Grant's Space

As an Apple Authorized Business Agent I get info ahead of everyone else. As a programmer, I tend to write things that automatically get info from web sites (i.e. when the iPhone order button appears).

So, I’m gathering a list of email addresses. The second the “order now” button appears on the iPhone page, I’ll email the store link to everyone on the list.

So if you want to be notified, just fill in the form and I’ll add you.

P.S. I’ll only use your email address for this notification – I’m not a big fan of spammers.

I’m not making a political statement here, I just thought this was funny…

Great cartoons from Mark Parisi (Off The Mark – offthemark.com).

If you don’t pass this along, a dog
will come out and pee on your computer!

I guess you didn’t send it fast enough!

This is an article I wrote for CSC’s web site after the .com crash in 2001. I’m moving it here now.

Whether you’re unemployed (or as I like to call it, "Temporary Income Downtime") or would just rather save your money for better things, there are some easy steps you can take to conserve your cash:

• The 99 Cent Store is your friend.
  Go to the 99 cent store or Costco for non-perishable
  items. It’s amazing what you can get there. The
  “Coco Blast” cereal is good, the Rice Crispies equivilent
  is ok, the Froot Loops equivilent is ok too. I’d skip their
  Corn Flakes though. You can also get cleaning supplies there
  insanely cheap. I can get out of there spending $10 when
  I’d spend easily $40-$50 on the same stuff at a normal
  supermarket. That adds up really fast, especially
  during "Income Downtime".
• (Rule#2): If you’re not sure, don’t buy it.
  What is it you really like to do? Do you like to take trips?
  Do you like to go to the movies? Think of every expense in
  terms of what you like to do. Remember: Buying that $10
  dinner is two movie matinee tickets. $39/month on DSL
  is an evening out, etc. So, if you don’t know if you
  want that Frappachino right now ($2.80 at Starbucks),
  don’t get it. One of those a day is $84/month! That’s a
  Discount plane ticket to Disneyland every month, or
  a discount Disney vacation for two in a year!
• You can eat for $1 a week!
  (Note – don’t risk your health here, $5/week is healthier…).
  Spaghetti and sauce at Costco or the 99 Cent store can go
  a long way. Get that, and some ground beef ($3 should last you
  a few nights) at a good supermarket and you’ve got Pasta Con Carne.
  3 boxes of Macaroni and cheese are 99 cents. Each one makes
  two meals. With that alone, plus your 99 cent box of cereal,
  you’ve got three meals a day for a week. For variety throw
  in some chicken (4 chicken breasts for about $5) and rice
  (real cheap). I recommend getting some basic spices:
  Lawry’s Salt (good for almost anything), Garlic Powder
  (you can make garlic bread with your pasta, or garlic
  pasta when you run out of sauce, etc), Poultry Seasoning,
  and Onion Powder. With that, you can cook a wide variety
  of really cheap meals. Oh, and don’t forget Top Ramen!
  (10 for $1)*.
  • (Subtopic): If you like a particular thing (I’m quite
    partial to the Ice Blended Mocha at The Coffee Bean**), figure out how to make
    it yourself. Ice Blendeds are easy:
    • Get a cup.
    • Fill it 2/3 with ice (crushed if you have it).
    • Pour in about 4 Oz of Milk
    • Pour in about 4 Oz of Coffee (dark).
    • Pour in a good glug or scoop of chocolate.
    • Dump it in a blender and blend it.

    When you’re rich again, go to the Coffee Bean
    and buy the real ingredients from them – much better.
    If you’re not near a Coffee Bean, you can order the
    Ice Blended Kit at www.coffeebean.com.
    At the time of this writing, they’re only in LA and there’s
    only one (soon to be two) in SF.

