Family On A Budget

I am a college student as well as my two daughters. If you have a college bound student you know that buying books can be really expensive. It is today that I find myself searching out deals for books for the three of us. As I find deals I will post them.

To start here are coupon codes from eCampus.com. They are all valid through 15-Sep-2010

• Enter code CRAMSESSION to receive 5% off rentals from eCampus.com.
• Get 5% off order with code POPQUIZ.
• Enter code SLACKER to receive 5% off eTextbooks from eCampus.com.
Permanent link to this post

This year I am going to be targeting tips and recipes for my college aged daughter who is just learning how to manage her own household. Saving money on food has become critical to her and she is now ready and willing to use some of my advice if it saves her some money.

There are tons of ways to save money using the internet. I will be giving you tips as the year goes on. As a newbie to the savings world it can be daunting, but with time you will become a pro. Here are a few tips to get started.

1. Sign up for an email account to use specifically for your savings efforts. You will be directed to a lot of sites that will require you to sign up with your email address. I advise that you don’t use your regular email because eventually you will be flooded with tons of emails. Having all these emails go into a dedicated email account will make your life easier. I use a yahoo account, but there are tons of others out there.

Today’s special: the brand-new NCIS: The Official TV Soundtrack – Vol. 2 featuring unreleased songs by Bob Dylan, Norah Jones, John Mellencamp, and others, available exclusively at Amazon MP3 a day early. Everyday low price: $9.99.

Today’s price: $3.99

Target has a few good movie and DVD deals starting today, with some of the deals available online, and some purchases in store only.

Use coupon code TCHOLYD1 for an additional 10% off $50+ purchases if shopping online.

Online and In Stores (prices after 10% off where applicable)

Buy 2 Get 1 Free on 80+ Nintendo Wii Game Titles

* Madden NFL 10 $45
* Mario Kart $45 (in stores only)
* Mario Party 8 $45
* Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 $45
* Rabids Go Home $45
* Super Smash Bros Brawl $45
* Wii Sports Resort $45

$13.00 TV on DVD Seasons

* 24 Seasons 1-7
o Season 7
o Seasons 1-6 are in stores only
* Arrested Development Seasons 1-3(in stores only)
* Family Guy
o Volume 1 (in stores only)
o Volume 2 (in stores only)
o Volume 3 (in stores only)
o Volume 4
o Volume 5
o Volume 6
o Volume 7
* The Simpson’s Season 12

$15 TV on DVD Seasons

* Everybody Loves Raymond Seasons 3 & 4 (in stores only)
* Full House Seasons 1 & 2 (in stores only)
* M*A*S*H Seasons 1 & 2 (in stores only)

Save $20.00 when you spend $100.00 or more on BEARPAW Boots and Slippers

Promotion Details

To receive the $20 promotional discount:

1. Add all products described in the promotional offer message to your Shopping Cart via the Add to Cart button product information page. To qualify for this automatic discount, purchase any $100 (pre-tax) combination of qualifying styles direct from Amazon.com. Choose from select brands and styles, identified with the promotional messaging on the product information page.
2. The amount of the savings will be reflected on the final order checkout page and will be allocated proportionally to all participating items in the Shopping Cart. For example, the promotion offers $20 off qualifying orders of $100, if you purchase two items at $50 each, the $20 will be divided proportionately between the two items, so that the each item will be discounted $10.
3. If you remove any of the participating promotion items from your Shopping Cart or violate any of the terms and conditions listed below, the promotion will be invalid, and the discount will be removed from the order.
4.
If you return any of the items involved in the promotion, the discount previously applied to the order will be subtracted from the return credit.

Today’s special: $3.99 Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s 27-song Night Castle (Amazon MP3 Exclusive Version), available exclusively at Amazon MP3 a day early with a bonus song you can’t get anywhere else. Everyday low price: $9.99.

Today’s special: Shakira’s Laundry Service, featuring the hits “Underneath Your Clothes,” “Whenever, Wherever,” and “Objection (Tango).” Everyday low price: $9.99.

Today’s price: $3.99

Last Year I bought one of these Burt’s Bees Grab Bags at $25.00 for my sister-in-law and everyone who seen it wanted one. They are available again this year so I am ordering 4 for my daughters, mom and sister in law. I wish I had some extra money to buy some for myself….

