Festival of Frugality #241: A Midsummer's Night Dream Edition
Tuesday, August 3. 2010
It's will soon be the middle of summer and my garden wilted from record 100 degree days here in New York. On the bright side, there's always free Shakepeare in the park so, I bring you the Festival of Frugality #241: A Midsummer's Night Dream Edition.
Editor's Picks
I like all the people trying to build their own garden's so I had to give some kudos to Kristia who presents Freeze Your Garden Produce Now and You'll Be Thanking Yourself Later posted at Family Balance Sheet.
Just because I like the crazy, I also chose Kaye's submission on 8 Uses for a Rubber Band posted at Mrs. Nespy's Frugal World.
Finally, since I firmly believe in bargaining, I selected the submission from FMF on How to Ask for a Discount When You're Embarrassed to Ask posted at Free Money Finance. I did this a few years back at P.C. Richards when we needed a new washer. My BF was embarrassed and thought that I was crazy, but he appreciated the extra $50 in his pocket when I was finished.
SHAKESPEARE DIDN'T DO IT FOR FREE
Kristina presents Money is Relevant posted at Dinks Finance.
vh presents When Is a Splurge a Good Thing? posted at Funny about Money.
Big Cajun Man presents A magic number: 833.33 posted at Canadian Personal Finance Blog.
Financial Uproar presents How Patience Saved Me Over $1400 posted at Financial Uproar.
Super Saver presents Eliminate Recurring Expenses to Save Money posted at My Wealth Builder.
Ramsay presents 5 Things You Should Never Say About Money posted at MoneyedUP.
Briana Ford presents Why Saving Before Spending is a Better Idea posted at Go Banking Rates.
Squirrelers presents 5 Tips to Save up to $268 in Annual Utility Costs | Squirrelers posted at Squirrelers.
Neal Frankle presents How To Get Senior Term Life Insurance Cheap posted at Wealth Pilgrim: Money Management Advice, Financial Stess Management, Addiction Recovery Plan & Resources.
HAMLET SAID YOU CAN'T TAKE IT ALL WITH YOU
jim presents New Credit Card Applications Hurt Your Credit Score posted at Wanderlust Journey.
Nerdwallet presents Costco TrueEarnings: the Best Credit Card for Well-Rounded Spenders? posted at NerdWallet Blog - Credit Card Watch.
jim presents Review Your Credit Reports Every Year posted at Identity Theft Wall.
Craig Ford presents Expensive Shopping is Good | How To Shop For Value, Not Price posted at Money Help For Christians.
J. Money presents Wanna Know the Cheapest Way to Travel The World? posted at Budgets Are Sexy.
MoneyNing presents How to Dress Well on a Budget posted at Money Ning.
freefrombroke presents Costs To Consider When Buying A Car posted at Free From Broke.
Donna Freedman presents How to go to the movies for free. posted at Surviving and Thriving.
Jacob A. Irwin presents Aldi vs. Wal-Mart vs. All the Rest posted at My Personal Finance Journey - Personal Finance, Intelligent Investing, And Frugal Living Tips.
HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS, RIGHT JULIET?
Jason presents It’s Better to Buy a House than Rent posted at Live Real, Now.
PT presents Mortgage Short Sale: Tips for Buying and Selling posted at PT Money.
Lauren presents Homemade vs. Store-Bought Cost Comparison posted at Richly Reasonable - Money, Saving, Living, Playing.
THE REST OF THE STEW POT
Miss T presents Why I Love Our CSA | Prairie EcoThrifter.com posted at Prairie Eco-Thrifter.
Simon Zhen presents Change How Things Look For the "New" Vibe posted at Realm of Prosperity.
Paul Williams presents Should Everyone Go to College? posted at Provident Planning.
Roshawn Watson presents Hey Broke People, Stop Overpaying For College! posted at Watson Inc.
Who can guess which play the final cartoon is from? Submissions in the comments below!
Editor's Picks
I like all the people trying to build their own garden's so I had to give some kudos to Kristia who presents Freeze Your Garden Produce Now and You'll Be Thanking Yourself Later posted at Family Balance Sheet.
Just because I like the crazy, I also chose Kaye's submission on 8 Uses for a Rubber Band posted at Mrs. Nespy's Frugal World.
Finally, since I firmly believe in bargaining, I selected the submission from FMF on How to Ask for a Discount When You're Embarrassed to Ask posted at Free Money Finance. I did this a few years back at P.C. Richards when we needed a new washer. My BF was embarrassed and thought that I was crazy, but he appreciated the extra $50 in his pocket when I was finished.
SHAKESPEARE DIDN'T DO IT FOR FREE
Kristina presents Money is Relevant posted at Dinks Finance.
vh presents When Is a Splurge a Good Thing? posted at Funny about Money.
