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What Is Lifeline Assistance? 

The Lifeline Program, or simply Lifeline, is a federal program that provides a free or discounted monthly subscription to low-income consumers. Qualified people can save at least $9.25 in phone data each month. For example, if you qualify for a Lifeline plan, you can get a Verizon plan (usually $25) for only $15.75.  Although Lifeline is available to all qualified people all around the country, it’s best to double check your county and area code.

Your free data, talk, and text package will depend on your location and the communications provider that backs up the plan. Every county has a similar set of requirements (for example, Lifeline is applicable to all EBT aid recipients.) In our county, Virgin Wireless is the provider and offer all data, talk, and text plans for completely free.

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Benefits of Getting Lifeline Assistance 

1. Free Monthly Data Allocation

It’s not that much, but every company that is offering the Lifeline Assistance Program gives free monthly data. Access Wireless, one of the providers of this program, gives up to 200MB of data in for qualified people in Alabama, California, Georgia, New Hampshire, Texas, Utah, and more. Meanwhile, Assurance Wireless gives 500MB per month. The best plans are offered by Safelink Wireless, which has free 3GB of data allocation per month. 

2. Free Airtime And Text Allocation

Lifeline also gives hundreds of free airtime once you’re qualified for the program. A lot of participating telcos give at least 350 minutes of call time and unlimited texts for free. For important calls, 350 minutes per month would be enough for personal use.

3. Discounted Mobile Plans

If the MB allocations you received is not enough for a month, (which is usually the case), you can upgrade your free plan for a heavily discounted price. An example of this benefit is GCI (formerly known as Alaska DigiTel), which offers unlimited talk and text nationwide for just a dollar a month. These discounts are usually applied for texts and call time. 

4. Free Phone

A lot of Lifeline providers also give free phones for their plans. Among these are Safelink Wireless, Qlink Wireless, Assurance Wireless, and TruConnect. While most telcos provide cheap touch screen phones for free, Lifeline users can get decent Samsung phones and even iPhones for a very cheap price. 

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Who Are Qualified For This Program? 

Qualifying for the Lifeline Program is not too challenging. There are three ways to qualify, but passing through the screening option is not easy. If you’re not qualified for any of these conditions, there are still cheaper mobile options out there for you to try. 

Income

In this category, if your income is 135% or less than the amount stated in the federal poverty guidelines, you’re eligible for the program. Take note that this rule is not measured for individual income. It is based on the total combined income of each member of a household. 

Federal Assistance Programs

Those who are beneficiaries of federal assistance programs are also qualified for Lifeline Assistance. If your child or dependent is a member of these federal programs, their membership will qualify you for Lifeline plans. Here are the following lists of eligible assistance programs:

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
• Medicaid
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 
• Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit
• Federal Public Housing Assistance (FPHA) 

Tribal Settlement

If you live in an area considered as a Tribal Land, there’s a chance that you’d qualify for the program. You or someone in your household must either be a participant of federal assistance programs, Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Head Start, Tribal TANF, or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations. On top of the $9.25 mandatory discount, you would also receive an extra $25 discount on your monthly bill. 

Step-By-Step Guide In Applying To Lifeline

Step 1: Check For Eligibility

Check your state’s poverty guidelines to know if you can qualify through income. If not, check if you’re a participant of a legible federal program. Don’t get disheartened if you did not qualify for any of the categories. There are still cheap alternatives that you can try.

Step 2: Do Your Homework

The next step is to know the available telcos who offers Lifeline Assistance in your area. If you live in a city, it is likely that you have more options to choose from. There might be limited options if you live in rural areas.

Step 3: Choose Your Provider

Now that you know the telcos that offer Lifeline Assistance in your area, choose a provider that offers the best deals for you. Choose based on the services that you consume a lot. If you text a lot, get a plan with an unlimited texting option. Go to the provider’s website and enter your ZIP Code to start.

Step 4: Fill Up Forms

You can fill up forms by going to the telco’s branch and asking for a form. Another way to submit your form is to print a blank one, fill it up with your credentials, and mail it to the company along with other requirements.  Alternatively, online form submission is available, but you still have to send your other requirements via mail.

Step 5: Submit Forms & Required Documents

Typically, the Universal Service Administrative Co. will do the work to verify your eligibility. In the instance that they cannot verify your information or eligibility in the program, you might need to mail additional documents. For the telco side, the information that you need to supply is a full legal name, birth date, the last four digits of your SSN, and address. You should also prepare a copy of any of the following:

• An unexpired ID
• Social Security Card
• Medicaid Card
• Tax Return from the previous year
• Proof of Income
• Proof of participation (if you qualify because of your membership in federal programs)

Step 6: Wait

Last but not least, wait for the approval. You can find the status of your application via the tools of your service provider. Expect your government phone within five to ten business days after your account is approved. 

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Other Important Things You Need To Know About Lifeline 

1. Only One Discount For Household Is Allowed

Lifeline Assistance Program is available for both mobile and home phones. However, you can only take one discount, which means that you will need to choose where the discount will be applied.  In addition, only one qualified individual is allowed to claim the discount from Lifeline.

2. There’s A Fee If Your Government Phone Got Stolen

If your free phone was stolen and you’re unable to retrieve it, the best action is to call the police and the service provider. The only way to get a replacement is to report the incident to the telco. Memorize your own number, keep your IMEI, MEID, or ESN number, and remember the brand and model of your device. Take note that you would be responsible for the fee that the provider will incur once you opted for a replacement.

3. You Can Use Your Own Phone

Lifeline providers offer free handsets for those people who don’t have a mobile phone. What a lot of people didn’t know is that BYOP or Bring Your Own Phone is possible. Some of the benefits of using this program are familiarity and convenience. There are telcos who give a bonus to people who will use this option. For example, Assist Wireless gives a free 1GB of data or $15 account credit if someone opts for the BYOP program instead of getting a new phone. 

4. You Need To Renew The Plan Each Year

The Lifeline program is free to use and is really helpful for keeping a lot of people connected. But in order to keep receiving discounts and free stuff, the subscriber must use the service for at least once every 30 days. If the user failed to do so, the system will give a 15-day notice. After the 15-day term lapsed without program usage, it will be automatically turned off.

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• How To Make a Roll of Paper Towels Last Embarrassingly Long

Lifeline Assistance Providers 

1. SafeLink Wireless

SafeLink Wireless is one of the oldest and most reliable Lifeline Providers in the country. It will give you 3GB of data with unlimited calls and text. However, with their wide coverage, it would be harder to qualify for a Lifeline plan.

2. QLink Wireless

QLink Wireless is another provider usually focused on servicing places like Arkansas, Maryland, South Carolina, Texas, and more. What makes this a good option is that you can carry over the remaining airtime unused from month to month.

3. TruConnect

If you live in California, TruConnect is a provider that you would want to keep in mind. California LifeLIne offers unlimited talk and text, a free phone, and 2G of data. However, it gives 1,000 minutes, unlimited text, and 2GB of data for other states, which is not bad at all.

4. Assurance Wireless

Compared to the offers of other providers above, Assurance Wireless is definitely not that impressive when it comes to services. You’ll get free 350 minutes of airtime, unlimited text, and 500 MB of data. However, its vast coverage makes it one of the biggest Lifeline providers in the country. The phone selection also tends to be better than other providers listed above. 

Alternative Cheap Plans If You Did Not Qualify For A Lifeline Plan

1. Unlimited Call And Text With Data

One of the cheapest plans with call time, texts, and data is Sprint’s $45/per month plan. For those who use autopay, the prize will be slashed to $40. With this plan, you will get unlimited call time and text, in addition to 2GB of data.

2. Calls & Text Only

Not all people care about being online and would rather call or text their contacts. Ting’s $12 call-and-text plan is one of the cheapest options out there. Each month, the subscriber will receive 100 minutes of air time and 100 texts.  

3. Flexible Data Package

AT&T’s GoPhone Pay As You Go plan is your best option if you only pay for services that you use. This is for people who would often take weeks or months before he or she would use mobile services. This plan causes $2 per day of use and would give its subscribers 100MB for $1.

If there is one staple that we have at home, it’s our roll of paper towels. We used to use it for practically everything that called for a quick clean up and just about a zillion uses in the kitchen. We always catch it on sale and stock up – a big fat jumbo roll would cost us just a buck. Those were the good old days!

When we face health pandemics like the 2020 COVID-19 virus, proper hygiene is one of the best ways to protect ourselves. I never thought there would be a shortage of paper towels! This is probably why a lot of people felt the need to stock up on toilet paper and paper towels. It’s ridiculous, but one psychologist explained why it made sense. According to psychiatry professor Steven Taylor of the University of British Columbia, we think of toilet paper as our tool to avoid things that are disgusting. When there is a need to boost personal hygiene, it makes sense to hoard paper towels, right?

After I retired from Airbnb hosting (a month before the COVID pandemic hit actually! I have lucky timing) we only had 2 rolls of paper towels in our house left when the pandemic began.

(P.S. When I was an Airbnb host, I provided paper towels to all guests in the bedrooms because I don’t want to give anyone an excuse to not be clean hehe.)

We had to start weaning off our paper towels. There are tons of ways for you to make your roll of paper towel last longer. So if you are one of the unfortunate ones like us who were left with an empty paper towel stockpile, it’s a perfect time to wean, adapt, and learn how to try to live without.

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6 Simple Tips to Make Paper Towel Rolls Last Longer

Hopefully, these tips will help you save some cash and make those rolls of paper towels last longer. Here are effective tips that will make your paper towels last a lot longer than before.

1. Opt for high-quality rolls

Instead of buying the 1-ply, buy the 2-ply or 4-ply paper towels. That way, you don’t have to pull a lot of sheets every time. You can even buy both. Use the 4-ply for when you need a more absorbent paper towel and the 2-ply for the not so absorbent needs.

