If I'd Only.... the Art of Stockpiling

This post is about what you'll need to do for NEXT time. Its entirely possible you may find yourself "liberated" once more before you die. These are things to stock up on - both necessary and unnecessary.

Fair warning, this list is going to look really long and seemingly cost tons. Its maybe $500 for my list. At $25 a month - little over a year to get there. Do this little by little when you have a job and you won't feel it.


Stockpile:
Stuff you can easily save a surplus of and you'll most likely need for your job search. This is stuff that ended up taking a chunk out of my unemployment salary and made me resentful I had to pay for as I was swimming in these items at the office!

Tape/dispenser

printer paper

envelopes
stamps
post-its
Printer ink!!! This ran me about $150. Are you serious?? Yes!

Treat Basket
And one more thing > this hasn't happened this time, thank God I have $, but in the past there are those moments when you're really bummed you can't buy your top shelf stuff. I'm not sure how much of YOUR top shelf stuff has a long shelf life but you might consider stocking up on a sort of "treats basket" for yourself. The trick here is to get more than one of these luxury items. Remember you're doing your bit to recreate your higher end lifestyle, and believe me ANY lifestyle is higher end than what unemployment will afford you!

Note: you can buy the actual items or set aside its monetary equivalent. Just keep in mind, if its cash, when the time comes your guilt will likely take over and you may just put it in your savings account - Ironically, not what we want in this case, so I really recommend getting the actual product.

Basically, this list really is made up of some items you don't think about when you have an income, and you'd easily downgrade or do without if you didn't. They are the innocuous items that make up your standard of living. You see its these little items that, when given up for an extended period of time, end up making you feel resentful, bummed and sometimes even 'less than'; they make you feel unemployed. 

Here are some ideas. Naturally, your list will look different!

1) $150 for a few nice meals. Multiply whatever your total (that means tax, title and license, parking, valet and tip) usually is by the number of splurge meals you want to allot yourself.

2) If your company offers half price tickets to movies, plays, museums or Disney etc - buy yourself some movie tickets every so often so you have a stash of at least 20. That should give you a movie every weekend for 4 months.  Stash some dollars so you can buy theatre tickets off Craig's List or the like -same process: check CL prices and then multiply that by as many shows/concerts etc you'd like to save up for. 

3) I happen to really like L'Occitane, which I rarely buy anyway, but a couple sets of nice specialty soap and hand lotion is grand. And one set can last months.  This is easily unnecessary and hardly missed, but it sure is nice to have. In general, it's the little things you wouldn't think twice about going w/out that end up making you feel like you're still your old self.

4) Hair products. That really great hair color (trust me on this - get enough bottles), that expensive hair oil, the shampoo you'd easily downgrade if you had to - stock up on these. Huge shelf life. If you color your hair professionally, stock some of that $ in an envelope earmarked for that purpose. Trust me, not being able to maintain your hair color can be oddly killing.

5) Your favorite fragrance. These last minimum 1.5 years in the fridge so best to get one of the classic summer and winter scents you love. Easy-peasy.

6) Pet Supplies. Call me crazy but I hated having to buy my pets cheap grain food -  my high quality and nutritious pet food is a bit pricey. (A brand called Orijens if you must know). So, if you're a pet lover too, every few months triple purchase your pet food of choice. You'll go through it you'll use this not stash it) so it won't go bad but should you become liberated you'll have a few months of good nutrition for your pets. Trust me - if you put the cash aside you'll likely use it for another purpose when the time comes.
(May I recommend this site? Chewy.com If you autoship -you set the frequency- its free shipping! The prices are competitive.)

So thats just my short list. Make your own list based on your lifestyle keeping in mind this list is to be made up of things you'd give up w/out much fuss. This is NOT a needs/must-haves list by any means!

Gifts
Lastly, nothing sucks more than not being able to get a nice card and gift for a friend. Not a bad idea to have one or two really awesome all-purpose gifts, nice cards and gift bags with tissue stocked away in a closet. You'll more than likely come up on a birthday, wedding, or like celebratory event during your "staycation".

And you're allowed to think of your own birthday as well! Sadly, I learned this recently as my Bday arrived and I had a lot of great celebration ideas and NO money to do any of them. Make sure you buy yourself a swank Birthday card and stash just $5 from every paycheck in it, keep it tucked in a back drawer. You'll LOVE that you did this should a birthday ever arrive when you're unemployed.
:-)

Get a large tupperware storage box or 2 from the Dollar store (time on your hands? Decorate the box with quotes from your favorite books) and stash these items, then store the boxes in a very out-of-the-way place, lest you get lazy one afternoon and break into your secret stash.

