Free Bellsouth Two-Way Talk Radio

Hot Freebie Deal From iMommies:

From Penny Pinscher: I just did this deal and now have two radios on their way for $0. This will be great to use with the kids to keep track of them! Thanks iMommies... please make sure yyou check out her great site for more deals!

Regularly priced at $29.99, this Bellsouth Two-way Talk Radio with a five-mile range is on sale this week at Buy.com for $10. Use the Google Checkout promotion to discount your purchase by $10, and pay $0 out of pocket.

Of course, this is only for ONE radio, so if you don’t already have one in your household, it would be most helpful to purchase TWO! Only one use of the Google Checkout promotion discount is allowed per email address and credit card, so if another member of your family has not yet used Google Checkout…shop away! The promotion ends June 30th!

1.) Click HERE to access Buy.com
2.) Click the Weekly Advertised Deals tab at the top of the page
3.) Click on the $10 Bellsouth Two-Way Talk Radio image to display the product details
4.) Add the item to your Buy.com cart
5.) Select Google checkout to receive the $10 discount
6.) Select free shipping. (If your total isn’t $0, you’ve missed a step (unless you live in the sales tax states of California, Massachusetts, or Tennessee.)
7.) Receive your free Bellsouth Two-Way Talk Radio within a few days (usually much faster than their website indicates).

Buy.com allows one free Google checkout item per email address and credit card. (You’ll have to enter your credit card information to check out, but once the Google Checkout discount is applied, your item will be free.)

There IS Such a Thing As a FREE Lunch!

Working at a school can help you learn some interesting things. I've learned that the teacher's lounge always has some sort of baked good waiting there. I've also learned that kids are much more fun when you don't have to clean up after them. And recently I learned that a majority of schools around the nation serve free lunch and breakfast to any child under the age of 18! There are no forms to fill out, no income to verify, no IDs to show. Children just walk in and get lunch.

It's all part of the Summer Food Service Program created by the USDA. While I couldn't find a comprehensive list of all sites involved, I did find plenty of info on Google. Looks like most states participate. I called the schools near my house to find out which ones participate.

I've actually had personal experience with this program prior to rediscovering it. A few years ago I would take my kids to the park at noon and there would always be a group of moms and their kids gathered for lunch.

The kids would have a blast getting out of the house to meet friends, and I loved having the midday meal taken care of every day. It was playdate and lunchtime all rolled into one. I loved it.

I'm curious to see how the program works in other states. In New Mexico it was held in a park, and here in Florida it is held in all the schools. Let me know how it is where you are in the comments section and be sure to spread the word. Who doesn't appreciate a free lunch these days?

Revolution Money Exchange - Free Transactions & $25 To Boot!

For everyone that exchanges money over the internet:

I just found out about Revolution Money Exchange, a new alternative to Paypal. The best part about it are there are no fees when you do anything with another account holder. That means when someone buys your ebay listing and they are signed on with Money Exchange - NO fees.

FREE to register for an account
FREE to add money to your bank account
FREE to send money
FREE to receive money
FREE to request money
FREE to transfer money to your bank account

That beats Paypal all to pieces. Money Exchange is secure and backed by First Bank & Trust in Brookings, SD (Member FDIC) and uses SSL to secure every transaction. It will be nice to send money back and forth without leaving a chunk with Paypal.

Plus, if you sign up before April 15th, 2008 you will get $25 in your account to spend as you will. You can even request it as a check ($2.50 fee applys to checks). Remember when Paypal did this to get people registered? Now's our chance to do it again with Money Exchange.

I'm really excited to check these guys out - makes eBay almost worth it again;) Sign up for your $25 here:

Free McSkillet Burritos on Feb. 28th & 29th!

That's right! Breakfast for the end of February is on McDonald's. They are offering free McSkillet Burritos with the purchase of a medium or large drink during breakfast hours. No coupon needed.

