Windows Phone 7 & XBox Live Gold Membership Giveaway From Wise Bread
Photo: Microsoft
Editor's note: Contest has ended! Congratulations to Annette D for this winning comment!
To celebrate the launch of the new Windows Phone 7, Microsoft is giving away a fabulous prize to one lucky Wise Bread reader!
Prize
One Wise Bread reader will receive
- A brand new Windows Phone 7 (approximate retail value $500).
- A 1 year Xbox Live Gold membership
- A 3 month unlimited Zune Pass -- which lets you download and stream unlimited music for 3 months and keep 30 songs forever after 3 months.
How to Enter
Simply leave a comment below telling us how you can "do more with less" in your life. The comment should be around 25-250 characters long (basically 2-3 short sentences will be perfect). Don't forget to fill out the email address box or else we won't be able to contact you if you win!
You can enter one comment per day until contest ends on 11/29/2010, 11:59 pm Pacific.
We will randomly select one winner at the end of the contest period and post the results here in December, 2010. No purchase necessary. Must be legal US resident and at least 18 years-old at time of entry. See here for detailed official rules.
"Do more with less" is a very broad topic! You can write about budgeting, decluttering your life, bargain hunting, frugal philosophies, green/simple living, lifehacking, and more.
How We Do More With Less
To help get your creative juices flowing, here's a story of how we "do more with less" when our family moved into a smaller house.
When we found out that we were moving from a 2-story farmhouse with four spacious bedrooms to a one-level ranch home with just three modest bedrooms, we were a bit concerned as to how we would make it work. Add in the news that we were expecting a 5th child, and it might seem like we were doomed to be forever frustrated with our living arrangements. Thanks to some innovative products on the market, the well-documented paths of a few who’ve gone before us, and a “can do” attitude, however, we’ve managed to feel secure with our new arrangement – as limited as it may seem, at times. Here is a list of proven strategies for taking a smallish home and making it larger than life.
Use That Outdoor Space
As more mega-mansions go into foreclosure, we are seeing the average home size come down considerable. There is nothing shameful about living in a house that’s less than 2,000 (or even 1,300) square feet – even with a big family. Perhaps the best way to conquer the issue of going insane with all the bodies around you is to take some time to step outside. If done correctly, your outdoor living space (which isn’t included in the original square footage of your home), can offer just as much usable space as your inside space. Great examples of this include the common patio, a gazebo, or even a play house. (If you have small kids, a basic metal garden shed can provide hours of sheltered outside play.)
Turn a Closet Into a Home Office
This idea for converting a closet into a home office is brilliant (and keeps your office clutter out of guest’s view.) If you really need that closet for your wardrobe, consider “adding” a closet as a recess into a wall that can accommodate it. More space can be gained by either removing the closet doors and replacing them with a curtain or getting those accordion doors that won’t stick out into the room too much. (See a great example of how to upgrade your existing office-in-a-closet at LifeHacker.)
Skip the Nursery
Yes, you really can store more than clothes and shoes in even the smallest storage closets. While I wouldn’t recommend putting a baby’s sleeping quarters into a closet (unless it’s a jumbo walk-in), the idea of using a closet for the changing table, dresser drawers, clothing and diapers is not a new one. If baby is a co-sleeper, or you opt for a small bassinet or a modern space-saving crib, you can most definitely skip a separate room for baby and use the first two years of life to come up with options for where he or she will sleep once older.
Stack Sleeping Space
Remember how you got away with sleeping in the same room with another almost-adult during college? The all-wonderful loft is still applicable! Whether you’re trying to cram 3 boys into a small bedroom (like us) or just want to give your tween more floor space for all their junk, a loft can literally bring the organization of a bedroom to new heights. (Check out this wonderful set of directions for a DIY version.) I would also suggest bringing back the bunk bed (or even a trundle) for kids that have friends sleep over often.
Work Where You Live
Since home offices are very common – regardless of whether you actually work from home – they have placed extra organizational pressure on small family homes. We took a different approach with our home office, and actually placed it in our living room! By using very nice wood furniture that matched our living room décor, we were able to integrate it into the end of the room that foot traffic did not occur. Why would we do this? For one, it helps us to keep an eye on the happenings in our home. Secondly, it really does save space (have you ever calculated the room that an additional 3 walls takes up in an already small home?)
Get a Mini-Bath
The most difficult part of having a small home is our ONE bathroom. With seven people sharing it, life can get pretty crazy! While we don’t have the room to get an additional bath (or even a traditional “half bath”) we have considered just having an extra toilet in the laundry room. While some additional plumbing will need to be done, and we’d want to hang a shower curtain in the corner to provide some privacy, many older farm houses have a similar arrangement, and it’s worked well for those “emergency situations” that are bound to happen with small kids in the home.