And in Breaking News....that break in your paycheck

I was warned about it and sure enough...when the time rolled around..... it happened to me too!

WHAT happened to me too? Well this:
When you reach the end of your unemployment here in CA - (pre-your first Extension) - you'll only get half your  "paycheck".
HALF.

So if things are tight for you now, get prepared for a rough month. AND should your parking violation department chose this month to throw that parking ticket at you for a sign that was obviously totally obscured by trees and branches well then....

SO PAY ATTENTION.
Set Siri on your iphone to set a reminder for the 4 weeks/month advance notice so you see it coming. Better yet, start saving right now.... Save from what?? you ask - well even $5 a paycheck will help offset this gap in your pay schedule if you start right now.

So what happens is - you get half your "paycheck" AND if you're not paying attention and fail to call that very next week (as opposed to your normal schedule of every OTHER week) you have a further gap in your pay schedule. Like me.

I was warned by my friend to whom this happened and then it happened to me!! GRRrrr. So please save yourself a super stressful month trying to make ends meet and mark your date on your calendars, on your phone and whatever else system you may have implemented!!!

You can find the end of your unemployment on the top right of your "pay stub". This will give you the end date of your first and regular unemployment period. Here in CA in 2012, its 6 months.

Outside of half your pay and calling 2 weeks in a row, you don't need to do anything else. The state files your extension automatically and on you go.

Socializing (for the lazy): Social Media

Nows your chance to sign up for all those useless social media sites everyone is talking about!

I'll list the ones I picked here but in about 20 mins that list will be outdated of course.

FaceBook
I recently found friends from grade school. Expand your network beyond just college. 
As a side note, you may find friends in locales you actually want to visit and you have a lot of time to travel just now. Some of those friend may even come visit you. And thats always nice! Its always nice to play tourist in your own city when you have someone to do it with.

Pinterest
A community image stock house. People see things on the internet and categorize them into 'boards'. Its like istock but just for viewing. (not for commercial work). Inspirational for things like getting fit or planning weddings/parities.
4 months later I'm NEVER on it

Twitter 
Seriously you have to know what twitter is by now. You wanna get a phone app for this cause you'll most likely be tweeting from your phone. I love Twittelator. I used Tweebot before that. Twitter apps let you post to FaceBook at the same time you post your tweet. But, really, all we have is time, right?!
Note about Twitter: Google the "must-follows", this will help you see the cuteness of Twitter. 4 months later and I actually still use and like Twitter. (who knew?)

Blogger! 
On it all the time. Keeps me sane when I get tired of talking to my cats.

MeetUp
MeetUps are offline groups that meet in RL. Some are free, some involve cost. (when they do cost - I've seen $20). Just be sure you're not getting reamed. Ask what the money is for. Is it for the meeting place rental? Food? etc. If it feels wrong - find another group!
Whatever your interest, theres a good chance you can find a group of people around you with the same interest. Remember, an hour might have been too far away when you were working and using your gas every day but splurge a little in terms of distance. Getting a new group of friends who share your interest is worth it.
Browse  groups! You may find something you never knew you were interested in - like learning Buddhism through the movies. Dont see one you like? Start you own!
Get the MeetUp app for your phone.

Special Interest Forums
Forums are great cause its like speed learning in your area of interest. Chances are you'll learn more here than you ever did at your last job! 
Gladly, you're not so special.  Whatever your crazy interest is, the paranormal,  hacking, candle making, extreme couponing, body building etc theres a forum for it. 



And since we're talking about websites to join - make sure you're on:
LinkedIn, Indeed & Craig's List (for jobs)
Fat Wallet (savings for whatever you're buying)

Lastly, in the event you don't find the social media outlet that fits, you can always start your own with your own website! 
Find and register your Domain name:
GoDaddy.com
$12 (google to see if you can find a better price and/or discount offers.)
Hosting is free: (there are many, look for one with no ads and the largest amount of server space)
FreeHostingNoads.net
ByetHost.com
Yola.com
x10Hosting.com
Wix.com
$0
These days there are a million free website templates that can get you started without any web knowledge/coding ability. Many of the hosting sites provide that now as well.
$0

And just like that - you're social!

Ditch the box. In favour of another box!: Cable TV

OK this was supposed to be Day 2s lesson!

