Cheap and Cheerful, Down and Dirty: Putting together an interview outfit on the cheap

It's that time of year again, when millions of young people and not-so-young people complete their education and try to enter the workforce. This has traditionally been a competitive past-time even back before national economies were straggling along after the 2008 crash. Getting "a good job" is now something of a job itself as landing a face-to-face interview can take a few months of persistent application submission, psychometric testing, and phone follow-ups. Countless career advice articles stress the importance of dressing appropriately and making a good first impression, but if you aren't already working, where are you going to get $600 to drop on that timeless "interview suit"?

It's absolutely key to look your best and make a good first impression once you get the interview stage, after-all it's probably taken some serious effort to get there, so you wouldn't want to blow the chance you might have. However, the idea of dropping several hundred dollars on an interview outfit to ensure you're out-dressing the competition is sort of insane since it is possible to do it on a budget, especially if you aren't going for a job at a corporate law firm or investment banking company.

While I have no hard scientific evidence to support this claim, I would venture that it's harder for men to put together an interview outfit together less expensively than women, especially for those seeking positions in the legal and financial industries where the matched suit is a daily standard and absolute necessity. It is difficult to  buy a suit on the cheap without it looking cheap, but there might be a few ways around dropping more than $500 on a suit for a single introductory interview. Ladies have it somewhat easier in that fewer employers are expecting them to show up in a matched suit; whether or not this suggests that employers expect less from female candidates or take them less seriously will be left to the reader's imagination. Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that women in the US still earn on average $0.77 to each dollar of their male counterparts.

ANYWAY. Here are five strategies for putting an interview outfit together on the cheap without looking too cheap.


Beg, Borrow or...
Well, we wouldn't really recommend stealing your next office-ready button-down, but if you have a friend or a family member who's about your size we would definitely recommend asking if they can loan out one of their smarter pairs of trousers or dress shoes. If you're not sure who to ask, or are anxious about being rejected and alienating your friends and family by asking to borrow their stuff, send an open request by Tweeting, updating your Facebook status or sending a group email. You might be surprised by how many people will want to help you if they can when you're not directly asking for money and you might be surprised by what people have in their closets that they're not using. Last year I borrowed a vintage (i.e. before they started branding all their bags with that hideous fabric) Coach bag from my mom that she hasn't used in years. Borrowing it was free, and upgraded my plain black suit from "small town funeral director" to "single female lawyer". One advantage to this approach is you may be able to score a much nicer and more professional-looking ensemble than you could have afforded on your own. It goes without saying that people judge by appearances and HR people will sometimes rule out an employee candidate immediately if they judge their appearance as "not professional enough."

eBay is Great...

If you know your size, what fabrics, colors and silhouettes suit you, or if you're shopping for accessories. eBay is a good place to pick up vintage bags, belts, shoes and jewelry which often go for less than what you'd pay in a consignment shop or thrift store. Accessories are a great way to add memorable flair to your outfit, while staying within the unwritten necessary "interview outfit requirements". Popular silhouettes for ladies career wear include: "the pencil skirt", "the dress trousers",  and "the sheath dress". Typing in the name of a silhouette or style usually returns more results than "office blouse/jacket/pants/dress". If you're worried about having to sift through hundreds of pieces that aren't going to fly on the office floor, try adjusting the filters. The auction site now has a filter for "occasion"; searching for "wear to work doesn't get much easier than checking a box.

 If you don't know your size but know you're measurements, you can probably still buy clothes on eBay with relative confidence that what you win will fit. However, if you don't know measurements or how to take them yourself, buying on eBay becomes a much riskier prospect, especially if the items you're buying are more than a few years old. The age of the product itself isn't necessarily problematic, but the fact that women's size tags have fluctuated over the past several years can mean that a size 4 dress from ten years ago only fits someone who wears a size 2 today. Learning to take your measurements isn't as complicated as some people have made it sound, though it is a lot easier if you can enlist someone else's help. Wikihow has a good tutorial on how to take measurements for women, which starts out with the basics of bust, waist and hips. Knowing these three measurements can help you more accurately determine your ready-to-wear size  since these are the measurements on a size chart.  Men's sizes are more consistent, but it seems that fewer dudes throw their old duds up on eBay so there's usually less choice, especially if you wear a smaller size. If you wear a medium, large or extra-large however, eBay can be a great place to pick up gently worn and dead stock Brooks Brothers dress shirts and other career staples.  If you're unsure of your size check out this other Wikihow that photographically illustrates how to take clothing measurements for men.

Do Not Pass Go...
But head directly to the clearance rack. Experienced bargain hunters may have already noticed that department stores and clothing boutiques usually put their sale and clearance racks at the back of the shop, --unless they're using a sale-rail at the door to draw you in the first place; this is all in the hopes that you'll be tempted by other merchandise and impulsively buy a trendy cardigan or some wacky socks with little cartoon characters on them on your way to checking out their clearance section. Being aware of this strategy makes it harder to fall for, and it may also help to separate shopping trips for a specific item (in this case, pieces for an interview outfit), from browsing shopping trips. Keep your goal in mind and head directly, as directly as you can for the clearance rails. What's available at a discount will of course vary depending on what season has just passed, certain staples like black dress trousers or dark pencil skirts will almost always make an appearance. Retail seasons are at least one season ahead of whatever season it actually is, so clothes typically start being discounted while you can still get a good bit of wear out of them. Also, as long as what you've picked up on sale can be worked into your personal style or isn't overly trendy, you can get wear out of a discounted piece for years to come.

If You Are Petite...
Consider checking out a Juniors' Department. Though some of the clothes might be too revealing/trendy/"young" to wear to an office, thanks to the ubiquity of internships, most Young Miss departments have racks dedicated to "career-wear" and business casual pieces. As a woman who's 5'2", long-waisted and 98 lbs, I have never found a pair of black dress trousers that fit, that came from somewhere other than Mandee, H&M, or the Juniors' Department of Macy's or Kohl's. Bits from the Juniors section are usually less expensive, though they tend to be constructed from cheaper synthetic fabrics and can wear out more quickly. Caring properly for these garments can lengthen their life, as can a few sewing tricks like reinforcing seams yourself and tacking down hems with a few hand stitches. Proper cleaning keeps the fabrics looking newer and less worn-out but proper cleaning doesn't mean you have to start dry-cleaning everything. Check out this guide from lifehacker to see whether or not you absolutely have to take a piece to the dry cleaners to keep it looking nice and new.

Thrift Stores... 
In or near nice neighborhoods can be a surprising source of quality career separates. Thrift store shopping is not what it was ten years ago in terms of quality selection and rock-bottom prices since the gentrification and re-branding of resale culture as "hip", but there are still scores to be made and treasure to be had in the right areas. There are too many variables that affect thrift store content quality to make sweeping generalizations, but here are a few things to consider looking for when scouting out a Good Will, Salvation Army, or Value Village. Resale and thrift shops in young, trendy neighbourhoods tend to price their goods higher than those in less "bohemian" areas, but may be worth checking out since there's a good chance the fashionable residents of the borough will be unloading their old clothes there. Thrift stores in unfashionable but well-to-do areas with older residents often have higher quality career separates in addition to the standard offerings of '90s floral print maxi dresses and strange shapeless formal wear. 

