gypsy photography/Flickr
UPDATE: BargainBabeLA.com is up and running. I apologize for the downtime. Thanks for your pateience. ~Julia
This week’s $5 Amazon gift card goes to The Unethical Man for sharing three great deals. Each Thursday I chose one person who shared great deals on BargainBabeLA.com (useful and great money-savers are my favorites) to win the prize.
Educators can get into Universal Studios for free through March 31. Thanks for sharing this deal, The Unethical Man!
A new indoor play center in Woodland Hills called The Enchanted Castle has a discounted play rate only for BBLA readers.
Get into the LA Times Travel show for free with a coupon code here.
Pretty soon you’ll be able to get 100 free eBay listings, shared by The Unethical Man
There are two big consignment sales coming up in Santa Clarita. The first is March 5-7 for baby/toddler/kids gear/toys/clothes and the second is for women March 12-14. Mark your calenders!
Reader Marie shared three little-known secrets about saving at Bed, Bath & Beyond.
Munch on a free hamburger at Jonny Rockets through Feb. 14, 2010 when you buy an entree and a drink.
Looking to get organized? Get free tip sheets, ebooks, and podcasts to turn yourself into a neat freak, shared by RebeccaQuinn.
Prepare to get in line for a free grandslam breakfast at Denny’s on Feb 9, from 6 a.m to 2 p.m. Thanks for sharing, The Unethical Man!
Get a free ski lift ticket to Mammoth Mountains when you test drive a new Ford, shared by amygrahek.
Here are the best deals posted on my other site, BargainBabeLA.com. This week the prize goes to Adventure Girl (again!) for sharing so many awesome deals. Thanks for making BargainBabeLA.com the best resource for saving money in Los Angeles.
Get Direct TV for $30 a month with a $100 gift card, shared by The Unethical Man
Free foreign films and dessert in Arcadia, shared by AdventureGirl
Get 10-20 percent off on Black Friday at Beadniks, shared by viwlpaige
Virgin America and Southwest are having Thanksgiving fare sales, shared by AdventureGirl
Select cashmere is 2-for-1 at Banana Republic this Black Friday, shared by viwlpaige
Shopaholic sample sale everything $30 or less, shared by bargainbabe
Post a hot deal on BargainBabeLA.com by midnight PST Thursday, Oct. 29 and you could win a $5 Amazon gift certificate. The person who posts the best deal wins!
In the meantime, here are some of the best posts from BargainBabeLA.com from the past week.
Get $20 worth of groceries from Super King Markets in Anaheim, Altadeens or LA with this coupon, shared by West Coast Grrlie Blather
There is a big kids consignment sale in Santa Clarita this weekend, shared by bargainbabe
Kids age 11 and under get into the San Diego Zoo for free on Halloween, shared by bargainbabe
Win a two-night stay at the Four Seasons in Westlake, including spa treatments, when you play this Dole coupon game, shared by DoleFoods
I was putting up flyers for the Frugal Fe$tival last weekend when I noticed two thrift stores on Sherman Way just west of Owensmouth in Canoga Park had gone out of business. To my shock Out of the Closest was a discount a furniture store and Aaardvarks Odd Ark was dark.
If anything, in a recession thrift stores should be thriving! Are people not even buying used clothes? My goodness.
I looked online to see how thrift stores across the country are faring. Perhaps the two I saw closed were a fluke. I found these headlines:
Billerica consignment stores hit hard by recession (MA, 7/20/09)
Salvation Army store to close (Mt. Vernon, VA) (7/17/09)
Economy closing Noble Road thrift store (Cleveland, OH 7/9/09)
Helping Hands thrift store closes its doors (Wetaskiwin, Canada 7/7/09)
St. Vincent de Paul closing its doors – seeking small headquarters (Sault Ste Marie, MI 6/26/09)
Thrift shops expect increase due to closing of Salvation Army (Norwich, CT 6/25/09)
And that is just going back one month!
I wonder what the National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops has to say about this. An April press release begins, “The resale industry is one of the few recession proof segments of retailing…”
Not anymore. The recession has gone on long enough that the wave of consumers who turned to thrift stores to cut their budget a year ago has washed out.
You haven’t checked out my new site? Tsk tsk. It’s SUPER awesome (if you live in LA).
