Huh?

I scribbled the info on the back of my napkin but didn’t expect to win the lotto of unclaimed property. No one owes me money right?

Wrong.

Unbeknownst to me, I was involved in a class action lawsuit against a former employer. Employees weren’t given breaks as required by law and the company was required to reimburse employees for the lost time. I only worked for the company 3 months as a summer job ten years ago but… I’m $111 richer.

Check for unclaimed property on your state’s website. There might be some money out there you didn’t know about. Let me know if you find something!

*Note: Women, if you are married, check you married AND maiden name. My unclaimed property was under my maiden name.

Here are some things that really stuck out to me this week:

PICKS:
Lose It! by FitNow, Inc.
Unfortunately this iTunes application is limited for use on iPhones or iTouch iPods but the good news is… its’ FREE. This application/program is great at helping you monitor portions and nutritional content of nearly everything you eat. It has a huge reference library of restaurant nutritional information and of everyday items from the grocery store. Users simply enter their height/weight information, the types of nutritional content they want to monitor, and their weight loss goals. While I don’t need to lose weight, this program is valuable to me since I want to monitor my fat, protein, and fiber intake for my marathon training. Diabetics can also benefit since this program monitors carbohydrates and sugars. I am now more aware of what I’m eating and how I can make small changes to my eating habits to make a healthier me.

PANS:
Sun Block by Target
I’m a HUGE fan of Target brand products. I like them just as much, if not more, than the name brands. Plus, the cost savings helps stretch my miniscule budget. Unfortunately, I was less than impressed with their sun block. We took this sun block with us on our beach camping vacation and quickly discovered it was a waste of money. Our first clue should have been its label ‘water resistant’ and not ‘waterproof’ like the other sun block products. It washed off at the slightest sweat and did not hold up at all to a quick dip in the ocean. If you plan on not swimming or sweating, it’s great. I don’t know about you, but when I wear sun block… I’m in the sun. And, the sun is hot. In heat, I sweat… er… ‘glow’. I’m fairly certain that’s normal. Sorry Target, head back to the drawing board.

What are your picks and pans this week?

In short? A lot!

A few benefits of exercising (tip of the iceburg)?
Reduced blood pressure
Reduced feelings of depression and anxiety
Helps to control weight
Helps to build and maintain healthy joints, muscles, and bones
Reduced risk of diabetes

What do these have to do with finances?
Have you had to pay for doctors and medication recently?!? Ouch!! Also, exercise helps you sleep, puts you in a better mood, helps your self confidence, and gives you energy – all very important things in the work world where your paycheck comes from! Plus, people with a BMI of less than 22 get sick less often and miss less work.

I’ve been fortunate to have been physically active and healthy for most of my life. Running a marathon is just another way to push myself and stay active. Sure my sore legged walk makes Frankenstein look like a graceful ballerina but it’s important to encourage you to gain control in your finances AND in your health – they are closely connected.

Tomorrow is Saturday, take a walk with your dog, play with your kids, or ride your bike. Take a break from staring at that checkbook and balancing numbers to get some fresh air.

It’s good for you.

Some free sites to help you out?

www.Mapmyride.com
I use this site to calculate mileage and read elevation changes on my bike rides/runs.

www.Mypyramid.gov
This free site helps to guide you on better eating habits.

I’m warning you… these sites can be ADDICTIVE!!

What is your favorite FREE health related site?

The poor guy has never had to look for a job before – his reputation as a hard worker has always earned him employment without even an application. Writing a resume is difficult.

I’m trying to help him but I realize that what I want to write, ‘Good looking, hard working, smart, sweet man’ probably won’t land him the position… and it might be hard to fill a 8 ½” x 11” sheet of paper with 7 words. Sure I could add more like, ‘beautiful olive skin that tans in the sunshine, huggable arms, and a perfect husband’ but somehow, I don’t think that’s the ‘more’ his resume needs.