This will be a bit more expensive. But if you calculate it per sheet, you might be surprised that it will be worth it. A lot of times a thicker sheet could even be reused. You can REALLY push a nice, plush sheet of paper towel’s capacity. Challenge yourself with a high-quality sheet, it’s usually a lot more “worth your buck” when it’s good quality. We get our paper towel rolls from Costco, but Amazon also has good subscribe and save deals on paper towels (if you want it delivered to your door!)

Just make sure that you educate the people at home to save and push the capacity of new paper towels. That way, they will be careful not to pull the same number of sheets as they did before.

2. Pretend it’s your last roll

We usually buy these toilet or paper towels in bulk. It ends up cheaper if you do it that way. However, if you display all the extra rolls you have, it will make you careless about using it. This is why it is ideal for you to keep all the extras hidden. Don’t show it. Store it somewhere like in a cabinet or in separate storage space.

In an article published in Psychology Today, it explains the concept of scarcity and how it can affect how we think and how we feel. When both our thoughts and feelings are affected, it also influences our actions.

That being said, if we hide the extra rolls, it encourages scarcity mentality. Everyone will use the rolls sparingly.

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2. Buy absorbent materials

We’ll get into alternative ideas below but a quick guide to absorbent alternative fabrics include cotton, hemp, bamboo, flannel, microfiber, and wool. Wool is out due to the high cost of natural wool. But bamboo and microfiber are a great budget-friendly alternative fabric to replace your kitchen paper towel roll.

Your best bet for maximum absorption and speed is bamboo + microfiber blends and the classic 100% cotton fabrics (the denser the cotton fabric the better.)

3. Squash it

Make your roll of paper towel look flatter. Just squish one side to do this. So what’s the purpose of doing this? When you squash your roll, it becomes oval in shape. This makes it harder to rotate it. If it stays in its usual circular form, one pull and a lot of tissue slide off. Sometimes, we don’t want to roll the excess back. So we just pull off everything and use it.

If the roll has an oval shape, the rotation will be more controlled. You don’t have to worry about any paper towel being wasted.

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4. Fold it

When we pull the sheets, some of us usually wad it up. This will lead you to waste more of the toilet paper or paper towel. To maximize the absorbent feature, we need to use more of its surface area. So instead of wadding up the paper, fold it. It is neater and you will be more cautious about the thickness of the paper that you are using. It will make you pull out less of it every time you need to use it.

5. Rinse and hang dry them

Most people don’t take advantage of the strength of a top-quality paper towel. A quality paper towel sheet can be hand rinsed and hung up to air dry in the kitchen if it isn’t too dirty. When we wipe down or soak up a spill (example – spilling red wine, miso soup etc.) those sheets can be reused for another spill if they’re rinsed and air dried with a gentle hand. Yes, it will be a little stained, but the durability is still there – ready for another soak up.

6. Buy half sheet varieties

Regular paper towels traditionally came off as a big 6×12 inch sheet. Smart paper towel brands adapt to adding more tear-offs per roll in response to frugal consumers who learned to only tear off what they need. I found that using half sheets in our household made each roll last about almost 20% to 30% longer (your miles may vary of course.) We used to go through a roll of paper towels every 2 weeks but using half sheet paper towel rolls lasted us almost 3 weeks.

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7. Buy in bulk

Everyone should be buying their paper towels in bulk if they can. When the sale is good, stores often put up purchasing limits to 1 or 2 transactions per customer. In this case, my husband and I divide up into separate transactions and check out separately.

Reuseable Paper Towel Alternatives

The best trick to make paper towels last longer is simply trying to find other alternative materials that are reusable. Paper towels should only use for something you definitely want to throw away or is unsanitary enough you don’t want it even near the dirty laundry. Otherwise, for most things, you can invest in a bundle of extra absorbent cloths as an alternative.

These different varieties of cloths will save you more money in the end. Plus, they’re great for the environment because you simply have to throw them in the laundry once in a while, and bam, clean towels ready to be reused!

I highly suggest going to your local thrift store and locate secondhand cloths in the linens section. We go to our local Goodwill every weekend and have always seen a good selection of materials from cotton to hemp to terry cloth. Here are some options you can look into:

Sponges

Buy a set of non-abrasive super-absorbent sponges and always have them handy. A good kitchen sponge made from bamboo are super absorbent and ideal for dishes, stove tops, pet messes, countertops. They’re versatile and reusable.

Dishcloths

These can be easily cleaned and are made of really absorbent material. You want to make sure that you keep a couple for specific purposes around the kitchen. Like you have a dishcloth for drying dishes and a different one for pots and pans. It’s best to have a different cloth for cleaning spills on the counter and table surfaces for extra sanitation.

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Kitchen towels

Kitchen towels are more absorbent and thicker than dishcloths. You can use these to dry your hands while working in the kitchen. If there is a huge spill on the floor, you can also use this. But make sure that if you used it on the floor, don’t use it on your countertops anymore. At least, not unless you have washed and sanitized it.

Face towels

These can be used to wipe the dirty, messy, and sweaty hands and faces of your kids. If you have old face towels, you can feel free to use these as dishcloths or kitchen towels.

Cloth napkins

We just had to include this here because some people actually use paper towels in place of napkins while eating. That’s a huge waste! Buy some cloth napkins instead. You can forget about paper napkins too. Have a couple of napkins that you can use repeatedly and just wash when they are dirty.

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Utilize Rags Instead

Any combination of alternatives listed below would really help you make your roll of paper towel last longer. But what about the gross stuff? That’s what rags are for!

See what’s great about using paper towels is being able to wipe away gross stuff then throw it away. But if you want to save money by making your paper towels last longer, you need to equip your home with a lot of rags.

Old T-shirts

You probably have a lot of these lying around. Instead of donating them or throwing them away, leave a few for you to use around the house. If the material is 100% cotton it’ll make for extra absorbency. You can also cut up your old t-shirts – preferably the plain ones without any prints. Thrift stores like Goodwill will stock secondhand men’s t-shirts for 99 cents. Just take those home, trim it up with scissors and you’ll have a stack of rags ready to go.

Cloth diapers

If your kiddos are all grown up, you can use the cloth diapers that they used. These are made of absorbent materials because, well, they were originally meant as diapers. Use these to wipe the gross spills or clean around the house and in the bathroom.

Cloth diapers aren’t exactly “cheap” especially not the fancy all-in-ones so don’t go out of your way to find cloth diapers. But do know that they are definitely highly absorbent since parents use it for…well yeah.

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• How To Make a Roll of Paper Towels Last Embarrassingly Long

Flannel shirts or sheets

Flannel, as a material, is very soft and also quite absorbent. If you have old cotton flannel sheets that you don’t mind repurposing, then use these as rags for around the house. Old flannel shirts will also work. You only have to sacrifice one and you can end up with a lot of rags when you cut it into pieces.

Bath towels

No matter how soft and fluffy they are, these will wear out over time. So if you have worn out bath towels, don’t throw them out. These can also be cut up and used as rags. Since these were meant to be towels, you can trust that these will be very absorbent.

Heyo! Sorry for the hiatus I was building and experimenting with life projects. Also, Hubby and I are trying to get PREGNANT come onnn, babies!

I haven’t been totally absent though, check out my interview on MinaFI with my pal Adam (he’s amazing and already truly FIRE’d!) This dude is amazing and so smart. I talk about how my husband and I started investing (it’s embarrassing!!)

I also gave an interview on my favorite casual blog on money & sustainability – Tread Lightly Retire Early. I go into a mad rant on WHY I HATE CARS ON ALL LEVELS (to a personal degree that is applicable to an urbanite millennial hahaha. It’s a fun read.)

OK that’s it. On with the show!

Affordable Internet Service Options

Ah, the internet – you can’t live without it, right? But all of that doesn’t necessarily make your monthly internet service bill any easier to swallow.

Hubby and I have our internet supplemented by our employer (which is another option that seldom people explore so ask yours!) Our average internet bill is $55 per month, and I had to argue with 3 different Comcast representatives to get that rate after they threatened to increase it to $70+ a month. More on that battle next time…

Good internet allows you to stay connected with friends and family, research, browse Facebook, watch movies, shop – and even work. According to Credit Donkey, the average household spends $67 per month on internet use. Sure, it might be a necessary expense, but if your budget is tight, that’s $67 that you might not be able to afford.

Wouldn’t it be great, then, if you could access the internet for free? Surely, such a thing would be too good to be true?

Well, maybe not. It turns out that there are actually plenty of companies offering free internet services, and even more which offer heavily discounted services that will fit even the tightest budget.

We’re going to show you exactly how to get free or discounted internet services through one of these internet service companies.

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1. Nielsen Computer and Mobile Panel

Ok, let’s start with the Nielsen Panel App. Yes, that’s right, this is an app – not an internet service provider. More specifically, it’s an app that can help you offset a big chunk of your monthly internet services bill.

You’re probably wondering how an app can help you to bag free or discounted internet services, so let me explain.

How Does it Work?

Consumer data is valuable. So valuable, in fact, that certain data research companies are willing to pay you for it. Nielsen, one of the largest information and data research companies, is a prime example of this.

The Computer and Mobile Panel is the branch responsible for researching various internet metrics. To get hold of this data, they need to collect it from you – the average internet user. Like I said, your data is valuable, so your not going to just part with it for free.

Instead, Nielsen will pay you for it. They do this by rewarding you with points for browsing the internet as you usually would after downloading their app. You can cash out these points for gift cards and other rewards, which you can then sell to make back some of the money you spend on internet services each month.

All you have to do is the following:

*Sign up for the panel and answer a few questions about you, your household, and your devices.

