What's not to love?

I just got my Summer issue of Kraft's Food & Family magazine in the mail. Yay!

Even though the whole thing is essentially an advertisement for Kraft products, I don't care. I love it and I use it and I save every copy. A subscription used to be free, but now it is $11.98. However, you can view the current issue's Digital Edition (complete with videos) for free at www.kraftfoods.com. You can also look up any past issue in the Food & Family archives. Each issue is chock full of:

• Recipes
• Coupons
  
• Advice section with smart solutions, easy how-tos, and healthy living ideas.

I love the recipes. They are easy to follow, require few ingredients, and are generally delicious. For example, this is what I made last night:

Barbecued Chicken Packet
Prep: 5 min. Total: 20 min. Makes 1 serving.

1 small boneless skinless chicken breast half (1/4 lb.)
*I used chicken breast tenderloins
1 pineapple ring

1 green pepper ring
1 Tbsp. barbecue sauce

Heat grill to medium heat. Place chicken in center of large sheet of heavy-duty foil; top with remaining ingredients.

Bring up foil sides. Double-fold top and ends to seal packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside.

Grill 15 min. or until chicken is done. Cut slits in foil to release steam before opening packet.

Instead of grilling, I put the packets (I made 4) on a baking sheet and baked in the oven at 425°F for about 20 minutes. Then I served them with brown rice and a simple green salad.

There were no left-overs. Even my non-chicken-eating-children couldn't get enough.

Later this week, I'm going to try this one:

Enchilada Casserole

Prep:5 min. Total: 30 min. Makes 4 serving.

1 lb. extra lean ground beef

1/4 cup chopped onions

1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

2 tsp. chili powder

4 corn tortillas

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

1/4 cup light sour cream

Cook meat and onions in large skillet on medium-high heat 3 to 5 min. or until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce, water and chili powder; cook until heated through. Transfer to bowl.

Place 1 tortilla in the skillet you just used; top with layers of 1/4 each meat sauce and cheese. Repeat layers 3 times. Cover; heat 2 min. or until cheese is melted. Top with sour cream and tomatoes.

Yummy, healthy, cheap, and easy. What's not to love?

Memorial Day Madness

If the gas prices, traffic, and long lines at the grocery store this holiday weekend are making you grumpy, you're not alone. I can't stand the way people become a little bit insane simply because there's one extra day added to the weekend. One extra day, people! 

Anyway, here's my philosophy: don't get mad - get shopping. The silver lining in all this Memorial Day Madness is all the sales. Here's just a sampling:

Kohl's - Friday 3-11 p.m. and Saturday 7 a.m.-1 p.m. - Night Owls and Early Birds specials = crazy mark-downs.

Old Navy - Saturday 9 a.m. - All solid color flip flops for adults and kids are $1 (limit 5 per customer) = wow, I'm so there.

Bath & Body Works - Friday-Monday - Anti-bacterial hand soaps are on sale for $3/each (regularly up to $5) = good time to stock up.

Anybody else know of any good sales going on this weekend?

Sweetness

So last night I discovered I could feed my family of four for under $10 at DQ. Formerly known as Dairy Queen, DQ has apparently (but not officially) shortened their name to just their initials. Why? I suppose because they don't want to be limited to dairy, just like KFC didn't want to be limited to fried chicken.

Anyway...

So DQ has just introduced "Sweet Deals." Maybe you've seen the commercial? If not, rejoice -- it's terrible. Floating lips just aren't cool. But at least the deal is good: buy any 2 items for $3, 3 items for $4, or 4 for $5. There are nine items to choose from, including a cheeseburger, a hot dog, a chicken wrap, regular French fries, onion rings, a side salad, a medium drink, a small sundae and a small soft cone.

Back to my story.

Yesterday was a gorgeous day, so I decided to take the kids to the park after Jeff left for work in the afternoon. We swang (swung?), played, ran, climbed, and generally worked up an appetite. The last thing I felt like doing was driving all the way home and making dinner. Plus, we still had to go visit Jeff at his store. So I deemed it not only a good idea, but NECESSARY, that we stop somewhere for dinner. And DQ happened to be right on the way from the park to Starbucks. Also, I've been wanting to check out our DQ since it got a total facelift. It is now called DQ Grill & Chill and it looks actually pretty nice (gone is the tired old red and blue color scheme). Ambience is oh so important.

