Be Broke But Happy

$35K for dinner and a Ford Escort in the garage

2012-01-13T00:17:00.002-06:00

I love me a "remarkably frugal" half-billionaire. And turns out this guy lives a few blocks from me! President Obama attended three huge money-making funders in Chicago yesterday, one of them near my house (I know this because of the traffic cops swarming every intersection for hours before he arrived. The President's convoy never slows for red lights, nor observes speed limits. It is a sight

It's the Stuff You Can't Have

2011-10-04T14:25:00.001-05:00

I'm telling you, it's all about the stuff you can't have. I opened an email five minutes ago from my friend Krista who is in the Philippines with her husband and four children for a few months. She writes, "We are all dreaming of cheese. There are no cows here and dairy products are nowhere to be found!" In his weekly radio show This American Life, "#446: Living Without," released 26 September

I'm Calling Myself Out + A cheap Starbucks Frapp this week

2011-05-12T14:33:00.000-05:00

Hey folks, this proves just how very cheap I am--were it not previously obvious. (And another reason that I am actually very far from broke, so probably should go about changing my moniker from Broke Girl to something like Rich Girl, except for I'm not that, and that brings to mind the real Poor Little Rich Girls such as the original: Barbara Hutton, then Gloria Vanderbilt, the late Christina

$10 for $20 of items at Barnes & Noble, in-store or online

2011-02-04T10:21:00.001-06:00

Today's Groupon features $10 for $20 worth of toys an games, books and more at Barnes & Noble. The fine print: Expires Apr 10, 2011 Limit 1/person. Limit 1/trans. Valid in-store or online. Valid on sale items. Groupon value reduces by $10 on 4/11, except where prohibited. Groupon issued by Barnes & Noble Marketing Services LLC. What will you buy? I snagged a Zagat restaurant guide and a

79 Free Christmas Music Downloads from Amazon.com

2010-12-14T14:28:00.000-06:00

Broke Girl loves a good Christmas Carol or seventy-nine. She (little known factoid), is a music composer and arranger herself, and knows a thing or two about wanting to collect royalties on her musical works. But when Amazon.com has a bevy of composers and performers who are giving complete songs and mini-albums of Christmas music away--gratis--Broke Girl leaps. [Okay, switching now from third

Random corn stalks in the city

2010-10-30T16:34:00.002-05:00

We're not certain whether neighbors (in a rather upscale co-op building) in Chicago's Gold Coast are looking for ways to cut back on their food bill; whether aliens or high winds planted corn seeds in random little spots of soil around town, or if the phenomenon we've noticed is a real slow-occurring Internet flash-crowd event by cornstalks. Whatever it is, we've seen random stalks of corn

I Paid $1.00 for one cigarette tonight

2010-10-27T22:06:00.002-05:00

Broke girl knows value when she sees it. A neatly-dressed man mumbled something in my direction as I stepped up to the door of a 7-Eleven store tonight. "What did you say?" figuring him for a beggar wanting cash. He spoke louder, "Do you have a cigarette?" "No, I don't," I said, and went into the store. While the clerk rang up my caffeine-free Diet Coke, I looked up at the prices posted over

Somewhere on route 12 or Route 20 in NW Indiana Dune Territory

2010-10-05T21:57:00.001-05:00

In a sketchy stretch of northwest Indiana where Gary kind of grinds down and the road stretches into mile after mile of closed-down businesses, shuttered shrimp-shacks, and the occasional liquor store, there is a little spot where a bit of renewal appears. A few slightly upscale vacation getaway homes appear as the Indiana dunes near. Anyway, I recently chose to take the roads less traveled to a

The Facade: Things are Not as They Seem

2010-10-02T22:27:00.004-05:00

Facade |fəˈsäd| (also façade) noun: • figurative -- an outward appearance that is maintained to conceal a less pleasant or creditable reality : her flawless public facade masked private despair Like a gawker at a bad accident, I've been a little bit overly curious (er, fascinated?) about the evolving story of a "perfect" suburban Chicago family whose facade was horribly sheared off this week.

Passive Behaviors, Shirking Blame: "The knife Did It" and "It's the Economy, Stupid!"

