Image: Lands' End

The Lands’ End $100 giveaway will be ending in 24 hours.  You could use this to get a new swimsuit, dress, pants, school clothes, backpack, or some other special item. 

Be sure to enter the giveaway before it ends at 11:59 pm on June, 14, 2009.  Good luck everyone!

Hello everyone.  I went to Food Lion last night to pick up a few things and found a few bargains.  Here’s a few deals I found:

Marie Callendar’s frozen dinners and entrees are buy 1 get 1 free.  Then be sure to look on the freezer door for the blinkie machine.  There is a coupon for $.75 off one Marie Callendar’s Pasta Al Dente entree.  The pasta entrees are normally $3.99 and are on sale for $2.  Using the coupon makes them only $1.25!  If your blinkie machine is out of coupons (like mine) look inside on the freezer shelves.  Sometimes they get dropped inside.  I found 3-4 extra coupons on the shelves. 

White House High School Musical applesauce is on close-out.  Get a 6-pack of applesauce for $1.25.  I didn’t have any coupons for these, but it is still a pretty good deal.  These come in different flavors such as mango, cherry, cinnamon, and regular. 

If you have the space and a need for the items, I’d recommend stockpiling the pasta dishes and the applesauce.

Other sale items:

Food Lion bologna, sale .99
Aquarius Spring Water 24 pk, bogo 2/$5.99
Crisco oil, sale $2.50
Tylenol Cold (select varieties), $3.14 close-out, use $1 coupon
Pillsbury Reduced Sugar brownie mix, $1.09 close-out, use .35 coupon
frozen salmon, bogo
$10 off full or half graduation sheet cakes

What other Food Lion deals have you found this week?

Sales and prices vary by location.  Please view the online weekly circular.  image food lion

Home buying is a total headache - or so I hear. I’ve actually never bought a house BUT I did build a house which maybe was more of a headache to be honest and involved a lot of the same issues - buying land, choosing house plans, etc. Plus, I’ve had plenty of pals go through the home buying process. It’s such a hassle and money issues are of course a major concern. Here are some pre-buying tips that should save you some $.

NO house is perfect: Repeat this mantra like the waves on the ocean. There will never ever be a perfect house. Make a list of wants, needs, and bling wishes. If you find a home that meets at least most of the needs, some of the wants, and maybe one bling choice (i.e. you HAVE to have a tree in the front yard), is a good house. Settling for most of what you want is a good bet when buying a house. Waiting and waiting can cost you time and money.

Research neighborhoods first: Before looking for the house, look for an area. Find out as much as you can about the people in the neighborhood, the schools, and the other issues (shops, events, etc). Also if you think you’ll stay for a long while think ahead to make sure the home fits future needs, for example, is there a good middle school nearby?

Make a moving time line: Plan out the move / buy / market timeline. Know when your lease is up at your current place so you don’t end up finding a house way before you can actually move. Is the market in your area getting tighter or better?

For tons more money saving tips related to home buying visit the consumer info page at the Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors (I know it’s a specific hometown, but the articles are actually nationally helpful).

[image via stock.xchng]

Everyone says, “Babies are so expensive.” I don’t totally agree. I also know folks who put off having a second tot due to perceived costs. First of all, babies are less expensive than advertised; not to make them sound like cars, but you can get a good deal on your baby (see the end of this post for tips), and secondly, siblings can be even cheaper than the first baby.

What costs do come up with all kids:

Food + health care + school (if you pay for private) + time (if you consider time is money).

How siblings don’t cost as much as people think:

Can you say, “hand-me-downs”? Hand me downs are free and because babies don’t tend to wear stuff out your gear is likely still in good shape. If you had cloth diaper the first time around, you’ll save even more.

Siblings can share a space. You don’t actually need rooms for everyone, and even if kids have their own space, you can have kids bunk together in winter and turn the heat off in one room. Personally, I did hate sharing a room growing up (in theory) but in reality, my sis and I had a ton of good times, and there’s no hard feelings now.

Free entertainment. I work at home. I have an only child. I am the ONLY person around to entertain my son which can, when he’s fussy, cost me time and money. I pay extra for things like activities with other kids too (when his friends are unavailable). Growing up with two siblings, I had built in entertainment all the time.

More tax breaks!

Kids always come with costs, there’s no way around it, but kids don’t have to be THAT expensive. It’s a matter of choice and smart decision making. Here are some more tips:

• Top 7 ways to save money while raising baby
• Budget Book Review: Expecting Money
• Secret way to save money on baby gear
• Save money on baby toys
• Don’t Buy Items Your Baby Won’t Need
• Should you wait for more money to have a baby

In what ways do you think siblings are cheaper than the first baby.

[image via stock.xchng]

Fisher Price is giving away another free DVD with four animated GeoTrax episodes.  This one is Steamer & Samuel Save the Day.  Order now and receive your free dvd in 12-14 weeks.

I have received several free Fisher Price dvds and have found them to be a great addition to our dvd collection. 

Thanks to iMommies for the tip.  Image from Fisher Price.

Picture frames are one of the easiest DIY saves you can try. If you find gross old frames at thrift stores or garage sales, have old frames around the house, or some broken frames, you can still fix them up and use them, thus saving money on new ones.

Ideas for saving old frames…

Paint - of course a super easy fix when it’s just cosmetics that are the issue. Remember to remove the glass, or cover it with paper before painting. Also, try odd colors. For example, silver metallic paint doesn’t look that flashy, it actually looks awesome when used to frame black & white photos. If you’re super handy with a paint brush or sponge you can find an image to work off of (like the one above) and stencil a design on your frame.

