Yeah, I have a bit of a misconception about Libraries. As a Bronx native, I remember the homeless people holding doors. The less disgruntled ones smuggling food into a quiet table, their body odor emanating. In Yonkers, it reeked of rubber because they replaced the padding and even after a good eight years, the smell never went away so the awning area was a bad greeting.

Long story short, after a suggestion from Mark, I went with him to the Library and watched him register for a card. I looked around a bit and found that next to the CDs were Video Games. I decided to register a few days later.

How can you beat free? My public library allows you to rent out a game for a week, no renewals. The redbox costs $2.77 a day. There are two big give and take issues. The biggest problem is that all the games were rated T or under. Luckily for me, I love childish games. I have no shame having Trophies for Harry Potter. My taste in games is really eclectic anyway. The second problem is that since the games are limited, they tend to be old. I have no real problem with that, but RedBox only has games that are new.

As a kid on a budget, I’ll take slightly outdated games. I mean, I had to wait for Fallout: New Vegas to drop down to about $15 before I jumped. Same for Final Fantasy 13. I found out later that FF13 was an available game, but I can’t finish that game in the week I was given. Either way, at least I have about 15-20 games I can play for trophies. For Free.

Have you ever wondered: what happened to my money? I had that revelation last year when I started off with the same amount I ended with. I know money showed up, then it magically disappeared I guess. So this year, I’m gonna have to try my best to know exactly where it’s going to.

I was recently downsized from AOL so there went my normal $200 a month stipend for random crap. One doesn’t realize how much a little boost makes until it disappeared. So now I’m thinking up of strategies to keep myself happy and still live the frugal life.

Don’t get me wrong, happiness is everything for me. I’d rather scrimp on the food budget, so I can play a good video game and enjoy myself. I’m not gonna Scrooge my whole life and the money just sits there and I die. That’s not how it works in my life. Yes, I will be saving up more money this year, but that’s more for future-casting. I will use the money in the following years for actual things like cars, houses, and the like.

I’ve been playing Grand Theft Auto 4 for the past two weeks and seriously, don’t you wish that money just popped up? Granted, I would never want to live in Liberty City.

Where was I? Right, I’m holding all my food receipts, cutting down on eating fast food and finding fun that’s free. I’m also going to be posting some of my cost-cutting ideas as they pop in my head. Big Excel sheet! Sheet!

Gaming on a Dime – Arcades can save a gamer money

I wrote this as my first article into the foray into Associated Content. I’ve had this idea about budget gaming and although I contemplated starting up a website (like budget gamer or something) I realized that there is one website out there that is so much better, so I refrained.

I ended up going to three different movie theaters, two AMC Lowes, one United Artists (according to Fandango, it is actually owned by the Regal Entertainment Group), and the last owned by National Amusements. Three in New York, one in New Jersey. The quality level of all four movie theaters varied, but the biggest thing was that the prices of all four theaters were different. First I’m going to list off the prices:

• Regal Entertainment – $11/adult (Night at the Museum 2)
• National Amusements * – $14.75/adult (Up)
• AMC Lowes (NY) – $11/adult (Angels & Demons)
• AMC Lowes (NJ) $10/adult (The Hangover)

(Click continue reading for more rambles)

All of the prices represent non-matinee prices. My question is: why isn’t there a universal price for movies? I will admit that I would pay more for the National Amusements based theater because it is the newest, has the best seats, foldable arm rests, quality projection, and a Target downstairs so I can smuggle Raisinets. The quality level of the AMC in NY was sub-par, but the quality level in NJ was on par. Why did I pay an extra dollar for the NY one?

The Regal Entertainment Theater was one of those theaters that I grew up to. The quality level is low, the people that work there represent the phrase “equal opportunity employer,” and the previews and stuff before were of a lesser quality. That theater really has gone down the shitter. The place isn’t worth $11. It’s really an $8 theater.

Sometimes movie theaters are a weird thing to even think about. The real thought is: I’m going to watch a movie. You think about what time the movie is showing, maybe the possibility of getting the 3D version of the movie, maybe budget in food. How often does one think of quality of theater? Projection options? Do the seats have a tilting option? Do the seats smell like sex? I’m willing to pay for quality in every aspect.

Eric & I prefer the National Amusements theater for the reasons above. Their food is insanely priced, but I don’t worry too much because I joined their frequent flier stuff and just got free popcorn. (I felt like such a dumbass for not signing up for the AMC related one, because I could have racked up quite a number of points for two movies.)

It’s definitely the beginning of summer movie season, and there are at least three other movie theaters that I can take a look at. I also have the whole Tuesday free movie thing that I’ve never got to use (because of Dancing with the Stars), so we’ll have something to think about soon.

I never had a real steady job. Yes, I get paid for my work writing articles for TV Squad. The unfortunate thing is that it’s not enough to even call it a part time job. The rest of my life is spent looking for other outlets for writing, reviewing music, and writing for other places on the internet (And blogging of course).

I was recently rejected by a website in the Match.com family (don’t worry I didn’t jump the shark and start writing about relationships; it was video game related) and I’m convinced that it’s because I have no credit. None.

(Click Continue Reading for the rest of the story)

The fear kicked in: the lack of a credit line is preventing me from getting a job. The companies put in my social security number in their little database thing and there is nothing there. I didn’t pay for my college, it was all the parents. I have no debt. My writing instrument (this laptop in my now converted office downstairs) was a Christmas present. There is no credit line at all in my name. I’ve lived in my house for more than 12 years. I focused on my studies rather than getting a credit card and a job.

Then one more idea popped into my head. Eric explained to me how he got his credit card (which he used to purchase a Mac) before any economic turmoil kicked in. Maybe credit card companies are scared to go out on a limb and help me out because of the economy. Sometimes I wish I could tell them that the little money I do make would go and pay for the credit card, just for the sheer fact that I’m trying to have credit.

Sometimes I wonder what is in my personal record. Maybe there are school records. Diplomas. That one time I accidentally overdrafted on my checking account. I do know one thing. There’s no credit. And because there’s no credit, I can’t get a job. And because I don’t have a solid job, I can’t get credit. Thanks infinite loops.

Sorry, but I can’t. Although I see my statement on the website and I shred my paper after reading it, it’s actually a psychological thing that I can’t get rid of. For me it’s like double checking items. If it’s on both online and printed out, that means that it’s true. Yeah, I know that it’s not exactly the right mentality, but I believe in it.

I love the idea of greening of society. Sure I use the green light bulbs and actually use some candles for days when I would like light, but don’t want to spend on my electricity bill (the idea of candles and mirrors are sexy). I’ve shortened my showers by about five minutes (so it’s not fifteen anymore). I recycle and I did submit about two codes for that Tropicana rainforest thing. Let me have some printed paper which I will recycle anyway.

Five dollars isn’t really convincing and it seems like a bitch move to me. The people at the banks thought of something and it was stupid. How about raising my savings account by .05%? Hell, at this point I’ll take .005%. The five dollars isn’t recurring either, unlike several places that give you a five cent discount for using one of those green bags.

Try again big bank.