2010-09-29T22:23:00.001-05:00

Recent news, if you read the riff-raff stuff below the fold, included reports of an actor in The 40-Year-Old Virgin under trial for stabbing his girlfriend twenty times. "...he wrongly thought that she was somebody else going after him in the dark." But Shelley Malil's defense appeared lame. He testified, still confused, of the chaos that broke out when he arrived at his girlfriend's house and

The Problem of Eve

2010-09-22T21:46:00.002-05:00

Yes, yes, yes. I did indeedy recently speak at the "Women's Night Out" event hosted by Aspiring Women host Shirley Rose at the Total Living Network studios in Aurora, IL, per my previous post. It has been some time since I was a more frequent speaker at women's conferences, seminars and such on all topics monetary. I appeared for but a few minutes at this event, so got right to it: the root of

Sharp-Eyes

2010-09-15T10:52:00.002-05:00

Strolling through the leafy Chicago neighborhood of Bucktown this past Sunday afternoon, I spotted a lovely renovated house with a "For Sale" sign posted on it. Stairs led to the front door, and a second set led about six steps down to a garden level entrance as well. That's where I spotted a swirl of the season's first fallen leaves. Crumpled up within was a dollar bill. I looked closer. Yes,

Broke Girl Speaks Out: Aurora, IL, 7 p.m. today

2010-09-09T14:46:00.000-05:00

Broke Girl is speaking tonight in Aurora, IL at the Total Living Network studios. The function is in conjunction with the long-time Aspiring Women television program, and is a Girls' Night Out event with the theme "Let's Talk About Money." Keynote speakers are Michelle McKinney Hammond and Shirley Rose. Sharon Durling, a.k.a., Broke Girl, will be giving her two cents, er, million dollars'

Nicest Guy Ever - Next In Queue

2010-09-02T23:53:00.000-05:00

Well, yesterday's Nicest Guy Ever award winner may have a competitor lurking in the wings. I don't know how I got started in conversation with a dude on my block, but next thing you know, he said he'd get information from his girlfriend about a great spot where I could purchase a replacement for my bicycle that was recently stolen. I say "dude," because he was one. He had more tats per arm than

I spotted my future self today - and - Nicest Guy Ever award

2010-09-01T16:53:00.001-05:00

I post this photo in no way to mock the flowery-attired and hatted lady ahead of me at the CVS Pharmacy store this afternoon. I instantly liked her look and stepped in line behind her with my caffeine-free Diet Coke purchase. She opened her large pocketbook and fished around for what became long minutes in her search for a mode of payment for her purchase. I, being in no hurry, actually

$5.00 off Kraft products you'll probably buy anyway

2010-09-01T11:59:00.002-05:00

Go here to get $5 off purchase of five Kraft cheese or dairy products. Btw, I freeze cheese for later use in cooking and stuff. So it's worth stocking up, in my opinion. If Velveeta doesn't suit your palette, perhaps Parmesan, sour cream, cottage cheese, cream cheese, string cheese and more will. Broke Girl is not above a little couponing action. Lately I've not entered a grocer without $5 to

Cheapism.com-- a cheaper sort of Consumer Reports

2010-08-29T22:51:00.000-05:00

Steve, a Chicago reader, sent us a link about a new service: a sort of Consumer Reports, but for cheaper stuff. Blogger Jennifer Saranow Schultz tells of journalist Max Levitte: All Levitte simply wanted an inexpensive (let's just say cheap) vacuum to clean the solitary rug in his apartment. His took a pass on costlier $150 - $250 vacuums to settle on a $60 vacuum--that turned out not to do

Cheaper than Prozac

2010-08-29T22:49:00.000-05:00

Here's a quick and cheap idea from the blog of a professional wedding photographer whom we like: "If you’re ever having a rough day & need some encouragement try donning wedding attire and walking around Chicago. Spontaneous applause everywhere we went." Your ideas?

A free Qdoba Mexican Grill entrée in your future?

