Labor Day Parade 2008: A Free Trip to the Caribbean

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Few towns can toss a parade like New York City: all you have to do is check out the Coney Island Mermaid Parade, Village Halloween Parade, or Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to be convinced. But the West Indian-American Labor Day Parade combines the best elements of all of those into one rockin’ package. Read more

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Buy Cheap: Etsy the Online Flea Market

For someone who is obsessed with things of the past - furniture, buildings, clothing - flea markets are a sort of blissful utopia for me. And as much as I love heading out to a church parking lot or school gymnasium to sort through all sorts of lovely forgone items, being able to do that online is even better. Read more

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

How to Manage Stress in the Workplace

Work related stress is no day in the park. Regardless of industry, there will always be some level of tension involved with every job. However, with a few tips you can learn how to blow off some steam and manage your stress without putting your job or your health on the line. Read more

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Cancel that Cable! Save Hundreds with Hulu

A few years ago, I decided to cut out the overpriced advertising circus that is cable TV. It was way too expensive, as I was living in the Lower East Side (where I also paid way too much for a bedroom), and made less than $40K–besides, most of the shows were crap anyway. I’ve been pretty happy since, although there are definitely times when I just want to come home and veg out to thirty minutes of mindless sitcom. Sometimes a DVD just doesn’t cut it. Read more

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Amazon MP3: The iTunes Music Store Killer

The iPod juggernaut continues to roll. According to data from analyst firm NPD, Apple’s mini music box accounted for over 70 percent of MP3 sales in 2007 and, if you factor in the out-of-control sales of the recently launched iPhone 3G, Steve Jobs and company look to rule the roost for another year. Unfortunately, many iPod owners fall into the trap of thinking that the iTunes Store is end-all, be-all of digital music stores — uh-uh.

Smart music fans who want to save significant dollars should mosey over to Amazon MP3. Launched in Fall 2007, Amazon MP3 is the LifeStyler staff’s music store of choice for five reasons that we’ll detail in full. So before you make an iTunes purchase, we recommend that you check out Amazon MP3. Here’s why

Cheaper Individual Songs and Albums
The typical Amazon MP3 song is $.89; the typical iTunes track is a dime more. That may not sound like much of a difference, but you’ll save $1.00 for every ten regularly-priced songs that you purchase. The prices of complete albums vary, but there are still some big savings. For example, Steve Wonder’s 21-track double-album Songs In The Key of Life sells for $19.99 on iTunes, but $14.97 on Amazon - a savings of $5.02.

Amazon MP3 Daily Deal
Never let it be said that Amazon doesn’t listen to music fans’ demands. The Amazon MP3 Daily Deal is a heavy discounted album picked by you, the listener. Want to contribute to the cause? Simply sign into this Facebook thread, and respond with the name of the album you’d like Amazon MP3 to give the cheapie treatment. How cheap are we talking? At the time of this writing, Steely Dan’s $6.93 Aja album was sliced down to just $.99.

Friday 5: Five Albums for $5 Each
Every Friday, Amazon MP3 offers five albums for only a Lincoln. This past weekend saw The Beastie Boys’ 1989 classic Paul’s Boutique go for just five dollars. Five dollars. That’s awesomeness that’s hard to beat. To be fair, iTunes has albums under $7, but the majority of them are at the $6 mark. Amazon MP3, FTW.

Lots of Free Tracks
Right now until the end of August, Amazon MP3 will let users download the Six Degrees sampler (a mish-mash of eclectic global tunes) at no cost. There are only six songs, but with the average track lasting well over five minutes, it’s like downloading a full-length album.

No DRM
Amazon MP3’s catalog isn’t laced with hideous DRM (Digital Rights Management), an annoying technology that prevents music purchased for the iTunes Store from playing in anything but an iPod. In other words, if you decide to purchase an Archos, Creative, Microsoft, or SanDisk player, all of your music would be worthless, unless you opted to burn your entire library to CD and rip them as MP3s - - a total waste of time and/or money. Amazon’s music, however, will play in any MP3 player under the sun.

When you crunch the numbers, there’s truly no reason to load your MP3 player with music anywhere other than Amazon MP3. There are weekly freebies, daily discounts, and solid savings to be had all around. And in these financially-tight times every little bit counts, right?

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

10 Houseware Items for Under $20

If you live in New York City, you know that buying all of those little household items that are imperative for everyday functioning can really add up to a pile of cash. What you may not know; however, is that Pearl River Market is the place to buy your housewares. And now they’re online for all of you out-of-towners. My Top 10 favorite steals below. Read more

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Will Eating Organic Save You Money?

These days, it seems organic products are all the rage. As a society, I think we’ve gone a little organic crazy. Not too long ago, as I was walking around Park Slope, I saw a sign that boasted, of all things, an organic dry cleaner. Now, I’m not saying that organic is a bad thing. I love the idea of buying food that’s home grown and healthy - no steroids or other additives. But, it seems like buying healthy and organic products almost always equal super pricey - and is marketed to signify a sort of “elitist” status. Read more

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

BillShrink.com - Shrink Your Cell Phone Bill

Cell phone bills are the bane of my existence. I’ve probably changed my plan four times over the past year, in a near fruitless attempt to lower my bill. I hate trying to analyze which plans offer national coverage and how many “whenever” minutes come with each, at what time their “free minutes” start and all of those other little extras like text messaging and data. Read more

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

The $20 Date - Summer Edition

Men have it hard when it comes to dating in New York City, especially with the prices of food and transportation soaring. You don’t want to come off as cheap, but you also don’t want to dish out $100 on someone you’ve never met and may or may not hit it off with. Here are four date ideas that will impress your date, without blowing your entire paycheck. Read more

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Bargain Retreats to Restore Your Sanity

It can be hard to plan a getaway when you’re counting nickles just to get by, much less pay for one. But a quick, weekend getaway can be a huge boost to your physical and mental health when job stress has got you down. Here are a 4 weekend trips that will run you around (or less) than $300. Read more

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Next Page »