Perks for trees and money savings:

• Read online, which saves some trees!
• Get back copies of various magazines for just 99 cents. Much better than buying an entire subscription.
• Get special deals on magazines - i.e. save money on your fave reads.
• And of course, right now, get a free magazine! This is as thrifty as magazines get.

I tried out the service to make sure it works, and it’s good. There’s nothing to download and you DO NOT have to give your name, credit card info, or any other private info. All you need is an email address. I love that; no more magazines hounding you when your subscription runs out.

How to get your free magazine - I’ll walk you through this easy process.

1. Head to the main read green initiative page.

2. Click on the box that looks like this:

3. Browse the Read Green newsstand collection and click on your favorite magazine title.

4. Enter your valid email address, click on the GO button, and you’re done. The area you’re in now will look like this:

5. After entering your email and clicking go, you’re done. It’s simple. You then will end up on what is called “Your Library” page where you can either download your magazine and read it anywhere, or read it using the online browser.

NOTES:

• I was not asked to download any sort of special reader, or software. Your magazine just pops up on a new browser page. It’s a very cool service.
• So far I can’t find a glitch. This free magazine does in fact seem free, plus you get access to other low-cost magazine choices to download.

There are plenty of free magazines that you might be interested in. Such as….

Parenting

Kiplinger’s

Reader’s Digest

Northern Cottage

And many more…

Try Zinio out for yourself and score your free magazine.

If you do try Zinio out, let me know in the comments what you think.

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Money Saving Mom, who inspired me to take on the $40 a week grocery challenge, has a wonderful series of posts on budget Thanksgiving. Be sure to check it out if you are looking for ideas to have a nice Thanksgiving without breaking the bank.

So, on to what I bought:

Walgreen’s

This week, Walgreen’s big holiday buy was French’s onion rings. I had two 75 cents off coupons, so I got two cans at 54 cents each - $1.04

I also got 3 boxes of cereal for a total of $5 and milk for $2.99

I picked up 2 peanut butters for $2 after coupons, but I got them for the food bank collection box, so I’m not sure if I should count them or not. (Please try to toss a little something in your local food bank boxes. Maryland Food Bank needs 50% more donations and I’m sure yours are all really struggling to keep up with the demand from people who have lost jobs and need food, too.)

Total spent at Walgreen’s was $9.03 or $11.03, depending on whether I count the PB.

Food Lion

At Food Lion, I spent a total of $36.24, but $5 was for the food bank. Even if I don’t count the food bank $$, I am 27 cents over budget for my total trip. Not too bad, but I could have done a bit better.

Chicken. Lots and lots of chicken - $11.98

Bread - $2

Country Crock spread -39 cents

Cocoa - $1.25 (More than I usually spend, but we’re desperate for some nice hot cocoa with the snow falling.)

frozen veggies - $1

Eggs - $1.69 (higher than I wanted to pay, but I don’t like to drive in the snow, so I wasn’t about to go across the bridge to save a few cents on eggs.)

Gerber pacifier - 9 cents (for my baby gift basket stash.)

Juice - $1.89

Cheese - $3.03 (Remember when you could get cheese for $1 a block?)

Ground beef (for my brother’s jerky.) $3.03

Sparkling water 4 pack - 89 cents

6 cans veggies - $4.14

Express complete salad - paid me a penny to remove from store. Keep an eye on those printable Food Lion coupon emails!

Something for 99 cents. The groceries are away and the receipt description makes no sense.

Wipes - free (travel size Food Lion brand. Print this coupon from the baby steps section of the site. We use them in the art studio.)

Powerade - free with coupon from My Coke Rewards

2nd harvest box for food pantry $5

So, that’s my trip. How did you do?

Photo by David Lat

Technorati Tags: groceries under $40,thanksgiving on a budget,baby supply deals

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What it feels like to me is the Geico of cell phone plans and credit. Billshrink compares services for you (you fill out a form) and then they tell you which deals are best for your situation. According to Billshrink they follow all the cell phone and credit card markets in order to provide you with up-to-date info.