So, choices choices. We ordered directly from the Sweet Deals menu: two cheeseburgers (for me and Hannah), a hot dog (for John Ryan), one order of onion rings (for to share), and two small dipped cones (I had a coupon for buy one get one free - thanks, Kelly!). Total: $7.57.

The service was friendly and quick, the portion sizes were plentiful, and the food was yummy!

Then I realized I should take something to Jeff, too, so I ordered him a chicken wrap and a side salad. Total: $3.23.

Okay, so if you add them both up it was actually over $10 ($10.80), but that included dessert! :) Sweet.

Now I know you all want to go to DQ. See the whole array of Sweet Deals at www.dairyqueen.com, where you can also sign up to receive a buy one, get one free Blizzard (by joining the Blizzard fan club). Enjoy the sweetness!

Dumpster turkey

Getting free stuff is all about being in the right place at the right time.

Last week, some friends of mine made a quick trip to the neighborhood grocery store to pick up a few small items. When they arrived, they were informed by the store employees that all the freezers had just broken, so all the frozen food had been thrown out. As my friends were leaving, a light bulb went off. "Let's check the dumpsters!" And sure enough, the dumpsters outside were filled to the brim with everything from the freezers inside - still frozen. They grabbed as much as they could carry, including several turkeys. The next day they feasted on what they dubbed "dumpster turkey" - as delicious as ever, especially since it was free!

You never know when you might stumble upon an incredible blessing like that. In the case of the dumpster turkey, it was simply about being in the right place at the right time - AND thinking creatively.

Another way to increase your odds of getting free stuff is helping your friends move, and/or being around when a neighbor is moving out. We recently helped two separate families move, and, just by being there, we turned into receptacles for a lot of useful stuff they couldn't fit or keep (shower curtain, shoe rack, baking sheets, diapers, wipes, dishwashing detergent, and more!).

When people are moving, they tend to reevaluate which of their belongings are really important enough to pack up and take with them. And a lot of their stuff ends up on the curb. I have given plenty of stuff a new home thanks to this "reevaluation": an artificial ficus tree, a leather chair, a bed headboard, a play kitchenette, and so much more that I'm forgetting right now. Once again, it's just all about being at the right place at the right time.

So, let's recap:

There's no magic formula, but these tips might help you end up stumbling upon a great deal:

• DO check the dumpsters at grocery stores, especially if there's been a recent power outage
• DO help your friends move, and
  
• DO pay attention to what might be on the curb!

It's Tax Day! Get free stuff!

Tax Day (April 15) Freebies:

1. MaggieMoo's Ice Cream & Treatery
   Get one free single scoop ice cream cone all day. Limit one per customer. The closest MaggieMoo's I know of is in City Center at Oyster Point (Newport News).
   
   
2. Chick-fil-A
   If you eat at a participating Chick-fil-A restaurant on April 15, save your receipt. You can get your same order free if you return with your receipt on April 30.
   
   
3. T.G.I. Friday's
   Get a $5 gift card when you spend $15-$25 on tax day. Get a $10 card for a purchase of more than $25.
   
   
4. Cinnabon
   Free cinnamon-roll bites from 5:00-8:00 p.m.
   
   
5. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro
   Save 15% off your bill.

Thank you to Vanessa, walletpop.com, and SmartMoney.com!

Swaptree

I recently learned about this site called Swaptree.com, and I'm curious to know if anyone else has heard of it or used it. Apparently, you can trade books, music, movies, and video games with other users online for free. The only cost is shipping, but you can print out mailing labels directly from their website, so you don't even have to go the post office.

According to their website, Swaptree was founded in 2004, so I may be the last to know about it. Even so, I thought I would mention it! I think it's a cool idea and a good way to get rid of clutter. It follows the "one in, one out" rule -- if you buy something new (book, movie, game, toy) you should get rid of one item you already have. Good way to avoid stacks of paperbacks and DVD's piling up.

So, let me know if any of you has tried this out. Or else I will give it a try and report back later!

A perfect day

Ahh, what a beautiful day yesterday. Sunny, breezy, and warm - the perfect day for . . . thrift store shopping! While Jeff and Hannah were out running some errands, John Ryan and I took a trip to the CHKD thrift store near our house. I found some Stride Rite white dress shoes for Hannah for $1.98 (just in time for Beatrix Potter Day at school tomorrow) and a fun Barney fold-out book for John Ryan for $0.78. Score!

