I hope that everyone had an enjoyable Father’s Day and that you were able to spend time with the dads in your life. We spent the day with both of our dads and I spent a portion of the day doing some baking for a Father’s Day treat to go along with our gift.

This year, I bought the dads a pound of Starbucks coffee. Coffee is always a good no-brainer gift and I was able to get a pound of it for $6.99 at Target, which I thought was a pretty good deal. Now usually I pair this with a coffee mug, but I have noticed lately that both of our fathers’ coffee mug collections are getting a little bit much for them. I know that this is a gift that they get frequently, from one of us kids, and so I decided to not do that this year. Last year though, I used a coupon and hit a decorate-your-own pottery place and I made a mug for my dad. It is his absolute favorite mug and he uses it every day. He won’t let it go through the dishwasher and I always see it sitting by his coffee pot. Maybe one of these days, I will make another mug, but he seems to really like the one he has now. This is a good (and personal) alternative to the coffee mug gift.

With the coffee, I wanted to pair it with a sweet treat. The dads in my life are very health-conscious though and so I didn’t want to bring them a snack that they couldn’t eat. Trying to pick something healthy was a challenge, but I was up for one. Thankfully, I had just checked out a new book at the library called, “Fast Food Fix,” by Devin Alexander. In this cookbook were all these restaurant favorites, but she makes a copycat version of them with half the fat & calories. I decided to give her version of Starbuck’s Banana Pound Cake a try since I thought it would taste so good with the coffee. I did these pound cakes in my stoneware mini loaf pan (one of my all-time favorite purchases from Goodwill for five bucks!) and they turned out absolutely perfect. In the mini loaf pan, they looked done after about forty minutes. You will just want to check it a little bit more frequently if you are doing it in a smaller pan.

I really liked this recipe and thought that it was a nice treat with the coffee, but not that overly-stick-to-your-teeth sweet that leaves you with a tummy ache.

The book is full of some really great recipes and I am excited to try a few more out, given the success of the pound cakes. I hope you guys can give these a shot! It was a great way to use up some of my ripe bananas that are in my fruit basket. If you are looking for a stick-to-your-teeth treat, try my heavenly banana bread.

Starbucks: Banana Pound Cake

Ingredients: Butter flavored cooking spray, 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas, 1 cup sugar, 2 egg whites, 2/3 cup fat-free vanilla or banana yogurt, 2/3 cup chopped walnuts (I omitted the walnuts)

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350. Mist a 9x5x3″ nonstick loaf pan with cooking spray. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the bananas, sugar, egg whites, and yogurt. Using a sturdy whisk or a spoon, mix until throughly blended. Add the flour mixture. Stir until no flour is visible. Stir in the nuts. Pour into the reserved pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. Cool in the pan on a rack for ten minutes. Remove to the rack and cool completely. Cut into eight slices. Serve warm or room temperature. Wrap and refrigerate any leftovers for up to three days.

According to her book, this will shave off 57 calories, 11 grams of fat, and 10 grams of saturated fat- not too shabby!

Melissa has been chosen as our Monday WAHM for MomAdvice.com. We wish her much success in her business and with her family.If you are interested in being featured, we will be selecting a mom for each Monday of my blog. You can read more and apply. Email confirmations are sent to each mom if they are chosen. I still have many people to reply to on these so please be patient waiting for my reply. I promise to get back to you guys soon! Also remember to do your own research on these companies. If there are obvious red flags on BBB, I do not post them. Check my scam article to find out more about the potential dangers of work-at-home businesses.

Thank you to Melissa and her WAHM business, Tupperware, for taking the time to apply and be a part of my Monday feature!

Name: Melissa Wilder

City/State: Louisville KY

Name of Company: Tupperware

Two or Three Sentences About Your Company:
Awesome Storage and Kitchen Products! Great For Small, kitchens, large kitchens, RV’S Keep organized and your food longer! Saves time and Money!