2010-08-24T16:28:00.001-05:00

Is there a Qdoba Mexican Grill in your neighborhood? There is just yards from my front door, and I have come to really appreciate their salsa verde and poblano pesto. There is a Chipotle about equidistant in the opposite direction, but I tired of their menu and quality of food. Methinks Qdoba is a bit better. Anyway, I just created an entrée on their website and then printed a coupon to get the

The billionaire and I

2010-08-22T23:58:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I asked rhetorically that, if one were to live in a trailer park, and all your friends and everybody you knew lived in a trailer park, wouldn't you be relatively satisfied with that? Which is one of the ways the "Smart Money" knows how to live well and happily--that is: below their means. I've often said I might one day decide to retire in one of those neat, trim little trailer parks

What We Want

2010-08-21T15:37:00.005-05:00

I'm telling you folks; it seems every day that the Broke folk have it over the Rich folk... Ever since Adam and Eve strolled out of the Garden, it's not so much that we want stuff, so much as we want the stuff that other people have. For example, if you lived in a trailer park, and all your friends and everybody you knew lived in a trailer park, wouldn't you be relatively satisfied with that?

How my iPhone 4 is $aving me buck$

2010-08-20T00:05:00.004-05:00

You already know there's an app for everything except getting your back scratched. Like today, I avoided a trip to the bank by depositing a hard-copy paper check at home via my Chase Bank app. It's the first time I did that; I thought, how cool to do right at my desk, at home. Although I'll read this six months from now and think--that's so nothing. 'Cause I remember the thrill of making my

Free 11" x 17" photo cling - act QUICKLY

2010-08-18T13:48:00.001-05:00

I've been getting free photo things from Walgreens all week. Every day this week, there is a new one-day-only offering for a free or reduced-price photographic thing. Yesterday, I picked up a free 8" x 10" photo --to be a gift for my mother. It's not so photogenically sensational so much as the story it tells. It is of a family birthday dinner on the farm in Michigan, an activity we've done

The wealth... that is Poverty

2010-08-17T22:46:00.000-05:00

Author Victor Hugo wrote of his protagonist Jean Valjean in Les Misérables: "Poverty, we must insist, had been good to him. Poverty, in youth, when it succeeds, is so far magnificent that it turns the whole will towards effort, and the whole soul towards aspiration.

Why I Buy...Because I can, for ¢ on the $

2010-08-15T23:52:00.002-05:00

Let me explain: I neither needed nor necessarily went looking to buy four tubes of wildflower-scented body lotion, two unscented things of Dry Idea® anti-perspirant/deodorant, a Crest brand toothpaste and mouth rinse and some Blink Tears solution. Since I already had a bit of each of these in my bathrooms. Total cost for these nine items from CVS tonight: $2.09 before tax But since I paid

The truth is...about being broke and being happy

2010-08-15T22:57:00.002-05:00

I've never actually been broke, but I've been mostly happy. And I know a thing or two about being close to broke. I mean, there was that time in college when I needed to get to a volunteer work assignment on Chicago's west side. I was pianist for a children's choir, in the 'hood. And to catch the bus for the long ride--across the entire breadth of Chicago through gang-infested territories to the

Ad Exec loans AmEx card to homeless dude; he returns it

2010-08-13T22:02:00.001-05:00

Kind of unfortunate that that has become an international headline, first published in the New York Post. That is, that someone returned to a stranger, what he promised, but it's a tickler of a story. My granny told me she oft fed "hobos" who came to her back door after hopping off the railroad cars that snaked through the farm fields. That was depression era, but as we know, homelessness is,

Get your GroupOn and I'll donate to Compassion International

2010-08-12T12:08:00.005-05:00

Perhaps I have failed my friendly readers (both of you) by not mentioning Groupon? How else do you think Broke Girl recently afforded a complete set of oral X-rays, cleaning, and exam by a crack dentist, and with no dental insurance? Being that I am, dentally-speaking, self-insured (I do carry a BCBS-Illinois medical policy, just not dental) I subscribed to Groupon at the behest of my long-time

Free supply of Sun Chlorella Cream®

2010-08-11T20:41:00.000-05:00

Another freebie pointed out by the mommy blogs. Thanks to Good Deal Mama for noting this free two-week supply of Sun Chlorella Cream®. Get yours here.

