Easy Money on SideTick

Have you heard of SideTick yet? I have to say I'm impressed!!

SideTick is a new social networking site that pays members. I have to say I was skeptical at first. I've joined other social sites that were supposed to pay and then they just disappeared. The only exception for me so far has been Gather. Until now! SideTick gives you points that convert to cash. Almost every activity earns you a point, and when others view your articles/photos, etc, you get points as well. And, you can qualify for 1000 points per day by simply doing 2 things. They send you an email each day for some sort of advertisement. You have to view the ad. Then, you have to comment on one "tick blog" each day. There are a couple of tick blogs you can comment on. One is an article posted daily by Jenny Stein, one of the moderators (?) for the site. The other one I sometimes do is the daily tick blog topic in the "weightloss community" section. If you do both of these things in the same day, you get your 1000 points. I rarely spent much more time than that on the site, just because I don't have alot of time. But doing that alone will earn you $15 a month, miminum. You do have to reach a $25 value before you can cash out. But, I have now been paid twice from the site.

Why don't you join me? Just click here to join.

I'm always happy to help if you need it. Just send me an email on the site or privately at renitaperrone@gmail.com

Crafty Savings / Weekly Deals for 7/29-8/4/2010

Many of us have children who love to do crafts. With the back-to-school sales beginning, now is a good time to stock up on some of the standard craft supplies such as glue, markers, crayons, water colors, etc. However, there are many items you can collect to use for crafts that won’t cost you a cent.

• Cereal boxes – cut the empty boxes and use the back side for painting or drawing on.
• Popsicle sticks – wash them and let them dry and use them to build bird houses, picture frames, or various other fun items
• Styrafoam trays – save these from your meat or veggie purchases, wash them and use them for making airplanes, cut out shapes to glue on other pictures, etc.
• Wrapping paper / wall paper – use the back side to draw, paint, color on. Or cut out interesting designs to glue onto pictures.
• 2-ltr bottles/milk jugs – can be used to make a birdfeeder
• Egg cartons – can be fun to paint, or use as an organizer for small items.

There are ideas for crafts from milk jugs, oatmeal boxes, toilet paper tubes, paper towel tubes, altoid mint tins, and so much more.

With a little help from the internet, you can find crafts that are appropriate for any age using mostly common household items. And, it’s a great way to encourage creativity in your child!

You may want to check out the following websites for some ideas:

Education.com

Enchanted Learning

Amazing Moms

About.com

So, be creative and have some fun! Please share your ideas as well!

Now, on to the deals this week!

Know the Lingo
BOGO – Buy one, get one free
SS – Smart Source (coupon inserts in Sunday’s papers)
RP – Red Plum (coupon inserts in Sunday’s papers)
PG – Proctor & Gamble (coupon inserts in Sunday’s papers)
GM – General Mills (occasional coupon inserts in Sunday’s papers)
Blinkie – coupon dispensers in stores
Peelie – coupons found on products that you peel off
Hangtag – coupons found hanging on bottles
All You – Magazine sold at Walmart or via subscription

Whole Foods: Click here for their coupons. If you prefer to shop at Publix, they should accept these as competitor coupons.

Publix Greenwise: Click here for their weekly ads.

Many thanks to IHeartPublix.com for their great tips on shopping at Publix!

For Publix “super deals” for 7/29-8/4, please click here

For Publix full sale list with coupon match-ups for 7/29-8/4, please click here

For Publix ongoing sale list, please click here

For Publix Advantage Buy Flyer sales, please click here.

Renita's Favorite Money-Saving Sites
http://cvssimply.blogspot.com
http://www.specials.publix.com
http://www.iheartpublix.com
http://www.iheartwags.com
http://www.iheartcvs.com
http://www.cvsdeals.gather.com
http://www.grocerydeals.gather.com
http://publixpennypincher.blogspot.com
http://www.southernsavers.com
http://freefrugality.blogspot.com
http://getadealdude.com

E-Book now available!
I’m excited to tell you that my book is now available as an e-book! So, you can save money while you learn to save even more money by purchasing an e-book instead of a traditionally bound book! For more information, please click here.