This giveaway is brought to you by the new Windows Phone 7. Less tech tired. More tech trendy: Learn about Windows Phone online and see it in person at local T-Mobile stores today.
We have a coupon for a nice restaurant this Friday. We're going to be eating more for less!
We do more with less by NOT buying into all the baby "must-haves". We bed-share (no need for cribs), cloth diaper along with doing "elimination communication" (less diapers to wash, and no disposable diapers to buy), do "baby-led weaning" (no jarred baby foods to buy... in fact, no special preparations of baby foods at all), baby-wear (no expensive jogging strollers for us), ...
For toys, we scour Craigslist and Freecycle for free or inexpensive items. If we want new, we try to use gift cards and of course check for deals :-)
One way we are doing more with less is our TV. We stopped satellite and put an antenna on the roof, we get PBS and the major networks anything else we watch online (hulu or boxee) through a HTPC we had in place already.
Saved $50 a month and we don't watch all the noise any more, just shows we really want to see.
My wife and I recently went to our local gym to sign up. They had mentioned how we could bring 2 free guests with us each time we went. With that news, we are the proud owners of one gym account!
We save $30 a month and we get to spend some quality gym time together!
Instead of paying for cable or a dish, get an antenna instead. Besides the purchase of the actual antenna (about $40), there is nothing else to pay for. You'll get all the major networks and you can use the monthly savings to treat yourself to something fun!
Before buying any big ticket item or even moderate ticket item, I ask myself if I really need this thing. How is my life improving because of this? Is it worth it?
I quit working to stay at home with my baby. Less income, but more quality time together.
I do more with less... removing items that have remained in boxes or drawers more than 3 months without touching by donating... this give me much more room and much less clutter.
To help me do more with less, I sell things I don't need, reuse everything as much as I can, make things homemade when possible (like laundry detergent, bread, soups), grow my own food, do my own basic car repair. Basically try to have some core values, and focus less on material accumulation. The new windows phone 7 would help do more with less because I'd only need one device to take care of lots of things!
I stay organized with Microsoft OneNote, which helps me do more with less time.
trying to make a lunch everyday for work helps save me money; and it's an easy way to control your portions, eat healthy, and be creative with what you eat!
I do more with less on Twitter - life happening in 140 characters or less! ;)
Watch your favorite shows online instead of when its on..no DVR needed.
My wife and I do more with less by cooking meals at home instead of eating out. We spend less money yet get more and better food. We spend more time *together* at our house instead of in a car going some place or in a loud restaurant.
We do more with less by entering all the contests we can! :)
And we also pack lunches for the kids instead of buying the school lunch. We can pack cheaper (and more healthy) than what the school charges and the kids have fun picking out what they want to pack when we go to Sam's.
Our doing "More with Less" is just living within our means. That means not buying things we really don't need (and add clutter down the road), not eating out often (and accumulating take home boxes and plastic bags), using what we've got to the full extent and sometimes fun and creative ways AND finding that life is less hectic and more enjoyable (not to mention manageable). We rent, we don't own. We drive an older but totally reliable and functional car. We don't have multiple TVs, video game systems, or items that will be outdated in a couple of years. AND this actually keeps us from having to maintain and constantly be on the lookout for the next replacement... It's definitely a "More" type of life with "Less".
mix and match to create new outfits! this keeps your wardrobe fresh and you don't have to keep buying new clothes! [lyndagp at gmail dot com]
The way I do more with less is to clean. I just have too much stuff. I have a garage full of stuff, mine and from my mother's estate. It was this unwielding stack of stuff. Once I got thru the stuff, categorized it and contained it in either smaller containers or larger for longer storage, my mind started to unblock. Things that I never had the energy to do started being easier and easier to do. Now I am looking at other places in my house where I can reduce the amount of stuff to help my mind and my sould free itself from clutter.
I cook from scratch to have better meals for less.
Obvious, but... less Christmas shopping means more time for everything else! By mutual agreement, my friends and family have scaled back gift giving plans this year to focus on shared activities and good food to celebrate the season.
By donating unused items you can reclaim space and also help Goodwill or other local charities.
Don't have a carpayment. With this knowledge, someone earning $3000 monthly can effectively buy the same things without using debt as if they were earning $3500 monthly.
i do more with less by buying tools that save time.