The coolest thing about BargainBabeLA.com is that EVERYONE can share a deal. Here’s what I mean:
The Unethical Man shared a deal to get 5 free listings/mo on eBay.
Amygrahek shared info about a free concert series in Culver City that features Barbara Morrison and The Young Dubliners.
So_Cal_Retail_Slut shared info about free buses to Venice beach, Playa Vista and Marina del Rey that are operating through Sept. 7.
I posted a quick review of a fabulous burrito joint in Long Beach.
Check it out and don’t forget to celebrate the launch of BargainBabeLA.com with me on July 26, 2009 at Frugal Fe$tival! One lucky person will walk away with a $100 cash prize. Not joking.
A friend of mine got laid off just as a new report found 467,000 people got pink slips last month. That puts our national unemployment rate at 9.5 percent, a 26-year high. I talked to my friend Leah, an engineer in Los Angeles, about filing for unemployment, coping with unexpected emotions, and visiting Yosemite. Disclosure: I changed her name to protect her privacy.
What was your initial reaction when your boss told you you were getting laid off?
I sat there for a full minute, quiet, with all these things going through my head…I felt shocked and angry and betrayed and then just confused. I think I finally said “I don’t understand.”
What didn’t you understand?
I didn’t understand why because to everyone’s knowledge in the office we were safe. We had plenty of work. But I found out (in my bosses office) that a big project or two had just recently gone on hold indefinitely. Which totally messed up everything. So they had to make some changes.
Have you ever been laid off before?
No.
How are you coping, two weeks after?
Now I feel fine, comfortable. The first three days were tough. I felt sad but I felt relieved.
Why were you relieved?
In a way I had been somewhat frustrated with the way things were going at the office, personnel-wise, project-wise, and I had had some thoughts about doing something different. But no specific thoughts. I wasn’t searching for anything. The relief was now I can think about these other things in more detail.
Did you see it coming?
I remember about two or three weeks before I got laid off that 25 people in a company in San Francisco that was one of our clients got laid off. I remember being surprised, thinking “Wow I really can’t take this all for granted anymore. I don’t think it really sank in because one of those emotions that went through my head, that still does, is that I felt really foolish thinking that my history with the company and the fact that my project was strong was keeping me safe. My project still is going. It has a source of funding. I felt foolish for linking those things. I took it for granted even after telling myself that I shouldn’t.
How prepared financially were you for something like this?
I have some savings that could probably get me through a couple months so I’m not panicking yet.
Financially, have you done anything different since getting laid off?
I’ve been eating out less, drinking less, making choices that I don’t have to spend as much money. Looking back on my expenses, at least 50 percent were eating out.
Are you cutting out a few things entirely or making reductions across the board?
I will probably cut down across the board and not on anyone thing. I’ll put off big purchases that I otherwise would have gone ahead and done. For example I want a new pair of running shoes. But that’s like $100 give or take so when I got laid off, I said I can live without a new pair of running shoes.
Has your attitude about the recession changed since getting laid off?
I’m definitely more interested in unemployment benefits news and economic stimulus package news because now it actually does affect me or could affect me. I never really paid attention to that before, not for lack of interest but for lack of time.
What are you most concerned about?
To be honest I haven’t started to think very far in the future yet because I am really relived to just be able to live in the moment and relax. It’s summer and I know that I have a little bit of a cushion to take a month to just breathe.
What are you least concerned about?
I’m actually not real concerned about not ever being able to get another job because I feel the market will improve, it may just be a matter of time. I have certain knowledge and strengths and excellent referrals. My bosses have said they would be more than happy to help me out with any references. We left on very good friendly terms.
Do you still have health care?
Yes I got a severance package through the end of July and then I have to figure out COBRA.
What is your plan for the next 6 months?
I haven’t thought more than a month and a half out. I’ve got two weeks until a triathlon race and then I’m going to take about 2 weeks to travel through California, visit friends, go through Yosemite, go through Mammoth. I’ll fly back to New York, go see my parents.
Anything else you want to add?
I did file for unemployment. Haven’t heard anything back. It was easy to file online but I haven’t heard anything. It takes a while.
Read past Q&A’s:
Coupon train: clipping with strangers
Do you have an interesting recession experience you want to talk about? Email me to be considered for an upcoming Q&A.
Today I am unveiling an exciting new website – BargainBabeLA.com!
