You deserve a personal shopper.
That’s what the headline said, in my e-mail from J. Crew this morning. Deserve—like have earned, are set to receive, have every right to. It made me laugh and then it made me furrow my brow and then I saved it to read later.
Here’s the interior pitch: “we’ll meet you at any J.Crew or crewcuts store. sign up for an appointment today at jcrew.com. (it’s complimentary.)”
I find myself analyzing marketing materials like this lately, asking why the highly paid ad execs would choose such-and-such feature. Why, for example, is the text strictly lowercase? Does this make it seem more approachable? Or is it intended, subtly, to highlight the only-capitalized J.C in the title?
And what kind of demographic am I considered to be a part of here? The kind who wants to be spoiled, treated, complemented? The kind that wants to be told, for example, that she deserves a personal shopper?
More than these questions though, I really wonder what a personal shopper at J.Crew would do for me, other than help convince me I should purchase items I really don’t need. And that’s why I clicked delete after reading.
Has anyone ever used a personal shopper? I’d love to hear about the experience.
Filed under shopping, the everyday | Comments (2)emergency fund
Through the pf world, I’ve been reading for months about emergency funds. A lot of bloggers have sections in their sidebar that track their progress. I’ve decided it’s a good idea and want to start one.
Help!
If you have an emergency fund, what are you saving the money in? An ING? Something else? I want it to be something that gains interest and something that I can liquidate easily. Any advice/suggestions are appreciated. If I can get you a referral bonus or something, let me know.
Filed under emergency fund, investing, questions | Comments (15)brown-bagging it
Finishing another chapter of my latest read, I spooned the last bit of raspberry yogurt to my mouth and put the container down. One final honey-wheat pretzel stick, and I bunched up my plastic baggies, coupled them with my used plastic spoon and threw them in the trash can. Then I picked up my library book and neatly folded my brown lunch bag—I would use it again tomorrow.
I bring my own lunch to work every day. This isn’t new; I’ve been doing it since I started my job back in June.
What is new is the saving of the brown lunch bag. I buy these disposable bags in packs of 200 from the grocery store, for a price I don’t even remember off the top of my head. It couldn’t be more than $3. Let’s just say it is $3—doing the math, this means each bag costs $0.015. That’s nothing, really. And come on, I’m making good money; it’s not like I can’t afford to buy a pack of brown bags every 200 lunches. It’s hardly going to break me.
So why do I keep saving and reusing these bags?
To be honest, I’m not sure. Last Friday, for example, when I pulled three neatly folded, mint-condition brown bags out of my desk drawer, planning to take them home and store them in the cabinet for use the next week, I felt time pause. Purse slung on my arm, coat picked up, I had reached for my book and grabbed these bags. What in the world? I put them in my car and drove them home and thought: Have I gone a little overboard with this whole savings thing?
Earlier that week, I had seen that I was low on brown bags. There were two new, unused ones left. Yet somehow now, I’ve found a way to postpone purchasing a new, under-$3 package. Does this make me a frugal, thrifty individual? Or am I slowly nickel-and-dime-ing (or in this case, 1.5-pennying) my way to insanity?
Again, I don’t know. I am comforted, I suppose, by the utter freeness I feel to purchase things I really want, like the $80 boots of yesterday: brand-name and on sale, yes, but also unnecessary and probably a little extravagant.
The thing is, I’m finding, that I really hate wasting. The reason I’ll OK the $80 boots is because, well, I know I’ll use them. They’re replacing a $20 pair I got from Payless three years ago. That pair doesn’t fit as well and it has a hole in the right bottom heel that I repaired, but I’ve used them consistently for quite a while.
I don’t feel OK about tossing a $0.015 brown bag when it’s perfectly good. If I didn’t get anything on it, if there aren’t any holes or tears in it, why should I throw it away? That, to me, feels like wasting.
So here I am. I am slowly, timidly navigating the confusing world of wasting, not-wasting and frugality.
Right now, that means saving clean lunch bags.
So be it.
Filed under food, shopping, the everyday, thrifty tips | Comments (5)product 1: deodorant
OK, this is an anonymous blog: I can be honest. I think I sweat more than the average person. Really I do. On a given summer day, no matter how many swipes I’ve taken with my roll-on or easy-glide or extra-strength deodorant, I’ll sweat right through it.
I’ve tried, I’m not kidding, dozens of deodorants. Dry Idea, Teen Spirit, Ban, Suave… you name it, it’s probably sitting up in my bathroom cabinet somewhere.
It got so bad, in fact, that I told my best friend about it on the phone one day. What deodorant do you use? I asked her. Tell me it works.
