Lazy Man and Money

Lazy Man and Money Gift Guide 2023

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Money Gift

It’s been a long time since I’ve done a gift guide. There used to be some incredible technology items like smartphones and iPads. As that technology has matured, some new gadgets have appeared, but I feel most are niche. A couple of years ago, I planned to get fit with the Oculus Fit (now Meta Quest), but I ended up not using too much after the initial couple of months.

I got a drone, too, but I’ve only flown it a few times. It’s fun, but I don’t carve out time for it. This can be said for any number of things that we have around the house. Our kids are in a similar situation. We probably have too much stuff that we’ll realistically never get to.

With this as a backdrop, I’m going to write an article about… buying more stuff? This clearly makes no sense, but it’s not like that has stopped me before.

I’m going to try to do something different, though. I walked around my house to find truly useful stuff that I love. Isn’t that better than telling you there’s a Black Friday deal on AirPods or an Amazon Fire Tablet? Those things always have a deal this time of year. If you are in the market for them, you can get a great price on your own.

Give this list a read. I challenge you to add one item in the comments you love. (You can add more if you want.)

The usual disclaimer applies. Most (maybe all) of the links go to Amazon. I might earn a small percentage commission if you end up buying something.

  • Shower Caddy

    I used to have a spring-loaded shift, but the springs got weak, or it would fall. I bought a couple of these shower caddies several years back, and our shower has been great ever since.

  • HiSense U8k 75″ Television or HiSense U8k 75″ Television

    I bought an LG OLED several years ago, but it got burn-in. My phone (Samsung 10) also has burn-in. OLED looks great, but the burn-in kills technology. I’ve moved to micro-LED, which doesn’t look as good but is much better overall quality, in my opinion.

    The 75″ television can be had for around $1299, but I went for the 85″ television at $1799. I never thought it would make sense for an 85″ television, but it looks completely normal for a television that big – even in a room where we are only 10 feet away.

  • Coffee Warmer Plate or Coffee Warmer Smart Cup

    I don’t drink coffee, but my wife wanted to pitch both of these for the gift guide. She had a similar design to the plate on her desk that she used so much that it broke. The smart cup is expensive, but so many people have told me it’s worth it. It’s on my wife’s list this year.

  • Instant Read Digital Meat Thermometer

    We had one for years, but it broke a couple of months ago. As much as we loved that one, this one is better. There’s no cap to lose. The magnetic and hook give us better storage options. It’s also waterproof, which makes cleaning a lot easier.

  • Smart Spin and Store Food Storage

    We don’t use the spin aspect of this. The containers all fit inside each other, and each lid matches any container. That makes it especially easy for kids to use to make their lunches in the school morning rush. We’ve lost a few containers over time, but I found another set at a yard sale and just doubled up.

    The containers are graduated, so you can use them as measuring cups in a pinch. You can microwave an egg in the small ones for a quick breakfast on the go.

    I’ve tried fancier food storage systems, but I keep going back to these.

  • Weekly Pill Organizer

    You can get a weekly pill organizer at your local dollar store. I have a couple of those. However, this product is a very nice upgrade. You can take a day’s pills with you on the go. Credit for this find goes to regular reader, and often contributor, Kosmo.

  • 16-Cube Shelving Unit

    We actually have an Ikea version of this. I’m sure you can find them at Walmart and Target as well. I’m calling out the utility of these shelving units rather than a particular brand that perfected an awesome feature set.

  • Lego Storage and Mat and Lego Baseplate Tower

    Confession: We don’t have either of these. We do have a big Lego storage problem. The Lego problem reminded me of the storage problem we had before the above shelving solved it.

    I’m praying that the storage and mat will be a great way for my kid to play with Legos and still be able to quickly clean them up afterward. I’m also optimistic that the baseplate tower will create expandable display storage.

What did you think? Are you ready to take my challenge and add one item that you love? The comments are just a little scrolling down. (Trust me they don’t bite.)

Is Brick-and-Mortar Dead?

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[Editor’s Note: Today, we have another guest post by long-time contributor Kosmo. He pleasantly surprised me with an article yesterday. It was quite timely because I was working on reviewing Kid Start-Up by Mark Cuban over on Kid Wealth.]