This site helps people save money in their neighborhood using Google maps. Current deals on the site include free yoga classes on the Santa Monica beach, a $1 grocery sale in Buena Park, and $6 Angels tickets. Wahoo!
The most exciting part about BargainBabeLA.com is that EVERYONE can share a deal, be it a clothing sale they spot on their drive to work, a restaurant discount they come across while ordering take out, or a free event coming up nearby. The goal is for everyone to be able to get the deal you saw!
After you register on the site you can start sharing your favorite deals. You’ll see a few of my ardent bargain hunting friends have already shared their favorite deals. Remember to add a location for your deal otherwise the software randomly locates your deal in the ocean. No joke, a friend shared a deal that ended up off the coast of Africa. If it’s a chain store, pick one of their locations in the LA region like Culver City, Glendale, or Sherman Oaks.
I’m installing a cool box on the upper right hand of BargainBabe.com to remind you of the exciting deals on BargainBabeLA.com. Click on it to visit the new site.
If you live outside of LA and are insanely jealous, email me. Maybe we can start a deal site in your city.
Along with the new site, we’re rolling out incentives to become a Bargain Buddy. Buddies are core members of BargainBabeLA.com and have greater access to the site. They can publish deals immediately, moderate comments, and monitor deals being added by regular members. Bargain Buddies are trusted members of the Bargain Babe LA community.
Soon, Bargain Buddies will be able to create a profile on the site by uploading a picture and tracking their deals. We’d also like to feature a Bargain Buddy deal of the day on the homepage!
Bargain Buddies will receive a free BargainBabe.com T-shirt. It’s going to be hot pink, of course!
To become a Bargain Buddy, I ask that you share three deals or tips on BargainBabeLA.com every week. That’s about 15 minutes of your time. I know your schedule fluctuates, so if you share 5 deals one week, 1 deal the following week, and 3 deals the week after, that’s okay with me. Sound reasonable?
Please accept my invitation to become a Bargain Buddy by registering and sharing deals on BargainBabeLA.com. After you’ve shown a consistent track record for one month, email me and I’ll send you your T-shirt.
The deals you share can be a sale you spotted driving home from work, a coupon you received in the mail that others can get ahold of, or a quick blurb about your favorite cheap haunts! I’ve already added a number of my favorite deals – short and long term.
I’m super excited to share BargainBabeLA.com with you. Please accept my invitation to become a Bargain Buddy today!
~Julia
aka Bargain Babe
We just wrapped up our latest video. It’s 2.5 minutes of me scrounging for bargains in Los Angeles’ famed Fashion District, the all cash, no dressing room shopping experience. Plus Really. Good. Prices.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlB4LtXwkVc
If you like it, rate it from 1 to 5 stars. Thanks!
I’m organizing the first ever Frugal Fe$tival to celebrate BargainBabe.com’s six-month anniversary and to launch the exciting expansion I’ve been hinting at (which will be revealed next week…fingers crossed).
The Frugal Fe$tival is a one-day physical gathering of frugal folks who want to have fun sharing their frugal lifestyles. Save the date – the Frugal Fe$tival is Sunday, July 26, 2009 in Los Angeles. Here is why you should come.
- It’s free
- It’s going to be fun
- The first 50 people to arrive will win a free Bargain Babe T-shirt
- You can get free financial advice by signing up for a 15-minute consultation with a financial adviser
- You can trade your unwanted coupons for ones you want
- You can enter the frugal contest – the top three frugal tips will win prizes
- Each adult will receive 10 free tickets to enter raffles of their choice
- Raffle prizes will include gift cards, financial consultations, books, T-shirts and cash!
- Find out more about the mysterious expansion Julia has been talking about on BargainBabe.com!
If you’d like to get involved as a volunteer or sponsor, please email julia@bargainbabe.com. Lots more information to come!
Here’s a cool map and chart that shows which cities have the most job postings per 1,000 people. Washington D.C. tops the list (144), followed by Baltimore, MD (89), and San Jose, CA (76).
Umm, where’s Los Angeles? Oh yes, there we are at No. 45.
The map is part of a story from MainStreet.com about where the jobs are by state. They considered the number of job postings as a percentage of the state population and unemployment to determine state rankings for their job opportunity index.
