being unemployed has come with some hidden gifts. i've learned a few more ways how to stretch the dollar. i learned a few ways already while living in france but in america i think there are more ways to do that. lots of things that are just out there for the taking like coupons. even though the savings aren't big, i've enjoyed clipping coupons and using them. here are some other ways that i've thought of:
1. shopping at the farmer's market.
2. buying public transport passes instead of paying for each boarding, month after month.
3. making your own frozen foods
4. water - buying a brita filter or pitcher instead of buying cases of bottled water.
5. however, for soda, many stores have sales on cases (2 or 3 cases for $10), or on the 2 liter size. buying a can of soda at work a few days a week adds up.
6. getting fruit from your friends and/or relatives fruit trees :)
that's all for now. hopefully i'll figure out some more.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Sunday, October 09, 2011
a bit of good news.
on thursday, i got to work and the director came up to me. she said there is a data entry project that needs to be done and no one at the district office has the time to do it. she would take me to meet the superintendent on wednesday afternoon where he would explain what needs to be done. oh, and my director said she would pay me for my time. it seems to be a short-term project but it's still great news. yippee!
Thursday, October 06, 2011
paris to london
6 years ago, i came back from france and all i could do was think about how to go back. i did internet research on this for nearly 4 years before i returned to france. i found myself at a forum for english language assistants in france. i read each post on just about every topic and became well-versed in every aspect of life in france.
tonight, i find myself doing the same for the u.k. as impossible as french bureaucracy seems, you eventually get what you came for: a visa, an o.f.i.i. stamp, something. they may send you back twice to provide another document you weren't aware about but in the end, there's victory. with the uk, it seems they are just as tough and impossible-sounding as their french counterpart. except, people have been denied visas. the british are super strict (though not as strict as the u.s.) yep, i'm a little bit worried. the uk authorities, have very strict guidelines and they are on top of things.
talking about border control, i remember the first time i crossed their borders. i was going to edinburgh for four days. i was travelling alone. i arrived into the city during the evening. i got to the front of the line and the personnel asked me how many days i was spending in the city. she then asked what my business in france is and i told her i was studying french. she then asked me if i came with the other visitors who were in front of me. (nope). she stamped my passport and that was that.
i don't know why i'm so worried. this is still not anytime soon and i should feel more confident than anything having all this international traveling experience under my hat.
tonight, i find myself doing the same for the u.k. as impossible as french bureaucracy seems, you eventually get what you came for: a visa, an o.f.i.i. stamp, something. they may send you back twice to provide another document you weren't aware about but in the end, there's victory. with the uk, it seems they are just as tough and impossible-sounding as their french counterpart. except, people have been denied visas. the british are super strict (though not as strict as the u.s.) yep, i'm a little bit worried. the uk authorities, have very strict guidelines and they are on top of things.
talking about border control, i remember the first time i crossed their borders. i was going to edinburgh for four days. i was travelling alone. i arrived into the city during the evening. i got to the front of the line and the personnel asked me how many days i was spending in the city. she then asked what my business in france is and i told her i was studying french. she then asked me if i came with the other visitors who were in front of me. (nope). she stamped my passport and that was that.
i don't know why i'm so worried. this is still not anytime soon and i should feel more confident than anything having all this international traveling experience under my hat.
Saturday, October 01, 2011
saving money
a few days ago, extreme couponing was on tv. seeing how much those women saved at the supermarket wanted me to sort through coupons, too. though i don't plan on going to the extreme, i, too, want to save money and haven't really thought about coupons. the next day i sorted through all the advertisements and junk mail. i cut out all the relevant coupons from papers and then proceeded to organize it in excel. yesterday i checked to see if all the stores in the area have their weekly ads on their website and they did. it just made bargain shopping a lot easier. today i decided to go to walmart with a small list of things i wanted to buy. turns out walmart is the low price leader in a lot of things. i did find one thing that they were selling a bit higher than one of their competitors so i ended up getting a price match for it at the register. (walmart and target do price matching). other things i had coupons for but wal mart did not have the selection i wanted.
after i got home, i decided it would be nice to see my savings in a graphic way so i created the above display on my daytum page. the numbers in the parentheses indicate the amount of money that was saved. i can't explain what daytum is that well but a visit to their site will. daytum is quite addicting :) i can't wait to see what it will look like after a couple of months.
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