I live within a few minutes of one of the largest malls in Iowa. Historically, it has been a hotbed of activity. Recently, changes have taken place. The mall interior is only open until 7 PM on most days of the week (8 PM on Fridays and Saturdays). I can’t blame them for the shorter hours – there usually isn’t much of a crowd. The mall itself has changed, as well. A gym now popped up in the mall, swallowing up the space that traditional retail stores would have used in the past.

What Happened to Malls?

What happened? In a word, COVID-19. There has been a shift away from traditional malls for many years. One mall fifteen miles to the north essentially became abandoned before being reimagined as an outdoor mall with a variety of strip malls. Those strip malls mostly contain chain restaurants, so the retail presence of the past is gone. Another mall in my metro area saw the handwriting on the wall several years ago and rented out much of the facility as office space to the city’s largest employer. What once was a vibrant mall is now a lot of office space, a CVS, a couple of restaurants, and a handful of specialty shops.

But the trend away from the traditional brick-and-mortar retail experience accelerated during COVID. Many retail stores had no choice but to close their doors. Some were completely shut down, while others had curbside delivery of items.

The winners and losers

The biggest winner during this time was Amazon. People who already heavily used Amazon leaned even more on the e-commerce giant. The people who had never used Amazon – yes, those people do exist – gained their first exposure to Amazon.

They weren’t the only winners, though. Some traditional brick-and-mortar retailers pushed their chips into the middle and embraced the new economy. One of the local grocery store chains began waiving the fee for online delivery (subject to a minimum order). This was a godsend for people who hate grocery shopping (such as me). Click a few buttons to place your order, and a van would deliver everything directly to your house. After a while, the fee was restored. Some people paid the fee, and others pivoted to drive-up service (which was still free, subject to the minimum).

It wasn’t just larger retailers, either. Even smaller specialty stores began taking orders via email, phone, and websites. Even the less tech-savvy stores could take an order over the phone, request payment via Paypal, and handle curbside pick-up.  Some even partnered with a local food-delivery service to deliver a limited selection of items.

Stores that weren’t able to adapt as quickly suffered. A competing grocery store chain was slow to implement online ordering. They also had less capacity, a worse process (especially for some frozen items), and lost market share.

Many other smaller stores couldn’t adapt or tried to adapt and still lost to the Amazon juggernaut. People realized that Amazon was a one-stop shop – if you need some screwdrivers, a porcelain elephant, the collected works of Poe, and a few scented candles, you can pop them into your cart and have them delivered to your door within a couple of days.

What about me

I absolutely hate shopping. I’m not a browser – I usually know what I need to buy and want to make the process as short as possible.

We began doing grocery pick-up during COVID-19, and it’s still our primary mode of grocery shopping. We’ve noticed that the prices are slightly cheaper if we go into the store. However, this seems fair, since the store is providing us with a service.  Every time I enter a grocery store, I remember why I hate grocery shopping.

We’ve always been heavy Amazon shoppers and have increased our Amazon shopping a bit. However, we’ve also added Target and Walmart deliveries and curbside pick-ups to our e-commerce profile. We don’t really need to browse when buying toilet paper, detergent, and garbage bags. We just want those items to get from the retailer to our house with minimal effort.

I’ve also begun expanding my portfolio of online merchants – going back to eBay, as well as purchasing many items from HipStamp (postage stamps) and AbeBooks (a division of Amazon that specializes in used books).

Fun fact: the industry term for Buy Online, Pick-up In Store is BOPIS. So when you order a pizza from an app and drive across town to pick it up, you’re engaging in a BOPIS e-commerce transaction.

The future

What does the future hold? Will we see a reversion back to a more traditional retail model, with brick-and-mortar stores as a major player?

I believe the answer to that is no. There was a segment of the population that had limited exposure to e-commerce before COVID-19. Instead of those people gradually gaining exposure to e-commerce, it happened suddenly due to COVID-19.  That toothpaste isn’t going back in the tube, so to speak. Many of those people are older, which actually makes e-commerce very convenient for them – being able to order online without leaving their houses, especially when the weather is hazardous.

