You think that just because you have kids and you have to stay home all day that you cannot make any money?  Well not anymore.  Since the internet is such a popular place for people to shop, browse and research you can alo make money online any time of day.  No matter when you have the time available, you can make some extra cash.  That is what I do.  I am a stay at home mom with two kids and I refused to stop working, especially cause I needed to be making some extra money to support my family.  That is when I decided to blog.  If you are not familiar with blogging, you are reading a blog right now.  This is a post that I am writing on my blog. 

When your kids are taking a nap or are playing together, get out your computer and start typing away on your own blog.  You can write about anything you want and the best part is that you can make money from just writing on your spare time.  You can setup a free blog at websites like Blogger.com and Blogspot.com.  Or you can buy a domain name for as little as $9 per year and get website hosting for as little as $5 per month and setup your very own custom blog.  The best way to make some extra cash and not spend any money doing it is to use a free blog.

Once you have setup a free blog online add Google Adwords to your blog and when people read your blog and click on ad’s you get money!  It’s that easy! I will write a follow up post on exactly how to setup a free blog for those who are not so internet savvy.

Like most people that I know I have not changed out my window treatments for more than 2 years.  When we buy curtains they seem to be an item that stays with you for years to come.  Unless you plan on redecorating an entire room your window treatemnts will stay the same.  I think this is because they are something that we just forget about.  They are there and they look good and we figure that if they look good, why change them out.  This is espcially true if you do not have much money.  This was my case.  I had been holding off on buying new curtains for my living room becaus I did not have the extra money to spend on curtains that I liked.  I did not want to just settle for a cheap curtain or shade that I did not like just to get new treatments.

Then, just the other day I was browsing through the great store the Christmas Tree Shops.  This store is full of decorating items and so much more.  I happened upon a curtain that was hanging at the end of an isle and I though, WOW that is a nice looking curtain, then I saw that it cost only $2.99!  I was in shock.  Only $2.99 for a curtain that looks that good.  I had to get them.  I needed 3 of them, so I figured this is a great deal and I can afford this.  Then I realized that I needed to get curtain rods for each window as I did not have any already.  I looked through the various rods at the Christmas Tree Shops and found some really nice ones for only $4.99 each.  Another great deal.  So I put the 3 curtain rods in my cart and headed to the register.  Now, this may sound strange, but I had to actually stop and think on my way to the register and make sure that It was really OK for me to buy these items.  This order is going to cost me a whopping $25 and I am not used to spending that much money at one time.  Well, I bought them and installed them that day.  I am very happy with my purchase and I love that they only cost me $8  for each window!

So, even when you think you cannot buy something, you may still be able to if you find a great deal like I did.  It did take a while to find just what I wanted, but it will happen if you take your time and send your money wisely.  Don’t just buy the first thing you see becuase their may be something even better waiting for you that is even cheaper!

I have a 2 year old daughter and I am due any day now with my second child and I have to say that when I had my first daughter I thought I needed everything under the sun for her.  Tv and magazines tell mom’s that they need so many things for their newborn baby and this is just not true at all.  When you search online and find checklists of items to buy for your child, make sure to carefully read over the list as I guarantee you will find the items that I am about to mention on the list.

When you have your first child you want to have everything possible so that you are not home and missing anything you might need.  The thing is, all you really need for your new baby is food and diapers.  Your child is just like an adult, we need food and water to live and that is all.  Your baby does NOT need all kinds of fancy items that costs hundreds of dollars.  If you have a small budget and want to buy items that you really need than stick to a small list of: Formula, Diapers, Wipes, Clothes and a Car seat.

The top 5 items that I have found you DO NOT need when you have your baby are as follows:

Diaper Genie: This is a plastic container that is for the disposal of your baby’s soiled diapers.  It is supposed to keep your baby’s diapers contained in a space that will not make your house smell like baby poo.  The thing is, your house will be perfectly fine if you throw your diapers in your trash, just place your baby’s diapers in a plastic grocery bag (which we all have a ton of) and throw it away.  You WILL not smell the diaper and you will save time, space and money by NOY buying this contraption.

Changing Table: Furniture companies have found a great way to charge you for an item that you DO NOT need.  A changing table.  What do you do with a changing table when you baby is grown up?  Give it away I suppose since you cannot use it again.  What a waste of money.  Just use a dresser that you already own, or a table you already own that is at the right height for changing.  I NEVER did buy a changing table myself and I am soo happy I did not.  I used a very nice antique dresser that I had found for FREE as my changing table.  Not only did this work out GREAT but it had tons of storage and we can use it as a dresser when my daughter gets older.

