*Spittle* *drool*

I’m sorry, my mouth was ajar. Could it really be this simple?

Down in the dumps? Hocus mofo pocus. Just reach into your wallet and count your money for an instant pick-me-up.

Huh. I’ve heard stupider things before. Maybe I’m overestimating our immunity to The Green.

I’m also no psychologist. Or a banker. Or a circus clown.

But yes, those wonderful wizards over at Time.com (may they forever write useful fluff articles that allow lazy bloggers like myself to avoid coming up with original ideas) have relayed to us the science of counting money to increase your happiness. Studies have been done that show that counting money can not only decrease anxiety and distress, but actually alleviate physical pain.

They end the article with (hopefully humorous) suggestions of counting money before going to a job interview, or going into a bar to pick up chicks.

Stunning.

Well, since I’m totally that type of insecure person who needs an occasional spirit booster, I’m planning on writing an iPhone app that continually flashes pics of high denomination bills being folded into a photo of my bulging wallet.

Oh wait. I don’t have an iPhone.

Pbbbbttt.

Source: Time after Time after Time after Time…

Yep I was away on vacation, but the beat goes on. So, California finally got a budget deal put together which will use some enormous cuts in government and education to close the 20-billion-dollar-plus shortfall. I guess the thinking was there was no other way out, but it’s really going to wallop the public school system.

Something I’ve wondered previously about is just how seriously all this slashing is being taken by the average person who isn’t involved with local government or the school systems. It seems we’ve become numb to it, thinking that it wouldn’t really affect us at all. Well, just yesterday I was at the ATM withdrawing some cash when I saw a message like this after logging into the system:

The State of California is using registered warrants instead of regular warrants or checks to make some of its payments, beginning July 2, 2009. Chase is supporting our personal, business and commercial customers by honoring these registered warrants similarly to checks not drawn on our bank; we will begin accepting the registered warrants for deposit on July 2, 2009 and stop accepting them no later than July 10, 2009.

This policy has been adopted by pretty much all the banks around here. It turns out that if you were owed money recently by the state, they probably sent you one of these registered warrant IOUs. But because they aren’t the standard variety of warrant, they cannot be paid until they mature like a CD or bond. That maturity date was October 2, 2009 as far as I’ve heard.

Now, it’s like these IOUs are worthless if they weren’t cashed before the bank deadlines. In addition, the state will be paying the interest accrued on top of the value of the warrant. However, you can’t get that money RIGHT NOW, which might prove to be more than just annoying for some people.

So I guess it’s true that this really is going to start affecting people who thought they were immune to the whole budget mess. No more crying wolf.

Incidentally, the affects of the weak Eeekconomy were on full display during our recent trip up the coast of California. I should probably save this for another post, but the amount of mom/pop and main street businesses that had shuttered their doors was just stunning. Granted, our trip took us through many smaller towns that rely heavily on tourism, so perhaps the effects were exaggerated. Still, it was eerie and a bit depressing to be driving through what was often a ghost town.

We don’t travel much, and live in a bigger city, so maybe we aren’t exposed to the true devastation of the recession. Perhaps it’s also the fact that it’s taken awhile for the effects to be truly widespread - after all things aren’t always instantaneous. Still it was kind of shocking to see it in every town we passed through.

Source: CNNnnnnnn

Hi, I just wanted to let everyone know that I’ll be on “vacation” for the next couple weeks. I should be checking email and stuff, but probably won’t be posting on Cheaplander or Cheap Eats for that time. We’re actually headed up to Monterey, CA.

Every so often, I feel like I really need a break from blogging - well, this has been occurring more frequently lately. It’s just tough to keep up the grind after 5 years. Incidentally, to those who are just starting out, I’d suggest taking your breaks early and often so you avoid blogburnout over the long run. In any case, Cheaplander should be back on track before August, although we’ll see how it goes.