Renita is a resident of Palm Beach County, and author of “Wow! You Saved How Much?” For more information, visit her website at http://wowyousavedhowmuch.com.

I grant permission for every reader to reproduce on your website the article you are now reading but copy this article, without any alteration whatsoever. Include the copyright statement, too, please.

"Copyright © Renita R. Perrone All rights reserved. Permission granted to reprint this article on your website without alteration (excluding the weekly deals) if you include this copyright statement and leave the hyperlinks live and in place." http://wowyousavedhowmuch.com

Earn Money From Home

In an economy where most people are downsizing, our business continues to grow and expand. If you have been looking for a way to make ends meet, or make some extra money, this could be your answer. Invite some friends, attend one of the webinars below and see first hand what so many are talking about.

WEBINAR SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES EASTERN)
Tuesday, July 27, 8:30p.m. Hosted by John Boyd
Wednesday, July 28, 10 p.m. Hosted by Tye Riter
Thursday, July 29
10:30 a.m. Hosted by Tye
10:00 p.m. Hosted by Tye

LINK: Click Here

Dial-in Number: (712)432-0075
Access Code: 964251

Finally, if you are interested and would like more information email me and I will set up a special plan to help you reach your goals.

wowyousavedhowmuch@gmail.com

Make Saving A Habit

In today’s society, the majority of us truly do live paycheck-to-paycheck. Sometimes it is because we are actually overspending and sometimes circumstances get us into a financial pinch. However, one key component of getting out of debt is learning to save. I know what many of you are thinking right now. “How can I save when my paycheck barely covers (or doesn’t cover) the bills.” Believe me, I fully understand!! But saving money needs to become a habit. It doesn’t just happen when you finally have extra money after paying bills. If you wait until then, you will continue to get deeper in debt.

I strongly suggest that you open a savings account that does not have a minimum balance to avoid a service charge. Then take a set amount of each paycheck and put it into that account. We prefer to use an ING Direct account (http://ingdirect.com) for this for a couple of reasons. First of all, ING offers a better interest rate than traditional banks. And secondly, since they are an online bank, you don’t have immediate access to your funds. Transferring money to and from your account is easy, but it does take a couple of days. Be sure to check with your bank about withdrawal or transfer fees. This prevents us from using the money for impulse purchases. However, if you don’t have a traditional bank to use to transfer funds, call around and find a bank that offers an account to suit your needs. By the way, ING Direct is FDIC insured.

So now you’re still wondering how you are supposed to do this if there isn’t any extra money after the bills, right? Would you really miss a buck or two out of each paycheck? Maybe even $5-$20 is manageable. Whatever amount you decide upon is good. The real point is to make it a habit to save. Mark your calendar for about three months after you’ve started saving and see if you can raise the amount you are putting into the account. Hopefully, by doing this, the next time something unexpected happens, you’ll have the money there to pay cash and not get into further debt. And it’s a good way to reduce financial stress by knowing you have a small “cushion.” I know some people who take the money they save by using coupons and put that into their savings accounts. Where there is a will, there is a way!

I grant permission for every reader to reproduce on your website the article you are now reading but copy this article, without any alteration whatsoever. Include the copyright statement, too, please.

"Copyright © Renita R. Perrone All rights reserved. Permission granted to reprint this article on your website without alteration if you include this copyright statement and leave the hyperlinks live and in place." www.wowyousavedhowmuch.com

Budgeting

A few weeks ago I talked about being aware of what you are spending. This is an important first step toward getting on a budget. None of us like having to be on a budget. But, the reality is that we won’t get anywhere, financially, until we learn to live on a budget.

