First Friday Finds

FFF: Freegal & Fregal

~ Sara W. ~ Leave a comment

Due to Halloween, November 1st always sneaks up on me.  My brother-in-law can vouch for this, as we have missed his November 1st birthday more times than I care to admit. With Halloween now behind us though and Thanksgiving and Christmas before us, this month’s double find should come in handy.  It’s all about finding deals!

The original plan was to tell you about this program, Freegal Music, that thousands of libraries participate in.  It is a downloadable music service through your library. All you need is your library card number and some libraries utilize a PIN. Freegal has about 3 million songs in their database.  Plus, there is no software to download and there are no digital rights management (DRM) restrictions.  Freegal is limited to patrons of subscribing libraries, so you’ll have to go on to Freegal Music and see if your library is one of them.

Once you have set up your account, they also have an app that you can add to your phone so that you can have your music on multiple devices.  One drawback is that you are only allotted 3 downloads per week.  It explains more about the logistics on their website, so if it’s something that interests you, go check it out!

Now for my bonus First Friday Find (FFF)!  As I was typing in the website for Freegal Music, a typo led me to a SUPER cool website called Fregal.com.  There is not an About section on the site, but it’s pretty straight forward.  It’s a blog with post after post of free deals and savings.  In the last week alone, there are posts on how to get a free Shutterfly photobook, free 8×10 collage print at Walgreens, a free kids meal at Outback Steakhouse, and more.  There is also a search field in the sidebar along with a categories section to help expedite your savings search.

So go grab yourself some free music, start playing it, and peruse fregal.com to find some amazing holiday deals!  Happy free shopping!

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First Friday Finds: Voxer

~ Sara W. ~ 1 Comment

This month’s First Friday Find isn’t anything terribly new on the scene, but there seem to be many who do not know of the app called Voxer.  It can be used on both iPhones and Androids and it has made my life easier and more connected in a world that is getting busier with less personal communication.  Voxer is basically a glorified Walkie-Talkie.

The app’s description can explain it better than I can: Voxer allows you to easily and instantly communicate with one friend or a group of friends.  Friends can listen to your message while you talk, or check audio messages later.  Forget about separate phone calls, voicemails, text messages, and e-mails.  With Voxer you can instantly send audio, text, photos, and share your location.

I have made several attempts to convince people of the benefits of this app.  Many of my friends have joined in the fun.  However, I’ve received several naysayers as well.  I thought I would address all the naysayers remarks with my own rebuttal.

Naysayer #1: If I want to talk to someone, I can just call them.
Rebuttal: Yes, but hardly anybody seems to call anymore.  Some don’t even pick up the phone when you do call.
Real-life Example: My friend has a sister that she rarely has a chance to talk with on the phone.  The sister had shied away from family since she did not feel like she was really fitting in with their expectations.  A phone call felt a little too intimidating.  My friend convinced her sister to get on Voxer.  The sisters are now communicating on a weekly, if not daily, basis whereas before they were not talking at all.  It’s a little less intrusive but still allows for communication.

Naysayer #2: I can just text someone.
Rebuttal: This saves you the cramped fingers from those long texts.  Plus, being able to hear the inflection in one’s voice omits all those texts where you can’t tell if someone is kidding or just really stinkin’ rude.  Lastly, though it’s not my preferred method of communication, texting can also be done within this app.
Real-life Example: My message gets across quicker and I can be the sarcastic goofball that I am without having to worry about hurt feelings or misinterpreted texts.

Naysayer #3: Isn’t it just like leaving a Voice-mail?
Rebuttal: How annoying is it to have to dial in to your VM?  Perhaps I’m just lazy, but I really hate having to go through the dialing and connecting process for a simple Voice-mail.
Real-life Example: I’m saving minutes and time!

Naysayer #4: I just don’t get the point.
Rebuttal: See Real-life Example below.
Real-life Example:  I am a Mom who is on the move.  Sometimes my friends and I get behind and we’re late picking up kids.  We quickly Vox each other and let the other adult know that we’re on our way.  I can send a Voxer to all of my girlfriends easily and let them know that I’m taking my kids to the park and all are welcome.  I can let my husband know that I’m getting gas really quick before I come home from my errands without having to connect my Bluetooth or pull over and text.  I can let a friend know that I am in the area and about to return something to them that I have borrowed so they have a heads up.  I can stay connected with my family and friends who live miles apart and oftentimes keep different hours.  This allows them to listen when they have a free moment and respond at their convenience.  Even more fun, my kids LOVE to leave messages for their friends.

Here’s the biggest reason I like Voxer though.  I think of loved ones in my life more times than they would ever know.  I may hear a song, remember a funny inside joke, or see a silly thing in a store that reminds me of them.  Half the time I have that thought and my friends and family never know they were thought of that day.  With the ease of Voxer, I’m able to snap a picture and explain why it made me think of them.  I’m able to give them an update on life that will not be showing up in their Facebook feed.  I’m able to quickly send a message of gratitude that might have otherwise gone unsaid.  We may say we’ll call, we’ll text, or visit, but sadly many of those actions don’t come to pass.  Voxer may seem like a poor substitute for other more personal communication, but when you’re not connecting at all, it brings more valuable connection than Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and texting combined.