Two Tips for Moms Trying to Work-At-Home (these tips can be how you stay organized, how to be successful, how to get started- anything that you feel would help someone just starting out):

1. Find your niche and then find a company that fits that. If you like jewelry and are buying it all the time than maybe that is the company for you!

2. You will be successful if you love what you are doing. Hang in there if it gets slow- it will and you just have to persevere.

Saturday Sales are going to be a tad early because we will be out of town tomorrow. I wanted to make sure to get these up before we left. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and I am hoping someone can take advantage of these great deals! I will try to post more on Sunday!

The Children’s Place is currently running their Monster Sale. Everything has been drastically discounted. They are currently offering an additional fifteen percent off through June 18th. The coupon code to receive the additional discount is: BCMA16

Don’t forget to sign up for Ebates too because that will give you an additional three percent back on your purchase at The Children’s Place. If you haven’t had a chance to read my blog entry on Ebates, this is a freebie worth looking into & signing up for. You receive five dollars just for starting your account.

Other sales happening right now:

Gap’s Really Big Sale is still going on! You can get ten percent off & free shipping on orders of $85 or more by using this discount code: YAYFJUNE Expires 06/30/2006

More Gap Coupon Codes:
10% off your Gap Card purchase on the first Tuesday of every month. Discount Code: TUESDAYS
Free shipping on orders of $100 or more. Discount Code: FREE100
Free shipping on orders of $50 or more (when using your Gap Card). Discount Code: FREESHIP

Ebates members receive an additional three percent cash back on all Gap purchases.

Take advantage of Old Navy’s $5 shipping for any size order.

You can receive free shipping on a purchase of $50 or more at Old Navy. Discount Code: SPECIAL

Ebates members receive an additional three percent cash back on all Old Navy purchases.

Snapfish has tons of coupon codes that are running right now:

5 Extra Prints Free
Code: MAYAFF59906
Valid from 5/4/06 through 07/01/06

20% Off All Memory Books
Code: MAYAFF52006
Valid from 5/4/06 through 07/01/06

Apply a $.99 Shipping Credit to your Order
Code: MAYAFF59906
Valid from 5/4/06 through 07/01/06

$2 Off Order Over $10
Code: MAYAFF5206
Valid from 5/4/06 through 07/01/06

Free Shipping on 5 Prints
Code: MAYAFF59906
Valid from 5/4/06 through 07/01/06

Ebates members receive ten percent cash back on all Snapfish purchases. In addition, just by placing your first order, you will get your first thirty digital camera prints free.

More Saturday Sales:

FoodSaver, 1-800 Contacts, & Entertainment Book sales are found here.

If you are looking for more information on the Ebates program- read my blog entry where I explain how it all works.

Since we moved into this house, we have had high speed internet through AT&T; (formerly SBC Yahoo). When we originally signed up with this company, they were offering a promotional offer of $29.99, if you signed up for a year contract with them. At that time, this was the best deal around and we were really pleased with the rate. When my contract ended, however, my price suddenly shot up to $36.00. Why? Well, because I had not signed another contract with them so they had the right to increase my rate.

When I called the salesperson, I was not a happy camper. There was no way I was going to pay this much for our internet. After we made some small talk (what is your account number, what is your social security number, what is your blood type, etc..) I asked why my rate had increased. She told me that my contract had ended in August so they increased my rates. Little did she know that while I was on the phone with her, I was frantically going through their website to find the latest and greatest rate. I asked if I could end that contract and sign up for another year. A resounding, “Yes!” was her reply. She would give me a great deal at $29.99 a month, just like I had before. Unfortunately, my fingers had done the walking and I now knew that they actually were offering the rate of $24.99 per month. When I asked her about this, she asked me if I would like that rate instead. Um….yeah!

I asked what I could do to prevent this from happening again (because I am cheap like that). She instructed me to call her on the date that I had renewed my contract, sign up for another year, and then I could lock into the rate I was currently at.

