Rumors of my demise have been greatly inflated

I'm not dead, I'm just totally flat broke. I guess I could be blogging about how I've pulled something like 12 of those Topps Million Codes, and one of the first ones I pulled was a 1999 Derek Jeter Auto worth about a C note, but no one really cares about those. At some point when I stop buying Series 1 I'll do a big post.

In terms of other budget collecting, I've noticed that GI Joe figures from last Summer's movie have been popping up at Ross and TJ Maxx stores lately, so that's been a boon to my collection. I can't justify buying the darn things at 8 bucks a pop, but half price isn't so bad.

I could post about how I'm really lame and haven't sent out my end of the trades I made in LAST NOVEMEBER yet, but I can't even do that right now since the box of cards that I need to get to got accidentally moved into storage and we haven't paid the bill yet for this month and can't access it.

What I can post about is how to get free money.

Wait, what's that? Free money?

I recently earned myself a $1,500 cash grant from the Jewish Federation, just for being Jewish and being broke. In Judaism there's a practice called Mitzvahs, where Jews are expected to help out those less fortunate than themselves. I often find that most religions have some sort of giving back to the community, and in truth I think that's the best part of being religious, the safety net that your peers have around you is very comforting. In any case, I was told about the program where the Federation was giving out cash to needy Jews during this bad economy, and I went for it. Sure I had to provide tax records and be interviewed about my need, but that was the easy part. The hard part was actually swallowing my pride and asking for the grant in the first place.

From what I understand there's a TON of cash grants out there for people in need, a google search should provide enough listings to get started on. Be careful though, make sure you're dealing with a reputable source and do your homework. There's a lot of cons out there too, and for some reason it's always easier to prey on those who are already down.

Oh and just in case you're wondering, the grant went entirely to rent, freeing up the dough we would have spent on rent to catch up on bills and such.

But such a Mitzvah!