cold and grey are really getting me down, I'll spring for something radically out-of-season, like raspberries or cherries, or sometimes asparagus. Then I'll take them home and slowly savor them, feeling oh-so-decadent.
(Image courtesy of Craig Allen, .craig on flickr.com.)
Having put together my list, it doesn't seem burdensome at all to live frugally for a while. Do y'all have special mini-treats that you give yourselves when you're trying to stretch your pocketbooks?
While in college I had very little funds for entertainment. On the weekend I enjoyed window shopping and coming home with a little special bar of soap, a new lipstick, or some such small thing, and a nice chocolate and/or toffee apple for my afternoon tea, which I enjoyed with my feet up. Come to think of it, I still enjoy doing this!
BTW, I've finished knitting Antonia (caplet version) and love, love, love it. Has to be blocked yet, but I can tell it's exactly what I wanted!
**Love**! This post. :-)
Hm, yeah, when I was in college... actually, buying myself a new something at the drugstore has always seemed like an indulgence, because it is. One must be careful there though and not go overboard - one nail polish perhaps, not 2 or 4 or 5. I love the pleasure of just dithering about in the drugstore, looking at all of the sparkly new tubes and bottles.
For fun, when I lived on the coast, I would go to the beach all of the time. Now, what do I do? Hm. When I was still buying yarn, that was a fun indulgence. Now that I'm single, painting my nails with all my aquired nail polish stash does seem like a total time indulgence. It's amazing how much your time frees up to spend on yourself when you're not spending it on someone else, nor cleaning up after a second person! Pretty awesome, actually.
I like to go on walks. For the past two years and now, I've lived in pretty neighborhoods, and it's just nice eye candy to see all of the differnt details that people in Berkeley and Oakland add to their yards, it's not like where I grew up at all.
Funny, right now knitting and spinning feels like a luxury treat for me, now that I'm spending most of my time at work or getting ready for work. Going on Ravelry and looking at a few pages of new friend activity or reading blogs is a total indulgence!
I don't do the sugar thing anymore, so no treats there:-)
Wow, I rambled on, didn't I?!
I think podcasting again soon will be another indulgence. I can't wait to see what other people say.
Oh, and as to food luxuries - my biggest one is my beloved Purple Haze Cypress Grove Goat Cheese. Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes!
**Love**! This post. :-)
Hm, yeah, when I was in college... actually, buying myself a new something at the drugstore has always seemed like an indulgence, because it is. One must be careful there though and not go overboard - one nail polish perhaps, not 2 or 4 or 5. I love the pleasure of just dithering about in the drugstore, looking at all of the sparkly new tubes and bottles.
For fun, when I lived on the coast, I would go to the beach all of the time. Now, what do I do? Hm. When I was still buying yarn, that was a fun indulgence. Now that I'm single, painting my nails with all my aquired nail polish stash does seem like a total time indulgence. It's amazing how much your time frees up to spend on yourself when you're not spending it on someone else, nor cleaning up after a second person! Pretty awesome, actually.
I like to go on walks. For the past two years and now, I've lived in pretty neighborhoods, and it's just nice eye candy to see all of the differnt details that people in Berkeley and Oakland add to their yards, it's not like where I grew up at all.
Funny, right now knitting and spinning feels like a luxury treat for me, now that I'm spending most of my time at work or getting ready for work. Going on Ravelry and looking at a few pages of new friend activity or reading blogs is a total indulgence!
I don't do the sugar thing anymore, so no treats there:-)
Wow, I rambled on, didn't I?!
I think podcasting again soon will be another indulgence. I can't wait to see what other people say.
Oh, and as to food luxuries - my biggest one is my beloved Purple Haze Cypress Grove Goat Cheese. Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes!
I buy frozen strawberries out of season. This week, I also got whipping cream. Sweetened it w/brown sugar.
I also love time with special kids. Right now a 5-yr old makes me smile.
And yea w/ a friend is luxe.
That is, "tea" w/ a friend...