Amazon Friday Deals

Another week is ending so that means Amazon has got it Friday specials

Today some of the great deals include Body Fat Analyzer, knife set which is perfect for a wedding shower gift and Prada Bag

Deals deal and more deals is what you can find at Amazon Friday sale

Old Navy Discount Coupon

Old Navy has a lot of things on sale at their website right now.

Enter code "SUMMERTIME" and get $10 off your $50 order.

(Shipping is $5 + tax if applicable)

If you have an Old Navy credit card, you can ALSO enter "SPECIAL" and get FREE shipping.

Tech Tags: Old+Navy Coupon shopping sales discount

Mortgage Poll Results

Here are the results to the How big is your mortgage?

None because I rent 19%
None because it is paid off! 6%
under 50,000 3%
50,000-100,000 9%
100,000-150,000 25%
150,000-200,000 19%
200,000-250,000 3%
250,000-300,000 3%
over 300,000 13%

There was not an overwhelming answer for my frugal (or wanna be frugal readers). I couldn't imagine having a 300,000 mortgage.

I like the philosophy that your mortgage payment shouldn't be more than 25% of your monthly net income. We try to stay within those guidelines now but were more like 32% when we first got our mortgage.

Frugal Menu planning

Hello

I was asked how much I spend on groceries each week. I spend about $75 a week $300 a month. I stay pretty true to the menu planning each week. Sometimes a meal gets swapped out.

Sun Cookout at my moms

Mon Hamburger helper cheeseburger macaroni (got a good deal on this) green beans

Tues Nacho Stuffed Shells

Wed Mexican Lasagna

Thurs Leftover nacho stuffed shells

Fri Sandwiches

Sat Not home

Sharing Thrifty Tips on Thursday

Hello I am going to be starting Thrifty Thursday Tips each week. I am opening this up each to the blog community to share their tips each week as well. It will be similar to a blog carnival. Get your tips to me by Thursday morning and they will be posted in the afternoon. Remember to post them on your blog as well.

Going to the chapel Destination Weddings

As I mentioned last week, my sister is getting married. I will be making some posts about budgeting for a wedding. money stress that comes from planning a wedding and about being a wedding guest.

It was very timely that Michele Singletary writes
Here comes the bride! Can the guest afford a faraway wedding since my sister and I have been chatting about her wedding plans and destination wedding came up! I immediately said Disney World since we could kill two birds with 1 stick (we are planning a trip to Disney next year)

She has casually mentioned in the past that she wants a small intimate wedding but with the size of our and his extended families (only to first cousins) that is over 100 people. 100 people isn't an intimate wedding plus there are friends that they would both like to invite. So planning a destination wedding would be logical to help cut down the guest list.

My sister hasn't decided what she wants to do yet as far as a wedding or even a date. I told her that if she chose a destination wedding, my family and I would be there with bells on. It would mean some additional frugal living but I would do that for my sister. For other friends or extended family, I don't think I would do that.

8 money scams that refuse to die

8 zombie money scams that refuse to die

Be an informed consumer! If something doesn't sound right, it probably isn't.



Advance fee scams
The prize that will cost you
Be wise about online auctions
Watch for jobs and employment cons, including Get rich quick! and other bamboozles
Secrets of pyramid schemes
Bypass the bogus charity
Keep your eye on identity theft
Products that are too good to be true

money scams

Amazon's Friday Deals

Check out Amazon Friday Sale It is the sign of the end of the week and also the best of the bargains out there.

Today some of the deals include Baby Formula Kitchen Aid Mixer and Battery Charger


You never know what you find at the Amazon Friday Sale

Friday Free Samples!

Free ebook to have student loans paid off
Free dog treats
Free chocoiate lover cookbook
Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce-BBQ Sauce-Seasoning
Free BINGO cd for kids
Free baby caring book
Boozster Hangover Prevention / Cure / Remedy free sample
Free Alchemy Fragrance -
www.aquafresh.com - freesample
Success Rice consumer panel
Free Bird Food
Free scholarship guide

Free Neutrogena Sample

More carpooling to ease gas prices pain.

