JCPca$h - Today's the last day!

Join me today at JC Penney to receive $15 off a purchase of $75 or more or $10 off a purchase of $50 or more!

Want even more savings? Go early for special "door buster" savings from 9 a.m. - 1:00 pm!

Click HERE for your PRINTABLE COUPON to text it to your phone!

Find a store near you HERE!

See you at Regency Mall!

Toyota offers free rental cars for customers who need repairs

Toyota will be providing free rental cars for customers who need repairs on recalled vehicles. This will also include free pick up and return at home and Toyota will provide reimbursement for your out-of-pocket transportation costs.

Check out Lori's article at More With Less Today for all the details.

OnTel Product's Dryer Max Dryer Balls Product Review

I'm not generally one to purchase every new gadget or latest invention advertised on television but I did purchase OnTel Products' Dryer Max Dryer Balls over two years ago. My husband and kids have allergies to some laundry products, including ingredients in some laundry detergents, fabric softeners and dryer sheets so I thought I'd give them a try.

I purchased the Dryer Max Dryer Balls for $9.99 at Walgreens. The Dryer balls come 2 per package and each rubber ball is a little smaller than a tennis ball. The balls have soft nodules - like soft rubber spikes - all over them and my set is light blue.

The Dryer Max Dryer Balls are much gentler on the fibers of clothes, towels and other laundry items than traditional fabric softener. I've noticed that since I've switched from fabric softeners to the Dryer Max Dryer Balls, I have less lint to clean out of my dryer's lint filter and off the door of the dryer. That's how I know the fibers in the fabrics of my clothes, towels, etc. are not being broken down so harshly - more lint = more fabric fibers.

Also, the fact that drying clothes using the Dryer Max Dryer Balls means that we're not adding chemical compounds to our clothes, and releasing them into the environment.

Some of the ads indicate you'll cut your drying time in half. I haven't found that to be the case all the time, especially when I'm drying a load of towels or jeans. But the time is reduced and for lighter weight loads, the drying time may very well be close to a 50% reduction. We also have very little static electricity when the clothes come out of the dryer.

I know we have saved money by not having to purchase liquid fabric softener or fabric softener dryer sheets. We also never need to worry about not having fabric softener when we're ready to dry a load of clothes.

The life expectancy of the Dryer Max Dryer Balls is about three years. (Ours are still going strong after 2 1/2.) That's a savings of a tremendous amount of chemical compounds from being released into the environment and into our clothes and a savings of at least a couple of hundred of dollars over the life of the Dryer Max Dryer Balls.

I give the Dryer Max Dryer Balls by OnTel Products a 5 out of 5 stars!

Bartering = "Free" Services, Merchandise, Advice

Bartering rather than purchasing new items or disposing of no-longer useful items is a great way to reusing, repurposing and recycling that puts resources back into our economy without adding a strain on our planet. The saying goes, "one person's trash is another's treasure."

Articles I've read on the topic suggest starting slowly, with a friend or two to see how comfortable you feel. I have a friend who details cars as a side job and I offered to advertise his business on my blog and website for free if he would keep my car looking sharp. Needless to say, he jumped at the idea and my husband is thrilled not to hear me complain anymore about my dirty car:-)

Bartering for several meals prepared and delivered or child care in exchange for small home repairs or tax preparation are two pretty safe trades to begin your bartering adventure. From there, who knows!

The October 2009 issue of Parents magazine suggested these three sites for "cyber-swapping":

barterplanet.com - Barter Planet is a free online community that allows you to trade what you have for what you need. Membership is free. This is a new site, only on-line for a few months. There were only about 20 posts when I checked the site this evening, but the site may grow over time. Services or goods to trade are listed by zip code/city.

swapstyle.com - Swapstyle claims their an on-line fashion swap party where you can Swap Clothes, swap accessories, swap cosmetics, swap shoes and lots more with people from all around the world. It's free to join and trades are unlimited. This site also offers to sell or buy items on the site. They do recommend members become "address verified" for a one-time fee of $10. This adds an extra level of security for parties to transactions.

My favorite site of the three is: zwaggle.com - This site is home to a national network of parents who want to share their resources. You receive Zwaggle points (or Zoints) by giving your gently used things to other families, then use those Zoints to obtain "new" things for your family. This site is currently offer 25 free "zoints" for signing up!

Be cautious, start with small trades and start making a list of everything you can do, everything you have and everything you want. Then, have fun!

Do you have successful bartering experiences? Unfortunate experiences you'd care to share? Help others out. Leave a comment. I love it when readers share.

What to Do When You Can't Use Your Gift Card

So many of us received gift cards for Christmas. Our family is fortunate, in that we are able to use (if we haven't already) each of the cards we received as gifts this year. Sometimes, though, you may receive a gift card from a store you don't or don't want to shop.

Well, all is not lost! Mary Ann Romans at Families.com has some great suggestions on how to make the best of an otherwise undesirable gift card. CLICK HERE to read her ideas.

Mary Ann reminds us that in August of 2010 a new law will go into effect that will require that gift cards be valid for at least five years without expiring. Won't that be great?

In the mean time, check out Mary Ann's advice on how to make the best of your situation.


Check back here often for more great ideas, tips and techniques for making the most of your money--no matter how much or how little you have!

Tips for Stretching Your Dollar and Freezing Food

(Originally posted at Associated Content, May 16, 2008)

Grains: When you buy rice (not instant), cornmeal or any kind of flour at the store put the bag(s) in your freezer for 48 hours. This will probably work with oatmeal too, though I haven't tried it. After that, you can keep it in an airtight container or the original packaging and it will last “forever.” The freezing kills any vermin that may infest the grain if left at room temperature. I've had flour that lasted for months and never had a problem with it after it comes out of the freezer!

Ground beef/ground turkey: Mash 1 can kidney beans or black beans. Mix the mashed beans with 2 pounds of ground meat.

For meatloaf: add bread crumbs, crushed corn flakes or regular oatmeal (uncooked) and an egg, spices, ketchup; mix all ingredients together.
For hamburgers: add enough ketchup or barbeque sauce to hold together (not too much or they'll fall apart); add some spices, shape into patties, place a square of waxed paper between each patty. These can be stored in an empty bread bag in the freezer.
For tacos or casseroles: Brown meat, adding desired spices such as taco seasoning. Store in 1 cup portions in freezer bags. Bags can be flattened to take up minimum freezer space. Be sure to label your bags!

Eggs: Crack the eggs and place one or two each in freezer bags. When you're ready to bake, take out of the freezer several minutes before use. If you make quiche or other egg based dishes often, bag up the eggs in the appropriate quantity per bag.

Milk or Juice: Buy it on sale. Pour out 1/8 cup (give it to one of the kids to wash down a cookie) reseal carton or jug and freeze. To save even more money, switch to powdered milk or frozen concentrate juice (add water when you're ready to mix it up). If you mix up powdered milk, refrigerate it for several hours before serving (in other words, nice and cold) I bet no one will even notice the difference.

Potatoes: Peel, boil and mash. Allow to cool, store in gallon freezer bag. You can press the bag flat, and it won't take up much room in the freezer.

To save even more money: use coupons for your freezer bags or buy them at the Dollar Store. You can rinse/wash plastic bags and reuse them as long as they did not have eggs or uncooked meat stored in them.

FYI: a 5 lb. bag of flour fits perfectly in a one-gallon ice cream tub.



Click on the links for more Frugal Kitchen Tips, Creative Storage and Cost-cutting Tips for Buying in Bulk and check out Richmond Frugal Family at Examiner.com for current information on frugal deals and steals.