Being an idiot on facebook can cost you. “Can cost me what?” you ask? Well, it can cost you your job, your credit and a lot of time spent recovering from identity theft.
If you’re wondering how facebook could cost you your job, obviously you haven’t been paying much attention to tech news lately. Aside from wasting company time (attending to personal business on company time) or posting status updates about your job (spreading proprietary info), just posting the more ribald details of your personal life can get you fired.
As for costing you your credit score, identity theft is easy when you put all your information up on the internet. If you’re allowing others to view your name, e-mail, your city, your birthdate, who your friends (and family) are, and other info about you, you’re making it very easy for people to appropriate your identity. A particular danger is allowing them to possibly answer common security questions designed to protect your password (common questions are about your birth city, mother’s maiden name, pet’s name, etc.)
So what do you do to protect yourself and your info (otherwise known as how not to be an idiot?)
- Don’t post all your personal info. If you DO choose to post your info, make extra sure that you have your privacy settings up to at least Friends of Friends if not Only Friends.
Choose ‘privacy settings’ from the drop down menu - Avoid friending co-workers, family members, and acquaintances. If you do want to friend these people, consider setting up a seperate ‘clean’ account.
- Don’t put anything on facebook that you don’t want the whole world to know. All it takes is one slip up to accidentally show your mother or your boss pictures of you drunkenly taking body shots off a hot stranger at a bar or for everyone to read that status update of you laughing that you took a sick day but you’re really going out. Furthermore, even if you have your privacy settings set to the max, it’s remarkably easy for 3rd-party programs to access info and images, despite what facebook claims.
- Assume anything you put on the internet will ALWAYS be on the internet. Even if you delete your account, someone else may have saved your info/photos.
- Watch for scam messages. If your ‘cousin’ messages you, crying that they’re stuck in another country and their wallet was stolen and could you please wire some money, make sure you verify all that info before you go running off to Western Union. Also, talk to less tech savvy relatives about this, since they’re more likely to fall for these types of scams.
- Avoid playing facebook ‘games’. Most are fairly legitimate wastes of time, but some are just poor excuses to get access to your profile information for marketing or more nefarious purposes. If you absolutely must be a mafia don, then avoid doing any surveys/offers for extra in game cash, as most of the them are scammy.
So, does anyone have any juicy stories about people getting fired or otherwise screwed over by the crap they posted on facebook?
Popularity: 22% [?]
I got this idea from a catalog, where the silly thing was close to $60. I took one look at it and said ‘I can do that’.
Baby Onesie Bouquet
This project requires no artistic or crafting ability. If you can fold your own clothes, you can make this.
The whole project cost me about $22, although I did go whole hog and buy fancy flower stems at full price. If you wait until they go on sale (usually 50% off every few weeks) or until you have a coupon, I’m sure you could do this for under $20.
Ingredients:
Pack of onesies – I actually chose 8-12 month size because everyone gets newborn sizes.
Pack of baby washcloths – You can also use socks, burp cloths, etc. the cloths just happened to be on sale.
Artificial Flowers/Greenery – I used baby breath, whatever those blue things are (never claimed to be a florist) and fern leaves.
Floral Wire
Ribbon – I bought the $1 a roll grosgrain. You only need maybe 8 inches so scraps are fine.
Clear adhesive tape.
Step one: Roll your onesies. The goal is to get them into a nice spiral/rosebud shape so you might need to rearrange a few times to get it right. Use a little piece of tape to secure the roll. Reserve one washcloth/burpcloth for the outside wrap or find a nice piece of scrap cloth.
Step two: Arrange the onesies in bouquet. Use the floral wire to wrap around and secure them.
Step three: Add in floral pieces. Try to avoid putting dark flowers next to white or light fabric because the dye could rub off. Use floral wire as necessary to secure.
Step four: Surround bouquet with greens. I had to chop off a lot of stem to get the fullness I wanted. Secure with more floral wire.
Step five: Wrap base with reserved cloth. This just hides the stems. You could also just wrap the stems in ribbon. Use tape to secure.
Step six: Add ribbon band/bow. Secure with more tape.
The whole thing took me an hour, and that’s because I kept rearranging things. It’s simple, easy and pretty inexpensive, especially if you know the shower is coming and can shop sales ahead of time.
Popularity: 100% [?]
