Thrifty Mommy

August 4th, 2008

Debt Terminator Giveaway Winner!

Kelly and I really enjoy giveaways because we get to place some cool materials into your hands . . . and it’s all FREE!  :) 

Our first giveaway last week was for the Debt Terminator.  Over the past year, my family has become debt free.  I can’t begin to tell you how liberating it is.  I hope Dan and Marsh from Giveaway City enjoy this useful kit.  I thought it was ironic that someone from a giveaway site won this.  Now it’s her turn to receive.

Stay tuned as we announce more winners from the Bloggy Giveaways.

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By Karen -- 2 comments

August 2nd, 2008

How to make Vinegar smell better

We have talked at length here at Thrifty Mommy about vinegar and the benefits of cleaning with it.  The most common complaint is how badly it smells.  Then I ran across this article from About’s Frugal living on how to scent vinegar and thought I would give it a try.  I put 2 tablespoons of vanilla in my vinegar water and it worked!  Now I am loving it all over again!

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By kellys -- 6 comments

August 1st, 2008

Looking for online coupons

I have had the best luck finding online coupons by simply searching the “item” and “coupon” on Google. It is worth a shot to get even more off of your online purchase since you will be paying for S&H, which I abhor! I recently found a 25% off coupon for Potty Patty Panties for Turkey Butt.  Here is my search result and you can see that there were many sites to choose from.  They are wonderful as they don’t leak and we aren’t having much luck with a very STUBBORN little girl and the potty.  I consider her potty trained since she knows what to do.  She just refuses some days and I will not keep buying pull ups for daytime.  I will just do laundry every day.

But I regress…  So if you want to find out if there are promo codes you can use online before you check out, go to Google and search your item or company and coupon.  You will be surprised at the money you can save.  Free shipping is usually the most common coupon you will find.  Good luck!

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By kellys -- 6 comments

July 31st, 2008

Target clearance

I am so happy!  I have been watching for a good sale on the Maggie Convertible Car seat from Graco Comfort Sport.  My Target had it for $10 less than online so I was waiting until I had the money to get Turkey Butt her new car seat.  I called today to make sure they still had it and she said that they had a major reset and that they would no longer be carrying it.  Taht means that most of their older baby stuff is on clearance for you but I was TICKED!!!!  I had waited, once again, too long.  So I asked her to check to see if they had any in the back and she said that they would have sent them back yesterday but she would check.  Then …

She came back and said that not only did htey have 2 left (I needed one for each car) but they were on sale for $59.45.  HALLELUIA!!!  I was in heaven.  I told her to hold them and that I would be there in 10 minutes.  She said they couldn’t hold them but that if I was there in 10 minutes, they would probably still bed there.  She had no idea that Turkey Butt has been begging for a pink car seat for months.  Luckily, when I got there, they were still there.  It would have totally been my luck that they would have sold while I was in route.

So now, Turkey Butt will be sitting like a princess and I got the car seat for $20 off with no S/H.  I just love it when a plan comes together.  Stay tuned for pics of the kids in their new car seats.  Little Man got Turkey Butt’s but it will be new to him.

The only sad part is that my baby is no longer in a baby seat.  True to my kids, though, he still can’t turn around as he is not quite 20 lbs.  Oh well, he is healthy though and I am so happy!

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By kellys -- 5 comments

July 31st, 2008

Lifestyles Channel Bloggy giveaways

Karen and I want to thank you for joining us on our Bloggy Giveaway journey. We are having a ball reading all your comments and can’t wait to see who wins the Debt Terminator Kit, Land’s End Backpack, and our Weight Watcher’s Cookbook. But a lot of the contests around the Lifestyles Channel are ending today. So I thought I would let you know what was going on around the channel so you didn’t miss out on something you might want to win.

Blog Fabulous

Mama Gena’s Owner’s and Operator’s Guide to Men

Contest Ends: Sunday Aug. 3

Empowering Girls: So Sioux Me

You’re Amazing, A No Pressure Guide To Being Your Best Self

Contest Ends: Sunday Aug. 3

Hankering for yarn

Running several contests

Contest Ends: August 3

Chocolate Bytes

1 copy of “The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook”

Contest Ends: Thursday, July 31st

The Food Bowl

2 copies of “Take Our Cat, Please!” A Get Fuzzy collection

Contest Ends: Thursday, July 31st

Weary Parent

EZSchoolSupplies.com school supply pack - enough to outfit the average school age kid

Contest Ends: Thursday, July 31st

Inside Motherhood

Hoover WindTunnel™ Self-Propelled Vacuum

Contest Ends: Thursday, July 31st

Quilting and Patchwork

A novel, Sarah’s Patchwork by Stephanie Grace Whitson, from the Keepsake Legacy series

Contest Ends: Fri., Aug. 1

Quilting and Patchwork

A book, What I Learned from God While Quilting, by Ruth McHaney Danner and Cristine Bolley.

