Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

My First Purchase (Using Ebates)

Wednesday, July 5th, 2006

In May, I blogged about using the Ebates Rewards program to get cash back on your purchases. When you join the program, you automatically get five dollars (upon making your first purchase). I had the opportunity to finally activate my membership (and get my five bucks) because my mother’s birthday is coming up (Note: Mom if for some reason you are reading my blog, please stop here or you will find out what your gift is).

In past entries I have discussed my single cup coffee maker. I have had some mixed feelings about the coffee maker. My husband got me it as a gift (because I make REALLY bad coffee!) and it is really great, but the pods are so dang expensive. As soon as I got it, I looked up how to make my own pods, but the process was a little too extensive (even for this frugal diva!) I then decided to purchase a MyPod, which is a great idea, but was somehow horribly flawed. It resulted in an overflowing cup of coffee that was one part coffee to ten parts water. I then tried to remedy this by only putting enough water in to just make one cup, but then this resulted in sputtering and explosives coming from the coffee maker. Then my coffee maker was just plain not working, then I called Senseo to complain (customer service, in short, said that it would be weeks or months before I would actually get a new unit). Then the dang thing started working again….but the pods are too expensive.

Any-who, I decided to look into some less expensive options that would work for the coffee-impaired. I read that the French Press is the way to go if you want a good cup of coffee, with minimal effort (or hopefully brains!) I figured I could use one of these ,and still use my single cup coffee maker, to save on the cost of the pods.

My mother is a big tea drinker and she works during the day so I ran across this travel French Press that you could use while you are on the road. Isn’t it so *cute*? I decided to get her one and one for myself (read above paragraph about why I truly deserve this or some of my past entries on some rough times with the kids, in case you thought the coffee incident wasn’t enough, which it was!). Because I downloaded that little Moe Money dude (I think he is a former rapper?), that told me that there was a fifteen percent discount for first time customers of HSN (use coupon code: C56574 exp 08/31/2006), that there was an Ebates two percent cash back discount, and I also pocketed my five dollars (from initially setting up the account). How cool is that? The cost worked out to be $19.03 (per mug), which included the shipping and handling for each of them! Not too shabby!

This will be my official Christmas gift, if it turns out to be a hit, for all of the coffee drinkers in my life!

My Ebates account has already been credited and I am looking forward to my Big Fat Check! Whoohooo!

Festivals & Carnivals

Wednesday, July 5th, 2006

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.

Monday WAHM Spotlight: Tupperware

Monday, July 3rd, 2006

Thanks to Katrina for being part of 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 Katrina and her WAHM business, Tupperware, for taking the time to apply and be a part of my Monday feature!

Name: Katrina Sailers

City/State: Lone Tree, CO

Name of Company: Tupperware

Two or Three Sentences About Your Company:

Tupperware is a well established direct sales company. This month we are celebrating 60 years of our amazing home party. Tupperware offers kitchen and cooking solutions to help you save time, money and space with our new innovative and traditional products.

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):

My first tip would be to find a company and product that you have passion for and can be excited about. This will help you stay motivated when the hard times come.

My second tip would be to set up business hours for yourself, as if you were going to an office. This will help you stay focused and flexible within your family’s schedule.

Cheap Baby-Making

Saturday, July 1st, 2006

Yes, I realize that some people can make babies for FREE (lucky folks!), but there are those of us out there that have a harder time getting pregnant.

With my son, we had absolutely no problems getting pregnant. He came exactly when we wanted and there was no stress associated with getting pregnant. Getting pregnant with baby #2 was much harder than I could have ever anticipated. We tried for two years to get pregnant and God had a much different timeline then we could have ever imagined. During that time I tried everything (other than any invasive fertility treatments) under the sun to get pregnant. I was desperate to get pregnant and was open to just about anything to achieve it.

I wanted to share with you ladies, a couple of resources that I found to be invaluable during this time, and how we finally ended up getting pregnant with our daughter.

Fertility Friend is a GREAT website and was just what I needed to figure out exactly when was the optimal time to try. A girlfriend had suggested it to me and since then I have been telling anyone & everyone about this site. It is a free service (you can, of course, pay for extra membership goodies) where you can chart everything into one place. The chart then will highlight the days that you should try, based on the information you have put in it, and it helps you to actually try when the trying is good…so to speak! Thanks to my girlfriend, Xtina, for sharing this information with me!

