Wedding Vacation Day 2: Welcome to New Hampshire

Welcome to New Hampshire

Last time we talked wedding vacation we were in Vermont (you can read about it here). Day 2 of our vacation had us arriving in New Hampshire! We were super excited to get to the state line!

Honestly New Hampshire is such a beautiful state! Even now, a month after we’ve gotten back Andy still says “Do you want to move to New Hampshire?” “Are you ready to go back to New Hampshire?” Once you go – you will fall in love!

Resort

We quickly found our resort and it was wonderful! We stayed at The South Mountain Resort in Lincoln, New Hampshire.

Resort 1

 

Our room had 1 bedroom, 2 bath, kitchen and living room.

resort master

swimming

We had a nice big balcony that walked right out to the pool and hot tub. Not to mention a nice view of the mountains!

hot tub

However, we spent a lot of time at the indoor pool and hot tub. I’m not sure if it was the fact that it changed colors.

hot tub2

Or the waterfall. But that’s where he liked to play. 🙂

pizza

For dinner we headed to Elvio’s Pizzeria. If you are ever anywhere near Lincoln, NH you HAVE to eat there!! Josh said he’s eaten a lot of pizza before but nothing compared to Elvio’s!

pizza2

Andy and I agree! We’ve never had pizza better before! We ended up eating there twice on vacation it was so good! Now whenever we eat pizza or I ask “What do you want for dinner?” Josh always answers, “I wish there was an Elvio’s Pizza in Indiana.”

Tomorrow I’ll share with our trip to the Flume!

How to Save Money on Amazon

how to save big on amazon

Amazon ‘s web sales are 5 times more than Walmart, Target, and Buy.com’s web sales combined. In fact, they are the number one E-Tailer in the world! You can find everything from groceries to electronics to movies to books. Shopping at Amazon can save you time and money if you shop smartly. Here are some tips how to save money on Amazon.

Amazon Price Tracker

If you use Google Chrome (which is by the way, my favorite browser) download the Amazon Price Tracker. I personally use Keepa Amazon Price Tracker. It’s free to download. What does it do? When you look up an item on Amazon, after the product description you will see a chart like below.

 

amazon price tracker

It automatically shows the prices that the item has been for the past three months. You can easily switch it to see all of the prices the item has ever been. This is a great tool to have! There is nothing worse than buying something and a week later it is on sale. With this tracker you know when an item is at its lowest price.

amazon price tracker 2

When you select the track the product setting you are able to put in your desired price and your email address. When the item reaches your price they email you! How do you know what price to select? I look at the lowest that the item has been in the past 3 months and use that as a guide.

Amazon Prime, Amazon Mom, and Amazon Student

Amazon offers a service called Amazon Prime. When you enroll in this service you receive free 2 day shipping, unlimited instant streaming for eligible movies and television shows and if you have a Kindle, you can borrow books from the Kindle library. If you need something shipped overnight then the shipping cost is only $3.99. There is a fee for joining Amazon Prime; however, everyone is eligible for a free 30 day trial. If you chose to keep your membership it is $79 per year. That comes out to only $6.58 per month. For my family, we order from Amazon quite a bit so it is worth it to us to save on shipping. For us, the instant streaming and being able to borrow books is an added bonus.

Amazon Mom is a service available to any mom, dad, grandparent or caregiver. Amazon Mom is free to sign up for and you receive the benefits of 20% off diapers and wipes and 3 months of free 2 day shipping with Amazon Prime. (You will not receive the instant streaming or Kindle Library benefits).

Amazon Student was created for college students and is available to those who have a .edu email address. It’s free to sign up! As an Amazon Student member you get 6 months of free 2 day shipping with Amazon Prime. After the 6 month trial period is over you can keep your membership (and get access to instant streaming and the Kindle Library) for only $39 per year! That’s a $40 savings! You get to keep your membership at the discounted rate for 4 years or you graduate whichever comes first.

Coupons and Subscribe and Save

Did you know Amazon offers coupons? Using Amazon’s coupons can be a great way to save!

Amazon subscribe and save and coupons

Here is an example taken recently on a listing for Huggies Wipes (8 packs of 56 wipes). Currently they are on sale for $15.76 – a pretty decent deal at 47% off the list price of $29.71! But watch, because it will get better.