*Download the app to all of your devices

*Go about your business and start earning points passively

The app then collects data on your browsing habits and stores this data anonymously (it won’t store your name). The data it collects includes:

*The URLs of websites that you visit

*Details of the time you spend on different sites

*Other more general device activities

How Much Will I Earn?

You can earn up to $50 worth of points through this app per year. It might not seem like much, but it’s totally passive income that should reduce your internet services bill at least a little, and the savings potential doesn’t end there.

You’ll also be entered into monthly sweepstakes with the chance of winning $10,000, and THAT should definitely cover your internet services bill for at least a few years!

Plus, there’s another way you can earn even more money passively too…

ShopTracker

You can download the Shoptracker app, also owned by Nielsen, to your devices to earn even more rewards. This app tracks your online shopping activity and rewards you with $3 per month.

Add that to the rewards from the Computer and Mobile Panel App and the potential for savings on your internet services bill might start to seem a little more appealing!

As you can see, using these Nielsen apps alongside your regular internet service provider can be a great way to save money, but it’s not going to get you completely free internet access. Now, let’s move onto a company that will…

2. FreedomPop

FreedomPop is a mobile network provider that offers 100% completely free internet access as part of their free monthly plans. Not only that, but they also offer a free bundle of 200 minutes and 500 texts, free international calls, and free unlimited calls and texts to other FreedomPop phones.

I know, I know, it sounds too good to be true, but it really is. So how can a company work on a business model where they give out something for free and get nothing in return? Let’s find out.

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How and Why is FreedomPop Free?

The reason FreedomPop is free is that the company is really hoping that, after the free offer has enticed you in, you’ll decide to pay them for a few extras.

Their free plan offers 500mb of data, 200 minutes, and 500 texts. However, if you’re willing to pay more, you can get extras like:

*500mb of data and unlimited minutes and text for $10.99

*1GB of data, unlimited minutes and texts for $19.99

*2GB of data, unlimited minutes and texts for $24.99

You get the picture. FreedomPop is basically giving you a taster for free and then holding out hope that you’ll pony up some cash once you’ve depleted your monthly data, calls, or texts.

However, if you’re only a light internet user and only intend to use your data for things like browsing social media and Googling things, then you’ll never have to pay a dime!

What’s The Catch?

As I said, the free internet service on offer with FreedomPop isn’t without its drawbacks. You won’t pay a penny for your internet access, but you will have to deal with disadvantages including:

*Poor coverage in some areas

*Hidden fees for things like voicemail and device protection

*Limited data (500mb)

*Limited devices (no iPhones or Samsung Galaxy phones)

All that being said, it’s still a great option if you’re tight on cash and don’t want to pay monthly fees for your network.

How Do I Sign Up?

To sign up for FreedomPop, you just need to visit their website, put in your location to see if they cover your area, and choose a phone.

3. NetZero

A third company worth mentioning is NetZero. If you already know about this company, it’s probably because they rose to fame in the 1990s when they offered Americans free dial-up internet access in exchange for being able to expose them to advertisements.

Unfortunately, many users feel that dial-up is now dead, and wireless broadband is much more expensive. Nonetheless, NetZero still offers free broadband internet services, albeit with a few catches. These catches are:

*Internet services are only free for 12 months

*You need to purchase the NetZero broadband hotspot first, which costs $79.95

*The free plan is limited to 200mb monthly data use and speeds cap at 10mbps.

If those speeds just won’t cut it, you can check http://ispprovidersinmyarea.com instead to find the fastest ISPs in your area and then try to find the one that offers the cheapest deal!

4. Juno

Dial-up might be dead in the sense that it’s no longer in mainstream use, but it lives on in rural communities that don’t yet have access to cable or fiber internet.

If you live in an area like this, or you just can’t afford wireless broadband, then Juno’s free dial-up internet services might be just what you need. This free internet package lets you browse the internet for 10 hours every month, completely free.

You also get access to a free email platform and virus protection is included. The free basic plan is pretty slow at just 56kbps, but it’s enough for very basic tasks like browsing emails and social media.

If you want something a little better, you can always pay a little extra for their highly-affordable accelerated dial-up services instead.

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5. Basic-Internet.com

Basic Internet is a low-cost, affordable internet service provider. It isn’t free, but it’s very cheap.

They offer two packages: The Starter Plan ($10 monthly) and The Starter Plus Plan ($20 monthly). The former offers 1.2 GB of monthly data and 4G speeds, the latter offers 3.2 GB of data.

6. Internet Essentials

Internet Essentials offer affordable, high-speed internet services designed specifically for families that need it most. Their internet packages include 15Mbps Wifi and cost just $9.95 per month.

Only certain eligible households qualify. Eligible households include:

*Families

*Housing Assistance Recipients

*Veterans

*Seniors

Low-Income Internet Options

Now that we’ve covered free/affordable internet service providers, let’s talk about low-income internet options.

Low-income internet options are essentially discounted internet services reserved especially for low-income households. To qualify, you’ll usually have to meet certain eligibility criteria, and your income may not exceed the specified maximum threshold to be considered low-income.

If you qualify, you’ll be able to access more affordable internet packages, all of which are significantly cheaper than the national average of $67. Here are some of the best options:

7. Century Link Internet Basics Program

The Century Link Internet Basics Program offers low-income families speeds of up to 1.5mbps for just $9.95 per month. You can also get a discounted netbook and access to free basic internet training.

8. Access from AT&T

Access from AT&T is a low-cost wireline home Internet service for eligible households. To qualify, you’ll need to live in a household:

*In one of the 21 states covered by AT&T

*With no outstanding debt owed to AT&T within 6 months

*With a resident currently participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or in receipt of Supplemental Security Income if you live in California

Internet speeds vary between 768Kbps and 10Mbps depending on where you live, and prices range from $5 per month to $10 per month.

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9. Cox

I found this company on CheapInternet.com – it’s an excellent resource for finding what’s suitable for you and your lifestyle. Cox is another company which offers affordable, low-income internet service packages of either 5Mbps or 10Mbps, depending on which program you’re eligible for.

They offer 2 programs: the first is for families who participate in TANF, SNAP, or the School Lunch Program, and the second is for families with children of school age who are living in HUD-assisted housing.

Both programs cost just $9.95 per month for internet access.

10. Spectrum

Spectrum is a tiny bit pricier than most of the other low-income internet service options on this list. It costs $14.99 per month. However, it’s also much faster than all of the other options, with up to 30Mbps download speeds.

According to the official website, households that qualify will have at least one resident who:

*Participates in the National School Lunch Program

*Participates in the Community Eligibility Provision of the NSLP

*Or over-65s in receipt of Supplemental Security Income

11. Mediacom

A final low-income internet service option worth mentioning is Mediacom’s Connect2Compete program. Like many others on this list, this package is $9.95 per month and offers speeds up to 1.5Mbps

You qualify as long as you live in an area covered by Mediacom, don’t owe them any money, and a child who lives in your home qualifies for free or discounted school lunches.

Every good city needs a good zoo and the Woodland Park zoo is our little slice of nature. Everyone’s miles may vary but it took us about…6 hours to rush and we skipped a few exhibits. I think at the speed we were going, it would take a good 7 to 9 hours. including lunch to enjoy it.

Another friend said she was able to do it in 2 hours but I couldn’t believe that. It’s not possible. I don’t think they saw or uncovered much except just walked around thinking it was done.

The place is HUGE, lots of random paths, and full of things to see after things to see.

I went the second time and found more things I hadn’t seen like the bug exhibit, the red pandas, and a giant playground we totally missed the first time!

It would take over an hour just to walk around the parameter and nothing else. TAKE A MAP and follow the map!

We didn’t interact with the staff much but everyone was nice, smiling, and ready to help if we had questions or wanted our photos taken.

As frugal people, we did not partake in any face painting, cotton candy eating, or carousel riding, caricature drawing. I’m sure they’re tons of fun for kids but as adults, it’s less attractive so we skipped all that.

Admission prices are very fair, adults are $20.95 and kid fare is $13 without discounts.

The Woodland Park zoo membership is a great deal. It can pay for itself after just 2 visits or less, I’m glad they didn’t overprice the memberships. If you are a Seattle resident, live or play here often, I would recommend a membership. My hubby and I are getting a membership with guest passes when more of our friends come to town.

Parking was ample, regular parking is $6. I recommend it’s better to take the E bus line and walking a few blocks. We also took an Uber there the second time since it was free and had no issues with the driver not being able to locate us or get to us.

Food was…it was zoo food. There was nothing that really drove home and the prices were overpriced (or average for zoo cafeteria food). The concession stands are expensive and offered very little places to sit and rest. The food was probably the biggest con about the zoo I had. But they do have Dippin’ Dots and served ice cream in the Rain Forest Pavilion.

Citrus pulled pork, beans, rice, slaw with maduros. – $11

Not zoo food! It’s Bongos cafe, or as Cynthia said, it’s gentrified “white people version of islander food” but it was still delicious. They use to cook the beans in lard I recall…but I guess they went healthy on that so it’s not as addictive.

Trinidad steak, rare – $16.

I would recommend packing a picnic or going out of the zoo to a few eateries outside of the zoo like Bongos Cafe or Zeek’s Pizza. The food is much, much, much better for the same price inside the zoo.

The gift shop was OK. I wish they had more practical merchandise but I don’t think I’m their target audience so it’s OK. I had more fun in the gift shop of the San Francisco zoo, where I wanted to buy at least 2-3 things!

Cute stuffed toys.

My husband rushed me through the store because he didn’t want me to buy anymore stuffed animals than the bunch we already have on our bed headboard.

The cutest thing at the zoo store. If you look closely you will notice they added details like pink blush to the cheeks, awww. ??

