This week in Festivals & Carnivals….

The Carnival of Debt Reduction (#42) is up at Blogging Away Debt. Our Solutions for Cheap Trash Bags was included this week.

The Carnival of Family Life (#8) is back in its hometown at The Pink Diary. Our blog entry on Simon Mall’s Kidgits Program was included this week.

Raising 4 Boys hosted the Carnival of Personal Finance #55 (which was no small task given the holiday weekend). Included within this carnival of finance was our Sam’s Club Review (if you haven’t read it- it truly is a must read!)

The Festival of Frugality took a vacation this week and will be back, in full force, next week.

This week’s good reads….

Pragmatic Finance has a great blog entry on Discover Cards current rewards. Most notably, for parents, is the five percent back on tuition costs (including preschool!).

Supermom in NY has three tips for people trying to get themselves out of debt. She has a particularly useful one on utilizing money orders for people who are not cash savvy.

Tired but Happy has a great blog entry on the public school systems. She is exploring charter schools (just like our family!) and offers some great options for parents when choosing the public schools.

The carnivals and festivals are up & posted for the week- thank you to all the hosts who have included us!

Free Money Finance is hosting this week’s Festival of Frugality. Included within the submissions is our Friday Freebie: Free Samples.

Mighty Bargain Hunter is the host for the Carnival of Personal Finance (#54). Included within these submissions is our Frugal Momma’s Test Kitchen: Starbucks Banana Pound Cake.

Blueprint for Financial Prosperity is hosting the Carnival of Debt Reduction (#41). Our submission of Online Grocery Shopping was included within this.

Finally, the Carnival of Family Life is now traveling and is over at Snapshot. Our Friday Freebie: Free Samples was also located there.

Frugal Momma’s top picks for good reads this week:

How Far Do You Go With Cashback? is a great entry on how people have creatively taken advantage of the cashback on their credit cards. The real question is how far is too far AND if one is disciplined enough to actually pay their balance so they get rewards (and not fees!)

The End of My Frugal Rope is a great read for people who are disciplined in the fine art of frugality. What do you do when you are already doing all you can to save your family money? How do you tap into your creativity when you think you know it all?

Free Summer Activities for Your Kids is a great read for parents. I know I am always looking for free stuff to do with my children and supermom points out some great ways to keep them busy!

There is also a great entry on Common Mistakes in Becoming Debt Free that is worth taking a look at. The one I struggle with…Being Pound Wise & Pound Foolish.

Thanks again to all of our hosts! Looking forward to sharing more next week!