There you have it, five places to look for putting together an interview outfit on a part-time wage or the the very last remains of your Stafford Loan. While our next article will feature a few other ideas for putting together career-wear before you're earning "career pay", we'd love to hear any additional suggestions, anecdotes, comments or questions from our readers. Email us at: cheerfullycheap@gmail.com or Tweet at us :@cheerfulcheap

Cheap and Cheerful's Free Mp3 Catch-Up Service

We've fallen behind with our free Mp3 of the week in the last few weeks, but we're back now with a catch-up service.

First up, is a live recording of Booker T & the MGs classic instrumental Green Onions, from Aquarium Drunkard. We profiled Aquarium Drunkard last year, and they're still going strong with tons of content that covers great breadths and depths in and across musical genres. If you have trouble downloading the track, try right clicking and selecting "save link as" (Mac users use "control click").

Noise Trade is currently offering the chance to download Bison's debut album Quill. Released late last year, their record has racked up critical praise and the band has been compared to Indie-Folk giants The Decemberists and Mumford and Sons. Grab this opportunity while you can; Quill isn't offered for free download on Amazon, Last.fm or the band's official website, so it may not be available on Noise Trade indefinitely.

Rounding out this three part mp3 omnibus are two free Dizzee Rascal downloads, "Fix Up, Look Sharp" and "Where's Da G's", available via betterPropaganda.

We'll be returning to our regular free Mp3 of the week this Friday, so tune in!

Getting Care When You Can't Afford Coverage: pt 2 fig. 2

Last month we covered how to find reproductive health clinics and access their services if you're uninsured. While different people need different reproductive health services for different reasons, one purpose most people use them for most of the time, is to obtain contraception to prevent an unwanted pregnancy. Certain contraceptive methods may also reduce the risk of STD transmission, or can help to alleviate symptoms of disorders like polycystic ovary syndrome.

Unfortunately, depending on what kind of contraception best suites your needs, getting it if you don't have medical insurance can be expensive. Here are some ways you might be able to reduce your costs, without forgoing contraception or increasing your risk of an unwanted pregnancy.

The Condom:  Many people reach for the rubber love-glove as their first method of contraception, and for some this remains their method of choice. When used correctly, condoms or "male" condoms, are 98% effective in preventing an unwanted pregnancy(1), and remain the best protection against HIV(2) and certain other STDs for those that are sexually active.

The costs of condoms over a year can vary widely, depending on how many instances of sexual contact requiring protection you have in a twelve month period. As it is necessary to use a condom for each time you have sex even if neither party climaxed, if you're having intercourse multiple times a day, every day, using condoms becomes less cost effective, especially if you're not worried about contracting an STD (i.e. you and your partner are in a monogamous relationship, and you both have tested negative for STDs).

Pros: 98% effective against unwanted pregnancy with consistent and perfect use, no prescription necessary, can be used immediately, widely available
Cons: Some users may feel a "loss of intimacy and spontaneity" or discomfort, consistently perfect use is rare

How to get it: Condoms are widely available from many different retail outlets, from drug stores, to specialty shops, to the ubiquitous supermarkets across the American landscape. While the price per unit can range up to $1.50 per unit for premium varieties in a national pharmacy chain, online retailers may carry the varieties, for less. Drugstore.com for example, sells Durex Performax Intense condoms for  $7.99, $6.00 less than the recommended retail price. Beyond trawling amazon.com for the prophylactic of your choice, searching via Google's shopping engine may also help you to find the best value on barrier contraceptives.

Larger manufacturers also often issue coupons or provide special offers through their official websites or through the SmartSource printable coupon service. Trojan is currently offering up to $5.00 off select products through this form here. Then there's also CondomUSA's free sample section, which will send a free sample of condoms for the price of shipping and handling.

The "Female" Condom: Similar to the male condom in that it is also a barrier method of contraception and STD prevention, the female condom is worn internally for penetrative intercourse. 95% effective against unwanted pregnancy with perfect use(3), it also provides some protection against the transmission of STDs.

Female condoms typically cost between $2.50 and $4.00 per unit, and while they are more expensive than male condoms, they enable the receptive partner to take control of their sexual health and/or fertility if their partner refuses to wear a "male" condom. Female and male condoms should never be used together during intercourse as they are likely to break.

Pros: 95% effective against unwanted pregnancy with perfect and consistent use, no prescription necessary, allows the receptive partner more control over their sexual health, can be used by people allergic to latex
Cons: Not as widely available as the male condom, higher price per unit, the failure rate from typical use of female condoms is somewhat higher than male condoms or barrier contraceptive methods suggesting that some find it more complicated or difficult to use, some users feel it reduces feeling during intercourse

How to get it: While not as widely available as the male condom, female condoms are available throughout the United States from Planned Parenthood, other family planning and reproductive health clinics, pharmacies, in some supermarkets and online. As of this writing, the national drugstore chain Walgreens stocks the FC2 and is currently offering a three count package for $4.79, which brings the price per unit down to about $1.60. This third party retailer at Amazon.com sells a ten count package for $12.25, bringing the cost down to $1.23 unit, which comparable to what one would pay per unit at a drug store for male condoms. If your pharmacy, supermarket or reproductive clinic doesn't currently stock female condoms, ask them to do so in the future.

The Diaphragm: the diaphragm is a shallow dome-shaped cup with a flexible rim; it works by covering the cervix to block sperm from entering the opening to the uterus. To improve effectiveness, spermicidal cream, gel, or jelly should be used in conjunction with the diaphragm. When used as directed, only 6 in 100 women will become pregnant over a year of using the diaphragm as their contraceptive method.

In order to get a diaphragm, you must first be examined by a health care provider and be given a prescription, which can filled by most local pharmacies. Unfortunately, the requirement of an examination increases the upfront cost of the diaphragm and makes it less convenient option for some. Depending on your appointment cost and the cost of the diaphragm itself, the combined total ranges from $65 - $275, plus an additional $8- $17 for a spermicide kit. However, the diaphragm, when properly cleaned and cared for can last up to two years, which will off-set some of these higher costs.

Pros: Portable, cannot usually be felt by you or your partner during intercourse, can be inserted hours before sex so there is no interruption of the proceedings, lasts for up to two years
Cons: Requires an examination and prescription, higher up-front costs, can be pushed out of place during intercourse, some women develop frequent urinary tract infections with diaphragm use, does not provide protection against STD transmission and spermicide use can increase the risk of HIV transmission

How to get it: First, as mentioned make an appointment with a health care provider. This can be done at most planned parenthood clinics, reproductive health centers and traditional OB-GYN offices. If you're uninsured or on Medicaid or another state health program, a planned parenthood, state-run clinic or charitable clinic are likely to be best bets for getting seen for an appointment and getting help with costs or financing. Once you've gotten a fitting and prescription for your diaphragm, there isn't too much you can do to decrease the cost of filling the prescription if you don't have insurance.