On the other side of the spectrum are teenagers. In past generations, shopping malls and movie theaters were common gathering places for teens. Now, they’re more likely to hang out at someone’s house, eating pizza and choosing movies from various streaming services. The seating is more comfortable, and the selection of movies is much better. This generation grew up on the Amazon experience.

Related technologies

Even when physically going to a restaurant, I often use an app or a kiosk to order. The error rate on orders has been lower using this method than speaking to a person at a cash register. When placing an order at the restaurant, background noise or other distractions can cause the cashier to hear something incorrectly. This recently happened at a kiosk-less Burger King, where I ordered a double bacon cheeseburger, but the cashier thought I said a double bacon cheese Whopper. The apps and kiosks also make using coupons and collecting loyalty rewards easy. That can lead to free fast food. I can use the same coupon multiple times at Subway – without needing a physical coupon. My go-to codes are SUB399 for a $3.99 6-inch sub and MEAL599 for a $5.99 6-inch meal. It saves me a few bucks on the Supreme Meats sandwich or meal. [Editor’s Note: There are usually codes online for buy one, get one free on footlong subs. It’s a cheap, quality dinner for the family.]

Schools aren’t really retail establishments, but they do have a brick-and-mortar presence. Some apps make it much easier to track students’ progress. I can quickly check to see how my 10th grade and 8th graders are doing and encourage them to work on a big project that is due soon. The schools also pivoted to online parent-teacher conferences during COVID. This is incredibly convenient – sign up for a time slot and join the meeting at the assigned time. This makes it easy to attend conferences with many teachers in one night, as opposed to the free-for-all at the school, with everyone showing up simultaneously and waiting in line to see a teacher.

What about you?

I’ve told you my thoughts on trends and my personal experience. What about you? Do you believe that brick-and-mortar will make a comeback? If so, what will drive the resurgence? Are your transactions mostly brick-and-mortar or mostly e-commerce?

[Editor’s Note: It’s me, Lazy Man, adding my two cents to Kosmo’s thoughts.

I recently came back from the American Dream Mall in New Jersey. It’s designed to emphasize experiences such as a water park, ice skating, and skiing. They still have retail, but it’s separate. This is a better model for malls to emulate going forward.

I personally LOVE grocery shopping. It’s my happy place. I can go during off hours, compare prices, and hunt for deals.

As for school conferences, the school has always had parents sign up for a specific time slot. We get face-to-face contact without having to wait in line.]

Five Ways to Eat Good on the Cheap

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I couldn’t resist writing a list-based article that sounds straight out of 2008. However, that’s precisely what this article is going to be. Well, it will be my version of what I eat on the cheap. It’s going to be different than what you eat or how much you choose to spend on your food.

As I reach my late 40s, I realize that I need to focus on healthier foods. In the past, I would prioritize cost, taste, and especially quickness. It’s not just that I’m Lazy, but that when I had two toddlers and a bunch of dogs to feed, I came last.

The kids are older, but I’m still making many different meals. Here’s how I’m balancing things now:

Broccoli and Carrots

I mix these in a bowl at the start of most days and graze through it until lunch. I can still have a normal breakfast such as the breakfast sandwich that I pointed out here.

Eggs

You may have noticed, but eggs are back! They never disappeared, but they became so expensive that many looked for alternatives. Some of the cheapest stores near me had them near $5 for a dozen. I cut back on eating eggs. There’s no need to cut back anymore! One store near me has them consistently at $1.20 a dozen. Another is having a sale on eggs for 99 cents a dozen.

It’s going to be the summer of egg salad!

(Parts of this section may be best interpreted as coming from Seinfeld’s George Costanza.)

Beans

I’d forgotten that beans existed until an article came across my (virtual) desk: Eat more beans. Please.

Well, if you are going to ask nicely, you’ve got my attention. Most everyone knows beans are cheap and a great source of protein and fiber. That article makes a great point by explaining how it is eco-friendly too.

I’ve always bought and eaten a can of pinto beans that way. However, I’m exploring making them fresh. It’s a little more work and planning, but it’s a lot cheaper. I don’t need to save a few pennies, but I can make as much or as little as I need. I also don’t have to recycle the can. However, the big reason why I’m making them fresh is that it’s fun to learn something new. It’s helpful to control how much sodium I want to add (if any).

