There are auctions sites all over the internet that sell just about everything under the sun.  All you need to do is choose the item you want, place your best bid and you just might win.  Bidz.com is the best place to bid for jewelry.  They have items that sell for up to 97% off.  Today I saw a pair of earrings with genuine amethysts, and freshwater pearls that retail for $170, sell for just $6.  It sounds crazy, but it’s true!  Biduh.com sells everything from laptops and TVs to home and garden supplies.  If you are a fan of Apple products, they boast an Apple World section full of items you want.  You can even find “As seen on TV” items that you’ve always wanted to try.

Now I do have to warn you before you get started.  Once you start bidding, you just might get addicted to the thrill of it.  Not only do you get the adrenaline rush of watching the clock ticking down, wondering if your bid will last, you end up with items you want at prices you never expected.  Try online bidding today and see how much fun it can be!

If you need some new sandals this spring, check out Piperlime.com.  On their shoe page they have an entire section called “Girl on a Budget” that boasts way cute sandals at low prices.  If you are very fashionable and like to wear the most trendy items, Max Studio has beautiful and classy clothes at up to 50% off.  These are the kind of clothes I think other women look amazing in, but I don’t think I could ever pull off.  For the young and flirty, Charlotte Russe is definitely the place to go.  Right now they are having a sale on spring fashion that includes buy one denim, get one 50% off plus shirts starting at only $15!

If you are looking for one site that has it all, I would visit Old Navy.  They have inexpensive shirts, pants, dresses, shoes, and accessories in petite through plus sizes.  They even have a large maternity section of really cute clothes.  If you are like me and need something new to start your spring, shop today to find the items just right for you.

I want to share some of the sites I’ve found that have great deals of the day that you might be interested in.  For deals on computer stuff check out PC Connection.  Iomega has a large selection of portable storage for cell phones, computers and other electronic devices.  They even provide online storage and storage recovery for when something goes wrong.  Musician’s Friend has what they call a stupid deal of the day if you are in the market for musical equipment.  For great deals on dinnerware, flatware and kitchen linens, check out Pfaltzgraff’s deal of the day.

If jewelry is what you desire, My Jewelry Box has great prices on jewelry for any occasion.  Dyscern.com, also known as Secondipity, carries home electronics, cell phones and household items at great prices.  If you are like my husband and like to look for deals just for fun, Heartland America and The Home Shopping Network are great places to frequent.  Both carry a huge selection of items from all sorts of categories.  You may just be surprised by what they sell!  Whatever your product preference, there’s a site that will satisfy your need for deal hunting.

Fun Family Game Night!

It’s no secret the economy isn’t doing very well right now.  Most of us are trying to find ways to cut back and spend less money.  Some people are eating out less, others are trading in their gym memberships for running and hiking outside.  My husband and I have always been fairly frugal so we’re not making very many changes.  However, there is one area that we find hard to scale back on.  This is the area of entertainment.

We don’t spend a ton of money on entertainment, but we do like to go to the occasional movie, play laser tag with friends or go bowling on a Friday night.  Unfortunately, all that really adds up over time.  So, we’ve decided to spend money on things that will allow us entertainment for more than just one night.   We went to our cupboard of games and found a bunch that we’ve never played before.  Some are ones that we got when we were first married and forgot about.

We’ve been planning group game nights where we meet up with one or more families and have a potluck dinner and games.  This saves money in several ways.  First of all, you’re not paying for a babysitter.  When you get kids together they tend to entertain themselves so you can hang out with the adults.  Secondly, you’re not spending a lot of money on food.  When you share the load for a dinner, it ends up costing a fraction of what it would have cost to go out to eat.  Lastly, you’re not spending any money on entertainment.  Find a game that you all like and have fun.  I have to admit it’s not quite as relaxing as going to a movie or  dinner just with your spouse, but you come out way ahead in the end.  If you’re short on games to play, go to FAO Schwarz to see their great selection of group games.  Try it out and see how much money you can save!

Finding Money for College

Today I was reading the national headlines when something caught my eye.  It was a piece about how expensive college is these days.  Since my husband is in school right now, I read on to see if there was something I could learn to help us save money.  The article talked about soaring tuition, tighter budgets and record applications that all cause college to be much harder to go to these days.  I couldn’t believe it!  In New York State alone, the tuition was up 14% last year.  So, with all this not-so-good news, what are we to do?