You will see circled in red is something called Subscribe and Save. Subscribe and Save is when you sign up to have a reoccurring delivery and in return you get a discount. Usually you get a 5% discount when you choose this option (in the example above since it is for a baby product and I am an Amazon Mom Member the discount is 20% for choosing this option! ) The great thing about Subscribe and Save is you can cancel your Subscribe and Save as soon as the item ships. That’s right. You can take advantage of the extra discount and as soon as you get your email from Amazon stating your order has been shipped go ahead and cancel! It just takes one click.

So if we were buying the wipes above you would click the subscribe and save option (circled in red on the right hand side). Then, see the green circle? Inside that is a $1.00 off coupon. Just click ‘clip this coupon’. That’s it.

Check out the savings:

Huggies Wipes (8 packs of 56) List price: $29.71

Sale price: $15.76

Subscribe and Save price: $12.61

After coupon: $11.61

That’s a total savings of $18.10!

Price Matching

Currently Target is price matching Amazon! This is great news because sometimes you can find coupons for movies and toys and being able to combine those coupons with Amazon’s low prices is awesome.

amazon price match

A few days ago I was able to price match to get this deal. The Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Stride to Ride Puppy (whew, that was a mouth full!) was at Target for $49.99. I price matched it to Amazon (who had it on sale for $33.99). I also had a manufacturer’s coupon for $10.00 off – so combining the two I got a great deal!

I picked up the puppy and took it to the customer service desk where I asked them to price match to Amazon. They pulled up the price of $33.99 and instantly discounted it for me. I ended up paying $23.99 for a $50 toy!

Note: As policies may change in the future, double check with your Target store to verify they price match to Amazon.

Amazon is a great place to save big on household supplies, gifts, items for the home and even food! Using these tips you now know how to save money on Amazon!

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How to Start a Gift Closet & Why You Need One

How to start a gift closet and why you need one

Shopping for gifts doesn’t have to be stressful and you don’t have to spend a fortune! By shopping throughout the year and using my gift closet I save HUGE, plus it’s so much less stress!

If you buy things you won’t use you won’t save any time or money.

Lots of people start buying stuff because it’s cheap and they forget about it, it doesn’t fit when it comes time to gift it, or they end up with 5 gifts for the same person. If you go in with no plan then you can’t plan on saving as much as you should. The first thing I do at the beginning of the year is make my list.

gift closet inventory list

(It’s not fancy, but if you want to print off my list you can get it here.)

In my list, I put their name, birthday, anniversary, birthday gift, Christmas gift and an other column. The other column is for things like baby shower, graduation, or wedding gifts. While making your list of names don’t forget teachers, neighbors, charities you normally shop for and a few extra gifts to have on hand. I like to list a few of Josh’s friends that I know for a fact we will buy for as well. This list is also handy for keeping track of what size people wear!

When a gift is purchased, I write in the gift under the appropriate column. This way I know who I have already purchased for and who I still need to purchase something for.

I try to keep a few extra general gifts on hand for:

* Hostess gifts

* Wedding gifts

* Shower gifts

* Birthday gifts

So what do you buy anyways?

So you know WHO you are buying for now you need to be on the look out for your gifts to fill your list! There are some tips on buying gifts:

– Beware of fads and phases, especially for kids. Sometimes phases can pass quickly. Something that a 6 year old is into in February won’t necessarily be something they will be into in December. Before you buy just ask yourself if they will still like it later on.

– For general gifts to just have on hand (not necessarily for a specific person) make sure they are just that – general. Something that most boys would be excited to have, diapers are great to have on hand to go with a baby shower gift, and lotions, bubble baths and candles can be put together for a nice gift basket that most women would love to receive!

– Some gifts are general enough to cover both boys and girls like puzzles, games, play doh and gift cards.

– Don’t forget to pick up tape, cards, ribbon, wrapping paper, party favors, napkins, paper plates etc when you see them on sale! There’s no need to save 90% on a gift to have to pay full price for the wrapping!

Where do you shop?