I tried it out to see what I think: 

I looked up cell phone plans. The first part was easy - I entered my basic usage facts and zip code. Then they asked for my email, which I didn’t like. Luckily I have one email, that I call my spam email, set up for just this occasion. I filled in my email. At this point you can also upload your phone bill if you choose so that Billshrink can use your actual usage to etimate if you can save any $.

The results:

They note that they looked at 189 plans, and they came up with four I believe that could save me money. Two were with T-Mobile so um, no. They have terrible connections in my experience. The other two would save me about $6 a month, but it’d be more trouble for me to change my phone then to save money right now.

The bad: 

The entire site crashed on me. I was on my recommendations 2nd page, and tried to go back to the previous recommended page, when CRASH.  It took me back to the start - that’s a pain. Also, this is actually the second time I’ve tried to post about them, because the first time their site was down. So…. what I’m thinking is that they need to work out a few website kinks.

The good:

I think the result pages, before they crashed were pretty good. I liked how they were laid out in a nice grid form. It was clear and easy to see where I could save, and where I might pay more.

The bottom line: 

Site crashing aside, if you’re looking for a new phone plan, I’d give them a whirl. It could save you some time and money. One note, don’t forget, if you have an existing plan, and cancel you may have to pay cancellation fees, so take that into consideration when shopping for new cell phone plans.

Try Billshrink.com

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Having so many blogs, I’m always posting stuff at one blog, while thinking, “Hey, the folks at so and so blog might like this too.” In this case I recently posted two items at Tree Hugging Family that may interest thrifty folks….

First up you can save money with, Homemade Eco Gifts You Can Make for the Holidays! Many cool goodies you can make on the cheap. Plus, these actually are great gifts, not silly stuff no one would want.

Also I’ve got the 2008 “10 Worst Toys” List - a great list for parents, because a dangerous toy is neither safe (obviously) or a good bargain.

Enjoy!

[image via stock.xchng]

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I read once that on average, the typical person gathers about $400 in change each year. That’s if the person spends only cash and then puts all their coins into a jar. With the prevalent use of debt and check cards, cash seems to be out of style. However, what you can do with this information is use it to your advantage.

IF the average person can save up $400 in change, and you consider yourself an average indiviual, than you can afford to put $400 away each year into something.

Each year use $400 to….

• Pay off some credit.
• Add to a college fund.
• Add to your retirement.
• Fix up your house a little and improve it’s value.
• And more.

Sometimes it’s hard to put cash away, especially when we don’t see actual cash as often. If you think about this average change savings per year, maybe it’ll make more sense to you, to save this amount and put it to good use.

[image via stock.xchng]

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Around the holidays, many folks turn to credit for at least some of their holiday shopping. That said, I figure it’s a good time to go over some basic tips that will keep your credit score in good standing.

Obvious tips:

Pay your bills on time all the time.

Credit is best used as a tool for ease of shopping, or to gather perks, not as a loan. If you can, pay off your cards in full each month.

Keep your balances low - high revolving credit affects your score negatively.

If you miss payments, catch up as fast as you can. The quicker you get back on track, the quicker your score will raise.

Extra tips:

Pay off credit cards before investing in other financial endeavors even retirement and your kids college savings. If you like, save for retirement while paying off creditors, but it makes more sense financially to put more money into credit bills than extra retirement funds.

Closing cards will not (in the short term) raise your score.

Store credit cards may be more trouble than they’re worth for you and your credit score.

The older your accounts (on average) the better your credit score. If you have three decent old accounts, opening two new ones will lower your accounts average age, and possibly your score.

Don’t open too many accounts at once, or make too many credit inquires at once, it can lower your score.

Don’t move your debt around too much. Paying off a card may help you, while moving the balance to a new low interest card and canceling the old can sometimes backfire and lower your score.

Know where you stand - knowing if there is any incorrect info on your report is important. Getting rid of the problem can raise your score. There are plenty of pay for credit score sites online. Two actual decent sites are MyFICO and Equifax; I personally use Equifax, but have pals who do like MyFICO. You can also get one free credit report a year from Annual Credit Report, but it won’t be so in depth as a paid site.

Do you have any handy credit score tips? 

