The Frugalista Files

Frugalista moves to thefrugalista.com

Hi Everyone! Thanks for being so patient with me! I have been underground for a few days for good reason. I am going indie. I have launched thefrugalista.com, my  own blog.  I have had an AWESOME time blogging for the Miami Herald, but now is the time for me to strike on my own.

The party isn't ending...it's going to a new place so please visit me at thefrugalista.com and update your blogrolls and add yourself to my RSS feed! My email is the same, for those who know. :)

Much love to the Miami Herald for letting me have a wonderful ride here!

Natalie

Frugalista!

Frugalista does China

So a few weeks back, I got contacted by a Chinese journalist named Fu. Apparently, I'm known as the "Frugal Queen" in the Far East! Fancy that! As a Frugalista, I am a citizen of the world, even though my passport may need a few more stamps. :( One day! Anyway, here's the article that the China Youth Daily wrote about me. The article is written in Chinese, in case you aren't fluent, but it included some of my party photos. 

Life is good. Frugal living is great!

Thanks to Fu for writing about this American girl,

Natalie

P.S. Are you addicted to Mad Men? 

Frugalista talks about BlogHer

Hello, Frugalistas!  I'm going to talk about my BlogHer convention experience at 8 p.m. tonight, eastern standard time.  I am a talk show guest of blogger, author, yogi  and social media butterfly, Ananda Leeke.

BlogHer is an online community for women who blog and it holds an annual convention. 

I know a lot of people have approached me about starting a blog and what the blogging experience is like, so the chat tonight will cover all that ground.

For me, blogging as a woman has been a life changing experience, so I am Team Blogger. The BlogHer experience was eye opening. I was lucky enough to be a panelist the first time there! 

So Frugalistas, if you are thinking about blogging, the social media game, or frugal and fabulous living (heheh) check us out tonight!

Log on here: http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/42015

xo,

Fruga!

Cost of living decrease

Here is a map from personal finance site, Mint.com, showing a decrease in living expenses since the recession. Check it out and tell me what you think! Do you believe it?

Frugalista named Top 40 under 40

Success South Florida Magazine named me one of the Top 40 under 40 Leaders of Today and Tomorrow! Yay! I'll take it! I get a free meal at Morton's The Steakhouse in North Miami Beach. Yes! Reception meals are Frugalista fabulous! That will be one day that I don't have to cook! :)

From the news release:

Over 160 nominees were selected for this honor by political, business and organizational leaders in South Florida. The final 40 honorees were then hand-picked by an advisory committee composed of business leaders in the fields of banking, media, politics, and medicine and community/non-profit leadership. Chosen for their professional accomplishments and tireless efforts to support our community, the 40 award recipients will be honored at a VIP reception. 

I'm wearing a dress from my closet to the event. My one business dress will be taken out of retirement and to the reception!

xo,

Fruggie!

Former NBA star Antoine Walker owes $822,500 in gambling debt

Aw, Antoine. I'm hurt. Antoine Walker, who played for the Miami Heat's 2006 NBA Championship squad, allegedly owes Las Vegas casinos more than $800,000 for unpaid gambling debts. Walker has three felony charges for writing bad checks. In total, he allegedly wrote $1 million in bad checks, but paid back $178,000.

Walker, 32, last played for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2008. The NBA All Star had a long career, and I hate that this gambling thing appears to have gotten the best of him. First Charles Barkley and now Antoine? 

I pray I won't have to do a foreclosure post on Antoine. I'm a big Miami Heat fan and Antoine is from Chicago, so yay for the home team!

We have some casinos here in Florida, but I don't really gamble. I've never won more than like $20 when gambling. Meh!

Do you gamble? If so, did you win any money? Do you think it's a money drain? Dangerous? Does Antoine need help? Can you shimmy like Antoine?

Free The Florida Marlins tickets

Hi, there! The Florida Marlins are getting in on the hook up band wagon!  Free mortgage payments, free tickets for the unemployed and free tickets for active military personnel. There's even a discount for those who carpool to the games.

Mortgage Payout Program:

• On 11 Saturday games, one fan will get a check for up to $2,500 toward his/her monthly mortgage or rent payment.

• During the Saturday games  on June 20 vs. the Yankees and September 26 vs. the Mets, one fan at each game will get a  check for up to $15,000 toward: 1) the principal on his/her mortgage or 2) the remainder of the winner's annual lease.

 

• Fans in Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties must log on to www.marlins.com  to enter the Marlins Mortgage Payout. Entry is free. Fans will be prompted to fill out a basic personal information form and also provide the amount of their monthly mortgage payment or their monthly rent payment.

 MARLINS Workforce Mondays: 

Unemployed South Florida residents can get  up to four (4) complimentary tickets to select Monday Marlins home games in 2009.

 • Fans must bring their current government-issued unemployment documentation to the Customer Service table located outside Gate H on any Monday home game (in May, June, July, and August) to receive four (4) complimentary tickets.

• Stadium gates and the Customer Service table will open 90 minutes prior to the first pitch and close at the conclusion of the first inning on Monday home games.

 • No refunds or exchanges, and cannot be combined with any other offers or promotions. 

Marlins Go Green:

 • Vehicles with four or more fans will receive a $25 voucher toward the purchase of tickets for select future Monday Marlins games.

 • One voucher per vehicle.

Stars and Stripes Military hook up program

The United States Military staff including: Active and Reserve personnel, National Guard, and their dependents may attend Sunday Marlins regular season games at no cost.

 • To receive complimentary tickets, eligible military personnel, or dependents, must present their military identification card (DOD or Homeland Security Cards) at the Gate F box office at Dolphin Stadium, on the day of the game, at least one hour prior to the start of the regular season game.

 Do you like baseball? Do you go to games?

Are liquidation sales a joke?

The other day, a reader named Dan and I had a nice chat about liquidation sales. We talked about defunct electronics store Circuit City and whether there were any good buys there. He and I both decided: NOT! I know I'm a fan of a good deal, but just because you put a xx% off price tag on an item, it does not mean that it's a deal.

This is what Dan emailed me after going to Circuit City last month:

Most Blu-ray movies started at $22.99 while a 4GB SanDisk Extreme III CompactFlash Card went for $45 (that same card costs $26.05 + $7 s&h at Buy.com.)

The same applied to gaming. Activision's Guitar Hero III Legends of Rock Bundle with Guitar for Xbox 360 sold for $55.99 at Circuit City. Online we found it for $50 (at Toys "R" Us.) Open box items were similarly overpriced. We found an open box Sony Bravia 120Hz 46" 1080p LCD HDTV, model no. KDL-46XBR6, for $2,519.97. Online we found a new model for $1,899.95 with free shipping (at B&H Photo-Video.) It's worth noting that open box items purchased at Circuit City could not be returned under any circumstances. Dozens of posters throughout the store made this clear.

I ran across this article from my hometown paper The Chicago Sun Times about how liquidation sales rarely are bargains.

From the article:

The liquidator, not the company, is in charge now, and they want to make as much money as possible. They've guaranteed the creditors will get a certain amount, and they want to make some extra for themselves, too.

So the first thing they do is mark up the items to the manufacturer's suggested retail price, which usually is about 10 percent to 15 percent higher than what the store sold the stuff for pre-bankruptcy.


Yep! I've seen it first hand. I think you are better served just waiting for a holiday sale or even buying full price so that you can take a pricey-item back if it's faulty. It's not a deal when you pay for a good,  and it turns out to be poorly crafted and you are stuck with it because the store went out of business.

Do you shop at liquidation sales? Do you get good deals there? Did you check out Circuit City's sales? What about Linens N' Things? Did you know they were opening again?