I do most of my shopping online. I love Amazon and do lots of shopping there. I have an Amazon Prime membership (you can get a free trial here) so I get free 2 day shipping on my purchases. I also buy a lot of clothes from Twice and thredUP. Both companies offer a free $10 credit to new members which means free clothes! (Plus, right now if you like Twice on Facebook you get an additional 15% off your purchase!) Groupon, No More Rack (new members get $10 off their first $30 purchase), Zulily and One Kings Lane (new members receive $15 off a $30 purchase) are also some of my favorites.

When I’m not shopping online, I’m checking out clearance aisles and for coupons. You can find coupons for toys, movies and even gift cards!

giftcards

How do you save on gift cards?

 

Even if you don’t give gift cards as gifts – if you can get them at a discount (and they are for a place you would shop at regularly anyways) purchase them. Even if the discount is small. I think of it this way. I know every year at Christmas time I buy from Amazon, Best Buy and Target. During the year, I purchase 3 $100 gift cards for $90 each for those places. Come Christmas I have $300 saved back for my shopping and I saved $30. That’s the price of a gift (or in my case 2 or 3 gifts!). It adds up!

Kroger will often offer 4 times the fuel points saving you $6 on fuel with the purchase of a $100 gift card.

CVS sometimes offers $10 Extra Care Bucks when you purchase a $100 gift card.

Groupon has offered gift cards up to 50%.

Some companies offer gift cards as a promotional offer (such as when you switch cable companies). If you get one – even just a $5 gift card (hello teacher gift!) save it back!

Swagbucks is a great place to earn gift cards. Use it like google and trade your swagbucks in for gifts or gift cards! (I use mine for Amazon gift cards. I earn about $150 each year through Swagbucks!) For not much effort it’s perferct!

Recyclebank also is a place to earn gift cards. Again, I trade mine in for Amazon but get what makes sense for you! Recyclebank just requires a few minutes of your time to learn about being green and your points add up quickly!

By planning ahead you will save yourself not only money but a headache as well! Once you get going with your gift closet you will

 

Plan on Savings for Your Family Vacation – Tips on saving on vacation

how to save a bundle on your next vacation

We have just about 2 weeks until we leave for our wedding vacation! I feel like my to do list is 12 miles long! But I wanted to make sure to share with you how to save on your vacation! The answer is, plan ahead! Sounds easy enough right? 🙂

Most people plan on taking a vacation in advance, but they don’t plan out their vacation. I know, I know being spontaneous is a blast but if you want to save (HUGE!) you have to plan somethings out in advance.

Of course there are sites like Hotels.com, Kayak, and travelocity to compare the prices of hotels, rental cars and airfare. But here are some more sites and tips that help us save at least 50% on our vacations!

trip advisor

TripAdvisor

The first thing I do when we decide on a location for our vacations is I head over to do some research. I use TripAdvisor. It’s one of the best sites out there – even to check and see about cool things to do/go locally! Plus, it’s free!

I type in “things to do in (your location)”. When you click that you will have the area’s best attractions AND reviews. Reviews are awesome because they keep you from wasting your time and money!

I read through the list of attractions and I print out the ones that sound like they would be a good fit for my family. My wishlist if you will. (I keep my list in a binder, which I will show you this week!)

Now, I know in advance what things I would like to do while I’m on vacation and I’ve read the reviews so I know that they are worth my family’s time and money. If you are like me there are more things to do than time but right now don’t worry about that! If your family would enjoy it put it on your list! Also, star a couple items that are on your must do list. It’s all about priorities!

groupon

Groupon

You are probably a Groupon member (or have been at some point) for your local city but make sure you sign up for the city you will be vacationing in! I usually sign up about 3 months prior to our trip (most deals have a time limit). Each day you will get an email (don’t worry you can unsubscribe!) about things to do in the city you have selected. Use your wishlist you made from TripAdvisor and when you see some of those wish list attractions come up on Groupon snatch them up for 50% off!

By planning and purchasing your activities ahead of time you are able to save big! Plus, once you are on vacation it’s easy to go over budget – so having things pre-paid is SO nice!

Logo-RDC-EDSM-tabloid

Restaurant.com

Restaurant.com is a website that you can simply plug in your zip code and a list of participating restaurants will come up. You may purchase discounted gift certificates and print them out at home. There are minimum purchase requirements when using restaurant.com certificates, but they are easily attainable. For example, I bought a $10 certificate for $4. There is a minimum purchase requirement of $15, which is no problem for meals and drinks for 2 people! $25 certificates can usually be bought for $10 and have a minimum purchase requirement of $35.