With gas prices increasing, many commuters are looking either towards public transportation or carpooling with others to get to work. Carpooling isn't always convenient but it can be a great way to lower your gas bill. Some companies are encouraging carpooling, carpooling match-ups or even craiglists. For Canadians check out Smart Commute

10 tips for successful carpooling

Some tips include setting up a route, a pick-up place, establishing communication etc.

Where to get digital pictures printed?

I currently don't have a digital camera because I really didn't know where to get my photos printed. Do I print at home or bring it to the store or use an online service.

Consumer reports recently test over 2000 pictures.

Reports recommends three online photofinishers: Kodak, Target, and Yahoo. A four-by-six print costs 15 cents, but you have to pay for shipping.

Consumers reports recommended using a store that uses Fuji-film mini-labs. Walmart uses them and they charge 19 cents for 4 x6 prints.

I have personally used Snapfish and got the prints at my local Walgreens when I have others email me photos. The pictures looked great . Prints were 19 cents for 4x6 but Snapfish offers some deals.


Don't Miss Out On This FREE iPod Photo!

How big is your mortgage?

How big is your mortgage? None because I rent None because it is paid off! under 50,000 50,000-100,000 100,000-150,000 150,000-200,000 200,000-250,000 250,000-300,000 over 300,000 Free polls from Pollhost.com

We owe about 120,000 on our house.

Free kids lunch coupon at Panera Bread

In celebration of the first day of summer on June 21st, Panera Bread is providing a "Today I'm Taking Mom to Lunch at Panera Bread!" coupon, inviting kids to take Mom to lunch to thank them for all their hard work!

http://www.panerabread.com/

enjoy!

Frugal dinner planning week of June 18th

Happy Father's day

Sun Steaks on the grill

Mon Chili

Tues Meatloaf

Wed Leftover meatloaf with spaghetti

Thurs Pork Chops

Fri Clean out the fridge night or chicken

Sat Pizza

Easy homemade bubbles recipe

We almost had a crisis. We were out of bubbles last night. Bubbles gives the kids hours of enjoyment.

Here are quick simple one with no strange ingredients from About.com

1/2 cup dish soap
1 1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons sugar

OR

1 cup warm water,
1/4 cup blue dishwashing liquid
1 tsp. salt


We did the first one and it worked out fine!

Make your own homemade greeting cards

I am not a good girl when a comes to buying greeting cards. Paying $2-$4 for a card is absolutely insane. Father's day is tomorrow and I can save about $10-$12 doing this.

Frugal Upstate instructions for using word and making some nice cards.

Frugal Upstate also shared a link about homemade notecards and envelopes.

First jobs and life lessons

This week's question from the WAHM Bloggers is: What was your first job and what life lessons did it teach you?

I did have a paper route for several years delivering a local morning paper. I enjoyed the $15 I made each week from that. It was hard work, I need to be dependable, be able to write bills and collect money. I remember one family refused to pay at all. I had to get tough because if they didn't pay I didn't get paid. I stopped their subscription then. All these years later I don't remember if they did pay up or not. However when I walk by their beautiful house, I still wince. It taught me if you owe money, pay it up. It made me be responsible as well.

My first real job was boring and I only last a few months. I was barely 15 years old and got a job at the library being a library page. I worked for minimum wage which I think was $3.35 an hour. Basically my job was putting back returned library books. Plus I had creepy boss that lurked around. A little strange. Life lessons Do something that you enjoy or work will really become a chore. Co-workers can make or break a work environment. I had one older Jewish librarian yell at me because I wished her Merry Christmas. I had no idea that she was Jewish and was trying to be friendly. 20 years later I remember that clearly.

I would love to hear other first jobs as well!

