Trick-or-Treat

The above picture was snapped of our son Sondre not long before his 3rd birthday. He donned his Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue (or maybe it was Jake the Pirate, I can’t remember) costume in preparation for the annual ritual of trick-or-treating. Mom and Dad of course had to snap a few pictures, but Mr. Sixx was not too cooperative. He was overly excited to receive handouts of candy from friends, acquaintances and strangers for free and without mom and dad saying no. He simply had to show up on a doorstep and say “trick-o-treat” as only a small child can. BOOM! Candy in the bag.

As Halloween approaches, I ponder how we as adults “treat” ourselves and what the cost of these "treats" may be. Although I don’t have numbers based on spreadsheets and hours of analysis (sorry to disappoint), here are a few things that our household indulges in: My wife for example enjoys several Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes during this time of year at about $32.50 a pop. I am hopelessly addicted to fountain soda, ice cream sandwiches and strangely enough protein/energy bars (probably because my wife doesn’t keep candy bars about the house). None of these items are exactly cheap either. 

I don’t want to sound like a stereotypical tight-ass, stick-in-the-mud CPA. I do understand that as humans we do need to “treat” ourselves from time to time. What’s the point of busting your hump for a paycheck or running a business if you can’t enjoy the spoils every now and then?

I have created two lists below – one containing “tricks” to save ourselves a few bucks and one with some moderately priced ideas to “treat” ourselves.

Trick

1. Limit the Starbucks or (insert other over-priced coffee shop name). If you enjoy a special coffee to start your morning seek out specialty brands at your local grocery store and brew your own. In my neck of the woods “Cameron’s Specialty Coffee” has some pretty darn good coffee in my opinion
2. Limit eating out for lunch. Bring your lunch with you. You can get out of the office by making a trip to a local park, etc. to have your lunch. If you do choose to eat out look for bargains. Many eating establishments offer lunch specials on certain days of the week. Make those days the days you treat yourself.
3. If co-workers decide to stop of for a quick drink and appetizer after work find a place that offers some decent happy hour specials. If you look hard enough you can find some pretty interesting and quaint places that have nice selections at a moderate price. (For those of you old enough and in the Bismarck-Mandan, ND area – remember $1 Hamm’s beers at the Sandbar?)
4. Avoid the break room or hallway vending machine as much as possible, for various reasons.
5. Take public transit, carpool or drive an economical vehicle if possible. For example my wife and I own a Toyota Tundra and Chevy Traverse due to the adverse weather conditions in North Dakota. My wife works overnights and I work days so we share a “work car” during the non-winter months. A 1996 Pontiac Sunfire that gets about 30 mpg and is definitely a sweet ride. Cherry red, no air conditioning, ripped upholstery, added dents for aerodynamic contour. Before you start PMing me it is not for sale.

Treats

1. Go to a movie. With all the on-demand, red box, etc. Going to a movie at an actual movie theater can be quite fun if you have not done so for a while. Make sure you eat well before you go to limit the concessions, but spoil yourself a bit.
2.  If you have National or State Parks nearby, get an annual pass. It can be fun to just drive through these areas and see the sights if you are not into hiking, camping or other outdoorsy type activities.
3. Go out for dinner with your spouse, significant other, or friends. Choose a weeknight if possible and search out specials to make the event more affordable. It may actually be more enjoyable as well, as crowds likely will be avoided.
4. Enjoy city and neighborhood parks. You can walk, people watch, feed pigeons, get pooped on by pigeons, etc. Funs times.
5. Look up an old friend or acquaintance you have not spoken with for some time and reacquaint yourself with them. Whether it be at their home, your home, a coffee shop, a dinner date. It doesn’t matter. I personally enjoy running into people I have not seen or spoken to for some time. It is fun to catch up and to reminisce about old times.

I would like to hear your thoughts on additional “tricks” to save a few buck, but more importantly what you do to “treat” yourself. We all need a “treat” every now and then.

Bonus!

In honor of All Hallows’ Eve - enjoy “Warren Zevon” performing “Werewolves of London, what I interpret as a quirky little ditty about “less than savory, well dressed, ladies men” that live among us every day. 

Remember, avoid any dude drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic’s with perfect hair. Although, I’d like to meet his tailor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhSc8qVMjKM

Warren wrote some pretty good tunes, this one makes me smile and sometimes actually laugh out loud when I hear it on the radio. The video only adds to the humorous and satirical nature of the song.

A former co-worker and I used to jam to Warren Z while traveling long hours on the road for work. It made the trips more enjoyable. I hope you enjoy as well.

R.I.P. Warren Z

Factoid that may interest only me:

Nikki Sixx, along with co-host Jenn Marino, hosts a nationally syndicated rock radio show Sixx Sense. It’s pretty good in my opinion. Give it a listen if you get a chance.