I had a lot of fun on both the days I was here. They change things up sometimes, the second time I was there, they had a series of campers to go in. It was like 4 really retro vintage campers and RVs staged for display…or maybe people living in them loaned it to the zoo. It smelled authentic, it smelled like someone was living in them I thought it was a cool touch, I’ve always wanted a mini camper.

Entrance!

Hippo Lot entrance on the south side.

Part of the zoo map.

Like the San Francisco Zoo, Woodland Park has free roaming peacocks. Someone threw this birdy some delicious crackers.

Little African Savana Exhibit

This is a small exhibit of 5-6 real African village structures. I absolutely loved it. The details are remarkable. This was an excellent, excellent start to the trip if you are going in from the Hippo Lot.

The teacher’s house (I guess if you were a primary school teacher in Africa, this would be your house.)

Pee-a-boo! The African school teacher house was cool. Everything is “furnished” as you would see in a real house. There’s a little wok, bed, wash basins…even little details like bugs and mosquitos are included. Nicely done whoever did this and thought of the concept!

This large open wooden hut structure was cool.

Banda hut – it’s basically a small African concert hall kind of deal.

Inside the school, there were seats, blackboards…everything you would find in a real African school except one wall had direct enclosure access to everything on the savanna including zebras and giraffes.

Gotta sneak in some education! Depending on the time of day there are also representatives with a tub of stuff you can touch like boar hide, elephant horn, zebra fur etc.

Soooo…the Hippo on the left POOPED in the water…a cloud of green emerged right next to the face of the Hippo on the right. It kind of reminds me of how you’re in bed with hubby and he lets one rip under the covers and you wanna strangle him.

Karibu!

Birds of Prey Exhibit

Go to the Birds of Prey presentation. It’s a free show that plays every half an hour or so. It’s so very cute and well done! Plus one lucky person gets a chance to go up and have a real falcon land on them.

This is us taking a photo with Annabelle, the pig that wanted to be a bird very badly. She’s adorable, I loved that show.

Cynthia (on the left) was that lucky person. She was invited by a very handsome zoo curator (on the right) to go up and hold a falcon. Lucky!

I would have a video to show you but a recording incident occurred (no fault of mine) and we had to kill the cameraman for completely missing this amazing once in a lifetime chance to see my friend hold up a falcon next to a hot zoo dude.

By the way, I went the second time and….went backstage and uhh…there’s at least 3 “Annabelles” hahahha. They trained 3 different pigs for each part of the performance, that’s how they did it! Genius! Had me fooled.

She even bought out her resume – that is one well-trained hog.

Vulture!

This isn’t the giraffe’s real enclosure! They were here with their babies to receive vaccinations and we caught them at a good time. We were able to get pretty scary close to them. The tallest one started walking towards us and…yeah, they’re really tall.

Warning: Rated R below!!

Our Ancestors

LOL! ^0^

This is the baby gorilla doing backflips and playing with her crowd of admirers. Oh boy, was this the happiest little baby gorilla ever. A little girl started imitating the baby gorilla’s every move, playing hide and seek with each other behind the glass. They both got a huge kick out of it and kept playing and playing. It was soooooo adorable. It’s now abundantly easy to see why we are their closest relatives, I mean…besides the fur, that human child could basically be a baby gorilla herself with the way they were both going at it.

What a beauty.

This orangutan (Chinta’s her name I think?) wanted to sleep. Her enclosure was super big and stunning. A lot of the animals had their own waterfall and big play area, including Chinta. We didn’t see another orangutan though. Since they’re social creatures, I think she was a bit lonely.

(Woop, I looked it up, Chinta’s brother Towan passed away in 2016. Awww so she is lonely, I knew it, you can tell because they’re so expressive.)

These lemurs are usually leaping around but this guy sat RIGHT there and posed for us. Oh, how legendary is that photo?! Every single enclosure at the zoo was absolutely stunning. Bravo, honestly.

Sage lemur.

Some Big Kitties & Misc.

We doubled back to see these snow leopards. I think they were out the first time but they conceal so well to their enclosure that we may have just missed them.

This was the wallaby I saw sniffing his own crotch. He plopped down next to a tree and went to town. Why….am I seeing so many animals just focused on their butt this week?

“I have to share my habitat with an ostrich…”

The Australian section was probably the smallest out of all of the exhibits.

It was just a room with a mural of dry grass and skies. I’m thinking it’s more fun underneath the mounds because they were lively and happy.

This guy dropped his phone between the glass and grass. It’s basically like when I drop my phone between my bed and the wall. The struggle is real.

Female lioness, she was right next to the male lion but I couldn’t get a good shot with people in the way.

Leopard! I don’t know if this guy was anxious or bored but he kept going around and around and around in the same circle over and over. Every 30 seconds he would emerge and circle around again.

Petting Zoo

We RUSHED big time because this zoo was huge and one could spend all day there and still have things to see. I was only able to document some of the animals because most of the petting zoo areas were already closed when we got to it.

My friend petting the goat who didn’t let me pet him but let Cynthia pet.

An invention of modern breeding…what the heck is it??

Miniature Donkey! I have no idea what uses they serve but LOOK AT THEIR WEE WOBBLY LEGS!

My burgers waiting for the burner.

This working pig was done for the day. DONE.

The Northern Trail

There were 3 bears in total but this was such a good shot. Once again, the animal enclosure is so beautiful and big!

We missed the elk and caribous completely both times

The wolves were hard to see so I’m thankful for this shot! What a beauty! We heard them and was about to give up when one beautiful white timber wolf came into viewing. I love wolves!! They get a bad rap when they don’t deserve it. Screw you Hollywood!

This was a very small butterfly exhibit which consists of a trail you can walk through in about 30 seconds to 1 minute. But the butterflies are not afraid of humans so you get into good range with them.

She’s giving me the fingerrrr!

Random pond of harmless ducks.

The flamingos smelled so bad (they always smell bad!) I didn’t feel like staying, holding my breath, and taking shots.

The most ticked off looking bird in the bird exhibit

Amazon Rainforest Exhibit

There was a tropical rain forest section filled with snakes. I was against going in because…snakes…but in my friends went. It was pretty cool. In a scary “what if it breaks through the glass” irrational way from a person who is afraid of snakes. >_< Once again, the enclosures were nicely done.

I skipped a lot of this…there was another room full of tropical birds but it is really hot and humid in the rain forest exhibit.

These poisonous (super poisonous) frogs came in the color of bright skittles candy. They were really cool looking, in an edible candy way. Nature’s pretty awesome when it’s behind non-porous, 7-inch plex-i-glass with all the security precautions done for you.

Weird Ones

“How you doin’ baaaaby…( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)”

This is a Tapir, they’re weird looking. We rushed through this section too. It’s a 2-day trip kind of a zoo!

We came during penguin feeding time. The curator knew all of those penguin’s names and the penguins knew their own names. He would say to a penguin, “Ray, did you get any fish yet?” and out of the crowd of penguins, Ray would perk up and waddle over, while the rest of the group tries to steal Ray’s fish. Then there was the obligatory seagull and pelican waiting right across the water in case a penguin dropped a fish, they would swoop down and steal it hahaha.

We saw a bunch of red pandas skipping around and chasing in their enclosure. They’re super agile on those tree branches for such a fluffy chunky body.

I missed probably more than half the park so…lotsa of fun, go go go!

~

For me, the Woodland Park Zoo is a 4 to 4.5 out of 5 stars, depending on how hungry I am

If You Like Vacation Slides…

My old high school buddies (Cynthia and Daniel) came to visit us in Seattle. Since Cynthia and my birthday landed right next to each other, we decided to make a grander plan to celebrate the entire week. All I wanted to do was eat but they wanted to do the touristy stuff. I obliged to go with. Price and value was another big factor since we were checking out Seattle at a frugal price point. We opted for the Seattle CityPass and tried it out.

The CityPASS is a good deal if you wanted to do 2 or more things on their list of attractions. If you’re ambient about 3 or more of the selection, not interested in gift shops, then I would say skip on the pass.

Buying and picking up the CityPASS is really easy. You can buy the pass at any destination on the list. There wasn’t any lines or crowds during our visit on a July weekday. Don’t rip out any pass tickets, only the clerks can do that, otherwise, they become void!

Boy, are tourist things are so expensive. I thought Seattle’s CityPass at $90 was expensive and that was supposed to be a 47% discount already from the regular admission price.

“That’s Interesting!“

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If you want cashback on your CityPASS purchase, use BeFrugal (a cashback website) and search for Expedia then go through BeFrugal to Expedia to buy (any city) CityPASS tickets.

Since we were entertaining out-of-town friends too, this is a mix of vacation and “staycation” for us. My point of view is that of a current Seattle resident so I’m probably more ho-hum about things that would be interesting to out of towners.

The Seattle CityPASS

If you wanted to play tourist, this CityPASS is one of the things you can get to make it quickly through the lines and pay less than the regular admission price.

For Seattle, the CityPASS is worth it if you do 2 or more of the 5 activities on the pass list.

The official CityPASS admission includes:

1. Seattle Aquarium
2. Argosy Cruises Harbor Tour
3. Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP)  – OR – Woodland Park Zoo
4. Chihuly Garden and Glass  – OR – Pacific Science Center
5. Space Needle

(Bonus: CityPASS gives small discounts on each individual attractions’ gift shops and souvenirs.)

The CityPass isn’t just limited to Seattle, they host a lot of other cities: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, NYC, Orlando, Philadephia, San Fran, Southern California, Tampa Bay and even Toronto in Canada! If you don’t know your destination yet, check out Wallet Hacks’ CityPass review of all CityPasses offerings.

