Hyperconsumerism Is a Virus

Discretion and frugality are the vaccines.

The only thing I deplore more than celebrities and television commericials is the presence of celebrities in said commercials, hawking every commodity from sugary sodas to purses with four-digit pricetags. At some point, a svelte celebrity or miscellaneous pretty-face has fronted every scam for which I have fallen, commodity in hand, lips moving to the rhythm of a lifestyle that amounts to nothing but smoke and mirrors. 

However revolting, I must own up to my participation in the pop-culture whirlwind: I bought the lies, along with the goods, and ended up with an empty pocket from over-spending, poor health from over-drink/eating and a roomfull of clutter that, over time, became too tiresome and unwieldy to maintain.

Having the adequate resources to support said buying habits is one thing, but the overwhelming majority does not, howevermuch their unfettered auras and smart appearance leans to the contrary. Despite my tender years, I’ve witnessed too many individuals of all ages buying into a vortex of debt and financial ruin. Even the successful can run themselves aground. I reference an example from “The Millionaire Next Door” (a most revealing volume), in which a plain individual with a used vehicle parked in the driveway amasses millions of dollars in wealth through frugality, the proper channels of investing, hard work and determination. Cut to the six-figure income professional who lives in the nicest neighborhood and owns all of the material possessions money can buy. If the former is a millionaire, the latter is surely one too, right? Nope. He/she sinks every paycheck into commodities and maintains only $50,000 in reserve (e.g. actual wealth) to the former’s millions.      

Now. I do not intend to unleash a flood of sanctimonious garbage about the evils of material possessions. I do not champion a pauper’s lifestyle in order to save money. But one can strike a balance through selectivity and prudence. It is possible to live well on less, reserving the better fruits of one’s labors for more noble pursuits (helping the environment by eliminating waste? the ability to afford higher-quality merchandise? ditto the ability to pay in full and dodge interest-accruing installments? the reserve to withstand an emergency? retirement?). 

Even saving one’s money for its own sake is a glorious pursuit, yielding benefits such as control, industriousness and simplicity. They are truly underrated. Pay yourself first and such rewards may follow.

Happy New Year.

CVS Deals

As this blog is largely becoming a chronicle of smart-shopping attempts, I’ve been considering a name change. Perhaps “Not Buying It” would be more appropriately labeled ”Buying It Cheaply,” or something to that effect. The former would be appropriate if my goal(s) ran along the lines of dropping out, which it isn’t.

Anyway, here are the results of my most recent foray into the world of CVS deals. I’m quite pleased with the outcome:

2 Nature’s Bounty Vitamins (BOGO + $3 ECB’s) = $5.49
2 Colgate toothpastes (BOGO) = $2.99
2 CVS-brand cotton balls (BOGO 1/2 off) = $1.49 + .74
4 Soyjoy Raisin Bars ($1 EBC/bar) = $4.00
1 Skintimate Shaving Gel = $2.99

—A combo of CVS and manufact. coupons
________________________________
                 TOTAL w/tax = $2.03

Netflix Woes -or- I’ve Been Throttled!

The end of December marks my three-month tenure as a Netflix customer. At first it seemed like an excellent service; I’ve been enjoying the movies, as well as the requisite 24-hour turnaround for my 2-at-a-time rentals. Recent delivery times, however, leave much to be desired. Over the past 6 weeks, I’ve watched the arrival rate peter out to two, and now three, business days. Since I live in the proximity of two major cities, I didn’t expect to encounter such delays. But it isn’t just the delivery times: it now takes Netflix 1-2 additional days to acknowledge the receipt of my returned dvd’s. What’s going on?

This afternoon I googled around to see if others have encountered this issue, and…ho boy. Apparently, this problem with Netflix has been logged by angry customers since (at least) 2003. Prior to today I had no idea what the term, “Netflix Throttling”—or, deliberate delays on shipping and limited new-movie availability for customers deemed “heavy users”—meant, nor did I realize that many other customers often wait 7-10 days for delivery!

