More places to find cheap fun

Broke and Ballin' isn't the only blog out there to help you find fun things to do on a budget. There are plenty of websites that can lead to some inexpensive adventures. Here are a few I would recommend you check out:

1. The Simple Dollar: This blog is run by a man who was once $20,000 in credit card debt, several consumer loans, a pile of student loans, two car loans, and no money in savings. He turned his whole life around and started The Simple Dollar after he got rid of all his loans. His posts are extremely helpful and his story inspiring.

2. WiseBread: The slogan for this blog is living large on a small budget. What could be better? The blog covers everything from personal finance to credit card debt. My favorite section is the Do-It-Yourself posts. I love all the craft ideas.

3. The Fun, Cheap, or Free Queen: Jordan Page is fantastic. Her ideas and posts are addicting. You get sucked into one after another, so be prepared to stay on her page for a while. Her suggestions on how to grocery shop are key. Everyone should take a look at her shopping budget video. I plan on taking many tips from her to save some of the change in my piggy bank.

Have you found any good blogs that offer money-saving tips to have a good time?

Theatre: Great performances that don't empty your pockets

I just read a wonderful post from the blog Art Collective about the wonders of live theater. The blogger, Penelope C., wrote about how theater is unpredictable  You can see the same show 5 times and the performance will always be different. Also, she wrote about the craft of theater, with it's stages, costumes, lights, and talent.

I have to say that I completely agree. I have been to quite a few live theater performances and they are always fantastic. What is great about Burlington is that there are tons of options for seeing a show and they are generally affordable for students!

1. The Flynn: The Flynn is great because it is a historic theater that has dance, musicals, plays and more ranging from Broadway talent to the local high school kids. And tickets aren't that much. You could see a wonderful performance of local talent for a little as $10. I saw Chicago last year by actors from UVM, St. Mike's, and Burlington High School. I was very impressed.  But even if you want to see the real deal, tickets for off-Broadway performances are literally HALF the price of tickets you would try to obtain in Boston. Same actors. Same show. Half the price. I love Burlington! Spring Awakening last year was a must-see.

2. Royall Tyler Theatre: You don't even have to leave campus for great entertainment  Student performers at the Royall Tyler Theatre are incredible. I always leave with a smile on my face after seeing the talent that comes from my peers. The sets, costumes and lights are always done by students as well. And the student tickets? Only $7!

So do yourself a favor and check out what is coming up next at the local theatres. I can guarantee you won't be disappointed!

Top 10 Winter Activities

10.)  Movie Night

Well it’s that time of the season when people are going gaga over holiday family films that touch the spirit and warm the heart.  Rest assured Bailey Howe Library has what seems like an infinite collection of DVD’s, yes, even your favorite holiday films.  And guess what its for free! Go downstairs to the media services center and browse the large catalogue of movies.  I personally love a good cheesy sci-fi creature features during the holiday season. Nothing says Merry Christmas like Tremors 3 or Anaconda: Hunt for the blood orchid. 

9.) Burlington Winter Farmers Market

Fear not, for the summer’s farmers market that you grew to love is not gone for the season; it has only been relocated to Burlington’s memorial auditorium located on 250 Main Street.  Even in the cruel winter months, you can still feast upon fresh produce.  Take shelter from the snow and enjoy the lively local crowd as you shop for garlic, beets, radishes, spinach, cheese and other locally grown crafts and products.

8.)  Hot chocolate

Maybe its too cold for you out there and you would rather spend your winter hunkered  down enjoying a nice cup of hot chocolate.  Remember those coupon books that student life was hocking at you the first couple weeks of school?  Within that book is a coupon for buy one Lake Champlain hot chocolate and get the second hot chocolate free.  Go with a buddy and enjoy a deliciously cheap cup of hot chocolate, while people watching on church street.

7.) Hockey Game

Bust out your green and gold and head to a UVM hockey game.  Show your school spirit and cheer on the catamounts!  Go Cats Go!  The enthusiastic crowd of cheering students makes it quite the exhilarating experience.   It’s a great opportunity to meet new people, bond with your friends and strengthen your school pride!  Even if you don’t know anything about hockey I encourage you to go to a game.  Just cheer when the crowd cheers and you are guaranteed a fun time.

