Extra Budweiser Holiday Rebate Form

If you bought any holiday decorations (or are buying them now when they are heavily discounted), I have an extra Budweiser rebate form. No beer purchase required. Must purchase $148 worth of holiday decorations for this $25 rebate. Not something to go out and do just for the rebate, but if you're already going to buy decorations, why not get some money back? Decorations must be bought by 12/31/08 and the form must be received in El Paso, TX by 1/14/09. Not much time. This form is good in AL, AR, CT, HI, KY, MA, ME, MN, MO, NC, NJ, NY, RI, SD, UT, VA and WV. Either leave me a comment or contact me through the link at the bottom of my page. First response gets it!

Long Term Ways To Save Money

Saving money isn't difficult. What you do today affects the finances of tomorrow. None of these tips are going make you rich overnight but by consistently practicing one or more of these, you will begin to see your savings accumulate.

• Turn the water off. Whether brushing your teeth, shampooing your hair or rinsing dishes... if you aren't using the water RIGHT THEN, turn it off.
• Use up leftovers. Just because there aren't enough veggies left for everyone a serving doesn't mean you have to throw them away. Let everyone pick one veggie for their meal tonight, make a stew or soup, or even make homemade dog food. The internet is chock FULL of recipe sites, so make the most of it and stretch your food dollars! I like Group Recipes, which enables you to search by ingredients and even lets you take a short test on foods you prefer to "predict" which recipes you will probably like.
  
• Keep your car well maintained. Yes, we've all heard this one ad nauseum, but there's a reason for that - it really DOES help extend the life of your car and decreases the amount of fuel consumed by it.
• Turn your thermostat down at night. Some people swear by a thermostat gizmo that automatically adjusts your temperature at night. I say unless you're very forgetful to skip that, lower it yourself and invest that money in a nice down comforter :)
• Buy quality pet food. Yep, that seems like an oxymoron but actually the better quality pet foods mean that your pet eats less and gets more nutrition (and since better quality means less fillers.....which is mainly byproducts that they cannot break down.....there's less ahem........ waste materials from your little darlin'). Coupons can be found for this if you sign up on their websites.
  
• When buying online, always look for coupon codes and/or go through reward sites. I prefer to use Alex's Coupons to search for codes since they donate to children's cancer organizations. Try Ebates for your starting point when ordering online. You get a percentage of your purchase price back!
  
• Don't spend your change. Seriously. We have 2 different change "jars" in our house. One for pennies, and the other for all other silver. Every day empty your pockets, purse, wallet, car, couch, or whatever you store your change in and put it in a change jar. If it's not on your person tomorrow, you won't spend it. Let it accumulate and cash it in towards your vacation, Christmas, or whatever you want.
• Ignore your dryer. It may take some adjustment, but if you pretend that you don't have a dryer, a family of 4 can easily save $20 or more per month on their electric bill. This assumes, of course, that you have an electric dryer and is based on a very messy family of 4. If you want to get EXTREME, you can string up clothes line on your porch or patio, even in your attic, basement or bathroom. Our dryer actually went out a few winters ago, and I got some very strange looks when our neighbors started talking about me hanging out clothes after dark. I was working at the time, so it was dark when I got home. I would take a load down before the dew got on them and hang another load (or 2 or 3 or 4) up as soon as the others were down. Ever played "cat's cradle" as a kid with yarn on your hands? That's what one of our porches looked like from all of the clothes line we had strung from post to post for rainy day clothes hanging!

These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg. There are many, many more options out there. Some are a little more extreme (wash and reuse your plastic sandwich bags) than others (use coupons), just use the ones easiest for you to incorporate!

2 Weeks of Maisey

Two weeks ago I rewarded my completion of another semester of school with something I've been thinking about getting for quite some time... a house dog. While I grew up with hounds (especially basset hounds), I wanted something a little smaller and not quite so easy to trip over in the house. Something that would be a faithful sidekick to not only ourselves, but even our cat, Lucky.

I have been amazed by the cairn terriers for quite some time, ever since encountering one when I worked at a veterinary clinic when I was a teenager. After much research, I decided that a cairn terrier would work well in our home and began actively searching for one. When you begin looking for a specific breed, though, you quickly discover that unless you want a lab, lhasa apso or poodle, you may be out of luck. After searching for a few months, I finally found my dog, and two weeks ago 4 month old Maisey came to live with us.

I have friends that cannot understand why I would willingly bring something else that needs feeding into my household. The answer is quite simple.... everyone has their priorities and, unless it interferes with your family's health or well being, nobody's is better than anyobody else's. Yes, it might be cheaper for us not to have another pet. That would be less dog food bought and less veterinary care BUT it's also another friend to all of us. Someone to listen to us rant and rave without judgment. Someone who doesn't mind that we're not perfect and kind of clumsy even on our best days. Research has proven that pets can lower stress levels. Considering the costs associated with doctor's exams and medication, I'd much rather choose a dog for my treatment.

Cola or Soda Type Rewards

Although I've posted on what reward sites are, I deliberately left out the different cola type reward sites. Why? Because they are not contingent upon you reading emails or buying online. They are based on your ability to redeem codes online. While all of the cola companies offer some version of entering codes, www.mycokerewards.com has been going for a couple of years now. As long as you either enter new codes or redeem some of your points every couple of months, your account will remain open. I have used gift certificates from the redemption of points to enhance Christmas and birthdays (specifically, Football Fanatics gift cards redeemable online). The best part about it is that, although I drink Coke, I prefer a cold Mountain Dew to get me going when there is no good coffee around yet I still am able to accumulate a TON of codes. How? My mother-in-law walks daily, preferring dirt roads to avoid the traffic. Most dirt roads or "back roads" are literally covered in "tossed out the window" 20 ounce bottles, and most all of them have the caps attached. I literally get a minimum of 20 per week from her. I have also been known to walk under the bleachers after a ball game and score pocketfuls of these caps. Yes, I do toss the actual bottles into the trash. In my own way, I am getting paid to do so.