Unfortunately we’re under a time crunch (the resume is due tomorrow) but for those seeking employment and need resume help, DON’T PAY SOMEONE TO WRITE YOUR RESUME FOR YOU! If you attend college, seek the advice of a job counselor. For those not in college, check the offerings of your local community. Nearly every city in San Diego County offers job and resume assistance free of charge. Not only can these organizations help you with your resume, they often have a good idea of where jobs in your field may be opening.

As we started working through the details, I couldn’t help but wonder… maybe rednecks have it right. Here is how we have prepared so far and the current expenses:

I threw together an online invitation for our friends (free):

It’s time to round up yer cousin and yer sister from their mobile home… we’re havin’ our first annual REDNECK PARTY!!

So, hop in your 1987 Toyota Tercel and git over here!

We borrowed some used hubcaps from the local tire store to play games with and use for decorations (free).
We are wearing our own clothes (circa 1980 – also free).
We borrowed a wheel barrow from our neighbor for wheelbarrow races (free).
We pulled an old rope from the garage for the lasso competition (free).
We are borrowing new toilet seats from my husband’s plumbing company to play redneck horseshoes (free).
We rented country CD classics like Gretchen Wilson, Confederate Railroad, Kris Kristopherson, and Merle Haggard from the library (free).

So far, our expenses are zero! Perhaps we should rename the party ‘Working toward our debt free goal and having fun at the same time’. I’ll be sure to toss some pictures up here next Monday after the party.

Any ideas on cheap gatherings? How about additional games for our redneck party?

What happened to the good ol’ days of Nintendo and Sega glassy eyed kids? Now they are dancing, singing, and playing instruments. It’s as if the Wii transformed our family into a modern day Brady Bunch band. Ugh.

I rented the Sonic vs. Mario Summer Olympics game from the library. I’m pretty sure I would have expelled less energy actually competing IN the Olympics. Real swimming isn’t nearly as difficult as Wii swimming. Trust me… I can’t use my arms today.

And with the invention of Rock Band, I can’t just sing Aerosmith, I have to sing Aerosmith AND play a guitar. My voice has joined my arms in the ‘not usable’ category.

I think these games were secretly invented by parents who would like to temporarily disable their children. You can’t talk back after losing your voice to Paramore – or maybe that’s just me.

I wish I could say my nieces and nephews suffered from the same painful muscle strain I have today but… I had so much fun playing that I didn’t exactly let them play. When they started crying about the unfairness of it all, I could only say, ‘Back off shorty! Aunti Beks has to finish the last rift of Salt N Pepa so she can win a new tour bus for the band.’

The best things in life are free.

I hate our couches and I think they are ugly.

This week, my husband did what good husbands do – he attempted to solve my dilemma of ‘seating space’. He came home with a behemoth of a recliner and said, ‘Look honey! More seats!! Can you believe someone was going to throw this away?!’

I bit my tongue before a ‘Yes’ slipped out. Instead, I said ‘Wow hon, it’s… wow.’

‘And they have TWO! I’m picking the other one up tomorrow. How awesome is that?! Seats!!’

He happily jumped in the chair and reclined, a big grin spreading across his face.

How could I be mad or ungrateful? He solved my ‘seating dilemma’. Sure I have an ugly blue giant in my living room (err… soon to be two), but I’ve learned to take his efforts for what they are. That ugly chair is a monument to the fact that my husband listens to me and he’s doing his best to make my life easier… without spending a dime.

I’m going to stop whining about the sofas for a while. Who cares about sofas when I have a man like that?

Oprah is offering a free download of Jean Chatzky’s Book titled, The Difference. It’s only for a limited time Friday and Saturday.

The book will be available for download from 11 a.m. ET Friday [03-13-09] until 10:59 a.m. ET Saturday [03-14-09].

[Via Oprah.com]

I read the key points on the page that I linked to above, and it reminds me a bit of The Millionaire Next Door. I enjoyed that book, so I’m looking forward to reading this one.

Thanks LA for the tip!

If you check out the 1-800-QUIT-NOW website, it is a national program – at least for the quit coach portion. BUT, you can check out the services for your area page to see if your state offers any free medications.

Offer expires at 11:59 p.m. CT on Thursday, January 15.

