Blogging Away Debt

Amazon.com Customers Vote Deals are Back This Year

Last year, I was able to win a cool deal from Amazon.com through their customers vote promotion. It was a Roboreptile that was discounted drastically. I was so excited for that thing and thought my son would love it. Well, he didn’t love it that much and my dog goes into major attack mode whenever we bring it out. It was a bit of a dud, only coming out to play every now and then.

Well, Amazon.com is back at it this year with new deals. Here’s a few of them (you can see the full list here (aff. link)):

Nintendo Wii Game Systems $79 (*normally $249.99)
Panasonic 7.5MP Digital SLR Cameras, $499 (*normally $1,149.95)
Razor E100 Electric Scooters for $29 (*normally $89.99)
TiVo HD Digital Video Recorders, $89 (*normally $253.48)
Magellan Maestro Portable Auto GPS, $99 (*normally $247.00)
Samsung 46â€ 1080p LCD HDTVs, $719 (*normally $1,899.98)
KitchenAid Professional 6-Qt Stand Mixer, $69 (*normally $299.99)

These deals are in limited quantities and you vote for which one you would like. Then, Amazon.com will randomly select people to “win” the deal.

I would love to get a Nintento Wii System (aff. link) for $79. Unlike other game systems, with some games for the Wii you need to get up off the couch and move around for game play. Everything I have read about the Wii has been positive for something a family can do together. There’s also a game that should be coming out called Wii Fit. It comes with a balance board and will be an exercise program. That makes me drool a little. Combine the psychological effect of wanting to “beat” a game with exercise and it sounds like a magical combination. So getting that deal would be awesome. It’s also awesome because finding a Wii to purchase is difficult.

These deals are great, and pretty exciting. But make sure that if you go for them you are buying something for the ability to use it and get your money’s worth and not just because it’s a good deal (well, unless you turn around and sell it on eBay, that is 😉 ). Last year, for us the roboreptile was a bit of a bomb. So I didn’t even vote in all of the rounds this year. Oh, and as always, spend only what you can afford and don’t go into debt for a good deal (I’m shaking my head right now thinking about our past and all of the good deals we financed with our credit cards – yikes!).

Come on random Amazon.com generator…pick us for the Wii 🙂

75 Tons of Garbage, a Debt-Free Christmas and Do-It-Yourself Wills

by Tricia

This morning I took my husband a little off-guard. I woke up and exclaimed to the world that it was FRIDAY! This week seemed like a never-ending week and I felt so very happy it was Friday.

Now here’s some articles that caught my eye this week:

First up is D. She share some scoop on an Oprah show that was on this week about people taken over by clutter. My mom gave me a head’s up about this show but I didn’t get to watch it. One woman had 75 TONS of garbage!

Next up is Bob. He shares some tips on how to have a debt-free Christmas. I’m still working on the first tip of saving money ahead of time. I thought about setting aside a “Christmas Fund” earlier in the year but I didn’t do it. I’ll try again next year.

Lastly we have Jim. He discusses do-it-yourself wills and trusts. A will is one thing my husband and I really need to take care of. I’m pretty sure our debts would eat any assets we have at this point. But, if something happened to the both of us, I’d want to make sure our son stays out of the courts and goes to someone we designate. I’ve been reading more lately on the do-it-yourself kits, so Jim writing about this was very timely. Thanks, Jim! 🙂

With that, I think I am going to go get some shut eye. Have a great weekend everyone!