Big Cajun Man presents A magic number: 833.33 posted at Canadian Personal Finance Blog.
Financial Uproar presents How Patience Saved Me Over $1400 posted at Financial Uproar.
Super Saver presents Eliminate Recurring Expenses to Save Money posted at My Wealth Builder.
Ramsay presents 5 Things You Should Never Say About Money posted at MoneyedUP.
Briana Ford presents Why Saving Before Spending is a Better Idea posted at Go Banking Rates.
Squirrelers presents 5 Tips to Save up to $268 in Annual Utility Costs | Squirrelers posted at Squirrelers.
Neal Frankle presents How To Get Senior Term Life Insurance Cheap posted at Wealth Pilgrim: Money Management Advice, Financial Stess Management, Addiction Recovery Plan & Resources.
HAMLET SAID YOU CAN'T TAKE IT ALL WITH YOU
jim presents New Credit Card Applications Hurt Your Credit Score posted at Wanderlust Journey.
Nerdwallet presents Costco TrueEarnings: the Best Credit Card for Well-Rounded Spenders? posted at NerdWallet Blog - Credit Card Watch.
jim presents Review Your Credit Reports Every Year posted at Identity Theft Wall.
Craig Ford presents Expensive Shopping is Good | How To Shop For Value, Not Price posted at Money Help For Christians.
J. Money presents Wanna Know the Cheapest Way to Travel The World? posted at Budgets Are Sexy.
MoneyNing presents How to Dress Well on a Budget posted at Money Ning.
freefrombroke presents Costs To Consider When Buying A Car posted at Free From Broke.
Donna Freedman presents How to go to the movies for free. posted at Surviving and Thriving.
Jacob A. Irwin presents Aldi vs. Wal-Mart vs. All the Rest posted at My Personal Finance Journey - Personal Finance, Intelligent Investing, And Frugal Living Tips.
HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS, RIGHT JULIET?
Jason presents It’s Better to Buy a House than Rent posted at Live Real, Now.
PT presents Mortgage Short Sale: Tips for Buying and Selling posted at PT Money.
Lauren presents Homemade vs. Store-Bought Cost Comparison posted at Richly Reasonable - Money, Saving, Living, Playing.
THE REST OF THE STEW POT
Miss T presents Why I Love Our CSA | Prairie EcoThrifter.com posted at Prairie Eco-Thrifter.
Simon Zhen presents Change How Things Look For the "New" Vibe posted at Realm of Prosperity.
Paul Williams presents Should Everyone Go to College? posted at Provident Planning.
Roshawn Watson presents Hey Broke People, Stop Overpaying For College! posted at Watson Inc.
Who can guess which play the final cartoon is from? Submissions in the comments below!
August 1 Check In
Sunday, August 1. 2010
Hello! I took a little vacation from blogging for the past two weeks. It's my first time off since I began blogging at the beginning of last year. My brain was in need of a vacation, but I'm back into the swing of things and have lots of great topics to cover this month.
July was a tough month for me financially, but the debt did go down a little, which is always a good thing. Let's run the numbers then I'll explain what happened.
July 1, 2010
Student Loan #1 $991.87 @2.48%
Credit Card #1 $1,104.54 @13.99%
Credit Card #2 $2,738.82 @14.24%
HELOC $42,622.45 @3.125%
Student Loan #2 $37,828.33 @3.3-7.5%
The bed $999.00 @0%
Personal Loan $0
Car Note $0
Total: $86,285.01 $
Emergency Savings: $800.24
Emergency Savings Goal: $3,000
August 1, 2010
Student Loan #1 $843.89 @2.47%
Credit Card #1 $1,193.20 @13.99%
Credit Card #2 $2,633.44 @14.24%
HELOC $42,332.66 @3.125%
Student Loan #2 $37,747.21 @3.3-7.5%
The bed $849.00 @0%
Personal Loan $0
Car Note $0
Total: $85,599.40
Emergency Savings: $1,152.02
Emergency Savings Goal: $3,000
I didn't do as well as I would have liked because a few of those "emergency" type of things happened. I had lots of things go on with the car - to the tune of about $350. It had to be done, so there was no way to avoid it. On top of that I am having my transportation costs deducted from my paycheck on a pretax basis, but what I didn't realize was that the entire chunk would come from one paycheck instead of being spread into two as it was before. That was kind of painful, but I learned that lesson and will adjust appropriately for August.
Let's review my internet income.
