Thrifty Mommy » General

The 10 Most Common Passwords

Karen Weideman — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 06:29:52 +0000

Identity theft hits close to home for me. It was only a few years ago that a family member’s social security number was used by someone in a respected profession to obtain a credit card. Fortunately, this issue was caught pretty quickly, thanks to the credit card company’s rule of activating the credit card only from the applicant’s phone.

It is disturbing that our identity and social security information has to be so carefully guarded, but even more upsetting is how someone can damage our credit if they obtain our personal information. According to PC Magazine, we are can make ourselves vunerable through the passwords that we choose for our email, online banking, and other accounts. PC Magazine has compiled a list of the 10 most common passwords. If you’re using one of these passwords, then you might be setting yourself up for trouble.

password
123456
qwerty
abc123
letmein
monkey
myspace1
password1
link182
(your first name)

When choosing a password, it is best to choose one that has both letters and numbers. Also, be sure to choose one that isn’t obvious to others.

Is your password difficult to figure out?

image sxc.hu

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Let the Yard Sales Begin!

Karen Weideman — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:31:47 +0000

We’ve had some beautiful weather lately and the yard sales are starting. I love the thrill of a bargain and finding great stuff for a great price.

Saturday we were on our way out of town and I spotted a yard sale. Trust me, it wasn’t because of their signs. Anyway, they had books, toys, children’s clothes, and more.

I was able to get Alligator girl four pairs for $1 each and she needed the pants. I also picked up a Mrs. Spider’s Sunny Patch cd for $1, a Dora dvd for $2, some magnetic alphabet letters for $.50, and a few other things that I can’t remember right now.

I also spotted a box of books geared for preschool though second grade. There were many early reader books in there and most of them were by Scholastic. I asked how much the books were and they said $.50 each, which was a good price. After looking in the box and seeing that I would like to have a majority of the books, I asked how much for the whole box. I bought all of the books for $5. When I returned home, I saw what a bargain I received. There were over 70 books in the box and several of them hadn’t been read yet. That means I paid less than $.10 each for the books.

Hooray for saving money! Have you found any yard sales?

image is mine

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Thirty Second Thrift – Take a Quick Look at Donation Items

Katelyn Thomas — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 17:28:43 +0000

We had a bunch of stuff sitting in our “to donate” pile this week. Before I headed out to drop them off at our local thrift shop, I did a quick check to be sure we really wanted to donate it all. It only took a few seconds to riffle through the pile and it was well worth it. I found:

Shoes that weren’t in primo condition but had good laces. I took out the laces, folded them neatly and saved them for later. Boys and guys always seem to snap their laces and end up needing new ones.
Really nice buttons on a shirt with stains. The shirt wasn’t going to end up on the thrift store’s sale rack anyway, so we might as well keep the buttons for the jumper I’m sewing for the little gal.
Speaking of jumpers – A barely worn jumper in the pile from my working outside the house days that was no longer in style, but had cute fabric. I pulled it out of the pile and will be doing a recon to make a second jumper for the little gal.
Broken hair clippers. My brother spotted them and took them away. He came back with a whole pile of copper wire for recycling. (And was able to use the switch and plug somehow on his portable blacksmithing forge. Not sure how!)

What I had left in the pile was a stack of items that could truly be useful for someone else but really was not ever going to be used by us in any way, shape, or form. Now, that is a thrifty person’s donation pile.

Have you ever taken a second look at your donation pile and found something you could still use there?

Photo by Sanja Gjenero

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Take Advantage of Free Thrifty Programs at Your Library

Katelyn Thomas — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:09:08 +0000

Public libraries tend to try really hard to keep up with the needs of their patrons, so it is pretty likely that your public library system will currently have some great thrifty programs for you to attend. My library system is offering the following free programs this month:

Avoiding Foreclosure

Frugal Living to Accomplish Your Goals

Introduction to Microsoft

Word Introduction to Computers

There is also a Recession Resources page on the library website and additional help from a local human resources specialist who takes sign ups at the library from people who need help with job searches and resume writing. All this for free? It is enough to make a thrifty person do a little happy dance.

On top of all that, there are any number of great teen and children’s programs, which means free entertainment for the kids! I so love libraries.

Photo by Billy Alexander/Stock Exchange

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How Thrifty Are You Going to Be Poll

Katelyn Thomas — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 01:30:54 +0000

So, that poll on the sidebar was looking a little tired. A little bored with life at Simply Thrifty. We’re letting it retire and bringing you a new poll with new questions!

For some reason everything seems more exciting than it actually is today. Maybe because I pulled down boxes of decorations and have been doing my before Christmas deep clean? Hence the exclamation point use in a new poll announcement. Anyway, on with the poll:

{democracy:6}

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Angelina Jolie Wants to Live a Thrifty Life

Katelyn Thomas — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 22:03:56 +0000

Did you know that ordinary folks aren’t the only ones concerned about living a thrifty lifestyle? Many celebrities have been living frugally for years. They’ve seen other movie stars blow through their money and end up on the streets or they’re simply sick of a life of excess.