If you are a habitual tester, you will find this website to be of great value. Save On Tests is a great discount spot to get your ovulation & pregnancy tests. Purchasing these tests (even the Walmart off-brand) was becoming w-a-y too expensive. I decided to look into finding another resource for these tests. Save On Tests just sells the strips and they offer great inexpensive package deals that can really help save you a lot of money. For example, 25 ovulation test strips is only $10.25! That is such a bargain! They also offer ovulation & pregnancy tests in one package deal. These are so much more affordable than anywhere else and you will feel a little less guilty testing so often if you aren’t paying an arm & a leg for your tests. Just a note, the packages that are the cheapest are JUST the strips. You are not paying for the little plastic thingiemabobs that they come in. It does not make it any less effective, just a little messier. They do offer the plastic test cassettes, but you do have to pay a little more to get those.

Finally, investing in a copy of, “Taking Charge of Your Fertility,” will help you greatly in trying to achieve pregnancy. This book is, what I have termed as, the fertility bible. It has information in it about how your body works and understanding the signs and timing of ovulation in women. I highly recommend this book to any woman (not just those who are trying) because it can help you in NOT getting pregnant too.

A lot can be said for simply sitting back and waiting for God’s timing. Was God’s timing good for us, after waiting this long for a baby? Yes! Would our timing have been quite as good? Probably not! Even though, God had wonderful timing, it did help me to feel more proactive, in our situation, having these tools at my disposal as we were trying to get pregnant.

Yes, I know what you are thinking! The answer is yes. I really am that frugal!

Works-For-Me-Wednesday: Solution for Cheap Trash Bags

Wednesday, June 28th, 2006

Good morning and welcome to this edition of Works-For-Me Wednesday. Please be sure to visit Shannon’s blog to view all of the entries from all of the wonderful ladies who make this day so much fun!

I have had this Works-For-Me-Wednesday solution in my back pocket for a long time now. It was one of those things that I wanted to throw out there when I had absolutely no idea what to do…And that day has definitely come!

We are very tight on our grocery budget and I hate to waste money on any paper products because it takes away from our actual food budget. When I do buy paper products, I tend to buy the cheapest that you can find (with the exception of the toilet paper- ouch!).

I have found the best cheap trash bags to be the ones from Aldi. I have purchased them all over, but these seem to hold up the best under pressure. The bad thing about these bags is that they don’t really have any handles and so the bag would slip, when my husband was getting the trash out to take to the curb, and we would end up with a really nasty mess.

My solution for this- old pantyhose. Simply cut the top elastic off of any old pair of torn pantyhose and wrap it around your trash bag to hug it into place. I have been using the same elastic for three years now and it is still going strong. It is the perfect solution (not to mention practically free!) and your husband will definitely thank you for this idea!

If you are new to my blog, please browse around! I am also including links to all of the past WFMW entries that I have done (in case you missed it!)

Programming Your Cell Phone
Free Up Pantry Space: Make a Snack
Weeding Through Your Child’s Art Work Creatively
Using the Coffee Maker With Ease
Making Your Spice Rack Usable
Maximizing Space

Festivals & Carnivals

Tuesday, June 27th, 2006

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!

Monday WAHM Spotlight: BeautiControl

Monday, June 26th, 2006

Thanks to Megan Stonich for being part of 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 Megan and her WAHM business, BeautiControl, for taking the time to apply and be a part of my Monday feature!

Name: Megan Stonich

City/State: Pleasanton, California

Name of Company: BeautiControl

Two or Three Sentences About Your Company:

When you feel you have been transported from your home to an exclusive spa resort or a private beach, then know you have made your ESCAPE with BeautiControl products. With a BeautiControl Spa ESCAPEā„¢, you can treat yourself and your friends to a complimentary hour of pampering and relaxation in the comfort of your own home! You’ll feel completely revitalized from head to toe!

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. Always have at least 5 minutes of alone time a day for you. Some health experts say that 90% of disease is related to stress so if you have 5 minutes of alone time to de-stress and relax you will be able to better take care of your family & your health.

2. Every morning or the night before make a list of specific things that to be done each day, arrange them in priority order, and then do your best to get the important ones done as soon as possible. Train yourself to go down your “To Do List” without skipping over the difficult items. Reward yourself when you have completed your to-do list!

Online Grocery Shopping Options

Thursday, June 22nd, 2006

Amazon is now offering a Grocery section on their website. They currently are offering over ten thousand grocery items. These items are non-perishable and include a large selection of snacks, beverages, baking goods, and organic products. A $25 order will get you free shipping and their selection offers many items that are more difficult to find in a traditional grocery store (particularly in their organic foods department).