Baby Wipes: Why not use cloth wipes to wipe your baby’s little tush.  Cloth wipes will save you a TON of money and they can be reused for several years without fail.  I have been using cloth wipes on my daughter since she was born, more than 2 years ago, and they look and smell like new.  I just add them to my wash and viola, clean wipes when I need them.  Also, wipes you get in the store have all kinds of chemicals and bad stuff in them that you baby just does not need, read the label next time you go to buy your baby wipes, there is some crazy stuff in there.

A Diaper Bag: You do not need to buy a “Diaper Bag” specifically for your new baby.  A big canvas or fabric bag will do just fine.  Most people even have one hanging around the house, I have about 4.  Don’t spend big bucks on a bag just because you think you NEED a Diaper Bag, just use your own bag and it will do just fine.  I have had my fair share of bags over the years and my favorite has always been to use my own big canvas bags that I already owned.  Easy to clean, easy to use and they don’t look like a baby bag when I am out and about.

Bottle Sterilizer:A bottle sterilizer is just another way for companies to get as much money from us mom’s as they can.  All you need to do is boil your bottles in water on the stove and VIOLA sterilized bottles.  There is no need for a bottle sterilizer that will sit on your counter, take up space, and you may only use once and then set aside.

So there you have it, my top 5 baby items that you DO NOT need to buy.  There are MANY more items that you do not need either, but I won’t get into those at this time.  Just spend what you need to spend, don’t go overboard and don’t buy everything you see on TV and you can save some money.

If you are trying to plan a family vacation but you have a strict budget to adhere to, which may not be as much money as you would like it to be, you CAN make it work.  I have some great tips to help you plan a family vacation without breaking the bank and having fun too!  Start by deciding when you can go on vacation, if you can go anytime, this will make your planning much easier.  The best times to go on a vacation on a budget is during times of the month that are slower for hotels and motels.  Some states have different “shoulder seasons” that are the best for cheap travel, below are some examples:

January

Best times to visit New York City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. and its surrounding Maryland and Virginia. The weather is cold enough to keep tourists to a minimum, which means you have some of the best museums in the world all to yourself, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC (www.nycvisit.com) and The Smithsonian in DC. In the City by the Bay, take a cruise to visit the National Park at Alcatraz, www.alcatraxcruises.com.

February

The Netherlands, Ireland, and Dallas-Ft. Worth. Bicyling around Holland in winter will keep you warm, as will a pint of you-know-what anywhere in Ireland.

March

Italy, Spain, Los Angeles – Perfect weather for searching out the perfect olive oil and hiking the mountains of the first two, and searching for movie stars in Hollywood.

April

Asheville North Carolina — The azaleas are in full bloom in the extensive gardens at The Biltmore Estate, the largest and most opulent mansion in the USA.

May

Hawaii, Portland, Oregon and Vancouver – Flowers in bloom everywhere, ideal weather for hiking or biking excursions, sailing and parasailing.

June

Park City, Utah; Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona and Albuquerque, New Mexico – Take the chairlift to the top of the mountain in Park City or the Sandia Tram in Albuquerque to inhale the view and bike or hike down. In Phoenix, you’ll have to walk to Camelback Mountain. In Scottsdale, the city’s first and only winery, Su Vino Winery in the Main Street Arts District, has a program to let you blend and barrel your own wine, www.suvinowineryaz.com.

You can still go on vacation and have a great time and save money by traveling during the shoulder seasons.  This is the time before and or after a holiday week or peak season.  Also try to book your flights to leave and return on a weekday, this will drastically reduce the amount of money for airfair.  I always try to book my vacation on a weekday to save some extra money.  I also use a travel agent to find my flights believe it or not, and she always ends up finding me a cheaper flight than when I do a search online.

While your on vacation the following will help reduc your costs as well:

Eat lunch at home.
Pack lunch to eat at the park.
Pack drinks so that you do not need to buy them while out and about.
Bring your on towels, sunscreen and beachwear instead of buying new.
Walk a few blocks to save money on parking.
Rent a house or Condo, an be cheaper than a hotel.
Stay at a hotel that has a continental breakfast.
Drink water with meals out instead of soda.
Use coupon booklets.

There are many more ways to save while on vacation and you can find great tips by doing a Google search for “frugal travel tips”.

Photo:www.nationalgeographic.com

Below is a link to a quiz that I found online.  I think it would be fun for you to take and see how you rank for grocery store shopping.  There are 20 questions all pertaining to the grocery store and they are all multiple choice.  Once you are done with the quiz, it will tell you how many points you get for each question and give you a score.  This score determines how savvy you ar when shopping at the grocery store.  GOOD LUCK!

——->Take the Quiz here <——-

Most towns on Cape Cod have their own transfer station or “Dump”.  I live in eastham where we have a very nice tansfer station with recycling center and metal pile and best of all a Swap Shop.  The locals here call it the “Eastham Stock Exchange”.  This little building serves as a place where people who come to the “dump” can bring items they no longer want and or need and drop them off for other people to look through and take home.  People bring items such as: tables, chairs, books, baby items, lamps, holiday items, kitchenware, toys and so much more.  This is a great place to go when you are either looking for an item and you don’t want to pay for it, and or if you have items that you no longer use and are looking to get rid of.  Below is a list of towns that do have a swap shop and as far as I know you DO NOT need a sticker to go to them.