Chicken

It’s not surprising to see chicken on this list. What is surprising is that it seems to be inflation-proof. Stores are always running a special on bone-in chicken thighs for 99 cents a pound.

A lot of red meat has jumped up to $3.99 or $4.99, but chicken just stays the same.

Nuts

Peanuts have always been a favorite of mine. They might be the perfect food. They are cheap and full of protein. They have a lot of calories which can be good if you are in a rush and don’t have time for a meal.

I like to keep mixed nuts around. My theory is that the variety helps me diversify nutrients like a mutual fund helps diversify stocks. Mixed nuts may cost a little more. The lifestyle inflation police just took out a warrant for my arrest.

Instant Ramen

I know it’s weird to add ramen to this list. It has almost zero nutritional value. I might as well have added soda to the list, right? However, it’s cheap and quick to make. I also genuinely love the taste. It’s versatile too! I combine it with most of the above items on the list.

I have been making it wrong for years. I guess that the instructions say that you are supposed to add the flavoring at the end. I always dumped it in the water and cooked the noodles in that broth. I’ve probably been pouring 95% of the salt down the drain. That’s a great thing because all the sodium is the major concern with ramen.

Alternatively, I often choose rice. That’s healthier. It requires a little more planning, like the beans.

Final Thoughts

There you have it – some ways to eat on the cheap. As you can tell, I mostly went with foods that have protein. That can be the expensive part of the meal.

Should Superfake Handbags Be Illegal?

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I hope everyone had a great Mother’s Day. My wife was away last week but returned just in time to celebrate. It’s time to get back to work after taking a couple of days to catch up.

Before we get into today’s article, I’d like to take a minute to ask for a favor. The annual Plutus Awards (Oscars/Emmys for personal finance) is coming up, and they are accepting nominations. That means it’s time to grow my Susan Lucci losing streak to a 14th year. If you are a baseball nerd, you can think of me as the Jamie Moyer a slightly better-than-average performer who contributed way longer than anyone ever imagined.

The favor that I ask is for a nomination for a Lifetime Achievement Award. I’ve been a finalist twice but couldn’t break through to win it. It’s a difficult award, but the other awards are very specialized for certain types of blogs, such as real estate or military. There’s little room for a generalist in the award room – I think Lifetime Achievement is my best bet. You can submit nominations here.

And just to be a little greedy, my other site, Kid Wealth is a perfect fit for Best Financial Literacy Content for Children. Wouldn’t it be ironic if I won a Plutus Award for a relatively new and obscure website instead of the one I’ve been writing for over 17 years?

Enough of the appetizer – let’s get to the main course:

Should Superfake Handbags Be Illegal?

A couple of weeks ago, I came across this NY Times Article on superfake handbags. It should be free if you click on it.

Superfake handbags are counterfeit handbags that are done so well that most almost no one can tell it’s counterfeit. Even experts have trouble telling the difference sometimes.

I usually don’t read or write about fashion. I don’t get enjoyment from fashion. As Jack Johnson sings, “Look at all those fancy clothes – But these gonna keep us warm, just like those.” I usually focus my buying decisions on functionality.

For example, I’ll buy a laptop based on the underlying specifications, not the name on the cover. I give value to the brand if it’s known for its reliability. I don’t buy Apple products, but I recognize that people get very good value from the ecosystem (functionality) and reliability.

So when it comes to fashion, I have to say that I simply don’t get it. The closest I have come to understanding it is that it helps get you acceptance into some club of your peers. There’s a lot of it at my kids’ private school. Buying social acceptance seems weird. However, I guess it’s not too much different than one of the main reasons I went to college – to get a sheepskin from the school saying I was knowledgeable. (The diploma wasn’t even made out of sheepskin.)

When it comes to handbags and counterfeit handbags, it feels odd to me. Should a company be profiting from tokens of social acceptance? To me, it doesn’t feel like a handbag company should profit off of a social construct in my local area. It makes as much to me as buying a pet rock or getting caught up in another fad.

On another level, I understand that companies produce intellectual property and should be able to profit from that. Superfake handbags get a free ride by copying the design work that went into the handbag.

