ING DIRECT Cafe Opening: Free Internet, Lattes & Financial Seminars!

Want to learn more about saving money, investing and managing your wallet in these tough economic times? How about chillin' in a cool, new cafe with a FREE latte (see coupon below) and FREE WiFi? ING DIRECT is highlighting the opening of their NEW 3rd Ave Cafe by hosting Savers Week April 28th through May 2nd with tons of FREE EVENTS including a clothing swap, kiddie carnival (with FREE orange cotton candy) and conversations with top banking executives.

Savers Week Events

April 28^th: Conversation with Arkadi Kuhlmann- from 6:30pm-8pm, the President and Chairman of ING DIRECT will be discussing his take on the current economic climate.

April 29^th: Quiz Quest and SpeedBanking!- Test your knowledge about ING DIRECT during Quiz Quest from 11am to 3pm (with a chance to win prizes!) and find your perfect ING DIRECT product match during Speed Banking from 4pm to 7pm.

April 30^th: Conversation with Dan Greenshields- from 7:30am to 9am, the President of ShareBuilder, ING DIRECT’s online brokerage, will be discussing the innovation in business that is ShareBuilder.

May 1^st: Café Savers Swap- from 3pm to 6pm, the Cafe will host a swap meet where consumers have an outlet to exchange their goods (i.e. electronics, apparel, books, costume jewelry & small home goods) with each other for FREE! All leftover items will be donated to the Salvation Army and Goodwill.

May 2^nd: Kiddy Karnival! from 1pm on Saturday, on the second floor you can let your little tikes run around and play carnival games. There will also be an orange cotton candy machine as well as a popcorn machine and other refreshments for the children’s enjoyment. On the main floor, the Rents can have a break and talk to associates about ING DIRECT products. Refreshments and snacks will be provided.

NOTE: All events take place at the Cafe.

ING DIRECT New York City Café

968 Third Avenue (at 58th St)

New York, NY 10022

212-752-8432

Hours of Operation: Monday - Friday 7AM to 6PM, Saturday 9AM to 7PM, Sunday 10AM to 6PM.

FREE BEVERAGE OF YOUR CHOICE COUPON! Click here

For more information on ING DIRECT visit www.ingdirect.com or call 1-800-ING DIRECT.

Thrift Store Shopping, Name Brands, Cheap Price!

A few weeks ago my coworker told me about the thrift stores on 23rd St (Thanks, Kirtley!). I was in desperate need for some new clothing, but I am on quite a tight budget. Thus, this weekend, I ventured to 23rd St (btwn Lexington and 1st Ave) to go find some treasures.

Boy, did I hit the jackpot!!!

First, I stopped by the Salvation Army.
212 E 23rd St, New York, NY‎ (btwn 3rd Ave & 2nd Ave)
(212) 532-8115
‎

In terms of thrift stores, it's not the cleanest or the most organized (except for the clothing). Also, if you walk in and are wondering where all the clothes are, they are 1 floor below in the dimly lit basement (and yes the only mode of transportation is a rickety elevator. Looking for the perfect location for a Horror film in NYC?). If you are willing to dig you might come up with some treasures (They did have a great selection of cowboy boots. However at $30 it was still out of my price range.). I did find this gorgeous, gray, GAP shift for work and at $6.99 (tax included) it is a great addition to my work wardrobe. The only major issue I had with the place, was the lack of dressing room. I wanted to try on more things, but I didn't really feel like showing the other shoppers my bright, red Super girl boyshorts.

The next stop was Goodwill Industries.
220 E 23rd Street, New York, NY (btwn 3rd Ave & 2nd Ave)
(212) 447-7270‎


This store is like the Mecca of thrift stores in NYC. First, the store is bright (like fluorescent, Wal-mart lighting bright), big and well organized. Clothing is separated by color and type. I went straight to the sweaters. One of my first picks was a chic, black, Banana Republic sweater. Perfect for work or a first date: classic, but slightly salacious. At $9.99, it made the cut.

Next I headed over to the jeans. I think the final count for the number of jeans I tried on was 40 pairs. However, with over 100 jeans on the rack, it wasn't hard to pick a few out. Another great thing about this store- it HAS A DRESSING ROOM! And on a busy Saturday afternoon, there was never more than a 4 minute wait. I finally settled on 3 pairs, in excellent condition and all name brand: Gap, Express and Guess. At $7.99 a pair, you can't beat it!

Final total:

3 pairs of jeans, 1 sweater and 1 shift = $40.95
(which doesn't even cover the cost for one pair of jeans at the mall).