I'll cut to the chase and say, after much research, I went with the 500GB Western Digital Live TV Web Hub.

UPDATE!  <<<<<<<<<<<<<
Feel free to read the below or read my more recent (2016) post on the more current options of AppleTV and Amazon Firestick.


Naturally before I bought it for $140 shipped, I scoured the internet for discounts and deals and free shipping etc. This process of research to purchase took 2 weeks. Again, the theme, the trade-off for saving money is spending a lot of time.

Plus I was a complete newb to this streaming/web TV/cable alternative genre. It seriously took a lot of reading before I even understood how everything worked.

Being that I piggy-back internet I did not have the option to use boxee- which had been the front-runner in my mind. I had to buy an external hard drive unit to house my cable TV shows and enabled me to watch them on my tv.

So my criteria was:
price
largest hard drive space
ease of use - interface
ease of use - set up with a mac
reliability - buy the freakin warranty if your dones't come with one. I've lost 2 "movie-housing units" (hard drives) and allll the movies therein. It is NOT pretty. You're not in a position to pay the $250 to recover your drive should it all go awry.
largest number of formats that will play on it (most are .avi and mp4- don't buy a unit that can't handle those formats)

This unit, in simplest terms, allows you to take movies and tv shows taken from your hard drive and watch them on your TV.

It also has options that I COULD use, but currently aren't for whatever reasons:
1) Streams movies/tv just like boxee
2) Can be networked to play on multiple units
These 2 things are too complicated for my little brain and not needed. I'm sure when you researched you learned about these capabilities however and if you are paying for your internet (WHY would u be doing that??) you can take advantage of streaming.

I am currently on an RCA TV I bought when I graduated from college and a Mac Mini I bought Feb 2012. I had to purchase the cord that allowed me to attach one end to the unit and the other end to my super old TV. Cost was $27. Be sure you buy the cord when you buy your unit or you'll just waste set-up time.

So, its basically a hard drive that can be hooked up to any computer where you can copy the movies/tv shows on that computer onto it, unplug it from your computer, then plug it into any TV in order to watch those movies/tv shows.

Which brings me to my next requirement > getting the movies and tv shows.
This topic I'm not going to touch here. I'm sure you have a friend of a friend who knows an IT guy and can walk you thru how to get the tv shows and movies onto your hard drive. Avail yourself!
(or, once again, google. I'm sure someone out there has a site that walks you thru it).

I will just say this- the process is simple. Simple. Teaching you the process will take about 20 mins. tops. Write it down so you can refer back to it and not have to bug that IT guy again. Once you've used it a few times, its as easy as using google.

Be not afraid.

So that, my friends, cuts the (cable) cord. You've put tv shows on the unit and connected the unit to your TV. You're all set.

Now when you wanna watch your favorite shows you turn on the WD unit and turn on your TV. The remote will allow you to navigate through the unit's folders (that you create) and find the show you wanna watch at any given time.  No fast forwarding through commericals cause there are none!

So the time factor here is:
Researching online the TV shows you may want > the downside to no commercials - yes theres a downside - is you have no idea what shows have been cancelled and what new shows you may want to watch are out there.

Actually getting the shows. Once you've stockpiled on the drive a bunch of new shows its all copacetic but, with your now slow yet free internet, it may take 2 - 5 days to get your first few seasons of shows. Its a slow build that you don't notice once you get your few initial shows on. They keep you busy until the next batch is ready.

The only downside I've encountered is, it is a LITTLE bit annoying having to unplug and replug your WD unit to get  each week's shows. What you end up doing is waiting til you have maybe 2 weeks eposides. I see what I'll probably be doing shortly is watching off season shows until another series has finished its whole season and then getting that whole season at one time.

Its not like you're talking about the last show at the water cooler!! LOL. But if its a show you're really into, like say Homeland!, you can do this every week. In reality its not that big a deal to get the latest episode of your 5 top shows at one time.

Higher End Living... it up! The Knock-Off.

The Art of the Knock-off


Don't put off your sense of style and fashion just because you're liberated. Find those items that you gravitate towards or would buy w/ a little more substantial income and make it happen - at half the cost!

This applies to interior design projects as well as fashion. You can knock off the look and feel of a room for half? 1/3? the cost. Again, what you don't have in cash, you make up for by spending your time.

When u have money you can easily purchase exactly what you want. But w/out the cash upfront, you're investment now comes in time - which you have - MAKE, don't buy, search, don't settle. Upgrades on nearly anything can happen w/ some elbow grease, the internet, your willingness to spend your time and your own innate creativity.

