Introductions

This is Windnie and Brian speaking... just two kids who moved to New York City and refuse to let lack of funds interfere with our fun.  We hear it's tough to live cheaply here, especially in this economy (blah blah blah), but we're here to prove that with a little research and imagination you can enjoy the Big Apple on an itty bitty budget.  People are often surprised by all the free and cheap things we discover.  We kinda surprise ourselves sometimes, but here we are to share our finds with you.  Maybe with a little help from us, you too can pay rent and feed your tummies with a little room left over now and then for some fun :)

 (This blog also helps appease our friends and family back home who want to know why we're not calling daily to update them on our whereabouts, HELLO FRIENDS AND FAMILY!)


We've got things to do today (It's Halloween and we need to figure out cheap costumes) but we thought we should start by catching you up on some of the cheap fun we've had in the 2 months since Brian moved up here:

Joe Buck Live: We got free tix to see Joe Buck Live which is an HBO show that airs once every three months or something. Our seats were directly underneath the center stage camera so anytime someone wanted to look into the camera it was like they were staring into our souls. Guests included: Dan Marino, John Elway, Joe Namath, Mark Cuban, Jerry Jones, and Curt Shilling. (FYI Windnie didn't know who most of these people were- except Mark Cuban who she hates! But sometime you have to suck it up in the name of free!)

Old Navy Pumpkin Patch: Last weekend Old Navy had a free pumpkin patch in the middle of the Meatpacking District. We decorated  free pumpkins, and ate free candy, popcorn, cotton candy (but skipped the apples and pears). We also got to meet their creepy mannequins. OH! Brian also posed in one of those face cut out boards as a small, black girl :)

Upright Citizens Brigade: Every New Yorker/visitor should know about this place. All their shows are cheap ($5, $10), but some are also free including the late show on Sunday night. It's improv comedy with some funny folks including members of SNL and 30 Rock. Right now Horatio Sans is a regular, last year Amy Pohler was too. And sometimes other guests stop by including a lot of writers for shows you know and love. Last summer we even saw the Mac guy, Justin Long, taking in a show (He's cheap too I guess).

TGIFridays: We all know NYC is expensive and even cheap standards like the dollar menu are bastardized here, but occasionally national chains run their promotions in the city making them even more incredible! This includes Subway's $5 footlong and Burger King's $1 Whopper Jr (I also found a corporate BK with better prices than all of the other BK's). But the greatest story of this type of deal is one night at TGIFridays... I found out that there was a promotion for $5 Jack Daniel's burger or chicken sandwich. We show up and look at the menu, these sandwhichs are usually $18! The deal isn't listed anywhere but our server reluctantly says that they'll honor the deal. The menu says the sandwich comes with either fries or a side salad and we both opt for the side salad. Next thing we know, huge side salads are placed in front of us which we eagerly eat. Then comes our entrees... with a full side of fries! We were a little concerned about how this was all going to be charged on our bill (cause we're cheap) so we asked for some clarification. Turns out the deal was only for sandwich and fries and the server thought we wanted the side salads extra. Now we like salad and all but these things were on the menu at $7 each, noooo thanks. Our server said he had planned to cut us a deal and only charge us $3 for each (which was awefully nice of him since he just planned on doing it on his own before we asked or anything) but then decided since we didn't really order them that he would give us one free! And that my friends is how you get $50 worth of food for $15. Nom nom nom.


Seedy Seeds: We're too cheap to go pay for most shows but Cincinnati's own Seedy Seeds were in town for the CMJ festival and staying with our buddy Robert May! At the end of their stay they decided they wanted to play one more show and set up in someones basement! It was like being 16 all over again! And even better it was free and we met some new friends. AND they threw in CDs, stickers, and pins to make sure we got our money's worth. We're good at this.



We've just scratched the surface of what we've done and what we'll undoubtely be doing. Stay tuned to hear about our free furniture, all of the free/cheap food we eat, and more! Woop!