Later on, after Jeff went to work and the kids had their naps, I decided to take them to Riverview Farm Park, which is always great for free fun. I love that the kids are getting old enough to entertain each other - this is a cell phone pic of Hannah pushing John Ryan in the swing.

After the playground, we hopped on over to Jeff's Starbucks for drinks - on the house! When Jeff is working, he always makes our hydration a top priority. An iced venti nonfat chai, an iced tall chai, and an apple juice later, we were much improved. And a bonus - a customer had left their copy of the Sunday paper in the bin so I collected all the coupons and inserts. Yay for me!

The best things in life really are free, or $3.00 at the thrift store.

5 reasons to love (or at least tolerate?) Walmart

Okay, I know how some of you out there feel about Walmart. It's too busy, parking is a nightmare, the lines are too long, it's dirty, they have sweatshops in China, etc. etc. etc. I do not have any control over these things, nor do I make any excuses for them. They are bad.

However, I have a few things to say in defense of Walmart. In fact, I have to admit that despite all of the things mentioned above, I am rather fond of Walmart. Honestly, if it weren't for Walmart and its low prices, I don't know how my family could afford to buy groceries every week without spending hours clipping coupons or driving all over town to chase the meat and produce sales.

Besides Walmart's cheap prices, here are a few other things I've come to love about it:

1. Their slogan, "Save money. Live better." Walmart rolled out this new slogan in September 2007, its first new one in 19 years, and I love it for its simplicity and for the way that it echoes my own motto: "Living rich doesn't have to be expensive." Todd Sullivan, a contributor to Seeking Alpha, a stock market analysis website, says, "What they have done is turned a logical ad campaign that said 'shop here because it makes sense to save money' into an emotional one. Now the message is 'shop here so you can have more fun and do more with your kids'" (i.e. with the money you save).
   
   
2. Their low prices.
   I know I mentioned this already, but it bears repeating. Of all the places I shop, Walmart is consistently cheaper in the things I purchase most often (groceries, paper products, and toiletries). And again, this is without coupons. When I do have coupons to use, that makes it even more inexpensive.
   
   
3. Their selection and array of products.
   I can get everything in one place, and this is as good as gold for a busy mom. If I wanted to, I could get curtains, toilet paper, and lettuce all in one shopping trip.
   
   
4. Their "Site to Store" feature.
   With Walmart's Site to Store feature, you can order practically anything from their website (which includes thousands of items not available in stores) and have it shipped to a store near you for free. This works especially well if you want to avoid long checkout lines. The Site to Store pickup area is usually located at the back of the store and I've yet to see a line there.
   
   
5. Their efforts to provide environmentally- and health-conscious options.
   More and more I see organic items springing up on Walmart's shelves. Of course, this seems to be true everywhere right now, especially with it being so trendy to be green and sustainable. But kudos to Walmart for at least attempting to provide more options for their customers, including their recent decision to use only cows not treated with rbST for their Great Value milk (in both Walmart and Sam's Club).
   

All right, I think I'll stop there before I come off as some kind of crazy Walmart-lover. While I appreciate Walmart for the things mentioned above, I do recognize the hazards presented by shopping there. So I will conclude with my tips for making a trip to Walmart the best experience possible:

1. Plan the time of your visit very carefully. I go on Friday mornings, when it is not too busy, there are virtually no lines, and the shelves have just been stocked. I do not even attempt to go within a five-mile radius of Walmart on the weekends. If you go on the weekend, nothing you or I love about Walmart will be worth the torture of the parking lot.
   
2. Make a list and stick to it. If you end up buying a lot of stuff that's not on your list, then the low prices won't make much of a difference to you.
   
3. Plan a route and stick to it (e.g. first health & beauty, then home improvement, then baby, and finally grocery). If you deviate from your route, you are likely to deviate from your list.

Save money. Live better. Yes indeed.

Reader tips of the week

1. From Julia:

Harris Teeter - If you happen to shop at Harris Teeter, they have buy one get one free Ben & Jerry's ice cream all week. Also, their reusable grocery bags are buy three, get two free.

2. From Kristin:

RetailMeNot.com - This is an incredible resource for online coupon codes. Anytime you're planning to make an online purchase, visit retailmenot.com first to find out if there are any discounts available for that merchant.

