More Of NYC For Less With CityPass

If you have never visited the "Tourist Traps" of NYC, listed below, this deal might change your mind.

• Empire State Building Observatory
• American Museum of Natural History & Rose Center
• Guggenheim Museum
• The Museum of Modern Art
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cloisters
• Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises OR Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island

You can get a CityPass and all the above places are part of that package. I used CityPass several years ago and had a great time as a tourist in my own city! I think I still have the remaining booklet / stub somewhere at home. You can buy the booklet via their website, or you can also buy the CityPass books when you get to any of the attractions. I purchased mine at the Empire State Building several years ago when we decided to visit some local places.

The pass is valid for 9 days from the first day of use. The current cost for each booklet is for $74 for adults and $54 for kids. If you were to visit all the attractions separately and paid full price, you would end up paying $134 for each adult. On April 1, CityPass prices will go up to reflect changes in 2009 attractions’ prices. The New York CityPass price will become $79 for adults and $59 for children.

If I were to visit any of the other cities for which CityPass has a package (New York, Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, Toronto, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Hollywood, Southern California, and Houston) I might think about picking up a CityPass.

While you're visiting NYC attractions perhaps you can fit in some Free Venues from my previous posts:

• 10 Frugal Things To Do This Winter In NYC
• 10 Free Places To Visit In NYC today!
• My Series on Central Park

And don't forget to pickup a souvenir with a special discount for being a FrugalNYC reader!
Have you visited or would like to visit any of the above NYC tourist Attractions? Have you used CityPass? Please share your ideas in the comments.

For additional links to frugal tips and tricks follow me on Twitter. If you would like to contribute to FrugalNYC in any way (guest posts, articles, ideas, interesting links, advice, financial assistance, or anything else), feel free to contact me via email. Click here to add FrugalNYC to your RSS reader or Subscribe to FrugalNYC by Email.

Photo courtesy of 708718

Do It Yourself

I was reading an article titled How to do everything yourself on March 23rd and came to the conclusion that this is probably the biggest growing field right now. I've asked on Twitter what people's favorite How-To sites were and have gotten a couple of general sites. If you know of any specialized or less known sites, please send them my way.

According to the article, the biggest selling book on Amazon is a book called Grow Your Own Drugs: Easy Recipes for Natural Remedies and Beauty Fixes by James Wong. It's a back to basics and using herbs for remedies book, for all kinds of ailments.

I'm a fan of doing things myself. Partly because I like to learn new things and partly for frugal and environmental reasons. You want an example? It will cost a family of four approximately $25 to have a decent meal at IHOP. If you made those pancakes at home, from scratch, it will cost you about $2. Big difference right? Ever since I learned how to make pancakes from scratch, it has been a favorite in our family. Even better, I can put less butter, less oil, and anything I deem not necessary. I control exactly what we put into our bodies. It's cheaper and it's better for us.

There are obvious things that I will not be doing myself, such as working on my car's engine. I don't have expertise in that and will gladly pay someone who knows what they are doing for that. What about you? What do you do yourself? Do you find yourself learning more and doing more yourself?

For additional links to frugal tips and tricks follow me on Twitter. If you would like to contribute to FrugalNYC in any way, feel free to contact me via email. Click here to add FrugalNYC to your RSS reader or Subscribe to FrugalNYC by Email.

Photo courtesy of D'Arcy Norman

5 Must Read Business Books For Entrepreneurs

Below is a list of books suggested by the March 2009 copy of Entrepreneur Magazine. I'm thinking of reading this list of books so I thought I would share the list with you all. If you are an entrepreneur or thinking of becomming one, perhaps these books should be on your list as well.

1. Will It Fly? How to Know if your New Business Idea Has Wings...Before You Take the Leap, by Thomas K. McKnight

Heart of this book is its 44-item checklist for evaluating business ideas by a hugely experienced veteran of business launches. By the time you've evaluated everything from your personal attitudes to exit strategies, you'll know as well as possible your chances for success.

2. The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About it. by Michael E. Gerber

This revisiti of the 1995 classic on general small-business management famously shows entrepreneurs why and how to stop working in their business and start working ON their businesses.

3. Guerrilla Marketing: Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making Big Profits From Your Small Businesses, by Jay Conrad Levinson

Now in its fourth Edition, the original guide to small-business marketing packs the same high-impact, low-cost, punch that made it a standard when it first came out in 1983. Now, however, it's updated iwth tips on websites, blogs, podcasting and other up-to-the minute techniques.