Frugal Freebies

Freebies are so fun to get! A time saving tip is to use the google toolbar auto fill option


DQ Blizzard Fan Club receive free treats and coupons
Swiffer
[ Potty Training Kit ]
Nature's Bounty free fish oil
Free diabetic products
SIRIUS Satellite Radio Free Music Trial, Free Radio
Free Serenity for men
Free Shower to Shower
Scotch-Brite™ Purple Scour Pad Free Sample
Free Pregnacy nutrition bar


Take a short survey and get a 3 day, 2 night hotel stay

Credit Card Balance Transfer Tips

Hello and Welcome!

In this week's issue Living on a Budget in a Non Budget World
Newsletter.

Money Saving Tips
Featured Article Credit Card Balance Transfer Tips
Money Blog Spotlight
Top Conversations on the Money Saving Forums
Freebie and Contest Alerts
The Frugal Five
Frugal Food Easy Pork Crockpot Recipes

Read this issue at: http://www.budgetdial.com/news-Jun1506.htm


If you are new subscriber we keep all of our newsletters online at http://www.budgetdial.com/news.htm

My sister got engaged!

I am so so excited and thrilled for her! She called me last night about 10pm after it happened. She has got a great guy and it finally happened.

She doesn't know if it will be big or small. So I will probably be writing about wedding budgets now.

I will probably send flowers online to her today to help celebrate. It is also National Roses month and roses are her favorite type of flower. Roses come in many different colors these days. Red - Passionate Love Yellow - Unfaithfulness Pale Pink - Youth and Femininity White - Keep My Secret Pink - Perfect Happiness Coral - I admire your accomplishments Leaf of a rose - You May Hope.

Easy Ham Recipes

Here are some easy ham recipes to try and enjoy! I always find that I can get a ham at a good price. I usually do a baked ham for dinner one night and then use the leftovers for another meal! Very frugal and cheap!

Ham and Spinach Bake
Ham and cheese calzones recipe Italian style
Herbed Ham And Potato Frittata
Ham And Hash Brown Casserole
Ham and Scallop Potatos
Beans and Ham Soup recipe
Ham And Cheese Quiche
Cheddar Ham Chowder recipe
Heavenly Ham Casserole -

Finders Keepers Losers Weepers and Lottery tickets

In legal case in Massachusetts..


The heirs of a man who mistakenly discarded a winning $1 million lottery ticket last October -- and who later died -- have filed suit in Worcester Superior Court to wrest the jackpot from an elderly man who fished the golden debris from a wastebasket at the White Hen Pantry.


Is it an old case of Finders Keepers, Loser Weepers or should the man that found the ticket in the trash give it up.

He threw the ticket in the trash... I think that this is a case of finder keepers.

Lending money to family poll results

Have you loaned money to a family member.

Almost half have loaned money to a family member with the majority being parents.


No, I haven't been asked 18%
No, I would never loan money to a family member 27%
Yes I gave a loan to my parents or parents in law 45%
Yes I gave a loan to siblings 9%

Frugal dinners week of June 11th

Sunday cookout with friends

Monday Chicken with pasta

Tues Chili

Wed Pork Chops

Thurs Clean out the fridge aka leftovers

Fri Spaghetti

Sat Late afternoon graduation party

Easy pasta recipes

Here are some easy pasta, spaghetti recipes! Always cheap, frugal and easy to make!!

spaghetti and meatsauce recipe
Broccoli Spaghetti Recipe
Fast Lasagna Recipe
Bacon & Eggs Spaghetti -
American Chop Suey
Cajun Chicken Lasagna
Italian Pasta With Chicken
chicken joe pasta recipe
Beefy Macaroni Casserole Recipe
easy chicken parmesan recipes
Chili Macaroni Recipe



Easy frugal recipes

Tech Tags: cooking recipes chicken, ground+beef pasta spaghetti noodles

Deep Discount DVD

Deepdiscountdvd.com is having their semi annual 20% off DVD sale.

I did a ton of Christmas shopping through them last year. Good service and they don't charge shipping.

