Snippets

I have so much to share, I don't know where to start.  I've been reading Money and ShopSmart ;), watching CNBC and HGTV, clearing my house and cataloguing the astonishing amount of things I'm rediscovering ... all because I decided (and want so badly) to win, earn, steal, inherit, and find that I stuffed myself to the max with information and experiences!

Cue background music ... or maybe the sound of typewriters furiously clacking ...

Money magazine this month reported on a slew of "most hated fees."  While there were worse ones (free checking accounts will be extinct soon), I liked "paying to use" your own accumulated frequent flier miles.  Now, since my miles were actually accumulated almost exclusively through a decade-long promotion at my local grocery store (spend a dollar get a mile) I wasn't surprised that I had trouble using them - but the level of frustration was astronomical, even for me.  I tried several years ago to use them on a ticket to see an old high school friend only to find I could only fly at 12 am with a layover overnight halfway, or on a Sunday evening on alternate months, when Aquarius was aligned with Pluto - back when it was a planet, or in and out in less than 24 hours.  A year passed, and I finally got everything perfect, only to find they'd upped the number I'd need for a ticket.  And then when I'd saved up that number finally (two months ago) they blacked me out because (the agent on the phone told me) I didn't have enough miles again, even though the web site said I did (they had two different numbers - he apologized, promised to check into it, and never called back).  Finally, I decided to donate them to someone with far more patience, or let them expire (which would show them!).  But, just in the nick of time, I found out from a different airline (on which I had some 2,000 miles) I could buy three magazine subscriptions (the eternal irony - where do you think I got Money?) and so revisted the other site.  Bingo!  I'd already paid for tickets and hotel (on Orbitz) for our Anchorage trip, but as I clicked on the "partners" tab in the redeem miles section - lo, and behold! - I found a car rental!  After a little experimentation, I ended up with 8 days of a full-sized auto ... and saved $385.47 (more than the ticket I wanted costs)!  What a way to steal, huh?

ShopSmart ;) magazine (yes, it has that icon in its title) is and has been one of my favorites for about a year - six issues ($18) with no advertising alone is worth its weight in gold, but add to that some tested and fantastic advice and tips, and it's just one of the best all-around for treasure hunters.  The June issue started me on what I think will be a permanent habit - once or twice a year, I will eschew grocery shopping (except for milk) and live from my cupboards for a week.  Now, before you think I'm crazy, remember I tend to stock up when something's on sale, so I'm doing it not just because I read it in this month's issue but because I have cleared my pantry of long-expired dry goods far too many times over the years.  Plus, I ... um ... was going through the chest freezer we bought a year ago March and found meat from ... uh ... a year ago March.  Luckily, it's a great chest freezer, though, (and I take great care in how I wrap).  So tonight I'm using half the 5-pound chuck roast I bought on sale (a year ago March) to make a brand-new recipe, with beef and tomatoes and olives of all things -  a Catalan stew I've wanted to try forever but hadn't had the guts.  I do, however, have the ingredients, many of which are teetering on the edge of ptomaine (a little heat kills anything, right?).  You don't have a recipe folder stuffed full of cheap eats?  Pull out the old standard - my grandmother's Mulligan stew - meat, browned, a couple cans of tomatoes, a splash of wine, and whatever vegetables are verging on compost.  It's fabulous!  (Or, of course, go to the Epicurious web site or to Allrecipes.com, punch in a few key ingredients and find a recipe that will fit what you have on hand.)

I'm also gearing up to get back to my online garage sale.  I am determined to clear my closets and earn more money for both treasure hunting and the renovations that my house is so desperate for.  I'll sell what I can, donate (not relist) what I can't, then make my office into a lab/Dragon-Bunny Den and my house into a warm, welcoming place - by reusing, repurposing, and recycling on the building end, too!  Because I realized this week, after talking to a friend of mine who downsized to a condo and is horrified at the thought of filling it up again that I don't think the scary-hoarder-organization shows are right.  It's not that we have too much stuff but that we have too much crappy stuff.

Well, no more, not this Bunny!  We can live well, and well within whatever budget we have!  It doesn't matter if it it's a stock I want, an Arts and Crafts end table, or a lanyard of Chanel "pearls" ... patience, educating myself, knowing where to prowl, even when to take a chance  - that's what treasure hunting is all about!

It's so good to be back!