[image via stock.xchng]

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Hmm. I was about to write a thrifty tip and realized that it is Tuesday. Obviously, for someone with an addiction to word sounds, this can only mean one thing - Thrifty Tip Tuesday has been born. Oh, boy! A brand new idea. I’m so excited…and so were the other million and three thrifty bloggers who came up with it a year or so before me. So, I’m still having myself a thrifty Tuesday, but without the catchy blog post title!

A lot of other bloggers have some thrifty advice to share today. Check out a few of these great tips from around the Lifestyles channel and beyond.

For this first one, please put down your hot coffee before reading. I don’t want to be responsible for any spitting coffee all over the monitor incidents. Thrifty Mommy warns us to watch those sudden water bill increases.

Centsible Mommy has a great tip on making your own broth that is perfect for today’s chilly weather. We had our first snow flakes this morning!

Marye from Baking Delights has a way for you to enjoy those Starbucks pastries without the price tag with her copycat Raspberry Thumbprint Scone recipe.

Coupon Clippin Mama B discusses the thrifty art of making Christmas gifts. She has ten great ideas for DIY gifts that will help you build the pile under the tree without shrinking your bottom line.

Eliza at BabyLune is keeping track of good diaper deals. I got a few packs during the great Walgreen’s sale a few weeks ago, but we only need "safety diapers" for nighttime, as all of the little guys are potty trained. If you need to stock up, you’ll love her deal roundup.

Sherry from Inside Motherhood gives us a hamburger helper type recipe from scratch. Sounds good!

Want to see a good DVD? She Knows Coupons comes to the rescue with a ton of Red Box codes. I’d use them, but I’m afraid I won’t get them back in time. We rarely watch a movie in 24 hours or less.

Tree Hugging Family encourages us to really save money with Buy Nothing Day tips. Jennifer is hoping we learn to think before making purchases, which will help the environment and our checkbook balances.

So, do you have a great thrifty tip to share on this chilly Tuesday?

photo by Lynne Lancaster

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Exercise is not that expensive and in the long run, it’ll cost you more to skip it. For instance, you’ll pay more in doctor bills and health care costs because all kinds of things can go wrong when you’re not fit - issues like high blood pressure, sex drive, depression, and more become more likely the less in shape you are. Along with actual health care costs you’ll dump more cash into medicine and treatment costs because things like cold medicine and sleeping pills are more common among non-fit people and so are treatments for issue like fertility. You’ll pay more for clothes that look just as good, but in a larger size. And on and on it goes. Not being fit and healthy is a financial burden.

Luckily, there are plenty of inexpensive ways to exercise and get fit…  

Eat closer to the earth - which sounds all hippie, but really, processed foods (not close to the earth) are less healthy and often less filling than food basics. Think steamed broccoli and carrots vs. boxed cheesy potatoes; tuna and pitas vs. Burger King; fresh raspberries vs. Twinkies; soda vs. water and lemon. Eventually processed foods add up cost wise and tummy wise.

Use nature as your gym. Nature is free and smells way better than the gym.

Drink water. Water is free and helps with all sorts of weight and fitness issues. Drink eight + glasses a day.

Gather inexpensive equipment: Ideas for equipment you can afford that still pack a fitness punch includes things like jump ropes, 5 lb hand weights (or big cans of beans from your kitchen), a Frisbee, the shoes on your feet, the stairs at the mall, and your own body. Do you know that your own body can act like a set exercise equipment? For example wall push ups, leg lunges, and stretching all contribute to good health, and all you need is that body you’ve already got. *Note: yeah, you might need special shoes if you start running, but you can walk in any old pair of shoes.

Skip a trainer - some people do better with a trainer, however, you can skip this cost and do some other things instead.

• Pay for one session with a trainer and end it there. You can pick up their tips and your new routine in the first one or two sessions, then do it on your own.
• Get a buddy to workout with.
• Buy one or two good exercise DVDs (much cheaper than a trainer). Better yet, if you already pay for cable, find an exercise channel you can stomach.

Know the secret. The secret is, as you may have heard, that there is no big secret to weight loss and fitness. It’s seriously calories in, calories out, plus get 30 - 60 minutes of exercise per day. That’s it. Unless you have a health issue that overrides these basic facts, you’re good to go. You can easily track calories and exercise per day yourself with a super cheap pad of paper and pen. You don’t need to pay for fads, pills, fitness books, or loads of exercise equipment, you just need to follow the basics. Eat healthy and exercise 30-60 mins a day. Simple and not all that spendy.

