Seeing NYC through the eyes of tourists through Tuesday

Mister Redhead’s parents land at La Guardia tomorrow evening, which means the blog updates may be a little sparse until Tuesday. We have a packed schedule. Considering it’s their first time in New York, we’re going to trying cramming everything into five days. The Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Little Italy, Times Square…oh my! I have to admit, I’m pretty curious to see how my Iowan in-laws will react to Big Apple prices. I still have sticker shock, and I’ve lived here for more than two years.

Will report back with any deals I discover on my sight-seeing!

What to do with icky apples

Last week I bought pre-bagged apples instead of selecting loose ones out of the bin. It was a better deal, and the apples in the bag looked like they were in better condition than the loose ones. Well, when I got home and opened the bag, I discovered that almost every apple had a big bruised spot or (ew) a worm hole. How had I missed those? Oops. I didn’t want to throw those in my purse to take to work for a snack, but I didn’t just want to throw them out either.

So I made applesauce yesterday (after cutting out those icky spots, of course!). I used this recipe, which is practically foolproof, considering that even a non-cook like myself could handle it. I feel good about not wasting the apples. However, I was disappointed that four apples only yielded a bowl of applesauce. If I want a jar of applesauce, it’s more cost-effective to just buy one at the store (even the natural brand that I like, which you’d think would be more expensive).

Do you have any healthy treats that are more affordable when they’re homemade?

Free activity: Central Park

Forgive me for not being very original, but there’s a reason Central Park is always in “NYC on a Budget” roundups. It’s gorgeous. It’s open and green. It’s great for people watching. And the best part is how much variety there is within it. Going to the Conservatory Garden is a completely different atmosphere than Belvedere Castle, or the Reservoir, or Sheep Meadow, or Strawberry Fields. On a day like this, when it’s going to be 70 degrees and sunny, how can Central Park not be calling your name?

My plan is to go hiking in the North Woods section today. Yes, hiking. The North Woods (not to be confused with the North Meadow) has steep dirt paths, waterfalls, a ravine, footbridges, and everything else you’d expect to find in a nature preserve. You honestly forget you’re in the very center of Manhattan while you’re there. It’s not even noted on many maps of the park, and you’ll be hard pressed to find a good description of it online (this is the best I could find). Here’s a rough map of the area if you feel like checking it out. I recommend going with a friend and only going during the day–it’s one of those areas in the park where you can easily get lost, and if you fear being attacked by a NYC nutcase, you probably don’t want to be deep in this forest alone. Um…other than that grim thought, I swear this is a really peaceful spot!

Here are a couple of photos Mister Redhead took when we stumbled upon it during our first summer in NYC together:

5 money lessons that should be taught before college

1. How to balance a checkbook. And how overdraft fees can wreak havoc on your budget if you don’t.
2. The ABC’s of retirement funds. What are the different types, why you should start one ASAP, what it should be comprised of at various stages in your life?
3. The concept of compounding interest. When it works in your favor (e.g. retirement fund) and when it doesn’t (e.g. debt).
4. What student loans look like post-graduation. What kind of monthly payment will you have for that loan you take out freshman year?
5. Credit card pitfalls. Considering college campuses are hotspots for credit card offers, shouldn’t somebody be warning kids NOT to sign up for them willy-nilly and abuse them?

This is just something that’s been on my mind lately. For all the busywork kids do from K through 12, can’t a simple personal finance class be squeezed in there somehow? I’m not talking about econ or algebra; students should have a class devoted to how to manage household finances, with hands-on exercises. I remember one thing from my ninth grade math class, and that is the concept of compounding interest. Want to know why that stuck? Because it was drilled in our heads that this was a math function that would affect us our whole lives; that when we buy a house, we should come up with a large down payment to avoid paying thousands in interest. That’s a lot more interesting than doing the 458th critical thinking exercise about trains traveling at X mph. Now that we’re in this financial mess, shouldn’t the next generation be armed with real-life financial skills?

Did you learn any of these things in school? What would you add to the list?

Have you upgraded to digital?

We recently did. Our analog signal started broadcasting syndicated shows and major sporting events in Spanish, so it was definitely time to make the switch. Did we go for the digital TV that Mister Redhead has been pining for? Did we finally subscribe to cable, as we’d talked about frequently? Um, no. We took the frugal, octogenarian route of getting a coupon for a converter box. Net cost post coupon: $15. ‘

I feel pretty un-hip right now, but things start looking up when I put it in perspective. Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on a high-end TV, we paid off one of my student loans in full. The money we were spending on the monthly payments for that loan will now be going into Mister Redhead’s Roth IRA, which we set up last weekend. (Cross off another one of our New Year’s resolutions!) So, we may be the most un-cool 20-somethings in NYC, but the end result is that we get a digital signal (in English!), we paid off one student loan, and we will now be making monthly contributions to Mister Redhead’s retirement fund. All in all, not a bad turn of events. Thanks, DTV, for making this moment of fiscal responsibility possible!

How about you? Have you made the switch yet? Did you even need to, or did you already have cable and/or a digital TV?

Would you take a year off for one-third of your salary?

A law firm in New York is getting creative during this financial crisis. In a move to prevent layoffs, they’re offering their associates $80,000 to take a year off, the New York Times reports. Now, $80,000 may sound like a lot to you and me, but at this law firm, it’s only about a third of the associates’ typical pay (cue the sad violins). For those who can live on that reduced wage, there are obvious perks to this deal: time to travel, explore pro bono work, and hang out more with family. Plus, their absence won’t be counted against them if layoffs do come around: They are exempt from them during their year off.