One way to decrease your overall cost is to clean and care for your diaphragm. Assuming it lasts a full two years, an upfront cost of $275 breaks down to a base cost of about $0.38 per day. This does not include the additional cost of spermicide applications which will vary depending on the frequency of intercourse.

The Sponge: Unavailable in the US market for over a decade after 1995, some people of a certain age may not have heard for the contraceptive or "Today" sponge, unless, they too watched Seinfeld reruns in junior high. This method offers some of the same benefits as a diaphragm but doesn't require a prescription or a medical visit in order to get it. The effectiveness of the sponge in preventing unwanted pregnancies varies depending on whether or not you've already given birth and whether or not it's used as directed. Women who have not already given birth and use the sponge as directed can expect 91% effectiveness rate in preventing pregnancy, but women using the sponge as directed who have given birth before can only expect about an 80% effectiveness rate in preventing pregnancy.

The sponge works by covering the cervix to prevent sperm from entering the uterus and by continually releasing a spermicide that stops sperm from moving. Like the diaphragm, it can be inserted hours before intercourse and worn for up to twenty-four hours after insertion. The sponge must be left inserted for an additional six hours after intercourse in order to be effective, and should never be left inserted for more than thirty hours.

Pros: Does not require a prescription, portable, can be inserted before sex so it is not necessary to interrupt foreplay, and cannot be felt by your or your partner during intercourse
Cons: Removal can be difficult especially for inexperienced users, does not protect against STD transmission, some users report it makes sex "dry"

How to get it: Despite being totally unavailable in the US market for over ten years, the contraceptive sponge is now widely available, and is at the time of this writing, also on sale at Walgreens. After browsing various online retailers, the best price per unit we could find for the sponge was $3.88 at otcitems.com, with prices from other retailers ranging from $4.18 to $4.66 per unit. There is also a 10% off coupon code for todaysponge.com up at RetailMeNot. In addition to being widely available online, and in some supermarkets and drugstores, the sponge is also available from family planning clinics.

The IUD: A T-shaped device that is inserted into the uterus, the IUD can last between 5 and twelve years, depending on the type used. It works by affecting sperm movement, preventing them from joining with an egg. The Mirena IUD also contains progestin, which prevents the ovulation, which also helps to prevent sperm and egg from joining together. The IUD is a highly effective form of birth control, with fewer than 1 out of 100 women who use the IUD becoming pregnant within a year.

It does not protect against or reduce the risk of STD transmission and may not be safe to use for some women who are on certain medications, have an STD, or have had a pelvic infection following abortion or child birth within the last three months.

Pros: Lasts for years, can be used while breastfeeding, may improve your sex life by enabling you and your partner to be more spontaneous
Cons: Some women experience mild to moderate pain after initial insertion, spotting, and/or irregular or heavier periods, there's also the possibility of IUD slipping out of place or pushing through the wall of the uterus, high upfront costs.

How to get it: To get an IUD, you have to first meet with a health care provider for a consultation. Consultation experiences can vary from clinic to clinic and you may have to have a pelvic exam and an ultrasound in addition to a discussion of your medical history and reasons for wanting to use the IUD with your provider before getting an IUD inserted. Costing between $500 and $1000 the upfront costs for an IUD and insertion can be high in comparison to other forms of birth control, but may even out as a single IUD lasts from five to twelve years. Even assuming that a $1000 IUD will last only five years, the per day cost breaks down to about $0.55 per day.

Unfortunately, if you've decided that the IUD is the best contraceptive method for you, there isn't much one can do to decrease the initial costs. Some clinics will provide this service on a sliding scale based on your income, or will help you work out a payment plan. You may also be able to lower your costs if you qualify for a federal or state medical program. Check out this chart to see if you might qualify for medicaid.

The Pill: One of the most popular and well known methods of contraception, the birth control pill works by releasing hormones that prevent a woman from ovulating. Without ovulation, the ovaries don't release an egg, which prevents sperm from being able to meet with an egg, which prevents pregnancy from occurring. The pill is one of the most effective forms of contraception with fewer than 1 in 100 women becoming pregnant over year, as long as it is taken as directed. When not taken as directed, about 9 in 100 women will become pregnant over a year of using the birth control pill.

Pros: Reduced menstrual cramps, lighter periods, enables more spontaneous intercourse, offers some protection against Pelvic Inflammatory Disease which can cause infertility if not treated. Some types of birth control pills may have other benefits such as protecting against acne, bone thinning, breast and ovarian cysts, and ovarian cancers.
Cons: Some women experience spotting, breast tenderness, nausea, decrease in sexual desire and mood swings, especially in the first three months of use, no protection against STD transmission, increases the risk of stroke and blood clotting in some women.

How to get it: In order to get birth control pills, you first need a prescription, and may have to have a medical exam. Depending on your provider, this exam can cost from $35-$250. However, some charity or state-run clinics may be able to give you the exam at a reduced cost, or at no cost depending on your income level, age, and occupation. The pills themselves typically cost from $15-$50 per month, with most prescriptions being for a three months' supply. Though these costs are fairly fixed, there are a few things you can do to lower the costs of your birth control pills.

First, ask your health care provider about getting a generic prescription instead of a name-brand pill. While not suitable for everyone since some women take specific kinds of birth control pills to treat symptoms for disorders like endometriosis, generics usually contain the same active ingredients and may be a good alternative for some women. Second, some reproductive health clinics and private health care providers are able to dispense free samples of birth control after they've approved you for a prescription. Asking about this option costs nothing, and can help stretch your contraceptive budget for the year a bit further. Some providers may place restrictions on how many free sample packs they will distribute to you, while others may be able to continue providing you with free samples as long as they have some in the supply closet. Finally, if you're dissatisfied with the cost of your current prescription but aren't able to procure free samples or a cheaper, generic prescription, find out what reproductive health and family planning services clinics are in your area and ask them if they can help you get your birth control pills at a lower cost. Some clinics are licensed to dispense birth control pills and may be able to help you get a three month supply for as little as $20 total.

Emergency Contraception Pill: If your contraception fails, or if you have sex without using a contraceptive device, you may still be able to prevent pregnancy from occurring with emergency contraception. The Morning-After pill or emergency contraception pill works by delivering a dose of hormones that prevent a woman from ovulating. Though the emergency contraception pill can be taken up to 120 hours after unprotected intercourse, it is more effective the sooner it is started. The Morning-After pill cannot terminate a pregnancy once it has occurred; it is not "the abortion pill". Pros: Safe, available from pharmacies without a prescription for those 18 and over, can reduce the risk of unwanted pregnancy by 89% if started within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse
Cons: Possible side-effects include: dizziness, breast tenderness, irregular bleeding, abdominal cramps, nausea.