I took this one step further the following year. I checked the current rate and saw that they were offering the internet for $19.99. When I called the customer service representative, I requested to cancel my contract and then start a new one at the advertised rate of $19.99. There was a long pause on the other end of the phone. “Now what is it you would like to do?” Again, I explained that I wanted the current rate…another longer pause. “Well, I see here that you have been a good customer with us and have paid your bills on time. We don’t normally do this, but I am willing to make an exception since you have been such a good customer.”

I now have written down in my calendar when my contract is set to expire. This gives me the opportunity to lower (or keep) my bill the same. I know that I have a date with the customer service representative on August 1st to discuss my bill and I now see that they are advertising their high speed internet at a mere $12.99.

Ah yes, I pity the fool who must answer my telephone call because I do not back down for THE MAN.

Don’t you just love America?

It has been awhile since I have done a Play It Again, Momma post. This is just where I get the opportunity to highlight something you might have missed on my blog (particularly for our new readers).

This week, let’s take a look back at my Stop the Insanity post where I (insanely) address the question of WHY in the WORLD do we have to spend so much money on all these dang birthday parties.

We are revisiting this post as my son’s fourth birthday is quickly approaching. I asked him what he would like to do for his party this year and he said he wants to go to McDonald’s..And then I thanked him, and kissed his face, and told him he was the best little boy mommy could ever have, and then I sobbed uncontrollably. A trip to McDonald’s is a lot cheaper than a party and I don’t have to clean up after a bunch of toddlers have enjoyed their chocolate cake (a tad too much). Anyone is welcome to join us and let their kids play in the giant germ-infested play area, or they can just stay home and relax- it does not matter to me.

We will have a big birthday bash for Emily’s first birthday, but we are reserving the bashes now for those *special* celebrations rather than a party for every year they get a little older.

I can put the savings towards a special gift for our son…yes, the gift of a Happy Meal…Just kidding! I’m not that cheap….Or am I?

My daughter turns six months on the nineteenth and we are preparing to dive back into the world of baby food again. With our son, I prepared all of his baby food from scratch. It was a lot of work, but it was gratifying financially and rewarding to know that we were saving so much money. This time, I am going to try and find cheap baby food and (when I have time) make my own.

I did some calling around and found Beech-Nut baby food to be the cheapest at our local Save-A-Lot store. I understand that the selection is limited, but the price is a little bit cheaper than other locations.

The nice thing too about Save-A-Lot is that they take coupons (unlike Aldi Supermarket) so I can bring in any coupons that I want to on this brand of baby food. I did some checking for coupons on Ebay (a must visit location for any frugal shopper desiring coupons for formula, diapers, or baby food). I found a seller who was offering twenty Beech-Nut baby food coupons- $1 off 6 jars of any variety of Beech Nut Baby Food. The total cost (including shipping of the coupons) was $3.99. According to my (poor) calculations, this means…

120 Jars of Beech-Nut Baby Food (at Save-A-Lot) $39.60

Coupons ($1 off 6 jars purchased from Ebay) – $20.00

Total Cost for 120 Jars of Baby Food $19.60

Cost for Coupons $3.99

Cost Per Jar of Baby Food $0.20

Now according to my calculations- that is a pretty good deal! Beech-Nut also offers a great program (click under Save More When You Save Labels) where you can receive more coupons by sending them your proofs of purchase. They call this their Label Saver program. 48 proofs of purchase from any Beech-Nut Naturals, First Advantage, or Table Time products will give you four coupons for one dollar off of any ten Beech-Nut items. That means that after I make my purchase of 120 jars, I will get an additional eight dollars in coupons for the next round of baby food (plus more proofs of purchase to credit towards the next round of coupons).

