Austin City Limits Studio tour

What if I told you that for free, you could share the stage with the likes of Willie Nelson, Jimmy Buffett, Johnny Cash, and Dave Matthews? You'd probably assume you were the winner of some contest you didn't realize you'd entered. Well...you can't actually get on stage WITH them, but you can see where they (and hundreds of other world-renowned artists) recorded at the iconic Austin City Limits studio. The award winning music series enters into it's 35th season this year and is at the very heart of the "Live music capital of the world."

The best part is you can see it all for free! Every Friday at 10:30 a.m., tours are given that show you everything from backstage and production to the infamous mock skyline that make this show so great. There are also great stories of the performers and performances.

You'll need to hurry and do it though as the studio will be moving from KLRU Studios, it's famous set located inside the College of Communications on the University of Texas campus. In February 2011, the set will officially move to it's new location inside the luxurious W Hotel near 2nd Street downtown.

Don't miss your chance to see a piece of Austin, live music history! Both the show and the studio were recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, go see what it's all about.

Iphone on the Cheap

I guess if you wanted to stick to the letter of the law, living cheaply doesn't really coalesce with being an Iphone user...but come on it's the 21st century! If you splurge on anything it should be a device that contains all your music, email, calling, and texting capabilities and excels in all of the above areas. Money saving suggestion: stick with the same company and then you can upgrade your phone for cheap, I got an Iphone for $50.

Iphones can be a lot of fun or entertainment, but they can also be very functional. I obviously only buy free apps, and have more than enough, but did you know you can also find apps to actually help you save money?

Time Magazine recently ran a story with "20 money saving apps," and 13 of them were free. Some interesting ones:

1) Yard Sale Manager (Free) - this rounds up yard, tag, garage, and rummage-type sales and places them on a map, complete with directions from where you are at.

2) Skype (Free) - rather than use your minutes, Skype makes calls over the internet, something that may allow you to scale down your plan. However, AT&T doesn't offer data-only plans.

3) Local Reuse (Free) - This service tries to a) cut down on landfill refuse and b) connect users who are getting rid of a product with someone who may be seeking a product, and connect their locations. The money could be saved if you are seeking say "a paper-shredder." Very green.

4) Stanza (Free) - This is a smaller, but free alternative to the Kindle. It can also possibly save you on the cost of some books. It currently has about 50,000 titles.

Cheap Gas??

Cheap gas is one of those famous oxymorons like jumbo shrimp, exact estimate, soft rock, etc. If you've been living anywhere besides under a rock for the past 5 years, you've probably realized gas aint cheap. But you can minimize your expenses in many ways.

1) Use alternate transportation. The bus pays for the gas, so no matter the gas price, you pay a standard fare. Best deal currently: Capital MetroBus 31-Day Pass (unlimited rides) - $28/ $14 with a student or military ID. That's cheaper than a tank of gas.

1a) You could take the proposed Austin Light Rail, which after years of delay's has an expected start date of this March.

3) If you're going to drive, make sure that you're carpooling. Not only will this make you feel better about saving the earth, but if you split the costs it can help save your wallet too.

4) Before you go out, check Austin Gas Prices to be aware of the lowest prices at gas stations closest to you. It's searchable by zip code, which is a nice feature and also maintains an up-to-date list of the lowest regular gas prices in Austin in the last 36 hours, along with maps and directions to the stations. There is a also a corresponding list for the highest regular gas prices in the last 36 hours. All prices are entered by ordinary Austin residents and it is a great way to rally as consumers and save on gasoline expenses.

-- There are also several forums and polls on the site for residents to discuss gas and transportation related queries and legislation.

-- Join the related site, GasBuddy. Sign up and pledge to report the cheapest and most expensive gas in your area. The more you report, the more points you collect and you could potentially win vouchers for pre-paid gas! Membership is completely free and this is an effective community tool to help Austinites in their quest for cheaper gas! Check out a gas price temperature map that shows you the gas prices across the nation and Texas at a glance.

5) Before driving, you should also pick up some tips to maximize your gas efficiency and keep your car purring from Fuel Ecomony, an entity of the Environmental Protection Agency.

These are my best tips for getting around Austin cheaply. Check out this interesting video by The Wall Street Journal about electric cars taking over pick-up trucks in Texas. I don’t know if that is an actual trend but it is a cool idea! If you're feeling drastic, give it a try.

Deal of the day: Every Monday is free pool at Slick Willie's. There are numerous locations around Austin.

How I got here...

Before I begin with this blog, I feel it's important to tell the situation that has led to the creation of this blog. I am in my fourth year at the University of Texas, and am in my final semester. Thus, I've been in Austin for almost 4 years. I'll be the first to tell you that Austin isn't the most expensive city to live in, and compared to similar cities is actually quite cheap (one of the MANY reasons I love it here). I have found ways to make it even cheaper. However, I feel I must divulge that some of those ways aren't available to everyone.


I do not hold a "job" in the traditional sense of being rewarded monetarily for the amount of work I do. Rather, I am a "waiter" at a sorority house in West Campus. Essentially, I work 2 nights a week, filling 32 glasses of water, setting out food, cleaning up the food, and taking out the trash. If I were to receive a fair and competitive hourly wage, it would probably be about $1.75 for the amount of work I do. Instead, I eat the chef's gourmet meals both nights I work, and lunch 5 days of the week. Even at a moderate estimate of $5 per meal, that is a $35 value, and if you include that I get to take home all the leftovers to cover snacks or other meals, it may be my biggest weapon in living cheaply. I believe that food is the easiest way to spend big, and a fairly easy way to noticeably save - it's a matter of being deliberate and conscious of what you're spending.

Being of legal drinking age, I also enjoy going out, especially to Austin's (in)famous sixth street. On any given night, there are drink specials to be had to reduce the cost of going out, even if you have that wild urge on a Sunday or Tuesday night. You can easily google Austin drink specials for a given night. You can also check out StudyBreaks breakdown or dailyhappyhour.com. Later I'll give a comprehensive look at each night of the week. Probably the best deals for downtown however are bar-tabs. I was selected to be a member of the Texas Cowboys, UT's oldest honorary service organization. We have very affordable dues at around $350, but throughout the semester will have, among many other things, 6-8 bar-tabs that are completely paid for by the organization.


I pride myself on getting the best value in anything I do. I analyze even the smallest decision to decide what gives me the best value, while factoring in satisfaction. This means, I won't buy a generic brand over a name-brand if the product is unpleasing, but will often try generic brands in an attempt to find what I like to call "treasures."

Considering that, I spend $220 for rent in prime real estate in the heart of West Campus, where apartments range from $650 - $1000. This is just one of the advantages of being a member of the Tejas Club. I truly believe that for any social organization, on any campus, anywhere in the world, it is the absolute best value. Our dues are a mere $250 a semester, and comes with a network of alumni that rivals any single fraternity chapter anywhere in the country (including Exxon-Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson, CarMax founder and CEO Austin Ligon, inventor of the "Hook 'Em Horns" hand sign Harley Clark, and many others).

I realize that these opportunities to save money are not universal and from this point on will focus on things that anyone can do. I did however, want to give a bit of background on how else I've gotten the maximum college experience for the minimum price.

Free Coupon of the day:Denny's Grand Slam

breakfast: 6 am - 2 pm. [No coupon/printing necessary] You may've seen this ad during the Super Bowl on Sunday, or like myself, you may've gone last year and were waiting to see if they

did it again. There is also no fine print that prohibits receiving multiple free plates at multiple Denny's establishments... ethical dilemma. (picture from 09 Grand Slam offer)