Angelina Jolie is one movie star who wants to be frugal. However, her desire to spend less and to raise her kids so they don’t become obsessed with money is causing a problem many frugal people with less thrifty spouses have. According to the gossip zines, Brad Pitt is a bit upset that his wife is trying to stop him from spending some of the money he had been earning on non-essential things. She wants to avoid wasting money when people who are less fortunate are literally starving to death all over the globe. While her husband certainly doesn’t want people to starve and is involved in many charitable pursuits, he feels that he deserves to spend at least part of what he earns on frivolous stuff.

I have to admit, if Brad Pitt saves a substantial amount and pays all his bills, I think he should be able to have a specific amount of his income to play around with. Putting yourself on a budget that leaves no room for entertainment and has no specific goal to save for can end up making you so frustrated and resentful that you actually start to spend more on non-essentials.

Technorati Tags: angelina jolie,brad pitt,thrifty celebrities

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Simply Thrifty Round Up – Coupon Sites

Katelyn Thomas — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 18:15:40 +0000

This week, I thought I’d do a round up post of some of the great places you can find printable coupons for grocery and health and beauty items. Usually, you’ll need to install a coupon printer software program the first time you use the sites.

* Quick tip: Some sites have a way for you to get a coupon in the mail if you are having trouble printing. Look for a help or printer problem link to see if this option is available before giving up on a good coupon offer completely.

Coupons.com – This site usually has a good variety of coupons for basic items.
Red Plum – One of the companies that offers coupon inserts in Sunday papers. They have a website with quite a few printable coupons and a new grocery sale match up service that I haven’t tried yet.
Smart Source – The other big coupon insert company for Sunday papers.
Cool Savings – This site has been around for eons and usually has a similar selection to Coupons.com.
Betty Crocker – You have to sign up to print coupons, but if you like these products, it is worth the effort. (The coupon link is in the upper right corner of the page.)
P&G – Samples and coupons for P&G products are available through this site.
Target – If you shop at Target, it is a smart idea to check for their weekly printable coupons before you head out. Target coupons can be combined with manufacturer coupons for additional savings!

Do you have a favorite resource for finding great printable coupons? Please share it with us!

Technorati Tags: printable coupons,grocery coupons,save money on groceries

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Printing More Than One Copy of an Internet Coupon Because You Can

Katelyn Thomas — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:15:56 +0000

I talked about the ethics of couponing a few weeks ago, but I have something new to add to the discussion – dealing with internet coupons. A lot of people seem to feel that it is okay to print unlimited numbers of internet coupons if there is no technology in place to stop them. They say it is similar to buying three or four copies of the Sunday paper and the manufacturer should know better than to issue a coupon as a pdf, etc.

My feeling is that just because I can do something it doesn’t make it right and I don’t print off multiple copies.

However, I also agree that the manufacturers should be more internet savvy. While you certainly can buy more than one newspaper to get multiple coupons, the manufacturer knows that a specific number of inserts are printed for newspapers and that a certain percentage won’t be redeemed. It then is able to budget a specific amount for coupon redemption. By offering a coupon without using the available technology that limits the customer to one or two prints of the coupon and not even saying there is a print limit of one coupon per person, the manufacturer has set up a situation that has the potential to get out of hand. And with the number of times companies have gotten upset about the overuse of an internet coupon in the past, you’d think that it would no longer be a problem, but it is.

So, what do you think? Is it okay to take advantage of manufacturers that seem to be living in the dark ages of the internet or should you consider what the manufacturer probably intended?

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Look for Deals on All You Magazine

Katelyn Thomas — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 10:54:51 +0000

I don’t subscribe to many magazines that aren’t free, but All You is an exception, since the number of good coupons in the magazine more than covers the cost of the subscription. (And the articles aren’t bad, either.) If you have a school age child doing a magazine fundraiser, take a close look at the list of available magazines. All You should be one of them. You can get a discount on the subscription price and support your child’s school at the same time!

We aren’t having this fundraiser this year at our school, so I’m going to check with co-workers who have kids in the public school system.

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Emergency Preparedness – Plan Ahead to Save Money

Katelyn Thomas — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:53:10 +0000

As I’m talking to friends who are feeling the full force of Ike, I’m thankful that all I’m dealing with from this storm are heavy rains hundreds of miles away. However, for my friends, the situation is a lot more serious and some of them are going to be in financial distress even if they don’t lose homes or belongings. Planning ahead for emergencies, especially if you live in a place prone to specific disasters, like hurricanes, just makes financial sense.

Take plywood, for example. It’s expensive even when there isn’t a run on it at the local hardware store. So, if you see a good deal and you have storage space in the garage, buy or barter for enough sheets to board up your windows. You save time when the emergency hits and your checkbook doesn’t take an unexpected hit.

If you need to evacuate regularly and you live near a beach or other vacation spot, maybe you want to consider offering friends in another area a chance to visit your home for a few weeks each year in exchange for an open invitation to pack up your pooch and your kids to bunk at their place during an emergency.

Emergency preparedness…it saves lives and budgets. Do you have any smart tips for saving money in this situation?

Photo by Christophe Libert

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