April 30th, 2010 by Yvonne

Be it a cocktail party, traditional family gathering or a New Year’s Eve bash to ring in 2009, just about everyone will attend or throw some sort of get-together before the month is out. But while the winter party season is great for food and friends, it’s not so good for your finances. Unfortunately, it can be dangerously easy to overspend.

 

Last year, for instance, I meant to throw a low-key Christmas open house. But before I knew it, I’d raided the Christmas decor section at the local Crate & Barrel (it was on sale, but still expensive!) and picked up ingredients for a bunch of pricey appetizers, including three out-of-season tropical fruits for my “festive” martinis. Then, of course, I started thinking about investing in a new cocktail dress to go with those fancy cocktails…

 

Needless to say, it didn’t take long to break the bank. It never does. But while you might bask in the glow of your hosting triumph temporarily, you won’t be too happy once your guests have cleared out and you’re left to look forward to the new year with a stocking full of debt (and that’s before the bill with your Christmas shopping adventure arrives).

 

But a soiree doesn’t have to bust your budget. Of all holiday seasons, people will be most understanding if you go frugal this year. Fortunately it’s becoming almost trendy to be low-cost. What used to be something you didn’t talk about—like sex and politics—has been swept out into the open. So embrace your budget-consciousness, and use it to throw a party that focuses on what really matters—quality time with friends and family. For inspiration, check out the get-togethers I’ve recently attended on-the-cheap.

 

Swap cookies

 

I assume the cookie exchange is not a new idea, but I swear that until now, I’d never heard of them, let alone been invited to one. This year? I’ve been to two already and am considering a third. Cookies have caught on like wildfire because they are easy—and affordable—to make and give. It’s really just a new take on the age-old potluck party. When you invite friends, ask them each to bake their favorite holiday cookie. Then you split them up and everyone takes home a sweet variety. Of course, the traditional potluck party works just as well—and provides a more well-rounded meal. The theme is up to you.

 

Play games

 

Kids always seem to have the best time around the holidays. Sure, it could be because they get the best presents (what kid has to feign a smile after opening up a pair of socks?). But I think it’s because, unlike us adults, kids know how to relax. Maybe that’s because they know how to play. But they don’t have the Monopoly (ha, get it?) on fun. Set out some easy (and cheap) snack food and break out the cards, dominoes and board games. Laugh, goof around, and forget about your troubles for the night. That’s what the holidays are supposed to be about.

 

Watch movies

 

Get out your stash of holiday-themed DVDs—sentimental or hilarious—and ask your guests to bring theirs as well. Or break out the home movies. Pop some popcorn and make some hot chocolate while you relive old times. Maybe play some cinema-themed trivia. It’s a heck of a lot cheaper than going to the theater.

 

Of course, you shouldn’t feel limited to these three suggestions. I’m no professional party planner. But these are the kind of parties that have kept my spirits up this year. It’s amazing—it seems like the less I spend, the more I focus on the feeling of being with the people I love. It’s a welcome distraction.

 

Holiday gatherings ought to be joyful—not painful. If you find yourself feeling pained because you feel you’re pinching pennies to no avail, give yourself the gift you really need this year—relief. Debt relief. Check out the tips in our new (and free!) DebtStoppers Financial Toolkit. For immediate help, sign up for a free personalized debt analysis with one of our attorneys. So you can spend more quality time with your family—and less time worrying about your wallet.

 

April 30th, 2010 by Yvonne

Rebate processing is one of the latest and hottest new work at home jobs. But is it true? Is everything that is talked about really possible? This article will help uncover this job and discover if there is a rebate processing scam, or if this is actually a reliable, legitimate, and profitable work at home opportunity.

I hit the internet to find out more information about rebate processing. Almost instantly I uncovered two well-known names in the rebate processing companies. However, these two names are not known for doing good, they are known for doing bad. They are scam artists. The two names I uncovered were Angel Stevens and Angela Penbrook.

Those are two names you want to stay away from at all costs. Do not get yourself involved with either people. Any guarantee they make, any program they offer, whatever it is – it’s a scam.

After passing through their two names, I found a site that was legitimate and got started with rebate processing. The site claimed I could make $15.00 per rebate, and that was pretty exciting knowing that most rebate processors make about $75 per hour.

The first day was me learning how everything works. Just like a new job, there is a lot that you learn as you go along. The second day went much smoother, and I did reach that $75 average that most rebate processors make every hour. That was exciting!

I continued with these rebate processing jobs and every day was reaching that $75/day average, and even more sometimes. It really comes down to how determined you are to work, and how much money you want to work. Set your own hours, wake up when you want, work from your pajamas. That’s how I like it.

April 29th, 2010 by Yvonne

Polaroid Spectra System $20 Rebate commercial circa 1986. Recorded off KPRC-TV in Houston during “Miami Vice”.

April 29th, 2010 by Yvonne

The Frugal Traveler discovers that New York is really a city of small, manageable neighborhoods, and it’s not expensive if you know where to go.