1. Seattle Aquarium –  $29.95 (Reg. Price)

OK, I was expecting something like Monterey Bay Aquarium. It ain’t that, so expect a little less. We saw everything in just under 2 hours.

As an adult, I had a pretty fun time. It’s more fun for children so to me, it’s not worth paying the regular admission price as an adult. I would pay $20 tops for the good 90 minutes we were entertained.

For $30, it’s overpriced to see some fishes in glass windows and the “touch pool” was underwhelming. I wish they had more staff to overlook and give interesting explanations of what in the world we were touching. The place was crowded with little kids and field trippers.

These otter guys were interesting. They were cleaning their butts and that required them to be in ball form which meant they had to roll in the water. It was just an endless cycle of rolling and licking their butts. We couldn’t stop laughing hahaha.

Me and Cynthia!

The sea otters, seals, and octopus were super adorable. They were the main and biggest highlights even though their enclosure was boring. Not much decor in the outdoor tanks.

I think the aquarium is a worthy deal and worth a visit only if you get a CityPASS. Plus, the CityPASS gives you 15% off your purchase total in the Seattle Aquarium gift shop. The gift shop was fun. Everything was adorable. It was full of silly fish puns. The merch and kid toys were scientific and entertaining.

Caught them at feeding time, it was entertaining when they dropped in baskets of fish and the seals were like “ommgggg fishhh” and goes headfirst into the baskets.

Summary: Is it worth a visit full price? Mediummm? It depends. It’s not a banger experience for pure $30 (without the CityPASS) to call for that price since you can do and see everything in under 2 hours. But if you have kids, bring a kid, they’ll love it.

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2. Argosy 1-Hour Harbor Tour – $30.50 (Reg. Price)

We did this right after the Seattle Aquarium because the Argosy port was just a street away. After almost 2 hours of walking around the aquarium, sitting around relaxing and sailing around was a great way to end the day. Since it’s just sitting and looking, make sure your well exhausted since it will give you a pleasant break for the day.

It’s simply a 1-hour ride around Seattle’s waterfront. The ride was smooth, the popcorn was pretty good. But the narration we got was boring, devoid of personality, and told me nothing truly interesting about Seattle history at all when I know there are some damn good stories here.

There is no food being served beside alcohol and overpriced popcorn so bring your own snacks (like we did.) Get an upstairs window seat booth inside or grab an outdoor seat. Go a little earlier from boarding time to get first pick.

The decor on the boats is a little grungy and outdated. Nothing luxurious here.

The skyline with cranes and cruise ships.

I would have tried to opt in for the $60 upgrade to the 4 hours + buffet meal Tillicum Excursion since CityPASS allows you to get upgrades. The food around and in Pike Market gets pricey so a buffet meal on an excursion where you can rest your feet after a long day sounds more strategic after the aquarium.

CityPASS will give you a few dollars off (25% off) your souvenir photos.

Summary: For the very basic 1-hour ride…it worth a visit at full price? No. It’s basically just 1-hour sitting on a boat and making a small loop around the bay. The biggest and few positive was being able to sit, relax, and watch the blue waters.

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3. Woodland Park Zoo – $20.95 (Reg. Price)

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD I LOVE THIS PLACE. (Also, how legendary is this shot we took?!)

We were there zooming and racing around for well over 6 hours constantly and we still couldn’t see everything.

I recommend making a 2-day event to explore just this zoo. It’s our only zoo in Seattle proper and it is a wonderful gem. My feet were pretty much dead at the end of a 6-hour waltz but I still had a ton of fun.

The animals get ample room and their enclosures are full of interesting things beautifully set out with care and detail. Most of Woodland Park is more fun than the San Francisco Zoo in my opinion.

Seriously, I’m in love with this place My husband’s employer is holding a company picnic at the zoo tomorrow (!!!) so I get to go back.

It is a BEAUTIFUL park, I think we might end up getting their annual membership just because it’s close to our house and it’s packed full of stuff to see and do.

Peek at me in an African style house!

They had a mini African village and it was SOOOO cute. It looks pretty accurate to me (besides the wall speakers haha).

Cynthia at the petting zoo with the goat that wanted to be pet by her. We barely made it to the petting zoo and then the zoo announced they’re closing for the day. Most of the farm animals were done for the day. I really wanted to pet some animals

The only small con is they need more places to eat and more gift shops. There is one gift shop in front of the park and one at the end of the park, but darn it I want some stuff stands! Take advantage of impulse buyers as a business! Amazing zoo! But they don’t monetize enough haha. The gift shop in the San Francisco zoo has cuter merchandise. I think the Woodland Park Zoo really should crank up the functionality and utility of their merch.

I was ready with my wallet open because I adored the place, but I didn’t see anything I liked that much sadly.

(And yes you get a discount off the zoo’s gift shop with your CityPASS too.)

Summary: Is it worth the price? YES. Even I’m willing to split it out for 2-day visits and just PAY IT TWICE, YESSSSSSS. Or get the basic membership if you’re going for 2 or more days a year. It will pay for itself in about 2 visits already. Higher level memberships means you get to help support conservation and wildlife.

I will write a follow-up adventure post/review of this place separately because it’s worthy of the attention and another day visit for sure.

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4. Chihuly Garden and Glass – $29 (Reg. Price)

The entire exhibit is made up of about 8 to 11 rooms filled with huge, life-size glass pieces of art that spans 4,500 square feet of indoor space and a separate outdoor garden. Chihuly is a 10 out of 10 in terms of eye candy. The uniqueness of this exhibit makes it a solid addition for me.

I mean, lots of places have aquariums, cruises, etc. but there’s nothing like a see-thru ceiling made of glass flowers.

It’s visually epic. If I was a photographer, I would have gone bonkers.

This is the place where artists, photographers, and anyone obsessed with Instagram-able moments should go. Besides remembering to take your best quality camera, the garden itself is astoundingly beautiful.

Each room has a loose theme.

This room has two boats filled with glass art.

This room has hanging stuff.

This looks like a blue mass of…I don’t know but it’s beautiful.

Absorb those colors, shapes, and structures in person before…well if that massive earthquake ever comes, I’m pretty sure Chihuly would be goners since…well everything is made of glass and then suspended in air?

The irony! The beauty!

Speaking of beauty, look at my beautiful husband. Maybe it’s Stockholm Syndrome but gosh, who can resist his handsome puppy looks.

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5. Space Needle – $26 (Reg. Price)

From a non-tourist point of view, I can tell you the Seattle Space Needle is super overpriced for the regular admission price. I recommend skipping regular admission.

What you should do:

Make a reservation for brunch at the rotating Space Needle restaurant (SkyCity) as a treat instead. I emphasize brunch because their dinner menu is more pricey.

The brunch meal will cost twice as much as space needle admission but you get a great meal out of it and a place to sit with great views. The brunch is delicious, you get to sit and enjoy a nice multi-course meal while you spin and spin in Seattle for the full 360-degree view. It’s a lovely experience that definitely beats just going up and down.

I always thought it was pointless to go up to the Space Needle, take some photos, and come down. If you want the Space Needle view without the cost and the brunch doesn’t make it worth it to you – go to the Columbia Tower observation deck. It gives you an even better view of Seattle and going to the top deck will only cost you $10 to $15 dollars. You can get a perfect photo of the Space Needle and all of Seattle from the Columbia Tower whereas if you’re on the Space Needle…well you can’t because you’re on it.

(SkyCity is under renovation right now but they will reopen in August 2018. Apparently, it’s renovating itself to be composed of only clear, see-thru, glass? I feel like that’s either going to be really cool or super terrifying.)

Summary: Get the brunch at SkyCity for $50 bucks and enjoy a nice meal with a sit down 360 view. Or go to the observation deck at the Columbia Tower for a just as cool view of Seattle for half price as the Space Needle. Or get a packaged deal with the Chihuly Garden and Space Needle for $44 altogther.

Conclusion

If you’re trying to make the Seattle CityPASS worth the $90 then it depends on how you will use it.

It’s about what is important to you on the trip and less about hitting as many targets as possible. A vacation that involves hurrying and rushing and planning to make arbitrary goals and sights is not a vacation to me.

The Space Needle is a given for a lot of tourists so that alone should tip you over to the “worth it” CityPASS side. Also, if you wanted a souvenir or photo the extra discounts given by the CityPASS makes it worth it too.

If you don’t care for the Space Needle or any souvenirs then I would skip the CityPASS.

I would then either do the Chihuly Garden + Space Needle combo and the Woodland Park Zoo (total $75) -OR- just the Zoo and Aquarium ($50) if I had school-age kids. The 1-hour boat cruise is fun if you want to rest your feet after a long day but it’s not worth the regular price, it’s more of a bonus if you’re right in between deciding if it’s worth it to push you over the line of getting the pass.

The ThredUP Goody Box program is basically when a used online clothing company that (for $10) ships you a box full 10-15 pieces of second-hand clothes and you shop from that box. You can try things on, decide if you want to keep them and return the rest. Whatever you keep is deducted from the $10 you already paid. The $10 fee to ship and return the box is not refundable so if you keep nothing, it’s still $10 spent.

If you want to try a ThredUP Goody box – sign up with my invite link and you can get a $10 free in ThredUP credit.

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? It is NOT a subscription box!

It’s a one-time cost, one-time order thing. Thank freakin’ god because anytime someone says “subscription box” I think…?

Before we get into it I just wanted to give these glaring disclaimers:

*I don’t really care too much about fashion nor am I too much of a clothes shopper so this is not expert fashionista advice. On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being someone who has a devote fashion blog), I am a 3 ½ on a good day. I proudly donate that portion of my wallet to my stomach haha.

*I ordered the Goody box to save time. Ever since I started doubling down and building on my side projects, I have been cutting back everywhere to conserve time. I am petite so it takes longer to find something for me in a thrift store that I could hold to a standard.