One of the websites that I’m the guide for is called FastWeb.  They put students in touch with scholarships and other funding to help make college more affordable.  On FastWeb you can search for specific schools or specific types of scholarships that are available.  Before I had my second child I worked in the Financial Aid Office of a large State school and I sat on a board that helped select students to receive scholarships.  I couldn’t believe how few applications we received for some great scholarships.  I think the majority of people don’t think they’re qualified so they don’t even try.

I used financial aid and scholarships to get through school and my husband is using it now.  Luckily, most of his tuition is covered, but we are also going to apply for scholarships because most of them are not need based.  In other words, you can get them if you’re rich or poor.  If you have small children, now is the time to start planning for their college education.  UPromise allows you to earn money for their college by purchasing regular items.  Once you sign up, you start earning college money without even thinking about it.  Yes, we are in hard times, but there are ways to help navigate through this economic minefield.  Just a little effort can make a big difference.

Our Cheap Disneyland Trip!

With the stresses of work, bills, raising a family, maintaining a relationship with a spouse, and everything in between at the end of the day…sometimes it is amazing at I am still breathing.  There seem to so many different tasks to be done. With so many little problems here and there that are dynamic and complicated, my mind has no time to relax.  My mind feels like a muscle flexing nonstop all day. It is time for a Vacation!

Vacations are not just enjoyable because of the change of scenery, new food, or a different adventure, but mostly because it is a chance to separate myself from the daily grind of life.  They are an opportunity for the mind to relax and enjoy being idle.  Even if the vacation is faster pace like a Caribbean Cruise or a trip to Las Vegas, my mind is free from the normal stresses that can cramp the brain.

In a house with a tight budget it is important to research before making a choice on where and for how long your vacation will be.  There are many websites that offer packages of hotel and flight at a lower cost.  These deals do not last long, as the good ones are generally offered for a short time.

When doing the ads for CouponBuzz.com I have come across a few deals that were incredible. Check them out and maybe they will fit your vacation needs. Be sure to take time to relax the brain.

Well, as a student family on a tight budget, she knew that these items were not going to show up for a long time . This is when fate stepped in. Her brother wanted to start learning to play the guitar and knew that this girl had played for a number of years and had owned a few guitars. She knew that she played hardly at all anymore and offered to sell her guitar to this brother. He took up the offer and she walked away with $100! WOW! Now this money was for her own personal use, not for the family budget. The list in her mind of things to purchase kept wandering back to these 2 styles of sassy summer sandals. But each pair costs $100 individually. What to do now?

Here is where the CouponBuzz side of her kicked in. She started searching the internet for all the shoe stores with current sales. Then she searched the stores that carry these kinds of shows, and learned if they had an outlet or seconds store. Long story short, wish some major internet searching, links to 6pm and some good fortune she was able to purchase both pairs, including shipping, for under $100!

Now I must confess that this girl was me and I am sitting here at my computer with happy feet wearing the “Hipthong” style of Chaco’s. If there is a stylish sandal or shoe that you have been dreaming about for a while, or if you want to find shoes that match the style of a TV show like SATC, DO NOT GIVE UP! Use the internet tools at CouponBuzz to help you find a great deal with free shipping.

Have a happy Sandal day!

FREE Money!

Intrigued by the title, are you?  I thought so.  The first time I saw it I wanted to know more too.  Are you wondering where it came from?  My husband and I recently did a very large lifestyle change.  We had been married for about 7 years, had our cute little house, two dogs and a daughter and my husband was set in his career path as a Realtor.  We thought we were living the life we wanted, but realized one day that we wanted something very different.  My husband decided he wanted to switch careers and go into something that he felt was more fulfilling.  Within a year we sold our house and most of our belongings, moved two states away to a small rental property, and my husband started school at a local community college in pre-nursing.  We only have one car, make most of our food from scratch, shop at thrift stores and are trying to live a more simple life.  I thought it would be hard, but to be completely honest, it’s very refreshing.