3. From Me:

Michael's - I just went to Michael's today and discovered they have a lovely selection of $1 items - notepads, stickers, stamps, pens, pencils, you name it. Of course you can find all these things at the Dollar Tree too, but at Michael's they just seemed a bit cuter.

SnapTell

This one is for all you iPhone owners out there. Even though this doesn't include me (yet! I'm holding out for a pink one), I thought this was too cool not to share.

From Apple:

"You're at the mall and see a DVD, CD, book, or video game that looks really interesting. But, you start wondering, can I get it for a better price? And what kind of reviews did it get? Pull out your iPhone. Start up SnapTell. And take a photo of the cover. SnapTell will deliver information, reviews, pricing from other vendors, even directions to other stores. Best of all. It's free."

How does it work? It uses advanced image recognition technology developed by SnapTell to instantly match an image against millions of product images. Get the app here.

Now if only they'd develop one to help you compare prices at the grocery store.

Liz runs on Dunkin

So this morning I stopped at Dunkin Donuts on my way to work. This is my Monday morning ritual. I get a large coffee with cream and sugar. For only $2.10 including tax, I can insure my week is off to a good start. The coffee is not fabulous, but what IS fabulous is that they fix it for you. You do not have to waste your own time counting sugar packets, ripping and dumping, or guesstimating how much cream to pour in. They do it all for you! It’s beautiful. Also, my DD is run by the nicest Pakistani man who knows me so well by now (and I only go once a week, mind you) that he usually has my coffee fixed for me and waiting on the counter by the time I walk in the door. As if that wasn’t enough to make me a DD fanatic, this morning they gave me five free munchkins (donut holes, for those of you who aren't up on the slang) with my coffee. Now that’s a sure way to get a cheap girl’s loyalty for life.

Never stop to ask for directions again

Put this number in your phone right now:

466453 (GOOGLE)

To get driving directions texted directly to your cell phone, send a text message to this number. Simply enter DIRECTIONS then your start address then TO and finally your destination address (ex: DIRECTIONS winnipeg TO r3h 0h4). Within seconds, a series of texts will be sent back to you containing the full step-by-step directions. It's so easy it's laughable.

Driving directions is only the tip of the iceberg with Google SMS (stands for Short Message Service). This little six-digit number provides United States local business listings, movie showtimes, weather conditions, stock quotes, dictionary definitions and more, all in text message format on your mobile phone. Obviously, if you have a fancy iPhone or GPS, this may not be as cool to you. But me and my little Verizon LG VX5400 are loving it.

Click here to learn more about the brilliance of Google SMS. Oh and yes, it's free.

If it ain't broke...

...don't fix it. But if it is broke, write a blog about it. That's my motto. It seems like everything broke this week. Well, not everything, but two things, two things big enough to notice: 1. my mac at work and 2. our family minivan. It all started on Tuesday when I was downloading routine system updates on my iMac, which is only two years old. Upon restart it got stuck on the blue screen of death (yes, macs have them too). When I realized what was happening, I experienced many emotions uncannily similar to those found in the five stages of grief after the loss of a loved one:

1. Denial: This can't be happening. I must be dreaming. My computer will start up any second.
   
2. Anger: Come on! Start up already! This can't be happening to me! Noooo!
   
3. Bargaining: Dear God, if you would just make my computer start up again, I will stop checking my personal email and blogging at work.
   
4. Depression: I give up. There's no use. It's gone. Tears.
   
5. Acceptance: I have incorporated the loss into my life. While there is still sadness, it will not prevent me from functioning normally.

The stage of Acceptance enabled me to look up Apple support online, and after combing through a myriad of forums, blogs, manuals, etc., I found that the only viable option I had to get rid of the BSoD was to reinstall my operating system. This is pretty easy with a mac, and you can even do an "Archive and Install" which preserves all your files and settings. However, you need your installation discs to do this. And since I wasn't around when the computer was purchased, I had no idea where the discs were kept. I found Disc 2 pretty easily, but after tearing my office apart, I coud not find Disc 1. Why would Disc 1 be missing, and where could it be? It remains a mystery even now.