Link to Oprah.com

I just downloaded mine today

In full disclosure, the new owner of this blog (Jeffrey Strain) owns the site. He emailed me to share the site and didn’t pressure at all for me to blog about it here. I’m only blogging about it because it’s a neat idea. I’m already a subscriber

From the About page:

In the later part of 2008 I was having a discussion with a good friend about people and their desire to do good. He had asked me a simple question:

“If you had a five figure amount of money and you wanted to do good, what would you do?”

I said that not only would I support a cause that I believed in, I would try to figure out a way to encourage others to do good as well knowing a lot of people doing good things — no matter how small — can add up to great changes. He handed me a check and said for me to use it how I wished to encourage the world to be a better place. This is the beginning of that journey…

Jeffrey shares ideas for no or low cost ways to make the world a better place. For each comment the site receives, 10 cents will be put towards funding a microloan at Kiva.org. If you sign up to the RSS feed, 25 cents will be added. So far, one microloan has been funded.

If interested, the site is called Free Microloan. If you have a moment to leave a comment you can help fund the next microloan.

Thanks again to Beverly for the head’s up!!

That’s a lot of Dr Pepper!

For more info, visit this Yahoo News article. According to their story, Sunday (11/23/08) is the day to get the coupon from Dr Pepper’s website.

Fabulous Freebies 2008

If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out. Not all of the freebies may apply to you, but some just might. I found a few that appeal to me.

Hulu – This site has full movies and TV shows that you can watch – and it is perfectly legit! I probably spent too much time this evening browsing the site, but they have some of my favorite shows on there: In Living Color, A-Team, Doogie Howser and King of the Hill. With so many TV shows now popping up online, it really makes me wonder if we should cancel the cable. At $18/month perhaps it is time to say goodbye.

Mutopia (note: the link in the article is incorrect, the correct address is www.mutopiaproject.org) – You can print sheet music from some of the greats…Bach & Mozart, just to name a few. In all, there are 1431 pieces of sheet music. As someone who really wants to get back to her musical roots, this site is a treasure.

I’ve really realized lately that there are tons of things for free. The hard part can be finding them, so articles like these are always great to read!

By complete chance today, I stumbled upon a resource at CNET. They have a a WiFi search. I wish I found this before our trip! It would have come in handy.

I thought I would share in case anyone else could find this useful

A download of Suze Orman’s Women & Money is available TODAY (June 27, 2008) until 7pm CST.

Here’s the link to Oprah’s page – scroll down and you’ll see the little pdf icon.

I know some of you missed it last time (including me – I opened the download but didn’t save it to my computer!).

Thanks, Oprah and Suze…and thank you so much to Beverly for the email about this!!

Chris sent me a link to Motley Fool’s How to Get out of Debt Seminar. It’s completely online and self-paced, so you can go through it at your convenience. They have the action steps listed, and it looks like you will go through getting ready to pay off your debt all the way to dealing with setbacks. I didn’t get a chance to go through it, but it looks like a great place to start learning how to deal with your debt. Thanks, Chris!

Beverly sent me a link to an interesting concept. There is a site out there called ShortCuts that will link more coupons to your store cards. From their store list, this is compatible with Kroger, Ralphs, Gerbes and more. I am unable to test this, because I don’t have any of those stores in my area. Are any of you using it? Thanks, Beverly for the link!

Lastly, here’s a contest I thought I would spread the word on. Intuit is giving away a free year of Quicken Online (and $350) every week until June 23. To enter, you need to add them as a friend on Facebook. I don’t have a Facebook account, but I may sign up to try to win Click here for more information.

I have to say…I was not happy with what I saw while searching for the spelling of a word. Blingo has switched from using Google for the search results to using Yahoo, Live and Ask.com.

How does that affect the results?

When I searched for blogging away debt on Blingo, every other result within the first 10 hits were ads (see image). Written to the right in gray are the words, “Found on Ads by Yahoo!”

In comparison, when you do a Google search for blogging away debt, you get a list of search results on the left side and there are ads on the right side (or sometimes I see them on top too). The ads are clearly on their own. The same goes with a regular Yahoo search. The ads are on the top and to the side.