Internet Income in July
Google Adsense $0.05
Sponsored Tweets $0.00
Commission Junction $15.70
Cash Crate $66.05
eHow $0.82
Total: $82.62
My income from Google ads pretty much sucked last month. Horrible really. I don't know why I keep it...I know, so that I can get to that $100 payout amount and then I'll kick that like a bad habit. On the other hand, Cash Crate really paid off for me last month. I only filled out 5 offers and the balance came from bonuses that I received from a few of you signing up so that was good. Might have to do a few more of those in August. Once I get that check it will go right to the smallest student loan.
My goals for this month? Again, work at that smaller student loan and now that I think about it, that card with the lingering 1K balance. I also have to pay property taxes soon for the house which will be a pain, but it has to be done. I'll let you know how it all goes at the end of the month. It would be nice to finish the year with the bed, student loan and the lower credit card debt gone. That was I can focus on the two largest monsters.
July was a tough month for me financially, but the debt did go down a little, which is always a good thing. Let's run the numbers then I'll explain what happened.
July 1, 2010
Student Loan #1 $991.87 @2.48%
Credit Card #1 $1,104.54 @13.99%
Credit Card #2 $2,738.82 @14.24%
HELOC $42,622.45 @3.125%
Student Loan #2 $37,828.33 @3.3-7.5%
The bed $999.00 @0%
Personal Loan $0
Car Note $0
Total: $86,285.01 $
Emergency Savings: $800.24
Emergency Savings Goal: $3,000
August 1, 2010
Student Loan #1 $843.89 @2.47%
Credit Card #1 $1,193.20 @13.99%
Credit Card #2 $2,633.44 @14.24%
HELOC $42,332.66 @3.125%
Student Loan #2 $37,747.21 @3.3-7.5%
The bed $849.00 @0%
Personal Loan $0
Car Note $0
Total: $85,599.40
Emergency Savings: $1,152.02
Emergency Savings Goal: $3,000
I didn't do as well as I would have liked because a few of those "emergency" type of things happened. I had lots of things go on with the car - to the tune of about $350. It had to be done, so there was no way to avoid it. On top of that I am having my transportation costs deducted from my paycheck on a pretax basis, but what I didn't realize was that the entire chunk would come from one paycheck instead of being spread into two as it was before. That was kind of painful, but I learned that lesson and will adjust appropriately for August.
Let's review my internet income.
Internet Income in July
Google Adsense $0.05
Sponsored Tweets $0.00
Commission Junction $15.70
Cash Crate $66.05
eHow $0.82
Total: $82.62
My income from Google ads pretty much sucked last month. Horrible really. I don't know why I keep it...I know, so that I can get to that $100 payout amount and then I'll kick that like a bad habit. On the other hand, Cash Crate really paid off for me last month. I only filled out 5 offers and the balance came from bonuses that I received from a few of you signing up so that was good. Might have to do a few more of those in August. Once I get that check it will go right to the smallest student loan.
My goals for this month? Again, work at that smaller student loan and now that I think about it, that card with the lingering 1K balance. I also have to pay property taxes soon for the house which will be a pain, but it has to be done. I'll let you know how it all goes at the end of the month. It would be nice to finish the year with the bed, student loan and the lower credit card debt gone. That was I can focus on the two largest monsters.
How Social Networking Can Negatively Affect Your Finances
Monday, July 26. 2010
Everyone who is anyone these days, and even a few nobodies has some form of a social networking account. What qualifies? Everything from Facebook to LinkedIn, Myspace and Classmates.com. These days, everything seems to be about how many friends you have and who they might know, but have you ever thought about how social networking might negatively impact you life? Here are a few examples.
I know that I might be slightly paranoid, but just remember that the internet isn't anonymous. Social networking can be great for landing you a job, connecting with friends all over the world, and sharing your life experiences with the people you love. Just be aware that every "friend" that you have does not always mean you well, and just because you deleted something, doesn't mean that someone hasn't screen captured your 2:00 a.m. rant.
- Not only does your prospective employer Google you, but they might also look you up on the sites that I've mentioned. You might have innocent photos on there that your prospective or even current employer can deem unsuitable and they can decline to hire you or even fire you because of it. Don't think so? Here is one example. And for all that is holy, assume everything that you write will be seen by your employer whether it is "private" or not.
- Did you know that your creditors also use social networks to find out if you're a responsible customer, or even worse, if you owe a creditor money and have been dodging them, they can use these networks to find you? If you don't already know the story about the "cute girl" that was actually a profile illegally created by a debt collection agency to fool people, read about that one Consumerist.
That one really is illegal because it probably is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) which requires debt collectors to be truthful and treat debtors with fairness, dignity and respect. That and the fact that the fake profile now allows other people to know that you have an account under collections. Also be aware that your current creditors can evaluate your credit worthiness based on your the friends that you have in your social network, so be sure to "friend" Donald Trump, Oprah, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet to be safe.