Simply type in your travel destination and take a look at the restaurants available. The menus are also available online for the restaurants featured to help you decide which certificates to purchase.

If you collect Coke Rewards Points you can also redeem those for restaurant.com certificates as well. I redeemed my points for $50 worth of certificates before our vacation!

City PASS



Check out City Pass to see if your vacation location is included in their passes! City Pass offers a number of main attractions for 1 price for cities such as Boston, Chicago, Hollywood, and many more. You can save up to 50% on ticket admissions!

entertainment-book

Entertainment books

Make sure to check out local coupons while on vacation. Visitor centers are a great place to check. Entertainment.com also has a big coupon book that has coupons for everything from food to entertainment. The books can be a little pricy if you are just purchasing one to use for vacation, but you may be able to find one on Ebay for a BIG discount.



What sites do you use to save on vacation?

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Cheap (And Even FREE!) Name Brand Maternity Clothes Plus Sell Your Maternity Clothes For Cash!

Are you pregnant or know someone who is? Or perhaps you have recently had a baby. If so, then I have to let you in on a little secret. It’s called Thred Up.

Thred Up is an online source for the best name brand clothing at fantastic prices! Thred Up has practically new, gently used clothing and brand new clothing at HUGE discounts for kids and women (including Maternity and Plus Size!) Shipping starts at only $2.99! PLUS when you sign up here you will get a $10 credit to use on your first order! With prices starting at only $3.99 that means FREE clothing!!

You can also request a bag to send in your gently used clothing and they will pay you cash! Perfect for emptying out those closets!

motherhood tunicold navy jeans

Here is an example of a cute maternity outfit that you can find.

Motherhood Tunic (Retail: $30) $7.49

Old Navy Jeans (Retail: $30) $7.99

Use $10.00 New Member Credit

Pay just: $5.98!

motherhood dress

This cute dress is new with tags from Motherhood! It retailed for $34 but is on thredUP for $13.49. After the new member credit, pay just $3.49!

motherhood dress2

This adorable summer dress is also from Motherhood (Originally $35.00). It is on thredUP for $9.49. After the $10 new member credit, it is FREE!

There is no need to spend a fortune on clothes you are only going to wear for a few months! Save big! And when you are done with them, sell them back!

Make sure to share this fabulous site with your friends! With all of the things to buy for a new baby expensive maternity clothes shouldn’t be one of them! Or pick up an outfit to give as a gift! I received a maternity outfit with a baby shower gift and let me assure you – it was MUCH appreciated! 🙂

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Our Wedding Vacation – Part 1

1.Beginning of vacation.Car ride

We left for New Hampshire on May 29th. It was a LONG drive – about 17 hours long! We packed up and headed out.

Josh was amazing on the trip. In fact, I think he was super excited. He got to open travel presents every time we entered a new state. And he had hours to play video games and watch movies without me telling me to turn it off. I think that was his favorite part. 🙂

grape fields of new york1

Indiana’s scenery is well, flat. So we were excited when we started seeing new things! I never knew how many grape fields were in New York! I think Andy and I may have to take a weekend and go visit the wineries!

We drove through Upstate New York and it was so beautiful. I wish we would have had time to explore the little towns nestled in the hills. I’m sure they had some amazing antique shops, beautiful views and awesome small shops.

Country Inns and Suites

We stopped for the night in Rochester. We stayed at Country Inns & Suites and I have to say I was really impressed! And before I go on, no, Country Inns & Suites didn’t pay me to say that. Actually, they don’t even know who I am. 🙂 The hotel was really, really reasonably priced. (And you get a discount from booking online!) There was all of the regular hotel ‘stuff’ – indoor pool, work out room, free wifi, and free breakfast (with a waffle machine – Josh was very excited.) BUT they also had cookies waiting inside! They also had a library of kid’s books available to check out. I loved that! The entire staff was super friendly and for under $100 it was above and beyond my expectations. The next time we travel we will for sure be looking for a Country Inns & Suites to stay at!

11.Car ride.Vermont-001

The next day we left and finished off the rest of our trip. We were really excited to start seeing all the mountains!