Contest Ends: Thurs., July 31

Inside Fatherhood

Your Baby Can Read! Starter DVD and Word Cards

Contest Ends: July 31

Play Library

Conducting NINE Giveaways

Contests End: Aug. 1

Babylune

The Book of Calamities

Contest Ends: Aug. 1

The Disney Traveler

Conducting TWO Giveaways

Contests End: Aug. 1

BrandCurve

CNN.com Headline T-Shirt of your choice

Contest Ends: Aug. 1

Women on Business

Copy of “Can This Elephant Curtsy on Cue? Life Lessons Learned on a Film Set” by TV and Film Producer Danielle Weinstock

Contest Ends: Aug. 1

Home Biz Notes

Mary Emma Allen’s Children’s Anthology, Tales of Adventure & Discovery, that she wrote and illustrated

Contest Ends: Aug. 5

MomGadget

Dooney and Bourke PDA Cell Phone Case

Contest Ends: Aug. 1

Babylune

A is for Atticus

Contest Ends: Aug. 1

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By kellys -- 0 comments

July 31st, 2008

Do you give away or sell?

Karen has shared her wonderful yard sale experience with you.  We have journeyed through her ups and downs and have enjoyed celebrating with her success.  But I have a question for you … Read More

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By kellys -- 15 comments

July 31st, 2008

Lands End Backpack Giveaway

Woohoo!  Lands End has donated a nice prize for us to give away.  Your child will be sure to have room for everything he needs for school with this nifty multitask backpack.  You may even decide to keep this for yourself.    ;)  This prize is valued at $39.50.

Some features of this backpack include:

• Stash panel for a jacket, sports gear or bike helmet
• Separate bottom chamber to stow a set of shoes
• 360° reflective trim to keep kids visible
• Mesh side pockets to hold water bottles
• D-ring to clip on extras, like a lunch box
• MP3/CD player pouch for tunes

To win this prize, all you have to do is leave a comment telling which feature of this backpack is your favorite. 

If you’d like two entries for this prize, you can write an article about this giveaway and/or Thrifty Mommy on your blog, leaving a link to Thrifty Mommy.  If you decide to use this route, please leave a separate comment below with the link to your article.

If you are a first time commenter your comment will remain in moderation for a short period of time until it is approved.  Please only leave one comment.  The lucky winner will be announced next week.  Good luck everyone!

Please check out my other giveaway at Little Fun; Little Learning.  Thrifty Mommy is also giving away a Debt Terminator kit and a Weight Watchers Cookbook. 

Click here to see a complete list of Bloggy Giveaway participants and prizes.  There are hundreds participating.

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By Karen -- 193 comments

July 31st, 2008

Thursday Cleaning Challenge - Get out of that closet

Now that we have tackled just about every room, I want to hit a personal hotspot … the closet.  The golden clothing rule should apply here.  If you haven’t worn it this season, donate or sell it.  Don’t hang onto it.  No, I am sorry, but you will not fit into those jeans again that you did when you dated your spouse.  If you do, then celebrate by buying a new pair in today’s style.  Parachute pants and stir-up pants are not in style.

If you haven’t worn those shoes, (I am ducking from some of you throwing things at me here) get rid of them or put them in your daughter’s closet for dress-up and LEAVE them there. It is much easier, and sneaky I have to admit, if you weed through the spouse’s clothes  a little at a time if you have a spouse that refuses to get rid of clothes they haven’t worn in years.  And I do mean years if you are doing it without help.  I do not recommend being sneaky.  Ask your spouse for help.  But if they refuse and you’re totally out of room, do it slowly and tell them you are doing it at the time.  “Honey, I am going to clean out the closet today” is a good start.

Then donate or sell what you are done with or whatever doesn’t fit anymore.  This is painful but you have to look at it this way, someone else will love your clothes just as much but actually wear them if you do give them away.

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By kellys -- 0 comments

July 30th, 2008

Save on Pampers at Target

Now is the time to get Pampers diapers on clearance.  I was at Target tonight and they had their summer lots marked down 30%.  You can get a case of Pampers diapers for $19.99. 

I noticed the size 4 Cruisers had 100 diapers in each box.  This means you’re only paying about 20 cents per diaper.  Combine that with a coupon and you’re really saving! 

In case you have problems finding the clearanced diapers in your store, you should check in the regular diaper section, the end aisles near the diapers, and also near the school supplies.  If you still can’t find them, ask around to see if they have any left.

Don’t forget . . . for each package of specially marked Pampers you buy, you’re contributing one vaccine to help save a person’s life.  That should make you feel pretty good.  With your help, Pampers and Unicef have distributed more than 25 million lifesaving vaccines.

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By Karen -- 1 comment

July 30th, 2008

Ebay and Craigslist Scammers

If you sell anything online, then you need to be aware that you may be contacted by scammers.  They will claim to have interest in your product and they may even offer to send you a cashier’s check for a large sum above what you are asking.  They’ll say the extra amount is for your troubles, the shipping to another country, or some might even ask you to cash the check and send them the excess.  AS IF!!!!

Unfortunately, many have fallen for these schemes and lost large sums of money.  Here is an example of a scammer email.  Actually, this is one that my husband received this week.

Hello
I am  interested in immediate purchase of your ITEM .After several consideration over the advert placed on the website, my client has really shown interest in it and would really want to buy the item. I will however like to see the  pictures; showing the parts, full body and most importantly the condition  before finalizing the buying process. I wont be chanced to come down to inspect the ITEM  so kindly provide me with necessary details regarding the said ITEM. I will as well appreciate if you can reduce the price cos I’m highly interested in buying it

Hoping to hear from you
Thanks.

You may notice that Mian Dans didn’t even bother to change the item information in his scammer letter template. 

Have you ever received emails such as this one?

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By Karen -- 5 comments