After going through the five stages of grief all over again when I couldn't locate Disk 1, I set up a support request online with Apple, and they called me within a minute (yes, literally). After telling the nice mac genius guy all my woes, he asked for my address and said they would mail me the disc I needed, no questions asked. I knew there was a reason I loved Apple. FREE replacement disc, yay!

The same day I was dealing with all this computer stuff, Jeff texted me at work to let me know the van wouldn't start (he drives it during the day). When I got home we tried jumping it, but that didn't work. We figured it was probably the starter, so we had it towed to Meineke last night.

[Side note: We get free towing through our roadside assistance plan with Verizon Wireless. It's only $3/month. If you are a Verizon Wireless customer, make sure you sign up for that. It's totally worth it!!]

Usually when something like this happens I freak out a little bit. I try to keep calm, but car trouble is such a pain. It's inconvenient and usually expensive. And usually we don't have any extra money. However, the other night Jeff got a message from his brother Eric in California saying he was sending us $300. I thought, "Wow, that's awesome!!" but I wondered why Eric would tell us instead of just letting us be surprised by the check in the mail. Now I see how him telling us about the money BEFORE our van broke down helped in keeping my freaking out to a minimum. When it happened, I already knew we would have money to cover the repairs.

Well, it turns out it is indeed the starter, and a new one is going to cost us $400. You don't have to be great at math to understand that this is very close to the same amount Eric is sending us. So amidst all of this week's breaking down, there's been a lot of building up. I just found this verse and I love it: "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment" (I Timothy 6:17). Amen to that!

Got e.l.f.?

When I first heard about this website where you can get makeup for $1, I was skeptical. I thought, "Hmm, how good can it be? There must be some catch." And then I discovered the world of eyeslipsface.com for myself.

The first thing I noticed was how professional the site looked. Before even browsing through the products, I visited their buzz page, to find out what the big-time critics were saying. Turns out they have been featured in O magazine, Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Real Simple, and various other reputable media.

Then I made my selections. I just picked out some basics for my first order. I ordered 10 items, but I had a coupon code for half off (thanks, Cathy!) so my grand total was $5. Shipping was only $6.95 (FedEx). I placed my order on 12/16, it was shipped the next day, and it was delivered three days after that. Not too shabby.

As soon as my e.l.f. box arrived (I was actually getting ready for a party when the delivery guy came -- perfect timing!), I ripped it open and starting applying. Here's my take:

1. Blending Wedges - Just your average blending wedges. But they’re only $1, so why not?


2. Brow Comb + Brush - No complaints here. It does the job (and looks cute with its white wooden handle).


3. Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Clear Mascara - Does its job keeping my errant brows in place.
   


4. All Over Cover Stick in Fair - My least favorite of everything I ordered. Tiny, orange, and weird.


5. Tone Correcting Concealer in Fair - Awesome! I use it every day. I find it a little odd that my concealer is scented (smells like oranges), but I have sensitive skin and it doesn't seem to bother me.


6. Natural Radiance Blusher in Innocence - Even though the shade is way too light, I love the texture and coverage of this blusher. Also, it is just the right size -- not too small and not too large (you don’t want it to last so long you get sick of the color). I will definitely buy this again, but in a slightly darker shade.


7. Brightening Eye Color in Nouveau Neutrals - My second least favorite product. There are four colors in the case, and they don't really complement each other. Also, you really have to dig your applicator sponge into the powder to loosen it up enough to apply it.


8. Plumping Lip Glaze in Plum Pout - This is the lip gloss I’ve been looking for all my life!! I love it. Minty, pouty, and pink (but not too pink). I need to order some more!


9. Clarifying Pressed Powder in Tone 1 - Not so much. It's way too orangey for my fair skin, even though I got the lightest shade.
   


10. Total Face Brush - Love it. The bristles are soft and supple, and it is just the right size. Great quality for a buck.

So, all in all, a good experience. I had a few complaints, but since my initial investment was only a fraction of what I would have paid to try 10 new Revlon, L'Oreal, or Cover Girl products, they are minor indeed.

Oh, one other thing that made me love them: when I placed my order I qualified for a "free gift" which usually means you have to pay extra shipping for something you don't want anyway, or it really IS free but kinda stupid (like a water-proof alarm clock). Well, e.l.f.'s free gift to me, packed in my box with the other makeup, was one of their candy shop lip tins in Berry Pop, worth $2. Yummy and useful.