But I definitely think I’m going to cut down on the number of posts per week. I’ll probably adopt a similar schedule here as the one on Cheap Eats - 1 or 2 posts a week. Initially, I was pretty gung-ho about having daily postings on Cheaplander. But it’s become increasingly apparent that writing long posts every day of the week for a few hundred people has no apparent bearing on how popular Cheaplander actually becomes (but thank you for those who have been reading). It’s frustrating because I’ve been trying pretty hard. But the only thing it succeeds in doing is making my chronic shoulder injury hurt more.

I’m not complaining. Or, I guess I am complaining a little bit. This isn’t the greatest blog in the world, but it’s a whole lot better than some of the stuff out there. Toot toot. I guess I’m not very good with blog marketing, publicizing and other methods of whoring out my writing. I’ve always had that sort of issue - so it’s my fault.

See you in a couple weeks. Oh, and in case you’re interested, here is a review on Disney Princess Spaghettios.

Hi. I often sneak around, ghostlike, with a cellphone in hand snapping pics of random products.

Well, truth be told, we were marooned in CVS the other day while waiting for a prescription to be filled out. The pharmacist was too busy talking with her co-worker about her nice boyfriend who kept giving her two black eyes and a bloody nose. You know. I got bored and starting walking around taking pictures of the different products.

By the way, do not do this in front of employees. They’ll probably think you’re a product terrorist.

I spent quite a while in the lotions and perfumes, because you know, every mid 30s year old guy likes to read the labels on that kind of stuff. Just in case. In case of what, I’m not quite yet sure.

Now, I’ll often buy a generic “store brand” of product over the equivalent name brand product. I usually focus on food when I do that, but sometimes I’ll buy other products too. It’s not any sort of news to see the store brand copying the look and packaging of the name brand. But I guess I never really looked closely at the lotions and perfumes at CVS.

It’s pretty astounding how similar the color and shape of some of the products were. Item after item was lined up nicely next to it’s doppleganger generic product. I noticed that certain types of items are rarely “copied”. I haven’t really seen store-brand deodorant, for instance. Or toothpaste. But for lotion, shampoo and perfume, they sure try really hard to make it almost identical.

OK, so I’m not sure where this post is going. I guess it’s just an observation. However, a strange thing did happen to me that day. I actually started to feel SORRY for the Aveenos of the world. Not only do they have to worry about competition from other product companies, but getting their product into the big stores means that they’ll probably end up sitting right next to the generic store brand which looks the same, yet costs slightly less.

To be honest, I’ve heard some stories that the manufacturers are actually in cahoots with having their product placed next to the generic brand. Some actually manufacture the generic brand themselves. The reason they agree to it, is that they give the customer the illusion that they’re actually “sticking it to the man” (or woman) by purchasing a cheaper knock-off. They lose a bit by having to sell the product at a cheaper price, but the original products are marked up so high anyhow that they’re happy to make the sale.

At least that’s what I’ve heard. There are now 53 indignant people preparing a comment on how I know nothing about how business works.

It’s true. I know nothing about it, I’m just another customer with a short attention span. My sympathy for the product manufacturer devils lasted exactly 5 minutes after it occurred to me. We picked up the prescription and rolled toward home drinking faux generic soda, eating faux generic chips, sporting faux generic jeans and shirts and wearing faux generic lotions and creams.

[Editor’s Note: That would be cool if they made a faux generic brand deodorant. I would definitely try it out.]

Review Roundup - Week of June 26, 2009

Hi there. Here are some nonsense phrases attached to reviews for your enjoyment. Have a good holiday weekend.

Iateapie - Fake fried ice cream

Off Her Cork - Snacking on rugs

Japanese Snack Reviews - Share the shiso

GrubGrade - Call the kettle chip black

GigiReviews - Loop the ‘loupe

Editor’s Note: I loved the above reviews, I wish I could write as well as these people, and I am considering time travelling back to the beginning this week so I can rewrite all these reviews as my own, except my time machine is in the shop. Shucks.