*The Goody box won’t beat thrift store prices. It’s not going to be as economical as jumping into Value Village on $1 days or going on Swap.com. BUT it gives you a chance to try new (to you) things without having to go hunting for hours. With that said, I will say that your local thrift store is probably underutilized by you, just like the library, so if you have some free time – go and dig for treasure! I still do it when I have the time

*Clothes testing for the holidays. Every year, I buy new clothes for Christmas (but usually around November). I look forward to Christmas *all year round* because hubby’s family makes it so awesome.

*Your miles will vary! Even if I like it, it may not work for everyone because there are so many factors. What’s the most important is if you think it’s fun and helpful to your life after you try it.

ThredUP Goody Box Is An Alternative to StitchFix

I didn’t tell you guys but I almost signed up for StitchFix myself last month.

I went through the entire survey and even hooked up my Pinterest account! I couldn’t pull the trigger because StitchFix clothes are new and fancy. They’re way more expensive than what I need. Most of my clothes are used or hand-me-downs and I love them. 

I’m a discount bin person, it’s built into the cockroach DNA that I’m oh so known for.

StitchFix sells new clothes curated to your survey style. I had some problems with the “new” part…because…man…the thrift store is just like the public library: underrated and so underutilized. I talked myself out of StitchFix because of the price tag and it cost $20 to ship.

One of my friends has the StitchFix subscription and she had a really cute StitchFix chiffon, pink scalloped top that I’ve been eyeing. It was last years so I went on Poshmark and found it for $12 with free shipping, new with tag.

UHHH. She paid $36 for it from StitchFix.

Some people swear by StitchFix but secondhand clothing is a lot more cost-effective and environmentally conscious, so ThredUP is more “me.”

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ThredUP Goody Box

I usually mull over purchases but this was a quick sale for me. A box cost $10. One time charge. It contains 10-15 items in a big’ ole dotted box, shipped to you. You open it and try on the second-HAND clothes and check what you want to keep vs not. If you keep something that’s $15 then you’re only out $5 because you paid the $10 before. If you don’t keep anything, you’re out $10 to cover the shipping and return shipping.

I went through the survey process. It’s less engaging than the StitchFix’s survey. I had sizing questions. I remember the StitchFix form came with size instructions and picture examples of what’s considered “feminine” or “classic.”

But whatever – $10 a box, I got $10 free for signing up anyways, I’m out nothing if I don’t like anything.

I played it safe and selected $10-$25 (the cheapest option) which they definitely kept under.

My guess on their biz model is that ThredUp is losing money on the $10 to ship and return. They’re using it as a loss leader for a chance to try to match you up with as many pieces that you would love. New (to you) clothes for customers and money for them. Clever!

My Experience

I told you I’m not an expert at clothes. Since I don’t shop very often, I didn’t know my pants size. I assumed because I’m not as skinny as my college days…a distant 6 years ago…I should go up a size and put down a size 4-6 in pants.

Well, whoops. More than half my box had pants…which is great except they’re in totally the wrong sizes.

Make sure you know your clothing sizes! That’s really the only thing that you can get wrong.

My Boxed Contents

Delivery came on time, the box was not damaged, all contents inside covered with tissue paper with clothes piled on inside.

The tops and dresses were all really cute but some of them had awful fabric. It’s probably because I toggled the lowest $10-$25 price range.

But I asked for muted, casual, everyday colors and this box had that! Whoever curated and read my description in the survey got it dead on. I think they did a great job curating colors and sizing me.

The prices that are crossed out are super high markups. I wouldn’t think too much of them.

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Some items were grossly overpriced. It says $27.99 but I’ve seen similar bags at $1.99 at the thrift store so that was the biggest fail in the box. It can’t beat your local Goodwill. But some items were great and comparable to Goodwill prices, so miles will vary for everybody.

Overall, I do like ThredUP took that $10-$25 range seriously and hardly gave me anything over the $25 threshold. However, I was not particularly happy at the…mall rat clothing brands that I received but for my low $ range, oh, I think I had it coming.

OK less talk, more pics.

…SO PICS DUMP!!!

These were the hits from the box. I liked a few more things but…they were quite revealing and this is a PG-13 blog. The June & Hudson red blouse made me look like I was a great candidate…for open chest surgery ? Since I’m mainly getting clothes for Christmas….that wouldn’t float over well over Christmas with the in-laws haha…???

Keepsake dress that I liked but didn’t 100% work for me. If you guys recall I already have something shaped similarly to it already. Plus the fabric on this did not agree with me. It wrinkled too much.

Hubby and I were just playing around outside with our doggy, testing out the wear of these clothes.

ModCloth top ($15) – it has flowing sleeves! But it was too small in the armpits or else I would have kept this one. (Sorry, best photo I got that wasn’t blurry.)

This is the coincidence & chance dress ($15) by the way! It’s sooooooooo cute, so much loves!!! And only $15. I really wanted to keep it but my husband said I have a babydoll top just like this (I do) and we’re supposed to be decluttering. Not doubling.

But I love anything with lace and peter pan collars oh my god!!! >_<  It was at that awkward length when it looks like it’s a very short dress or a very long shirt so I passed. It goes with leggings but…I always rip my leggings and hoses so it’s a money trap for me.

P.S. look at my epic raven locks of hair! 10/10 headbangers approve! ???

This was my FAVORITEEEEEE. This is the Chelsea28 chiffon black dress ($24.99) and I really liked how it fit me and how cool it was in the 85 degree heat. Also, I look magically 10 lbs slimmer in it. Look at the photo proof!! Crazy! I actually debated with my hubby. He said (and I quote), “it’s almost perfect.”

The collar was too high for my neck (I folded it down in the picture above) and although I really wanted to keep it, folding down the collar every time I wear it bothered me. For $25, I decided to return it. 50% of me regret it but the other 50% of me is saying to keep looking. But man was it a hard decision.

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Total Scores

I didn’t keep any items which you can say was a lose-lose.

BUT to be fair, I killed 50% of my selection by putting down the wrong pant size so it’s more like I wrecked the game for myself. There were 2 pairs of pants that I loveeeee for summer but they were way too big. So who knows how many things I would have kept if I knew my clothing size.

They did gain a semi-addicted customer because I already ordered another box LOL!

Shipping ($10): A

Value: C-

Ease of Return: A-

Item Quality: C+

Selection: A-

Survey/Style Offered: B

Content (for me): B

Overall Grade: B

How much I liked the FUN FACTOR: A- (It’s like paying someone $10 to rummage in their closet for a few days haha.)

What I Love

I like getting surprises in the box,  I like having strangers shopping for me, I like trying clothes on without a single thread of sales pressure, I LOVE that they’re second hand!

In the CEO’s letter, they firmly state they’re not a subscription box or even a curation box. They’re a secondhand clothing store with this cool feature and I like that. Good business move. It fills a niche for me personally and I want to keep exploring this product.

Whenever I get on the Real Real or another fancy secondhand website, I get so lost (once again, not a clothes expert) and I find it very hard to pull the trigger on anything. This particular box forces me to try new things without the pressure and it made me pick and love things that I never thought I would.

What I Didn’t Love

If you are talking value, at the $10-$25 price point that I chose, I give it a 2.5 out of 5 stars for value. It doesn’t come close to thrift stores prices (but then again what does.)

There’s a lot of these brands and dupes in the thrift store at 1/3 of the price. I didn’t want anymore mall rat clothes. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have picked mall rat prices then. I think the survey should have been more clear what each price range will give or more likely to include.

What I Will Do Differently

*Get the right pants size down this time.

*Take the written description more seriously than just telling them “I’m an Asian girl” (although telling them my race did help I think.)

I’m never shopping eBay for clothes anymore. This is much more fun! I already ordered my second box but this time…GET THIS…

I went for their highest price bracket. Just to experiment.

And because technically we can afford it so…shooo, shoo guilt.

And because I want to give my husband a heart attack when I decide to keep that YSL bag.

(Lol I’m kidding.)

This is what happens when I’m curious about something, I end up wanting to test every avenue until the mystery is solved and I know how the game is played. Why do you think I’m still blogging? It’s a puzzle game!

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Extra Stuff I Probably Forgot to Mention…

*Oh, shipping took a little over a week I think. I’m not sure what’s standard but 7 business days isn’t bad for door delivery to me.

*OH – the ThredUP goody box does not contain shoes. My guess is it’s a lot harder to clean a shoe.

*Yes all the items were clean! Nothing was stained or smelly. But I could tell they weren’t NEW-NEW so don’t expect pristine. The clothes do smell like the clothing department at a thrift store. I thought that was sort of funny.

*ThredUP has non-mall rat brands whereas Swap.com has mainly mall rat brands for half the price of ThredUP.  That’s why my box was a 2.5/5 for value. I can just buy Forever 21 and LOFT stuff from Swap. Maybe ThredUP could carve itself out between a frugal Swap (low end) and StitchFix (overpriced).

*By mall rat clothes, I don’t mean to offend anyone more than how El Cheapo has already offended the Spanish language. It’s just those brands that every mall has and its mass-produced + overpriced for what it is at the mall.

*No tax for the box! It’s $10. I don’t know why the website says it’s $20 and then crosses it out. If it’s $20 (same price as shipping for StitchFix) then I would be a little remiss about getting another box so willy-nilly.

*I ordered a clean out bag (free) from ThredUp already and I’ll follow up on it in a few weeks. I wanted to try their consignment service. I have 2-3 pieces of ‘luxury brands’ in my closet that I don’t wear anymore so I’ll give them a try. I’ll review the clean out bag separately when I complete it later.

*Remember to SHIP IT BACK WITHIN 7 DAYS after you get the box or else they think you kept everything.