6.)  Thrift Shops

With the temperature dropping you may have wished that you had some warmer apparel. Maybe something kind of hip without breaking the budget.  Maybe you want another way of boosting your hipster cred other than drinking black coffee out of a mason jar.  Lucky for you Burlington and the greater Burlington area has plenty of thrift shops. I’m talking shops on shops on shops. And there is plenty to do with that used clothing.  Buy matching suit shirts with your friends and then go to a restaurant for a fake business causal dinner.   Start planning next years Halloween costume.   Find the perfectly ugly sweater for that holiday party.

Here are a few of my favorite places to shop:

Downtown threads on 73 church street

Battery Street Jeans on 7 marble avenue off of pine street

Plato’s closet on 34 Taft corner shopping center in Williston.

Goodwill on 1080 Shelburne road

Plato’s Closet and Downtown threads will buy clothes off of you, which is a nice way of making some extra cash.

5.) Bikram yoga

Cold weather got you down?  Try bikram yoga!  The room is heated to about 95 degrees, which allows for deeper stretching and flexibility.   Sweat out all of the toxins from last Friday night.  Feel your stress melt away.   Heal and relieve tension from your body.  Its pretty amazing how much you sweat during the 90 minutes.  Student rates for bikram yoga sessions are $12 a class.  It might seem expensive, but bikram yoga is a really unique experience that greatly improves your health.  Give it a try!   Bikram Yoga studio is located on 257 pine street. Drop ins are welcome.  Arrive 15 minutes early if it is your first time so you can meet with an instructor and get an overview about the class.

4.) Ski and Snowboard

How would a winter’s activity list be complete without skiing and snowboarding?  It’s too late to buy your pass through the Ski and Snowboard club, but some mountains are still offering seasonal passes.  It may seem pricey, but these passes are bargains.  Take advantage of Burlington’s location and accessibility to mountains beyond mountains.   Don’t have skis?  You can rent them through the outing club for $20.  Even if you aren’t a skier or snowboarder, you could always tag along with your friends and spend a day at the lodge reading by a fire. 

3.) Sledding

Who says sledding is just for kids?  Grab a bunch of your friends and head to Burlington   Country Club for a midnight sledding adventure.   There is a surprisingly big hill right next to the club house.   Don’t have a sled?  Get creative and make one! Seriously, make a competition with your friends and see who can create the fastest makeshift sled.  Yoga mats, pizza boxes, cookie sheets, aluminum turkey roasting pans, trash bag…. whatever you can get your hands on.  If you want something a little more legitimate, try heading over to Sharp Tubing Park in Milton, where you can rent a sled for $12 or bring your own sled and take advantage of the nicely groomed slope.

2.) Carnival

Celebrate the winter season at Quebec Winter Carnival!  It’s a huge celebration for art, music, sports, culture and winter festivities. There are parades, ice sculptures, snow slides, outdoor dance parties, ice-skating….the list goes on and on.  The night parade was one of my favorite events.  The parade floats are over the top, the music is loud and energetic and the crowd goes crazy.  Winter Carnival is from February 1-17.   Mark your calendars and plan a weekend adventure with your friends.  Go hard and celebrate the joys of life at this winter extravaganza!

1.) Snowshoeing

You can rent a pair of snowshoes from the outing club for only $8!  For your first time keep it simple and easy.  Maybe stroll through centennial woods in search of beaver dams or trek the secret path to the wale tails located next to I-89.  Then work up a sweat by hiking your favorite mountain paths. There are some great trails at Bolton valley.  There is nothing like hearing the crunch of snow under your feet and seeing your frosty breath in the winter air as you slowly work your up a twisting snow covered path.

The Old North End's Best Kept Secret

Many would have you believe that very little good can come from living in the Old North End, and after living in the notorious section of Burlington for the past few years myself, I wouldn't be in a place to vehemently disagree. In a general sense it has lived up to its hype as the more "dicey" section of our familiarly friendly college city. Between my two North End residences, I have experienced three break in attempts (all of which were unsuccessful... thank you very much second amendment rights), and countless cases of vandalism to property and vehicles. It seems appropriate we are a mere couple of blocks away from the Burlington Police Station, the presence of their cars in my neighborhood a regularity most nights, I imagine they would waste a lot of money on gas if they had to travel much further.

