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How
to Make Your
$$$ Go Further
We
all are feeling the pinch of these hard economic times. As food, rent,
and general living expenses continue to
rise it takes some serious creativity to
make ends meet. Below
are some cash-saving hints that might
be useful in the coming months. Also
check out Seven Days bi-weekly column Getting
By for more great tips on how to live frugally.
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Thrift/Reuse
Stores – Vermont
has a whole host of fabulous thrift stores where you can find clothes,
shoes, accessories, and household goods. Check out the Seven
Days
Secondhand Shopping
Guide for some great leads!
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Join a
Co-op - For example a membership
at City Market costs as little as $15/year and you can join as a
household with your roommates and split the cost. If you and your
roommates decide to become member workers (member workers work 4hrs per
month) you can
split the hours and earn a 12% discount for your entire household!
Members also receive a patronage refund when City Market
makes a profit which means you earn dollars back at the end of the year
based on how much you spend.
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Look for Liquidation Stores - For
example at CheeseTraders (located right next to Higher Ground) you can
find cabot cheese ends for half the price and other discounted natural
food products. Depending on the day you might find - cereal, pasta,
canned food, oats, yogurt.
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Other Food
Shopping Tips -Going shopping once a week instead of
multiple
times, having meal ideas in mind ahead of time, and shopping with a
list of needed ingredients can reduce how much you are spending at the
grocery store. Also looking for coupons and buying as much as you can
in bulk can make a big difference.
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Car Share
VT -
Did you know that CarShare Vermont has 8 cars
around town, including two right on campus? It's really easy to
become a member, and for most of us, is much more affordable and
convenient than trying to upkeep a car on our own, and you don't have
to worry about snow bans! Check out their website www.carsharevt.org,
or contact
Karen (karen@carsharevt.org
or 861-2340) for more info or to sign up!
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UVM
Rideshare
- Going out of town? Consider sharing a ride and splitting the cost of
gas. You can connect with other students at http://www.uvm.edu/~dos/rideshare/
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Make Pizza at Home – Pizza places like
Leonardos sell large doughs over the counter for $2! Making pizza
at home is way cheaper that ordering
delivery.
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Winter
Farmer's Market - If you are looking for fresh locally grown
produce it is usually cheaper (and more fun!) to buy directly from the
farmers. The market is
held the third Saturday of every month from
10am-2pm in
Memorial Auditorium (corner of Main and S. Union).
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Check Out
Burlington
Telecom Prices - Because Burlington
Telecom is a municipally owned company you might be able to get
cheaper rates on internet, phone, and cable. Check
out how they compare.
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Energy
Efficiency - Always a great way to save money during the
winter!
For tips please see our November
Off-Campus Life newslettter.
There are also many programs in the city of Burlington
and state of Vermont
that offer assistance with food, fuel, and healthcare in times of
economic
distress. To find out what you might be eligible for go to, www.screendoor.vt.gov,
www.GreenMountainCare.org
, or www.cvoeo.org.
You can
also call 211 or go to http://www.vermont211.org/
if
you need help finding help.
If you have other tips on how to live
low-cost that you would like to share with our off-campus community
please send them our way! Alicia.Taylor@uvm.edu
Operation
Snow Shovel
Needs Volunteers!
The City of Burlington is pleased to announce the
return of Operation Snow Shovel, a referral program that connects
residents who need help shoveling with volunteers who are willing to
help them out.
Volunteers are matched with a person in need of  shoveling
who lives in a location
convenient to them. Volunteers commit
to shoveling the walk leading up to the front door of their match’s
residence within 24-48 hours of each snowfall, when it snows over three
inches. Operations Snow Shovel volunteers ensure that the most
vulnerable of our citizens who cannot remove snow from their own
walkways can get out and otherwise remain independent. It is a great
and simple way to give back this winter. At present there are many
people waiting to be matched up in the New North End of Burlington, so
please consider signing up to
volunteer.
To volunteer please call 865-7548 or email Abby
Knapp at aknapp@ci.burlington.vt.us.
Have you been a victim
of Crime?
The Parallel Justice program is
available to every victim of crime that occurred in Burlington since
July 1, 2006, even if the incident was not reported to the police.
Assistance might be as simple as a supportive conversation about the
incident or connecting someone to resources in the community, or as
involved as walking someone through the court process and ensuring
their basic needs are met.
Parallel Justice is a partnership between the
Community Justice Center (a program of CEDO’s Center for Community and
Neighborhoods), the Burlington Police Department and the Vermont Center
for Crime Victim Services. If you’ve been a victim of crime, or would
like more information:
Call: (802) 264-0764
On the Web: www.pjburlington.org
Community Policing Neighborhood Survey
- Your Input Needed!!
Please take a moment to complete the Burlington
Police Department's Community Policing Re-Assessment Survey available
online at www.bpdvt.org.
Background Information:
The Burlington Police Department has provided law
enforcement services to the Queen City since 1865. Since 1999 they have
operated using community policing as the primary methodology. Described
succinctly, community policing is a model of community safety in which
all members of a community play a role in ensuring a safe, healthy, and
self-reliant city.
As the BPD approaches 2009 and the ten-year
anniversary of their contemporary community policing efforts, they
believe it is time to assess what strategies have been successful,
which require improvement, and what lies ahead for Burlington’s
community policing efforts. To that end, with the assistance of an
Advisory Board made up of seven representatives from around the City (including Chris Shackett a SGA Senator and
Chair of the Committee on Legislative Action), they have
designed a community engagement process that will be deployed in
January and February of 2009.
The primary goals of this process are three-fold.
First, they hope to have an opportunity to discuss the future of
policing with a sizable number of Burlington residents and businesses.
Next, working from a list of ideas about future partnerships,
initiatives, and programs they seek to gain the community’s assistance
in refining and prioritizing these ideas. Finally, working from the
discussions and the ideas present, they will solicit new ideas from
throughout the Burlington community.
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