- Are you in the process of a divorce and you're battling it out with the spouse over money? Our good friend, the social network, can really wallop your pockets this time. Did you know that attorney's consider Facebook and other social media sites to be the best source of evidence in a divorce case? According to this article "66% of the lawyers surveyed cited Facebook foibles as the source of online evidence." So if you're telling your spouse that you don't have money for alimony or child support and you post photos of you with your new BMW on Facebook (it's happened), it can, and will be used against you.
- Finally, I present the case - there are more - where you could be sued for libel based on what you've said on your social network posts. Yes, you have the freedom of speech, but hate speech and things considered libelous are not protected. Even if you do win a suit brought against you, just think of the expense of having to pay a lawyer to defend you. This bring us to T & J Towing vs. Justin Kurtz. Justin might have won his case, but others have lost theirs, so think hard about what you say.
I know that I might be slightly paranoid, but just remember that the internet isn't anonymous. Social networking can be great for landing you a job, connecting with friends all over the world, and sharing your life experiences with the people you love. Just be aware that every "friend" that you have does not always mean you well, and just because you deleted something, doesn't mean that someone hasn't screen captured your 2:00 a.m. rant.
5 Ways To Money On Food While Staying At A Hotel
Tuesday, July 20. 2010
This guest post is brought to you by Lisa Grossberg from the Buckingham Hotel in New York. I happen to walk by it almost every day on my way to work. Eating in hotels can cost you lots of money. Learn how you can reduce those costs from an industry professional.
With signs that the down economy is here to stay (a least for now!), travelers are finding more inventive ways to game the system and plan trips on a dime. One of the latest trends is widely being referred to as the BYOF boom – bringing your own food and drink and forgoing overpriced room service and lobby restaurants.
"For the average hotel guest, dining can make up anywhere from a third to a half of the total spend on an average trip," noted Lisa Grossberg, General Manager of the historic Buckingham Hotel in Manhattan which has eat-in kitchens in every apartment-style suite.
Pictured Above: Buckingham Hotel Suite’s Kitchen
Whether you’re headed to a tropical island or a major city, here are 5 simple ways you can save hundreds of dollars on your next trip:
1) Book a condo-style hotel room with an eat-in kitchen. If you’re headed to a major city, you’ll find that many of the early and mid-century hotel buildings, like the Buckingham, came installed with private kitchens. And if you’re jetting to an island destination, more and more hotels are renting out their dormant condo and timeshare units.
"The overdevelopment of timeshares in 2008 has left a lot of hoteliers with a wider inventory than they anticipated. As a result, travelers can find great deals on some very luxe condos, some with Viking kitchens and high-end appliances!" notes Grossberg.
2) Stock your fridge. Even if you have plans to dine out every night of the week, you can still skip paying $40 for a below-average continental breakfast by bringing your own eggs, bagels and coffee.
"We have the great fortune of being located in midtown Manhattan, so we’re blocks from some of the best bagels and lox in the country," said Grossberg. "But every city and town has its own food gems. It’s a great loss if you don’t take advantage. When in Rome!"
And if you want to spice things up with a mimosa, pick up a bottle of Freixenet cava. It retails for just $10 at the liquor store and is what many restaurants use behind the scenes. Just pour out half a flute of Freixenet and top off with another half of OJ — and you’re set, brunch style…
3) Stock your bar. And if you’re tempted by that packet of peanut M&Ms or miniature Jack Daniels calling your name late-night, make your own mini-bar by hitting the liquor and convenience story for far less. Stores like Walgreens even sell theater style box candy or a 1 oz bag of mini-Oreos for $1 instead of $6+ mini-bar prices. And if you really insist on having the Thelma & Louise experience, a site called beerliquors.combeerliquors.com actually sells miniature bottles of your favorites in bulk, and on the cheap.
Also, with wines incurring a hefty mark-up dining out, pick up a great $20 wine that would cost you $50 from a restaurant’s cellar.
"It’s on the rise right now for even five-star restaurants to open up their Mondays for BYOB. So you can have a great meal and pick up a great bottle at cost,” added Grossberg.
To find local restaurant specials check out deal-of-the-day sites such as Groupon.com
4) Buy local. Also treat yourself to the best of whatever your particular city has to offer. If you’re in New York City, hit the H&H Bagels or at least a great deli. Seattle? Fish market! Bay Area? Replace your in-room Sanka pod with a small bag of the cult-favorite Blue Bottle coffee.