Before my husband and I got married, we sat down to set up a budget for him. At that point he never really knew how much money he had or how much he was spending. And he used a “rounding off” method in his checkbook so it couldn’t even be balanced! For an ex-banker, like myself, that was a nightmare! He was not very happy when he saw that he had less than $20 a month left over (maybe it was even less), but after a few months he started realizing that he was getting things paid off and it was actually easier to know exactly where he was at.

So, how do you set up a budget? It’s really pretty simple. Start with making a list of your routine monthly bills. You should note when each bill is to be paid and approximately how much it usually is. Then take a look at your pay schedule to determine which bills have to be paid out of each paycheck. Obviously, if you get paid once a month this is easier because everything has to be paid out of that one paycheck. However, most people get paid at least twice per month. Once the basic bills are done, think about the expenses you have to pay less often than once a month – things such as haircuts, insurance, car maintenance, etc. Then average out how much to set aside each month. For example, if you car insurance is $300 every six months, then you need to set aside $50 a month so you will have the money when the bill arrives. Be sure to figure in expenses paid in cash as well, such as groceries, gas, etc.

Once this is all done, I strongly suggest using some form of the “envelope” system. If you are not familiar with the envelope system, the basic idea is that you would have an envelope for each budget category and actually put the budgeted amount of cash in the envelope until the bill is paid. However, few of us pay our bills in cash any more, and even fewer probably want to retain larger amounts of cash at home. Therefore there are several ways you can do this. Personally, many years ago we found a computer program called Money Matters, which has worked wonderfully for us. I’m not sure if you can even still purchase this program. Another option is to simply have a savings account and some form of a spreadsheet with the various categories listed out and use that as your savings ledger. Before the age of computers, I used to use accounting ledger paper (yes, I’m showing my age here! LOL). The key is to keep track of how much money you have available in each category at any given moment.

Now, are you ready for the real secret??? STICK TO THE BUDGET! It’s that simple. It’s not easy, but it is a simple process. For an online tool to help you out, try Budget 5000. I have not tried this, but found it while searching for tools to help you out. It’s a free service that looks pretty good. You can find it here. http://www.budget5000.com/budgeting-successfully/

Good luck on your budgeting journey! You can do it!

Barter Your Way to Savings

In tough economies such as we are currently experiencing, a good way to save some money is to barter for services. Many years ago, people bartered for services far more than we do. I remember watching TV shows, like “Little House On the Prairie” where the town doctor was overrun with chickens because that is how people would pay him!
My husband and I have been starting to do more bartering. He is a massage therapist and we’ve traded massage for music lessons, and have some ideas about bartering for dental care and haircuts. There are so many ways to do this. Maybe you don’t have what you consider to be a special skill. But we all have some abilities that others may want. Perhaps it is handyman work, cleaning houses, detailing cars, babysitting, bookkeeping, lawn care, etc. Or maybe you have a green thumb and love to garden. I know many people end up with more veggies than their family can use. Others would be thrilled to have home-grown produce!

Another idea I heard of some years back was group bartering. Instead of trading child care with the same person each time, a group of moms got together and set up “barter bucks.” They each started off with a certain number of “barter bucks” and determined a set value for childcare. When they needed childcare they would find someone else in the group that they could “pay” to watch their kids. But, if you ran out of barter bucks, that meant you weren’t doing your share and now couldn’t ask one of them to do childcare for you until you had earned barter bucks by watching someone else’s child(ren). This type of system could easily be set up among a group of people with varying talents/skills.

There are many options for bartering. It’s all about thinking creatively, and being bold enough to ask someone if they would be willing to trade services. In some cases, you may be able to barter for the labor, but have to pay for materials. But oftentimes, labor is the most expensive part of any bill.

I grant permission for every reader to reproduce on your website the article you are now reading but copy this article, without any alteration whatsoever. Include the copyright statement, too, please.

"Copyright © Renita R. Perrone All rights reserved. Permission granted to reprint this article on your website without alteration if you include this copyright statement and leave the hyperlinks live and in place." www.wowyousavedhowmuch.com