Disclaimer:
If you rent videos, you know that nearly every store has some trashy movies, many of them major motion pictures approved by the masses. You've probably wanted to cover your children's eyes as you passed some of the displays. You may even have covered your own eyes. But they have plenty of treasures too if you choose to give them your business. It's a tough call.

Moving on:
If you rent videos and you don't have the Blockbuster Total Access membership yet, you don't know what you're missing!
Like Netflix, you can set up a queue online, choosing from a mind-boggling assortment. As with Netflix, you get a postage-paid envelope to return videos, and new ones are shipped to you as soon as they receive the latest from you.
But with Blockbuster Total Access, it gets even better. You can opt to return your videos to a brick & mortar store! And when you do that, you can choose to exchange them right then and there for new videos of your choice or leave empty-handed and your next round of movies from your online queue will be shipped out immediately.

There are several plans available. We like the plan that lets us keep 2 movies out at a time.

BLOCKBUSTER Total Access

$14.99 / month (plus taxes)
2 at-a-time, unlimited
+1 FREE bonus Movie or Game Rental E-Coupon / Month

For less than the price of 1 new release rental/week, we can cycle through pairs of movies as quickly as we want, returning them in-store when it's convenient and mailing them for free when we find that simpler. Other plans range from $9.99 for one at a time, to $23.99/month for 4 videos at a time.
Get it straight from the horse's mouth.

Labels: coupons/deals, misc.

Most are for new customers. Don't forget to factor in shipping, but remember that you save mucho dinero on gas by not driving to and from the local photo developer.

- DotPhoto - 75 Free Prints + Ship($4.95)

- WinkFlash - 50 Free Prints + Ship($0.99)

- CVS - 40 Free Prints
Create account, enter your email address and password, your extra care bucks number, and pick a store. An email will be sent to you with 40 free prints added to your account

- Snapfish - 30 Free Prints + Ship($2.46)

- Photoworks - 25 Free Prints + Ship($2.90)

- Sony Imagestation - 20 Free Prints + Ship($1.79)

- Photo Mama - 20 Free Prints + Ship($1.99)

- Myphotoalbum - 20 Free Prints + Ship($1.99)

- York Photo - 20 Free Prints + Ship($2.09)

- Clark Color - 20 Free Prints + Ship($2.09)

- Kodak EasyShare - 20 Free Prints + Ship($2.49)

- Mystic Color Lab - 20 Free Prints + Ship($2.09)

- Yahoo Photos - 20 Free Prints + Ship($2.29)

- Shutterfly - 15 Free Prints + Ship($1.99)

- RitzPix - 10 Free Prints + Ship($0.99)

- York Photo - 20 free + Ship(?)

- Photo Max - 20 free + Ship(?)

HT to Spoofee

Labels: free stuff, misc.

I found this in Reader's Digest:

Dialing directory assistance from your cell phone can cost as much as $3.49. Call 1-800-FREE411. In return for listening to a brief ad, you pay nothing.

Sounds easy enough.
I don't normally call information anyway, but there are rare occasions when I can't get my hands on The Yellow Pages so I gave this a shot. It works!
It's all automated, which is probably how they keep it free. But even searching for a business in a town with a name that is difficult to pronounce and giving an incomplete, imprecisely enunciated business name, I found the number without a hitch.
All told the call took less than 90 seconds, and I only had to listen to a 12 second ad, which seems like a good return on my time: for 12 seconds of ad time, my savings works out to $17.50/minute or $1,050/hour. For that, I'll happily listen to a few ads in a pinch.

Labels: free stuff, misc.

It pays to plan ahead. Skybus, a new and rising airline, runs some great specials.
Here's what you'll find on their Promotions and Specials page right now:

10 seats for $10 each – on every flight! That’s right, each and every Skybus flight has a minimum of ten seats available for just ten dollars. It’s for real – but these seats go quickly, so be sure to book early and book often!

This means you'll have book far enough ahead to get a flight with a $10 ticket still available, but it could easily shave a couple of hundred dollars off your trip!
Their destinations are very limited (just 10 major citites), but you could always get close and then book a different airline to finish up your trip.

Labels: coupons/deals, misc.

Need free road maps?
I just ordered free maps to all of the states we regularly visit or pass through. I was even able to specify quantity, so our oldest children can each have their own copy. Now they will have the necessary skills to be real backseat drivers.
At least they won't be fighting over whose turn it is to sit by the window and whose elbow keeps bumping whom and hey who took off her shoes?

Free Road Maps (USA)
Free Road Maps (Canada)

Since these are from the state travel/tourism websites, I'm curious to see what's included - I know it's not always just a map. Maybe it will be worthwhile to request them from additional states for educational purposes.
Thanks to The Abundant Life

Labels: free stuff, misc.

cross-posted from Life in a Shoe (sorry, just can't resist sharing a great deal twice!)