And if you’re somewhere tropical, hit the market for a couple of pineapples and coconuts and make yourself a far better piña colada than the swim-up bar is serving. Here’s a simple piña colada recipe with fresh ingredients:
Island Piña Colada Recipe
Ingredients
1 Pineapple
1 Coconut or Vita Coco
1 Can of Goya Coconut Cream
1 small bottle of dark rum
Instructions:
Combine ½ cup of chopped pineapple, ½ cup of rum, ¼ cup of fresh coconut juice or Vita Coco, ½ cup of coconut cream and ice cubes. Mix in a blender and serve with a sliced pineapple wedge as a garnish. Top off with a small pool of dark rum over the top.
5) Live off the land. Even if you’re planning to eat out most of your trip, sourcing a recipe with local ingredients can make for one special and inexpensive night in.
"If you’re somewhere where’s there’s fishing like Alaska or the Bahamas, nothing will compare to the satisfaction of catching and preparing your own meal," said Lisa. "And if you’re hiking, or strolling by a green market, spice things up by picking some herbs."
For more information on frugal travel tops, contact Lisa Grossberg, General Manager of The Buckingham Hotel. You can call toll-free at (888) 511-1900.
With signs that the down economy is here to stay (a least for now!), travelers are finding more inventive ways to game the system and plan trips on a dime. One of the latest trends is widely being referred to as the BYOF boom – bringing your own food and drink and forgoing overpriced room service and lobby restaurants.
"For the average hotel guest, dining can make up anywhere from a third to a half of the total spend on an average trip," noted Lisa Grossberg, General Manager of the historic Buckingham Hotel in Manhattan which has eat-in kitchens in every apartment-style suite.
Pictured Above: Buckingham Hotel Suite’s Kitchen
Whether you’re headed to a tropical island or a major city, here are 5 simple ways you can save hundreds of dollars on your next trip:
1) Book a condo-style hotel room with an eat-in kitchen. If you’re headed to a major city, you’ll find that many of the early and mid-century hotel buildings, like the Buckingham, came installed with private kitchens. And if you’re jetting to an island destination, more and more hotels are renting out their dormant condo and timeshare units.
"The overdevelopment of timeshares in 2008 has left a lot of hoteliers with a wider inventory than they anticipated. As a result, travelers can find great deals on some very luxe condos, some with Viking kitchens and high-end appliances!" notes Grossberg.
2) Stock your fridge. Even if you have plans to dine out every night of the week, you can still skip paying $40 for a below-average continental breakfast by bringing your own eggs, bagels and coffee.
"We have the great fortune of being located in midtown Manhattan, so we’re blocks from some of the best bagels and lox in the country," said Grossberg. "But every city and town has its own food gems. It’s a great loss if you don’t take advantage. When in Rome!"
And if you want to spice things up with a mimosa, pick up a bottle of Freixenet cava. It retails for just $10 at the liquor store and is what many restaurants use behind the scenes. Just pour out half a flute of Freixenet and top off with another half of OJ — and you’re set, brunch style…
3) Stock your bar. And if you’re tempted by that packet of peanut M&Ms or miniature Jack Daniels calling your name late-night, make your own mini-bar by hitting the liquor and convenience story for far less. Stores like Walgreens even sell theater style box candy or a 1 oz bag of mini-Oreos for $1 instead of $6+ mini-bar prices. And if you really insist on having the Thelma & Louise experience, a site called beerliquors.combeerliquors.com actually sells miniature bottles of your favorites in bulk, and on the cheap.
Also, with wines incurring a hefty mark-up dining out, pick up a great $20 wine that would cost you $50 from a restaurant’s cellar.
"It’s on the rise right now for even five-star restaurants to open up their Mondays for BYOB. So you can have a great meal and pick up a great bottle at cost,” added Grossberg.
To find local restaurant specials check out deal-of-the-day sites such as Groupon.com
4) Buy local. Also treat yourself to the best of whatever your particular city has to offer. If you’re in New York City, hit the H&H Bagels or at least a great deli. Seattle? Fish market! Bay Area? Replace your in-room Sanka pod with a small bag of the cult-favorite Blue Bottle coffee.
And if you’re somewhere tropical, hit the market for a couple of pineapples and coconuts and make yourself a far better piña colada than the swim-up bar is serving. Here’s a simple piña colada recipe with fresh ingredients:
Island Piña Colada Recipe
Ingredients
1 Pineapple
1 Coconut or Vita Coco
1 Can of Goya Coconut Cream
1 small bottle of dark rum
Instructions:
Combine ½ cup of chopped pineapple, ½ cup of rum, ¼ cup of fresh coconut juice or Vita Coco, ½ cup of coconut cream and ice cubes. Mix in a blender and serve with a sliced pineapple wedge as a garnish. Top off with a small pool of dark rum over the top.
5) Live off the land. Even if you’re planning to eat out most of your trip, sourcing a recipe with local ingredients can make for one special and inexpensive night in.
