>I found this Sunday as I was thinking about what I’d want to share for this week’s Save $ Monday. How timely! You can click here for some great tips on many different places for freebies, as well as link to other money-saving articles.
In addition, two more coupon sites were passed on to me. I have not had time to check them out, so here they are for your perusal. Coupon Craze and Good Shop. Enjoy!
>”Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat.” How many of you learned that song in elementary school? The goose may get fat, but our wallets get really skinny around the holidays, don’t they?
I am hoping for some interaction with this week’s Save $ Monday. What are things that you have done to help save money while still enjoying the holiday season? I’m looking for down-to-earth, real life savings and real life fun! Last year, I used my points earned from using my debit card as a credit card to purchase gift cards to do a lot of my Christmas shopping. You still have time to earn some Swagbucks and help out a little for this year. Then you can start saving them up again after Christmas and have a lot accomplished by next December!
OK, so please leave comments sharing your inspiration. Tomorrow I’ll be posting a review on a great book I read, and a giveaway for you to receive your own copy!
>Today’s Save Money Monday is fairly simple, but for a long time I did not take advantage of this resource. Your local library is full of great, free things! Of course we all know you can check out books, but at most libraries you can also check out music, books on tape, movies, and sometimes more, like puzzles and games! Some libraries even have a coupon swap box. Many libraries offer free children’s activities, adult book discussion books, and other classes.
I am a book nut. I love reading, and I love books. However, one day it hit me that I spend an awful lot of money on books I read only once. I could also spend a fortune on autism education books. However, what I started doing was using the library loan system. The loan system is a system of libraries that loan books out to the others’ patrons. So, I look up a book that I want to read, and if it’s in the system, I check it out for free. Then if I decide it’s good enough to spend money on, I’ll look for a deal on the book. You can also do this with music and movies!
Think of the cultural awareness you could offer your family, simply by using your library. You could build a whole family night around one country and find books, music, and a movie to go with it! You could cook up a meal from that country, and later play games from the other culture. All for just the cost of going to the grocery store, which you have to do anyway!
Our library offers a museum pass opportunity. You can actually check out passes to some of the local museums and go for free! Perhaps your library has some other event that they are planning for the community. There are some libraries that also have coffee shops and used book stores! I recommend you stop by your local library and take some time to check out the resources available to you. It could open a whole new world of freebies for you! And, if you don’t have a library card yet, make sure you get one while you’re there!
>A little bit ago I had the pleasure of attending a Thai Kitchen party at my friend’s home. This was her second party through House Party. I’ll let her explain to you how it works…
>I got my October issue of All You magazine, and of course I love it! I read a great money tip. Someone recommended that you cut a note card or paper down to a size that fits in your wallet. Write down your top three money goals. Perhaps, vacation, braces, debt free. Then leave it in your wallet so that you see it when you go to make purchases. The idea is to keep your goals in front of you so you can temper impulse spending. Not a bad idea!
All You has started collecting free samples from various companies. You can go to allyou.com/freesamples each day and see what the sample is. If you like it, you can sign up for it! You can even sign up for an alert e-mail or “like” All You on Facebook so you’re kept in the know. How great is that! I don’t know about you, but I love getting freebies in the mail. Even if I don’t use the item, more than likely someone I know does, or I can put it in with donations to a shelter, food pantry, etc. So, click on over and start getting some fun mail!
>Today’s Save Money Monday is rather simple. When you’ve been enjoying something for a while, you forget that others may not know about it! About a year ago or so, a friend said something to me about “Pandora.” I had no idea what she was talking about, and she enlightened me.
If you love listening to music, you can listen online at Pandora for free! The neat thing about Pandora is that you choose a song or artist, and they create a radio station based on that style of music. This broadens your exposure to artists you otherwise would not know exist. For example, some days I like to put on some Michael Buble to get my blood flowing while I’m doing housework. If you create a Michael Buble channel, you get other artists in that style of music and may discover hidden harmonies!
I believe Free Pandora has a certain amount of hours per month, but I’ve never run out. There are commercials once in a while. You can “thumbs down” or “thumbs up” a song, and it will either not show up again or come back again sometime. If you grow weary of a certain song, you can click “I’m tired…” and they will stop playing it for a month. Quick Mix is an option that is like shuffle on your CD player, jumping around the stations.
Of course, you can also choose Unlimited Pandora for a rather small fee for a year, that gets you unlimited listening without commercials. So, if you’ve never experienced Pandora Radio, happy exploring! Those of you that are familiar with Pandora–do you have a favorite channel you’ve created?
Make sure you stop by tomorrow for a book review and NEW GIVEAWAY!
>I know, this is rather an obvious point isn’t it? However, I think it is one that sometimes we forget. If we want to save money, we may have to stop spending it. When we reach our financial goals, then we can spend a bit more.
Here’s an example: When I was single, I realized I was spending an awful lot of money on impulse purchases. After all, it was just me, so spending was easy! I decided to stop having cash in my wallet. If I didn’t have it, I wouldn’t spend it. Unfortunately, I eventually got a debit card. That meant I didn’t need cash to spend money. I eventually just stopped going to the mall to “window shop.” I wouldn’t be tempted if I wasn’t in the mall. It worked.
That may seem extreme, but sometimes we need to be extreme now to reach what we want later. Maybe you don’t need to stop going to the mall. Maybe you just need to reduce the amount of times you stop at your favorite fast food restaurant or coffee shop. Maybe you need to take advantage of the resources your library has instead of buying all the new books and going to the movie theatre or movie rental store every month.
It doesn’t have to be big. Small changes can make a big impact in the long run! Feel free to share a tip that you have used to help you reduce spending and/or save money.