When I’m confused about something, I often try to think of an analogy to help me sort it out. Suppose I painted a Mona Lisa at home and sold it to someone. That would presumably be fine. It would undoubtedly look like a third-grader’s refrigerator art, but it would be legal, right? No one is going to come to arrest me. The buyer of my terrible fake Mona Lisa knows they aren’t getting the real thing.

Now let’s say I get really good at painting Mona Lisa’s. I paint them so well that they can’t be distinguished from the real thing. People like my knock-off Mona Lisas and decide to pay me a few hundred dollars for them. I’m not defrauding my customers – they know they aren’t getting the real Mona Lisa. This doesn’t seem to be illegal.

Maybe the difference is that there’s not a clear victim. I’d certainly be profiting off of Leonardo da Vinci work. His descendants may be upset (if they can be found). Maybe the Louvre in Paris would become bitter that fewer people want to visit it. That’s a stretch, too, as there are many other reasons to go to the Louvre.

Is the only difference that the handbag is from a corporation? Maybe Leonardo da Vinci’s works have fallen into the public domain so his descendants can’t claim the same intellectual property rights?

Another analogy is generic medication. It’s functionally the same as the branded medication. Yet, in most cases, generic versions of brand medications are entirely legal. There are no police at WalMart taking Equate brand of Acetaminophen because it is a replica of Tylenol.

It’s weird that fashion seems to be treated differently legally than other industries. Printer companies are famously trying to get the law to apply to counterfeit ink refill cartridges. One company added a microchip to the cartridge to tell the printer that it was an authentic cartridge. Of course, a refill company made a replacement chip to put in their cartridges , and that became a lawsuit.

Usually, I know where I’m going to end up when I write an article. Today, I have no answers. I guess you can go ahead and get all the knock-off Mona Lisas and printer cartridges you want, but not if it’s a handbag.

The Cost of Summer Camp (2023 Edition)

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The Cost of Summer Camp (2023 Edition)

Last year, I wrote about the cost of summer camp, and it generated some interesting conversations. Most of the article was about how expensive camps are nowadays compared to when I was a kid. I think I remember a story saying she paid $25 to send me to camp for a whole week. It was 40 years ago and must have been subsidized.

That camp had the typical things like sports, arts and crafts, hikes, and some swim lessons and “free swim.” It was terrible doing swim lessons at 9 AM in a 60-degree pool, but it was a requirement for afternoon free swim. That was the best because by then, it was 90 degrees out, the water was nice, and we got to do whatever silly pool stuff we wanted.

We tried the local YMCA for years here. It was the closest thing to that. The price for the YMCA is reasonable, and they have long hours, which is good for us parents. I think they have a lot of donors and subsidies to keep the cost of camp low, so the most working family have a more affordable option. I suspect that the camp counselors aren’t paid very well, and they have a lot of kids in one group. It makes sense. That’s how they can keep the costs low and have long hours. Unfortunately, the kids hate the YMCA camp. The camp counselor takes away anything fun if one kid misbehaves. Because of the big groups, there’s always one kid that spoils it for the whole group.

We gave up on the YMCA camp two years ago and went with specialty camps. Last year my youngest (then 8) ended up doing a lot of camps at his school, but he was often the oldest of the kids, and some of the weeks weren’t fun. They wouldn’t let him work with scissors strong enough to cut cardboard for the safety of the younger kids. Ironically, his school now has a woodworking class, and he’s working with power tools. It was quite a change in 2-3 months. This is the first year we aren’t doing those camps for grades 3-4 and under. They grow up so fast, right?

Putting together summer camps for us is a complex logic puzzle. They like some of the same things but can’t be in the same class at the same time. Whenever they are, fighting and calls home ensue. However, they are naturally very different personalities, so that doesn’t become a problem. It only creates a problem of dropping off and picking them up when they all start around the same time. Naturally, the camps they like tend to be the most expensive ones. At least there’s some enrichment to them. I like when they learn or improve valuable skills.

Kid 1: Ten-Year-Old

Last year, I insisted he try sailing camp. Sailing is big in Newport, Rhode Island. It’s so big that the National Sailing Hall of Fame has moved here. It was a massive failure at first. He got anxious and wouldn’t do anything. We had to commit to a two-week session, so it was scary that they could just cancel everything. Fortunately, with two strikes, he got better. By the end, he was okay with sailing… but not okay enough to want to do it again. At least he tried it and is now comfortable enough on some small boats. It was good growth to overcome the fear. Even though sailing may not be for him, I’ll consider it a win.

