Snuggie™ For Kids - $5.99

Momma D Saves posted this on her blog and I just HAD to share it with you guys!!

CarolWrightGifts.com has their Snuggie™ For Kids marked down to $5.99!! It's available in blue or pink and made for kids up to 5 feet tall.

I was so excited to see this, lol. I know, I'm lame. But lemme tell ya, I have a leopard print Snuggie™ that I got for my birthday and I'm not ever able to use it because my wonderful husband wants it or JD wants it. So this year, I'm getting each of them their own.

Wal-Mart has a Georgia Bulldog Snuggie™ for $20. I'd like to find one cheaper than that though. Either way, Dollar General Market in town has a regular Snuggie™ for $15 and if I can save $5 then I will.

Also, Momma D posted a coupon code to save 20% on your order: 5SAV20. :o) Enjoy!

Holiday Etiquette in Cash-Strapped Times

Thanksgiving came and went just like that! I hope you and your family had a great one. I know we did. Did you go out and face the crowds yesterday or this weekend to get some good deals? We didn't. I don't get into all that.

I was looking at the latest poll on CNN.com and so far 84% of the voters said "no" they did not go out and face the crowds on Black Friday.

Speaking of CNN.com, I really enjoyed watching this video.  I wanted to share it with you because I like it; it showed me that I'm not the only one who is broke this season. It also gave me some good ideas on some things to do to show my friends and loved ones that while I do just love 'em to death I can't afford an actual gift for them.

In a few of my previous post I've talked about some gift baskets that I'm going to put together. I'm not really sure if I can do that this year but I'm going to try. How are you saving money this Christmas? Where are you shopping?

Turn Off The Lights For One Hour Every Day

Recently I was talking to someone about my efforts in conserving energy and ways I'm lowering my energy bill.

One of the things that I have done everyday for well over 4 months is this: I turn off all of my lights and unplug the appliances that I can for at least one hour each day. I open my blinds a little bit during the day for light instead of turning on a lamp. I have a window in my bathroom so I don't turn on the lights as often as some would when I'm in there. Basically, I try to do more things without using electricity.

I was watching something on T.V. and they said that even though an appliance isn't turned on but is still plugged in, it's still using electricity. I didn't know that ... So now, I turn off my computer when I'm not using it. I also unplug my cell phone charger, toaster and coffee pot when I'm finished using it.

Also, keeping your air conditioner at ONE temperature and NOT touching it will save you a ton too. We keep ours on 73 and it doesn't budge.

I can proudly say that my family's light bill has been less than $180 every month for quite some time. It's actually $172 this month.

Folks, this isn't necessarily about "Going Green!", it's also about saving yourself money in this crazy mess our country has gotten into. So, here's the thing ... I was curious to know who else will start having or already has Earth hour everyday? Tell me about it ... What else do you do?

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7 radical ways to save money

Want to really save? Take a look at how you spend and change it. Quit smoking, take in a roommate, park the car -- and you'll save as much as $12,000 a year. It's getting harder to blame savings shortfalls on your measly pay stub.

In fact, how much you save has little to do with your income, research by economists Steven Venti and David Wise shows. It has more to do with whether you want to save and are willing to adjust to boost your saving.

Ventis and Wises 2000 study, "Choice, Chance and Wealth Dispersion at Retirement," found a wide range in how much people at the same income levels were able to save for retirement. The study also pointed out that it wasn't just the higher income folks who managed to save the most. Indeed, people in the lowest income groups were able to save more than some of their middle-income peers -- by about $100,000. (See link at left to read the complete study.)

Their conclusion? "Persons with little savings on the eve of retirement have simply chosen to save less and spend more over their lifetimes."

The key, then, is spending less than you earn.

Tahira Hira would agree with this conclusion. A professor of personal finance and consumer economics at Iowa State University, Hira has spent more than 25 years studying how and why people spend, and why some people get into financial trouble.

"We don't stop and think that earning money is only one part of financial health," Hira says. "The other part is learning how to manage money."

Many people don't have a clue
A big source of money problems, Hira says, is that people just don't know enough about their own financial reality. "They don't know what they earn, they don't know what it takes to live, and they don't know their discretionary income."

Her advice? Educate yourself. Sit down with your monthly bills and statements and figure out your income and outgo. Then, decide if you like the picture you see. If not, you'll need to create a plan for changing it.

To help with the process, Hira recommends asking your self these three questions:
* Who am I? What's my current financial picture?
* How do I want to live? How do I want to use my money?
* How can I make the best use of my money?

Treat managing your money like you would any other household task and allot enough time for it every month.

Hira notes that many of the financial tools that have made life more convenient -- such as credit cards -- can promote bad financial habits and prolong debt when misused. Credit cards should be used as the cash-management tool they are, not a borrowing tool, she says.

"We're spending tomorrow's money when we put things on a credit card," she says. "You keep locking yourself up and losing your freedom." Her bottom line on financial health? "Stop spending."

7 radical savings tips
To help curb the consumer in you, we've come up with a few of admittedly drastic savings strategies, along with some ballpark figures of their savings potential. (If you're looking for a real no-brainer way to save, arrange to have a certain amount of your paycheck automatically deposited into a savings account. Then, sit back and watch it grow.)