With Blingo, I’m not pleased with how ads are intermingled in with the other results. It can be very misleading and now you have to sort through what is a true search result versus an ad.

I know this is a bit off-topic, but a few of you have signed up for Blingo using my link and are my friends on there. I introduced Blingo as a great way to search and win prizes. By doing that I recommended using the site. Unless something changes, I will not be using Blingo anymore and I no longer recommend using it. I really wish they didn’t make this change.

I am hoping that things will go back to the way they were and this is just a very bad glitch. I haven’t been able to find any news as to why they changed things. Hopefully there will be an announcement soon.

If you are interested in trying out TaxCut, you can get a free download of their 2007 basic program from download.com.

On a related note, I see that my state refund deposit is pending in my checking account. Yay! One down…one to go.

If you haven’t heard of Blingo yet, it is a search engine powered by Google that gives out random prizes. One time, they even had a car up for grabs. I use Blingo all the time for searching for things on the internet and I even use it to see if I am spelling a word correctly. It doesn’t cost anything to use and join. I previously won a $5 gift certificate, so this is my second win with Blingo.

If you are interested in signing up for Blingo and would like to be my friend, here is the link to follow: Join Blingo. Or, you can visit Blingo.com and click on Register to sign up without using my friend link.

A big thank you to my Blingo friends!

I’ve given away broken items that other people wanted because they had the skills to repair them. I’ve also given away various other odds ‘n ends from around the house. In fact, I gave away three bags full of stuff just the other day to a non-profit agency that replied to my email.

You can’t make any money, because the premise of Freecycle is that everything is free. What you can get is a sincere thank you from the person you giving something to. That can be much nicer than getting a few dollars for something.

If you are looking for a way to find free items or if you want to give things away for free, Freecycle is an awesome site to check out. From the main site, you can drill down to find a Freecycle group where you live.

Fianna, that’s you!

I’ve emailed her and hopefully will hear back soon. If not, I’ll select another comment number.

Thanks again everyone!

Good. I got your attention. It’s not everyday that you can download an entire book by a well known author. And it’s free!

Thanks Beverly for the head’s up!

We are also experiencing some bitter cold weather. The blizzard conditions outside even lead to the closure of a part of the main highway. That doesn’t happen very often. So, we ended up getting sick on a good weekend to stay put in the house.

Anways, here are some links that I found interesting this week:

Jim at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity has a couple copies of TaxCut Online to give away.

MyMoneyBlog gives some info on how you can get paid to interview for jobs. Pretty interesting!

Lastly, NCN shares how he has been a debt-free blogger for two years. One day, I hope to join the ranks of being a debt-free blogger

Elaine Frisbie, that’s you!

I’ve emailed Elaine and if I don’t hear back from her by midnight on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 – I will draw another number.

Thanks again, everyone!

LarryWinget.com – Larry’s main site. There is a link to Free Stuff where you can get some audio downloads.

Larry’s Blog – tidbits from Larry. I especially like his rant on saying “thank you”.

Big Spender – Larry’s show on A&E. On the site, there are some video clips you can watch for free.

Larry Winget Quotes – a large collection of Larry quotes, some are thought-provoking.

10 Questions for Larry Winget – an interview with Larry at AllFinancialMatters.

Big Spender Recaps – Beachgirl does an amazing job of recapping the Big Spender episodes.

Lastly, I am giving away the autographed copy of You’re Broke Because You Want to Be that I received to review.

To be considered, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post.

The deadline to enter is 11:00pm EST on Friday, January 18, 2008. I will use random.org to select one random commenter. I will announce the name on here no later than Monday, January 21, 2008 as well as email the commenter. At that time the commenter will need to email me back to confirm their address (US addresses only, please). If I do not hear back from the commenter selected by midnight on Wednesday, January 23, 2008, I will randomly select another commenter. Your chances of having your comment selected will depend on the number of comments received and only one comment per person please.

Eva in Tx, that’s you!

