The Key To Happiness

A week or so ago, dear ones, your MatchGirl received a copy of the newly published book Happiness On $10 A Day by Brooklyn gal Heather Wagner. It proclaims to be a recession-proof guide to happiness, with 120 wallet-friendly activities.

And after reading it - cover to cover - I would have to agree.

Divided into chapters ranging from "Flying Solo" to "Schadenfreude" and then subdivided with costs and quirky icons representing exactly what type of happiness you will find with each activity, Happiness is a fun, quick read - filled with a lot of cheap (and many free) things to do.

Sure, you may already know that sitting on a park bench, alternating between watching the locals pass by and reading a book, while sipping a beverage from a thermos, is a lovely way to spend an afternoon, did you consider all the other free and fun things you can do in your favorite park? In your city? With your hunny (or that random guy/gal you picked up at the Meat Market last night)?

Here are a few of my favorites:

Stalk Your Successful Friend's Online Presence: Gore Vidal once said "Every time a friend succeeds, I die a little."

I mean, who amongst us hasn't felt a pang of jealousy when a frenemy succeeds. Especially, if , like yours truly, one is unemployed and single and not really sure where that is going to take them!

Amateur Mixology:

Included in this section are several tasty recipes for classic cocktails. Your MatchGirl's favorite part? The recession versions, like this one for a classic Caipirinha:

Substitute good-quality cachaça with bottom-shelf rum, mix with 7-Up over ice, and serve with Telemundo

Bake Your Own Bread: ... it's fun to be at home, working on this hearty and wholesome project, as opposed to being outside, where you're far more likely to spend money and get into trouble.

Trouble! Tell me about it! Your MatchGirl spent many a wintry, unemployed day inside baking and saved a lot of money! Though perhaps she could have used a little bit more of the getting into trouble...

Happiness reads like it was written by your girlfriend - the one who plans the most fun outings at the drop of the hat, who has a killer boyfriend who seems like one of the gang and who is always willing to go bar-hopping so you can get your single self a li'l summin summin. And your MatchGirl has five copies of this book to give away to you, gentle readers.

If you'd like one of these swell tomes, send me an e-mail (unemployedbrooklyn @ gmail.com) with your favorite recession friendly (cheap or free, please!!!) activity. The first five to reply will receive a copy of the book. I will share all my favorites on Unemployed Brooklyn at a later date.