"If you’re somewhere where’s there’s fishing like Alaska or the Bahamas, nothing will compare to the satisfaction of catching and preparing your own meal," said Lisa. "And if you’re hiking, or strolling by a green market, spice things up by picking some herbs."
For more information on frugal travel tops, contact Lisa Grossberg, General Manager of The Buckingham Hotel. You can call toll-free at (888) 511-1900.
Twitter Freebie Post of the Week
Friday, July 16. 2010
It's time again for another freebie post roundup! If you're not following my twitter then you can get what you missed here. Some of these offers go fast, so they may no longer be available.
New blog posting, The Newest FREEBIES! - http://tinyurl.com/29ct8x6
Reminder: Free 5×7 Photo Book: http://goo.gl/fb/43A8g
New at MoneySavingMom.com: $3/1 Chef's Requested coupons available again = $0.28 steaks at Walmart http://bit.ly/8ZVGxj
Free Samples of Sun Crystals http://bit.ly/cSVt2J
Free John Frieda Root Awakening http://bit.ly/annaLu
Don’t forget! It’s Arts & Wonder FREE Family Event weekend! Find a some fun near you: http://Target.com/arts
Free Picture Portraits at Sears, Picture Me and Kiddie Kandids http://bit.ly/9yjjim
If It’s For Free It’s For Me Friday http://goo.gl/fb/lXje
First 1,000 Fans Get a Free Sample of Better Oats!: The first 1,000 fans that sign up get a free sample of Better http://bit.ly/9bhtBF
First 100K fans to sign up will receive a free coupon for a free Bottle of Vitaminwater Coupon via mail. http://tiny.cc/88h22
I don't know if you want to smell like Axe Bodyspray but if you do and you have a Sams Club membership get a free one. http://tiny.cc/ge53u
Free sample of Redken® clean spice 2-in-1 conditioning shampoo. http://tinyurl.com/34yqux2
Get a free sample of the 6 different varieties of Nescafe Taster's Choice. http://tiny.cc/lycrp
Free Bamboo Bag sample from Jerry Parker's printing. http://tiny.cc/06k6k
Ontario Only: Free breakfast at Subway Stores 8/ 19. http://tinyurl.com/294w5sz
Buy 2 Right Guard defense 5 deodorants at Walgreens for $3.99 BOGO. Print $3.00 coupon to bring cost to $0.50 each. http://tiny.cc/0uy7c
Free Farm Story app for your iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch people. http://tiny.cc/2huq0
Regal Theaters are screening G and PG movies for kids free every Tuesday and Wednesday at 10am all summer. http://tiny.cc/1lirp
Get several free bags of pull ups for your kids + $10 free! http://dlvr.it/2bKSd
Coupon Divas has amassed this long list of places and dates where your kids can eat #free. Love it! http://coupondivas.com/kids-eat-free
Turn any surface into a dry erase area for you kids with this #freebie from of IdeaPaint. Better than writing on wall. http://tiny.cc/i590n
You now know how to get #free or low cost medications, but what about doctors? I've got you covered. http://tiny.cc/fwf1v
No health insurance but on medications? The Partnership for Prescription Assistance can with #free or low cost meds. http://www.pparx.org/
New blog posting, The Newest FREEBIES! - http://tinyurl.com/29ct8x6
Reminder: Free 5×7 Photo Book: http://goo.gl/fb/43A8g
New at MoneySavingMom.com: $3/1 Chef's Requested coupons available again = $0.28 steaks at Walmart http://bit.ly/8ZVGxj
Free Samples of Sun Crystals http://bit.ly/cSVt2J
Free John Frieda Root Awakening http://bit.ly/annaLu
Don’t forget! It’s Arts & Wonder FREE Family Event weekend! Find a some fun near you: http://Target.com/arts
Free Picture Portraits at Sears, Picture Me and Kiddie Kandids http://bit.ly/9yjjim
If It’s For Free It’s For Me Friday http://goo.gl/fb/lXjeFirst 1,000 Fans Get a Free Sample of Better Oats!: The first 1,000 fans that sign up get a free sample of Better http://bit.ly/9bhtBF
First 100K fans to sign up will receive a free coupon for a free Bottle of Vitaminwater Coupon via mail. http://tiny.cc/88h22
I don't know if you want to smell like Axe Bodyspray but if you do and you have a Sams Club membership get a free one. http://tiny.cc/ge53u
Free sample of Redken® clean spice 2-in-1 conditioning shampoo. http://tinyurl.com/34yqux2
Get a free sample of the 6 different varieties of Nescafe Taster's Choice. http://tiny.cc/lycrp
Free Bamboo Bag sample from Jerry Parker's printing. http://tiny.cc/06k6k
Ontario Only: Free breakfast at Subway Stores 8/ 19. http://tinyurl.com/294w5sz
Buy 2 Right Guard defense 5 deodorants at Walgreens for $3.99 BOGO. Print $3.00 coupon to bring cost to $0.50 each. http://tiny.cc/0uy7c
Free Farm Story app for your iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch people. http://tiny.cc/2huq0
Regal Theaters are screening G and PG movies for kids free every Tuesday and Wednesday at 10am all summer. http://tiny.cc/1lirp
Get several free bags of pull ups for your kids + $10 free! http://dlvr.it/2bKSd
Coupon Divas has amassed this long list of places and dates where your kids can eat #free. Love it! http://coupondivas.com/kids-eat-free