Get Help Organizing with free Post-it® Tabs

2010-08-11T17:29:00.000-05:00

My files look nothing like this and the tabs are wearing down. Mostly I dislike the lack of continuity -- some printed, some scribbled in fat markers of varying colors. Post-it® freebies are typically standard-supply size, not eeny samples, so may be worth going here to order your free sample of Durable Tabs and Label Pads. Sent to you via US Postal mail.

Pretty and Free Treat for Your Feet

2010-08-11T00:25:00.000-05:00

Go here to get a free sample of this cream delivered to your real postal box. My tips: You'll have to enter an email address--remember to set up and use a generic-sort of email account for these offers (free at hotmail, yahoo, gmail) to avoid the incoming spam in your *important* email account--you know, the one into which valued invitations to your friends' parties and those ribbon-cutting

Can you say "Boundaries?"

2010-08-10T23:52:00.002-05:00

With perpetrator at my backyard, my homeless neighbor William* has been active at my front door. Luckily I was out last week when he rang the doorbell and my v-e-r-y tall friend Tim* happened to be here, house-sitting, in fact, because I was traveling. I'm glad Tim answered the door, because folk need to know that lots of people are coming and going in this place I call home, and we abide no

Letting go... of my beloved possessions

2010-08-10T09:25:00.003-05:00

At 5:29 this morning I awoke to the sound of two successive bangs. I regularly sleep through street noise, car alarms and the whirl of Medevac helicopters landing on a nearby hospital roof. But apparently my unconscious perceived this sound to be closer and "not right." I was alerted awake. I ran downstairs. Sure enough, the backyard motion-detectable floodlight was on, and the door to my

I'm sneaking into the [Sams'] Club this weekend

2010-08-06T13:14:00.002-05:00

I've never joined a big warehouse shopping club, although I've accompanied friends to the Costco nearest me. But heard on the radio a few days ago that non-club members are invited to shop, gratis, sans membership cards, at Sam's Clubs everywhere this weekend: Friday through Sunday, 6 - 9 August! So I went to the Sam's Club store locater and found one seven miles from my home; will probably go.

I'm sold on Sonic (but I still bought it on the cheap)

2010-08-05T22:42:00.002-05:00

So I'm kind of reversing my claim of yesterday--that my purchase of a Philips Sonicare toothbrush will cost me another $1,409.86. (Btw, the Sonicare Essence 5000 series is $89.99, retail. My cost: $30.99. Walgreens' regular price is $79.99, less a 15%-off-all-purchases-for-friends-and-family-day-coupon at Walgreens; less a $10 coupon I picked up at my dentist's reception last week, less $20 for

Free sample of Emergen-C

2010-08-05T17:01:00.002-05:00

Sign up to receive your free sample here. When you sign up for free stuff (which I do often, if only for the joy of getting a little "surprise" package in the mail at least once or twice a week) -- be sure not to use your main / standard email address, but a sort of "default" email into which you allow all that commercial spam. I use gmail for mine, because otherwise, use MobileMe for all my

My new $1,409.86 Philips Sonicare toothbrush

2010-08-04T22:33:00.001-05:00

Until I brought home my new Philips Sonicare toothbrush today and spotted the 21" fold-out brochure in the package, I did not realize where I had gone wrong. And how little I understood of myself and my needs. The flier read, "[You] should be a morning person." And they sell to things for that! Philips Wake-up Light ($169.99) and Docking Alarm Clock ($49.99). And "Because looking good is

Second-hand is simply first-hand smart

2010-08-04T00:13:00.003-05:00

Tag sales, garage sales, yard sales: are smart, fun, hip and cool, and even for the rich and famous celebu-reali-TV types, as in this video of the New York family featured in 9 by Design. More to come on Why Broke Girl has decorated her house with only two pieces of furniture purchased new from a store* (Oh, excepting her bed mattress--that was new--but not the Crate and Barrel branded

Stuff I've learned: Waived baggage fees, Chicago's new bike share

2010-07-30T01:39:00.000-05:00

Interesting story how traveler Wendy Perrin saved $280 in checked-luggage fees on a family trip to Hawaii. She says her Continental Airlines MasterCard, when used for flights booked through Continental, waives fees for checked luggage! Note to self: Must check this out with my more frequently-used carriers. And in other news, finally, my hometown of Chicago is railing the bike paths of

Keep eating those $2.99 Quiznos' meals through August 5

2010-07-29T16:24:00.002-05:00

Go here to print all the coupons you want for $2.99 meals at Quiznos, through Thursday, 5 August. Get any small sub, chips and regular fountain drink for $2.99.