Support of stereotypes aside, I have rather enjoyed my time in the lesser explored sector of Burlington. Having also lived in Winooski, as well as the "College Ghetto" off of Pearl in the hills section, and I prefer the peace and quiet of the O.N.E. over the constant bother of being surrounded by the rowdy college crowd that has infiltrated most neighborhoods in Burlington. The fact that my rent is half the price doesn't hurt either. The convenient yet secluded location has proven worth the occasional "B&E" and the few extra blocks added to the campus walk. Other than the environment alone, being in the O.N.E. has led to the exploration of an area that would have otherwise fell off of my radar here at UVM. Recently, with the company of a close friend, I stumbled upon something that would be wrong of me not to share with you.

ONE Pepper Grill

If you are anything like I was a week ago, that name means nothing to you. Sitting with its unassuming exterior at 260 North Street, the hand painted sign and plethora of neon beer advertisements in the windows seems nostalgic, a nod to the old pubs of the past. Admittedly, I had driven past this corner for over a year, barely noticing the restaurant that sat a block from my own home. Sitting at a corner that also housed the Africa Market, as well as a bodega style convenience store (complete with attached sports jersey shop) it just fit into its surroundings as another part of your stereotypical O.N.E. attractions.

I was thrilled when Garret contacted me last Wednesday boasting about a deal for $1.50 tacos he had stumbled upon while exploring one of the many Burlington guides that litter the city. I was, without a doubt, in for any adventure that ended in Tacos, so we set off to find the elusive host of this delicious hump day deal. As we followed google maps on our Iphones it quickly became clear where we were headed. Caught off guard but not quite discouraged, we forged ahead, past my house toward the corner I had traveled through a million times.

One we gritted our teeth and dove through the threshold, we found that our concern was without cause. The place was, in a word, awesome. We immediately took a seat in a comfortable booth with a good view of the street (it would be a sacrilege not to people watch in the O.N.E.) and inquired about the mystical taco special. We indeed had it right, $1.50 soft and hard tacos on Wednesdays, but there was a catch. There were other rules. What might those be you ask? You have to eat in, and you have to drink. I shit you not, drinking on taco night is a requirement. It isn't one of those "we're going to fuck you with expensive beer to make up for our food deal" kind of requirements either. Tall boys are $1.50 all day long.

I was immediately in love.

We sat in that booth late into the evening, eating delicious tacos until we couldn't possibly stomach one more (Garret bested me by 2 tacos in the end, 6-8). Needless to say, my mind had been changed. Little did we know when we ventured out on this trip that we were just scraping the tip of the iceberg. The deals in this place are consistently phenomenal. Mondays are $0.25 cent wing night, Thursdays are $3 microbrews, and Wednesdays leave you with free fries and a Coke. All of this is on top of their ludicrous every-day drink specials.

Their online menu is currently down while they design a new website, but take my word for it, a trip into the O.N.E. to experience the ONE Pepper Grill is a decision that you will not regret. What is life without taking a little risk once in a while?

Especially if that risk ends in delicious $1.50 tacos and thirst quenching $1.50 tall boys.

101 Things to do Before You Graduate

I’m sure many of you have seen the list of “101 things to do before you graduate UVM,” and I’m sure most of you stopped reading it after you hit the second bullet (make a friend from each campus).  Although many things on this list are fairly unexciting and lame, a lot of them are very “UVM-y” things to do. And, I’m here to tell you how to make completing the list a little bit more fun.  Turn it into a game (with or without alcohol). Gather a group of around 10 people, split yourselves into groups of 3-4, set a timer, and see how many things you can complete in an hour or two.  Running around Burlington with your friends and acting like idiots while trying to complete as many tasks as possible, is actually pretty fun. Although they aren’t all plausible to finish in one day, you can definitely get a chunk of them out of the way pretty quickly.

I’ve complete 65 of the 101 so far. How many have you done?

An Adventure at our Doorstep

When's the last time you made a spontaneous decision to escape the city and take a little overnight adventure? I assume it hasn't happened in a while. Sometimes it's hard to get away because all our silly commitments in life seem impossible to break free of. In a recent post on the Art Collective blog, Mary Aveno wrote a great post called "Do It Live", about why breaking out of our daily routines for adventures is exciting and important. In honor of that theme, I would like to remind everyone of an awesome journey they can take that hardly involves any planning. This is a trip to the great city of Montreal! Montreal is like a European city and it's less than a two hour drive from here. It is a perfect destination for an overnight vacation to escape the monotony of Burlington life.