If you are still interested in trying to get a copy of the book, Alicia Dunams is giving away 5 more copies on her blog. Stop by over there to enter.

Good luck!

Here’s the info:

MORE BOOK GIVEAWAYS…

Alicia Dunams here. Author of Goal Digger.

I will give away 5 signed copies of my book, Goal Digger: Lessons Learned from the Rich Men I Dated to five random commenters.

Go to http://richgirlguide.com, register and leave your comments on YOUR SECRETS TO SUCCESS.

…tell me your secrets to success? How are you creating the life you desire? How are you turning your passion into profit? How are you achieving your goals?

The deadline to enter is 11:00pm PST on Friday, October 26, 2007. I will announce the names no later than Monday, October 29, 2007 as well as email the 5 random commenters. At that time, the commenters will need to email me back to confirm their US address. Only one comment per person please.

Go to http://goaldigger.com for more info on the Goal Digger: Lessons Learned from the Rich Men I Dated.

So what numbers did random.org generate?

19 – Joy Smith from The Insane Writer

76 – Jill

99 – Danny

117 – Carlos

74 – little_earth from Advice from an Albatross

I’ve emailed the commenters and if I don’t hear back from them I will draw additional commenters(s).

Thanks everyone for sharing a joke! I hope everyone got some great laughs from it. I know I cracked up.

I have another giveaway coming up shortly…so stay tuned.

Some of you may know that I have another blog out there where I give tips on how to use Quicken. I haven’t updated the blog in a while because it’s going through a little change once I get around to doing it. I love the program and enjoy using it. I also received a copy and I plan on using it to post more tutorials on how to use Quicken. Yay!

Can you tell that I’m excited?

To be considered, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post sharing a joke. It can be a corny joke or a pretty cool one. Only thing I ask is that you keep it clean. Some say laughter is the best medicine and we all could probably use a few laughs.

The deadline to enter is 11:00pm EST on Friday, September 21, 2007. I will use random.org to select five random commenters. I will announce the names here no later than Sunday, September 23, 2007 as well as email the commenters. At that time the commenters will need to email me back to confirm their addresses and I will reply to those emails with the secure download link to download the program. If I do not hear back from the commenters selected by midnight on Tuesday, September 25, 2007, I will randomly select another commenter(s). Your chances of having your comment selected will depend on the number of comments received and only one comment per person please.

Ok, let’s share some jokes and have a good time here

EDIT: THIS IS OVER.

So, no real post for today. Instead I’ll make a little announcement because even though I am sick, I am still excited for next week. Why? Because I’m going to be having an awesome giveaway. A company gave me five of something to give away.

I’m probably going to spill the beans before then, because I am the worst when it comes to things like this. I love giving things away! Especially when the product can help you keep track of your finances.

Oops…just gave a clue…see what I mean?

Anyways, since the weekend is almost here, I want to devote a full work-week to the giveaway to give everyone a chance to read about it. Make sure you check back next week!

James, that’s you!

I’ve sent you an email and I hope to hear back from you by July 25th.

I was trying to figure out a problem that I have been having with my blog and searched “feed not displaying date” and to my surprise, after I hit search I saw this (click on the picture for a larger view):

I won a $5.00 gift certificate to Amazon.com! I still have a $50 gift certificate that I haven’t used (which I won through Networth IQ when they had a tips contest). Now I need to figure out what to buy with $55. Too bad I can’t cash them out and put the money towards our debt.

Today turned out to be my lucky day, and it’s not even 07-07-07 yet

Anyways, I gave my copy away and Blunt Money was the lucky commenter.

I am happy beyond happy to report that she’s passing the book along to someone else as well!

All you need to do is leave a comment on the post with her review of the book:

Excuse Me Your Job is Waiting Book Review at Blunt Money

You may also want to spend some time looking around too. There’s some good stuff over there

I haven’t really kept track with the blog-o-sphere this week. But, at any time you want to cruise around, check out pfblogs.org or check out the links in my blogroll (on the right hand side).

I did participate in a few carnivals this week. Thank you to the hosts!

Dawn at Frugal for Life was the host for this week’s Festival of Frugality.