To top it all off, I ordered gift wrapping and got a free red gift bag and tissue paper included with my order. I'll save it for one of my friend's birthdays, and they'll never know the difference.

Now that I have been using my new el-cheapo makeup for over a month, I am still an e.l.f. fan. I signed up for their email list, and I get great offers all the time, like $2 shipping, buy 2 items get 1 free, 75% off cosmetics cases, etc. $1 makeup -- it's true, believe it.

Redbox

What's better than a free movie? How about a free movie EVERY Monday? Beat the Monday blahs with a free rental from Redbox. Click here to sign up to receive a text message every Monday with a code for a free one-night rental.

Also, if you sign up for their email list, you can get a free rental immediately (code sent via email).

Redbox is popping up everywhere. If you've never seen one, it is a red DVD-dispensing kiosk (hence the name "red box") placed in all sorts of locations: inside grocery stores, outside grocery stores, outside Wal-Marts. I've even seen one in a McDonald's. You can search for the nearest Redbox location on their website.

As for their movie selection, they carry mostly new releases and popular titles. Their variety may not be extensive, but hey! it's only $1/night.

Free chicken

I love kids' night at Chick-Fil-A. Raise your hand if you know what I'm talking about. If you don't, well, then, let me educate you. Every Tuesday or Thursday night, from 5-8, CFA has kids' night. You get a free kids' meal for every adult combo meal purchased, and, as if you needed any more reason to come, there is usually a guy dressed up in a gigantic cow suit.

Lately I've been taking the kids almost Thursday night, since 1) Jeff is working, and 2) it's almost the end of the week so I'm usually all out of dinner ingredients at home. Tonight we bundled up and headed out the door by 4:35 in order to make it to our neighborhood CFA before the craziness commenced.

Let me tell you about the craziness. Apparently, there are lots of other people who like getting free chicken. By 5:15, the lines at the registers are 10 people deep, all the tables are taken, the play area is packed with screeching kids, and drinks are being spilled all over the restaurant with almost-predictable regularity. Fathers ignore, mothers scold, children run amok. It's quite a scene.

Did I mention the FREE kids' meals?

Thankfully, we made it in time tonight to order our food and procure a table before it got nuts. We had a nice, leisurely dinner, including ice cream cones with sprinkles (free if you trade in your kids' meal toys), and then coloring at the craft table set up for the occasion. Oh, and yes, the giant cow was there, so our evening was complete.

I applaud you, Jason Chaffetz

Since I'm all about saving money, this story I saw on the news the other night warmed my heart. Jason Chaffetz is a newly elected congressman from Utah. His home is, obviously, in Utah, with his wife and kids, but his job is in Washington, D.C. Most congressmen in the same situation get commuter apartments, but not Jason Chaffetz. He is going to live in his office so that he can save his family at least $1500 a month in extra rent. You'll see in the video what his living quarters will be like - his congressional office is huge, but it's by no means an apartment, or even a hotel room. His bed is a cot, his closet is a rod, and his kitchen is a mini-fridge. Apparently, Jason Chaffetz is accustomed to working from home, or homing from work, as the case may be, as he ran his election campaign out of his house in Utah, refusing to go into debt. He ended up beating a six-term incumbent, who outspent him by $600,000. Now he is taking his frugal ways to Washington, where hopefully he will rub off on a few people.

Click here for the video clip from ABC News.

Ask Liz

This is the first of many "Ask Liz" posts. Send your questions to eliz.calhoun@gmail.com. Next to finding a great bargain, I sure do love giving advice. The following question is from a delightful friend of mine (*you know who you are*). Even though the answers are specific to our geographic location, they can easily be adapted for just about anywhere with a Mexican restaurant and an AMC movie theater.

Q:
My boyfriend's birthday is coming up this month, and I want to do something nice for him, like take him out somewhere—do you have any ideas?