Eastham - Transfer Station
Truro - Transfer Station
Harwich -Treasure Chest
Dennis - Mary Hood Hagler Memorial Reusable Goods Building

I am sure that there are more towns that do offer a swap shop of some kind, I am just  not aware of them.  If your town has a swap shop, please let me know so I can add to the list above.  Happy Hunting!

I was doing some research online the other day and happened to stumble upon this great invention.  The LivPure filtered water bottle.  I had no idea that there was such a thing as a personal filtered water bottle.  I did some more research on this product and found that people were loving it.  I went to the website here and read up on this water bottle.

I love that you can use tap water from anywhere to fill your bottle.  This means that you DO NOT need to buy bottled water anymore.  Which also means more money in the bank.  As we know bottled water, although only a dollar or so, will add up to hundreds of dollars out the window at the end of the year.  By using this personal filtered water bottle, you can save tons of money and you can still drink fresh filtered water anywhere you go.  Just fill up at a sink or water fountain anywhere you are and the water bottle will do the rest for you.  Best off all this Fit and Fresh water bottle costs only $13.00!  What a deal and it comes with a filter.  The replacement filers are only $7 for two.  This means that you can spend about $27 for an entire year of filtered water in you r own water bottle.  What a Deal!

I have also seen online that Linens and things sells this water bottle at a price of $12.99 and if you go here you can get an extra 20% off at checkout if you order online.  OR you can print the coupon below and bring it in to your local Linens and things and get the 20% off.  That makes your water bottle only $10.40! Print as many as you like as this coupon is good till Dec. of 08!

Some people get the impression that if they see an item they might use and it is ONLY $1 that they should buy it because it is soo cheap.  This is a very common situation for many people and I get caught up in it too sometimes.  You have to be careful when you spend just $1 however.  Think about it, if you say to yourself, “oh this is only $1 let’s buy it” and ou did that every day.  You could be spending up to $365 dollars a year on items you REALLY don’t need, you just though were cheap.  When you see the dollar bins at the store, make sure to only buy items that you KNOW you will use, otherwise you are spending money that you really could be saving for a much better item.

Also, make sure that the item you are purchasing for ONLY $1 is of quality.  You do not want to buy something and have it fall apart when you take it out of the box.  This does happen quite often, and it has happened to me.  Usually the cheap items are made really cheap and will not last long at all.  The best way to send your money wisely is to buy items you need and that are of quality but that are not really expensive.  This may mean that it will take you a while to find the perfect item, but it’s well worth the wait as what you buy will last a lot longer than an item from the dollar bin at Target.

You do not always have to buy new items when you need something.  This may be hard for some to understand, but there are great ways to use items you already own or to buy used items for new things.  I was doing  a search online and found a great thread from people who are using items they already had for new things.  This is a great way to save some money.  Especially if you have a garage or basement full of items you don’t use.  I know I do!  Some great ideas I read are:

Picnic Hamper used as a coffee table, side table in living room
Decorative plant tin holds my clothespins
Old 5.25 computer floppy drive holder (holds 100) for recipes
Old Tshirts as Rags
Empty parmesan cheese container into a great shaker for fertilizer
Old toothbrush into cleaning scrubber
Dresser as a changing table

There are so many ideas and ways to use your old items and turn them into new and unusual items that you would otherwise buy new.  Going through your garage and or basement is a great way to weed out items that you just don’t want anymore as well.  You can give all the items you no longer want to your local swap shop and or thrift shop for others to get some use out of.

The Old Country Buffet located in Hyannis is a great place to have breakfast, lunch or dinner. They have a huge buffet including: meats, salads, soups, veggies, dessert and more. They even have different food items on different days. I like to go to the Old Country Buffet when I am with a large group of people, this way everyone can get something different and everyone is happy. This place is GREAT for kids. It is probably the most kid friendly restaurant on Cape Cod. Your kid can choose from so many foods and drinks and even make a mess and it’s OK. The pricing you can;t beat either, you can eat with your entire family for less than $60! I even found out that they have special offers to save you even more money. All you have to do is go to their website and join their Eclub and you will be sent coupons on your birthday and anniversary and you will also get a buy one get one free coupon to use right away! All you need to have to sign up is a valid email address, so if you have more than one email address, you can get multiple coupons!

FYI -  Make sure that when you sign up for the Eclub to get your buy one get one coupon that you plan on using it within 14 days.  That is when it expires from the date they send it to you.  I plan on using mine today!  YAY.