All that free back-to-school stuff is happening now

2010-07-28T23:48:00.000-05:00

"Back to School" sales are everywhere, so I loaded up on a few dozen pens, glue sticks, highlighters, tape and other home-office wares, all "free after rebate" items from Menards (yes, the home-improvement store) last night. I needed to purchase 35' of electrical wire among other stuff, so that purchase qualified me for the free-after-rebate items by purchasing a minimum of $10 of non-rebated

And the winner is:

2010-07-26T09:39:00.000-05:00

The winner of our book giveaway is Cristin, who hosts her own blog over at Cristin is Coupon Crazy. Congrats, Cristin! We've sent a separate email announcing your win. Just let us know exactly to how and to whom you would like the book autographed, and it will soon be winging its way east to your New Jersey home.

Don't Look Now, But There's Some Cash in Your Desk Drawer: Selling Electronic Gadgetry

2010-07-25T16:49:00.003-05:00

Two things you can do with the electronic gadgets sitting in your desk drawer. Recycle or resell. Well, three--you can give them to someone else who needs your old Blackberry or laptop. Which is what my sister-in-law did with her old iPhone. Mine bit the dust and I needed to fill the gap--it was several weeks before orders were being accepted for the next iteration, iPhone 4. She opened a

Free backpack from Staples (after rebate)

2010-07-23T12:46:00.005-05:00

Get a free backpack (after rebate) from Staples beginning on my birthday, Sunday 25 July, through the 31st. Hmm...whom do you know, could use a good backpack. Your children, grandchildren, nephew--neighbor children whose parents are unemployed, men and women at your local homeless shelter. Maybe you'll just want to surprise a homeless person whom you know with the gift of a new backpack.

Free Einstein Bros Bagels

2010-07-23T00:28:00.000-05:00

I recently clipped this Einstein Bros. Bagels coupon which I keep in my wallet to use and re-use multiple times through the end of this month. Free bagels on Fridays before 11:00 a.m., no purchase necessary. On Tuesday mornings, get coffee, bagel and a schmear for two bucks. Similar offer was good several months ago, and I enjoyed stopping in whenever in the vicinity of a store--or whenever I

Quiznos lunch - $2.99 through 27 July

2010-07-20T15:00:00.000-05:00

Skip the bank and GO directly to collect another lunch price break at Quiznos. While you're at it, treat your friends as well, because you can print multiple coupons and use one per person, per visit. (Because readers of Broke Girl are not cheap; they are generous.) Think of it as my birthday lunch. In fact, same offer as last month, when Quiznos offered this special: invite me to go with,

A Shout-Out to Corporate Sponsors of My Upcoming Birthday

2010-07-19T16:04:00.001-05:00

A big "thanks" goes to the first sponsor to treat me to a free--no strings--birthday entree which I just picked up at Noodles & Company, 2813 N Broadway St at Diversey in Chicago. Very much enjoyed having my first birthday lunch, albeit by myself, a week early: Chinese chop salad w grilled chicken, hold the red peppers. I don't specifically recall signing up for a Noodlegram, but am glad I did

Paying 10 cents on the dollar at CVS

2010-07-19T00:52:00.004-05:00

Not long ago I was at the rear of a CVS pharmacy and saw the few shelves of a back row cap stashed full with discounted items, nearly all priced at ten percent of retail price. Right there, I bought nine (count 'em) Burt's Bees Head to Toe Starter Kits with yummy smelling oils, creams and balms that would go great in my girlfriend's bags when traveling through airports, or just wonderful to use

I Do Know a Good Deal When I See One!