Get Your Free $10 at ThredUP!

I had a lot of fun writing this (if you couldn’t tell aha) but what’s more fun is we’re raising the stakes for the second ThredUp goody box to the $25-$100+ price range. I wonder what I’m going to get!

If you want to try ThredUP, sign up with my invite link and you can get $10 towards your first purchase.

~

This was a challenge to come up with an extra long list of activities both couples and singles could do on a budget for Valentine’s Day. Usually, I’m not a fan of holidays unless they come with days off or lump themselves into glorious three day weekends but I do love my husband, so to surprise him this year, I will be taking an idea from my romantic activities list below and doing something frugal for my fella. He won’t see it coming!

The first 25 were super easy but I wanted to exercise my creativity and make it a 100 solid suggestions for everyone to have a frugal February 14th. As usual, our motto is “sharing our strategic wealth building secrets through personal experience.” Sometimes, a lot of online content is “very touch and go” so some items in bright pink are things I’ve done (although not always for Valentine’s Day) and can vouch for.

100 Free & Frugal Things To Do On V-Day

1. Make root beer floats at home. Imagine me and the suicidal Brodie, two broke college kids, on our last $10 with ridiculous appetites for sugary fizz but finds themselves kitchenless in a college dorm…the only thing to do is grab some A&W rootbeers and a pint of generic Safeway vanilla ice cream and make do!

2. Let them pick the movie.

3. Netflix & chill.

4. Free art shows are offered from time to time. Check local galleries, schools, universities and the results might surprise you.

5. Go to the beach. So walks on the beach might be boilerplate stereotypes but they are free and how many things in life are free and as beautiful as a beach?

6. Have fun at the lake, don’t forget to bring your floaties and sunscreen!

7. Play strip poker. Want to try something exciting and can help pass the time? Strip poker is the activity for confident and blossoming couples!

8. Taking a couple’s hike can be romantic and makes for a great cardio day.

9. Have breakfast in bed and never leave the bed.

10. Spend a day at the dog park. Valentine’s Day isn’t just for romantic love. Show your pooches some love by taking them for a playdate.

11. Volunteer together. Don’t dismiss this until you tried it as a couple! Doing good for others is the best way to do good for yourself. You can double the good by bringing your significant other.

12. Facepaint each other. This is the face painting palette I purchased from Amazon. I buy a lot of random kid/craft things from Amazon. #unfrugal

13. Go stargazing

14. Buy a subscription to his/her favorite magazine. With traditional print media taking a backseat, you can find subscriptions for a super low cost. Last year, we had an annual subscription to Kiplinger (financial magazine) for $6!

15. Tour a brewery. As an Airbnb host, I see couples who come visit just to tour the local breweries. Taking a tour of a local brewery can be an educating and thirst quenching experience!

16. Frame a photo of both of you and hang it up.

17. Get his/her new tires so they will never have to worry about a spare.

18. Sneak love notes in their coat/shirt/pant pockets that affirm how much they mean to you.

19. Brag about your sweetie to everybody including your parents and close friends. That’s bound to make them feel pretty good!

20. Brag about your sweetie to everybody on your blog if you have one.

21. Write heartfelt letters to each other and hand deliver them to each other on Valentine’s Day.

22. Make s’mores on the stove top or oven without having to camp outside.

23. Window shopping to admire the goods but not giving into holiday materialism.

24. Visit karaoke bars as a group outing or just to watch others have fun.

25. Learn to fly a kite.

26. Visit a local coffee house.

27. Laundry sock fight – from first-hand experience: with clean socks is preferable, although the fighting stakes are up to you.

28. Do your sweetie’s laundry for them but make sure to double check all their clothing pockets and hiding places to avoid accidents.

29. Go for a nice scenic drive with your significant other.

30. Give each other massages with help from YouTube tutorials or winging it with active feedback.

31. Make pizzas at home and go have fun, make the pizza heart-shaped if you’re talented with dough.

32. Go skinny dipping since it costs nothing but double check the destination and legalities of your location first.

33. DIY photo session – My husband has “aphantasia” – a fancy word for people who have trouble coding memories visually. When I asked my husband what he wanted for his birthday last year and he said he wanted the photos I took of myself on my phone transferred to his phone. Aww! He likes me!

Related: 300 FREE Things You Can Get on Your Birthday!

34. Outdoor picnics are not cliche! Let’s bring them back people. They’re delicious!

35. BBQ at home is a much better option than fighting for seats with the crowd of diners.

36. Solve a small problem in your significant other’s life. For example, replacing their batteries with new fresh batteries etc. or have their car taken in for a simple tune-up.

37. Valentine “coupon books” are sweet, creative, and personable gestures that anyone would appreciate!

38. Go for a walk, not for the exercise but the wonderful conversation that would unfold when two people are in love.

39. Make work “bento” lunches or brown bagging your significant other a meal is frugal and thoughtful.

40. Give each other temporary tattoos and laugh about it when your coworkers the next day raises questions. Oh, have I done this a couple of times myself. I stamped a unicorn tattoo on my face for the entire day.

41. Play Pictionary, all you need is a piece of paper, pen and an idea.

42. Write each other haikus, haikus area Japanese poem made up of seventeen syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five. Traditionally, it’s about nature but the American versions can be anything.

43. Tidy up together now that I realize my husband and I argue about messes and not being able to find something a lot more often than I thought before I started tracking our disagreements.

44. Take extra long naps guilt-free.

45. Time-lapse a Valentine is what clever people do to avoid the incessant crowds. The greatest benefit to that is knowing the chocolates and unsold Valentine’s Day toys go on clearance in the weeks following Feb. 14! 

46. Skip the crowd and organize a private activity at home that’s not flooded or overpriced. That’s a good enough gift alone.

47. Reorganize the home to both your likings and help each other move furniture.

48. Learn a craft on YouTube

49. Bubble baths can be very romantic and be relaxing for overworked professionals. From first-hand experience, give the tub a quick rinse first. Bathtubs need their own showers too.

50. Play a drawing game that is different from Pictionary. It doesn’t involve guessing but a curiosity in what your significant other’s artistic concept of a bird or skyscraper looks like. I’ve given this chore to hubby and we’re doing this as I’m writing. It’s hilarious.

51. Send the kids off to Grandma’s or splurge on a sitter for the night if you and your significant other haven’t had a real date night in a while.

52. Borrow a romantic novel/audiobook from the library and enjoy it with your partner. My husband’s idea of a romantic and frugal Valentine!

53. Try out a new recipe that you both would enjoy. Flan is my #1 choice this year, it’s what I’m planning for our Valentine’s Day dessert this year

54. Woodburning kit to customize and engrave something yourself for your significant other. This woodburning kit is the exact one I have to burn a few pieces of wood and alleviate boredom.

55. Call up your mom/dad and tell them how much you appreciate them. Valentine’s Day isn’t just about love in the romantic sense.

56. Recreate your first date and let the nostalgia take you away.

57. Custom sexy photo sessions on a tight budget go together well. All it takes is a phone camera and some good angles.

58. Offer to do their Bing searches for the day. Bing is a search engine owned by Microsoft. Bing points are collected everytime a search is complete and Bing points can be transferred to Amazon’s gift cards.

59. Get some (Chinese) take out if they’re working late.

60. Charades is a game where a person acts out a word and the other person tries to guess. It’s a great activity for 2+ couples.

61. Naked Charades, hey hey, judgment-free zone. You do you.

62. Look for free park concerts near you.

63. Attend a community pottery class, these hidden gems are usually tucked away at an art center you’ve driven past 50 times.

64. Make origami. For one Valentine’s Day, a friend of mine received 1,000 hand-folded origami cranes from her boyfriend. It took him several months but she was moved to tears.

65. Craft beer tasting/tour

66. Watch the sunrise/sunset together

67. Put together a puzzle

68. Make DIY napkin flowers instead of spending money on an overpriced bushel. Flowers can be made with pulled apart paper clips and tissue paper. Origami paper, wrapping paper or ribbon paper can all work depending on the method.

69. Go jogging together

70. Do a chore on each other’s list, Hubby hates waking up to take our dog, Grace, out in the early mornings for a pit stop. My self-appointed job this year is to wake up before he does and take Grace out so he doesn’t have to. The rest of the 363 days, he’s on his own

71. Gifting a Groupon is similar to a Valentine’s Day raincheck, it’s a super savvy consumer move!

72. Snuggle and nuzzle each other until one or both is close to catching on fire.

73. Make bubble tea at home! Good boba tea requires a quality tea (Earl, Oolong, Jasmine, Chai etc.), milk or condensed milk, squeeze of honey and instant tapioca balls (soaked them in honey after cooking). I can post a full recipe if anyone’s interested.

74. Watch really sappy, cult classics. My husband made me sit through “The Princess Bride” twice. As an Asian immigrant, I missed the American 90s era so I don’t fully understand the hype. Except for the scene when they rolled down the hill together, that gave me tears of laughter. Plus, Cary Elwes is Japanese manga-brought-to-life eye candy so yeahhhh OK, I’ll suffer through it.

75. Stop by the office and surprise them. I loved it when I was getting off work and I see a familiar figure already waiting for me. It always make me feel warm, loved and protected.

76. Filling up love’s gas tank is a small minuscule gesture but that’s precisely why it’s so sweet. You’re constantly thinking of them selflessly. Plus, who likes to pump their own gas? When my husband and I visited Oregon 2 years ago, I felt like a millionaire! Oregon law requires attendants to pump gas so we didn’t have to do it in the freezing snow.