He also started with a theater camp which is run by his school. It started off like sailing, “It’s all girls here! This is the worst!” After that initial drop-off and sign-in, he must have worked it out. He LOVED it when I picked him up at the end of the day. It has a lot of older kids (all the way to 17 and 18, I think), which is generally good for him. Over three weeks, they created their own musical – plot, songs, everything. I legitimately enjoyed it. I would have paid at least $10 to see it. Turns out that we paid a good deal more – LOL.

Kid 1 at cooking camp two years ago
To round things out, we did two things that worked well the previous two years: veterinarian camp and cooking camp. The vet camp works well with my dog boarding business. I’m a huge fan of kids learning cooking – it’s a lifelong skill that will save them a lot of money.

This year, we’re building on the success of the theater camp. He’s doing the musical camp again. After that, he’s going to do Shakespeare camp. I feel that Shakespeare may be too tough for an almost fifth-grader, but Shakespeare, when performed as a play, was always easier to understand for me. Also, it’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, which is an easier, fun level of Shakespeare. We’ll see how it goes.

We’re ditching the sailing and keeping cooking and vet camp. The cooking camp is technically for 11-16-year-olds, but I emailed them, and they are confident that my kid can handle it since he has two years with them and has familiarity with the kitchen. Plus, he’ll only be a couple of months shy of being officially 11 by the time camp starts.

Kid 2: Nine-Year-Old

Since he’s too old for all the weeklong activities that his school had last year, we have another four weeks to fill.

Like Kid 1, I insisted Kid 2 try sailing camp last year. Since they are very different people, kid 2 LOVED it. It was easy to sign him up for that again.

He also enjoyed the vet camp last year. He only fit the 1-3 grade range last year, but this year, we got him doing more difficult pet care with the 4-7th graders.

We had him signed up for a short e-day cooking camp last year, but we had to cancel for our Disney Cruise. They were able to refund all our money, which was great. This year, he’s getting a full week, the same as Kid 1 got the last two years. He loves cooking with mom, so I suspect this will be a win. Fortunately, he’s doing a different level and different week than his brother, so their streams won’t cross (surprise Ghostbusters reference!). We did the same thing with the vet camp above.

That takes us through half the summer, but we still have four weeks to go.

We signed him up with the local art museum’s Animation Camp. Kid 2 loves art, and he went there two years ago. Nothing worked out at the art camp last year. We got lucky that this worked out. A lot of what they have are finger painting and pottery. This is the perfect activity at the perfect age (9 to 12-year-olds).

Lastly, he’s going to musical camp with Kid 1. Streams crossing alert! It actually works out that he’ll be separate from his brother as he’ll be working on “techie” side – stage design, lighting, sound, etc. They don’t work together that much with the actors. It’s perfect as they can be there to support each other as necessary, but they won’t be getting in each other’s way.

The Cost of Summer Camp

Summer camp has become a big business. Consumers will pay for the education of their kids. Perhaps it is a trap, but I’ve fallen for it.

I don’t really believe that. I think it’s genuinely expensive to provide some special training and kid care. Also, if the vet camp makes some extra money, it’s going to help the animal shelter. If the theater camp makes extra money, it’s going back to my kids’ school, so they’ll benefit that way.

Each kid is signed up for eight weeks of camp. Kid 1’s camps are $2,810. Kid 2’s camps are $2,595. That averages to $351 and $324 a week each. Ironically the sailing camp for Kid 2 is cheaper than the other camps, so we save a little money on him.

That’s $5400 in camps. Last year we only did seven weeks of camps. The average weekly price back then was $321 and $307, so this is more expensive. It would be easy to blame inflation, but when I look a little deeper at each camp, it’s more about them going with more expensive choices this year.

It’s tempting to say that it’s too much money, but the alternative is often travel – which is a lot more expensive. We can’t travel too much, though, because my wife doesn’t get unlimited vacation time. I also do my best business during the summer tourist season. It’s also impossible to compare camps to the experience of traveling with family full-time.