* Hold the mother of all garage sales. Cast a critical eye on the stuff at the way back of your closets. If you haven't used it in six months, chances are you can do without. Same goes for all that junk in storage. (See "The hidden costs of too much stuff." ) Annual savings? Depends on how much junk you have, of course, but one coworker guessed he had at least $5,000 worth of stuff he could get rid of. I'd put my own garage sale potential down at around $1,000. Thats a good number.

* Quit smoking. Pack-a-day habit? In Washington state, that's easily $5 a day -- or about $1,800 a year -- that can go right into your savings, not to mention what it saves you on insurance and health care.

* Tame your driving addiction. In other words, carpool or use public transportation. This saves on gas, insurance and maintenance costs -- not to mention any money spent on aspirin. Using the IRS's 2002 mileage reimbursement rate of 36.5 cents per mile as a proxy for the cost of commuting, you could save $1,141 a year by driving half the time for 50 weeks a year (based on a 25-mile roundtrip commute). For an even more drastic approach, consider getting rid of your car if you live in the city. Some cities are now implementing progressive programs that allow you to have access to a car without the ownership hassles (e.g. "Flexcar" in Seattle, Portland and Washington, D.C. For more on Flexcar, see link at left.)

* Buy used. The average consumer spends about $1,750 a year on clothing and its upkeep, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' most recent Consumer Expenditure Survey. You can potentially cut that in half by shopping at consignment shops and auctions, though the life of the goods may be less than buying new. To account for that, the annual savings may only amount to 25%, or $437.

* Become a homebody. At just over $1,800 a year on average, entertainment spending has a way of quickly eating through the best-planned budgets. Consider the library for books, music and movies. Eat out less often. The average person spent $2,276 a year on eating out in 2002. Try cutting your spending in half on both areas for annual savings more than $1,900.

* Cut your housing expenses. While a move across the tracks may save some money, moves are expensive in themselves. Consider renting out a room. The average housing costs per person in 2000 were just over $13,200. In metropolitan areas such as Seattle, rooms easily go for $400 a month. Figure about $20 of that goes to increases in utility costs, and you've still got an annual savings of more than $4,000 before any income taxes.

* Cut up your credit cards. Build an emergency fund first to handle most unexpected expenses. This allows you to become your own lending agency. (OK, if you're chicken, try cutting up all but one.) Credit cards can be a cash-flow management tool, but paying only the minimum will keep you in debt for years. If you're the average American with at least one credit card, you probably have close to $8,523 in credit card debt, according to industry research group CardWeb.com. At an average APR of 14.4%, it could cost you as much as $1,100 a year in interest alone. By simply waiting until you've saved enough money to make purchases, you could eliminate those interest payments entirely.

If you're really ambitious and follow all the above tips, you could be looking at savings of nearly $12,000 a year. Figuring you can invest it at the historical rate of return at 10% your savings will start to compound nicely -- and rapidly.

From MSN Money
By Jennifer Mulrean

Save Money by Improving Your Energy Efficiency

Curbing your energy use is one of the simplest ways to save money. You can easily cut your bills in half by paying attention to effortless actions, such as turning the lights off when you leave a room or turning the heat off when you aren’t home. The extra money you accumulate through lowering your bills can help you to pay off your other expenses, including your debt.

1) Lower Heating Costs:

Clean your heating system regularly. Paying for maintenance of the unit will save you more in the long run. Also, clean (or replace) your filters on a regular basis to cut down on the energy expenditure of the system. Your thermostat can be kept at a lower temperature during the night when you are sleep ing than during the day. This can save you a ton of money on your gas or electric. Just make sure you wear warmer clothes to bed and use heavier blankets. If you are not at home during the daytime or you are going to be gone for a couple of days, then you should put your thermostat on the lowest setting to save energy. Keep your curtains open during the daytime to let more sun and heat into the house. Check to see where your doors and windows may need additional stripping. One way to do this is with a hair dryer. Take the dryer and move it along the edges of the windows and doors as someone on the other side feels for the air leaking through. The area needs to be sealed where the person feels the air.

2) Decrease Cooling Costs:

Use solar reflective films over your windows in to decrease the amount of light and heat that penetrate your house. Whenever you leave the house, make sure to turn off your air conditioning. Keep your vents clear of furniture and other decor, so the air can flow properly.

3) Minimize Lighting Costs:

Always turn off lights when you leave a room and when you leave your house. This action is a #1 energy saver because many people forget to do this. Lower wattage bulbs expend less energy; however, if you use additional light bulbs throughout your house to compensate, stick to a single higher wattage bulb. Three way bulbs can adjust the lighting intensity, saving electricity. Keep light fixtures clean because dirt and dust may reduce the amount of light, prompting you to turn on additional lights.

4) Get the Most from Your Washer and Dryer:

Using a cold rinse cycle will save some energy and cost because the water does not have to be heated. Use the correct amount of detergent because using too much can put strain on the machine. Dry clothes in consecutive loads so the machine retains heat from one load to the next.

5) Lower Water and Gas Bills:

A short shower consumes much less water than a bath. Wrap insulation around your water heater tank to preserve energy.Moderate the temperature of the water. Keep the temperature of your water heater lower.

6) Curtail Electricity Costs:

Keep unused items unplugged. Also, items that do not need to be plugged in all of the time, such as laptops, cell phones, and their chargers, should be kept unplugged. Do not wash dishes in the dishwasher unless there is a full load of dishes. By washing only half-loads you are wasting money and energy. If you absolutely need to wash a single item, wash it by hand.

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