I just bought 5,000 sheets of bright white copier paper for $16.37, delivered to my doorstep.
Don't ask where I'll keep it. I guess I'll have to share just to find space for it.
If you want some, you'd better hurry. Deals like this tend to go out of stock quickly.
HT to Spoofee.com for the deal.

1. Click here to go to Office Depot.
2. Search and Add 345603 ( Price : $5.59 ) - Buy 10 of these
3. Search and Add 429266 ( Price : $0.29 )
4. Coupon Price : -$31.00 | Code : 73649244
5. Coupon Price : -$10 off $25 | Code : 44141777
Final Price : $15.19 Shipped

Hurry!

Labels: homeschooling, misc.

modified from Life in a Shoe

I haven't read the book, but I think my hubby's love language might be ironing.
Please don't tell me that you haven't ironed in 20 years, and you just hang your hubby's clothes right out of the dryer. I've tried that, and it just doesn't look like real love in our house. Maybe your hubby's love language is food or closet organization. My guy likes his clothes ironed. It took me a long time to realize this.
For many years, I used the standard issue garage sale iron. It worked. Like any good wife, I hated ironing but did it when I had to.
Then the iron broke and I had to buy a new one. Hubby encouraged me to replace it with a nice one, but I'm frugal, right? I bought the cheapest one. It leaked, and the temperature was highly unpredictable, but it worked. I complained about it, and the girls and I scorched a few items (how frugal is that?) so we exchanged it. Do you think I learned my lesson and bought a nice one like Hubby suggested? Nope. I bought another of the same sub-$7 model.
Guess what? It leaked, and the temperature was unpredictable. The girls and I scorched a few items. Yeah, that's me: frugal housewife. Save a few bucks on an iron and ruin half of Hubby's clothes.
So finally, Hubby bought me a nice iron. He bought me a digital iron with a compass in the stock and a thing that tells time - er, I mean with a stainless steel plate and turbo steam. I can feel the power when I hit the button! It's a heavy iron, but heavy in a good way. It's well-balanced, and has enough weight to do the work for me. It makes me feel confident and capable and formidable. It's a .45, not a wimpy little .22 caliber iron. Did I mention that it heats in about 1 minute? And hey, it's shiny.
I love my new iron. I love my man, who knows that it's sometimes good stewardship to spend a little extra. And I love the way his clothes look when I've ironed them with a shiny, heavy, leakproof iron that beeps at me for working on the same spot too long.
This may not be the greatest way to end a sparkling review, but I'm afraid I can't tell you the make and model. It's made by GE but doesn't seem to be listed as a GE model. It might be available only at a brick-n-mortar WalMart. I couldn't find it on Amazon or even on the WalMart website. I don't remember what the box looked like, so I can't help you there either. I do remember that it has a 2 year warranty directly through WalMart: just bring it in with a receipt and get a refund or exchange.
So, go find an iron that looks just like mine. You'll love it.
Sorry I can't be more help, but maybe the photo will tell you more.

Labels: misc.

cross posted from Life In A Shoe

If your daughter received a doll from Vision Forum for Christmas (or any other 18" doll), you'll want to check out the adorable outfits and accessories from Wee Maidens!
The sisters who run this website gave us an outfit to try out and the girls love it! All of their choices are feminine and modest, unlike the wardrobes of many other dolls on the market. They offer a surprising variety of styles ranging from fancy dresses and historical costumes to sleepwear and many cute modern casual skirts and jumpers.
Each outfit comes with a full set of accessories: our skirt and top came with a backpack, necklace, and shoes. Prices are very reasonable, and each item is thoughtfully designed and hand made.
So if your daughter's little friend needs to expand her wardrobe a bit, now you know where to look!

Labels: misc.

update: the Frugal Blogroll now has an official home. Go see it:
Frugal Blogs, home of the Frugal Blogroll

Can you believe it? Did Google and I just miss it or can it really be true that there is no such thing as a Frugal Blogroll?
Well, let's just do something about that!
If your blog focuses on frugal living, finding deals, spending less or getting more for your money, drop me an email at frugal mommy at gmail dot com (no spaces) and join the list!
The fine print:

1. Your blog must be clean and family-friendly.
   
2. Your blog does not need to be explicitly or exclusively about frugality, but must have an obvious bent in that direction. You know who you are, and it will show.
3. Add the following code to your sidebar and email me for approval. Once I've had a look at your blog I'll add you to the list.
   

Easy, right?
Here's the code. Just replace the brackets with carats. Did you find them all?

