Archive for the ‘Money & Finance’ Category

MomAdvice Simplified: Simply Picking the Best Jeans & T-Shirt

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

On MomAdvice Simplified, my weekly podcast for moms, I am very excited to share that I will be gabbing it up with my real-life friend & wardrobe coach, Kathy Friend. This podcast airs weekly at 2PM EST each Thursday.

I asked Kathy to join our show again, but to help guide moms into choosing the right jeans and t-shirts. Since becoming an at-home mom, my wardrobe mainly consists of these two key pieces and I thought it would be great to have her share which brands are the best and how to find the best cuts for our figures.

Kathy is going to share with moms how to pick the best jeans and t-shirts for your figure, but also find a look that is both flattering and comfortable. We will be discussing the best brands, how to get the best look for any budget, and what items to add to our jeans and t-shirt wardrobe to take them from day to night.

Do you have any questions about choosing the right jeans or t-shirt for Kathy? Please leave your questions here and I will be sure to get them worked into our discussion!

Apron Full of Giveaways 04.21.09

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

Welcome to the Apron Full of Giveaways for the week where we share the best of the best giveaways for the week.

We have one great giveaway that is closing at 8PM tonight that you really should enter. We are offering up a prize pack of earth-friendly products to get the word out about Disneynature’s new movie, “Earth,” which you do not want to miss.

Our new contest for this week is an new Nintendo DS Emergency Vets game for your children. Kids who love animals and dream of becoming veterinarians now have a new, interactive way to play pretend. Animal Planet, known as the authority on “all things animal” has partnered with Activision to create “Emergency Vets” for Nintendo DS and you can enter for a chance to win it! You also have one more week to enter the HUGE prize pack full of great green products that will help you green up those household routines from Walmart.

As a hint, we will be making a couple of momma’s dreams come true with some really great Mother’s Day giveaways that you will NOT want to miss so please check back each week for more great loot!

Follow the links below to find out how to enter to win these fabulous giveaways!

Below are the contest links-if you are hosting a contest please link it up below. Sorry, we aren’t giving away the aprons just showcasing them! Please put your site name and then what type of contest you are hosting. For example, “MomAdvice (Children’s Movies).”

Please let me know if you have any questions and good luck to each of you!

(Photo Credit: puffalump knits)

Redbox Code 04.20.09

Monday, April 20th, 2009

Today’s free Redbox code is M6FR97. This code can be used all day until midnight at any Redbox location.

You can’t beat a free movie rental so schedule some fun family nights and check out what Family Films are available.

Side Notes:

– If you want to rent more than one movie for free, bring more than one credit/debit card. You can use the same promotional code, you just will need different cards to charge it to. The charge will be zero as long as you return your movie on time for the next day.

– When entering in your free movie code, you need to enter it FIRST before picking the movie. On the very first screen, click the, “Rent with Promo.” Enter in the above code and then make your selection- the amount should then total zero.. This code can be used all day until midnight at any Redbox location.

Freebie Friday: April 17, 2009

Friday, April 17th, 2009

Another huge round of applause to Heather, from Freebies 4 Mom, for her assistance with our freebie list this week. Be sure to visit Heather’s site all week long for all of the latest freebies.

In case you missed it, here is a link to my podcast with Heather that we did on simplifying the freebie process. It is definitely an interview worth listening to and I am so happy to have had the opportunity to have her as a guest.

Happy Freebie Friday, everyone!

Health & Beauty

NatureMade TripleFlex
Walgreens Take Care Recovery Plan – free healthcare to unemployed
Jergens Natural Glow (Walmart)
Always Infinity (Walmart)
Zyrtec (Walmart)
Prilosec OTC (Walmart)

Food

Tyson Project A+ (save your labels for your school)

Entertainment
MINE Magazine (digital customized magazine from Time)
700+ Free MP3 Downloads at Amazon.com

Home & Garden

Office Max $10 Bonus Reward (for new sign-ups)
Reusable Tote for Teachers (from Discovery Education)
Kraft and Rachel Ray Reusable Tote (mail-in request when you purchase participating product)

Pets

Better Than Ears dog treat (Walmart)

Upcoming Freebie Events:

Please call your local store or restaurant to confirm they are participating in these freebie events.