Turn any surface into a dry erase area for you kids with this #freebie from of IdeaPaint. Better than writing on wall. http://tiny.cc/i590n
You now know how to get #free or low cost medications, but what about doctors? I've got you covered. http://tiny.cc/fwf1v
No health insurance but on medications? The Partnership for Prescription Assistance can with #free or low cost meds. http://www.pparx.org/
Sometime You Just Have to Ask
Tuesday, July 13. 2010
I've been filling out some free offers on CashCrate lately. One of those offers was to see my FICO score for free! My score turned out to be 787. I've been trying to get as high as possible - the holy grail being above 800 for me, but I figured that score wasn't bad. I have a 787 FICO. What do I do now? Make phone calls.
I immediately hopped on the phone to give my friends at Chase a call. I asked them if I was eligible for a promotion rate on purchases. Turns out I wasn't BUT they could offer 0.95% for 6 months on balance transfers. They would send out access checks with that rate and I could use them to make a purchase by writing a check. In that way my purchase would qualify for the promotional rate. I figured that was too much work for me.
Next I called Bank of America to ask them for a promotional rate. No dice there, but they wanted to invite me to apply for their World Platinum card. That card has a promotional rate of % for 12 months then a fixed rate of 12.99% after. They would give me a $50 statement credit if I made $50 in purchases within the first 60 days. There were also some other benefits too. I asked for all the terms including balance transfer fee. There was no cap on the fee, and the transfer fee was 4%. Ouches. After doing the math I realized that if I transferred by Chase balance over the new card, I'd break even with the interest after 3.5 months. Sounds great. I told the rep to go ahead.
During the application process she asked if I owned a home and how much the mortgage was. It felt great to tell her yes, and that I had no mortgage. She went off script for a bit because she didn't believe it. Turns out that she's 5 years older than I am and have been trying to save enough for a down payment on a house. I told her that she needed to downgrade the house that she wanted and to live now as if she was in the house. If she couldn't pay her potential mortgage now, then she couldn't pay it later, but I digress. Not only did an advertiser pay me to see my FICO score, but after picking up the phone, I stand to save a could hundred bucks in interest over the next year. All it took was two phone calls. Think about calling your creditors too! The worse they can say is no.
I immediately hopped on the phone to give my friends at Chase a call. I asked them if I was eligible for a promotion rate on purchases. Turns out I wasn't BUT they could offer 0.95% for 6 months on balance transfers. They would send out access checks with that rate and I could use them to make a purchase by writing a check. In that way my purchase would qualify for the promotional rate. I figured that was too much work for me.
Next I called Bank of America to ask them for a promotional rate. No dice there, but they wanted to invite me to apply for their World Platinum card. That card has a promotional rate of % for 12 months then a fixed rate of 12.99% after. They would give me a $50 statement credit if I made $50 in purchases within the first 60 days. There were also some other benefits too. I asked for all the terms including balance transfer fee. There was no cap on the fee, and the transfer fee was 4%. Ouches. After doing the math I realized that if I transferred by Chase balance over the new card, I'd break even with the interest after 3.5 months. Sounds great. I told the rep to go ahead.
During the application process she asked if I owned a home and how much the mortgage was. It felt great to tell her yes, and that I had no mortgage. She went off script for a bit because she didn't believe it. Turns out that she's 5 years older than I am and have been trying to save enough for a down payment on a house. I told her that she needed to downgrade the house that she wanted and to live now as if she was in the house. If she couldn't pay her potential mortgage now, then she couldn't pay it later, but I digress. Not only did an advertiser pay me to see my FICO score, but after picking up the phone, I stand to save a could hundred bucks in interest over the next year. All it took was two phone calls. Think about calling your creditors too! The worse they can say is no.
How to Make $50 With Cash Crate Right Now
Thursday, July 8. 2010
I've already told you that you can make money with Cash Crate but to be honest, many of the offers are for under $1.00. I don't waste my time with those since it takes too much time to make too little money. Cash Crate can be a decent way to add some extra money into your wallet every week if you use it correctly.