How to get it: Emergency contraception pills are available over the counter from pharmacies for adults over 17 and is also available from Planned Parenthood. If you're under 17 you will need a prescription from a health center or private health care provider. Costs vary from $10-$70 for the emergency contraception pill, depending on where you get it, and which kind you use. Sometimes the makers of the emergency contraception pills offer manufacturer coupons. Right now, Plan B One Step is offering a $5 off manufacturer's coupon available to print from their website.
In addition to the methods listed here, there are some other contraceptive methods such as the patch, the ring and the shot, that we haven't covered. Also, be aware that the descriptions of the methods and the assessments of their pros and cons as listed here aren't necessarily comprehensive. To find out what contraception method would best suit your needs talk to a health care provider, or find out more about each method at Planned Parenthood's website. Hopefully this list will help you lower your contraception costs and take control of your fertility and sexual well being!

If you have any advice on how to find affordable reproductive health care, or questions about looking after you're health when you're on a budget, we'd love to hear from you! Email us: cheerfullycheap@gmail.com or join us on Twitter: @cheerfulcheep.

Blogs We Love: Tiny House Blog

 Tiny House Blog is exactly what is says on the tin; a blog about about tiny house and small home design. Begun by Kent Griswold in 2007, Tiny House Blog has been documenting and commenting on the small housing movement for over five years. Daily articles feature book reviews, design plans, interviews, explorations of different construction techniques, reviews of high-efficiency or alternative energy appliances,  and beautifully photographed profiles of real life small houses and tiny homes.

While some of the articles may strike casual readers as a bit extreme, Tiny House Blog features some excellent ideas for efficiently using space in a small home, budget design ideas and tons of articles and links for DIY home repair and construction projects. The advice in an article like "Ten Tips for Decorating a Studio Apartment" may seem obvious to anyone who's lived in one for more than a week, but the blog showcases a wealth of creative, innovative ways in which many individuals are building the space that meets their requirements.

 The reasons why people may wish to live in a smaller home are as varied as the types of dwellings and the people who live in them, but one thing many have in common is the desire for quality materials and furnishings over the quantity of square footage. Though the craftsmen-style cottage so often featured is not for everyone, the interiors of these unique homes offer inspiration and decorating ideas for customizing your own home, whether it's in a space of 300 square feet or 3,000, and how you might do it yourself with reclaimed materials. Some of our favorites we've seen over the last couple of years are: this gorgeous circular shower (part of an entry on Malissa Tack's Perfect Retreat), a pictorial on the tiny cottages of faubourg marigny and how to find and use reclaimed materials. You don't have to live in a 120 square feet to appreciate a good use of space, unique features, or unusual dwellings. Tiny House Blog is about the tiny house movement, but it's also about refocusing, and appreciating quality over quantity. While we can take or leave the lofted-beds, that's a lifestyle we love.

This week's C&C free mp3

This week's free mp3 is Bad Girls Surf from Casa del Mitro. Though Casa del Mitro usually gets filed under lo-fi chillwave, Bad Girls Surf is a dancey track, that stays pretty chilled out for all it's electro-effects. Grab it from last.fm or download the album SuperTrendyCoolFashion, featuring "Bad Girls Surf", direct from his MySpace page.

Getting Care When You Can't Afford Coverage: Part 2 Fig.1

Issues around reproductive health are really heating up in some parts of the world this year, particularly in the U.S. as it's in the throes of a madness known as "an election year". As access to birth control is turned into a political football, thousands of men and women find themselves with decreasing or no access to important reproductive health services. Reproductive health often gets reduced to contraceptive issues, and while contraception is an important component, reproductive health issues encompass so much more including: ovarian cancer screening, STD testing, prevention, treatment and management, prostrate cancer screening, prenatal care, fertility counseling and advisement, and breast cancer screening.

Unfortunately, the usefulness of the following guide on obtaining reproductive health services if you don't have health insurance will vary widely depending on where you live in the U.S. Many states this year are dramatically cutting funding for health clinics, often in the interests of pandering to political interest groups, instead of acting in the interests of supporting affordable, accessible healthcare for their constituents.

Finding a Clinic


The first step is to locate the nearest clinic that can provide the services you need. Which services you'll need will vary depending on your gender, age, and whether or not you're already sexually active. The National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics directory is one place to start looking for clinics in the US. It can be difficult to find a clinic that can provide the services you're looking for, as the clinics listed in the directory aren't limited to providing reproductive health services.

A fairly obvious but perhaps more apt starting point for a clinic search, is to locate your nearest Planned Parenthood. In addition to providing the contraceptive and pregnancy services for which they are well known, Planned Parenthood provides a wide array of reproductive health services including: mammograms, pelvic exams, colon cancer screenings, intestinal parasite testing and treatment (or treatment referral), vasectomies, menopause treatments, and fertility testing and referral. Many Planned Parenthood clinics also offer general health services such as: flu vaccines, thyroid testing, smoking cessation, physicals and cholesterol screenings. Most of the services are provided on a sliding scale, with fees adjusted according to your income, or your parents' income if you're under 18.

Unfortunately, many parts of the country only have one or two Planed Parenthood clinics serving an entire state. While staff are dedicated to and passionate about providing affordable reproductive care to clients, areas with few clinics may face exceptionally high demand and potentially longer wait times for appointments. Fortunately, many of the services provided, are done so on a walk in basis, with no appointment necessary in many Planed Parenthood clinics for emergency contraception, pregnancy testing, counseling and referrals. Other clinics may provide STD testing, vaccinations and treatment, and birth control prescriptions or refills on a walk-in basis. Be sure to check the "view hours and service details" link when you use the "find a health center" widget on the right side of the main page.

If visiting a Planned Parenthood is not an option for you, due to extreme distance or long wait times for an appointment, try heading to your state's department of public health and social services. This may take a bit of leg work as each state seems to call this department something different, but if you search for your state's name and "division of public health" or "department of health and social services", the relevant page should come up in the top results. Once you've found the the correct webpage, look for reproductive clinic listings under headings like "family planning services", "division for children, youth, and families", "services for adults", or "clinics". Many of the services offered at these kinds of clinics are free, or offered on a sliding scale basis.

If your main concern is STD testing, vaccinations, and treatment or treatment referral, the following directories will locate your nearest HIV testing or STD testing facility. Some of the clinics listed in these two directories provide testing services for free and they are often marked in the results as doing so. Other facilities provide testing, vaccination and treatment services on a sliding scale.

HIVtest.org: provides listings for the nearest health facilities that provide HIV testing, marking in the results what type of test the clinic provides (Conventional HIV blood testing, rapid HIV blood testing, or both), and what other STD testing and vaccination services they may offer.
National HIV and STD Testing Resources: is a subdivision the HIVtest.org website, and allows you to target your search to find clinics that provide testing services for a variety of STDs. By ticking the boxes under the search bar, you can also search specifically for clinics that provide vaccinations for HPV and Hepatitis B.