Would you take this deal for a third of your pay? Could you even survive on that amount, or is this a situation that only the rich can take advantage of? If you could swing it, what would you do during that year?

I survived my beauty-school haircut

Yesterday I went to the Aveda Institute for my haircut, and I’m happy to report that I’m still in one piece. Was it a relaxing experience? No. Was it fun? Not really. Would I do it again? Yes. (Hey, it’s hard to beat a $20 haircut.)

Anyone remember that Ramona book where she and Beezus get their hair cut at a beauty school? Ramona can tell Beezus’ stylist is unsure of herself because she can hear the uncertainty in her snips. That’s kind of how I felt. My stylist, a young guy, was painstakingly slow and deliberate. It took two hours for him to clean up the layers I already had. Of course, all the students were taking their time, and I’d rather have him be slow than stab me in the neck with his scissors.

A few tips if you go to the Aveda Institute:

1. Make sure you have a few hours to spare. This isn’t a place you can duck in for a quick trim over the lunch hour.
2. Keep in mind they’re students. It was awkward to sit there while his instructor injected with constructive criticisms, but I had to remind myself that this was first and foremost a learning experience for him.
3. It’s chaotic. There are about 30 stations in the back room, and they really pack them in. I feel bad for the students—there’s no space to spread out their tools, and they were all bumping into one another. Between the large number of hairdryers, the music, and the sound of 60 people in one space, it’s not somewhere to go if you want to feel pampered. What’s really funny is that they try to uphold that Aveda standard of relaxation. They still do the scalp massage before starting on your hair, which, let’s not kid ourselves, just isn’t very relaxing in that type of atmosphere.
4. Think twice before making plans after your haircut. It was drizzling in New York yesterday, so I didn’t bother asking my stylist to straighten my hair. Big mistake. Him and his instructor had a field day making my hair as big and curly as they possibly could. It was diffused and slathered in four types of Aveda’s all-natural-eucalyptus-root-emollient-serums (or whatever they’re actually called), then finger-combed and teased. I could have stopped them, but I was curious to see how it would turn out. It looked cute for maybe an hour (long enough for an NYU student in Union Square to try picking me up with a Little Red Riding Hood line, thanks to my red coat), but then between the rain and crowded bar I went to for Cupcake Camp (more about that later), it all went to frizzy hell.  I looked frightening by the time I got home.
5. Be wary of having your hair dyed.I can’t vouch for the hair-dying quality at the Institute, but from the comments on my last post and comments I got on Facebook, I’m going to go ahead and say do not cut corners when getting your hair dyed. Seriously. At other places, one person had hair dye dumped on her shirt, which ruined it, and another had a sister who had to visit the burn unit after the chemicals were incorrectly mixed. That alone makes me never want to dye my hair, no matter how skilled the colorists.

Yesterday was also the free cupcake event, which was packed. I went with Mister Redhead and my friend Tammy, and we each tried a few cupcakes (including vegan and gluten-free ones!). A few pictures (excuse the quality, the lighting was weird in the bar):

Mom, look at the cupcakes near the top--they look like Hostess!

 

Cheap haircut experiment

I usually schedule my haircuts around when I’ll be back in the Midwest, mainly because I’m more than a little dismayed at how much salons in NYC can charge. But I haven’t had a trim since Christmas, and it doesn’t look like I’ll be in Minnesota anytime soon, so earlier this week I made an appointment at the Aveda Institute for tomorrow. For the unacquainted, the Aveda Institute is a school for stylists, and the services are priced pretty low. My basic haircut will cost $20, which is even less than what I pay in Minnesota.  But I’m a little nervous about novices touching my hair. Has anyone gone to a beauty school for a haircut? Did it turn out okay?

Funny coincidence: The New York Times wrote about this today, too. (I swear, I had this post planned!)

Free event: CupcakeCamp NYC

Like cupcakes? Like free cupcakes? Then check out the CupcakeCamp NYC this Friday. It’s at Happy Ending, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. You can bring cupcakes, but it isn’t required (perfect for a bake-a-phobe such as myself). More details here. I’ll definitely be there, enjoying the sugar rush!

Emergency fund: How much is enough?

Financial experts tell us our numero uno priority in being money savvy is setting up an emergency fund. It’s more important than contributing to a 401(k), saving for a house, or even paying off credit card debt. The emergency fund goal: three months’ worth of living expenses. At least, that used to be the golden amount.

On more than a few occasions, I’ve heard (or read) a new magic number: six months of living expenses. SIX. The reasoning is that in this economic climate, it’s taking longer to find a new job after a layoff. If you’re married, you’re not excluded from this new rule, since it’s more likely than ever that both people could be laid off.

Scary, right? I’m all for emergency funds (got mine to three months’ living expenses last year), but am I the only one who thinks six months of living expenses is a LOT of money? Especially in New York. If I’m able to sock away a six-month emergency fund at a Manhattan cost of living, that’s a really nice chunk of change. Like, I could buy two or three of those foreclosure homes in California or Florida…and take a vacation.

What do you think? Will you aim for six months in your emergency fund? Or do you think the financial pros need to stop scaring the bejesus out of us?