LifeStyler’s Last-Minute NYC Budget Gift Guide

It’s the holiday season again, and if you’re anything like us, you haven’t done a stitch of gift shopping.  It’s okay, though.  Laziness doesn’t always have to screw you over.  We’ve rounded up some easy last minute (and cheap!) gifts that are purchased easily and quickly from your home computer or in the nearby area — but be ready to have that shipping expedited.

Under $20

• KODAK Picture Movie DVD ($14.99) – Pull at their heart strings.  You know people love homemade gifts, so make them all teary-eyed by uploading sweet photos and adding in some sweet Marvin Gaye tracks.  The whole caboodle takes about 15 minutes, and its done at a Kiosk — can’t get much easier than that.  Once you’re done, wrap it up in some homemade paper created by your old Whole Foods bags, and voila!  DIY perfection.  *Kiosk locations here.

• Full Color Photo Book by Fast Pencil ($9.20) – Here’s another partial-DIY gem.  Fast Pencil is an online publishing tool that allows you to print your own books — but you can also use it to make a really fabulous thoughtful gift.  A 40 page full-color, saddle stitch photo book will run you less than $10 a copy.  Or you could publish a handful of mom’s best recipes, complete with glossy photos and personal anecdotes to give to everyone in the family.  The sky’s pretty much the limit with this one.

• Tenant Flash Cards ($10) – Tenant rights are always important, living in a city like New York.  Make looking up common tenant issues way easier by popping out some flash cards, instead of sifting through a hundred pages of Google search results.

Under $50

• First World Trash Brown Tote ($40) – Supporting local small businesses right now is key in helping them survive the Great Recession of ‘09.  Do your part by picking up this trendy, goes-with-everything, recycled (green!) tote bag from Queens retailer, First World Trash.

• 8×12 Fine Art Print of Macy’s at Christmas time ($39) – Remind your gift recipient that you did not have to stand in insane shopping lines with this fine art print of the crowds at Macy’s that you can purchase through Etsy, the web’s best online craft store.

• Lego Recreation of the Guggenheim Museum ($44.95) – Legos are awesome.  Lego recreations are even better.  And in a twisted sense of irony, the most unique gift I’ve seen this year is available at the cookie-cutter mega retailer, Wal-Mart.  It’s perfect for your geeky, artsy friend.

Under $100

• Quickbooks Accounting Simple Start Edition ($99.95) – Be practical. The best way to stay on top of that New Year’s resolution to finally get your finances in order is to actually make a step towards that goal.  There’s a reason why almost every small business uses Quickbooks — it’s actually a good product.  And the best thing about this version, is that it’s pretty much learning curve free — as long as you can pump out some data entry, it’ll do the rest.

• Dance Classes at Broadway Dance Center ($70) – A 5-class card at famed studio, BDC, is a way cool gift for for both the beginner or a seasoned dancer.  With 16 types of classes, you can test drive a few to find out which is your favorite.

• Transit Museum Membership ($80) – Give someone a real New York gift — a membership to the Transit Museum.  There’s all sorts of perks involved, including free museum admission for you, a guest, and four kids; discounts to museum events; and most importantly, access to train tunnel tours of old subway stations.

Turkey Day Treats and Sweets

Thanksgiving is a day for football, family, friends and most importantly: food. So whether you’re hosting the big dinner at your humble abode or heading to the in-laws, you need to come up with something delicious. Here are some recipes to accompany your turkey or satisfy your sweet tooth after your hefty meal — and they’re all under $5. Read more

5 Tips for Surviving on Peanuts

Before paying off my debt, I had always been one of those people who make the mistake of increasing their expenses each and every time I received a raise. Instead of being able to enjoy (and notice) the extra money coming my way, I’d throw it into a more expensive apartment, a subscription to cable – something to suck my money away before I even had a chance to notice it was there.

That was until I decided to really bunker down and get my bills paid.  This decision catapulted a series of major life changes, and consequently ended up with me living on half of my salary — the other half going straight to the bill collector.  Keep reading below for five tips that I put into use while living on a shoestring budget on half of my salary.