• Cut all expenses
  My rule: If you get a bill, call and cancel. Unless you
  absolutely need it, cancel it. You can start it
  again when you’re rich, if you need it. If you
  can’t cancel it, see if you can get it cheaper. You
  probably can. If you’re like me, when you have money, you
  tend to sign up for things that
  are fun. They seem "cheap" when you’ve got a good income
  going. Well, keep rule#2 in mind at all times, especially during
  your "Income Downtime". Do you need the dialup
  and the DSL accounts? Do you need two
  phone lines? HBO? Cable? The Cell Phone and the pager?
  Comprehensive coverage on your car insurance? The credit
  card with the annual fee? Yah, just saved a plane flight a
  month right there, huh? Enjoy your vacation.
• You can have fun for free!
  Some things that cost almost nothing:
  • The beach
  • Hiking
  • Hanging out with friends (if this costs money, make them
    read this…
  • Rollerblading/Biking
  • Free plays (in the park, etc)
  • SF Weekly, LA Weekly (look for fun, free things to do in there)

  It is very important to have fun, especially during
  Downtime. Downtime is documented to take a huge emotional toll
  as well as a financial one. But, if you can learn to enjoy free
  things, you have learned one of the great secrets of life.
  Imagine, your Downtime is now not stress-time, it’s whole
  days of free time to enjoy!

• Enjoy yourself!
  You’ll find that things are less crowded on weekdays when all
  those poor "employed" people are working.
  Go have fun! Spend a few hours job-hunting, then go out.
  You may have trouble going back to work!
• Look for money-making opportunities
  Remember, your time is now worth $0/hr. There are all sorts
  of odd little ways to make some money. $5 now buys
  you a week’s worth of food. So:
  • Look for promotions.
    Some I’ve done or people I know have include:
    • Took a tour of a storage space for a $5 gift coupon at
      In and Out
    • Participated in a Focus Group for $150 (1 hour session).
    • Won plane tickets to Hawaii for answering a promotional
      ad for logo pens
    • Won a weekday trip to Las Vegas for two for not
      buying a timeshare (90-minute presentation).
    • Got a PC for going to a 90-minute timeshare presentation.
      (Hint: PC + Ebay – Taxes = income).
    • Got $5 for signing up on PayPal
      (www.paypal.com).
      $5 for each friend I refer (hint: click on the URL link
      and I get another $5 if you sign up… .

    These things can be fun as well as make you a little
    extra $$.

  • Sell old stuff
    Ebay is great. Sell your stuff on it. Now you’ve got time
    to take that horribly out-of-date 1-year-old PC in
    your closet and sell it. That’s a few hundred bucks you
    just made today. (Or a plane ticket, many movies, rent, etc)
• Pay Off Credit Card Debt!
  I’m sorry, this should be first. A credit card is
  pure wasted money, at a huge interest rate. A $5000
  credit card bill is COSTING you about $100 per month!
  That’s a lot of money for nothing!. Now, that
  coffee is costing you $2.80 PLUS about 16% APR because
  you’re not paying the credit card off. $100 per month
  is a lot of movies…
  • If you can’t pay it off, look in the mail for
    0% APR or low APR introductory credit card offers.
    The credit card companies are watching you, so
    you’ll start to see them come in right about now…
    Keep your credit good, then sign up for one of these
    cards and transfer your balance to it. If you’re
    not going to be able to pay it off in a while, keep
    doing this when the introductory period wears off.
    It’s not much work, and you’re making $100/month each
    time, so it’s worth it…

Summary

That’s a lot of info to take in, but each step of it
will help, so just go one step at a time…

Good luck, and happy saving!

* Beware the "catch" of Costco and the 99 cent store:
Some items are more expensive than at regular stores. Ramen can
be found for 9 for 99 Cents at the 99 Cent store, for 10 for
$1.00 at supermarkets with their supermarket club card…). :O

** It is rumored that Starbucks (and now almost every cafe on the planet) actually swiped the idea for the Frapachino from Coffee Bean’s Ice Blended Mocha drink. Coffee Bean’s is much better, so I highly recommend getting the ingredients from them, or going to one to try it (Remember rule#2 though… .

Unemployed Tips is written by Grant Grueninger, President of Commercial Systems Corporation. Grant has over 22 years programming experience, and has been working in the computer industry since 1979. He’s also experienced Income Downtime and found creative ways to exist through it.
Unemployed Tips © 2001 Grant Grueninger

… as told by the Simpsons, of course.