Use the coupon code supersale

www.deepdiscountdvd.com

The simple things in life

The wahm bloggers network Question of the week is "How many simple things have you learned to appreciate more, for one reason or another?"
We had a health scare a year ago this month with my Dad. He had a major accident and was hospitalized for several months. In a matter of hours life changed for my family. My Dad is ok now for the most part.


However his accident made me slow down to appreciate some of the simpler things in life such as enjoying a cup of coffee on my back porch. A good night kiss from my kids. A note or an email from my hubby with our anniversary date which is code for I love you. The love from my close extended family, we had about 20 family members and friends come to the hospital to be with us that night.

I keep on singing to myself the song from "Sound of Music"

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things

When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad

lyrics source

Free Stuff Friday

I love mail these days... with getting all of my freebies.

Here are some good ones that I found today


BIZ detergent
Free condoms
Oxyclean sample

Schmackos™ - dog treats
Four Seasons Pet Care - Sample Request
Bathroom cleaner
Free Sample of Pretty Feet & Hands
Meal and Fitness Plan from Kraft
Herbal Essences free shampoo
Samples Request Baby Diapers by Mondial International
Biotherm free sample face cream


Blistex sample

Tech Tags: freebies free+samples free+stuff dog+treats shampoo dog+food

Dump the Pump day

Today, dozens of transit agencies across the country will participate in the American Public Transportation Association's "Dump the Pump" day -- a campaign dedicated to getting motorists out of their cars and onto public transportation.

Some cities are offering free transportation to get more people to ride rather than drive.

I took the train and subway into Boston daily when I was working out of the house. I found convenient. And cheaper than paying over $20 a day in parking.

However unless you are working in Boston, public transportation is just ok. Also paying to park at the train stations is going up to over $3.00-$4.00 a day plus almost the $8.00 a day for a train ticket. Also some of the train station spots were completely filled up by 7am.

While the concept of dump the pump is good, they need to make it more convenient to take the train into work.

Frugal Homemade Ant Killer

Ant Killer Recipe
1 teaspoon boric Acid
6 tablespoons sugar
2 cups hot water
Mix ingredients and pour over cotton balls
Put mixture in plastic containers (like deli ones or cottage cheese) with lids and poke holes about 1/8 inch up from the bottom.
Don't worry if you have more ants the first couple of days after third day ant problem should be gone.

This works I got this recipes I few years back and anytime I have ants I do this. Ant traps cost a few buck.

Keeping summer fun and frugal

Hello and Welcome!

In this week's issue Living on a Budget in a Non Budget World
Newsletter.

Money Saving Tips
Featured Article Keeping Summer Fun and Frugal
Money Blog Spotlight
Top Conversations on the Money Saving Forums
Freebie and Contest Alerts
The Frugal Five
Frugal Food Easy Pasta Salad

Read this issue at: http://www.budgetdial.com/news-Jun0106.htm


If you are new subscriber we keep all of our newsletters online at http://www.budgetdial.com/news.htm

Have you ever given a loan to a family member?

A questions that comes up often on financial forums is should I lend money to family members. I haven't ever been asked to loan to my parents or siblings. I don't think I would since sometimes our finanical situation can be a little tight. And it would depend on the circumstances. Leave your why in the comments as well. Or if you have how did it work out for you.

Have you given a loan to a family member? No, I haven't been asked No, I would never loan money to a family member Yes I gave a loan to my parents or parents in law Yes I gave a loan to siblings    Free polls from Pollhost.com

Bottled Water poll results

In our weekly poll the question was do you buy bottled water? It was just about a 50/50 split.

Yes 53%
No 47%

I thought more frugal folks wouldn't be into buying bottle water.