13.Car ride.Dairy Barn.Arlington, Vermont.Milkshakes-001

We stopped in Arlington, Vermont for gas and lunch. It was a tiny little town. The Arlington Dairy Bar had all kinds of burgers, hot dogs and sandwiches. Not to mention they made the best milkshakes. Ever. EVER.

15. Car ride.Vermont-001

After lunch we got back on the road. We were just a few hours away from our Mountain destination. And geez were those mountains BEAUTIFUL. Even from the highway. 🙂

Tomorrow I’ll tell you all about the beginning of our adventures in New Hampshire!

Tips for Keeping Kids Happy & Parents Sane on Road Trips

Tips to Keep Kids Happy and Parents Sane on Car Rides

We just got back from our wedding vacation and we had SO much fun. I have so much to share with you guys!! I thought I would start this series with a tips on how to keep kids happy (and parents sane!) during long car trips. We drove from Indiana to New Hampshire — about 17 hours! Here are some tips that helped us ALL enjoy the trip a little more.

1. Get a lap desk! You can get one fairly inexpensively on Amazon and they are awesome. The bottom is filled with a bean bag filling and the top has a flat surface to use as a desk. They are perfect for setting a lap top or DVD player on or for coloring, playing games and even eating on. Having everything with easy access, comfortable, and easy to manage is important for kids (and parents) to keep their interest! Honestly, it’s hard to color without a flat surface!

lap desk

This is like the one we have (the only difference is ours is a different color) It’s only $12.27 on Amazon and that includes shipping if you are an Amazon Prime or Amazon Mom member! If you are not an Amazon Prime or Amazon Mom member you can sign up for a free trial! It has a cup holder, a place for your pens to stay put and a small light. For us, it has been WELL worth the $12.00! In fact, I just ordered a second one for myself! 🙂

travel bags and what to fill them with2. Get some fun, new things! For our vacation I made travel bags. I bought bags at the Dollar Store and used scrapbook paper to label each bag with a different state. Then, in each bag a fun, new, inexpensive something (see below for ideas) and some snacks. Then when you cross over into a new state a new bag is opened. It makes traveling fun and exciting! Plus, you have snacks in the car so no need to stop and pick up junk food. AND – just in case you need another reason to make them, they double as a trash can. 🙂 This was the first time we used the travel bags and they were a HUGE hit!

I started purchasing items for our bags when I found out we were going on vacation. I kept a limit of about $10 per bag. Amazon is a great place to find things for cheap!

Here are some ideas to fill your bags with:

– Books – For Josh I got one of the books in the series How to Train Your Dragon (this is a great series!) and a few of the books from the series NERDS (another great series for kids!) The books cost between $3.00 – $7.00 and shipping was included!

– DVDs – We have a portable DVD player (which is a life saver for car rides! If you don’t have one, you can get a good one for under $100!) You can get DVDs under $10 no problem! Even movies under $5.00 are easy to find! Another good option is stopping at gas stations with Red Boxes. There are so many codes for free Red Box rentals out there! Plus, the nice thing is you can rent a movie and at the next gas station drop it back off!

– Books on CD – No matter how old you are listening to a great book on CD is fun! We have Narnia, Geronimo Stilton, and lots of Adventures in Odyssey CDs. You can also join Audible and burn your own CD’s. Your first 3 months are only $7.49 (which in some cases can be a cheaper option!)

reusable sticker pad

– Fun toys – New toys are fun and exciting, and well, new. They don’t have to be expensive! Reusable Sticker Pads (like the one above) can be moved around hundreds of times! There are tons to choose from – for both boys and girls. They are $5.00 – $6.00 each. Travel games like Simon, Guess Who and other classic board games can be found for under $10 too! Scavenger hunt cards are also a ton of fun! We bought this set for $7.50 and it provided hours of entertainment (even for us grown ups!) Would You Rather is another great game to get conversation started! And don’t forget the Mad Libs and Invisible Ink books! 🙂

3. Don’t forget the snacks! I placed snacks in our travel bags and it was like getting another gift! Who would have thought that getting crackers and fruit snacks would be (almost) as much fun to get as new movies and toys!