But today’s experience really takes the cake: Last Thursday, a dvd arrived that stuck around at home for 5 days. It was a combination of last-minute shopping, misc. holiday preparations, one relative after another wanted to watch it, etc. Yesterday, I sent it back, anticipating the arrival of the next title in my queue, one whose availability has been listed as “now.” Today I received an email from Netflix informing me that 1) the title is unavailable at the nearest shipping facility, therefore, 2) it will be arriving from a site located 3 states away. What? 

Not only did Netflix fail to send an email acknowledging receipt of the previous dvd, but they have also changed the shipping status on my queue page. “Shipping” has now changed to “Shipping Friday.” It’s going to take more time as it is: why hold on to it for another 24 hours on top of it?

Several customers have cited this trick—shipping from distant locations—as a classic throttling technique. It has nothing to do with availability. Logic tells me that regardless what title came next in the queue, they would have found a way to delay shipping, thereby ensuring that I would not receive the dvd before the weekend.

Due to these nefarious tactics, many angry customers have dropped their Netflix accounts for Blockbuster (who, I hear, is having its own customer service issues of late) or altered their viewing habits so as not to be penalized for “heavy viewing,” a ridiculous concept coming from a service whose slogan boasts “unlimited viewing.”

I, for one, have no plans to cancel my subscription. Yet. But I will, however, closely monitor the return/delivery rate from here on out, and when it is no longer economically viable to keep Netflix, I will drop it on its ass.

When It Pays to Ask

If the concept of the 39 dollar experiment is new to you, go have a look see. I was pretty amazed at all of the freebies and coupons that companies will supply just for the asking. Since a) it is hard to believe and b) I use many of the same products on a daily basis, I decided to attempt a copycat of sorts. But since I had neither the time nor desire to spend $39 worth of stamps and write 100 letters, the target list was trimmed down considerably…

On Wednesday, December 12th, I mailed letters to seven companies whose products I use regularly, enclosing compliments (in earnest) for their quality items along with my request for coupons and samples.

Total cost:

7 x .41 first class stamps = $2.87
7 envelopes x a few pennies each (let’s say 5 cents) = .35
7 letters printed on 8.5 x 11 paper x a few more pennies for printer ink (make it 10 cents) = .70

TOTAL = $3.92

A few days ago the replies starting rolling in. As of today, I have received the following:

1. Stash Tea: 11 free tea samples and a catalog (approx $ = 2.20)
2. S.C. Johnson: One free Skintimate coupon (approx $ = 3.00) and $14.00 worth of coupons for various products (approx $ = 14.00)
3. Johnson & Johnston/McNeil PPC: Coupons for feminine hygiene products (approx $ = 3.00)

TOTAL (as of 12/23/07): $22.20

The truly surprising element (well, almost as much as the dollar value itself) about this venture has been the letters accompanying each response. Two out of three were personalized, expressing appreciation for my comments/compliments. Both included genuine pen-and-ink signatures from customer service managers. Some of these are major corporations with a national reach; I anticipated canned replies all around.

The originator of the $39 experiment waited about four months for replies before calling it quits. Since barely 2 weeks have elapsed, I’m still on the alert for sweet deals arriving by mail.

If anyone is reading, have a Merry Christmas!

Walgreens

I’ve netted the following in the past 24 hours:

1 Pear’s body wash 
3 25.4oz Pantene Pro-V conditioner and shampoos
3 8×10 photos

Total = 6.80 (including tax)

The body wash was was on sale for 1.00. I took advantage of yesterday’s free print offer from Walgreens photo. As the limit was one per customer, you might wonder how I snagged three: some family members got involved, and chose to give me their pictures. The shampoos were 3/$20 with $10 in register rebates. Add a $5/$20 coupon and I ended up spending $5.00 for shampoo, $1.00 for the body wash.   

A deal is a deal…sometimes.

There are 12 days left to take advantage of this coupon from 3M: $3.00 off two Post-It products.