Crisis Centers ≠ Medical Clinic


Be wary of any organization calling itself a "pregnancy center", "pregnancy care center", "pregnancy resource center", "pregnancy concern center" or "pregnancy crisis center". These centers pose as reproductive health facilities, but the majority of them are not licensed to provide any actual medical services. The few that are licensed generally limit their services to pregnancy testing and sonograms, with a limited number also providing STD screenings and some prenatal care. Seeking services from these centers is not recommended as they have a history of disseminating false medical information and fabricated statistics. However, they sometimes provide sonograms at no cost, so if you want to get a free ultrasonic look at your fetus, consider seeking out a CPC. Odds are you've already paid for it with your tax dollars, and as there are over 4,000 CPCs compared with only about 750 fully comprehensive reproductive health clinics in the U.S., there should be a center near you, even if the nearest comprehensive clinic is over 100 miles away. Though they often use unscrupulous tactics in their counseling programs, CPCs can be a useful resource for lower income families that are ready to start expanding their family, and want to have a baby. However, if you're seeking contraception advice, cancer screenings, or accurate information regarding abortion, it is best to seek services elsewhere.

We'll be covering contraception, what's available, how to get it, and ways you might find it more affordably in our next article. If you have any advice on how to find affordable reproductive health care, or any questions about getting contraception when you're on a budget, we'd love to hear from you! Email us: cheerfullycheap@gmail.com or join us on Twitter: @cheerfulcheep. 

Another $10 off coupon from Total Wine

Regional U.S. wine retailer Total Wine has another offer for $10 off this weekend. For $10 off on Mailly Exception Blanche, a champagne that's scored 92 points from Wine Enthusiast, or for $10 off a bottle of Chante Cigale Châteauneuf-du-Pape, a red from France's Rhone region, download the attached image. Then, either print the full-sized image, or save it to your mobile device and present it to the cashier  in-store. If you're shopping online, use the discount code 8439 at check-out. This offer is only good until Sunday, May 13th, while stocks last. Unfortunately, this offer is not valid in Georgia.
While these wines don't come cheap, even after a $10 discount, offers like this one are a good opportunity to buy something nice, less expensively. It's not necessary to break the bank, or even a twenty, to get a good, easy-drinking wine for the dinner table. However, if you want a bottle to serve at a special occasion, or just want to treat yourself or someone you know, buying on offer lets you get something that costs more, for less. 

$0 Books lists bestselling kindle books for free.

Trawling through Amazon trying to find free Kindle books can be tiresome, but Zero Dollar Books lists all the titles on the best sellers list that are currently available for free!

Via Lifehacker, one of the many other blogs we love.

This week's free C&C Download

This week's free C&C download is Apex Manor's RF: The Songs of Apex Manor and the Broken West, available through noisetrade. Featuring tracks from his album The Year of Magical Drinking as well as selections from the two Broken West records, this nine-track power-pop complication comes highly recommended for fans of Big Star, The National and Teenage Fan Club and anyone else who enjoys a catchy hook. 

Download the album at noisetrade by entering your email and postal code in the boxes in the graphic that looks like this:

  

After entering your email and postcode, noisetrade will email you a link to download the full record, for free.

Blogs we love: Stuff I Put On Myself by Natalie Dee

Welcome to another regular feature of Cheap and Cheerful: Blogs we love. Once a month, we will profile and link to blogs we love that deliver content to help you live better on a budget.

Natalie Dee, the professional web comic artist behind the daily Natalie Dee and also one half of the team responsible for Married to the Sea launched a new project earlier this month called STUFF I PUT ON MYSELF: a makeup blog. In addition to reviews that run the span of cosmetics from higher-end lines carried in department stores and sephora to drugstore brands, STUFF I PUT ON MYSELF also provides makeup tutorials, skincare tips, and fashion articles.

Our favorite feature so far is the The Pig. Offering brutually honest reviews of heavily hyped cosmetic products, The Pig assesses whether or not a product has delivered what it promises on the packaging. When a "special forumla" turns out to be not-so-special after all, STUFF I PUT ON MYSELF feeds the money to "The Pig", and then suggests cheaper alternatives. Feeding money to The Pig helps to visualize how much you could be saving by not spending money on products that don't live up to the hype, and makes it easier to make room in your personal care budget for your favorite small luxuries by helping you to shop smarter! Casual and conversational in tone, STUFF I PUT ON MYSELF brings the smart, unapologetic, and unaffected humour of Dee's webcomic work to the world of cosmetic and style blogging --and we think that world is all the richer for it.

This week's free C&C download

This week's free C&C download comes to you from 8bitpeoples, a DIY record label specializing mostly in chiptune and bitpop. Most of the catalog is available for free download, but our current favorite is a release from Bit Shifter, who also happens to be a co-administrator of the label. His six song EP Information Chase is described as "fist-pumping power-up power-pop...the sound of Gameboys set to 'Kill' and/or 'Party'". Download Information Chase here.

This week's free C&C download

This week's free C&C download is a Modest Mouse cover from Blackbird Blackbird, a chillwave, noise gaze, glo-fi artist that frequently mixes tweaked nature-sound samples and electronic textures with traditional instruments. Grab his dreamy chilled-out cover of "Float On" here, from last.fm. If you don't have an account with last.fm, and don't want to make one, snag the song via music search engine beemp3.com. Just follow the instructions to get the download link, then right-click and select "save link as".

Last week's free download is from the Smithsonian Folkways website. Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. Our selection is the Mexican folksong "El Son de Sánchez", from ¡Tierra Caliente! Music from the Hotlands of Michoacán by Conjunto de Arpa Grande Arpex. Conjunto de arpa grande or "big harp ensemble" is the rural relative of mariachi, and considered the signature musical tradition of the Michoacán region of Mexico. Scroll down through the Smithsonian Folkways free downloads page to find the track, then right click either the MP3 of FLAC link and select "save link as" to download.



If you have a keen interest in folk songs or ethnomusicology, consider signing up for their free email news letter, which includes access to one or more free downloads each month.


Finally, today's bonus download has been floating around the internet for a couple of years now. Released in 2010 on April Fools, "Twin Peaks" is rapper mc chris's tribute to the cult television series Twin Peaks. The track samples pieces of the instantly recognizable soundtrack over a beat, and only reveals one significant spoiler through the course of its three minutes and twenty-two seconds. Check out this post at You Sound Like a Robot and scroll down to the BOB/Cooper GIF to download "Twin Peaks".

Distilled Vinegar: 3 everyday uses for a cheap, non-toxic, all pupose cleaner

Many people know vinegar can be used to make a variety of DIY cleaning products, but it's still surprising just how versatile this mild acid is. As an inexpensive, widely available, and natural cleaner, switching from cleaners derived from harsh chemicals to white or distilled vinegar is a great way to start trimming a household budget. A little goes a long way as well, and it is advisable to dilute even 5%* concentrations with a bit of water to prevent skin irritation, or damage to the surface being cleaned. Described in this article are three, everyday uses for vinegar as a cleaning solution that we at Cheap and Cheerful utilize in our own home.


Surface cleaner
Vinegar makes an excellent all-purpose surface cleaner, capable of removing dirt, residue, stains, and grease from a variety of surfaces including: tile, glass, stainless steel, counter tops, linoleum, vinyl flooring, Formica and hardwood surfaces. For an easy-to-use and convenient cleaning product, combine water and vinegar in a 1:1 ratio in a spray bottle (these are widely available at dollar stores, 1 pound stores and other discount outlets). Spray and wipe surfaces, just as you would with a conventional surface cleaner. This solution will easily remove stains, grease and residues, without damaging the surface, exposing you to toxic chemicals or requiring you to scrub really hard.