Please note, that the title does not say ‘frugal’ or ‘inexpensive’. I was reading through the August issue of Cosmopolitan (guilty pleasure) when I came across the article ’12 Sexy, Totally Free Dates’. Now, I’m not opposed to something like going to an early matinee and then catching lunch after wards to take advantage of the discounts for early birds, but some of these ‘dates’ were downright embarrassing.
“Head to a grocery that gives out nibblers (Costco, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods). Then his up a wine shop during a tasting night. For dessert, stop by an ice cream parlor and ask to try a bunch of flavors.”
Seriously? If my date asked me to do something like this, the answer would be “No, and never ask me out again.” Aside from the moral issues of demanding samples when you have absolutely no intention of using the samples to determine if you want to buy the product or not, how cheap can you get?
“Check out freehappyhour.com and sign up to receive e-mails alerting you to zero-charge drink specials…You’ll probably be hungry, so next stop by a bar with complimentary snacks.”
One or the other of these would be perfectly reasonable. Having a free drink and ordering an inexpensive munchie is a great idea. So is having an inexpensive drink with a free munchie. But both just screams that you’re a tightwad that isn’t willing to part with their money.
At what point (if any) would you dump a potential suitor for being way too cheap? At what point (if any) would you dump a potential suitor for spending too much on wooing you?
Mr. and I have never been big on expensive dates. In college, he was flat out broke and I wasn’t exactly rolling in it either, so we would only go ‘out’ once a month or so but we didn’t do cheap-ass things like sample trolling. That’s just tacky.
Popularity: 40% [?]
I rarely feel like going to individual garage sales unless they’ve advertised something I specifically want because the pickings can be slim. But when you’ve got 20 or more families cleaning out their basements and garages, you can usually find some sweet deals.
My parents community in the Finger Lakes had one two weeks ago and although I couldn’t be there, my mom picked up some stuff for me so I could bring it home when I went last week. Anyway, for less than $50 we snagged:
- Zojirushi Rice Cooker – To replace our roommate’s cooker when he leaves.
- 2lb Bread Maker – I’ve been wanting one and for $15, if I only use it once I won’t be crying over it.
- 2 table lamps – Ugly brass chrome, but we used black spray enamel over the bases so it matches the living room.
- Mini Blender/Food Processor – Just the right size for making baby food.
I also dragged home some stuff that was sitting in my parents’ attic, like a full length mirror (the only mirrors we have are in the bathroom) and some plastic organizational stuff.
Popularity: 13% [?]
*This is a review for personal purposes. I am not receiving any compensation.
I was in the market for a new lip color because convention season is starting and I need to look pretty for photos. I normally hate wearing lipstick because I don’t like having to run into the ladies room to reapply it all the time, and I certainly don’t want to risk getting it on one of the costumes I spent hours and hours making.
On our trip to Target I noticed that the Outlast Lip Color was 10% off of the retail price of $5.99 and I coincidentally had a $2 off coupon that was expiring soon. I figured ‘why not’ and picked out what I thought was fairly subtle shade of pink.
Turns out that I should have paid more attention to the name of the color because ‘pink pearl’ turned out to be way too opalescent and the unpleasant purple undertones that showed on me made me look like someone’s granny all dressed up for a day-trip to Wal-mart. Unfortunately, I should have realized that putting it on just to test the color was not a good idea because this stuff just does not come off short of make-up remover and 5 minutes of scrubbing.
So yes, Covergirl isn’t kidding when they say ‘all day’. I tried the lip color on again for shits and giggles and put it through the kiss and dinner test. It passed with flying colors and didn’t even budge when I went after my lips with a moistened washcloth.
The application process is a little annoying, but not too bad. You’ll notice that there are two applicators in the picture. You apply the color (which goes on with a wand like a lip gloss) and stand around for a minute with your mouth open looking like an idiot. Once it’s dry (and sticky as hell), you use the clear ‘top coat’ that comes with it. The box says to ‘use it like a lip balm to refresh your look and feel.’ Most of my lip balm ends up melting into my clothes in the dryer because I never remember I have it, so I have no idea how often they expect you to apply this stuff. I ended up needing it about every 2 hours or so, but you don’t need a mirror to apply it.
Overall: Although I hate the color I bought, I’d be willing to give the product another try if it goes on sale again. The color did last for over 10 hours on me, and the price isn’t unreasonable for a product you can put on once and forget about.
Popularity: unranked [?]
From DealNews: DVD Movie to packs for $5
You can either have them shipped for $2.49 or pick them up in-store.
