Make a $5 donation AND get the new Walkmen album-- all for FREE!

I read today earlier on Stereogum that fantastic indie rock band the Walkmen have released their new album early on digital-download site Amie Street. What's more is that the album will only set you back a mere $5 and what's better is that for every download of the album the band is partnering to donate $5 to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center "in honor of Luca Vasallo, who is seven months old and doing a great job fighting a difficult disease."

Not convinced yet? If you don't have an Amie Street account yet you can sign up via this link. I found that link in June on the Slick Deals forum. You get a free $5 to spend however you want, potentially. (As long as it still works!)

So, to recap, the steps to a free album and a free donation:

1) Sign up for Amie Street here: http://amiestreet.com/_l/cdbaby
2) Download the Walkmen album at Amie Street
3) Enjoy the new tunes and your small good deed for people fighting cancer!

I had to top-up my account with a few more bucks to purchase the Walkmen album. Listening to it now as I type-- so far, so good!

I am a music lover, but one who really still prefers buying CDs and often buys them used. For digital downloads at Amie Street, single track downloads vary in popularity but the highest price is still only 98¢ so you can find some bargains in comparison to iTunes.

P.S. Apologies for my lack of posts on this blog so far.

How did you spend your stimulus?

It took a while, but I eventually did receive my economic stimulus check. While, admittedly, I am not an economist, only a citizen armed with common sense and a rudimentary education in Econ, I can't fathom that this initiative is/will be a complete panacea.

It has been interesting getting a look into how others are spending their stimuli by way of the blog-to-future book "How I Spent My Stimulus." One guy posted video of him burning his check in protest and others share how they spent there money on foreign vacations, which is likely more of a brazen act than the former.

As for me, I'm by no means passing judgment on what others do with their money, but I've decided to spend my stimulus money by supporting local businesses over time. I've put it in my HSBC account for now, but it's earmarked for future use.

Today, I went to a local co-op:
Santa Cruz-brand organic lemonade, 32 oz: $1.49
Santa Cruz-brand organic raspberry lemonade, 32 oz: $1.49
Healthnut chocolate chip cookies (not as oxymoronic as it sounds!): $2.49
Natural toothpaste (Never tried before, but I needed some anyway.): $4.59
Handmade birthday card: $3.59

Total with tax: $14.20

A bit pricey for the toothpaste and card as the other items were on sale, but not too bad, overall.

First post!

Hiya! I've been reading a number of PF blogs for a while now and I've finally decided to take a dip into the blogosphere.

$pending $marts is meant to be another voice for how to navigate young adulthood not only making smart choices about how to save and spend while managing to have some fun, too.

I'm a midwestern girl and recent college grad who is present in the middle of the epic first-real-job-out-of-college search. With the current financial downturn, timing could have been better, but I'm trying to stay optimistic about it!

So, enough about me; let's start things off:

A Few Favorite Money-savers

1. HSBC Direct - I've had my internet savings account for about two years now. If you don't have one, what are you waiting for? Whether its with HSBC, ING, or one of the others, online accounts are one of the easiest ways to make your money work harder for you.
2. Hulu.com - Hulu is a new favorite. A good and continually-getting-better streaming selection of films and TV shows. The quality is very good and the ads are pretty manageable. If you haven't seen them, my top picks to watch free: "Arrested Development," "Twin Peaks," and Raising Arizona, to name just a few.
3. A glass of water - Too old school for a hyperlink, but a glass of tap water is always smart. Accompanying a meal out at a restaurant by opting for a glass of water instead of a soda is an easy way to save a couple of bucks.