FREE 411 Calls

About a year ago my employer became concerned about the use of the 411 system by our employees. Apparently, we were racking in the charges. If only I had known then what I know now! There is a 800# that you can now call that will not only give you directory assistance, but will also give it to you for FREE. When you call there is a short ad (approx 10 seconds) that plays and then you are able to get your information. Give this a try and tell me what you think. Call 1-800-FREE-411.

FREE Sheet Music Downloads

Looking for free sheet music? A great source for classical music is MutopiaProject.com. They have selections from Mozart, Bach, Chopin and more. There is also a selection of contemporary music available. Enjoy!

Read Kindle Books On Your PC

Ok here's the coolest thing I've found in awhile. FREE books online. I've posted before about how Amazon has several free books for the Kindle. Now, there is a free software program that lets you read Kindle books on your PC! I'm so excited I can barely type. I LOVE to read and there has been so many times where I am stuck at home and can't make it to the local Borders or used book store. That's now a page in my past. Click here for the FREE Kindle PC software. Once you've completed your installation, click here for a list of FREE books to download that are listed by popularity.

FREE Foreign Language Lessons

I have two teenagers that are both starting to learn new languages, Spanish and Russian. I have taken enough Spanish courses, in the past, to feel confident in tutoring that language. Unfortunately, Russian is a mystery to me! Thankfully, there are many websites and tutorials that cover basics of foreign language. One of the best sites that I have recently come across is from the BBC. They offer a 12 week e-mail course for Spanish, Italian, French and German. They also have links to many other language tutorial sites even Gaelic. (my son will love that) Take a look http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/

Feed A Family Of Five For Under $40 A Week

Reducing our food expenditures is one of my main goals for next year. Looking at our budget, this is our biggest issue. So today as I was reading some of my favorite blogs, I ran across this article written by Crystal of Moneysavingmoms.com. She lays out a strategy of how she spends less than $40 a week feeding a family of FIVE. Take a look at her article here and then check out some other helpful articles listed below.


$45 Emergency Menu
$50 A Week

Martha Stewart Cookbook Download ~ FREE

Thanks to the folks at Sirus Radio, you can now download several recipes from Martha Stewart and other famous chefs at this link. What a great deal and just in time for the holidays!

FREE Mp3 Downloads & Deals @ Amazon

If you didn't already know, Amazon is a great source for freebies and deals on Mp3 downloads. I have been checking their files about once a week for free music and just discovered today that they have a freebie of the day link. Click here for today's download of Hello Sunshine by Barlow Girl. Amazon is also running a great deal through November. They have 50 albums Mp3 downloads for under $5. Click here for more details.

Free "Taste of Home" Digital Downloads

I must be hungry today because all I can focus on are food deals. Here's an absolutely great freebie for those of us that like the "Taste of Home" magazines. Go to this link and download up to 25 previous issues! I can't wait to try out some of these recipes.

There's Nothing In The Fridge!

Hmm...This is a commonly used phrase in our house. I often wonder when I hear said phrase coming from my children's mouths if it's time for an eye appointment. But, I do understand the sentiment. It's frustrating to face a fridge with potential ingredients and not a clue as to what to make with them. Thankfully, there are many resources on the internet to help with just this problem. I've listed below some of my favorite sites that let you list your ingredients and they will magically produce recipes out of those ingredients. I've also listed one of my favorites sites, hillbilly housewife, that has an emergency $45 menu for a family of four. She also has a great page on making your own convenience foods. Take a look and let us know if you have any favorite food/menu sites.

myfridgefood.com
cookingbynumbers.com
firehousechef.com
recipematcher.com
allrecipes.com
recipezaar.com

Hillbilly Housewife $45 food menu
Hillbilly Housewife Homemade Convenience foods

Surveys - Opinion Outpost

Opinion Outpost is one of the top survey companies out there in the online community. I consistently receive screener surveys from them and I find the questions to be interesting and of a usual length for online surveys. You need just 50 points to cash out for $5. If you do not qualify for a survey, you are given the option to donate, sweepstakes entry, or instant win opportunity. Give them a try and let me know what you think.