After beating a video game, I do more with less by reselling it on eBay or Half.com and then using the income to buy a new one (which have high reviews).
We’ve started buying from farmer’s markets and CSA’s. So we get more healthy food and support our local businesses while eating less processed weirdness and polluting less (since the food doesn’t travel nearly as far).
I'm sure this has been said before, but I find that a good collection of spices helps me "do more with less" with my cooking. If you're able to be creative, you don't need to spend a lot of money on fancy ingredients to have flavorful, interesting meals!
We reuse a lot of household items and try to eat out less.
handmade cards give an extra personalized touch vs store-bought cards worth $3 or so
Do more with less this holiday season by not using gift wrap, or by at least re-using gift wrap. Indeed, presentation may not be everything!
I do more for less by bringing my leftovers for lunch at work and using cloth dishtowels instead of paper towels at home.
The way I organize my life to do more with less is practice recycling down to a science. I reuse and green so much in my life that it helps us stay frugal and lean. I feel better if I purchase less!
We're trying to learn how to save more money by shopping in more discount
areas such as the salvage grocery stores, dollar stores, etc. Let's not forget
the clearance racks!! We're also trying to learn to cook with what resources we
have on hand and experiment with seasonings to make a tastier meal.
The one "less" I do more with is doing without every little toy, technology-wise, that comes down the pike. My brain is focused on what's in front of me to do in the natural world, rather than living life "virtually". And therefore, more gets done. Naturally!
I recently decided to give up my television. I am accomplishing a BUNCH more without that particular distraction. I'm also finding that I'm happier and more stress free.
I watch only 1 hour of TV a week, which frees up tons of time to do useful things like spending quality (frugal) time with quality people, and reading Wisebread.com!
i love using wax paper for everything, lining dishes, easily move sifted flour, so useful
I'm thinking I could do away with the mess of paper in my purse if I had a phone like this. You can download coupons, copy business cards and receipts. The possibilities are endless!
By using Quick Steps in Microsoft Outlook, I do more and do it quicker.
Want to spiff up landscaping without big bucks? Rely on gardening friends who are splitting large specimens or sacrificing plants they're tired of seeing. Voila! New life for still viable plants and a new look for you for next to nothing, other than a little hard labor.
My wife and I are moving to Bangladesh. We will have less. We will bring less. There will be less to get.
Shopping for anything is fun. It gives you that all to temporary feeling of joy. It feeds your ego wearing, having, displaying that new "thing" you see all others have.Ya, being a part of the "Jone's community". However............
In the big picture of life, was it worth all your hard earned dollars ? Here's a question to ask yourself when purchasing something and, you have to be brutally honest with yourself.....
"Is this something I really need or simply want?" I know a simply question but, I will wager that more often then not the answer will point to "want".
I eat lesser and healthier everyday thus gaining more and more healthy body.
cheers
I approach saving cash like patchwork quilting. Reusing salvaged bits and pieces to produce a better whole. Cooking up leftover soup, decorating with found objects, restoring trash picked furnishings, and yes, making quilts.
I take my lunch to work, clip coupons and save them for BOGO sales, I shop at the thrift shop, cook big pots of stews in the crock pot, go to the $2 second run movie theater.
Cultivate the conservator lifestyle.
The holidays are coming up and a great way to save money and provide more memorable "gifts" is to give the gift of time. Banish all physical gifts and have the family swap services--doing things for each other that you wouldn't normally do in the course of your everyday lives.
I do more with less by making my friends and family gifts. I enjoy crafting and baking, so I like to bake cookies and cakes for gifts and I also make Christmas ornaments to give my friends and family members.
Cut the cable. Maybe even cut the TV. I guarantee you will do more with less!
There is a lot of joy (as temporary as it may be) shopping, eating out, spending those hard earns dollars on stuff that makes you happy. Heaven knows we are constantly made aware of how much better our life would be with that new "something or other". Things we wear, cars we drive, gadgets we own, have sadly become something of a badge of honor speaking to our success in this journey of life. The proverbial "keeping up with the Jone's community".
Here's a question to ask yourself. You have to be brutally honest when answering;
"Is this something I really need or just want." Simple? yes and I will wager that the answer is more often then not, "want". Let that be you guide and you will come out winning this financial struggle we all face.
I do more with less by giving 10% of my income to my church. I've never had to do without, because God blesses the 90% that is left over!
We are blessed to live in a larger home and we have plenty of room to not be tripping over each other. If I'm going to "do more with less" anywhere, I think it would be in our money. We stick to a budget faithfully and with all the cuts happening, have had to "do with less" in the past few years. Not necessarily more, but better. Things that bring us closer together as a family and working together to reach our goals. It's been rough, but a good growing time.