2010-07-18T21:02:00.002-05:00

It's been an awesome weekend here in the neighborhood. Other than the three-digit temps and the marvelous flash rain storm that thundered through a few hours ago, there was: the 42nd annual Sheffield Garden Walk (i.e., legitimate snooping through neighbors' back yards); the Armitage Avenue sidewalk sale (I underpaid for a beaded designer sleeveless top -- underpaid because I was carrying cash,

Free 12-oz frappé or latté at McD's

2010-07-18T13:14:00.003-05:00

I have the newspaper delivered on Sundays for only fifty cents. I read all of my news content online, but get this one day delivered only for the manufacturer coupons (and feel a tad guilty when recycling the paper I never open). Today's worth-getting-the-Sunday-paper for $0.50 was the coupon for free 12-ounce frappé I'm going to pick up at McDonald's, probably later this sizzling hot July day

Rivers Works

2010-07-17T00:47:00.010-05:00

No one I know has any interest in seeing the movie "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work," but I have been wanting to see it ever since I heard of it and more so, after hearing comedian Dennis Miller yesterday say it was fantastic; deserving of an Oscar. So I went to see it by myself, last night. She was authentic, self-deprecating, revealing the very lows of her life, her current hard-scrabble

Thanks, Steve!

2010-07-16T23:54:00.003-05:00

I'm soon to be $29 + tax richer, once I am refunded my put-out for the bright orange bumper I bought for my iPhone 4. I didn't buy it to improve reception. BTW, my phone conversations are cut off for no apparent reason, at minimum, twice daily. Oh, but for the days of yore and rotary-dial landline phones permanently affixed to the wall. And my family's was a party line. (Two longs and a short, if

Month at the Museum

2010-07-15T23:32:00.003-05:00

Well-- who in the world wouldn't do this? Eat and sleep for thirty days, get paid ten thousand dollars. Apparently one of my friends thought I am just wacky enough to do this. But neither am I broke enough / in need of $10,000 enough, to be compelled to do it. But for you folk out there who could use a spare or ten Grover Clevelands (yes, the United States Treasury printed these through 1946),

Get Beauty Treatments free or low-cost: from an Apprentice

2010-07-15T00:20:00.000-05:00

Got my hair colored and my grays (yes, I do) touched up by a salon apprentice at the swank (all glass and white and silver and potted plants and skinny black-adorned stylists) Maxine Salon on Rush Street today. I paid 1/3 the standard fee + gratuity. Photo courtesy Tony Veloz Ever since discovering Salon Apprentice, I've been getting my highlights touched, my grays soothed, and my layers

The Rich are Different, and Not So Content

2010-07-14T16:16:00.000-05:00

Somebody talk to me. Who in the world fed us the lie that "poor" and "content" are mutually exclusive conditions in which to be and experience? Because we sure know the opposites are totally (possibly) compatible: the states of being rich and miserable, simultaneously. Need I start listing all the examples? Yes indeedy, the rich are different, but how happy can you be when you are suing your

Giveaway book: A Girl and Her Money

2010-07-13T12:59:00.003-05:00

It's a Broke Girl giveaway! Enter to receive a free autographed copy of "A Girl and Her Money: How to Have a Great Relationship Without Falling in Love," by Sharon Durling (aka Broke Girl, herself), pub. Thomas Nelson. Simply leave a comment below for your entry. Giveaway ends on Broke Girl's Birthday! --midnight, 25 July PDST. Winner must respond within 48 hours to our email to claim the

Some comparisons against money

2010-07-12T01:38:00.001-05:00

Thumbing through some news (on the Internets), I uncovered some folk comparing and valuating a few things (in red, below), versus money: NYTimes.com had a sort of lifestyle feature about doormen. Having just avoided a strike, they got a negotiated a four-year contract with a 10 percent raise. So the story focuses on the (mostly) men who, like building fixtures, are assumed always to be at the

Tomorrow is 7-Eleven

2010-07-10T14:22:00.001-05:00

Today is July tenth and you do know what that means. Tomorrow is 7-Eleven.