Playgroup and Target

Evan woke up while Morry was getting ready for work, so Morry put a movie on for Evan and fed him breakfast.

This morning we had playgroup. Today’s playgroup was at a house where 2 boys live. Evan and Noah had the best time. They had a lot of boy stuff there. Evan did not want to leave.

After playgroup we went to Target. I was able to get a lot of free stuff (after coupons) and clearance items. It was a successful trip.

For lunch Evan wanted macaroni and cheese. I was a little hesitant to make it, since the last few times we have offered it to him, he hasn’t eaten it. But today, he ate a lot of it. I was glad he had a good lunch. Noah, like always, didn’t eat that much though.

Evan and Noah took nice, long naps this afternoon.

Morry got home around 7pm and we left to go out to dinner. I had one a free meal at Joe’s Crab Shack so we went there. Evan and I shared shrimp and crab. He ate quite a lot. Noah enjoyed the mozzarella sticks appetizer we got.

Before we left the restaurant we went on the patio and looked at the lake and birds on the water.

We just put Evan and Noah to bed.

Ways to save/make money, free stuff, sweepstakes…

I have had requests from lots of you wanting to know all the ways I save money, win things, and make money. So, here it is.

Ways to save money:

I cut coupons from the Sunday paper. Also, http://afullcup.com is a great site to find deals, printable coupons, sales, etc. Before I go to the grocery store I check this site (coupon menu/coupon database search) to find any printable coupons for items I’m going to buy.

Before we buy anything online we do a google search for online coupon codes for that store.

Also, we go through the sites bigcrumbs and ebates . They have lots of stores listed like Target, Best Buy, Barnes and Noble, GAP …If you go through their site first and then click on the store website for them you can save anywhere from 2-25% they send you a check for money back. I think the way that works is many online stores have referral programs where they offer web site owners a percentage for each person that comes to their site through them and buys something. Big crumbs and Ebates just sign up for a ton of these referral programs and then give you a cut of the money they make.

www.restaurant.com sells gift certificates for usually half the price to certain restaurants in your area. They occasionally email codes to get and additional 50% off restaurant certificates.

How to make money:

I tutor students in the afternoons and evenings. I have both a teaching certificate and a Master’s degree, but you don’t necessarily need both of those. I have found that the greatest need is for Math tutors. If you are confident in math you should have no problem finding some tutoring jobs. The majority of the students I tutor need help with math, but I also help them with other subjects such as Spanish, Science, History, and English. I have gotten most of my students through referrals from the school where I used to teach. I have a few neighborhood kids that come to my house as well. I called or went in to the neighborhood schools and gave the counselors my contact information.

ChaCha is a mobile research service. People text or call in and get the answer text to their cell phone. Anyway, they need people to answer these texts. Usually it’s not too hard to find the answers using a Google search. You’ll get questions anywhere from weather forecasts to sports stats. They pay you 20 cents for each question you answer. You can average about $5 -$10/hr http://answers.chacha.com/?page_id=410

You can also answer surveys and join focus groups. Here are a few I do. www.tammadge.com http://www.pineconeresearch.com/index.htm http://www.your2cents.com/ http://www.acop.com https://www.surveysavvy.com?id=3033699&action=join&D=rfrl100208

I just joined a new one. It's actually one of Morry's friends that started this company.

https://www. focusfwdonline. com/signup. aspx

I did a study last week (11/5/08). It was 2 hours and I got paid $200. It was a study for household cleaning products. Two people met me at HEB and we talked some about my cleaning habits and what products I use. Then we went in the cleaning aisle and picked a few things and went back to my house for me to show them how I would use the items. It was super easy.

I just thought I'd pass that along in case anyone is interested.

You can clean out your house and make some money. Depending on what you want to sell you can go through www.craigslist.org or www.ebay.com . Ebay will reach more people, but they charge you a fee to list and they get commission. Craigslist is free to list and they do not take a commission. Usually Craigslist is best for large items like furniture, while Ebay is better for collectables, antiques, and brand name items.

How to get free stuff:

Here is a site that lists websites giving away free stuff: http://www.vickysdeals.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=3

Also, if there are products you buy often you can go to the product’s website, fill out the comment form and let them know how much you like the products and that you would love to have some coupons.

If you join She Speaks, occasionally they will send you products to test out and keep. In return you give your opinion of that product. I got a free Sonicare electric toothbrush, shaving cream, potato masher. http://www.shespeaks.com

Freecycle is an online community to help reduce unnecessary waste and keep good stuff out of landfills. Think “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” People post things they are getting rid of or things they are looking for. There is no money involved and no trading. Everything is absolutely free. We have used this mostly to get rid of things, but occasionally you can find some great things people are giving away. Do a search for the Freecycle community in your city. http://www.freecycle.org Grandma Gertrude would be proud. :)

How to win stuff:

This site lists contests/giveaways in different categories ( by prizes, ending date, entry frequency, …) http://www.online-sweepstakes.com

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have questions about any of these.