So, get your tear sheets together, interiors, clothes, shoes, art. Then set about how you're gonna knock off what you really want - because you totally can.
:-)

It's entirely possible to have those $175.00 Steve Maddens!

You don't have the $ right now but you have the time.... So you get to get your creative juices going, have a project to do during your day and score those Maddens for a steal!

This is kinda like the High/Low Project - but w/ fashion. I bought look-a-like sparkly shoes at Payless for $17. Mine sparkle a bit red gold as opposed to yellow gold like the ones on the left. But a bottle of sparkles in my closet can remedy that if need be.

Looking for the studs to go w/ my yet-to-be-used BeDazzler. Haven't found them yet, but its looking like the cost of the other metals is running around $5 per 100 count. Each show will require about 200 studs each.

So, theoretically, you can get these $125 slippers for about $40. Granted I have some of these items already - like the BeDazzler but think about investing in tools that might pay you back in the long-term.

HA!

The How-To of FREE FREE FREE!

This takes a week (or 2), frankly as many weeks as you want!


Google "truly free stuff", Free Samples, "How to get stuff for free" and you'll wind up w/ a plethora of sites that will direct you to tons of free items-- and look for this specifically - blogs or Answers.com  answers that tell you which ones are scams. 


A lot of them want more than you're willing to give - sign up for OTHER free offers in order to get your free item - ah, no. A lot of the links just keep you pressing another link and another link ad nauseum. You'll come to recognize these in short order and bail after a click or 2.


And then there's just the time involved in filling out the form one or two (or 3 or 4) times. Filling out multiple forms obviously will get you multiple samples of the items you are really interested in.




Getting Started
First & foremost:
Set up a dummy email account(s)
Set up a dummy Facebook account(s)



1. FREE Samples:
Google sites! Many, many ppl have done the work for you. Bookmark these sites for easy access. Many hv the option of sending you their alerts straight to your mailbox.

A lot of these involve "liking" a manufacturer on FaceBook - so set up your dummy Facebook account & double your savings! Triple your savings by enlisting your parents to provide their address! Quadruple your money by sending stuff to your sister's house!! And just like the Breck commercial of old... it goes on.

For most of these samples you need an email address so  in order to get multiple samples - even if sent to different addresses - you'll need to provide different email addresses. So set up your dummy email accounts. This also helps divert the flow of junk mail from your "real" email account.

Once the trill of getting ANYTHING for free wears off, you may just end up doing what I do and just Googling what you want when you need it. Most of the free samples you'll get will come with additional coupons for that product.

Low on cream? Google a specific cream and check in w/ your bookmarked 'helpers'.
Need a T-shirt for the gym? Google free T-Shirts.

I also now do this with couponing (after giving up my vow to become an extreme couponer). Most of the time the trade-off for saving money is time. You have to prep your grocery list in advance to know what coupons you need. No more fly by the seat of your pants shopping! Even average couponing is time-consuming. Save yourself money by carving out that necessary time to do your coupon searches online for the ones you need BEFORE you're ready to hit the store. You'll do a bit of surfing to find out what coupons are out there and which ones actually print! A lot of supermarkets have apps that will put these coupons right on your phone. ASK!

Some of the free stuff & samples I've ordered (most say they take 4 - 8 weeks to arrive):

ENTERTAINMENT:
Magazines: Rachel Ray Magazine
W
Seventeen
Teen Seventeen
Town & Country
Elle Decor
Elle
House Beautiful


BEAUTY:
Armani cologne
Hugo Boss cologne & perfume
YSL cologne
Calvin Klein BEAUTY perfume
small note here is that unlike my initial thought, these samples are paper thin like the ones in the magazine, not the tiny little vials you used to get in department stores.

Garnier wrinkle cream
Argan oil for your hair
Several Body creams like Eucerin

Biore Skin cleanser

Defy wrinkle cream

CLOTHES:

Cubix t-shirt

PREPSTER t-shirt

BEVERAGES:

Iced tea mixes
carnation breakfast shakes

2. FREE Movies
Sign up for free screenings. This works best if you live near or in a major city. Google free screenings and sign up for some of the sites. They'll send you notices or you can bookmark the pages and check back. Some list the screenings well in advance, other email you just one day in advance.

You can also get tickets to the free screenings walking by the larger movie theatres. You'll see guys w/ clipboards throwing them at you! NICE.