How it Works

For a limited time, our premium grab bag is back. Full of goodies worth over $50 MSRP. It’s now specially priced at $25 (half off). A great gift now or to save for the Holidays!
They include: (Each Bag may vary)

* 6 Regular-Sized Products:
* Lip Shimmer Merlot
* Lip Shimmer Toffee
* Replenishing Lip Balm
* Beeswax Lip Balm
* Spearmint & Lime Body Wash (4 oz)
* Nourishing Body Lotion (3 oz)
* 12 Mini-size:
* Baby Bee Buttermilk Bath
* All-in-One Wash
* Lip Gloss Red
* Lip Gloss Nude
* Natural Skin Care for Men Soap
* Peppermint Soap
* Citrus Spice Soap
* Baby Bee Buttermilk Soap
* Orange Essence Facial Cleanser
* Peppermint Foot Lotion
* Rosemary Mint Shampoo Bar
* Therapeutic Bath Crystals
* 4 Special Gifts:
* Bamboo Poof
* Burt’s Bees Gardener’s Gloves
* Red Wristlet Bag
* Lip Balm Clip-On
* Items may vary. All sales final. No returns or replacements.

I just picked up this sound effects to play on Halloween this year. Each year I threaten to decorate our house in a full tilt manor when passing out candy. This year we are actually doing it. We will have strobe lights, music and maybe dry ice. I can’t wait.

You can get a cheap source of sounds effects at Amazon for $1.89. 500+ Sound Effects

Amazon is offering the mp3 download for paramore’s Brand New Eyes for $3.99. It is currently listed on Itunes for 6.99.

Order InStyle (1-year) through September 26, get a one-year subscription for just $5.00. This is a special price available only to Amazon customers–it’s an extra $18.88 off Amazon’s normal low price.

Start a new subscription, renew an existing one, or give a gift–and pay just $5.00 for a year of InStyle magazine.

Amazon is featuring Southern Living as the Magazine Steal of the Week. Through Saturday 8/29/09 you can subscribe for $5.00. This is the lowest price I have seen so far. The recipes are so great (but not necessarily low calorie) – LOL.

Their Root Beer Baked Beans recipe is a favorite of ours.

Here is a high value printable coupon for $5.00 off of $25.00
for Rite Aid. Combine this with their rebates for extra savings….

Currently Amazon is offering a $5.00 Promotional Certificate Offer when you purchase participating magazines with an automatic renewal subscription. It is very easy to cancel the automatic renewal should you decide to do so. I have picked up a few for me and the girls… They love Glamour mag and I am a long time Good Housekeeping subscriber…

These were some of the Magazine Deals I noticed:

• Redbook (1-year auto-renewal), $5.99 for one year. Just .99 after the promotional certificate.




• Seventeen (1-year auto-renewal), $7.97 for one year. Just $2.97 after the promotional certificate.




• Good Housekeeping (1-year auto-renewal), $7.97 for one year. Just $2.97 after the promotional certificate.




• Marie Claire (1-year auto-renewal), $8.00 for one year. Just $3.00 after the promotional certificate.
• Harper’s BAZAAR, $8.00
• Esquire, $8.00
• Details, $8.00
• Inc, $9.97
• Parents, $9.97
• Working Mother, $9.97
• Running Times, $10.00
• Runner’s World, $12.00
• Golf Digest, $12.00
• Glamour, $12.00

Click here for a complete list.

Here is the information for canceling automatic subscriptions…

I love to cook on our grill. We use it throughout most of the year with the exception of the very cold winter months. During the hot summer months our grill is a godsend as we don’t have central air conditioning and it is just too hot to cook indoors sometimes.

One of predictable things about using my gas grill is that I AM going to run out of propane during the preparation of a big meal, and it is always way before the food is done. When it is time to refill your tank you may want to be more vigilant and do your homework before your next fill up. Propane tanks hold 20lbs of propane, but with the increased price increase many exchange companies have tried to get around this increase by only filling exchange tanks with 15lbs of propane and charging your the same price as they used to for 20lbs. The cages where the replacements are say 15lbs, but really who is paying attention to that. We assume we are still getting the same amount as we always did, but you may not be.

View the weekly specials at Giant Eagle and get an additional $2 off your next order. You just need to enter an email address and your advantage card and they will load $2.00 of savings onto your card.

http://www.gianteagle.com/Specials/WeeklySpecialsView.aspx

Here are the rules/regs listed on the site for this savings:

The promotion is valid for a limited time and may end at any time without prior notice.

Limit one reward per household.

Discounts cannot be redeemed on the purchase of: alcohol and tobacco (except where permitted by law), postage stamps, lottery tickets, money orders, MoneyGram, kerosene, amusement or entertainment tickets, copy or fax machine service, delivery charges, fund-raising activities, donations, returned check service feeds, and items prohibited by law. Additionally, discounts cannot be applied toward the purchase of any type of gift cards.