Golbguru at Money, Matter and More Musings hosted this week’s Carnival of Debt Reduction.

Slowly, I’m getting back into the Carnival Life. Which reminds me…a little early to mention but I should note it so I don’t forget…I’ll be hosting the Festival of Frugality on May 29.

Anyways, here’s a few freebies from Walmart this week:

Ultra Downy

Superstay Silky Foundation by Mabelline

Enjoy!

I read it, reviewed it, and already gave away my copy.

So, here’s another chance! Go visit Flexo and tell him what your dream job is.

No Credit Needed Network

You can sign up and get a cool chart that shows your progress with paying off your debt.

In other news, I’ve been absent from the finance carnivals lately because I couldn’t seem to remember to submit articles before the deadline! But, I’m back and participating and here are the carnivals this week:

Getting Green hosted the Carnival of Debt Reduction and included my article on Who’s To Blame for Your Money Troubles?

Golbguru hosted the Festival of Frugality and included my article on How I Decorated My Son’s Room for Under $60.

Now, for the freebies:

John Frieda Frizz-Ease

Tylenol Rapid Release Gels

Enjoy!

Congrats to commenter #1, who was bluntmoney!

I’ve already emailed her this morning and have heard back.

Thanks to all that participated. I should be having another book giveaway sometime in the next few months

The deadline is Thursday, April 26 at 11:00 p.m. EST, so click on the link above for more info!

JLP found an interesting slideshow about Living on $46,000 a Year – Where it Goes

Henry gives some solid advice about Not Canceling Credit Cards Before You Apply for Any Loan

Flexo asks, Should High Schools Require Money Management Classes

FREE STUFF

Ban Invisible Solid Deodorant

Dial Antibacterial Deodorant Soap

Crest Nature’s Expressions Toothpaste

Enjoy!

While checking on things here, I realized I didn’t post any freebies on Friday. I did a little digging and found a few good ones.

Hamburger Helper Microwave Singles – hurry, because the quantities are limited!

Advil PM Pain Reliever

Always Clean

Enjoy!

Five Cent Nickel shares how he had success with reversing his credit card late fees. It doesn’t hurt to at least try.

J.D. asked his readers how much should you have in an emergency fund. J.D. is a lot like me because we share the same philosophy that you have to do what works for you. For us, we decided $2,500 would be a good emergency fund to start with.

Jeremy discusses bad credit habits. I’m guilty as charged for the first two (pushing the grace period and pushing your credit limit). In fact, before I started this blog we were dangerously close to having used all of our available credit.

FREEBIES

Huggies Diapers

Secret Clinical Strength Deodorant

Enjoy

Debt Blitzkrieg shares her dream. Those dreams can help keep the debt reduction going strong.

Terri is wondering if there’s anyone else out there 45+ who’s just beginning their journey to financial responsibility?. If that describes you, stop on over there and introduce yourself.

Sparing Change, a NCN Network Member, has a completed chart! As NCN would say…Sparing Change…you rock!

This one isn’t a blog, but it’s a cartoon inspired by a political cartoonist that reads this blog.

FREE STUFF

Walmart has some new goodies!

Pledge Wipes

Naturals Cat Food

Enjoy!

Some of the Best Free Things on the Net

I’m not talking about signing up for freebies. I’m talking about sites that you can use every day that can make your life a little better and they are the best price of all…FREE! Here are some sites I either use or plan to use.

Pandora.com – Pandora.com is your own personal jukebox on the web. You tell the site a name of an artist that you like to create a channel. The system will play music that is related to that artist to try to generate songs that you will enjoy. I have multiple channels varying from country to hard rock. If you’d like, you can even take those channels and make mixes out of them to shuffle up the music. I love having tunes going while I am working.

Blingo.com – Blingo.com is a search engine powered by Google that offers random prizes. You can win movie tickets up to a brand new Ford Escape (or $20,000 cash). All you need to do is use Blingo.com to search for things like you normally would. If you happen to search at the right time, you can win! If you decide to sign up and would like to be my friend, use this link (otherwise use the first link I gave). What that means is that if you win, I will win as well. Once you join, you can invite your friends and then if they win you can win. It doesn’t cost a dime to join, and you can win awesome prizes for what you often do anyway (search the internet).