77. Never leave the warmth of bed.

78. Wash your significant other’s car either by yourself or drive it to a carwash.

80. Have a rooftop dinner if it’s applicable to the building layout. Rooftops can be very romantic private getaways.

81. Watch horror movies until you vomit. If you’re like me, Asian horror flicks is a great place to start.

82. Make ice cream (desserts) from scratch at home.

83. Have a quiet, cheap drive-in fast food date night in if Valentine’s Day lands on a work night.

84. Play tourist together in your town and go exploring!

85. Buy some lotto tickets for fun except secretly hoping to win because your love is that magical.

86. Plant something indoors in February because Spring is right around the corner. Start your tomato plants, broccoli, cauliflower. Start planting and seeding herbs like basil, oregano, parsley, dill, mint, thyme, and sage in February too.

87. Play video games with your significant other.

88. Guilt-free bad snacks and dessert night.

89. Buy some unitarian clothes for him/her. Since most men dislike clothes shopping, I assumed the role of buying my husband underpants. If left up to him, he would wear them until they’re in tatters.

90. Chill inside IKEA and eat as many Swedish meatballs as you want. IKEA is a Swedish furniture version of Costco with just as yummy and cheap food! I had two dates where I suggested IKEA, that’s usually when the guy looks at me like I have two heads but trust me, it’s so fun!

91. Find a local petting zoo, they tend to be cheaper than full sized, full priced zoos that can run up near the $80 for admission. A petting zoo is more interactive.

92. Try out late night food trucks to avoid the crowds and forget the diet for one cheat day.

93. Donating to your significant other’s favorite charitable cause will show them how much you care about their beliefs. Happiness will follow, guaranteed!

94. Sell unwanted presents from past exes and use the funds for your significant other that’ll show them who is top dog in your heart. I’ve done this, it’s a win-win. I make extra money this way and save money on gifts for the love that matters.

95. Offer a foot rub.

96. Get a deal for a session of professional house cleaning. Oh, the ultimate splurge! For me, a booking with a house cleaner is as sinful as flying first class on an airline. But if it’s a gift for someone else, I don’t consider it a splurge. That’s my little mental trick.

97. Make a CD or road trip mixtape that combines his/her/both of your favorites

98. Kiss them like they’re leaving for war, enough to make everyone within viewing distance feel a little uncomfortable haha!

99. Propose! Congrats!

100. Don’t forget self-care! Taking care of yourself show how much you care about your significant other because they care about you! After all, life is more fun when there’s someone to share it with.

Has anyone else noticed the skyrocketing prices of smartphones? Companies are pricing their new flagship smartphones to the tune of $1,000 depending on the storage size, color selection and contracted plans. Yikes. Although smartphones are an integral part of modern life, you do not need the latest smartphone model to check emails or navigate angry birds.

Conventionally having two phone is often associated with a dark secret, like an unfaithful spouse or having a double family. Not that I think the ladder would be very common these days, most of us can’t find time for the one family we have right now. But there are lots of good reasons why it’s good to have 2 older phones and it can actually save you money in the long run!

Here are 8 frugal reasons for having two phones is a good idea.

First Phone

My first ever smartphone was the Samsung Galaxy S3. It was a graduation gift. My mom handed me the package and there it was: a brand new, unlocked S3 for a lucky girl!

That was back in 2012-2013, the year that I graduated with $20,000 in student loans. Trust me, at the time, I was happy with anything free. I was in beast mode trying to pay back my student loans.

After I paid back all of my student debt and settled into a decent gig, I brought myself a Nexus 5 “for work.” I had it very briefly before I dropped it (in my defense, only 2 feet down) but the Nexus died, completely.

I sold the Nexus 5 as working parts for less than 10% of the purchase price. I was incredibly burned by that and it stung realizing I dropped almost $400 on an object that my old Samsung 3 could have performed.

Oh, those pre-frugal days…

Dejected, I went back to my old but faithful Samsung Galaxy S3 and never strayed.

Second Phone

My second phone is hubby’s hand-me-down phone, the OnePlus One. The OnePlus is an amazing phone for the price (not an ad; it’s really a great piece of craft.) Hubby gave it to me last year after his employer gave him the Pixel phone for work.

I thought of being a penny pincher and selling the OnePlus for some money instead. It was going for $175 on eBay. Hubby told me that my Samsung Galaxy S3 was very old and that sometimes when we’re calling or messaging each other, it’s annoyingly unreliable. Selling off the newer OnePlus might not be worth it in an emergency if we needed to contact each other.

That is a good point. What is the purpose of a phone if the communication bugs out?

Naturally, my second penny-pinching idea was to sell the Samsung Galaxy S3 then. Unfortunately, during one of my gang shootings with another rival gang, I had my phone in the front pocket…nah, actually my phone flew out of my dainty girl pockets as I was running to catch the bus.

(Rant: the biggest culprit here is dainty girl pockets of course. Look at your fathers, brothers, and husbands with their over-sized pockets. How unfair is that? Don’t we girls get to have clothes with pockets bigger than a pudding cup? WE HAVE MORE THINGS.)

The comps for a 6-year-old phone with a shattered screen, although functioning, was pathetically low on eBay.

There was this new thing out called Samsung Galaxy S7 – woahhh Nelly – when did S4, S5, S6 and S7 happen?

Did I miss all of that?

Oh and apparently the S7 catches on fire. ¹

In the end, I just kept both.

And I didn’t feel like I needed another SIM card at about $10 a month extra. Feeling both bourgeois and wasteful about the two power-sucking appliances in my pocket, 12 months later, I’m thinking about my two phone situation and I must say…it has been surprisingly pleasant having two phones around.

8 Frugal Reasons to Have Two Phones

1. No Battery Anxiety

The problem with older phones is how fast the batteries start dying but with two old phones, I’m never worried because I can switch one to charge while I use the other one!

External battery packs to go for $10 to $30 a pop. I know this because I’ve had at least three of them before. One came with my now broken Nexus 5 phone and the other two I ordered off Amazon during their lightning deals (which don’t even deal most of the time.) I’ve broken one external charger after I dropped it (what is with me and dropping things…) and I misplaced the other two when we moved into our house.

You know why I lose them? Because after they’re done, I put it somewhere and forget it!

Given my history with these external battery chargers, I decided to use my old Samsung S3 as a substitute while my OnePlus charges back up. Then I reverse the two again and so on and so forth. I can’t lose because they’re actual phones. I can just call the other one to find it again! Having 2 phones is better than an external battery.

See how stupidly smart I am?!

2. No Resale Value (No Money To Lose)

I would have sold the Samsung S3 for some chump change but a smashed screen is one of the biggest repair expenses there is. The fixers on eBay isn’t going to spend $100 worth of their time to repair the screen of a very old phone that going for $125 unlocked and brand new!

So my phone has no resale value, what so ever.

Therefore, well, I might as well be frugal and use it!

It still works and is essentially like a free external battery pack and iPad Touch! The screen of my S3 itself is beyond repair and occasionally drops little dust of glass held with scotch tape but the phone itself, bless Samsung, is still working. It’s laggy sometimes but it works! I will use it until it dies away, just like with my clothes.

3. Don’t Have to Pay for Phone Storage

My Samsung S3 has 16 GBs and after 2000-something photos and videos of food and metal concerts throughout the years – it’s reaching maximum occupancy. There’s nothing uber important that I would miss but I’m also too cautious to mass delete them. I feel like those 3 fuzzy photos of me in front of the San Francisco’s skyline will be a life changer someday. So the older phone is being used as storage to park my mediocre past life.

4. It’s Still Technology Goodness

Despite both of my phone’s old age and not-so-impressive speed, they’re still smartphones capable of going online, streaming video, chatting with friends and playing audio. Having a second phone is good in a pinch although I prefer the OnePlus since it’s 4 years younger than the S3. There is the tang of morbid curiosity on how long stable engineering and design could last. Either of my smartphones is Nokia 3310 worthy, but it’s hanging in there.

5. Theft Prevention

Phone thefts are becoming more and more common especially for public transportation bus riders like myself. You’re holding a good few of hundred of dollars resale loosely in your hands. It tempts thieves looking for a quick buck. The most you could do is chase after them – and you wouldn’t even call the police afterward because you won’t have your phone. It’s a perfect crime! Using my shattered Samsung S3 phone on the bus pretty much guarantees no one will give me a second look.

6. Redundancy

In an extreme pinch, an older phone can save you a bit of change. If you have two phones, it’ll keep you busy enough to not warrant another new one so soon. If one phone does die, it would give you more time to shop around without being deprived of a working phone. It will give you time to consider the marketplace carefully and shop for a smarter deal. If your primary phone died without a back up phone, you would need to buy one pretty quick since phones for many are alarm clocks, calendars and socially important as well.

7. One for Personal, One for Business

The OnePlus is considered my work phone. It has apps like Rover, Airbnb, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, Gmail, Robinhood, Bloomberg, OverDrive, eBay, Amazon, Docs, Skype, Pixlr – lots of stuff.

My Samsung S3 is only used as storage and only useful if it has WiFi. There are very little apps on there besides the basics like calculator, some bloatware, YouTube, Airbnb, Firefox, and Kindle Reader. It is a leisure phone that does not have Twitter, Pinterest or anything blogging related. It forces me to hop off the radar for a bit and enjoy watching a rabbit steal a cookie from a baby.

8. Don’t Have Waste Money To Buy a New One!

Can’t get more cost-effective than just not spending money at all on a newer phone!

Both my phones were technically free. One was a graduation gift that has had a remarkably long shelf life despite the abuse it has absorbed from me. The second one was a hand-me-down from my husband. I’m not able to make a single penny back selling either of those but I also didn’t have to shell out more money for a brand new smartphone. Considering how expensive new phones are and seeing that both my current old phones put together wouldn’t amount up to even $250 cash back – keeping both was the definite frugal choice. Plus, they both work great as a team for all the reasons above as well.

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