The Washington DC Metro system is both efficient and inexpensive. Yet if I take a bus, then transfer to a second bus for my trip home I save close to $1 per day or $20 a month over the cost of taking the train/underground subway. The trip is about 20 minutes longer yet I get to sit and watch the city go by while listening to NPR's Evening Edition on the way. A double bonus!
I do more with less by purging my closet and home every Christmas.
"The things you own end up owning you" -Tyler Durden, Fight Club
Satisfaction and happiness do not stem from the things we own, but from the experiences we have and the memories we make. Commit to not using some of your stuff for a day or a week and see how much you miss it - you may be surprised that you do not!
I bike to work. It saves me gas money and a gym membership!
I am going to start doing more with less by riding my bike to work. I live in a warm weather climate and can handle the 2.5 mile commute. Besides offering a challenging, daily workout this will allow me to save $ on gas and I'm considering selling my car to completely get rid of my debt.
I do more for less by using, re-using, repairing, and doing without before replacing. That doesn't mean a lifestyle of less, but using well everything we are gifted to have. Often, another item or product in our lives will adequately replace things that are no longer functional. Or we find that we can do without by going a few days or weeks without and seeing if we really miss it. This approach makes valuable resources stretch with no significant impact on our lives.
The simplest way I can do more with less is to clean out my garage. I can't even see the concrete, so there must be loads of stuff I could sell or donate to simplify my life and feel better about myself.
We have done more with less by converting one child's bedroom into their "music practice space" and bunking them both in the other bedroom.
I walk more and use the car less. Usually, I walk my boys to school, to their friends' houses and to nearby stores (when I don't need to buy a lot of stuff). It saves gas, maintenance on the car and gives us a chance to "slow down" and see our neighborhood in a different way. Also, it's a great form of exercise!
I pack my children's school lunches. With a good thermos, they can even have their favorite hot foods from home while at school.
I decided to simplify my life by doing more with less. I work in an office so I have to dress professionally. Most of the articles of clothing I use are black, this way no one can really tell if I am wearing something over again. Plus, black clothes don't get dirty as much so it cuts down on laundry. When I see that my clothes are starting to look a little faded, I just redye them black. Simple and cheap.
Before I buy just about anything I check the internet for coupons, free shipping offers, or simply research what brick and mortar stores may have the best deals on said item. A little work before making the purchase can really pay off with big savings!
I'm all about ditching my stone-age phone for a revolutionary phone. and i'm sure i'll be able to do more with less time on it.
We do more with less by renting movies from the library for free, hosting craft/game nights-also free, cooking meals together and coming up with creative recipes that can easily convert left-overs to something new (gravy for mashed potatoes turns into beef stroganoff sauce with some added mushrooms and sour cream), joining mailing lists to take advantage of deals, and sharing our tips and tricks with others who share theirs with us!
I do more with less by trying to conserve water and power.
I cut the cable cord. NO TV FOR ME. Now I get MORE things done in LESS time. I love it. Why did I wait so long?
I QUIT COOKING. I changed my diet to raw vegan. Now I get more nutrients, health, pleasure from my food and spend less energy, time, money and clean up. It's so simple.
The less I have, the more time I have to do nothing. I enjoy doing nothing.
the water you use to wash your fruits and veggies - use that to water your plants. It's clean, and you save on your water bill
This is my last year in Grad school. My single parent family has pared down to the basics. We take advantage of our local library for fun, but free, kids programs. I check out their magazines & movies for me & my youngster. With things tight this holiday season, I've garnered several free photo book codes & free shipping codes. I plan to gift these to family members & friends for Christmas. They make very personal & wonderful gifts..all for just a bit of my time & effort scouring the net for coupon codes. I've also won several blog giveaways to gift to others...a flip camera, movies, books, & toys to share with others when we live on a shoe string budget. I find ways to more with less...it's a way of life.
We own only one car, but chose to live in an area with many walkable destinations and resources!
Stop buying new clothes and take the time to "shop your closet." Figure out new ways to style the clothes you already own. Bonus: it's now winter so get creative and layer!
I'm trying to get rid of all my variety of cleaners and just narrow it down to various mixtures of vinegar, water, and baking soda. You really can do more with less!
I can do more with less money by using coupons and scouting for good deals.
We have 3 boys share a bedroom, utilizing a bunk bed plus an additional single bed. two of the boys usually share the bottom bunk bed, and leave the top one empty. add in 2 dogs every night, and that bedroom gets full, but we manage.