Now what is the cost per ounce for homemade baby food versus the Beech-Nut variety that I ran across? Well, there are 2.5 ounces of baby food in each jar. The cost per ounce is $0.08. The estimated cost to make my own baby food is $0.04 per ounce (give or take a penny depending on what food I am trying to prepare). That means if I actually took the time to make the baby food, I could shave fifty percent off of the cost of baby food. That is a lot to save, but it also would require time and effort on my part. My feeling about this is buy the prepackaged baby food, but only buy the items that require more cost to me or require more effort than they would be worth to be made at home. For example, mashing a banana with a fork is much cheaper and less time consuming than buying the prepackaged baby food. More exotic and expensive fruits are more money for me (and many require a little more preparation) then I might be willing to exert so I will probably spend my money towards these items

We have created a place on our forum where you can share the baby deals that you happen upon in your area. Feel free to share there so we can all reap the benefits of good baby deals!

If you are searching for more baby deals, Baby Cheapskate is a great blog to visit too! Some of the deals are local to their area, but most are national deals that you can take advantage of. She prices out everything for you and tells you the prices to beat- great site & great web mistress in the baby department.

Don’t forget to scan the baby freebies that I have shared here and here, for additional savings.

Feel free to discuss how you save on baby food or places that you have found in your area to be the cheapest around. Be sure to include your city/state so that people in your area can find the shops that they need to be looking for.

Big Announcement for MomAdvice!

So my husband mentioned about a month ago that he submitted my site to some website network to be considered for membership. I figured this was, yet another, one of those sites that show off fancy-looking sites and that it was just another way to stroke his ego. I gave him one of my “that’s nice dear” comments and promptly forgot everything he had just said.

Then, Monday night, he comes running up the stairs yelling something about “we’re in!” along with a lot of other incoherent babble. After catching his breath, he managed to spit out what all the excitement was about: We are now a member of the incredible 9rules network.

What does that mean? I didn’t really know either at the time, but I’m now running around like a lunatic myself. I think they explain it best:

“The 9rules Network is a community of the best weblogs in the world on a variety of topics. We started 9rules to give passionate writers more exposure and to help readers find great blogs on their favorite subjects. It’s difficult to find sites worth returning to, so 9rules brings together the very best of the independent web all under one roof.”

Sounds impressive doesn’t it? I thought so too, which is why I am so honored and humbled by their invitation into the network. What makes this such a proud moment is that we were accepted, not because of my husband’s wonderful design, but for all the blood, sweat and tears *I’ve* poured into all of the content I’ve written. It is invigorating to know my hard work is being recognized and I will try to continue producing the same in-depth articles, helpful tips, and brilliant wit you all love me for.

In our best Bostonian accents, we say, “Wicked cool!” We look forward to this opportunity and the challenges that it will bring us to do better. I hope you can check out the 9rules Network and see what they are all about.

Here are this week’s festivals & carnivals for your reading pleasure.

The Carnival of Debt Reduction (#39) is being hosted at Aridni. Our College Coupons was featured in this carnival.

Also over at Aridni, you will find the Festival of Frugality Within this festival is our blog entry on Weeding Through Your Child’s Art Work. Thanks to Aridni for featuring both of these entries in these two shows.

Financial Fruition hosted the Carnival of Personal Finance this week. Goodwill is Good was one of the entries chosen to be in this carnival.

Finally, we participated in a new (or new to us) carnival called the Carnival of Family Life. Our Weeding Through Your Child’s Art Work was located there as well.

Here are this Frugal Momma’s picks for good reads this week:

Money & Values has a great entry on whether or not you haggle.
Paul’s Tips offers up his eight best negotiation tips.
It’s Just Money shares the way he got coke & popcorn at the movies without breaking his budget.
Tired but happy has some great ideas for making your child’s lunch on the cheap. I especially like her tip for yogurt cups!
Model Home shares a free/cheap way to make your pad look sweet throug Craiglist.

Enjoy these goodies today!