APRIL

18 – Michaels The Knack – Spring Critters for kids 5-12 from 10 to 1pm
19 – The Home Depot 1 Million CFL Light Giveaway
21 – Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day noon to 8pm
22 – Disney Store Mickey Mouse Tote when you bring in 3 plastic bottles
23 – Take Our Daughters and Sons To Work Day
25 – Lowe’s Build and Grow Clinic – Hanglider 10 to 11am
25&26 – All You Magazine’s Reality Checked 11am to 5pm
26 – National Pretzel Day – free pretzels at Pretzelmaker and Pretzel Time
30 – Carvel Free Iceberg drink 3 to 7pm

MAY
2 – The Home Depot Kids Workshop – Wheel Barrow 9 to noon
9 – Lowe’s Build and Grow Clinic – Planter 10 to 11am
12 – Haggen-Dazs Free Flavor Day – free scoop of any bee-built flavor 4 to 8pm

Simply Scoring the Best Freebies Resource List

Thursday, April 16th, 2009


A huge thanks to Heather, from Freebies 4 Mom, for joining us this week on our podcast. We have had a lot of technical difficulties today so I apologize for the delays on everything.

Click above to listen to this episode at anytime or visit our sidebar on the left-hand side to listen to the episodes anytime throughout the week. These episodes are also available in iTunes format for you to take on the go!

Here are some of the resources that were highlighted in today’s episode…

Freebies 4 Mom – Heather blogs daily about free samples, coupons, sweepstakes and giveaways with the goal to help everyone save money every day with freebies.

Freebie Friday – Every Friday MomAdvice highlights the best new freebies each week on The Motherload blog with Heather as a contributor.

Walmart Free Samples – The best single-source of free samples by mail, new ones are highlighted every Freebie Friday

Be A Smarter Freebie Finder – Learn how to spot the potential scams yourself and how to be careful about the personal information you submit in order to receive a freebie.

Customer Service for Free Samples – If you receive a damaged or missing free sample in the mail, then you should definitely contact Customer Service about it and here are tips on how to do that successfully. Companies want your feedback and to hear about your free sampling experience with them.

Roboform – A way to fill out forms quickly by saving commonly entered information.

Entertainment Freebies 4 Families
– Great sources of free movies, music, and books for everyone in your family.

Free Magazine Samples – The best sources of free magazines subscriptions plus creative ways to give those magazines a second life after you are done with them.

Ebates– If you do have a magazines subscription that you need to pay for, why not pay less by getting cash back through Ebates! They offer up to 40% back for magazines subscriptions (watch for a double cash back event).

Swagbucks– Anyone can use Swagbucks as their search engine and start earning free gift cards. It’s an easy way to be rewarded for doing something you already do, search the internet.

YouData – Readers earn money by glancing at ads on Freebies 4 Mom! An easy and quick way to add a dollor or two each week to your PayPal account.

On next week’s show…

Kathy Friend, my wonderful fashionista friend, is joining our show again to share some of her savvy fashion advice with our listeners. Kathy is going to share with moms how to pick the best jeans and t-shirts for your figure, but also find a look that is both flattering and comfortable. We will be discussing the best brands, how to get the best look for any budget, and what items to add to our jeans and t-shirt wardrobe to take them from day to night!

MomAdvice Simplified: Simply Scoring the Best Freebies

Thursday, April 16th, 2009


This week on MomAdvice Simplified, my weekly podcast for moms, I will be chatting it up with Heather, from Freebies 4 Mom. This podcast airs weekly at 2PM EST each Thursday.

Heather will be offering assistance on finding the best freebies out there, how to get those freebie forms filled out more quickly, and shares why freebies are so advantageous to a frugal lifestyle. She even offers some tips and tricks for finding free money to get that latte fix you have been craving without blowing your budget.

Heather has been a longtime friend of mine and has been such a great supporter for my website by offering her assistance each Friday on our Freebie Friday list. It was such an honor to finally get to talk to her in person and I think you are going to be in for such a special treat when you hear this episode.

As an added bonus and incentive to get people to listen, Heather is offering one lucky listener a $50 Sephora e-gift card to get you motivated to tune in.

I hope you can make time to tune in to this invaluable episode!

Apron Full of Giveaways 04.14.09

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

Welcome to the Apron Full of Giveaways for the week and, I can honestly say, we truly have an apron full to offer you this week.

We have two great new giveaways for our readers starting today and two giveaways that are ending this evening. For our new giveaways, we are offering up a prize pack of earth-friendly products to get the word out about Disneynature’s new movie, “Earth,” which you do not want to miss. In addition to that, we have partnered up with Walmart for a HUGE prize pack full of great green products that will help you green up those household routines.

Our contest for the Yo Gabba Gabba DVD and the DINOSAUR book prize pack are both ending today and you can still get your entry in to win those great giveaways.

As a hint, we will be making a couple of momma’s dreams come true with some really great Mother’s Day giveaways that you will NOT want to miss so please check back each week for more great loot!