Google Calendar – Google Calandar is a free service from Google that lets you set up a calendar that can you can open from any computer with a web connection and a supported browser. I recently learned about this site and it is perfect for me because I often am on different computers. I can easily pull up my calendar wherever I am and I can set up email reminders. Sometimes remembering when balance transfers expire is difficult and this will help me keep track of things

Freecycle.org – Freecycle.org “It’s a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns.” My area doesn’t have too many members as of yet but it’s slowly growing. I’ve given away some older exercise equipment and have received some craft items. And it’s all free!

MIT Courses – Massachusetts Institute of Technology has many online courses that you can take for free! You can’t earn a degree with the courses, but if you are looking to further your knowledge then this might be the right thing for you! Once I have some more free time, I’m interested in taking some of their writing courses.

If you’d like more free things, you may be interested in a great article that a reader sent me: 23 Surprising Things You Can Get for Free.

Enjoy!

The Carnival of Personal Finance is up at Mapgirl’s Fiscal Challenge.

JD at Get Rich Slowly shares 25 of the Best Books About Money.

Free Money Finance would like to know if Money Makes You Happy

FREEBIES

Walmart has some new freebies. I love Walmart’s samples because I’ve never had a problem receiving them and they usually ship them fast.

Almay Hydracolor Lipstick

Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Care

Head and Shoulders Shampoo

Enjoy!

One of the winners declined the prize. They just purchased a copy of Quicken. What that means is that I had to draw another number…

29 – sthomson

Sthomson, I’ve sent you an email

31 – Laura
27 – Amanda
21 – Nick
35 – Colleen
9 – Amanda

I’ve emailed everyone this morning, so hopefully I hear back from everyone soon. As for the book giveaway, I have heard back from everyone.

I know there have been a few comments as to why I did these giveaways. There were two reasons, 1.) to celebrate blogging one year and 2.) because I make money from advertising on this site. I wanted to give back something because without readers, I wouldn’t make money with advertising. Normally, all revenue from this site goes towards our debt. In fact, after I announced I was giving away something, I received a brand new advertiser that paid for the whole giveaway. I took it as a sign that it was a good thing that I was doing…giving away things that can help others take control of their finances.

Will there be more giveaways? Probably not for a while unless I receive items for free to giveaway. I may or may not do something similar to mark year #2 of blogging. It’s too soon to tell for that, and the one thing I know all too well is that life is unpredictable.

f you didn’t win a copy of Quicken, but are thinking of purchasing a copy yourself, please stick around. While helping these winners get set-up, I plan on writing a little tutorial and having it available for free for viewing or download (I haven’t decided on a format yet).

The numbers I drew were

3 – Jon (The Wall Street Journal Lifetime Guide to Money)

12 – sam (The Consumer Reports Money Book)

7 – moneysmartlife (The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom)

If I don’t hear back from everyone by Thursday, February 22 I will draw new numbers. So far I have heard from one person.

Thank you everyone for participating and I hope the winners enjoy these books

Here are some articles that caught my eye this week:

Jeremy informs us how to get money for your old clothes and buy quality clothing at a fraction of retail. A place that buys used clothes! That’s awesome! Too bad I don’t have one of them near me

JLP discusses how Dave Ramsy says to give up a 401(k) match in order to pay off debt. I decided not to give up my 401(k) because I am getting an employer match. The only way I will give it up is if we need that money to pay necessary expenses.

Makingourway is asking bloggers to participate in the Networth Carnival of Personal Finances

Kevin updated his resume because he’s volunteering his time to some organizations. I think volunteering is a great way to help out, network, and possibly open up some future opportunities.

Mama shared another use for a credit card. I find myself doing this one a lot

Freebies

Starbucks T-Shirt – limited quantities are given away daily starting at 10am PST (until February 28, 2007).

Oasis Mouthwash Sample

Enjoy!