Vinegar is also useful for eliminating many varieties of molds, and effectively kills about 80% of mold species. In addition to killing mold, vinegar also kills a fairly high percentage of bacteria and germs, making it a great cleaning solution for kitchen surfaces as it is also non-toxic. However, be advised that vinegar does not kill 100% of bacteria, and after handling foods such as raw eggs, raw poultry or raw meat, it is best to clean any surfaces these substances may have come in to contact with a cleaner containing an antimicrobial agent or disinfectant. Take care when using harsher cleaners on kitchen surfaces, as they can be be toxic if ingested.

Vinegar can also be combined with water in a bucket or other container for mopping and scrubbing floors, showers, baths, etc. In addition to removing residues, grease and stains, vinegar is also effective at removing soap scum and mild limescale build-ups.

Deodorizer
Vinegar is a versatile air freshener and deodorizer, and can be used to neutralize odors in drains, carpets, lunchboxes, refrigerators, upholstery, car interiors and rooms.

To deodorize a sink drain, put a couple tablespoons of baking soda in the drain. Then pour in some vinegar. The vinegar will react with the baking soda; allow the baking soda and vinegar to stand for a couple of minutes and follow with less than one cup of boiled water. In addition to deodorizing your sink drain, the fizzing action will remove minor clogs.

To deodorize carpets and upholstery, combine vinegar and water in a spray bottle as mentioned before. Mist the vinegar and water solution over these surfaces to neutralize odors in fabric and carpet fibers.

To deodorize a fridge, wipe it inside and out with a cloth soaked in a vinegar and water solution. Wiping down all the surfaces of the fridge with vinegar will also help to kill and prevent certain types of mold from growing.

To deodorize a car interior or room, place a bowl or pot filled with vinegar and leave for several hours to overnight.

Descaler
In addition to using vinegar to remove limescale from taps, shower heads, tiles, and toilet bowls by either scrubbing or soaking, distilled vinegar can be used to clean all the crud crusted to the bottom of your electric kettle in just the few minutes it takes to boil water. To remove limescale from an electric kettle just add one or two tablespoons of distilled vinegar to the minimum amount of water required for boiling(this should be indicated by a measuring meter on the side or on the handle of the kettle), and boil the water. Leave the boiled water and vinegar to sit overnight. Pour out the boiled water and vinegar in the morning, and rinse out the kettle.


There are certain things this mild acid just doesn't do, like killing 100% of bacteria, so it may not be a substitute for every cleaning product and purpose. However, hopefully these three suggested uses will prove practical for you, and provide you with an inexpensive, natural cleaner to be used in the place of some other harsher cleaning products.


*Most vinegars sold in supermarkets have an acidity level of 5%. Stronger concentrations are available from some retailers, but require careful handling. Concentrations of just 11% acidity can cause burns to the skin and injury to the eyes.

Getting Care When You Can't Afford Coverage: Part 1

Welcome to the first part of an on-going series exploring how to get care when you can't afford coverage. In the coming weeks Cheap and Cheerful will cover some of the options available to those who need health and dental services but don't have insurance and can't afford to pay the astronomical out-of-pocket costs for basic services. Despite recent legislation in the US that extends health insurance to many who would otherwise have no coverage, many adults remain without any kind of coverage for health benefits.

A great deal of the literature published online regarding these issues is incredibly condescending. A cursory search for advice regarding the best way for the uninsured to afford a dental cleaning turned up embarrassingly out of touch articles urging uninsured readers to "give up pay-parking or the daily latte habit for a month" in order to afford a teeth cleaning every six months. To someone working a full-time job, or two jobs or three jobs and struggling to live paycheck to paycheck, this kind of advice is insensitive at best, and outright offensive at worst. In line with our objectives of researching and reporting on ways readers can live better on a budget, this week Cheap and Cheerful will explore some possible alternatives to climbing into the dental hygienist's chair uninsured.

"Toothbrush" CC-BY Lars P.

1) Have Your Teeth Cleaned at a Dental College
Getting your teeth cleaned at a dental college seems to be something many people have heard of, but fewer people have done. Admittedly, like many other things, the ability to obtain cheap teeth cleaning services at a dental college varies greatly depending on your geographical location. In some major cities, there may be 3 or 4 technical colleges offering discounted services to the public in exchange for allowing their students to practice their trade on an actual patient, whereas other towns may be at least 100 miles from the nearest dental college. If you aren't able to find a dental college in your local Yellow Pages, try looking up local vocational or community colleges. Many technical colleges offer associate degree programs for dental hygienists, and so offer cheap teeth cleanings to those willing to let students give-it-a-go on their teeth. After finding a dental college, or a technical college offering qualifications in dental hygiene, do a little additional searching to see if they have a website dedicated to this aspect of their institution. It may not be immediately clear if the number listed in the Yellow Pages entry for the college itself is the best number to call to inquire about a possible community patient outreach program. If searching for the name of the college in conjunction with terms like "patient" "clinic" and "care" doesn't return any useful results try ringing the number in the listing. Even if that number doesn't connect directly to someone who deals with a patient care program, it may connect to someone able to put you through to the right department.

If they are unable or unwilling to connect you, don’t get discouraged. Call back later and tell them you’re interested in the dental hygiene program there, but that you would like some additional information. Then ask them if they can put you through to the department directly, or give you more information on how to contact the program officer. While many colleges have clinics offering services to the public, each school will be different, and not every technical college with a dental program will have a patient care clinic as well. However, asking is free, so it’s worth asking to find out to potentially save significantly on your teeth cleaning costs.

Ideally, at this point you’ve found and spoken with the right person to book your cheap and cheerful teeth cleaning. Outside of showing up on time, the only other thing you’ll likely need to do is to fill out a medical history form upon arrival. The experience of the actual cleaning can vary widely from here, and can depend heavily on the experience of the student cleaning your teeth. It may take a less experienced student a while longer to complete a cleaning than it would a student with more experience. Certain aspects do seem to be standardized though, such as the presence of a licensed dentist or dental assistant overseeing the student’s work. Fees for a cleaning from a dental college can be as low as $10 and seem to top out around $60 in most areas.

Some criticize dental college cleanings, worrying that a dental student may potentially fail to diagnose the early signs of a problem that could later require surgery. However, remember that a dentist oversees student cleanings and that all dental hygienists and dentists were students themselves before becoming licensed professionals. Most dental hygiene students are trained to recognize common problems such as cavities, plaque buildup, and gingivitis. However, if you are experiencing dental pain or have other reasons to believe you could have a problem requiring surgery, the best thing to do is to schedule a consultation with your dentist.

Pros: significantly lower costs for a full teeth cleaning, some facilities may also offer X-ray services, cleanings overseen by a licensed dentist or hygienist.

Cons: variability of appointment availability, appointment lengths may be longer than an average cleaning by a fully licensed hygienist.