Clean up - clean old wooden frames with a little bit of denatured alcohol and some linseed oil. Sometimes just getting the gunk off a frame will perk it up enough to use.

Distress your frame - I like distressed everything, and large frames especially look good this way. It’s not a polished look, but works for casual homes.

Clean up the matting - If you’ve got a decent frame with an icky looking mat, all you need is some extra wall paper (in a small design style, or plain) to cover the old mat. You can also of course buy a basic mat replacement which is cheaper than a whole frame.

Make it 3D - You can use puffy paint on a frame, decoupage dried flowers on, or attach items like buttons, brass stars, and so fourth to make a frame that pops out. These are cool for things like children’s art and photos.

Missing glass - Unless you’re handy with a glass cutter, don’t use old glass to replace the broken glass in a frame. Glass snaps easily, so if you do use a glass cutter be careful. If you can’t buy replacement glass for a frame, use the frame for something that’s a-ok without a frame, like your kids art or a sunprint.

What other ways can you think of to save old frames?

[image via stock.xchng]

1. Shop sales at discount outlets before hitting the sales at major department stores and clothing boutiques. Of course clothing at discount stores are cheaper to begin with so sale wise, you’ll do way better.
2. Shop at Good Will, second-hand stores, school or church thrift sales, garage sales, and other secondhand clothing outlets. Little kids clothes are especially good deals used because usually they’re worn very little. I’ve seen entire wardrobes of never worn baby outfits at garage sales. Another good buy used are items you’ll only wear once - wedding attire, Halloween costumes, holiday kids clothing, and so on.
3. Pay more for major items. For example, winter boots or coats or a workplace suit. Choose quality over price for items like these that you’ll use over and over - sometimes many seasons over, because it’s worth it to not have to buy another. Keep in mind though, you can find these items on sale too, especially if you shop well ahead of time, for example buy a new winter coat at the end of the season in spring.
4. Always shop for clothing out of season. Swimsuits in fall, spring dresses in summer, and so on. If you need something that’s in season during the season wait for a holiday. All seasons have major holidays and all stores hold holiday sales, for example Christmas, Labor Day, and back-to-school (not so much a holiday but you get it).
5. Wash your clothing right. Always read the tags to see how you should wash an item before you just toss it in. Hang as much clothing as you can, because that alone makes items last so much longer.
6. Don’t buy clothing that requires special care unless it’s absolutely necessary. Dry cleaning bills pump your clothing costs up considerably.
7. Learn to sew. I’m not saying you need to sew your whole wardrobe, although that can save you money too, but if you’re tossing stuff because you can’t fix a simple button, zipper, or hem, it’s a huge waste of cash.
8. Avoid wearing heels when driving because it puts more pressure on your shoes and can cause a break. Simply carry a pair of flat shoes in the car.
9. Travel - IF you happen to live in a smaller town, it can be worth the cost of gar to drive to your closet bigger city to shop the deals and sales.
10. Always wash lingerie in one, a smooth basin to avoid snags, or in a safe lingerie bag on gentle, and always air dry. If you do wash your bras in the washer always hook them to avoid snagging other clothing items.
11. Grab some dye to perk up clothing that’s stained, dull, or otherwise boring to you. You’d be surprised how one simple dye job can make a shirt look brand new.
12. Most importantly, only buy what you need. 20 pairs of anything is excessive. If you must buy new items that are purely want based, not a clothing necessity, consider selling a few current items you don’t wear to a consignment shop to balance the cost.

Share your clothes saving tips in the comments.

[image via stock.xchng]

It seems this coupon is no longer available.  I hope there will be more great coupons like this one soon!

Get three free Johnson’s Buddies bath bars when you use this coupon.  The coupon is for $3 off three Johnson’s products.  The bath bars are around $.97-.99 at most stores.  When you use the coupon, you can get them for free or almost free.

This is a great stockpile opportunity and will give you some children’s soap for a while.  I got about seven free bars a few months ago and they last a long time.  We are still using the second bar.  If you don’t have kids, please consider getting them and donating them to charity.

Enjoy!

If you use Firefox, this coupon link may work better for you.

If you haven’t already, you might want to give Restaurant.com a try. Over the weekend, our family went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant.  We had a $25 gift certificate from Restaurant.com.  I’m sure we got the certificate on sale, probably for $2-3.  With their $25 gift certificates, you have to spend $35.  Our family ordered two adult meals, two children’s meals, and two orders of sopapillas for dessert.  The total was right at $35.  The restaurant took off the $25 from the certificate and that left us owing $10 plus tip (on the pre-certificate amount).  Not bad for all the food we had.

Right now, Restaurant.com has their certificates on sale for $2.  Simply enter the discount code PRESENT at the checkout and hit “apply”.  This sale ends Monday, June 15, 2009.

image from restaurant.com

Get a free one year subscription to Surfing magazine.  This offer is from FreeBizMag.  You must fill out a short survey, but no credit card is required. 

This magazine is edited for the current generation of surfers.  Each issue includes high-action photography, question and answer profiles of and interviews with champions, instruction, surfboard deisgn, and a poster.

Sounds like this would make a nice gift for the surfer in your family.

*Due to manfacturing costs and paper waste, I ask that you only subscribe to magazines that you will use. 
image from freebizmag