Follow the links below to find out how to enter to win these fabulous giveaways!

Below are the contest links-if you are hosting a contest please link it up below. Sorry, we aren’t giving away the aprons just showcasing them! Please put your site name and then what type of contest you are hosting. For example, “MomAdvice (Children’s Movies).”

Please let me know if you have any questions and good luck to each of you!

(Photo Credit: Don Mason)

Redbox Code: 04.13.09

Monday, April 13th, 2009

Today’s free Redbox code is J89LA2. This code can be used all day until midnight at any Redbox location.

Pair your free movie with some homemade microwave popcorn and the world’s greatest slushies and win the coolest mom in the world award today!

You can’t beat a free movie rental so schedule some fun family nights and check out what Family Films are available.

Side Notes:

– If you want to rent more than one movie for free, bring more than one credit/debit card. You can use the same promotional code, you just will need different cards to charge it to. The charge will be zero as long as you return your movie on time for the next day.

– When entering in your free movie code, you need to enter it FIRST before picking the movie. On the very first screen, click the, “Rent with Promo.” Enter in the above code and then make your selection- the amount should then total zero.. This code can be used all day until midnight at any Redbox location.

Freebie Friday: April 10, 2009

Friday, April 10th, 2009

Many apologies if you have emailed me in the past two days. I have been struck with a horrible case of the stomach flu and will do my best to return emails this weekend. Thank you for your patience!

I would like to say a huge thanks to Heather, from Freebies 4 Mom, for helping with our freebie list again this week. Heather has a huge list of giveaways (including a $200 Home Depot gift card) that she is currently running, so be sure to swing by and get your entry in for some really great loot this week.

Happy Easter, everyone, and enjoy some time with your families this weekend!

Health & Beauty

Hunt’s Ketchup
Mighty Leaf Tea
Quaker Rice Cakes

Entertainment
Precious Places Princess DVD
Marley & Me Audiobook
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King
Ford American Idol House Party

Home & Garden

Kroger Reusable Bag (design one and get one free)
Earthbound Farm Reusable Tote (will restock on Monday)
Nature’s Source Natural Cleaner (will restock samples on Tuesday)

Pets

Mighty Dog Nation Dog Tag

Upcoming Freebie Events:

Please call your local store or restaurant to confirm they are participating in these freebie events.

APRIL
11 – Lowe’s Build and Grow Clinic – Birdhouse 10 to 11am
15 – Taco Del Mar Free Taco
15 – MaggieMoo’s Free Single Scoop of Ice Cream
18 – Michaels The Knack – Spring Critters for kids 5-12 from 10 to 1pm
21 – Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day noon to 8pm
23 – Take Our Daughters and Sons To Work Day
15 – Lowe’s Build and Grow Clinic – Hanglider 10 to 11am
26 – National Pretzel Day – free pretzels at Pretzelmaker and Pretzel Time

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Be sure to visit the Apron Full of Giveaways for a list of all the great giveaways that are happening right now, including two great giveaways from MomAdvice!

Simplify Coupon Cutting Resource List

Thursday, April 9th, 2009


Click above to listen to this episode at anytime or visit our sidebar on the left-hand side to listen to the episodes anytime throughout the week. These episodes are also available in iTunes format for you to take on the go!

Here are some of the resources that were highlighted in today’s episode…

Deal Seeking Mom– Tara scopes the internet for all of the latest freebies and makes shopping and finding freebies easier for moms. Please visit her site for all of the latest and greatest deals on the web.

Money4Moms Podcast– Tune in to Money4Moms for practical advice and ideas to help you save money. We will be covering money saving topics and answering your questions, as well as providing you with deals, weekly store previews and encouragement and support. This podcast is brought to you by Tara, from Deal Seeking Mom, and Mercedes, from Common Sense With Money, each Wednesday at 10 PM/9 PM CST.

Coupon Lingo Quick Reference– Tara has gathered all of those abbreviations and explained them in one great place so you know what you are reading when scouring those shopping boards.

All You Magazine– Tara suggests getting a subscription to this great magazine because it offers a load of coupons in each issue. Follow the link for a 2 year subscription for only $17.99.

35 Ways to Save On Your Grocery Budget– Don’t want to clip coupons? This article sums up some other great ways you can save on those groceries.

Grocery Shopping Tips– Here is another article to help make that grocery day easier by sharing some shopping strategies that I have used for my own family.

On next week’s show…

In this episode we will be chatting it up with Heather, from Freebies 4 Mom, and learning the best ways to score free products and samples from companies. Heather is an expert in the freebie market and will be sharing her valuable advice with us!