Don't forget about these great opportunities:

YouData is a program where you are presented with advertisements to view and/or websites to visit. They pay through paypal every Friday. Click here to sign up.

Swagbucks is an online search engine that rewards you for searching the internet. Here's how Swagbucks describes their program:
1. SEARCH
Search the web using www.swagbucks.com and receive results from Google & Ask.com.
2. EARN
Swag Bucks are periodically awarded as you search the web.
3. REDEEM
Redeem your Swag Bucks for exclusive swagbucks.com products and more in the Swag Store.
Click HERE to get started

Love Classical Music? How about 99 songs for $1.99?

Wow! Amazon is having some great download deals lately and here's another one. Download and buy the The 99 Most Essential Baroque Masterpieces album for $1.99 and save $86.12!(compared to buying all the songs individually) That's 99 songs for $1.99.

Free TV Episodes At Amazon

For those of you, like me, that can't wait for the fall tv show schedule to start, Amazon has their fall preview Video On Demand page available here. I suggest bookmarking this page. I not only visit Video on Demand at Amazon for free previews and pilot episodes, but I also buy cheap videos when I have missed an episode of my favorite shows. They also carry movies for rent or purchase. I use this when I can't find anything to watch on Netflix or I just don't want to make a run to the video store. It's very convenient and a lot cheaper than taking my family to the movie theater. Enjoy

Photo Deals On The Web

Artscow.com
For new registrants only - 1200 Free Prints! Click here for the details.

Artscow.com
4pc 11x14 for $2.99 with coupon code 11X14PRINTS

Free Photo Flip Book + Shipping from Vistaprint

50+ Games For $5 Each

This is sure to make any gamer extremely happy. (At least that's what I'm hoping) Direct2Drive is celebrating their 5 year anniversary with popular game downloads for only $5! I've ordered from this company before and it's pretty straight forward. But, if downloading and installing a video game seems daunting to you, just find a teenager - they know everything.

Long Night...

I spent the evening listening to a hour and a half long sales pitch for website design and promotion. I went knowing it was going to be a long evening, but I really wanted the FREE Mp3 player they were offering as an incentive to attend. I even convinced one of my friends to endure this with me. Well we got our prize and I am happy to report it will make the FREE Christmas gift list. WooHoo!!

Christmas Goal: Free Gifts

Items so far:
1 Mp3 player
1 Free t-shirt (plus s/h)
3 Magazine Subscriptions
2 Pangea Skin Discovery Kits (stocking stuffers)
$5 Gift Certificate from advertiser survey
FREE Tote & Wallet with purchase
3 Amazon Gift Certificates/Swagbucks
2 Flowered Salad Bowl Sets
2 Mini-Rex Sewing Machines

Portrait People FREE Portrait Package Coupon

Portrait People has a printable coupon here for a free portrait package that includes:
1- 8x10
2- 5x7
8- wallet sized photos
Plus get 25 birth announcements or thank-you postcards for only $25. There is "no portrait session fee". I can not find anywhere on the site where is says you have to purchase the announcements to get this deal, but I would definately ask a salesperson before making an appointment. Enjoy!

Sear Free Portrait & $10 off Juniors Apparel Coupons

Thank you Sears! Here are some great coupons for back-to-school or early Christmas shopping. Click here for a "Free Classic Wall Portrait" coupon with no session fee. Also, click here for a great $10 off coupon on juniors’ apparel. Guess I'll be making a stop at Sears this week. See you there!

Over 1200 FREE Mp3 Downloads From Amazon.com

Love music? Click here to download over 1200 mp3 songs from Amazon.com!