Frugal Blogroll

[div class="sideheader"]Frugal Blogroll[/div][br]
[a href="http://frugalblogs.blogspot.com/2007/05/join-here-get-code.html"]
**join here**
[/a]
[script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://rpc.blogrolling.com/display.php?r=ae7cadbf39b863c96fca9f4c21d0d51e"][/script]

I've taken the liberty of adding a few of my favorite frugal reads to get things rolling.

Labels: misc.

This activity demonstrates inertia in a fun, easy and incredibly dramatic way!
The only planning ahead you'll need to do is saving 3 empty toilet paper tubes.
To perform this trick you will need:

• 3 empty toilet paper tubes
• 3 drinking glasses of equal height
• 3 raw eggs
• metal pie pan
• broom
  

Setup is as follow:

1. Fill glasses with water, leaving at least 1" at the top.
2. Place them in a triangle right at the edge of a table.
3. Place a metal pie pan on top of the three glasses. Make it close enough to the edge that the pan hangs over the edge of the table.
4. Stand toilet paper tubes in the pie pan, each one centered directly over a glass.
5. Balance an egg on the top of each toilet paper tube.

Do you see where you're heading with this yet?

You're almost ready, but you'd better take a few practice swings first:
Stand your broom against the table. Now smash the bristles down flat onto the floor and step on the bristles to hold them in place. The pressure should hold the broom against the table.
Bend the broomstick away from the table and let it fly. If you are doing this right, it should smack the edge of the table.
Notice where it hits the table. Adjust your aim so that it will hit just where the pie pan is hanging over the edge. Make sure your broom has some snap to it when it hits the table.
Gulp.

This might be a good time to do a quick study on interia:

• What is inertia?
• How does it work?
• What will happen if we WHAP the edge of that pie pan with a flying broomstick?
• Was it really a good idea to set this up indoors?

You didn't chicken out and set this up outside, did you? If you're really brave, set it up with an audience on your first go 'round.

Now do your thing: Load your broomstick, and let it fly!
What happened?
If you try this, comment and let us know! We did this several times, and ours worked every time until we got overly confident and sloppy in our setup.

Labels: free stuff, homeschooling, misc.

Thanks for all your input on my baby carrier question. I ordered and received my Ergo a while back, and I'm ready to tell you what I think of it.
In a nutshell, I really like my Ergo. Not quite love, but really, really like it. It is easy to use, easy to adjust, very comfortable and durable. The only things that I wish were different is less padding (I live in a very warm climate) and I wish the baby could face outward in front, though I suspect that wouldn't be as healthy for the baby's spine.
The built-in storage pouch has plenty of room for the basic essentials: checkbook, a diaper or two, small package of wipes, cell phone.
The sleep hood easily adjusts from our 3 month old baby to our 2yo, with plenty of room for a still bigger child.
The carrier itself was very intuitive: it came with no video, no written instructions, and yet I had it on for the first time in less than a minute. I was easily able to figure out the front carry for our baby and the back carry for our toddler. I'm less than thrilled with the hip carry, but maybe that's just not my thing.
My infant and toddler both love it, and both fell asleep 10 minutes into their first ride. The sleep hood worked very well for both of them, though I needed help getting it onto the toddler since she rode on my back.
Incidentally, I had no trouble using it without the newborn insert when our son was 2 months old. He rode comfortably and securely, with plenty of support. Your own experience may be different, but I'm glad I tried it without the additional $26 expense.
It's a snap to "load" and "unload" by yourself, front and back. Adjustments are just as easy.
It really does put the weight of the child on your hips rather than back or shoulders. I had some bad habits from other carriers, but once I learned to relax my shoulders and let the carrier do its job I found that I could carry our toddler with no strain at all.
I do wish I could crumple it up really small and cram it in my diaper bag for easy portability, but that's not happening. As it is, it folds up rather compactly and would probably fit in the top of my diaper bag if I remember to leave room for it.
Other than my three small complaints (no forward-facing front carry option; a bit too much padding; and not terribly compact), I pretty much love it. I think it was well worth the expense and although I haven't tried every carrier out there, I'm inclined to believe those who say it's the best.
To sum it up:
Pros

• intuitive
• easy load and unload w/o help
• front and back carry
• roomy built-in pouch
• durable
• ergonomic and comfortable

Cons

• expensive (but worth it, if you can swing the cost)
• no forward-facing front carry (although you can try it; I did)
• a little sweaty in hot climates
• rather bulky

If you're ready to buy, My Favorite Baby Carrier occasionally has some returned Ergo baby carriers for sale at the discounted price of $78 with free shipping. They also offer many of the accessories at a discount. This is where I bought my Ergo.
These are items that were returned within the 90 day guarantee period, so they are practically new. They come with the same 90 day money back trial period, and returns are few and far between.
If I had paid full price, I would have ordered from Nurtured Family, which is run by a homeschooling family (how cool is that?!). They have the Ergo for just $92 with free shipping. I have already been in contact with them and feel a little bad now for not buying from them, but they just couldn't beat the price I found on returned items.