Some individuals are truly maxing out on the deal, both snagging free Post-Its and rolling the overage on other items at Target and Wal-Mart. They combine them with the new sale items and coupons that appear each subsequent week, thereby netting impressive quantities of merchandise for only a few dollars. Cashiers at their local stores sound wonderful: forcing the coupons, applying the overage, and not batting an eye when the same customer returns the following day with similar items and newly-printed coupons.

Too good to be true? I decided to try for myself. Armed with two of the aforementioned coupons, I headed out to the nearest shopping center which, ironically, houses both Target and Wal-Mart on opposite ends.

Now. Other than Post-Its I had only one needed item to buy, therefore I had no intention of replicating the types of purchases detailed on other blogs. After all, one of the motivations of voluntary simplicity is the elimination of clutter. Limiting one’s purchases to necessities. Stuff like that. And four packs of Glade Plug In’s and a vat of Purell don’t quite fit the bill. I don’t use these items. While I’m not in dire need of Post-It’s, these do come in handy often enough that they will be used eventually. It’s a guilt-free item.

At Target, I found two Post-Its ($1.40 each) and a much-needed hair product priced at $1.50. The cashier’s tentative smile and pleasant response to my “How are you?” evaporated as the scanner kept rejecting the Post-It coupon. She tried several times, tapping several buttons, entering codes, switching modes on the register screen. And every time, the register emitted a plaintive beep. She called a manager. After the fifth try, it went through. I paid up, apologized for the hassle and received my bag with a stiff nod from the cashier.

Three dollars off my $2.80 Post-Its with .20 overage on the hair product brought the total down to $1.30. All in all, not bad…if you don’t mind taking the time to piss off employees and the other people waiting in line.

How did the coupon fare at Wal-Mart? Sadly, scoring an even better deal wasn’t to be. Two Post-It’s for .99 cents each and a .97 cent pack of handiwipes would have eliminated the need to reach for my purse. But when I handed the coupon to the cashier, she turned it over, examined the fine print, did everything short of sniffing the printer ink before asking where it came from.

“Did you get this on the internet?” she queried.

“Yes,” I said.

Apparently Wal-mart does not accept internet coupons. At least, this is what I was told. However, I know that others have used the same coupon at their Wal-Marts with nary a problem. Perhaps it’s just this one store. Who knows.  

CVS will accept the coupon, but their Post-It prices and selections are pretty grim. Unless you can combine the deal with their EB/EC coupons, it probably isn’t worth your while. I used the coupon in tandem with the free tissues deal last week and paid about $4.00 total. I had intended to use the $1/rebate form inside each Post-It pack, but they had expired months ago. Oh well.

Gingerbread

A friend brought these cookies to a Christmas party a few years ago and everyone (myself included) begged her for the recipe. I make them once a year– every year–and they never lose appeal. Who can resist soft, homemade cookies?

A few caveats: The resulting dough is incredibly viscous and messy. The recipe’s suggestion of 1/2 cup additional flour is insufficient–at least 3 1/2 cups are necessary to prevent stickyness. Also: I substitute Splenda for the sugar. 

1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup melted margarine
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 cup unsulfered molasses
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon lemon extract
4 cups stone-ground or unbleached flour, unsifted

Combine the sugar, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Mix well. Add the melted margarine, evaporated milk and molasses. Add the extracts. Mix well. Add the flour 1 cup at a time, stirring constantly. The dough should be stiff enough to handle without sticking to fingers. Knead the dough for a smoother texture. Add up to ½ cup additional flour if necessary to prevent sticking. When the dough is smooth, roll it out ¼ inch thick on a floured surface and cut it into cookies. Bake on floured or greased cookie sheets in a preheated 375° F oven for 10 to 12 minutes. The gingerbread cookies are done when they spring back when touched.

  

First Post

Stay tuned for posts about a twenty-something’s attempt to be a smart shopper, embrace frugality, celebrate simplicity and resist the consumerist balloney (both tangible and intangible) that targets her generation.

As the blog’s heading states: I’m not buying it.