Membership Has Its (Free) Privalages!

That free walking club I joined last May has provided a nice perk: I get free admission all winter long to my park district's health club to use their indoor track. I just have to wear the free t-shirt they gave me.

Feeling Posh at a Private Beach

 

A few weeks ago I tried the free community yoga class at Blue Sky Yoga. I loved the feeling of community at this studio! I looked around after my invigorating practice and saw a table with more brochures from local businesses.  One flyer was for a private beach in town call Lake Minear, and it had a coupon for free passes! My daughter and I went to that beach last weekend and it was divine! Even though the water was spring-fed, it was a quite comfortable temperature. Plus this beach had lots of nice amenities, such as a snack bar, a lovely nature path, and even free WiFi!We had a wonderful day relaxing in the sun, enjoying the picnic lunch we brought in, and taking in this beautiful location.

Even More Free Yoga!

A couple of months ago, I attended a Free Girl Night Out Extravaganza. One of the booths was for a yoga studio called Blue Sky Yoga. On Saturdays they offer a Yoga Basics class that is free to the community! "Community" is definitely what I felt at this lovely class! We were all encouraged to make the journey our own as the instructor provided many modifications to the poses. We laughed and joked, and the instructor told us about different local businesses: She was excited about a new restaurant that was opening in town. We talked about how good the coffee is at the Hansa coffee shop by the train tracks. And we waited to greet Steve who was going to drop off some local meat for many of the yoga patrons. I looked around after my invigorating practice and saw a table with more brochures from local businesses.  One flyer was for a private beach in town call Lake Minear, and it had a coupon for free passes! I went to that beach - and will tell you about it soon!
I loved Blue Sky Yoga - a beautiful setting, a refreshing practice, a wonderful instructor, a place to belong!

Sunday Share: Free Magazines!

I've been reading Rachel Singer Gorden's book "Point, Click, and Save - Mashup Mom's Guide to Saving and Making Money Online and found a whole chapter devoted to Fantastic Freebies! Did you know you can get magazine subscriptions completely free? FreeBizMag.com had all sorts of magazines - and not just business publications! In fact, I'm now signed up for Better House and Gardens, Family Circle, and Weight Watchers magazines!
Seems too good to be true? According to Rachel Singer Gorden: "Most consumer magazines don't make money on their subscriptions. They make it on the advertising. The more subscribers they have, the better they look to advertisers. The better they looks to advertisers, the more ads they can sell, and the more they can charge for those ads. So relax. You're doing them a favor by subscribing, even if you're not paying for that subsciption."

Results are in for April! What did I learn?

When I started this journey, I stated that my goal was to live a a fantastic fun life, spending little to no money. I also planned to monitor my spending habits so I see "where it's all going". Mortgage, utilities, medical expenses, basic groceries and health/hygiene needs are out of scope for this blog. Hair, makeup, clothes, entertainment, and fitness are all fair game. I'm even including my job and job-searching related expenses. I wanted to prove that you don't have to spend a lot or even any money to look good and and have a good time. So how did I spend $109 in the month of April?

Beauty:             $3
Clothes:            $0
Entertainment:  $0
Food:              $15
Job Related:    $97
------------------------
Total:              $115

And what did I get for this money? A whole new look in makeup, a breakfast and a lunch out, a dinner meeting at my local Project Management Institute Chapter, a job networking session, and new black pants and shoes for my new job as a barista. I also went on a camping trip, attended a job expo, free yoga class, free guided meditation classes, an extreme block party, a Girls Night Out, and volunteered. I cut my fast food expenses way down from last month - and now make my own coffee at home. Plus I'm eating much healthier at home.

Go Walk!

My daughter and I attended a Go Gurnee free walking event today. We both signed up to be Champions and got these blue t-shirts. There was a free raffle, and they shot the red t-shirts, one of which I caught!
Lots of communities are doing these Go events to "promote community values of health and wellness through education, service, spirit, and innovation."
For more information on Go Gurnee, go to
http://www.gurneeparkdistrict.com/programs/gogurnee

Results are in for March! What did I learn?

When I started this journey, I stated that my goal was to live a a fantastic fun life, spending little to no money. I also planned to monitor my spending habits so I see "where it's all going". Mortgage, utilities, medical expenses, basic groceries and health/hygiene needs are out of scope for this blog. Hair, makeup, clothes, entertainment, and fitness are all fair game. I wanted to prove that you don't have to spend a lot or even any money to look and and have a good time. So how did I spend $167 in the month of March?

Beauty:            $52
Clothes:           $19
Entertainment: $18
Food:               $38
Job Related:     $40
------------------------
Total:              $167

And what did I get for this money? I had a luxurious massage and steam, my hair colored, a cute new sweater, a college t-shirt, two trips to botanic gardens, a dinner meeting at my local Project Management Institute Chapter, and at least 21 trips to fast-food / semi-fast-food places. Even though I used a lot of coupons and freebies for that food, and the value of that food was at least $96, my eyes have opened a little. Do I really need to go out to get my coffee so much? Can I try a little harder to make my own coffee, or find an alternative? I'll keep you posted!