My Favorite Albums:
The O'Neill Brothers Wedding Music: Amazon Sampler
Analekta: Classical Gems: Free Sampler
Putumayo Digital Sampler

FREE T-Shirt + Shipping at Vista Prints

Vista Prints is offering a free customizable t-shirt (plus $4.41 s/h). I not only got this, but at checkout I also was offered various promo items and selected a free coupon for QuickBooks Simple Start and $50 Google Ad Words Credit. This is a very cheap gift or promo for your business. Click here to order your design.


Christmas Goal: Free Gifts

Items so far:
1 Free t-shirt (plus s/h)
3 Magazine Subscriptions
2 Pangea Skin Discovery Kits (stocking stuffers)
$5 Gift Certificate from advertiser survey
FREE Tote & Wallet with purchase
3 Amazon Gift Certificates/Swagbucks
2 Flowered Salad Bowl Sets
2 Mini-Rex Sewing Machines

Free Magazine Subscriptions

Hurry, these magazine subscriptions will go fast. If you missed the last free subscription offer for Marie Claire or Town & Country, get in on these Rewards Gold offers quickly.

Shape Magazine 2 yr subscription
Marie Claire 3 yr subscription
Town & Country subscription
Muscle & Fitness subscription

Free Pangea Organics Skin Discovery Kit

Click here to sign up a free Skin Discovery Kit from Pangea Organics. This offer is from Allure magazine. You may decline all the offers following the sign-up. Great stocking stuffer idea!

Survey Weekend

Last weekend I spent some of my downtime searching for survey companies, member panels, etc. that I could do in my "spare" time. I'm just trying some of them out, but I found one that I love, love, love. It's called YouData and it's not only easy to do, it's interesting too. Basically, you sign in and view a panel of advertisements or click on their websites. I've actually bookmarked some of the sites as they were worthy of revisiting. So far, in a little over a week I've earned almost $2.00 and a gift certificate from one of the advertisers
that had a brief survey about my shopping experience. Well, I'm not going to get rich, but the experience was definately worth the time invested. Sound interesting? Click here to get started.


Christmas Goal: Free Gifts

Items so far:
$5 Gift Certificate from advertiser survey
FREE Tote & Wallet with purchase
$10 in Amazon Gift Certificates/Swagbucks
2 Flowered Salad Bowl Sets
2 Mini-Rex Sewing Machines

FREE Kindle Download Books At Amazon

***psst, if anyone asks what I secretly want for Christmas, I want a shiny new Kindle*** These electronic reading devices are lightweight and store over 1500 books!! Hmm... calculating how many Swagbucks I would need to get enough Amazon Gift Cards as I speak (err write). For those of you lucky enough to own one of these gems or are thinking of purchasing one, here's a deal for you. Amazon currently has many of it's Kindle book downloads available for free. Click here to see the list.

How To Make Your Own Perfume

Want to learn how to make your own perfume? Me too!! Thankfully for us, Indie Fixx has posted a detailed tutorial on just this subject. Click here for the details. Also, check out my post on free printable labels so you can really feel like a professional.

Oooooh Chocolate Syrup

I've been in a chocolate mood lately and looking for recipes made with Hershey's cocoa. We use a lot of chocolate syrup in our household, so this recipe seemed like the perfect fit. Thanks to Bonnie-Jean Garcia at Thriftyfun.com

Hershey's Chocolate Syrup

l cup Hershey's cocoa
l l/2 cups sugar
l cup hot water
dash of salt
boil for three minutes and add 2 teaspoons of vanilla

Store in refrigerator

Capri Sun Lunch Bags

I've seen these bags at various venues in different styles and have wanted to own one for myself. Now, thanks to the folks at Thrift Fun, everyone with a sewing machine can have one. The instructions seem pretty simple. Have fun!

Tailored T-Shirts!

I'm in a back to school frame of mind. This week I will be posting ideas and deals for the kiddies.  Here's a great idea for fitted T-shirts or turning large sizes into extra long shirts. Thank you to the folks at Bernina.