2) Try haggling or working out a payment plan with your current dental provider
Negotiating with your dentist can be tricky. Dental services can be expensive, and even basic preventive appointments can be cost prohibitive for those who have real expenses but not a real living-wage. However, many dental practices are small businesses and all dentists and dental hygienists are skilled professionals and like everyone else, they deserve to be compensated for their time. While asking for an outright discount may affront your regular dentist, discussing payment options with your provider is perfectly acceptable. Ask if your dentist offers any services on a sliding fee scale. Offering to pay cash up-front on the day may also increase your negotiating power, saving you as much as 10 percent of the cost of services rendered.

Pros: allows you to continue to receive treatment from your regular dentist or dental hygienist

Cons: not every practice will be able or willing to negotiate payment methods and/or costs


3) Consider Purchasing Teeth Cleaning Services Through a Deal-of-the-Day website
While buying your dental services through a deal-of-the-day website can be riskier than a cleaning from a reputable dental college, carefully reading the fine print can ensure that the deal you are buying fully covers the service or services you need, without requiring you to buy additional services or procedures in order to use the voucher.

Locating a Daily-Deal for a dental cleaning can be difficult, if not impossible to find out right. Sometimes searching for "Teeth Cleaning" or "Dental Care" and the name of a Deal-of-the-Day service produces useful results. Our search for "Living Social Teeth Cleaning" yielded a voucher for General and Cosmetic Dentistry in Tampa, Florida inclusive of a full dental exam, teeth cleaning, set of x-rays and bleaching treatment for $99, and this voucher for either a $49 dental exam, teeth cleaning and full mouth x-ray or a $129 teeth whitening treatment or a $1,8000 surgical tooth implant and custom crown in Macomb County, Michigan.

If today is not your lucky day on both Groupon and Google, then the other option is to periodically check the various deal-of-the-day sites, and bide time until an offer becomes available in your area.

Be sure to read the fine print of any discounted deal carefully. Most vouchers for discount dental services have certain limitations some of which include: non-transferability, the requirement of all services included in the discounted deal to be used by one customer in a single visit, and prohibitions on combining the discount voucher with other offers or promotions. These discount vouchers are also often only valid for new patients who have never visited the practice offering the deal-of-the-day coupon before.
The most obvious advantage to buying dental services through a deal-of-the-day service is the knowledge you'll be receiving treatment from a licensed dental practice. However, the actual level of service between dental practices can vary, so consider looking up reviews or asking for opinions from friends and acquaintances if they've previously used the practice selling the promotional voucher before committing to buying the discount deal.

Pros: obtaining services through a professional dental practice, some additional services such as x-rays and teeth whitening treatments are often included

Cons: level of service from practice to practice can vary, certain limitations and conditions may apply and are not always the same from deal to deal.

Hopefully one of these three options provides you with an option to make the dental care you need more affordable. If the three alternatives discussed aren't right for you, there are other options out there. Check out this article from MONEY Magazine for other ways to save on your dental costs such as joining a discount club, and advice on getting more out of your Flexible Spending Account.

C&C free weekly download

This week's free download is the new Alex Metric EP Ammunition, available direct through his official website alexmetric.com. This three track EP from the British DJ became available for streaming a few weeks ago, but was released today for free download. Surprisingly diverse throughout its short-length, Ammunition has something for anyone with a taste for electronic music.

To get your free download, head over to alexmetric.com. After entering your email address, you'll instantly receive a confirmation link to complete your download. With no registration details or password creation required, the entire process takes only a couple of minutes from start to finish.

This week's free C&C download.

This week's download is yours to select from the offerings at a massive audio-buffet showcasing a sampling of the acts who played this year's SXSW Festival. This year's playlist features free Mp3s from over 120 artists, including Screaming Females, Peelander Z and The Wedding Present. Unlike some promotional playlists, you can download individual tracks, instead of having to download one lump file and manually fast-forward through any tracks you don't care for. You can also sample all the tracks first, either individually by clicking on the title of the song you want to hear, or by streaming the entire playlist. Start streaming and cherry-picking tracks to downloads here.

App Review: Coupon Sherpa

Coupon Sherpa is a free, mobile app from couponsherpa.com for the iPhone, the iPod touch and the Android system.

Essentially, what Coupon Sherpa does is it rounds up hundreds of in-store online coupons available from various national retailers and compiles them in one handy application. It also offers some exclusive mobile coupons accessible only through their app. There are two ways to use the coupons accessible through the mobile app. The first is to access the coupons through the application, email them to yourself and then print them out from your computer. The second is to use the coupons directly through the app by showing the cashier the coupon on the screen of your mobile device at checkout. Some of these coupons will have a bar code that will scan at checkout, depending on the type of scanner being used. Optical scanners can scan bar codes from the screen of your mobile device, but laser scanners cannot. Coupon Sherpa cannot guarantee that a retailer will honor coupons shown on your mobile device, but the refusal to honor mobile coupons is reported to be rare. If you're worried a retailer won't accept mobile coupons, you can always phone ahead to find out what their policy is ahead of time. If they don't accept mobile coupons, then you can always use the alternate method of emailing them to yourself and printing the coupons before you go shopping. Retailers must first register with Coupon Sherpa before any of their offers are made available through the app or couponsherpa.com, so you shouldn't have any trouble getting the discount so long as it is presented in the preferred format. In addition to offering coupons to national retailers, Coupon Sherpa also aggregates coupons offered by several national grocery store chains.

Though I've only used Coupon Sherpa a handful of times, I've never had any problems with it. Last autumn I used coupons from Coupon Sherpa at Famous Footwear, Ulta, and Express to get discounts on items I needed for my move abroad. Unfortunately, as Coupon Sherpa coupons are only valid in the US, its only use to me now is using it to alert my friends and family to coupons in which they might be interested. The variety of retail discounts offered seems to be consistently varied throughout the year, with offerings from dozens of stores, catering to a variety of different demographics. In addition to offering discounts at family favorites such as Target and Walgreens, there are also coupons for trendier stores like Aeropastale, DSW Shoes and Torrid. The grocery coupons section was nearly no use to me, as the area in which I used to live was served almost exclusively by smaller, regional chains. However, as Coupon Sherpa lists thirty different grocery stores, it could be very useful indeed depending on where you reside in the US. Some of the grocery chains offering coupons through the app include: ShopRite, Foodtown, Giant Eagle, Ralph's, and Genuardi's.

Geography may be the thing that makes or breaks this app for users. One critical reviewer complained that none of the retailers offering discounts through the app had branches in her area. Another complained that "almost all the stores don't even know they are on the app and don't except(sic) the coupons." This is totally contrary to my experience with the app however, as I had no trouble with retailers accepting the coupons. The Famous Footwear in my area did not accept mobile coupons, but they did accept the printed version of the discount voucher. All in all, Coupon Sherpa does what it claims to do, which is offer valid discounts at a wide variety of retailers across different categories. For this I'd rate Coupon Sherpa as worth having if you live and shop in the United States.