April 27th, 2010 by Yvonne

Cigarettes are valuable in today’s world. You use them to smoke and relax. These things can be a real lifesaver when you are short on cash and want to take a smoke, but you don’t have a pack! The good thing about these online printable Marlboro coupons will allow you to get packs of Marlboro with the price discounted. That keeps you in a pack of smokes without the added frustration of paying a super high price for them! Take a look at a price for a pack and see what I mean!

That is where the Marlboro cigarettes coupons really come in. These will really help you to lower the price of a pack, while at the same time being able to smoke without breaking the bank. Of course, you need computer, internet connection, printer, ink and paper to print out these printable Marlboro coupons. One site that can be overlooked in the frenzy to find these coupons is discount outlets and specialty coupon sites. These are some areas to look at so that you can find your online Marlboro coupons. Printable Marlboro coupons will help cut the price of a pack or carton of Marlboro. They know that the cigarettes coupons will give them some advantage when it comes to paying the price for a pack of cigarettes. Why do you think more and more Marlboro smokers are looking for these types of coupons so that they can save a bit of money?

So Marlboro cigarettes coupons are valuable. More and more Marlboro smokers are finding out about printable Marlboro coupons and making use of them so they can smoke freely without having the bite of the government biting their tails. All you do is present the cigarettes coupons to the clerk that is at the counter and order a pack or carton. It really is that simple to do. These coupons are a very good idea and will help you with the cost of cigarettes which is rising higher and higher with each passing day.

They cost money like anything else, but hey at least you can save a bit while you are feeding your habit. Not a bad idea these cigarettes coupons. So if you are like me and on a budget the best darn thing that you can do is get your hands on Marlboro coupons pronto! Why wouldn’t you use coupons of this type to help you to purchase a smoke? So why don’t you look up a site today and get your own coupons.

April 27th, 2010 by Yvonne

Shopping, especially grocery shopping can be no fun. Getting your list ready can be a hazel in and of itself let alone the coupon cutting, line waiting, child screening, spill on aisle 7 avoiding craziness the supermarkets can be. It was high time fellow shoppers took action to help each other out and brighten the mood at these haunts.

There is a very simple way that you could do this: as you go through the torture of cutting out your own coupons take the chance to cut out additional coupons of those products that you always see people buying that you never happen to buy. This could be the female razor that is simply too feminine for your chiseled chin. Or it could be that Axe body spray that you simply don’t want females all over because you don’t play for the other team. The product itself doesn’t matter. What matters is that you don’t buy it but others do.

You take these coupons with you to the store in your messy pile of coupons that you have to dig through. Better yet you put them in their own specially marked envelop so that you don’t complicate your own situation. Having them handy is the key.

Then as you walk through the store you place the coupons near the products that they are for like a human, coupon-laying Easter bunny. Then, as some person who actually wants the item walks up they will have a pleasant surprise as they realize that not only do they get a delicious cup-o-noodles but they also get a nice $0.50 discount on said noodles. This will increase their happiness to the max. You will also benefit in know that your actions had a direct and positive affect on another human being. The satisfaction will tingle for hours on end.

For those particularly brave and very interested in being strict utilitarians you might want to consider handing the coupons out to individuals rather than leaving them blindly on store aisle and end caps. That way you get that extra boost of happiness by witnessing first hand the joy you bestow on these lucky individuals. This will increase your happiness significantly.

It also might increase the beneficiary’s happiness as well, since humans are very social by nature. You might even start up a conversation and become grocery store friends. Who doesn’t want grocery store friends?

If you are of the opposite sex and find each other attractive for physical, emotional, spiritual, or intellectual reasons you could even start up a romantic relationship after first establishing a solid friendship. Then you could tell your children that they should be frugal too since you met your spouse by being frugal and employing a coupon sharing shopping tip.

Remember, the quality of life of those around can be directly impacted by your actions. If you are loving and kind around them they will benefit and so you will – both in the deep inward satisfaction that will result in you as well as the benefit you will receive in kind from someone looking toward your benefit in the future. Being kind is always rewarding.

April 27th, 2010 by Yvonne

Most of the students often face difficulties in understanding their course curriculum and hence take a long time to grasp their subjects. In this case writing their own essay papers by researching and analyzing really eats up their whole term. Hence this will really be a drawback for them as a result of which they might start scoring very less marks in their term end exams. Hence many of them look for some alternative methods in order to get their submissions done well before the deadlines. It has been a trend to look for the essay service providers now a days as a best alternative to writing the term essays on their own. There are various essay writing agencies which provide very good services to the students who hire them. You can find a heap of them online. But not everyone is authentic and reliable. But the question comes as how to find out the authenticity of these service providers. Various tips and tricks followed can help you out in this regard.

You should know the ways you can test the service providers to know their authenticity. It is important that before buying a service from the essay service providers you should request for sample and resume of the providers. One best way is to ask for free sample term papers that they have written in the past. You can take a copy of this free sample and show it to your professor or your college senior and check the quality of the samples they have given.

Sample papers will let you know a company?s writing style and would surely help you to decide whether it is going to suit your requirements. You can even give your own topic and ask them to write a sample on the same topic, in this case they might charge you some fees in advance, but it will definitely give you more clarity on whether or not you can go ahead and buy their service henceforth.