Frugal Meal Planning

Sun Hot dogs

Mon Pot roast

Tues Ground turkey, tomato and spinach casserole

Wed Kids fun night at school

Thurs Just me and the kids sandwichs

Fri Pork chops or leftovers

Sat Homemade pizza

Menu and Recipe ideas
Tech Tags: frugal+meal+planning cheap+cooking dinner menu

Orlando

Orlando is the leading tourist area in the United States. There are great Orlando Vacation Rental home available Think of Florida and you will probably imagine theme parks such as Disney World and sunshine but there is so much more to this state. A 45 minute drive from the theme parks takes you to countryside very similar to the UK with rolling hills and oak trees. Here you are in horse breeding country. Travel south and take an airboat ride across the Everglades or take advantage of some of the best shopping opportunities in the USA.

There is so much more to Orlando than Disney and other theme parks.

Upromise sold to Sallie Mae

I openned a Upromise account when it first openned back in 2001... and drum roll I got $45 saved for college. I do have my grocery cards registered but I haven't done my credit cards there. Plus Fidelity investment where I have the kids 529 plans no longer is associated with Upromise.

Sallie Mae one of the student loan companies just bought Upromise so we will see.

Free Things to do

I just came across this site and it looks like a good resource for lots of free things to do.

From their site...
We list free museums, free parks, festivals, parades, and other things to do. www.Free-Attractions.com is the only place on the web that lists nothing but free attractions for all 50 United States. This site serves as a valuable resource for teachers looking for field trip ideas, families looking for free activities for the weekend, travel planners, and many others.

A free time dream....

This week question from the wahm bloggers network is What do you do if you have an hour, day, or eek an entire weekend to yourself?

If I had a weekend to myself. There are several times I would just love to do.

1. I would sleep! I feel like I never get in enough. And just lounge in bed all weekend long with a whole weekend worth of my favorite tv shows and movies.

2. A weekend in New York city with some good friends. I would love to hit the store, see the sites and of course catch a show. A 5 star hotel... this isn't reality so I can pretend that I have loads of money!

3. A scrapbooking weekend. Yes one of those marathon scrapbooking sessions in a hotel with a spa. So after all day scraping, I would get a massage. Scrapbooking is hard work. :)



Things I wouldn't do if I had a weekend to myself...


Laundry
Ironing
Vacuuming
Dusting
Cooking
And, dare I say it, blogging

If I had an afternoon to myself... I would grab my best friend who I would make sure she was kids and hubby free for lunch and manicures and pedicures. There is nothing like a good afternoon with your best friend of 20 years who you saw everyday for years and now even though just live a few miles apart


If I had an hour to myself, I would lock myself into my room and read a book.

Tech Tags: wahm weekend work+at+home+mom free scrapbooking spa hotel new+york+city

Ceiling fan energy tips

I got this from the Creative Budget yahoo group. Great group by the way.


Ceiling fan direction
Q: Which way is forward on a ceiling fan? Which way should it go during the
heating season?
A: Fans come with a forward and a reverse setting. When you click it to
"forward", the fan blows the air down. Standing under the fan, you will feel a
breeze. When you click it to "reverse", the fan reverses rotation and blows the
air up. Now, when you stand under the fan, you won't feel a breeze.
So, during the winter, turn the fan to "reverse" to circulate the warm air
without blowing air down and cooling you in the process. Hot air rises and a
ceiling fan, running in reverse, gently mixes the air.
During the summer, on the other hand, turn it to "forward" to create a
wind-chill effect as the air moves against your skin and cools you.
So far, what I've said holds true for rooms with standard 8-foot ceilings.
Fan companies recommend this procedure.
"Some people with higher ceilings, like a stairwell, often do the opposite of
this," Marcus of Lamp Depot says and explains their rationale. Cool air
sinks to the floor, which causes the lower levels to be cooler and the upper
levels hotter. So, in the summer, they run the fan in a blowing-up direction to
keep cool air-conditioned air, which is coming out of their upstairs vents,
upstairs where they want it.
In the winter, they run the fan in the blowing-down direction to move warm
air into the lower levels of the house where they spend their time during the
day. They feel no draft downstairs because they are too far away from the fan