Update: I bought all the kids I carpooled with breakfast this morning and it was tasty! We ordered large hot chocolates (no medium hot chocolates) for $1.45 and got the breakfast burritos. I was surprised at how tasty they were. If we do it tomorrow morning, I'm going to order no hot sauce, though. That was a little too much spice for the kids. Usually I'm no fan, but today I have to say, thanks McDonalds!

Super Saving Saturday

MMMMmmm! Discount Godiva... :)

Crystal over at Money Saving Moms asked what good deals did I get this week? I found Godiva chocolate at 50% off ($10 for a large box - I splurged on one), a wonderful XXL, red knit henley sweater for $12 new, candy hearts for a school project for .45 and (drum roll, please...) a battery charger plus 6 rechargeable batteries for $7.98 ($12.98 with a $5 rebate).

Now I don't have to cut open any more 6 volts - I still feel silly after falling for that one... ;) All in the name of Frugal Science. The best part, I ran into a dear friend at the store. That was the best deal of the day!

PS The henley isn't in the picture because DH won't take it off;)

Ask & You Shall Recieve! My Top 3 Ways to Save on Fixed Expenses

You can easily pinch your pennies on some expenses, like groceries for example, by using coupons, sales, scratch & dent and CVS/Walgreens/Rite Aid deals. Then there are some expenses, like phone, cable and so on that are fixed expenses, right? Wrong!

You can save on these expenses by knowing what to ask for and being bold enough to ask. I used to be too embarrassed to ask for a price break until I finally realized the person on the other end of the phone really didn't care. They are people like us and I've never had anyone get mad at me for just asking. What's the worse they can say, "sorry, but no"? And that happens to be #1 on my list of ways to save on bills;

1. JUST ASK! Make sure you ask politely and smile as you talk. Believe it or not, people can hear your smile in your voice. A little flattery always helps ("You all just have the best customer service!") but don't lie or lay it on too thick. People can smell insincerity and become uncooperative within minutes. I always give a genuine compliment, a smile, a 'Thank you so much' and a 'I know you're busy, but..." and I have gotten a discount almost every time.
   
2. COMPARE DEALS! Let your credit card know that Discover just sent you a 0% until 2030 AD and you might switch. Read the advertisment to your cable company that their competition sent you. One quick call to our cable company knocked our bill in half for the next three months to match their competition, and I was told to call back in three months and renew that savings. I saved over $150 in 10 minutes. Not too shabby!
   
3. CHECK OUT YOUR VACATION OPTIONS! When my husband had to take a three month deployment I asked our cell phone company to put his phone on hold until he came back. I didn't pay fees for his phone unitil his return. Some other companies like phone or cable will put your account on 'vacation hold' if you leave for awhile. You will pay either a drastically reduced rate or nothing until you come back.
   

These are my top three ways to create my own 'coupon' for couponless expenses. What are ways that you reduce your supposedly fixed expenses? What's been your best savings? Leave a comment and let me know! I'll make a post with all the best ideas consolidated into one.

Freecycle Furniture Fills the Bill Without the Bills

There's a song that claims; "You can't always get what you want, but you'll get what you need!"

That can be true, but in some cases you can get what you want and what you need. This happened for me yesterday.



After a year's worth of remodeling we are fat on debt and low on cash. What began as a simple household cosmetic update turned into a surgical nightmare that would have made Michael Jackson cringe. We learned that only two things are certain with remodeling. The first is that it will cost WAY more then you originally thought, and the second I that it will take WAY longer then you originally thought.



Consequently we found ourselves in the position of having a finally finished room but no money to furnish it (unless we chose to add more debt onto the pile). This room was designed to be a reading room. We already had shelves and tons of books, but we didn't have anyplace to sit. We were in the market for a couch and love seat for next to nothing. Good luck, we thought.