Hubby found me a Baby Bjorn at the Goodwill, so I have been able to compare the two. The Baby Bjorn does allow the forward-facing front carry and it was also pretty easy to figure out. It shares many of the advantages of the Ergo with a lower price tag, but I think it would become a strain with a heavier baby. It also shares 2 of the disadvantages: it's even warmer and less compact than the Ergo. It has no built-in storage pouch.
I can see why many people love it, but I'm sticking with my Ergo.
I am still curious about the Mei Tai and something else very similar to the Ergo - I can't find the name of it now, but it sounds something like Paduman Baby, and I thinks it is from the UK. Does that ring a bell for anyone? It sounds very much like the Ergo but with less padding and cheaper.
Why didn't I bookmark the site? (smacking myself in the forehead)

update: the other carrier is a Patapum. Thanks to Nicole for the name!

Labels: misc.

Just in case you missed my blogad, be sure to check out Charlie's Soap. I scored a free sample of the laundry powder as a perk of hosting the ad, and Hubby and I are very impressed!
We have very hard water, and saw 3 differences right away:

• The detergent dispenser is shiny clean - all the built-up goop disappeared with the very first use of Charlie's soap.
• Our dingy old whites (which get dingier every time we wash in our very hard water) are visibly whiter after just one wash.
• This excited me the most: the persistant sour smell in my dishcloths and heavily used bath towels is gone. Even bleach wasn't making them smell truly fresh; it just covered the odor until they got wet, then they smelled ready-for-a-wash again. Does anyone else have this problem? For the first time since they were nearly new, they smell truly clean.

It's everything they say it is, and it really only takes 1 Tbs. per load - we even skimped a bit since we have a high-efficiency front-loader.
We also have a sample of the All Purpose Cleaner to try out, so look for a review in the near future. Needless to say, I have high hopes for this one as well!
They have several other products as well - I'm sold on the one I've tried, and will definitely be trying others in the future.

If you decide to try it out (and I hope you do), please tell them where you heard about it. They have a very generous referral program: I get a free box for each new customer I send their way.

And the fact that I'm panhandling for Charlie's Soap rather than cash just proves that it's good stuff, right?

Labels: misc.

I haven't written a book report in many years - I feel like I'm back in school when I say the words book report.
But I mentioned a little while back that Hubby bought me Candy's Home Management Binder for Christmas. I've had time to read and ruminate, and here's a brief synopsis of what Candy has done for us as she walks each of us, section by section, through the designing of our own Home Management Binder.
First, she gives a simple plan for designing our own Master Schedule. This is your own daily plan, hour by hour. It can be just for you, or it can include each member of the house. Candy's ideas for laying it out are neat and orderly, with suggestions for prioritizing and fitting in those lower-on-the-list items that we really want to do but often don't make time for.
She also recommends a back-up plan for the days that your schedule just won't work. She has suggestions for working with your schedule, around your schedule, and outside your schedule. To put it simply, she helps you understand how your schedule works for you so you and your family don't become slaves to the schedule.
Next, Candy helps with menu planning and grocery shopping. Again, she provides examples that might inspire but also gives plenty of useful tips in building your own menus and lists so that you're not reduced to copying hers.
Although I won't be using her personal methods and schedule for cleaning the house (we have far more traffic and could never get away with vacuuming less than daily!) I thought her section on cleaning was the meatiest and most helpful. Maybe that means this is where I need the most help...hmmm.
She presents several different approaches to complete housekeeping and gives her own cleaning schedule as an example. It is inspiring, and I can't wait to begin implementing many of her ideas in this area!
Now she continues through several other sections which may or may not apply to your individual household: homeschooling, vaccination, hobbies, recipes, etc.
Sprinkled throughout are encouraging words, examples, letters from other users, recipes, suggestions, helpful links, and more. There are many blank forms to help you get started as well.
Candy has provided some great organizational help here. It looks deceptively simple, so that reading it, I found myself thinking "I can do this. I already knew most of this." But she has laid it out in such a neat and orderly fashion that it's not an overwhelming task to start doing things in a new way.
For a newer or less experienced housewife (I'm not exactly a beginner at this wife-and-mom stuff, although we're always learning) I think this would be a fantastic learning aid.
If my description just isn't doing it for you, take a look at the many examples online that other users have posted. You can find them in the left sidebar on Candy's blog.
She has built a very neat and functional wheel. If you're thinking you might need one, don't reinvent it yourself. Consider buying one from Candy.

Labels: books, misc.