How To Use Reward Sites

If you've ever used a reward site, you know how wonderful they are. If you have never heard of them, keep reading, but only if you need to stretch your dollar further and order at least some things online.

Reward sites are websites where you get some sort of kickback just for doing your normal, everyday online ordering. Usually you are "paid" a certain number of points per dollar spent. Not ordering anything online today? No problem! Most reward sites reward you for reading their emails or logging into their website. What type of compensation do you receive with these websites? Most of these sites reward you with a gift card with the monetary amount dependent on the number of points you've earned. You also get points for getting other people to sign up using your user name or link. Are these sites dependable? As in all businesses, some thrive and some flop. My favorite two are MyPoints and Freeride. Go ahead, click on them, check them out. If you decide you would like to sign up with them, please leave me a comment with your email address or contact me through my link here on the blog and I will send you an invitation within 24 hours. There is no cost to sign up and begin earning points.

Baseball Season Approaches

Even though we've officially only begun winter, the boys' baseball coach has already called, checking in on whether they will be doing traveling team again this year. Although I love the exercise it provides them, and the socializing with like minded parents it provides us (we are all, quite obviously, nuts), it is just so darned expensive, especially with only one full time breadEARNer in the family. New cleats and pants every year, plus replacement of other gear that has been lost or damaged (batting gloves, socks missing their mates......) really takes its toll financially. I know there are sporting goods stores where you can trade in or trade up last year's gear, but, unfortunately, none are near us. The best we've ever scored is a $10 off coupon from Hibbett Sports which we used in the fall of 2007. We found a bat marked down to around $20, so we all thought a $10 bat would be good. EXCEPT the bat had obviously been marked down even more, because, after the $10 was taken off, we only owed .86 :) How great is that?? Unfortunately, I didn't pay attention to the length of the bat, because it was too short for either of our boys. It all worked out, though, because we were able to give it to another little boy. I would love to see an online forum for trading used sports equipment. Does one already exist? If someone knows of one, please post a comment or contact me at the link on this blog..

Christmas Deals

Well, the day before Christmas we DID use our 2 $10 off coupons. DH went to Avenue and scored me a new pair of PJs for $15 with $10 off, so he paid just $5 and tax. I was able to use my $10 off JC Penney coupon to buy my dad some flannel pajama bottoms, marked down to $11.99 for just $2. Gotta love deals like that!

While I can spot a great deal a mile away, I do overlook some and need help finding them all. The people on the boards at Refund Cents are WONDERFUL at answering questions about getting good deals, posting exactly how they were able to use coupons and in store specials to cut their grocery bills WAY down and even trading extra coupons and rebate forms. I couldn't do it without them. There are free grocery boards which focus on specific stores, or you can join for a small fee and get access to the entire site. They also offer an amazing coupon organizer which is way bigger than the ones you normally find in the store (and lets you take along ALL of your coupons that you keep "just in case there's a sale"). Trust me, you will recoup the cost of membership, probably in less than a week. This is one of those places where it costs NOT to join! You can visit them here. Now, if I can just remember to find the receipts and mail off those rebates.......

Christmas Eve's Eve

Today was SUPPOSED to be filled with last minute shopping to use up a $10 off $10 or more coupon at Avenue (so DH could buy my Christmas present) and another $10 off $10 purchase from J.C. Penney (towels, socks or SOMETHING......heck, it's like they're giving you $10 to spend there, and if you do it wisely, you get something for almost nothing). I also needed to go to the grocery store for groceries to take to the different Christmas observations for us. Alas......... DH's paycheck did not direct deposit.

So tomorrow (assuming we get a direct deposit in the morning) I will be off to do all of that in the midst of TRUE last minute Christmas shopping AND trying to get home well before noon for one of the Christmas celebrations. Did I mention direct deposits don't post at our credit union till 9am? And that the Christmas celebration tomorrow is at noon? And that I'm supposed to cook something for that? Will it EVER end??

Instead of trying to sort through all of that, I need to get my home in some sort of decent shape from all of the crap we've brought up from the "old house" that still hasn't been organized or put up. I've got about 4 months of stuff to be dug through that I didn't have time to do when school was in session........too many papers and too much French translating.

I'm WAY behind on clipping coupons and gathering together rebate stuff. LOTS of rebates expiring at the end of this month that I have to gather together. Probably about $50 worth and the free Crocs from P&G. Gotta get busy!

Fall 2008 Semester

Whew! Another semester is over. Just one more until I can receive the coveted BA in English (and let's not forget the French minor) ! For someone who originally started school in the fall of 1991, it's truly been a "long time coming"! After many starts and stops, and taking online classes here and there, I am so grateful that my husband stood behind me and supported me when I wanted to quit working to pursue my college degree full time. The closest school to me is very small and, with the exception of Composition I and Composition II, there's not a lot of flexibility with any English type classes. The town it's both in and surrounded by is very small as well, so part-time jobs that mesh well with family life are at a premium. As of right now, I can generally save as much with coupons and rebates as I could earn if I worked full time. It evens out. It'll all be worth it soon (or so they say).