This past Saturday, my friends and I decided at 2:00pm that we were going to go to Montreal. A half hour later we were on the road, and by 5:00 we had arrived within the city limits. For a long time, I've felt trapped in Burlington because I always have homework and a job to worry about. I was going slightly crazy. But when the random idea of going to Canada was brought up, and actually followed through with, I was released from my shackles and relief sunk in the second we hit the road.

We spent just a night exploring a new city, bar hopping, and having great times in a foreign world. When we got back to Burlington sunday afternoon, I was able to appreciate Burlington again; I felt refreshed.

I'm not going to lie and say a trip to Montreal is a cheap endeavor, but it also doesn't have to be super expensive. If you have friends there, then that's awesome, go visit them and have a free place to stay. If not, you can stay at a hostel for relatively cheap. Either way, money should be no reason to hold you back!

Do it, live! Who cares if it's a little pricey, YOLO! Money will come back, your youth and freedom will not. These may be the last years where you have the option to adventure, don't let them go to waste. They also may be the only years where you live a half hour from Canada's border. Go to freakin Canada where you can drink on the streets, and any college student can legally drink! Don't get held back with plans, just go. Maybe even go this weekend. You'll be happy you did.

Petra Cliffs

Over the summer I worked at a summer camp in Colorado and was submerged in the rock-climbing world.  Half of my co-workers were climbers and seemed to talk about it nonstop.  Although I never had a chance to climb over the summer, I became thoroughly interested in it and wanted to give it a go.  Upon returning to Burlington, I discovered that my roommate was taking a climbing class at UVM and had free passes to climb at Petra Cliffs, located on Briggs Street in Burlington.  Needless to say, I was stoked.

Upon entering Petra Cliffs, I was amazed at how nice, welcoming, and relaxed the staff was.  They knew my roommate and seemed stoked that I was learning how to climb as well.  After signing a waiver and getting geared up, it was time to start climbing.

The first level of Petra Cliffs has many climbing routes, ranging from 5.5 (easy as pie) to 5.13 (monster/crazy/death). There are also a few bouldering problems on the first level, although most of the bouldering is upstairs.  These range from V0 (easy peasy) to V10+(really really really hard). Petra does a great job of changing the climbing and bouldering routes frequently so that you never get too bored with the same ones.

One of my favorite things about rock-climbing is that you can see improvement very easily.  You can try the same climb over and over again, but when you finally master it and reach the top, you have a great sense of pride and accomplishment.  It’s also a great workout that involves many muscles that wouldn’t normally get worked from training at the gym.

A student day pass for bouldering and climbing is only $14.  It may seem like a lot, but that includes shoes and a harness and a day that is sure to be fun and rewarding.  You can also take a beginner’s course for $25.  This course teaches you how to belay and a few pointers for climbing, and it includes a day pass, harness, and shoes.

If you aren’t down to spend the money at Petra (although it’s totally worth it), you can practice climbing at the UVM climbing wall (located right at the Fitness Center) or the bouldering wall (located on the first floor of the Patrick Gymnasium). 

Next time there’s a rainy afternoon, or you are looking for a new and exciting challenge, give rock-climbing a go!

The Powers of Meditation

Meditation will help improve your concentration, increase self-awareness and improve your mental health by banishing negative emotions and stress.  It is a chance for you to turn off your thoughts and just get lost in your self.  A lot of people are intimidated by meditation because they don’t understand what happens after they close their eyes.  The answer is, nothing. That is the beauty of it.  There is no wrong way to meditate.  Clear your mind and just surrender to your body.  If a thought comes into your head, acknowledge it, let it flutter away and then center your self again.  The more you practice 

the easier it will be to clear your mind, and those intrusive thoughts will become less common.

Basic Steps of Meditation:

1. Find a comfortable quiet space
2. Sit down with your legs crossed
3. Lower your arms to your side
4. Close your eyes
5. Clear your mind
6. Focus on your breathing
7. Begin meditation

Your first attempts will be awkward. But just remember that meditation is all about you.  So if something isn’t working abandon it.   And like everything else in life it takes practice.  But if you stick with it I think you will be surprised at the results. 

Click here for mindfulness video and audio exercises provided by UVM’s center for health and well being.  And click here for links to meditation and yoga centers.

I hope you find inner peace.