We no longer feel the need to “keep up with the Jones’” and find that it’s easier to have less things because then you focus more on other things.  We own one TV that is about 13 inches across and only works for watching movies.  Because we can’t just plop down in front of the TV and watch whatever’s on, we spend less time watching things and more time playing games, going for walks and reading.  We’ve also started putting more money in savings, which is ironic since we’re making less money now than we were before.  I’m always looking for new ways to save money and I came across a book called “Free Money Free Stuff” written by the Readers Digest Association.  The book is full of great ideas for getting free money and free stuff from places you never thought possible.  It’s amazing what you can find if you just know where to look for it.

No matter how much money you make, or what kind of lifestyle you live, it’s always nice to get things for free.  Check out the book and see what you can get for free.  Hopefully you’ll be as pleasantly surprised as I was.

Shopping Confusion

Many years ago, before I was born, when you needed to buy something you went to the store, bought what you needed and went home.  Occasionally you looked for sales or stores going out of business, but the buying process was simple.  Fast forward to today and being a consumer is more difficult and complicated than ever.  When you want to buy something you have the choice of doing it in person, over the phone, through a magazine or online.  If you buy something in person you get the satisfaction of having it right then, but you don’t always know if you got a good deal on it.  If you buy something online, you can usually search for a good price, but sometimes the item takes a while to get to you and you often have to pay shipping costs.  The question I want to pose to you is how do you know if you’re shopping the smartest way you can?

My husband and I pride ourselves on being thrifty and frugal with most things and try to never pay full price, except for some food items.  We do our grocery shopping at wholesale places, buy our furniture at thrift stores, through Craig’s List or from scratch and dent places, stock up on items when they’re highly discounted and only buy clothes that are at least 50% off.  This makes it so that we don’t always get exactly what we want, but we figure they’re all just things so it doesn’t matter anyway.  I’ve read some blogs on Couponbuzz that talk about the best times of year to buy certain items and I’ve added that to my list of frugalities.  I’ve recently tried to buy more fruit that’s in season to hopefully save on cost as well, but even with all my attempts, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something important.

I searched and found a book at Borders called “The Consumer Bible: 1001 Ways to Shop Smart” by Mark Green.  This book is exactly what I was looking for.  In here are all the tried and tested strategies of what to buy when and where to save the most money.  I’m already doing some of the techniques, but now have a lot more to add to help me save even more money.  Some of the things aren’t possible for my current situation, but I’m applying whatever I can.  Here is my challenge to you:  Get the book, read it and start making a few changes at a time.  You may have to alter your lifestyle quite a bit, but in the end it will be for your good.  Good luck and try to shop smart!

After much thought and trial and error we came up with the idea of a mermaid & pirate party. In the context of Peter Pan and a few of the films they go hand in hand. With the main theme in mind, my next great challenge was creating fun activities and decorations that might be fitting for these kids… on a TIGHT BUDGET.

I found on the Sewing section of CouponBuzz some ideas on places to get patterns to sew. I then found some cheap fabric in town and proceeded to make Mermaid Aprons and Pirate Bandannas for the kids. It only cost me about $3 for the fabric and $1 for the thread. The fabric I used was white so that at the party each child gets to use markers and color their own Mermaid or Pirate costume. I thought it would be a great way to entertain about 10 four year-olds during the middle of winter in the mountains of Utah.

For decorations I found some great cheap items at Shindigz Clearance section. Just a few little decorations can make a party really come alive!

Last of all I wanted to make a cake for the party that fit the theme as well. I do not have talent in the culinary arts! I can make a mean curry, but that doesn’t help at birthday parties. To buy a cake with a theme would be hard because of the Mermaid and Pirate theme. So here is what I did.

I found a large plastic ship that my kids have from a Noah’s ark set. I then made cupcakes and decorated them with just some fun colors on top. I took the cupcakes and placed them around the deck of the ship. Then I searched through my kids toy bins to find anything mermaid or pirate. To my great joy I found a little pirate toy that came in some kids meal and a mermaid Dora The Explorer doll. These 2 figurines were on the top level of the ship to make it really match the theme. It is so much more fun to create the events for your children!

Through the sources of CouponBuzz and imagination, we will have the party she really wanted!