When I was little I loved the summer reading programs that our library offered to us. We had a Bookmobile that used to come right outside of our house and I would load up on books to get the freebies that were offered by the library for doing all of my summer reading. Always an overachiever, I reported to the library that I would read one hundred books during the two month span that the library offered the reading program. I started reading with a passion, and imagine my dismay when I only read ninety-nine books. I couldn’t just read a board book or something to get the credit because that wouldn’t be me. No, I had to report to the librarian that I did not make my summer reading goal and forfeited my chance to earn the prizes. You would think that they would have given me the free book bag or something considering how close I was to the goal…but no! It was a disappointing summer for me and one my family loves to laugh about now. For some reason this is still not funny to me- not accomplishing my goals is not a joking matter to me…well, maybe it is a little bit funny.

We have already worked hard with Ethan (and even Emily) on instilling the love of reading within them. We hit the library regularly for the kids and my husband reads to our son every night. Reading has always been such an important thing to me (and still is) and I want that for our children too. Thankfully, there are many opportunities to help our children read, particularly during the summer months when there are so many programs open to kids to get them to read during the summer.

Here are the programs that I know of. Please feel free to post any additional reading programs that you know about through our comments section….even if they are local (just post city/state) since there is bound to be someone else in your area looking for something too!

Scholastic’s Summer Reading Buzz

Scholastic offers a great summer reading program and their site includes tips for you on choosing books for your children that are age-appropriate based on the grade level that they are entering into. Scholastic is offering a donation to K.I.D.S. for each book your child reads. K.I.D.S. is a global charity of leading retailers, manufacturers, and licensors of children’s and youth products, in partnership with major foundations, committed to helping improve the lives of children and their families who are ill, living in poverty, or are the victims of natural disasters. Sign up now and you can start an online reading log to help give books to kids in need. Plus, you can enter to win cool prizes, test your wits with book quizzes, find tons of printable fun, and more!

Build-A-Bear Workshop

Join Build-A-Bear’s Summer Reading Program and get free stuff! If your child reads three books by June 30th, they will get a free bookmark. If your child reads six books by July 31st, they will get a five dollar gift card for their store & you can print out a reading certificate of achievement for them. Now the question is…what can you get for five dollars at Build-A-Bear? Hmm….I have not been in that store yet, so I am not sure, but you might want to bring your wallet with you when you go! Again, sometimes free doesn’t mean free!

Barnes & Noble

In celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program, they have partnered with Lemony Snicket, author of the A Series of Unfortunate Events collection, to foster a love of reading and its rewards. A Summer of Unfortunate Events 2006 Reading Program benefits students in the first through sixth grades and is designed to encourage kids to develop their own reading preferences and motivate them with a meaningful incentive to join Lemony Snicket and the doomed Baudelaire children on an unfortunate summer adventure.Through our Summer Reading program, it’s easy for kids to earn free books! They simply read any eight books—library books, books borrowed from friends or books bought at Barnes & Noble—write about their favorite part, and bring a completed A Summer of Unfortunate Events Journal page to a Barnes & Noble bookstore. Everything you need to help your students or children participate—and earn free books! —is available in PDF format.

*Please note that this link goes to their Community Page. For some reason (probably due to copyright laws) the link will not work directly. Just click under the summer reading program. If this link stops working, then just run a search under Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program and it should pop up within your search**

Reading is Fundamental & Target Stores

RIF and Target invite you to make reading a part of summertime fun by tracking your reading hours online for a chance to win a Target Gift Card (limited quantity available – see official rules for details). Plus, you’ll find activities, games, and ways to be a part of the RIF Reading Planet Club. Despite the fact that you only win a *chance* to receive a Target Gift Card, there are plenty of great downloads available on their site. They have a bookmark that you can download (to keep track of your hours read), a club for reading, and a free summer reading screensaver (Gotta have a theme for your computer, right?) You can also download a summer reading activity booklet.

Don’t forget to also check your local library for some of the best summer reading programs around. If you are looking for great reading material, the First Lady has compiled a list of great reads for each age group. This list can be a great starting point for your child and will help you find great age-appropriate reading material for your children.

One more helpful note, don’t let your child sign up to read one hundred books!

Happy reading, everyone!