Enter Freecycle. If you are not familiar with Freecycle, it's time to meet your new best online friend. According to their website, the Freecycle Network™ is made up of 4,233 groups with 4,415,000 members across the globe. It's a grassroots movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns, keeping good stuff out of landfills and fostering a spirit of cooperation. Membership is free.



Where I live, we are blessed to have two separate freecycle lists. I've seen everything from TVs, cars and computers pass to new owners across these boards. Sports equipment, pets, dishes, craft materials... all these and more have found new homes due to this thrifty asset. I have given and gotten for almost two years and recieved almost as many friends as I have items. Yesterday, though, freecycle came through for us in a major way.



While the kids played, I was browsing to see if there was anything I could use (and get rid of a good popcorn popper I was tired of storing). I saw a couch and loveseat in great condition up for grabs. These things can go fast, so I quickly emailed my interest and found out they were still up for grabs. Within an hour we were on our way to pick up our new living room furniture - gratis!


The furniture was just what we needed. It was a color and style we liked, it was in good condition and it was within our budget (nothing! ;) It was truly a win-win for everyone involved - one family got rid of something that was in their way, we now have a cozy place to sit and read and study, and the landfill has that much less to fill it up. Everyone is happy. Thank you, Freecycle, from another satisfied non-customer.

It's a Frugalicious Friday!

A super quick frugalicious report! A trip to my bread thrift store revealed large bags of bread bundled together for $2.75. I asked the clerk what was wrong with the bread in the bags and she told me it's all the bread they didn't have room for, so they just try to sell it in bulk to get rid of it quick.

She said usually people buy it to feed birds and so on. There was no difference between it and the day old bread on the shelf. Skeptical I bought a bag and here's what it yielded!

• 6 completely unsquashed loaves of Nature's Own loaves
• 3 misc. loaves
• 1 somewhat squashed loaf of Nature's Own
• 2 bags of Cobblestone Mills Hoagie Rolls
• 1 bag Cobblestone Mills Kaiser Rolls
• 2 bags regular hamburger buns

That comes out to .18 a loaf!

We don't like plain white bread and hamburger buns, so I turned those into the most delicious croutons I've ever made in about 15 minutes. The squashed loaf went into bread pudding and one package of kaiser rolls was eaten with homemade chicken soup. Everything else went into the freezer. We go through about a loaf a weekday for our family of 5 voracious appetites. At $2.50 or so a loaf, we are saving about $46.40 a month on bread alone. Here's my math:

$2.50 a loaf x 20 weekdays a month = $50.00

.18 a loaf x 20 weekdays = $3.60

$46.40 savings per month!

THAT"S frugalicious!

The Saturday Summary

Wow! What an AWESOME week for deals! Here's my son giving me his approval for my new hobby - CVSing. This is my third deal ever, and I was able to 'purchase' these items (originally rang up at $21) for FREE, plus I get a $13 rebate and I have $12 ECBs to use on my next deal. If you don't know what CVSing is, read all about it at Crystal's Money Saving Moms blog. She's a pro, and that's where I'm learning it from.

In addition, I managed to score three bottles of Garnier Fructis shampoo for $1.61 (CVSing again!), got the free peanut butter at Walmart, and found a bale of hay on the side of the road. I needed the hay for my chicken coop.

I also managed to fufill one of my personal goals - to pay completely for my once a month chicken food run with my once a month recycling run. The cans and metal I brought in added up to $27.03! That completely paid for the chicken's food, bought my daughter a celebratory snack and paid for 5 lbs of sugar.

My final good deal of the week (and WHAT a good week it's been:) was on Christmas goodies for next year. At one store I found full size bottles of gel and body butters on clearance. The all had holiday smells, like Hot Fudge or Sugar Cookie. I got them for .25 each! There were also packages of lip glosses and soaps - all for .25 each. I came out with 4 bags of goodies and paid $5! Next year my teen girl will have really cute gifts to share with her friends and then some.

It has been a GREAT start to 2008!