Later this afternoon my producer Erin and I are setting out to find – and film – a Lincoln Lunch in Los Angeles. What’s a Lincoln Lunch? A $5 meal named after the dead President that graces the fiver. I strongly believe that it is possible to find a tasty Lincoln Lunch in any city and someday I hope to test this claim!
I used to find and write about one Lincoln Lunch every week for my column in the LA Daily News. Now I’m reviving my hunt for lunch deals, but this time it will be on video. We hope to publish the “video blog post” within a week of filming it.
To whet your appetite and help you find a Lincoln Lunch in your own ‘hood, here are a few factors to consider:
- Does the eatery look like a hole in the wall?
- Is it located on the fringes of town or on a side street?
- Do you order at the counter?
- Is the food served on disposable plates?
- Does the eatery occupy a very small space?
- Is the eatery’s reputation based on word of mouth recommendations and not traditional advertising?
“Yes” answers to these questions increase the likelihood of finding a Lincoln Lunch because these factors indicate lower prices. No guarantees, however. If you are really desperate for a Lincoln Lunch, head to a taco stand or scan the lunch specials at a Chinese restaurant. I have found many LL’s this way. Bon appetite!
A friend and I grabbed dinner and a beer after going for a swim last night. We had a delicious meal at Library Ale House in Santa Monica; the Allagash Black was SO much better than Guinness, and I don’t even like dark beer! But when we returned to her car, tucked under the windshield wiper was a parking ticket. Blurg!
We had both forgotten to put money in the meter before going to dinner. Perhaps this was karma coming back to bite me in the a– after I declared Tuesday that to avoid parking tickets all one had to do was “put one extra quarter into the meter.” Actually, avoiding fines also requires having the presence of mind to fill the meter.
My friend and I grumbled over the parking ticket but I made no offer to split it with her.
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UPDATE: Just wanted to let you all know that I gave my friend $20 to cover half of the parking ticket. It took her a second to figure out why I was handing over the cash. “My readers are keeping me honest,” I told her. She smiled and thanked me, adding that it was not necessary. But it was the right thing to do, however belated.
I took advantage of JetBlue’s $69 one-way flights from Long Beach to New York City – what I call a smart splurge – and am having a ball visiting my sister in the Big Apple. Living in Los Angeles has softened me up, while she has become the consummate New Yorker.
She stays out all hours of the night, can calculate taxi fare between any two points, and has maximized the potential of her tiny apartment by stashing her microwave and toaster under the sink. They still work!
I am no longer a New Yorker, but being in the city I lived in for ten years has reminded me of all the things I miss:
- Fearless subway musicians who provide free entertainment while you wait, including a tap dancer at 42nd Street who set up a mini-stage and then danced to the beat of three drummers across the platform
- People so interesting looking that I can make up whole stories about their lives, like the philosopher with orange-brown hair who would eventually break the heart of the woman cuddling him on the subway even though he did not know it
- The rumbling of the trains passing below, a comforting reminder that you can go anywhere, do anything, at anytime
But I stayed long enough to remember why I left:
- Where did all these people come from? Get out of my way!
- Waiting so long for the NR that its nickname, the Never Rarely, comes true
- Smells that are not appropriate to write about, even on a blog
When I get back to Los Angeles I’m going to grab my yoga mat and let go all of New York – the good and the bad – with a few down dogs. I’m ready to be a softie again.
Get two free tacos today, Feb. 24, 2009, from Jack in the Box with this printable coupon. Participating locations only.
Quiznos is giving away one million free subs. Register here then get a link with a coupon emailed to you.
Get a buy one get one free coupon from TGI Friday’s that is good until Mar. 1, 2009. Some caveats. Print the coupon from this page.
Today is free pancake day at IHOP. Get a free short stack of three pancakes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. at participating locations. They ask that you make a donation to a children’s hospital in lieu of the bill.
Get a free roastburger from Arby’s with any regular drink purchase and this coupon. Expires Mar. 9, 2009.
Los Angeles: The Stand hot dog joint is extending their dollar dog nights to every night of the week. It used to be Mondays starting at 5 p.m., but now it is every day of the week from 3 to 5 p.m. During dollar dog nights Stand Dogs are $1 and loaded Stand Dogs are $2.50. Sounds like you could have an early dinner with a beer for a Lincoln! Caveats: all toppings must go on the hot dogs. The eatery is also starting table service after 5 p.m. Locations in Encino, Century City, Woodland Hills, and Westwood Village.