A:
Hm, birthdays are tough. There are two elements to consider:
1) The gift (or gifts)
2) The celebration

The gift is the easy part. We need to stay cheap, right? Stay away from gift cards, because they have a dollar amount printed right on them. They say, hello, I’m poor and I’m passing my poverty on to you. Something homemade is always welcome, but I’m not talking about a scarf or tea cozy. You could make him the ever-popular Mix Tape/CD of your songs. A framed picture is also a nice semi-homemade gift. Digital prints (5x7) are only 99 cents at Ritz camera, and they’re ready in one hour. You can even upload your pic at http://www.ritzcamera.com/ and then pick up at the store (no shipping!). Also, you can find super cheap picture frames at The Dollar Tree, Wal-mart, Target, etc. Also, your boyfriend's into movies, right? MovieStop and Blockbuster are good places to find relatively new, gently used movies for anywhere from $2.99 to $7.99. And of course it’s easy to find NEW books on http://www.amazon.com/ for a couple dollars (even with shipping, you can easily stay under $10).

Okay, now on to the celebration. After his gifts, he won’t care where you take him out! No really, what do you guys like to do together? Dinner and a movie is a classic date night, but can get pretty pricey. Here’s an idea: take him out on a weeknight. It has to be Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday for this to work. First, take him to dinner at Plaza Azteca in Hampton (free appetizers – chips & salsa!) and everything else on the menu is pretty cheap. Then take him to see a movie at AMC 24, right across the parking lot. It’s only $5 per ticket all day (even at night) on weekdays. Can’t beat that!! Also, get this – you can get UNLIMITED popcorn and soda for $5. But also only on weekdays. And that may or may not require a Moviewatcher card, which you need to have anyway because it earns you free movie tickets and other stuff. Get one free at http://www.moviewatcher.com/.

Okay, so after the awesome, thoughtful gifts, and the mouth-watering dinner, and the romantic (or whatever) movie, your boyfriend is going to totally want to marry you (more).

Hope that’s helpful. If you had something else in mind entirely, well, then . . . you're on your own!

Hello, My Name Is...

Cheap. I'm not exactly what you would call a frugal person, but living on a tight budget for most of my adult life has made a bargain shopper out of me. I love thrift stores, coupons, sales on things I was planning to buy anyway, free gift cards for transferring a prescription to Target pharmacy, you name it. I am not ashamed to get something for nothing.

I mentioned I've been on a tight budget as an adult, but actually, I've never really had that much money. A little background: I was born and raised in smalltown Arkansas with my two brothers by the most incredible parents you could ever imagine. The first 10 years of my life were when we probably had the most money. My dad worked for Frito-Lay and my mom was a stay-at-home-mom, and we lived in a house designed and built by my parents, their dream house. I clearly remember one day when I was about six or seven, walking into my kitchen to get an after-school snack, feeling very secure and saying to my dad, "Dad, are we rich?" I think I recognized the concept of contentment, because our house wasn't huge and we didn't have ALL the toys we wanted, but the love and security I felt on top of what we DID have, gave me such a sense of well-being and feeling of richness. When I was 10, we moved to Virginia for my dad to attend Regent University to get his master's. And obviously, a lot changed. Our family of five, used to running wild in the country, had to squeeze into a town house in the suburbs of Virginia Beach, my dad became a full-time student, and us kids started at a new school. My mom went to work for the first time ever to help pay our school tuition. Well, instead of boring you with all the details, all these factors - grad school for my dad, three private school tuitions all the way through high school for me and my brothers, and the various things that life throws at you - ensured we were always on a tight budget. When I was 13, I started babysitting to earn money to buy my own clothes. After babysitting it was a newspaper route, and then McDonald's. Big money. Then I went to college, and no one is poorer than a college student, right? And then I got married at age 20. My husband and I were not the kind of people to wait and establish our careers and save money. No, we got married as soon as humanly possible, even though we had to eat Velveeta Shells & Cheese for dinner and do our laundry at my parents' house. So now, nine years and two kids later, we are quite a bit better off. We live in a house instead of an apartment, we have two cars instead of trying to share one, we eat relatively balanced meals, etc. But we are still working on getting our paychecks to last a wee bit longer...

The wonderful thing is, though, even though I've never had a lot of money, I've never been poor. I've never not had the basic necessities of life: food, shelter, clothing, transportation. I've never been jobless, homeless, or starving. And better yet, all my life I've been surrounded by love, within and without. My faith, my family, and my friends: these make me a rich woman indeed.

So...the purpose of this blog is to share my excitement for all things cheap or free. It’s going to be all about my hunt for the best bargain, where to shop, how to get free stuff online, the best cheap dates (hello Barnes & Noble!), the best places to take your kids for free, etc. But most of all, I hope to get across how being "rich" is a state of mind (and heart).