Save money by buying more expensive paint

Posted on February 27, 2011 by

We moved across the country, found a cool rental house, and painted it.

And by painted it, I mean that when we moved in, every room was a different hideous bright color, and we wanted to cover those walls with something nicer ASAP. I really hate painting, so I try to get it done as quick as possible with minimal fuss.

We’ve now painted every room in our house. We experimented with different qualities of paint, taping vs. not taping, good brushes and cheap brushes, cheap rollers and nicer rollers. Here’s what we learned from our experience.

The Painting Process in a Nutshell

  1. Pick the color: multiple opinions makes this difficult
  2. Get ready to paint: moving everything around makes the room an obstacle course
  3. Detail work: Painting all those pesky edges and corners
  4. Actually painting: which can take days!
  5. Touching up: this can take additional days or weeks because you’ll keep noticing those “spots you missed”

Before & After Photos

Lessons Learned

Do all the prep work first.

Pull out all the nails, fill all the holes and cracks with spackling paste, and clean all of the molding before you even think about opening the can of paint. Use painter’s tape to tape everything you need to tape.

Kristen and I have different opinions about taping; Kristen likes to tape “just in case”, and I think taping never works as well as I expect it to. A good brush and a steady hand are way better than carefully taping everything in the room only to have paint bleed over. Kristen also took care of all the cracks in the baseboard molding using some wood filler, and then we painted the baseboards with a fresh coat of white paint, which made the whole room look brand new. Since the wood filler only cost $2.99, I would recommend never skipping this step!

The type/brand of paint matters.

We painted 3 of our rooms (the kitchen + 2 bedrooms) with Martha Stewart paint. It’s nice paint with lots of color options and sells for around $26/gallon at Home Depot. But what we found is that the Martha paint usually needed two coats and some additional touch ups here and there. For a 10′x12′ room we needed 1.5 gallons, and for a 12′x12′ room we needed 2 whole gallons.

For the main portion of our house (and the room we painted last), we decided to try Behr Premium Plus Ultra, which claims to be a paint and primer in one. It’s around $30/gallon at Home Depot depending if you get the eggshell or flat finish.

I was of the opinion that “paint is paint”, so why should we purchase one of the pricier brands? On a whim, I decided to get a few samples ($2.94 @ Home Depot) of the Behr Premium Plus Ultra paint and try it out around the living room. To my surprise the paint covered up our disgusting yellow walls without a second coat! It’s hard to tell in the photo below, but even the lightest shade of gray didn’t require a second coat of paint in order to cover up the yellow paint underneath it.

These little paint samples were also useful for helping us choose a final color since we were having trouble envisioning what the color would look like in the room (those little color sample cards just don’t cut it sometimes). It’s such a big portion of our house that it was worth $10 for us to take our top 3 colors for a test drive.

We decided to buy 2 gallons of the Behr paint and only used a little over 1 gallon to finish the living room (12′x15′) and used the rest to finish the weird little hallway in the middle of the house.

Quick Tips

  • Get the best paint you can afford, like the Behr Premium Plus Ultra. Honestly, it’s worth the extra $5/gallon.
  • Splurge for one nice 2″ chiseled tip brush to do the edges — the rest of the brushes can be cheap.
  • Buy a painting starter set (something like this) so you have a tray plus basic brushes/rollers.
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How to attend SXSW on the cheap (and at the last minute)

Posted on February 24, 2011 by

In case you haven’t been paying attention to my big news on my personal blog or a variety of social networks, I found out last week that I will be riding the Startup Bus from NYC to Austin, TX for SXSW Interactive.

Last year, my employer sent me to the conference and it was a great experience. However, they also paid for it, and I made my arrangements months in advance. This time, I’ve been trying to plan the entire trip with less than 3 weeks to spare. And I’m paying for everything out of my own pocket. So how am I doing it?

Conference Badge

Purchase a badge from someone looking to sell theirs. It seems like many people purchase badges early on and later find out they are unable to attend the conference. These folks can easily transfer the badge into someone else’s name. As the date approaches and people are getting more anxious to offload their badge, they will often deeply discount the price and/or offer to pay the $100 transfer fee. I found several folks on Craigslist, Twitter, and Facebook who were looking to sell their badges for a few hundred dollars less than walkup rate.

2010 SXSW badge

2010 SXSW badge

Airfare

I’ve always been pretty good at checking for discount flights, but usually I have at least a few weeks (or months) to do so. To find my flight home to NYC, I scoured sites like Kayak, Sidestep, Orbitz, and Tripeedo. This time I found the best deal on Kayak, but that’s not always the case, so I think it’s worth checking around if you want to potentially save a few bucks.

