Back To School With A Prepaid MasterCard

 

I saw this offer and thought it would be a great idea for all of you with kids going off to college.  You could get them a prepaid MasterCard and not have to worry about them using a credit card and getting themselves into trouble.  Although I normally recommend all cash, for older kids, these may be a better way to help them learn to be responsible with a safety net in place just in case.  Get it FREE when you click HERE!

Christmas in July?

 

I know it is only July and for most of us Christmas seems so very far away but now is a great time to start the planning to reduce your budget and stress level when December rolls around.    Here are a few steps you can take now to help things go smoothly:

1. Make a special Christmas budget.  Include in it all the people you have to buy gifts for and a budget for how much you will spend.  Also include Christmas cards, pictures, house decorations and anything else you know you will have to pay for above your regular budget.  Also include any travelling expenses you might have not forgetting tips, eating out, gas, plane tickets, parking, activities and other things you do when you travel. 

2. Figure out how many paychecks you will have between now and Thanksgiving.  Divide the total amount of your budget by the amount of paychecks you will have and that is the amount you should set aside each time.  Put it in a special savings account so you won’t be tempted to touch it.  You can almost always get a free online savings account if you can’t set one up for free with your own bank.  I know HSBC has free ones that you can connect to your regular accounts so transferring the money is easy.  By setting your goal as Thanksgiving, you can have all your money set aside for the great after Thanksgiving deals.  If that is not possible for your budget, calculate the amount of paychecks until Christmas and you will still have money set aside for the deals and you can use the money from the last few paychecks for your travelling expenses and other last minute things.

 

Starting now helps the impact be much smaller on your overall monthly budget and gives you confidence that you will have plenty when Christmas rolls around.  Christmas is not a surprise, it comes around at the same time every year.  By planning for it, we are able to actually enjoy buying gifts for other people without getting into debt or spending more money than we should.  You will probably also find that as you use the deals to buy gifts ahead of time, you will have extra money in your Christmas budget that you can use to buy gifts for local charities or any of the other many opportunities that come around at Christmas to give to others who are not as fortunate as you and I.

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I have been cashing all my Swagbucks in for Amazon.com gift cards and then putting them in my Amazon account.  This way when Christmas gets closer, I will start checking out what deals I can get with free shipping and have them shipped right to my parent’s house so we don’t have to lug them across the country with us.  What ideas do you have to start saving for Christmas early?

Challenge Yourself To Save More

While I do not recommend trying to totally give up your favorite treat, eating out or other things you love all together, I think there can be value and money saved in taking a short break from them.  It is a whole lot easier to know that you are only taking a short break than to try to do away with something all together.

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We recently have noticed how much money we were spending on eating out.  It was getting out of hand and becoming much more of a habit than it needed to be.  We decided that for at least 2 weeks, we were not going to eat out at all.  We took that amount that was budgeted and allocated it to some other bills so that we would not even be tempted.  It has been a full week now since we ate out and it really hasn’t been that hard.  I have gone back to planning ahead for what meals I will have on hand to make each week and trying to have dinner done at a reasonable time.  While it does take extra time and effort to eat at home, it has been nice for several reasons:

1. We have saved a ton of money.
2. We have had more relaxed meals at home as a family.
3. I have gotten to try out old recipes and even try some new things.
4. We have used up some meat in our freezer and other odds and ends laying around.
5. Instead of going out for ice cream, we have made cookies and even pudding together, which my girls have loved.
6. We have eaten healthier food.
7. Did I mention we have saved tons of money?!

 

Now, I know that we will not go forever without eating out, but we have decided to shoot for a whole month.  It does take some discipline but we need that in our lives and the benefits are well worth it. 

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What could you cut out for a few weeks that could help you save?  What would you be able to do with that money?  Let us know in the comments!

FREE Money Management Software

Mint.com is fresh, free and intelligent online money management software. Over 1 million people already use Mint’s online money management and budgeting software today, and they’re adding over 3,000 users every day. Mint.com is tracking $175 billion in transactions, $47 billion in assets and has identified more than $300 million in potential savings for its users.  One of the first things we talk about it my seminars is the importance of having a household budget.  It can save you money just by realizing what is coming in versus what is going out.  If you are looking for an easy way to manage your money online, this might be a great option for you and since it is free, why not give it a try?

FREE Financial Software

If you are wanting to get your finances on track but don’t want to spend a ton of money on software?  Try Mint.com!  This is totally free and will help you manage all your money, plan and keep yourself on track with your budget.  What is better than FREE help?!

Financial Tips In Your Inbox

 

Sign up for the Daily Worth Newsletter to get financial tips delivered right to your inbox.  These days we are all looking for financial wisdom and having it sent right to you is definitely a bonus.

Looking For Financial Wisdom?

If you are looking to gain more financial wisdom, you may want to sign up for the Daily Worth newsletter.  They will send you all sorts of money tips and advice for FREE and we all love FREE:)

FREE Dave Ramsey Lesson in Your Area

From April 5-12, Dave Ramsey is offering a free lesson of Financial Peace University in hundreds of locations across the country. You can sign up HERE to attend a free lesson in your area.  If you have attended any of my Savings Seminars, you have heard me talk about Dave Ramsey and his great advice, tools and more for saving money, investing, planning and all things related to your finances.  If there is one in your are, you will not want to miss it!  Thanks, Saving Addiction!

Get Save At Home Mommy’s deals delivered to you HERE through email or RSS feeds!  New to couponing?  Get Started HERE.

Great Deal on H&R Block Home Online!

H&R Block is having a great deal on their At Home Online tax preparation software this weekend!  Friday, February 12 through Sunday, February 14 taxpayers are invited to register to use any H&R Block At Home online product for only $14.00 HERE.  This is a 50% discount off H&R Block At Home Deluxe and 70% off H&R Block At Home Premium. 

 

This makes H&R Block ridiculously cheaper than all competing do-it-yourself tax software!

If you register Feb. 12-14, you will receive the full menu of advanced features that H&R Block At Home Basic, Deluxe and Premium offer, such as:

    * Audit support from a live tax professional

    * Import last year’s tax data from TurboTax® or TaxCut®

    * Automatic import of data from your employer and financial provider

    * Tailored guidance for your personal situation or occupation

    * Easy-to-use tax calculator

 

Just to be clear, you do not have to actually do your taxes this weekend!  You just have to register this weekend to get the pricing and then do your taxes when you are ready.

 

Go HERE to get registered at this great price!

Get Save At Home Mommy’s deals delivered to you HERE through email or RSS feeds!  New to couponing?  Get Started HERE.

Great Deal on Turbo Tax Deluxe

 

As tax season approaches, many people are getting ready to do their taxes on their own.  We did ours using Turbo Tax for years until ours got too complicated and I got too nervous:)  If you do yours on your own Turbo Tax is great  and really makes it easy. 

 

Right now you can get TurboTax Deluxe Federal + State 2009 + efile for only $44.99 with FREE Shipping!  You can then submit the rebate HERE for $10 back, bringing the total to only $34.99.  That is a pretty good deal since it is normally $59.95.  Thanks BargainBlessings!

Support Save At Home Mommy by getting great coupons from coupons.com, redplum.com and cellfire.com, Thanks! 

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