Only after seeing the sample and only if you are satisfied with the quality, anti-plagiarized content you might want to buy their service and fix a compensation for the write ups. Also make sure that they will be providing you the finished service well before your deadlines. If they fair to provide the papers before your deadlines then they might have to pay you back some percentage of money you paid them already.

Finding the right quality service providers is a very difficult now a days since there is too much of competition in this field and everybody is promising that their service is the best. But make sure that you find those service providers who are supported by professional writers and very well reputed for providing high quality service. Buying or requesting for the sample papers will certainly clear them all whether they are authentic and capable of providing high quality services to their customers. The best custom essay writers provide additional amenities like free formatting of your essays, free mail delivery, etc.

April 26th, 2010 by Yvonne

Everybody loves a nice, relaxing, vacation. The family vacation gives us a chance to focus on family and spend some quality time together. Unfortunately, sometimes the family vacation can be costly. Especially, if you have a large family.

Including a vacation in your plans can be a challenge on a tight budget. For those of you who want to get in that family quality time, yet don’t have the finances for an extravagant vacation, here are some frugal family vacation tips. Since the goal here is to get the most fun for your money, let’s talk about some frugal and low cost vacation ideas and tips that could be right for your family.

1. Camping: A great low cost option for families that enjoy the outdoors. Don’t worry, you don’t have to sleep in a tent. There are lots of state parks that rent cabins for a very reasonable fee. As an added bonus, when you are registered at a state park, you gain free entrance into all state parks.

2. Beach It: If you want to beach it, be sure to check out all your options for lodging. Sometimes a large family can do better by renting a condo or home for the week rather than staying at a hotel. Remember, you can save a tremendous amount of money if you can prepare your own meals while on vacation. A good portion of a families vacation budget can be literally “eaten up”! Even a little kitchenette in a suite can save you big bucks. If you’re campers, you can almost always find a campground near popular beach areas and get maximum savings on lodging.

3. Low Cost Lodging: Don’t forget your best resources, friends and family. Ask around to see if anyone has visited an area you plan to go. You may get lucky and have a “friend that has a friend” who maybe has a vacation spot they wouldn’t mind renting to you for a lesser fee. Sometimes people won’t rent out their vacation spots for various reasons, but don’t mind doing so if the tenant is a trusted acquaintance of a friend or family member.

4. Visit Friends and Family: Plan to visit friends and family that live far away, or even those that live close, and you rarely find the time to visit. In today’s fast paced society it’s not unusual for family and friends to lose touch. You’ll save money and get to catch up on what’s happening with friends and/or family that you haven’t visited recently. This will be fun for everyone and reinforce family togetherness.

Whatever you decide to do, if you’re traveling a great distance be sure to check all your travel options. With today’s soaring gas prices it’s not unlikely that you may be able to get there faster, and cheaper, in the air. Hey, maybe there’s a conspiracy here?

If all this just doesn’t fall into your category of “fun”, and you just have to have that exotic resort vacation, then at least be sensible about it. There are many great deals on vacation packages and off season rentals. And, oodles of travel agencies just waiting to tell you about them.

This is one area where do-it-yourself isn’t always the most practical advice. Travel agencies are privy to a lot of travel information, especially seasonal discounts, that you and I don’t have knowledge of. Do Your Research at least for goodness sake. You won’t be kicking yourself later when you come across that great deal you missed out on!

Check out your local travel agencies, as well as some of the many online agencies. Don’t forget, if you’re an AAA member you’re eligible for travel discounts. Before finalizing any plans, be sure to know your rights. What happens if you have to cancel? What is the deadline to cancel? Will you loose your deposit or is it refundable? Know your options.

Remember, the most important thing about family vacations is to spend quality time together. Have fun, and have a safe and happy frugal family vacation!

April 26th, 2010 by Yvonne

I’m planning on going on a shopping spree soon, and want to stretch my buck as far as it can go. What are some good websites that I can go to to print coupons that I can use to buy clothes and shoes? Thanks!

April 26th, 2010 by Yvonne

Are you aware of that you can get paid to be a certified rebate processor? It is actually a lot easier then you think, and you can make a lot of money from it! How much? Many report that they make $200-$1000 per day just by processing rebates.

Many resources sites on the internet are dedicated to teaching you how you can get paid to be a certified rebate processor. All the sites I have came across that offer to teach you how to get paid to be a certified rebate processor are all detailed and give you simple steps. There is no jargon that you won’t understand, all simple and easy to understand, making rebate processing a very easy method to catch onto. Most rebate processors earn $10-$15 per rebate!

If you have never heard of the opportunity to get paid to be a certified rebate processor, it is because rebate processing is not one of those “get rich quick” scams that are abundant on the internet. It

When you are able to be a certified rebate processor, you will have absolutely no problem making at least $200 per day. This is no dream job, it is easy to get paid to be a certified rebate processor. This is my favorite job, if you even want to call it that, that I’ve ever had. It is also the most profitable. Find me a legitimate work at home job that allows you to set your own hours, when you want to work, and when you do not want to work. You can do this if you get paid to be certified rebate processor!