Lodging

This has been the toughest part by far. The official blocks of SXSW hotel rooms have been sold out for months. Hostels have been booked for years. First, reach out to friends and relatives in the area and see if they can host you (or if they have any friends who can). Get in touch with the local chapter of your college’s alumni association and see if some kind souls from your alma mater will host you. If all else fails, find some other people in the same boat as you and share accommodations. Renting a house might be a good option since at this point most of the hotels nearby are completely booked — check out sites like Airbnb and HomeAway.

Food

I’m planning to take lots of snacks and baked goods for the busride there. I’m hoping I can barter baked goods for other goodies brought by my fellow buspreneurs. I’m also planning to bring a case of Clif bars and a water bottle that I can refill. With any luck, I won’t have to purchase any breakfasts or beverages while I’m in Austin.

Packing Light

Baggage fees are getting ridiculous. Thus, I am attempting to take only a carry-on bag (which should be possible since I won’t need bulky outerwear in Austin). If you must check bags, use a site like Luggage Limits to help you figure out how much it will cost you.

Asking Friends & Family for Help

Help Kristen ride the Startup Bus to SXSW Interactive

Help Kristen ride the Startup Bus to SXSW Interactive

Finally, there’s no shame in asking for help. What’s the worst that can happen?

I’ve set up a fundraiser on EduLender asking for help and I’ve raised quite a bit of money for my trip in a relatively short amount of time. To encourage donations, I decided to turn the fundraiser into a giveaway of sorts. I am going to use a portion of the funds to purchase a new MacBook Pro (which was just released TODAY!!) and give it away to one of my donors after the trip is over. This tactic seems to be working so far.

Think about how you could incentivize donations, even if it’s just by offering a small handmade gift, a thank you note, or 30 minutes of your time.

Additional Advice

If you’re interested, I’ve got lots of travel links tucked away in my Delicious bookmarks. Who else is going to SXSW? How do you save money when traveling to SXSW or other conferences?

Posted in Travel | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Working out on the cheap

Posted on February 10, 2011 by

Gym memberships and fitness classes in NYC = too expensive?

I haven’t been able to afford a gym membership since my internship at Purdue University during the summer of 2008. Well, I suppose I could afford a gym membership if I made it a top priority, but I’ve been doing my research, and gym memberships in New York City are expensive.

Spin BikeI fell in love with spin classes this past summer while we were still living in Monterey. I found a spin place around the corner from my new office that looks super cool (and you can reserve the bikes online!), so I was really disappointed when I found out that classes cost $30. Each. I just about peed my pants.

But I like working out and being in shape. It makes me feel good. Plus, Corner and I are registered for the Five Boro Bike Tour, and even though the ride is only 42 miles, I need to stay physically active before then if I want it to be more fun than exhausting.

Flickr photo credit

So…how to do that when you don’t have $100-200/month to spend on a gym membership (or $30 for a single 45-minute spin class)?

Work-related gym discounts

You might qualify for special gym discounts based on your health insurance or place of employment. If you’re lucky enough to work in higher education, see if you are eligible for a discount at the gym(s) on campus. Since Corner works for the government, they will subsidize part of a gym membership for him.

Exercising at home.

Clearly, working out at home is always an option. Running around your neighborhood is completely free (although it’s been way too snowy/cold/icy to do that here as of late). Exercisetv.tv lets you stream free exercise videos online. I’ve also found some workout videos that you can stream instantly on Netflix.

If you can, I recommend investing in a set of weights. I know weights and other workout accessories that you can use at home take up precious space in NYC-style living conditions. We have a small set of adjustable weights at our place, and they take up considerably less space than a set of various-sized hand weights. Corner and I have also been doing the P90X Ab Ripper routine a few times a week, which requires no accessories at all.

Gym-hopping?

Gladiators Gym
Earlier this week, I discovered Buns of Steal — the blog of a Columbia law student who successfully worked out 5 days/week for a year without ever paying for a regular gym membership.

Flickr photo credit

While gym-hopping is interesting (and do-able) in theory, I have no problem becoming a loyal customer and shelling out money to a place that meets my needs (and fits my budget). However, as I mentioned, I’ve been struggling to find affordable fitness classes or gym memberships in New York City. I’ve even been scouring deals from sites like Groupon and LivingSocial, but have yet to find something that’s both affordable and convenient (and that appeals to my interests…there seems to be a lot of belly dancing and pole dancing class deals as of late).