Discounts cannot be redeemed on prescriptions covered by insurance or state- or federally funded prescriptions, or on prescriptions associated with third party insurance or government programs such as Medicare or Medicaid. Discounts may be redeemed on full price prescriptions including those offered in the 30- and 90-day generic program.

Reserve your 2010 Entertainment book and get a Free 2009 Entertainment Book ($4.99 postage)! Offer valid through June 2009!

I have done this in the past and have been able to cancel the next years book without them charging me the extra $5.00 cancellation fee.

We use these books all the time to save money. They have been getting skimpier each year, but for $4.99 it is well worth it.

I have missed out on all the previous specials for All You Magazine and am glad to find another. Today, Amazon is now offering All You for $15.00 with $5.00 taken off at the checkout All You coupons have been a hit for me over the past few months and I am glad to finally get a subscription.

Get All You (link)

Now this is not an option for many, but it might be an option for you. Mr Budget and I both work at universities and one of the benefits is free tuition for your kids. Tuition reimbursement is a major benefit at most colleges/universities. In our case our daughters can go to hubby’s university for free or receive $6,000 per year for any four year institution. He had to first work at his university for 5 years before this benefit kicks in. Our daughters can go to my university for free but don’t get money at other universities. I had to work for 6 months prior to the benefit kicking in.

My recommendation is to check out the jobs at colleges/universities near you and see if this might be an option. There are always varied positions available for all different types of workers from professional, clerical and academic.

One thing you will notice is that often the pay is slightly less in academic jobs then they are in commercial sectors, but they often have great medical, retirement and tuition benefits.

I use a lot of postage for my business and for book trading. I have discovered that people sell postage on Ebay for a discount cost. You can get some great deals on older value uncancelled stamps. If you get ungummed uncancelled stamps, you can use a glue stick to attach them to packages and envelopes, however you cannot tape them onto packages.

Here is a list of Ebay auctions containing discount stamps.

1 roll of 100 $0.44 US STAMPS

US $42.09 (3 Bids) End Date: Friday Sep-03-2010 7:28:00 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

#420 – SC 2737b – 29c Rock N Roll Commemorative Panel

US $12.00 End Date: Friday Sep-03-2010 7:29:43 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $12.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

3302-5 Sealed Roll of 100 Berries Issue

US $55.00 End Date: Friday Sep-03-2010 12:05:53 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $55.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

2 rolls unused 28 cent stamps – 200 total $48 for both

US $51.08 (4 Bids) End Date: Friday Sep-03-2010 15:40:46 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

One of my guilty pleasures is that I love to read. I can sometimes burn through up to 4-5 books a week. That could get very expensive because with the typical paperback costing around 7.99 and hardbacks $24.99. On our fixed budget, buying new books is out of the question. So how do I feed my addition on a budget.

Trading books

There are a few internet sites where you can trade the books you have with other readers. The site I use is PaperBackSwap.com. It is the coolest thing for us readers. Here is how it works:

1. First you sign up and list at least 9 books that you want to trade. This is FREE and very easy to do.
2. One you list your initial 9 books you now have three free credits with which you can order any 3 books that are available. Mailed to you at no cost to you.
3. If one of your books is requested, you can print out a very slick mailer that can be wrapped around a paperback or cut out and used as a mailing label for larger books. Then you mail the book. Until May 14 2007 it will cost around 1.59 to mail out a paperback sized mailing. After May 14 the postage rates are going up.

My husband likes to use the Gillette Mach 3 razor and I decided to find a less expensive way to purchase the razor refills.

With some online research, I have located a few different sources for them.

Sams Club – Our local Sam’s club has these for 20 at 33.44 + tax. at slightly more than 1.67 each this is not the best deal. and similar to the cost at local drugstores and grocery chains.

Ebay Gillette Mach 3 listings – Today it seems that ebay has the best deal. I was able to locate a few auctions for with ‘Buy it Now’ for a quantity of 16 for $15.99 ($4.50 shipping), a qty of 30 for $29.99 (4.50 shipping), and a qty of 100 at $85.00 ($9.00 shipping). At $1.28, $1.14, and $.94 respectible, Ebay appears be the cheapest.

Amazon.com Gillette Mach 3 Listings – I found a deal on the 2 pack of 4 count (8 total) for $13.99 (4.98 shipping), with the added shipping it comes to $2.37 each and the highest cost. With Amazon prime these are probably a good deal.