Peapod is another great option for purchasing your groceries online, but they don’t offer this in our town. We used this service when I worked in an office and it was a great way to get what you needed (particularly in an office environment) without having to run to the supermarket. They offer ten dollars off of your first order by entering the discount code CJA2 in the coupon code field. A minimum of $75 must be spent.

Another timesaver, would be to take advantage of the wholesale clubs online ordering. This is perfect for the harried mother who has no time to shop! With Sam’s Club, they offer the Click ‘n’ Pull. Place your order before five, they pull the items, you pick up the next day. This is great for comparison shopping (rather than standing in the lanes with your calculator & your screaming child) and saves you from running around the giant store. Other wholesale club stores may offer the same type of deal (they just aren’t in our town!)

I would be interested in knowing if anyone has ever purchased their orders online and what they have thought about their experience? Please let me know in our comments section- this would be valuable information for all of our readers!

Works-For-Me Wednesday: Programming Your Cell Phone

Wednesday, June 21st, 2006

Good morning and welcome to this edition of Works-For-Me Wednesday. Please be sure to visit Shannon’s blog to view all of the entries from all of the wonderful ladies who make this day so much fun. You really will get some of the best ideas for your family- trust me!

This morning I wanted to talk about programming numbers into your cell phone. This idea came to me after our power went out, I banged my knee three times trying to find the phone book, couldn’t find a flashlight and poorly attempted to find the number using the lighting on the phone. I ended up calling 411 for information and (while rubbing my bruised knee) realized that we should have a flashlight WITH batteries and the number for the electric company should be programmed in the phone.

After talking with a girlfriend, we came up with this list of *must have* numbers for your phone:

ICE- Did you get this forward in your email box? I did! ICE stands for In Case of Emergency and this helps the people who are trying to help you when something bad happens. That way they don’t end up calling your grandmother (who can’t help) or your ex-boyfriend (who won’t help). Be sure to program this one- it could save your life!

Electric Company- as explained above in great and ridiculous detail.

Auto Insurance Company- I would program this directly to the claims department so that you can contact them immediately after you have been in a car accident. This way that yahoo who hits you gets reported for talking on their phone (when they should be concentrating on driving) and will help get your claim processed more quickly and efficiently.

Towing Company- AAA or someone you could call to tow your car if it breaks down. This way you can avoid talking to your hubby to get this number when he is angry with you for doing something stupid like forgetting to fill up the gas tank.

Favorite Restaurants- Particularly ones that you can call ahead so you don’t have to sit with two screaming kids who don’t want to wait for food. Having this programmed for take-out is also really handy.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you find this entry helpful.

Here are links to my past entries (if you are new to the site!):

Free Up Pantry Space: Make a Snack
Weeding Through Your Child’s Art Work Creatively
Using the Coffee Maker With Ease
Making Your Spice Rack Usable
Maximizing Space

Festivals & Carnivals

Tuesday, June 20th, 2006

Here are the latest links to the traveling shows….

The Carnival of Personal Finance #53, has returned home and is celebrating one year of great reads. The host requested an entry from everyone and a favorite from the past year. This equals doubly good reads and showcases the writing talents for all the bloggers. Happy Birthday! The entries were arranged by length and I was shocked to see that we only made the middle. I consider my blog entries to be short novels, but there were plenty of people who had me beat this week. The Quest to Find Cheap Baby Food was included and my favorite entry on Easy Ways to Save Your Family Money was also highlighted.

The Festival of Frugality #28 was also back home over at the Blueprint For Financial Prosperity. Our New Uses For That Old Phone Book was included.

The Carnival of Family Life #6 is up and our Quest to Find Cheap Baby Food was up over there too. Lots of great submissions can be found in this carnival. It is also being celebrated at home, but will now be traveling around so new sites are welcome to join in to host!

The Carnival of Debt Reduction #40 has been posted at Journey to Financial Freedom. Our Cheap High Speed Internet & Other Tall Tales (I need to think of some shorter titles, people!) has been included over there.

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

Fifteen Ways to Leave Your….Money has a great tongue-in-cheek response to these lame lists that the financial experts offer to us as “tips” that we would have never thought of.

My favorite blogging momma (The Family CEO) writes on Gift Guilt. Do you feel guilty when you don’t spend as much on a gift? My answer is no! Read my blog entries if you don’t believe me!

Want to know how to actually make a cake from scratch? This blog entry includes recipes and reasons why you shouldn’t go with the boxed cake mix. I still think Aldi brownie mix is better than anything I have ever attempted to make, but I am willing to budge on the cakes themselves.