And since you're free all day most likely, you'll have the best chance of actually making the show. You'll need a printer to print the tickets for teh screenings. They don't have you on any list. Arrive 1/2 hr early as these are usually 1st come 1st served. A lot of these screenings don't allow cell phones so if you end up parking way out from the theatre, do yourself a favour and stow your cell in your car. I can't tell you how many times I've had to walk alllll the way back to my car (losing my good seating in the process!).

Day One: Ground Zero

So there you are, box in trunk, headed home at 9am. Barely an hour or so after you arrived at the office.

It happened. You've been laid off.
Now what?

Well, first you will go through many emotions. Expect it, roll with them, laugh, get angry, cry if you must, laugh. Laugh hard. And then laugh even harder when you realize.... sea, surf, sun and sand are at your disposal. Elastic waistbands are at your disposal. The People's Court - live, not on Tivo - is at your disposal.  The ppl you felt jealous of because they have incoming paychecks yesterday, are now the ppl you secretly pity. Its true.

So my friends, YOU are now the ones all your former co-workers secretly envy. YOU are now in that position you all secretly group-lusted after. The few (or many if you live in CA), the proud, the Unemployed!!

But before you plan your next surfing lesson or mountain hike, reason has to take hold. You need to cut your costs. First, MOBILIZE. Like, right now.

1. Immediately get online and file your unemployment claim. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.
Link (if you live in CA) below- scroll to the very bottom of the page, tick the box and hit "continue".
It takes 8 minutes. You'll need to know how much your vacation paycheck/cash out is, your regular paycheck amount, amount of any severance pay and the last day you ...worked. hee hee.
>  https://eapply4ui.edd.ca.gov/htm/cpgInstructions.htm

If you're in CA, as an EDD (ca unemployment)  requirement, you must register for jobs here: http://www.caljobs.ca.gov

I filed on a Friday and received my weekly benefits form that next Saturday. Do this BEFORE you make your 100 phone calls to family and friends and tell them how happy, I mean upset you are that you've been let go.

1. CANCEL YOUR INTERNET & turn your phone into your own portable hotspot. The droid has a free app that will do this in a coupe clicks and the iphone does as well. Google it my friends. Googling is imp because fabulous hackers will tell you how to do this under your carriers radar as now if they "catch" you - some carrier will just charge you without notice. (check your bill every month to know when/if you have to dodge and weave - look for another method)

The other option, the one I am lucky enough to take advantage of, is - piggy-back on one of your unsuspecting neighbors' wifi. Its not the Lamborghini speed I had previously but public transportation ain't all that bad when its FREE. Note: if this is your case, you WILL be reminding urself often its free its free its free because slowing down on the internet is so NOT intuitive!!!
SAVINGS = $40


2.  DOWNGRADE YOUR CELL and opt for a Go Phone, Cricket or pre-paid phone service. Check w/ your carrier of choice. Might you have to carry around a less-than-cool cell phone? YES*.  Deal with it kids because you'll seriously get more and pay less. These phone have unlimited talk and text for about $30-40.

SAVINGS = $80

note: I have steadfastly refused to "upgrade" from the ergonomic iphone 3 to the rough and brick-like design of the iphone 4- HOWEVER, AT&T traded my 3 for the new 4 w/ Siri for a mere $40.  DO NOT try out Siri. She will literally mesmerize you into spending this extra $40 that you have NO business spending. (she is a vampire and no one can convince me otherwise). Listen to her and then you must have her. It's evil.

another note: Do the math on 1 & 2  if your going to hotspot your new cell you'll need to get a data plan. Still, on the Go Phone at least, this will still run you as low as $40 a month.


**** You CAN actually carry your cool  iPhone with you if you move to StaightTalk (and probably other services as well). Here's how.


3. JAILBREAK YOUR IPHONE.
Free apps. Cool hacks. Nuff said.
SAVINGS = $0   I just do this on principle.


This is not bad for a day's work. You've now cut your monthly costs by $120.
Sittin pretty....sittin pretty.
:-)


OK, tomorrow chirren a bank lesson I learned today totally by accident.



YOUR HOMEWORK
1. Find out when your cable TV contract ends and how much the fee is to break the contract.

Research your TV options:
A. Amazon Firestick
B. AppleTV
C. http://www.boxee.tv/live
D. http://www.roku.com
E. WD (Western Digital) Live TV Hub and like products (google is your friend). BOO! They no longer make this to my knowledge!