Savvy Saving Bytes

The cigarette box had outlived its function long ago. I still held on to it, both as an admirer of its silver beauty and as a remembrance of its owner. But what could I use it for now? A jewelry box for earrings? Maybe, but metal against medal would lead to inevitable scratching. And the hard surface might dislodge the earring’s inset stones.

Lining the interior presented a problem too. A fabric lining would slip and slide all over the place while earrings were traveling in and out. I could use glue, true – but have you seen what modern glues do to surfaces these days? Adhering both to surfaces and fingers, these glues leave beind tears and bits and pieces of themselves that can only be removed with blowtorches. And even if you’re able to finally get these bits and pieces off with a mighty effort, you’re still left with a scrubby glue residue that can never ever be removed with anything.

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And save $8.00 a month, which, I admit, doesn’t sound particularly impressive. But if you multiply that by ten years, my dears, you’ll be richer by almost $1,000.

How is this possible? If you’re a big spender and subscribe to cable TV services above and beyond basic cable, you are unfortunately out of this money saving loop. If, however, you are, like me, a basic cable subscriber, you may be able to forever kiss off the monthly cost of renting that cable set-top box and TV remote control. I did, but only after I had enriched my cable company for decades paying them for something, it turns out, I never needed in the first place.

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For a ridiculous amount of years, I purchased who knows how many tiny light bulbs to replace bulbs that were constantly popping and blacking out in my nightlight. In fact I also purchased zillions of nightlights because they seldom lasted longer than the bulbs. I don’t know who manufactured these items but their quality seemed to be on the same level as their longevity. Then one day in a Eureka moment, I thought-this is beyond dumb, why am I tossing my money out the window and continually replacing junk with junk.

There was no way I could kill those nightlights completely dead. Some form of illumination was definitely needed for this nocturnal walk-arounder. And that illumination was discovered in a small, cool to the touch LED strip light on a flat panel with prongs on the back, which was in effect a light bulb and nightlight all in one sensible design. Glowing green rectangles, those tough little lights turned out to be indestructible and have guided me through years of night prowling.

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There once lived a man who was, is and always shall be The King of Frugal Mountain. Born in New England, and a close friend of Emerson the poet, Henry David Thoreau lived in Concord, Massachusetts, where living close to the bone was considered a worthy path. But Thoreau, a Harvard graduate and aspiring writer, took that path and stretched it as far as it could go by leaving his comfortable home in town and walking into the woods to build himself a small shack a mile from the nearest neighbor. There on the shore of Walden Pond, he lived alone for two years and two months. In his words: ” I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”

Casting aside town life, tax regulations and worldly possessions, he wrote in a later book: “Our houses are such unwieldy property that we are often imprisoned rather than housed in them… Most of the luxuries and many of the so-called comforts of life are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind.”

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Years ago while kicking my cigarette habit, I chowed down like crazy on carrot and celery sticks to keep from gaining all those pounds so often put on by ex-smokers. This worked so well, I pretty much continued on with slimming snacks to keep unwanted fat at bay. In addition to low calories, these snacks had the advantage of being healthier and less expensive than the highly processed snacks laced with sugar, salt, and chemicals I had consumed when less enlightened.

All these years later those celery and carrot sticks are still at the top of the low-calorie, low cost snack pyramid. Right up there with them are cucumbers spears and tiny grape tomatoes. All four veges, in plastic bags, make good travel companions.

Equally good low cost, slimming travelers among fruits are whole apples, pears and plums along with chunks of refreshing watermelon, cantaloupe and pineapple sealed in plastic containers.

Apple slices, sprinkled with cinnamon, a few cloves and a little sugar make both a yummy snack and desert. Boil this combo with a little water till the apples soften and you’ve got a delicious quick bite to store in the fridge for days.

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For vacation that year, it was the first time my famiIy – sisters, spouses, children, father – visited Cape Cod. Traveling from California, New York City and New England, we all gathered together in a rented condo on the shore of Hyannis Port. There we swam, sunned ourselves, enjoyed long leisurely meals and lounged on the deck to read, sip drinks and watch the sailboats coming in and out of the harbor. We drove to Provincetown and sailed to Nantucket. And at all hours we waded along the sparkling shoreline, scooping up shells washed in with the tides. We each had our separate collection and packed them into our luggage when we left.

Back in New York, I rinsed all the sand off and looked around the apartment for a container to hold them. Nothing seemed right. I wanted to be able to see as many shells as possible. I also didn’t want them to get all dusty. I wanted them as pristine as when I first saw them.

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For kicks I just looked up the online price for an index, file card box. It’s been years since I bought one and I knew I was going to be surprised at the big price jump, as I always am when I go to purchase something that’s long ago dropped off my radar. But in this case I was more than surprised. I was shocked! A diminutive, steel gray metal box for 4″x6″ file cards is going for $27.49.

Not that I was actually going to purchase one. They’re too much a reminder of all the dreary, spirit crushing offices I’ve passed through in my various part time careers. I only checked the price to compare it with the price of the elegant file card box that I presently use, which cost me a big three dollars at Goodwill. On my calculator the difference between these two boxes saved me a tidy $23.49.

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Here are some Thanksgiving thoughts from Mark Twain, Albert Schweitzer and Irving Berlin..

“Thanksgiving Day, a function which originated in New England two or three centuries ago when those people recognized that they really had something to be thankful for — annually, not oftener — if they had succeeded in exterminating their neighbors, the Indians, during the previous twelve months instead of getting exterminated by their neighbors, the Indians. Thanksgiving Day became a habit, for the reason that in the course of time, as the years drifted on, it was perceived that the exterminating had ceased to be mutual and was all on the white man’s side, consequently on the Lord’s side; hence it was proper to thank the Lord for it and extend the usual annual compliments.” — Mark Twain

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I’m with Mark Twain when he said that New Year’s was a harmless annual institution of no particular use to anyone, except as a scapegoat for drunks, friendly calls and humbug resolutions.

In counterpoint to that, I also like Edith L. Pierce’s suggestion that we open a book of blank pages on New Year’s Eve and fill them with our own words. The book’s name is Opportunity and the first chapter begins on New Year’s Day.

‘Tis the time of year to stow away monetary practicalities and take in the visual treat of New York City dressed to the nines in Christmas glitter, silver spangles and a zillion twinkling lights.

From the top: Would it be Christmas in New York without a shot of Rockefeller Center skaters and the gilded statue of Prometheus in his fountain of colored lights? Warning — do not set foot in Rockefeller Plaza at this time of year unless you adore wall to wall crowds of giddy tourists. Determined to get their photographs no matter the obstacle, one eager shooter had the chutzpah to jump in and blithely block my camera view with both his body and foot long camera lens. No sooner was I done giving him the evil eye, than I felt something pressing hard against my upper back (not a good sensation in a crowd of strangers). I wheeled around to discover another tourist had been using my back for a camera tripod. And she had the brass to sweetly smile at me. These two would be star pupils at any paparazzi school.

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