Not bad if you’re still looking for a Father’s Day gift.
Popularity: unranked [?]
I found this link on 7 Ways to Save at an Amusement Park on Smart Money via Consumerist this morning.
Unfortunately, this article only covers ways to save on the price of tickets and doesn’t take on the other expenses of amusement parks (food, transportation, trinkets and occasionally lodging.)
Anyone who’s ever been to an amusement park knows that the food prices are outrageous. You know those picnic areas that are usually located right outside the park entrances? They’re there for a reason. Pack yourself a cooler of relatively non-perishable sandwiches (PB&J, Fluffernutters, etc) and drinks and plan to eat your meals outside or in the vehicle. If you’ve got kids, you may want to pack some candy as well to cut down on the begging for ice cream and other goodies.
Also make sure you pack extras of everything, including sun screen, hats, towels, t-shirts, bathing suits, flip flops, underpants (yes, even for adults), batteries for cameras, etc. Souvenir stands make a killing on unprepared people like people who went on the log flume and now don’t want to ride home with chafing, wet pants. Avoid the stands at all costs unless you’ve budgeted for something. (I know a very smart mom who purchases cheap trinkets from Oriental Trading.com ahead of time and hands them out to her little ones as ‘souvenirs’)
For transportation, see if you can’t make it a genuine road trip and get a whole bunch of people to car pool. If you have a large family and have enough trouble cramming everyone inside your car as it is, consider seeing if there’s a bus service nearby that does trips to the local attractions. Some will even let you charter your own bus cheaply if you’ve got enough people and it’s an ‘off day’ in the ‘off season’.
Way back B.C.E. when I was working at the local MickeyD’s for college money, the owners used to organize a yearly trip to the Six Flags Great Adventure in NJ (the only one on the east coast worth going to, IMHO). Because they owed a 5 stores, one store would go at a time, an they’d just ship in workers from the other stores. For $45 you’d get a bus to and from the park, snacks and drinks on the bus and a ticket. All we ha to do was show up at an unholy hour of the morning and sleep on the bus. It was a great way to foster good will in a bunch of teenaged workers.
Popularity: unranked [?]
You often hear about how to dress and interview for a corporate or white collar job, but for some reason people
have decided that this knowledge isn’t needed when you’re trying to snag a part time or minimum wage job. Apparently those jobs aren’t ‘worthy’ enough for our attention, but with so many people being laid off and others just looking for a second job, competing for what used to be positions for bored teenagers and kids home from college, your interviewing skills and sense of style are suddenly going to be very important.
Getting the Application
Always apply in person. It’s much easier to ignore anything online. If they direct you to an online application anyway, ask the manager for his or her name and the phone number for the store so you can follow up in a few days if you haven’t heard from them.
Make sure you’re dressed neatly and you are carefully groomed. You don’t have to break out the business suit, but you need to look serious. A nice skirt (or khakis) and a fashionable top (or wrinkle-free polo) would be nice, but a pair of dark jeans and fashionable, dressy top would also work for casual clothing stores.* Many clothing stores will make note of what you were wearing and your attitude when you applied, and some many even toss your application immediately if you don’t have the right ‘look’. So style your hair, brush your teeth, put in your contacts and spit out the gum.
Don’t rule out working weekends or nights on your application unless you absolutely, positively can’t do it. That means things like already having another job, unable to pay for childcare, having to take care of ailing parent, etc. Wanting to go out with your buddies who weren’t laid off isn’t a good reason. With so many workers wanting the same job, you can’t afford to be picky right now. You can probably get some weekends off, but you’re simply not going to be hired if you’ve got finicky hours listed.
Popularity: unranked [?]
Everyone and the their brother is writing a post on how to hold a garage sale. Well here’s a post for those of you on the other end of the transactions.
Scoring the best deals at garage sales:
Get up early – There are people who are practically garage sale shopping professionals, so you’ll have to get out their early to compete for the best pieces. Larger and more desired items like furniture sets go quickly, so try to be out the door by 7am, 8am at the latest.
Eat breakfast – If your stomach is growling the whole time, you may make a poor decision because you just want to get out of there and get some food or because you’re distracted. Not to mention being grumpy will not net you any special deals.
Plan your route – Take note of addresses when you see Yard Sale signs. Also check Craiglist a few days ahead of time and the night before. Take note of any items being advertised and if you want them, hit those sales first.
Popularity: 3% [?]
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