Voxer brings a more real connection in a world that seems to be setting less time aside for face-to-face communication and phone calls.  You may prefer talking on the phone versus this option but, if the other end never picks up, then your preference is null and void.

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First Friday Finds: Falling Fruit

~ Sara W. ~ Leave a comment

Wow!  Another month has come and gone.  It’s time for our First Friday Find for September.

I give the credit all to my Dad for this month’s find.  He told me about a website he read about in the AARP Magazine.  The name of the find is the same as its website: http://fallingfruit.org.

It’s a website that pinpoints on a map where edible agriculture is out there for the free picking.  The downside is that most of the data is user-submitted.  As a result, the fruit plucking potential in an area will only be as abundant as the amount of people aware that such a site exists in the first place.

My husband and I eagerly searched the site as soon as we learned about it.  We were joking that we expected to see our home on the map.  We have a peach tree and an Italian Plum tree that overhang the sidewalk to the side of our house.  That portion is free for the picking.  Sadly, our city only has six spots noted.  I thought that was poor representation until I saw that the entire county in Southern California where I grew up only has five spots posted.

The website came to fruition (pun intended) thanks to two Colorado scientists, Ethan Welty and Caleb Phillips.  The co-founders focused their efforts on finding edible fruit in some two dozen cities.  North of Downtown Los Angeles must have their very own representative.  There are hundreds of urban fruit spots noted in Edendale and Silver Lake neighborhoods alone.

Go ahead and check out your location and see what you can find!  If your city is not sufficiently represented on the pinpoint map, then keep your eyes peeled for some sweet spots to submit yourself.

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First Friday Finds: You Need A Budget (YNAB)

~ Sara W. ~ 1 Comment

**When I find a great deal, a fun product, a great activity, or a motivational thought, I like to share it.  That’s the whole purpose of this blog really.  I want to share some insights that I’ve found helpful for living a richer and fuller life.  I thought it might be fun to expand the blog a bit and include some tangible discoveries in my life that have proved fruitful.  For now, I’ll feature these items on the first Friday of every month.  We shall call them First Friday Finds.**

I’m particularly excited to share this little gem, as I finally began to utilize it fully in my life.  It’s a budgeting tool called You Need A Budget (YNAB).

I was first introduced to YNAB by a friend of mine a few years back.  At the time, I had not mentally prepared myself for the daunting task of creating a budget.  I didn’t even know where to start.  In the beginning, I used the tool solely as an opportunity to keep track of the comings and goings of my money.  Sadly, I didn’t even look at the budget portion of the program.  It worked marvelously in keeping track of my checking and creating reports on my spending habits.

It wasn’t until recently that I began taking our finances more seriously.  Perhaps my blog is serving as a motivation even to myself.  I let myself begin.

I knew the premise of the program’s Four-Rule approach to budgeting, but I had yet to watch any of their classes on how to start the budgeting process.  I am happy to report that I got around to watching the Getting Started with YNAB video early last week.  It gave me the umph I needed to try my hand at setting a budget.

I had read bits and pieces of Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness.  I knew my husband had to be a part of the budgeting plan.  We sat down the night before pay day hit and hashed out where the money we would be getting HAD to go.  The process was quite painless.  The program does all the work for you.  We were done within the hour.  Lot of good all that procrastinating did me (repeat in sarcastic tone).

The best part is that it’s a livable budget.  You can change it when necessary.  The whole concept makes it less discouraging.  I don’t feel like I’ve failed at budgeting if I overspend in one category.  I just have to be aware that another category is going to lose out when I do so.  Then I easily adjust my budget with YNAB from there.

Add on that they have a mobile app and it makes it even better.  While out shopping, I can quickly look at my phone to see if I have money left in my budget for that item.  It was perfect for doing school supplies shopping this week.  I wasn’t mindlessly stocking my cart.  In fact, I even ended up under budget.  This was especially good since I had budgeted only $5 for another category purchase and ended up spending $7.30.  The establishment I was at only allowed cards to be used for purchases over $5 and all I had was my debit card.  It forced me to buy more to get the item I needed.  This is probably why Dave Ramsey works in cash.  But an unexpected expense got easily worked out with the switch of some money from my under-budget school supplies category.  The best part, I can add all my transactions on the go with the mobile app and it adjusts my budget before I even hit the next store.

I’m so tired of living paycheck to paycheck.  My husband makes good money but through a series of poor decisions, we have let our finances get the best of us.  I feel like this might be our chance of actually getting above water.  It’s changing our way of thinking and spending.  That’s a good sign.  Our willingness to stop doing the habit that’s not working and begin doing something that has been proven to work seems like a step in the right direction.

Check out the YNAB website.  They have a free trial demo.  I already have more money remaining in our checking than I normally would at this time during the pay period cycle.  Imagine how much freedom you could have if you could more readily rid yourself of debt.  Or better yet start making those saving accounts sky-rocket.

The ease of the program has almost made it, do I dare say, fun to budget.

I’m just beginning our journey to being debt-free and I’m excited!  I hope this program offers you the same hope for a healthier financial future.

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