I'm doing more with less in the kitchen these days. I am stocking up on pantry staples and making things from scratch more often (muffins, pancakes, cornbread) instead of from a prepackaged mix. It's so much cheaper!
We buy all our dishes used from the thrift store and though they are mismatched, we look for colors and patterns that we genuinely like. On the occasion that something breaks, we can easily go out and find another piece for about 50 cents.
We clean out the house several times a year. We donate to different chaities and I give all the toys I win every year to Toy's for Tots.
Thank You!!
It's really surprising how much you can use one piece of technology for so many different things. My Xbox has saved me from buying an HDMI cable, a DVD player, an internet TV set, and so many other things I would have spent so much on!
I refuse to turn on the heat until after Thanksgiving.
That way, I earn a healthy respect for each degree I turn the heat up afterwards. I save money beforehand because the heat is not turned on, and I s ave money afterwards because I don't need the heat turned very high to be comfortable!
Living in a (sometimes small) studio apartment -- having Less furniture taking up physical space, allows me to do More with the space I Do have. I am able to turn the space into an office, a personal gym, a sleeping area, a lounge, a meditation room, a home theater, a dining room, a living room, a break room, a sit around and just read Wise Bread all day room - or a get away from it all room.
cardboard, plain ol cardboard has always helped me. fold them into boxes, use as a make shift table, line areas for crafts. always works for me :)
Hmm doing more with less. Well, I've been going to the drive in theatres with my friends and family instead of the regular theatres. It's cheaper, easier to talk and a little more adventurous1
I can't stress enough how important it is to declutter. Less stuff equals peace of mind, less time dusting, it's good for your health, and on and on. Get rid of your junk, people!
I do more with less by shopping wisely. I stock up on after Christmas sales for the next year. I am able to get some fantastic deals! I have Christmas cards and wrapping paper enough to last for several years that I bought for pennies on the dollar. I also start looking for gifts right after Christmas for the following year.
I dilute dishwashing detergent, laundry detergent, shampoos, conditioners. One bottle ends up lasting months and months.
We don't have cell phones, and have only local dialing on our land-line (no caller ID, voicemail, etc.). We make long distance calls using a calling card, which is cheaper per minute than what's available through the land-line.
I have found that doing more with less is a challenge but one that can be fun. For me, it has to do with becoming more organized.
Two tips for doing more with less: I water down my liquid hand soap and dish soap (about 1/3 water). It cleans just as well, and makes it last longer. I also use vinegar in place of liquid fabric softener, and it leaves my clothes nice and soft as well as rinses the soap residue.
Thanks for entering me in the contest!
I gave up cable TV! Laptop with special cord attached to TV enables me to watch movies, TV shows from websites, etc. and I also check out DVDs - movies and instructional to fill the void - and SAVE!!!
I prioritize my tasks to do more with little time.
I love how the newer phones are getting more and more powerful. It wasn't too long ago that I had a cell phone, a PDA, a camera, and a laptop for work. Even now, I have a 'dumb' phone, an iPod touch for my action lists, and the laptop for projects. I want to do more with fewer gadgets: a desktop for main work, a smart phone/tablet to keep it with me.
Calendars are a huge help. And the Outlook Quickstep is a great shortcut tool that helps me quickly create some of my common tasks, appointments, and emails while on the go. The win phone 7 will be a great mobile tool to aid in this
This may not be exactly what you had in mind but I have found I can do so much more for my health by eating less! I can eat smaller portions (healthier food of course) and be able to be healthier and ultimately, weigh less. There is nothing more rewarding you can do for yourself and your health than weighing less!!!
I could do more in less time with a new phone like this. I just have a plain old cheap cell phone. I would like one with apps that helps keep me more organized.
We have six kids, so doing more for less is mandatory. we buy generic, or use coupons, and stock up when things are on sale. We reduce, reuse and recycle.
I been a long time reader of wisebread. Very informative stuff..
if your old clothes are too torn and cannot be donated, cut them into more appropriate sizes for dusting. Make sure they're washed first so you don't spread dirt, sweat, and other germs
I do more with less by always asking "can I use this again?" when I drag out foil, plastic, or waxed paper over the holidays to cover all that food. If not, I try to find another way. The easiest is simply stacking bowls in the fridge so they cover the one beneath. Thanksgiving is a great do more with less holiday. The initial investment in oven time and cook's time pays off with multiple delicious meal for lots of people.
do more with less by serving mini desserts - less waste since eyes are bigger than stomachs!