Also, I’m scared of trying a place and liking it so much that I get sucked into purchasing a pricey membership or class card.

What are your tips for working out on the cheap?

Posted in Fitness | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Adventures in Onigiri

Posted on February 6, 2011 by

At the suggestion of Angela, we decided to try our hand a making a traditional Japanese lunch. Onigiri = rice balls with filling and some nori to hold it all together. There are all sorts of traditional fillings such as bonito shavings (dry fish flakes). Being American, we decided to try some less traditional fillings. Kristen really wanted to try peanut butter and jelly and I was all gung-ho for some sort of tuna fish. The most crucial part of this meal is having the correct kind of rice (and cooking it well…as we learned, bad rice makes for bad onigiri).

Here’s a list of what we got and where:

  • Sushi rice: Local store, $3.00
  • Nori (roasted seaweed): U Mart, $1.50
  • Fillings: Can of all white chunk tuna $3.00, PB&J (already in the house)

The one thing I learned from this meal is how awesome a rice cooker can be (as in, get one if you don’t already have one). Making rice is a hundred times easier and you don’t end up with the ‘ol brick of rice. I picked up a small rice cooker on Amazon for around $20 (I probably could have gotten one cheaper somewhere else but I had an Amaozn giftcard that needed to be used).

I followed this guy’s directions for assembling the onigiri. The key to making them and ever wanting to make them again is optimizing the assembly process. Take the time to set up an assembly line with everything that you’ll need and the whole process will go way smoother. I used a small tea cup for the first round of onigiri and decided they were a little too big — a bit too much rice for my taste. I ended up using a double shot glass for bite-sized versions and they were just the right size.

The PB & J ones worked out well. Just drop the jelly in first, seal it up with peanut butter, and round out the ball with a tiny bit of rice. For the tuna filling, I mixed the tuna with a little lite miracle whip, and I experimented with a little hot sauce and curry powder to taste. They turned out pretty good, too…just enough flavor to compliment the rice but not overdo it.

Word to the wise: fresh nori has a unique odor that will fill any small space so warn your co-workers!

Overall this meal cost $7.50, it was fun to make, and held up well during the commute to work.

Posted in Food & Dining | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Help! I’m burning through all of my reading material on the subway!

Posted on February 1, 2011 by

Since we moved to NYC, I’ve been barreling through a book every week just by reading on the subway during my morning and afternoon commutes. This is all fine and dandy, but I’m sad to admit I haven’t been reading much the past few years, so I’m having to work book purchases back into my budget.

Rainbow spectrum of books

Rainbow spectrum of books

Photo courtesy of Flickr.

Besides hitting up the library (which I have yet to do in New York), I have found a few other ways to read on the cheap.

Swap books with friends (or relatives…or strangers).

My sister Kathy and I seem to have similar tastes in books, so I usually borrow a few of hers each time I visit.

You can also try your luck with sites like BookMooch. I have yet to use BookMooch as it seems like there are more bestseller-type books available than anything else. I don’t think my taste in literature is that bizarre, yet I couldn’t find copies of most of the books currently on my Amazon wishlist.

Half.com saves the day yet again.

I used to use Half.com to buy my college textbooks, but now I’m buying novels for $0.75 + shipping. It’s a great way to stock up, especially if you can find a single seller with multiple books you’d like to purchase (lately I’ve found myself purchasing quite a few from Green Earth Books and Better World Books).

I want an ereader…but is it cheaper?

I’ve been wanting a Kindle for nearly 2 years now. In fact, one of my Day Zero goals is to purchase one. After moving across the country twice in the last 2 years, I am tired of carting my books everywhere. And I hate to admit it, but some of my collection still resides in my mom’s basement. I think a Kindle would revolutionize my life the way the iPod did: instead of carting around dozens of CDs, all of my music is combined onto one small device.

I have the chance to buy an eReader with my upcoming tax refund, but I have some reservations. I’m worried it might turn out to be more expensive in the long run. For example, when I purchase a book, if after reading it I decide I probably won’t read it again, I immediately sell the book on Half.com. This way I usually make back all or most of the money I spent on the book and use it towards my next book purchase.

eBooks, however, seem to go for about $7 on Amazon…and I’m pretty sure I can’t resell an ebook if I don’t see myself re-reading it in the future.