4. The Business Planning Guide. by David H. Bangs Jr.

This books'jargon-free writing and inside tips from a former banker and entrepreneur have made it the first and only choice for countless entrepreneurs getting started.

5. Start Run & Grow a Successful Small Business, by Toolkit Media Group editors

If anyone ever publishes the perfect all-in-one small-business reference, it will look a lot like the sixth edition of this 720-pager. It touches on everything, from accounting to staffing, with checklists and forms.


Have you read any of these books? If so I would like your opinion on them. Please leave a comment or send me an email at frugalnyc at gmail dot com.

For additional links to frugal tips and tricks follow me on Twitter. If you would like to contribute to FrugalNYC in any way, feel free to contact me via email. Click here to add FrugalNYC to your RSS reader or Subscribe to FrugalNYC by Email.

Frugal Entenmanns Baked Goods

If you live in Woodside or Elmhurst neighborhoods in Queens, and you want to save a few dollars on bread and other baked goods, you will find this post very helpful. Even if you don't live in the area, if you drive by Queens Blvd and 72nd Street, you can take advantage of the savings you can get from the Entenmanns Bakery Outlet.

I remember going to a Hostess bakery outlet years ago, in Woodside Queens, but it has since closed. I used to buy twinkies and other Hostess snack cakes from there. What can I say, I had a sweet tooth as a teenager, and to an extent I still do. So after I discovered the Entenmanns outlet, I've been meaning to drop by and see what kind of deals they had. That was about 2 years ago, and I finally had a chance to visit and buy something recently.

So what kind of deals can you find there? On my visit, I noticed they had a deal on bread loaves, three loaves for three dollars. It's $1.50 each loaf but buying more saves you more. I ended up purchasing three boxes of donuts and cakes. My daughter wanted the doughnuts and my wife wanted the cake. OK, I also wanted the donuts! We bought three boxes for five dollars. Retail price for each ranges around $4.89 to $5.49 each box, so I did save a good deal of change! I noticed a good number of customers coming in and out while we were there.

So what's the catch you ask? They usually expire within a week, in my case they expire in about 3 days. But as most people know, those expiration dates are usually sell by dates, so the goods are still "good" for several days after expiration. So if you eat a lot of bread or just feel like some Entenmanns baked goods like I did, drop by and save a few bucks! Your wallet will thank you. But your waist line probably won't!

The Entenmanns Bakery Outlet is located at Queens Blvd and 72nd street. They have ample parking and the store hours are below. You can call them if you are not sure how to get there or forget the hours: 718-446-3200.

Hours
Sun 8 AM - 4 PM
Mon 8 AM - 5 PM
Tue - Sat 8 AM - 6 PM

Update: Chris (see comments) informed me of another outlet in Astoria, Queens, NYC. It is located at 34th Avenue & Steinway. It is a half a block away from the Steinway subway R & V stop. I'll have to check out this outlet in the near future.

Do you like Entenmanns cakes and donuts? Do you pay too much for your bread? Why not visit this outlet and see what you can save. Let me know if you know of other NYC bakery outlets and I'll add them to this post. Hope you've found this frugal tip helpful! If you don't live in the area, do you have a similar bakery outlet where you live?

For additional links to frugal tips and tricks follow me on Twitter. If you would like to contribute to FrugalNYC in any way, feel free to contact me via email. Click here to add FrugalNYC to your RSS reader or Subscribe to FrugalNYC by Email.

Frugal Is Back

In the March issue of Entrepreneur Magazine I saw an article called Frugal is back. It is geared towards businesses and the article essentially boils down to six points

Systematic Savings - Don't skimp on the wrong things. Make sure you know how your business and employees function and do their work before cutting costs. Make sure costs cut will not decrease productivity, it should increase it.

Bartering - You've probably heard this a million times before, so I just make it simple. If you don't have the cash, exchange services with your business partners. It's a win-win.

Save by incentives - Giving your employees part of the cost savings can help encourage them to save your company money.

Don't get cheap on Coffee - If you don't give your people the right tools, in this case the right coffee, they will get it somewhere else. So know where to skimp, but don't skimp on the wrong things. Pay for good beans, use ceramic mugs (if paper is a must, visit freepapercups.com), and check out online deals.