Maybe she was trying to make me feel better, but she said she knew exactly what I meant. She’d been searching, too, without success. We resolved to combine our efforts. Surely something would satisfy.
Well, about a month ago, she called me—she’s a good friend, as you can tell—to say she’d found the one. She’d asked her sister-in-law, her friend, a random person, and a particular brand, right down to the scent, came up: Secret Platinum, in the invisible solid, in the Jasmine Orient scent. She tried it, she tested it and voila: success.
I’ve been using it for a few weeks now and fully agree. I don’t think I’ll ever switch—hallelujah! Ask me to pay whatever you want, Secret, I’m sold!
BTW: one more tip—don’t, don’t, don’t get a different version of this brand. It has to be the invisible solid. Don’t ask me why.
Filed under products I love, shopping | Comments (3)reorganizing
This Friday night, I’ve had the luxury of dinner out, paid for by someone else, and just now: free time to blog. Ah, the satisfaction of the little things.
If you’d like, take a look at the About Grad Girl and Favorite Post pages. They’re newly updated, something I’ve been meaning to do for a while. Also, I’ve cleaned up the categories at right. Enjoy.
Product #1 is coming soon!
(*update Saturday morning: I’ve also changed my RSS feeds to full, or at least I think I have. I’m not especially tech-savvy, so let me know if I did something wrong.)
Filed under Cool Sites | Comment (0)products
The other day, on NPR, someone was talking about the prevalence of online reporting. All the blogs, the chat rooms, the self-made authorities seem to be trumping the respected experts, at least sometimes. Joe Citizen wants to know what his peers think, not what the reporter at the New York Times has to say.
I suppose I agree, all things considered. I like being able to access loads of information–true or untrue–and discern what I want to believe. I also think this very notion is what makes PF blogs successful. Few of the PF-ers are financial professionals, at least not the ones I love to read. We’re regular, everyday people making regular, everyday salaries and trying to stretch/savor/spend our dollars however we can.
So. Here’s where I’m going with this. I’ve found there are certain products in my life that I love to spend money on. I will actually choose to pay full price, when necessary, because these items are so reliable and trustworthy in my book. I want to tell you about them.
I’m getting no compensation for these posts, I promise. I just want to tell you that I wish I’d always known how great these things are, and I think you should try them.
Also, ( here’s the time for a little unabashed begging) I’d love to know what products you love. If you “sell” me, I’ll give your product a try.
First post in this series? The all-time, unbeatable, driest, surest deodorant out there. Really.
Filed under products I love, shopping | Comments (2)Spacca Napoli in Ravenswood
(This is weekly post #1 in the Frugal Foodie Thursday series.)
For months, Friday nights have been pizza nights. My brother and I started this tradition last winter in an effort to find the best pizza in Chicagoland. We’re big pizza fans—I, more than anyone. I could eat it every day: cold, hot, toppings, no toppings. And since I’m feeling especially daring, I might as well tell you my culinary exploits have involved my making every imaginable substance into its own kind of pizza. Crusts I’ve tried: store-bought dough, homemade dough, pita, Italian bread, crackers… I’ll spare you the details, but suffice it to say, each has its pluses and minuses. Each, that is, except the one I’m about to describe.
I should also tell you, in the interest of full disclosure, that, while I wouldn’t refuse it of course, I don’t especially prefer Chicago-style pizza. Call it sacrilege if you must, but this Chicago girl likes her pizza thin-crusted, Neapolitan-style. Blame it on world travel or perhaps my Italian grandmother. Either way, this is how it’s got to be.
A while back, Chicago Magazine did an issue that highlighted the best Neopolitan-style pizza places in Chicago. We’ve tried as many as we could. Some have been good, some great—but none could top Spacca Napoli, the first we visited and I daresay the best pizza in the city.
When you go, if at all possible, get the Pizze Margherita. It’s covered with just enough ripe tomatoes, Italian mozzarella, fresh basil and perfect olive oil. The crust is soft—not too soft, but easy to break off and chew, and crunchy—not cracker-crunchy but crisp. The flavor is sweet in a deliciously olive oil way, which, I’ll just say it, is the best kind of sweet in the world of pizza. It’s pizza perfection and, top this: it’s ready in minutes. Their ovens cook it up quickly and I mean quickly.
Other reasons to visit: a beautiful atmosphere, complete with al fresca dining, should you choose; great service—our waiter was completely charming; and easy parking just a block or so away.
Even more! Stop by their website, where a 25% OFF coupon will work for lunch Wednesdays or Thursdays through the end of the year. For dinner, I spent around $12, but I’ll admit I just drank tap water; I don’t know if the lunch menu’s even more affordable, but with the coupon, what could you lose?
Make plans to visit this incredible spot soon. I know you’ll love it.
