Recession Fitness

Assuming you have already cut costs by firing your personal trainer and canceling your membership to the gym you never went to, you may be finding it hard to stay motivated and keep/get yourself in shape. Here are some tips to do that for free:

• one hundred push ups

I have a hard time getting motivated, but I found the One Hundred Push-ups regimen very easy to keep up with. The most gratifying part? Seeing results in my upper-body strength and tone within the first couple of weeks.

• quick burst workouts

And since time is money, check out these Fast Workouts That Really Work! [from Yahoo! Health].

Even though you're not going to the gym, you might still find yourself in need of fitness clothes. Check out this previous post on where to get good looking sportswear for less.

Happy Hour Locator

Hopefully we will soon be drinking to celebrate rather than to drown our economic sorrows. Whatever the reason, drink responsibly -- that includes paying less. Coovents uses a Google Maps mash-up to chart current happy hours around town.
(And don't forget MyOpenBar.com in the links section to the right.)

Holiday Gift Ideas: Used Books

Usually my mom, my dad, 3 brothers and I go overboard with our Christmas gift-giving - we love to give each other gifts and we love to give gifts that are a little more expensive than necessary. As we've added family members with girl/boyfriends and spouses, the spending has gotten massive.
This year, to curb our Christmas spending, we're exchanging used books - we're giving 1-2 used books to each family member. No other gifts allowed, no new books. We all love books and we all love to trawl for used books - so we've actually been having fun while we look for inexpensive but well-considered gifts for each other.

Here in NYC, we have a wealth of amazing used bookstores to poke around in. I'm a fan of The Strand for most anything.
The Housing Works Book Store is another great place to browse - and 100% of profits go directly to Housing Works.
Argosy Books on East 59th is a wonder of rare and pricey old books but the outside table is always filled with fascinating bargains - usually under $10.

Outside NYC I love: Citylights in San Francisco, Epilogue Books in Ballard WA, and Renaissance Bookshop in Milwaukee WI (which has an outpost in the Milwaukee Airport!) - Renaissance doesn't have a website but you can read a little about it here.

Let us know if you've have a favorite used bookstore here in NYC!

Home Cooking Equals Love (and Saves Money)

I am huge fan of Marcella Hazan -- I used to read her cookbooks before bed when I was little (really!) and practically all my best dishes come from them. Over Thanksgiving, she wrote a lovely editorial in The NY Times about the importance of home cooking.

"Which is why, as we come together over the holidays, we should take a moment to think about how we might become cooks again. We could even begin, in these financially straitened times, by replacing store-bought presents with meals cooked at home.

After all, what experience of food can compare with eating something good made by someone you can hug? Like other forms of human affection, cooking delivers its truest and most enduring gifts when it is savored in intimacy — prepared not by a chef but by a cook and with love."

True that, Marcella.

Recession About Town: Free Admission at Museum of the Moving Image

During the Holiday season and into 2009, you can see the main exhibit(s) at MoMI for free and for a longer time. Sure they're under construction, but hey, it's free (unless you feel obligated to chip in the suggested $5 donation).

Galleries
Tuesdays through Fridays: 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Saturdays and Sundays: noon – 6:00 p.m.
Mondays: Closed

Additional Holiday Hours:
Friday through Sunday, December 26 through 28, 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Monday, December 29, 10 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday, January 3 and 4, 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.
Photo by mconnors

Holiday Gift Ideas: Luna Bazaar

Looking for inexpensive gifts for your office mates? Check out Luna Bazaar where you'll find beautiful ornaments, candles, and other colorful knick knacks that make thoughtful, simple gifts. Free shipping on orders of $150.00 or more.

We're Officially Relevant!

Good news -- we are officially in a recession! According to a report by the AP, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) met and decided that, guess what, we've been in a recession since December 2007! Of course, the Bush Administration never wanted to say the dirty word, but all you hip people who read this blog and, uh, live in the real world, know we've been suffering for awhile now. That's great for us at Recession This! as we get to keep bringing you wonderful news on how to not spend money. And, since you're already a big fan you won't be losing your favorite blog anytime soon.

Holiday Gift Ideas: Home Movies

You have a box full of vacation slides, family video tapes, heck, maybe even some old movies shot on (gasp!) Super 8. You got rid of your VCR a couple years ago, and you never really owned a slide projector. And, for the life of you, you wouldn't know how to view a Super 8 film even if your old Uncle Lou gave you detailed instructions, along with stories about the "good ol' days" thrown in for free.
Don't know where to take that big box of memories? Head straight to Tanata
where you'll get a 10% discount on all digital transfers. Make your mom cry tears of joy when you relive the terrible two's. Finally get a look at that trip to Amsterdam you took ten years ago. No longer will you be behind the technological times; plus, you'll be able to get rid of that box that's been taking up space in that closet all these years.

Holiday Gift Ideas: Kodak Gallery

Every year we look for deals during the holidays (the 4:00a.m. trip to WalMart on Black Friday), but this year it feels especially necessary to save some money. If you don't want to spend a fortune, but want to give a gift that is creative, comes from the heart, and is inexpensive visit Kodak Gallery where you can make photo albums, photo cards, calendars, and mugs all starting at very low prices. Your parents love pictures of you; organizing a bunch in a 5 x 7 album on acid-free paper will only cost you $6.99 (starting cost for 10 pictures). And, Kodak Gallery always has some sort of deal going on, whether it's free shipping when you spend a certain amount, or discounts of 20% - 30%. I got four 5 x 7 albums, plus one of the fancy leather bound albums, for only $98.00 -- that's under $100.00 for my immediate family! And, I know it'll be a gift they'll love and have forever.

Democratic Chinese Dr Pepper

China may not have democracy, but you can have a free Dr Pepper. Because Axl Rose actually finished the album Chinese Democracy before the end of 2008, Dr Pepper is honoring their promise to give every American a free soda, via a coupon on their website (starting Sunday).
Details in this article.



Photo: Jane M Sawyer / cohdra Morguefile.com