Tell me your thrifty exercise tips…

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ZookiDooki critters are totally fun ceramic banks - not your typical piggy bank at all. The ZookiDooki banks come in 12 fun flavors, but my three faves are Tofufu, Wasabibi, and Unagigi. These banks are fully functional, not simply cute pop pieces. Each has your good old stopper in the bottom - no smashing required. 

Find a shop that carries ZookiDooki near you.

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See, I’m an electrophobe. I fear terms like kilowatts. I panic when people ask me about Hz, which is something to do with frequency. What? Is that like radio frequency? Now they want me to listen to electric stations? Amps, volt amps, kilowatt hours…stop! Just stop!

The funny thing is that I don’t mind hanging ceiling fans and lights. That’s fine. I’ll kill the power and then I’ll connect and wrap those exposed wires. But change a fuse? No. No. I’ll stay in the dark. Why don’t you have a modern circuit breaker switch for me to flip?

Anyway, when I was faced with a little thingy covered in all those terrible electricity abbreviations, I fled in fear. Then, several weeks later, I got my electric bill, which was $10 higher than last month. So, the solution was simple. I just needed to unplug the new gizmo that is draining the electricity. Now, I got that energy saving electric baseboard heater three weeks ago for  the family room and there’s the dehydrator and…didn’t I just start using that grow light this month, too? Which one is the energy hog? I have no idea…Ooooh. I have that new thingy.

On closer inspection, the thingy is not as scary as I thought it was. Turns out, there is a bit of documentation that explains how to use the Kill A Watt meter and it tells me what each abbreviation stands for. So, a bit better. I want the purple button that says KWH on top and Hour on the bottom. By pressing this button, I can tell how much energy my piggy little heater has been gobbling up since I plugged it into the Kill A Watt meter. When I press the button again, I can find out how long I’ve had the heater plugged in for.

I found that to be a very useful function, since I could check and record the KWH/Hour at 15 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour, etc. on one appliance and record the numbers. Then, I could move the meter to the next electricity hog (This won’t hurt a bit, grow light.) and do the same thing. Then, I was able to compare numbers.

Turns out, the grow light was the biggest culprit on a steady basis. It is old and had a very high power bulb in it. Since it was on 14 hours a day, it has been sucking down the energy. However, during the coldest point of the evening, my heater kicked it in high gear and really sucked down some kilowatts.

I’m looking for a more efficient grow light and am turning back the thermostat on the heater another ten degrees in the evening and I have a feeling that my electric bill will be much lower next month. I am now one electrophobe who is growing quite fond of this simple little electricity meter.

So, is the Kill A Watt a good choice for your family? That depends.

• If you are planning to go solar or to use wind power, something like this is an absolute must. (When solar energy doesn’t involve phrases like, “You can connect to the grid and a battery at the same time with this handy…” I’ll be checking out every device in the house so I can begin installing solar panels.)
• If you have one television, a microwave and a hair dryer, you probably aren’t going to be able to really recoup your investment. After all, are you going to throw out your three electrical appliances if they are using $2 in electricity a month?
• If you have a modern household with gadgets in every room, you’d be smart to check into the amount of electricity some of these things are using. A savings of $2 a month because you’ve been leaving the five family cell phone chargers plugged in when they didn’t need to be drawing energy and another $3 a month because you yanked the plug on three of the game systems no one is even using can start adding up.

Product Information:

Kill A WattT Electricity Power Meter - $29.95
The Kill A Watt T electricity power monitor is an economical and simple tool to assess the efficiency of your electric appliances. Just plug any 115 Volt AC (maximum 15 Amp) electric appliance into the Kill A Watt T meter and the large LCD display shows the power consumption of the appliance by killowatt-hours. The Kill A Watt T power monitor can calculate the electricity cost of the appliance by the day, week, month, or year. If your electric bills are high, the Kill A Watt T power meter can discover which electric appliances are consuming too much power. The Kill A Watt T electricity meter can also check the quality of your power by monitoring Voltage, Line Frequency, and Power Factor. ETL Listed.

Photo courtesy of cableorganizer.com

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