The fastest way to get to the $20 payout threshold is really by filling out trial offers. They are usually for $5.00 or more but you have to be diligent in remembering to cancel the trial offers. Most trials are for 7 days but some trial offers go for as long as 30 days. What I do when I sign up for these offers is set up a reminder on my calendar to cancel the trial offer at the same time that I am signing up. I usually let the service run for 4 days before canceling.
So now we're on to how you can make $50 with less than an hour's worth of effort.
Equifax
Sign-up for a 7 day free trial ($12)
You're getting to check out your FICO score for free here. That's always a nice thing to know.
Zendough
Sign-up for a 7 day free trial ($12)
You can check out your credit report for free. I know that you can do that on annualcreditreport.com but they're going to pay you to do it here. In order to cancel you have to call them, but they do it right away.
GameFly
Sign-up for a 1 month free trial ($12)
If you have a video game console, you might even like testing out this service. I don't have one so I could care less, but BF might enjoy testing out the games on his console for a bit. Just make sure you pry them out of his hands in time to cancel trial. BUT you don't have to even request a game to get the credit. Just sign up, let it marinate for a day or so, then cancel.
Identity Lookout
Sign-up for a 30 day free trial ($10)
This is for credit monitor and your credit report from Experian this time. Technically they charge you $1 to verify that you are who you are so really you end up with $9 but I'm calling it $10.
GameHouse
Sign-up for a 7 day free trial ($4)
I might not play video games on a console, but I am a computer game freak and I love these kiddie games, so I absolutely loved this one. You get access to play a bunch of games like Diner Dash, Farm Mania, Sherlock Holmes etc. Loved it.
In order to see these offers click on "Complete Offers"---->Select "Trail Offers"---->Click "Go".
Don't have a Cash Crate account? When signing up for Cash Crate I suggest that you use an e-mail address where you just expect to receive SPAM. When filling out offers from Cash Crate use the same SPAM address that you signed up for Cash Crate with. If an offer requires a phone number I typically use my Google Voice number. It's free and I can screen calls, block a particular number, or just forward everything directly to voicemail. Now that it's open to the public you should consider getting one too.
Also, I suggest that once you have signed up for the service you should take the tutorial.
Please click the link below! I get referral credit if you join up using my link and if you join and send others your link, you can referral credit too.
The fastest way to get to the $20 payout threshold is really by filling out trial offers. They are usually for $5.00 or more but you have to be diligent in remembering to cancel the trial offers. Most trials are for 7 days but some trial offers go for as long as 30 days. What I do when I sign up for these offers is set up a reminder on my calendar to cancel the trial offer at the same time that I am signing up. I usually let the service run for 4 days before canceling.
So now we're on to how you can make $50 with less than an hour's worth of effort.
Equifax
Sign-up for a 7 day free trial ($12)
You're getting to check out your FICO score for free here. That's always a nice thing to know.
Zendough
Sign-up for a 7 day free trial ($12)
You can check out your credit report for free. I know that you can do that on annualcreditreport.com but they're going to pay you to do it here. In order to cancel you have to call them, but they do it right away.
GameFly
Sign-up for a 1 month free trial ($12)
If you have a video game console, you might even like testing out this service. I don't have one so I could care less, but BF might enjoy testing out the games on his console for a bit. Just make sure you pry them out of his hands in time to cancel trial. BUT you don't have to even request a game to get the credit. Just sign up, let it marinate for a day or so, then cancel.
Identity Lookout
Sign-up for a 30 day free trial ($10)
This is for credit monitor and your credit report from Experian this time. Technically they charge you $1 to verify that you are who you are so really you end up with $9 but I'm calling it $10.
GameHouse
Sign-up for a 7 day free trial ($4)
I might not play video games on a console, but I am a computer game freak and I love these kiddie games, so I absolutely loved this one. You get access to play a bunch of games like Diner Dash, Farm Mania, Sherlock Holmes etc. Loved it.
In order to see these offers click on "Complete Offers"---->Select "Trail Offers"---->Click "Go".
Don't have a Cash Crate account? When signing up for Cash Crate I suggest that you use an e-mail address where you just expect to receive SPAM. When filling out offers from Cash Crate use the same SPAM address that you signed up for Cash Crate with. If an offer requires a phone number I typically use my Google Voice number. It's free and I can screen calls, block a particular number, or just forward everything directly to voicemail. Now that it's open to the public you should consider getting one too.
Also, I suggest that once you have signed up for the service you should take the tutorial.
Please click the link below! I get referral credit if you join up using my link and if you join and send others your link, you can referral credit too.