So I ask those of you with ebook readers: which one do you have? Do you love it? Hate it? Wish you would have waited for the next generation? Do you spend more money on books than you did before? Spill all the juicy details and help me decide!

…and if you don’t one of those fancy devices, leave a book recommendation for me!

Posted in Entertainment | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Kristen and water (a love story…?)

Posted on January 25, 2011 by

Water. It’s good for you and you should probably be drinking more of it. Oh, and it’s pretty much free. I’ve been getting better at this lately, but it’s been a long journey.

I grew up thinking that all tap water tastes weird.

The house I grew up in had its own well, and the water that came out of our tap was less than tasty, so very early on I developed an aversion to tap water. I usually find it tastes too “flat” or too “metallic” or just “gross”, even if other people drinking the same water don’t think it tastes funny at all. For the majority of my childhood and throughout college, I was keeping my place stocked with bottled water.

When we moved to California in the fall of 2008, I started to feel weird because so many people there avoid bottled water (because of the waste created by plastic water bottles). In fact, people seem to take their own beverage containers everywhere. I distinctly remember walking to a local coffee shop with 3 other coworkers and being the only one who needed the barista to give me a disposable cup with my tea. Something had to change. I wanted to fit in, and for once it was for a good reason. Making some changes about my container choices would be easy and would have a positive impact on the environment.

WaterWeek bottles

WaterWeek bottles

In addition to ceramic coffee cups and cloth grocery bags, Corner and I bought a set of Base Brands 16-Ounce Reduce WaterWeek BottlesBase Brands 16-Ounce Reduce WaterWeek Bottles on Amazon. These babies are made of very thick plastic and are dishwasher-safe. We’ve had them for a year now and they are still bright and cute as ever (they also make a more neutral colored set if the bright colors aren’t your thing).

In California, we kept a 5-gallon water jug that we refilled at the convenience store across the street every few weeks using our spare change. We would then fill our WaterWeek bottles using water from the jug and stick them in the fridge until we were ready for them. All of the convenience of bottled water but cheaper (and more environment-friendly).

Giving up paying for water (once and for all, I hope).

Lo and behold….we moved to NYC and the tap water at our new place (drumroll, please….) tastes fine! We now fill our WaterWeek bottles with tap water. It’s been a long transition, and the tap water at my office DOES taste kinda funny, so sometimes I cheat by using those drink mix powder packets by Crystal Light or Propel. Low-calorie and fairly inexpensive (definitely cheaper than buying the prepared drinks). I’m up to drinking at least 3 bottles a day! Woohoo!

Posted in Food & Dining | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Cheap and Good Pasta

Posted on January 23, 2011 by

I came across this on allrecipes.com and apparently this is the second version
of the “Spaghetti Carbonara.” I wonder what makes it better than the first?

This recipe uses bacon (sweet, sweet bacon…cue Homer Simpson noise). Kristen doesn’t normally eat bacon, but I’m going to try and sneak it by her. The bacon is what got my attention in this recipe, the eggs threw me off, and I’ve been sitting on this particular recipe for a month wondering how it can be any good. Stirring scrambled eggs into hot pasta doesn’t equal sauce in my mind — it brings up images of weird lo mein or a breakfast gone wrong — but I will make it and try to sneak bacon into Kristen’s diet.

Thursday night: Carbonara night. I stopped at the liquor store and got my dry white wine (Sauvigon blanc) and headed to the grocery store for the bacon. Why New York won’t let me do that all in one step, I have no idea. The first snag I hit was that we had no spaghetti noodles in the house. We had cavatappi and elbow noodles but that was all, so we went with the cavatappi noodles.

The meal came together easily enough and the cavatappi noodles didn’t seem to make a difference so I’m pretty sure any pasta will work fine with this recipe. The “lightly scrambled” eggs were an interesting experiment and surprisingly didn’t turn into a wad of eggs at the bottom of the pan, but you do have to stir the pasta constantly when you add them!

Overall this was a good recipe but it took a lot of prep time for something that tasted like you spent 5 minutes on it. It did reheat well and wasn’t horribly expensive to make.  We also had enough leftovers for each of us to have lunch the next day.

Main ingredients: Any kind of pasta, Olive Oil, grated parmesan cheese, onion, eggs, and dry white wine.

Cost: Most of the ingredients were already in our house so the most expensive thing to buy was the wine, followed by the bacon. Overall cost was $12 for the wine and bacon, but you can get cheaper bottles of wine at Trader Joes.

Posted in Food & Dining | Tagged , | 1 Comment