• coffeecow.com
• coffeeforless.com
• coffeegiant.com
• coffeewhiz.com
• discountcoffee.com

Don't buy - Business is about Cash flow. So Lease, rent or borrow equipment. Less cash out means more cash to put to better income generating business activities.

Negotiate purchases - Buy cheaper goods by negotiating better deals. Negotiate yearly, if not more often. Establish upfront terms to negotiate regularly.

I think these tips are very helpful for a small business looking to grow and save cash. What about you? You can find the original article here.

For additional links to frugal tips and tricks follow me on Twitter. If you would like to contribute to FrugalNYC in any way, feel free to contact me via email. Click here to add FrugalNYC to your RSS reader or Subscribe to FrugalNYC by Email.

Free Tax Advice - From H&R Block

There's only 8 days left to file your taxes! Hopefully you already took care of yours. If you have waited this long, and I know some of you do that for one reason or another, H&R Block has some additional help for you all day today (April 7, 2009)!

You can call and speak with a tax pro or customer service rep to get high-level tax advice, for FREE! Just call 1-877-HRBLOCK (1-877-472-5625) or e-mail taxtalk@hrblock.com to connect with a tax expert. I would do so myself, since I did have one or two questions, but I'm currently not in the US and I've already filed my taxes even with those questions I had. I hope those of you who do have tax questions will find this service helpful!

If you've used this service I would love to hear back about your experience.

For additional links to frugal tips and tricks follow me on Twitter. If you would like to contribute to FrugalNYC in any way, feel free to contact me via email. Click here to add FrugalNYC to your RSS reader or Subscribe to FrugalNYC by Email.

Tips For Avoiding Teeth Grinding

Dental care is more expensive than general health care. Many people overlook this fact. Many others just skip the dental visit altogether. Even if you don't visit the dentist as often as you should, there are some things you should do at home to keep your teeth healthy. Besides daily brushing and flossing you can do (or not do) the following to avoid grinding your teeth.

• Do not eat or drink for at least one hour before bedtime
• Don't drink alcohol at night, it can aggravate bruxism (subconscious grinding of teeth).
• Don't take vitamins, minerals or other herbal medication which can excite you at night before bed.
• Working until right before going to bed is bad. Let yourself relax before bed.
• Use deep breathing techniques or other meditation/prayer methods to relax before bed.
• If you have pain in the face or jaw, use ice on your jaw joints or a wet, hot towel on the face until you can get proper dental care.

It's best to see a dentist for anything serious, but there is a lot you can do to keep your teeth healthy. Do you grind your teeth at night? Do you have other tips to help avoid grinding your teeth at night?

For additional links to frugal tips and tricks follow me on Twitter. If you would like to contribute to FrugalNYC in any way (guest posts, articles, ideas, interesting links, advice, financial assistance, or anything else), feel free to contact me via email. Click here to add FrugalNYC to your RSS reader or Subscribe to FrugalNYC by Email.

Photo by Tanakawho

Credit Card Comparisons - Request Credit

Recently I came upon the website Request Credit. I took a quick look and found some helpful information on the site. If you want to earn some extra credit card rewards, this site has a comparison chart that may help you find your credit card. It's not a comprehensive site that compares every card available, but it does a good job. Sometimes less is more. I like the fact that the front page compared several different cards and listed why the cards were good.

After my initial impression, I dug into the site a little more. I noticed the different categories on the left hand and went through several of those links. They list items like Credit Cards by Reward. If you are looking for specific rewards such as Cash Back cards, you might find a good one here. I never knew Discover Card had so many different types of cards and rewards. I have a Discover Card myself and the 5% cash back categories can add up pretty fast if you use them correctly.

Checking out the Cards by Spending Habits links brought me to categories for Students, Business or Personal cards. A helpful category for many would be the Deals by Credit Rating. If you have a limited credit history, this could be helpful. If you have an excellent credit history, I saw a card with a very low APR 11.9%, compared to the current 30% and above, this is great rate.

Overall, I found the site to be helpful for those looking for another credit card. I think students starting out their own credit might find this helpful as well as I mentioned above.

Have you used Request Credit to help you find a credit card? Have you used another similar site? I would love to hear your thoughts and comments this or another similar site.

For additional links to frugal tips and tricks follow me on Twitter. If you would like to contribute to FrugalNYC in any way, feel free to contact me via email. Click here to add FrugalNYC to your RSS reader or Subscribe to FrugalNYC by Email.