$5 off Rioja at Total Wine

This week the regional liquor store chain Total Wine is offering a $5-off coupon for a bottle of Aspaldi Rioja Reserva (2006). Use the online code 3015 at checkout if shopping online, or print the image below (click for full size) and show it to the cashier in-store to get this bottle that's usually priced at $19.99 for $14.99. This coupon is good now, through the 1st of April, or while supplies last; unfortunately this offer is not available in Georgia.

(Right click and open in new tab to print full-size image)

This week's C&C free download

Cheap and Cheerful is proud to introduce a new feature of a weekly free and legal mp3 download. This week's selection is a bright little tune from The Plimsouls, a power-pop band of the Paisley Underground. Their song "Who's Gonna Break the Ice" is available for free download through the Amazon Mp3 Store. We still haven't figure out a great way to navigate through the store if you want to download a single track, so the easiest thing to do may be to go this page where the collection featuring the free mp3 is being sold, and scroll down until you find the "GET MP3" button for the track. On the version we viewed, the free track is track six.


If you have any recommendations for a free mp3 of the week, leave a link in the comments and we'll feature it in our next edition, in addition to your regularly scheduled mp3.

One more step to building a better brown-bag lunch.

The Kitchn has put together a great collection of packed lunch recipes, ideas and inspirations. Buying lunch out everyday is expensive, but bringing a sack lunch is such a drag if you aren't sure what to pack. While there's nothing wrong with occasionally treating yourself to your favorite sandwich from that cute little cafe around the corner, bringing your lunch to work or university for the week can be better for your health as well as your wallet.

The main collection of (Our) Best Tips and Ideas to Help You Eat a Fabulous Lunch at Work is a great place for both beginners to start their build-your-own-brown-bag-adventure and for packed-lunch veterans to get some innovative ideas. Our personal highlights include: Office Lunch Survival Kit: 6 Essentials to keep at the Office, 5 Quick and Delicious Lunches Under 400 calories and Lunch-Packing Inspiration

3 Cheap and Cheerful ways to cope with what's left of the cold.

With February coming to a close, many of us in the northern hemisphere are looking forward to longer daylight hours and warmer temperatures. While many regions are already experiencing milder weather conditions, winter isn't necessarily over yet. Damp and chilly conditions can persist until well in to April, but here are three ways to cope with the what's left of the cold that don't involve adjusting your thermostat.

1. The Hot Water Bottle
These retro bed-warmers are due for a comeback having already experienced a return to popularity in Japan a couple of years ago. Hot water bottles are easy to use, and an economical way to warm up your sheets. The upfront cost of the items themselves is pretty low (easily under $20 USD), and once you've heated the water no electricity or other power source is required. Hot bottles are a great, often cheaper alternative to an electric blanket, and are less likely to cause a fire. Scaldings are not common, but they can happen so it's important to take care and follow safety instructions. Most hot water bottles come with safety instructions, but safety basics can also be found here.

2. Long Underwear/Long Johns
Long Johns, or thermal underwear still have a reputation as being bulky, woolly, and unattractive, which need not be the case. There is a huge variety of lightweight thermal fabrics these days, from space-age synthetics to cotton blends, to fine but durable woven and knitted silks. The popular brand Cuddl Duds can be found easily, directly through their online store, through third party merchants, and occasionally at outlet stores like Marshalls or TK Maxx. Lightweight thermal undergarments are a great option for those who spend a lot of time working outside as they add a great deal of warmth, without adding a great deal of bulk or hindering your range of motion. A pair of silk long johns feels feather light when worn, and they make elegant, but simple pajamas. While silk thermals don't usually come cheap, you can pick some up now for reduced prices. This scoopneck top from Land's End has been marked down to 24.99, from 49.50.


3. Slaving over a hot stove.
Cooking a nice, hot meal on a cold, wet evening serves two purposes. First, your culinary efforts produce something warm and tasty to heat your innards, and second there's nothing like standing in the dry heat of the oven as it slow roasts some butternut squash or bakes a delicious homemade lasagna. Cooking a hot and hearty meal has other benefits as well; after all the wisdom across budget-living blogs everywhere still contends that cooking at home is always less expensive than eating out. Additionally, cooking a big dinner creates more opportunities to try new recipes and build up your skill-set in the kitchen. There is a huge wealth of culinary inspiration on the web, and a great place for tips on how to make gourmet meals on a tight grocery budget is this and many other articles at lifehacker.

Stay toasty!

Shopping Your Pantry: Tex-Mex Potato Fry

Budget life-style articles always like to suggest that you "shop your pantry" to save money and waste less food. This is not neccessarily as difficult or as easy as it sounds, it largely depends on what you have in your pantry in the first place. The advice of "shopping your pantry" is pretty useless if you haven't got certain staples on hand. While this may seem obvious to anyone who's tried out this particular kernel of wisdom, what may be less obvious is what is helpful to keep in the larder. Personal tastes vary of course, so therefore should personal food stocks but this video from Working Class Foodies is a great place to start.



I would really recommend the entire series, especially for those just learning to cook. In addition to demonstrating many dishes and recipes, the series also teaches many techniques, which really helps to improve and develop one’s culinary skills more quickly. All of the material is so approachable, and in addition to showcasing items like Vegan Snacks for the Super Bowl, Working Class Foodies also offers simple, straightforward tutorials for old favourites like Roast Chicken, Irish Soda Bread, and Latkes.

Cooking with what’s already in your cupboard is easier when you also have some versatile herbs and spices at home as well. Though many spices may seem expensive at first, it’s important to remember that they often go a long way. Some basic herbs and spices that compliment many dishes can be found inexpensively; some downright cheaply if you know where to look. To start, try looking in Dollar (or Pound) stores, the international food aisles at your supermarket and grocers that specialize in a particular kind of international or ethnic food. It’s not necessary to try to fill up your spice rack immediately; start with some essentials and then build off your stores to suit your tastes.
Ten useful basics are: salt, pepper, basil*, rosemary*, thyme*, oregano*, chili powder, ground ginger, cinnamon (whole or ground), and bay leaf.

Local stocks may vary, but it appears as though the American national chain Dollar Tree offers many of these basics for USD $1 or less per item. Discount outlets like Marshalls, TJ Maxx, TK Maxx, and Winners sometimes have more expensive, specialty seasonings for sale in their homewares sections.

(*Though fresh herbs are often more aromatic, it isn’t always practical to keep them in your pantry at all times depending on the season, your geographic location, etc. Some argue that fresh herbs are always superior to dried, but it’s often just a matter of convenience)

This week, since I started the week with some actual food in both the fridge and the larder, shopping my pantry was easy and resulted in something pretty tasty. From some potatoes, red onion, garlic, cumin, ancho powder, dried chives and lime juice, came a Tex-Mex potato-fry.




Served up with some fresh cream and chopped cilantro:



Everything that went into it, was already in my kitchen. In addition to avoiding another trip to the grocer's, I also managed to use up some ingredients likely to spoil in the next few days. This may be the first time I have ever successfully "shopped my pantry".

Lifehacker suggests bin-ends for savings on wine

Check out this article in today's Lifehacker to save some money when buying wine. For more budget wine-buying tips, it's worth reading TheKitchn article to which they've linked at the bottom of the blurb.