1.  Downgrade your Living Expenses – Unless you’re pulling in six figures annually, you can’t live on half of your salary and live alone.  I had to bite the bullet and take on two roommates — but I ended up getting a much bigger space in a super chill neighborhood — all at about half of what I was previously paying.

2.  Buy Food in Season – I existed on lots of vegetables — and still do.  They’re cheap, healthy, and can be prepared in a variety of ways.  By picking up stuff at my local supermarket (broccoli, tomatoes, carrots, rice, beans), I could usually pick up enough food to last me a week (lunch and dinner) for $20.  To really get the most bang for your buck, buy large bags of dry bulk — i.e. rice, beans and pasta.

3.  Cancel Cable and Other Miscellaneous Subscriptions – There are way too many ways to be entertained nowadays for free.  We’ve listed a ton of them in our Recession-Proof Activities lists, but there are still many we haven’t covered.  There’s no reason to pay for cable, net-flix, and video game rentals when you can do the same thing online for free.

4.  Surround Yourself with Positive Reinforcement – I found that the best way to keep myself from slipping up with my financial goals was to become part of an online community that had the same mission.  I read personal finance blogs, participated in online forums, and swapped tips with other readers and writers.  This gave me consistent new ideas on how to save money and the desire to keep at it.

5.  Take Advantage of Free Personal Finance Management to Monitor Spending – There are a ridiculous number of personal financial management tools on the web now for people to track their spending habits — meaning there’s absolutely no reason for anyone to not be monitoring their spending.  I personally use Mint, but there are quite a few good web-based programs out there to choose from.

5 Daily Ways to Save

It’s safe to say that most people are looking for ways to alter some aspect of their routine in order to be as frugal and financially conscious as possible — especially with the holidays creeping up. Making small changes in your daily routine can be far more economical than you would think. In order to hang on to your hard earned cash, here are five easy ways to save a few pennies here and there:

1. Shoe Repair Shops- So, one of your favorite pairs of shoes started showing how much you love them. Instead of retiring them for a new pair, visit one of those handy shoemakers you see around midtown. For $20 or less you should be able to mend worn heels, color and polish scuffs or reinforce the tips of your shoes. Many people have forgotten about the art of cobbling, but it is an excellent and cost effective way to extend the life of your footwear for far less than the cost of a new pair of shoes.

2. Savings Club Cards- Have you ever went shopping at the supermarket or drugstore and been asked “Do you have a club card?” If you’ve been saying “no”, you should do a rewind. Take five minutes out of your time to fill out the savings card form. You’ll get some good discounts, and in some cases the cards will accumulate points that help you earn a coupon worth $5 or $10 bucks off. It’ll save you money on household and personal items that you’d buy anyway.

3. Skip the Beverages- When eating out, it’s often the drinks that tip your bill over your desired cost. Sometimes plain old tap water with lemon can suffice and you’ll notice a sizable difference in the bill. If you absolutely need the fizz of some soda or a bottled water, purchase a six-pack of soda at the grocer and store it at the office. You’ll end up spending half the price than that of restaurants and delis.

4. Bring Lunch to Work- One simple and common way to save is to forgo buying lunch during the work week. Stick to a simple lunch that you can carry to work or pack some leftovers from your dinner from the night before and watch the the savings add up. Another idea I find helpful is “half-brown bagging” lunch. For example, lets say you have the necessary parts for a terrific sandwich at home and you pack one for lunch but you know it won’t quite fill you up, stop at the local deli or your company’s cafeteria and pick up an economical cup of soup. You’ll then have a balanced meal that still costs half of what a usual lunch time soup and sandwich combo costs at the local cafe.

5. Be Crafty- If a staple piece in your wardrobe gets a bit worn, be crafty and look into altering it. If the elbow of a long-sleeved shirt is worn out and otherwise in good condition, do a quick cut and sew job and turn it into a short-sleeved shirt. Or, let’s say you have an old jacket that you want to spruce up a bit. Change the buttons or add other details for an inexpensive, but new, look.

By expanding on and combing these tips with others, you can save even more money. For example, try using your club card to buy a six-pack of your favorite drink to keep at work when brown bagging lunch. Making small adjustments can have a large positive impact on your overall budget, so never underestimate what the savings of a bit of pocket change.