Week #37 - Thirty Seven!! In a Row!?

Welcome to seek #37 of the OCD Savings Blog. I really can't believe that I've been doing this every week for the last 8 & a half months! I also can't believe that there are still 10-12 people that read it every week... well you at least click on the link, I don't know how much anyone reads. I will admit that when I started this blog I had delusions of grander and I thought that people would be commenting on how much money they had saved by 'playing along' with my crazy systems. I thought everyone would be sharing it with other people and that readership would have grown, rather than the massive shrinkage that I've seen. I don't know what made me think that anyone would be interested in reading my nonsense every week, but I try to keep it interesting and informative. It's not about saying "look how much money I have", its just about trying to make the most of the money you have coming in and trying to be prepared for some types of emergency situations.

Ok... well this week I'm gonna suggest a few free apps you can download if you have a smart phone. So if you don't have a smart phone you can scroll down to the weekly wrap up...

1. Stitcher Radio - Stitcher is a free app that offers access to free streaming of thousands of podcasts and on-line radio shows. I use Stitcher almost every day to listen to a variety of podcasts including a bunch done by director Kevin Smith (www.SmodCast.com), a couple of horror movie review/news podcasts (www.SlasherCast.net & www.CorpseCollective.com) and a new music review podcast (www.DevilHorns.org). The app lets you search by keywords and offers suggestions based on things you've listened to and its all for free!

2. RedLaser - RedLaser is a bard code reader that works with your phones camera. The great thing is you go to a store, find an item and when you scan the bard core with the RedLaser app it will give you a list of other places the item is available (both online & brick and mortar stores) and it will tell you where it is cheapest! Some stores will actually price match based on the results you find using the RedLaser app so even if it wasn't a free app it would be worth getting, but its 100% free and its made just to help you save money!

3. Waze - Waze is a free GPS app. I know there are hundreds of free GPS apps and your phone (or car) might even have a GPS built in, but Waze is a little different. Waze works like a social media GPS. It works off satellites like all GPS apps, but it is updated my users. So if someone is stuck in traffic from an accident, they can post an alert on the map showing the problem. Then the app will often times (if possible) alter your route so you can avoid the accident. You can also make friends though the chat... if you're the passenger in the car!! Check out www.Waze.com for more info!

 

4. Candy Crush - If you have a lot of time to kill and a lot of patience then Candy Crush might be the game for you. Its like a Tetris/Bejewled hybrid puzzle type game but there are currently over 400 levels and they are always expanding. There are options in the game for you to spend money, but you are never forced to pay and can play for free. Connecting with friends on facebook will help you get extra lives and bonuses to make game play a little easier.

5. BookWorm - This is another game, but it's like a one player Scrabble type game. There is a field of letters and you have to spell words with connecting tiles. As you remove tiles more tiles fall. Some tiles are worth bonus points, but others are dangers that you need to eliminate asap before they reach the bottom and end your game.If you're more interested in the standard Scrabble experience than Words With Friends might be up your alley, but I think everyone in the world already knows about that free app!

6. A few others worth mentioning... MovieFone so you can always find the latest releases and show times on the go. Lemon Wallet is secure virtual storage for all your credit card and password information. Pic Stitch is great for making multiple photo collages right on your phone to post on facebook or twitter. Netflix is a free app that you can use to stream movies on your phone if you have a Netflix log-in. Its free if you are a customer OR if you happen to have a friend who is a Netflix member and it willing to share their password with you!

OK... time for this weeks money talk.... I got a check for $613.83 and $39.12 went to my 401K. This is the second check of the month so the majority of it will go to my mortgage payment, but I'm going to take $150 to put in my checking account and $50 in my quarterly loan repayment account. That leaves $413.83 to put in the mortgage account. Other than that all I did was my weekly $20 vacation transfer. So here is the weekly wrap up.....

Here is the week 37 wrap up:
$39.12 to my 401K
$20.00 to my vacation fund
$50.00 to the quarterly loan payment account


Which makes the 2013 totals:
$1253.83 in my 401K
$740.00 in the vacation fund
$85.90 in the piggy bank
$500.00 in the quarterly loan payment account
$175.00 in my vet bill savings
$1827.41 in my money market
$1277.40 in my car account

For this weeks bonus I'll just tell you that I made out pretty damn well at the Rubber Chicken Comics 'End of Summer' sale last weekend. I picked up the 'Gentle Giant' 12" vintage look Boba Fett action figure which was regularly $84.99, but I got $21 off for the sale price plus I had a $15 gift certificate and it just so happened that I will be getting $50 cash back from my credit card usage over the last 3 months so its almost like I got it free! I also picked up my regular comics and a few extras that I had wanted to grab and I think I saved about $30! Thank you www.RubberChickenComics.com. There will be another sale event in October and this one will include lots of FREE comic books... yes FREE with NO purchase necessary!! I'll keep you posted!!

PS. This weeks blog title is a reference from a great movie. If you don't get it, then google it and make sure you see the movie (and its sequel)!