check yourself before you wreck yourself: the neutrogena wave exfoliator
our country is probably the easiest country in the world to sell things to. why? americans are naturally innovative, and need to have the newest contraptions to make life simpler and easier. we have a love affair with shopping, and even use it as a form of therapy - do you remember that scene in clueless where cher and di go shopping to cheer themselves up after a bad day? i’ve lived that scene too many times.
in many cases, frugality is not seen as a positive thing like it is in other cultures. for example, one of my former colleagues was horrified when my other colleague (of chinese descent) asked for her leftovers to-go after a business lunch. “you just don’t do that,” she said. i agreed that it probably wasn’t the norm for most businesspeople, but wondered why. as people who understand business, shouldn’t we try to be more frugal than anyone? why is it such a faux pas for a cfo or other person who is in charge of saving a company money to take home half of a $50 steak? the richest people i know are relentlessly thrifty and not ashamed of it at all (insert warren buffett comment here).
that being said, the check yourself before you wreck yourself series will focus on examining products that are on the market that you probably don’t really need. i like pretty packaging as much as the next piggy, but i’ve had to throw away my fair share of junk (damn you, mix n’ chop!), and am looking to be more selective with what i spend my hard earned buckage on.
this week, we examine the neutrogena wave power-cleanser.
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according to reviews, this thing makes your skin feel silky smooth and, in the words of one youtuber, eliminates the need to wash your face because “it does all the work for you.” i don’t know about you, but i never found that moving my hands up and down my face was all that strenuous. or could it be the lathering part that is so labor-intensive? i’m lost.
other than turning our nation’s teens (who this product appears to be marketed towards) into muscle-less, noodle armed wimps, there is another major problem with the wave. it comes with disposable pads that you stick onto the electronic base and are supposed to be disposed of once a day (or as said youtuber recommends “two times a day because i don’t like leftover oil and dirt in the morning). that means that you use 7 pads a week if you follow the instructions on the pack. sounds like a lotta cashmoney and waste to me.
my solution for someone who wants the exfoliating power of the wave, but doesn’t want to shell out the loot or create the waste? if you have an electronic toothbrush like the oral-b professional care 8950
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frugal friday
in an effort to curb my spending now that i am no longer employed full-time, i am putting myself on a strict $28 a week budget.
if i am able to pull this off, i’ll have made it through the year on $1,456*. i’ll also be able to prove to many of you that being eco (that’s what the japanese call it) can actually save you money rather than cost you money.
today’s lunch (mooched off my mom):
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this week’s summary
monday: $15 for sul lung tang at gahm mee ohk. paid for by albert (is it fair to say that he owes me money and is paying it back?) total for day: $0
tuesday: worked from home and ate a can of corn and piece of onion bread that i already had. attended the yelp inaugural ball and had to give a $10 donation that was also paid for by albert. he still owes me money! he also paid for my basil chicken at lannam. gosh, how can i make this look less gold-diggerish?!!! oh i know, i paid $6 for coatcheck for both of us. was that as pathetic as it sounded? total for day: $6
wednesday: worked from home and ate another piece of onion bread, some pretzels that i found lying around and rotting potato salad. made a dinner of cut-up hot dogs (i can always count on you, hot dogs), a quarter bag of frozen mustard greens, parmesan cheese and pasta. fried up a leftoever bag of okonomiyaki mix that was half-spilled in cabinet. total for day: $0
thursday: rode bus to office, $2.50. scored 7 saltines, a bag of salt & vinegar (my fave) chips and a banana at work. ate leftover udon with leftover curry and leftover tofu (all old) for dinner. total for day: $2.50
friday: the day is still young. so far, i ate a piece of toast with questionable mozarella melted on top. i’m meeting the lovely kelly (also jobless at the moment) for dinner, and am nervous about being penurious. i have $19.50 to spend…wish me luck!
* does not include housing or trips, which i am not sure what to do about yet since i have 2 big mandatory ones coming up.
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recession stew
with my impending last day of work looming over me, my survival instincts have finally kicked in. gone are the days of multi-cheese purchases at murray’s. i’ll be sticking with kraft singles for the time being, or maybe even america’s choice (cringe).
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luckily, my favorite soup in the world, corned beef and cabbage stew, is also cheap as heck. a simple analysis proves that this brokeman’s broth is actually cheaper than an item off of the mcdonald’s dollar menu. behold:
cabbage (chopped up into big chunks): $1.29
corned beef: $1.89 for a can
noodles (wide, elbow or orrechiette): i purchased mine for 98¢, but they’ll usually run you a good $1.29 so let’s just use that figure
water: free
salt & pepper: free (from mcdonald’s when i stopped in there to ogle the dollar menu)
fill a large pot with 6 cups of water and bring to boil. then drop in the cabbage. after 3 minutes, drop in the pasta and cook for as long as the package specifies. lastly, drop in the corned beef, season with salt and pepper and cook for another 3 minutes.
the total comes out to $4.47, but will feed 6 people. 75¢ a head!
if you want to be really fancy, you can drop in some mini mozzarella balls or tofu.
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super simple somen
we are officially recessed. and i don’t mean in a good way like when class is over. although that’s a pretty clever play on words when you consider that many of us are going to have to give up many of the finer things in life and rough it for a bit. don’t fret - somen is an elegant white noodle similar to angel hair that’ll help you maintain your class through these hard times. plus it’s cheap. don’t you just love that?
super simple somen recipe:
for noodles:
3 bundles of somen (for 2 people)
for mentsuyu dipping sauce:
1 tsp hon dashi granules (this is what the package looks like)
1 tbsp hot water
3/4 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
soy sauce to taste (about 1 1/2 tbsp)
- bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil.
- add the noodles and cook according to the instructions on the packet. if the instructions are in japanese, just cook the noodles for 2-3 minutes or until tender.
- drain the somen in a colander and (unlike for italian pasta) run cold water over the somen, rubbing and washing it gingerly.
- for the mentsuyu, dissolve the hon dashi granules and sugar using the hot water in a small bowl. then, mix in the soy sauce and warm water.
- serve the noodles in ice water with the mentsuyu in small bowls on the side, or for a fancier presentation, place the noodles in wine goblets with any leftovers you might have in your fridge (spinach, cooked carrots, and scrambled eggs are good choices) and pour the mentsuyu over the noodles.
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why is this a site?
swyyne has always been an experiment for me. with all of the other super eco sites out there, i've been feeling like i want to contribute something just a bit different. so for now, here are my random musings.
look for stuff
feed yourself