A Few of my Favorite Things

In today’s economy, we are all living a budget. My budget has been reduced due to many economic factors just like everyone else’s. BUT, and there is always a but, I have a few items that won’t sacrifice to skinny my budget up. Everyone needs a few “feel good” items in their budgets that keep them going and help them to relax and breath for a moment. So here is a list of a few of my favorite things.

When working out my new budget in 2009, two things had to go which were cable TV and my daily Starbucks. These were difficult decisions to make but I have since founds ways to replace them with items I find much more irreplaceable now. 

Roku Digital Player – This is a digital player that works through a wireless or wired internet connection. There are many different channels to add of which some are free and some are not but most are extremely affordable. There is one channel called Flickstream that has multiple channels which specialize in B-graded movies and TV. There is also an entire channel dedicated to the cartoon Speed Racer. Here is a layout of my favorite channels:

• Netflix Channel – The Roku was the first instant streaming device to offer Netflix. The Netflix channel is free and will link directly to your account. For only $7.99/month plus taxes you can have unlimited access to instant viewing. There are over 20,000 titles (this includes a count of individual episodes for each series) which is pretty extensive. I pay to have one DVD-at-a-time and unlimited instant for those shows that aren’t available through instant. You can even setup and instant queue.
• Amazon Video on Demand (VOD) – The VOD on demand program works great and like Netflix connects to your account. Amazon has amazing weekend deals on movies and television plus Amazon sometimes even offers a digital version of the movie along with the DVD. Your Amazon library can be accessed from everywhere. I love it when Amazon offers 99-cent weekend rentals. Amazon sometimes has movies to own digitally for less than $5. I have all the Harry Potter movies (I paid $4.99 apiece and can watch them anywhere).
• Crackle – This is new discovery of mine and I love it. No need to register or link your account and the content is free. Yes the movies and TV shows do have ads but they are very short compared to some of the ones I watch online. They also offer movies that aren’t available on any of the other channels. Crackle also has great special features for certain movies and television shows.

Pogo Games – this is a free website with many different games and different types of games. There are hidden object, casino, board, word and puzzle that you earn tokens for playing each time. These tokens can be used to buy things like clothes and goodies for your players ‘mini’ and also for badges. Badges are earned if you do certain things while playing games. There is also a play version which opens up many more games, mini items and game badges. I have been a paid playing member for over 10 years and it is the one thing I would not have given up. There is a chat option in the game and I play online games and in tournaments with some great folks from all over the world. It is a great way to relax and be myself after coming home from a long hard day at work.

Keurig – the single cup coffee maker that uses little pods of coffee (called k-cups). I am single and this is a quick simple way to make coffee without having to brew an entire pot. There are many different flavors and brands of coffee and several websites provide subscription shipping so I get coffee every 90 days.

• Green Mountain Coffee Roasters offers many different brands of coffee like Tullys, Caribou, Emerils and their own brand. I like the flavors of their own brand especially the ones under the Fair Trade logo. Green Mountain also has k-cups in 80 count boxes. Using them I have been able to get my coffee price down to less than .50 a cup.
• Café Express is the Green Mountain Coffee subscription service. It offers discounts on prices, shipping and has different options for the frequency of your shipments.
• My K-cup is a device that allows you to use your own ground coffee in the Keurig. This works well for me when I get the urge to have Dunkin’ Donuts coffee (which is awesome).

Scentsy – the scented warmer company that helps me feed my addiction to candles without all the wicks and sooty build up on my walls. They have beautiful warmers and really strong scents that work in both the home and the office. I love them and they also offer great specials for prices.

I hope this helps you find a little enjoyment in these troubled times.