4. Get comfy! Don’t forget to pack a travel pillow and blanket. When Andy drives he blasts the AC so a fuzzy blanket is a must!

headphones

5. Invest in headphones! This is probably my number one tip on keeping sane in the car! After all, there are only so many times you can hear the same song (over and over again). Ear Buds are uncomfortable for adults and are way to big for kids to try to fit in their little ears. Kids are happy because they can listen to their movies, music and books. Parents, brothers, and sisters are happy because they can listen to what they want to! Win-win!

How do you keep sane on long car rides?

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Understanding Coupon Lingo

lingo

If you’ve visited coupon blogs and forums, you may have been confused by what appears to be a secret code. “BOGO,” “OYNO,” “Catalinas” – these terms are meaningful for couponing insiders, but look like a foreign language to the uninitiated.

Like most other forms of specialized knowledge, couponing has its own jargon that makes it easier for those “in the know” to communicate. If you want to maximize your savings with coupons, it pays to be familiar with coupon culture, and that includes learning coupon lingo.

As a primer, here are 10 of the most common couponing terms that pop up on coupon websites:

1. Blinkie

Refers to a manufacturer coupon that is dispensed from a small machine located on the shelf where the item it pertains to is displayed. The machine has a blinking red light, hence the name. You typically don’t need to use the coupons from a blinkie on the same day that you get them and can usually redeem them at any store that stocks the product.

2. BOGO

Stands for “buy one, get one.” The best kind of BOGO is buy one, get one free (also known as “BOGO free”). You’ll also see “BOGO half off,” which means the second item is half price. A buy one, get one free deal may also be referred to as B1G1.

3. Catalinas

Refers to custom-printed coupons that you receive when you make a purchase. Catalina coupons (also known as CATs) may be printed from a separate machine next to the cash register or they may be part of your CRT (cash register tape). The items that Catalinas pertain to may be in-store specials or may reflect your recent purchases. For example, if you bought pasta, you might receive a Catalina coupon for spaghetti sauce. You may also get Catalinas that provide a dollar amount off your next purchase. Catalinas are intended for future shopping trips and usually can’t be applied to your current purchase. They typically have EXPs (expiration dates).

4. Coupon Insert

Refers to advertising circulars that are inserted into Sunday newspapers. They are one of the most valuable sources for MFG (manufacturer) coupons. The top circulars are referred to by name, including Proctor & Gamble (PG), Red Plum (RP) and Smart Source (SS or S). Couponers who are into stockpiling (building a cache of products for future use) make a practice of buying several Sunday papers in order to get multiple copies of the coupon insert.

5. MIR

Stands for “Mail in Rebate.” This is a coupon, check or gift card that a store or manufacturer sends through the mail after you send in a qualifying rebate form.

6. OYNO

Stands for “on your next order.” This is a bit like BOGO, except the discount is applied to your next purchase. For example, after you make a $30 purchase, a store will give you a coupon for $10 off your next purchase. OYNO coupons usually have an expiration date and may or may not require a minimum purchase amount on the coupon transaction. If no minimum is required and you purchase an item that costs less than the value of the coupon, the item is free.

7. Peelie

This is an instant coupon that is stuck to a product. You will get an immediate discount at check out when you peel off the coupon and hand it to the cashier. Don’t expect the cashier to do this for you; if you get home and find you forgot to use a peelie, you should be able to use it the next time you buy the product.

8. Stacking Coupons

This refers to the practice of using more than one coupon for the same item, such as “stacking” a manufacturer coupon on top of a store coupon. Most grocery stores, drugstores and department stores allow stacking. Couponers who save the most money practice stacking on a regular basis, combining sale prices, MFG coupons and OYNO coupons to get deep discounts.

9. Tearpad

A pad with several coupons or refund forms that hangs from a store shelf. You are free to tear off as many coupons or forms as you like.

10. YMMV

Stands for “Your Mileage May Vary.” This refers to deals that are available at one store or from one manager or cashier, but may not be available everywhere.

 

Mandy Fricke is the community manager for Georgetown University in Washington D.C. Nursing@Georgetown, a Master in Nursing program, as well as a contributor to the Nursing License Map. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, reading, and yoga.

Like Twice: Free $10 Credit + $10 Bonus! FREE Clothes!!!

Like Twice is an online re-sale shop for women. They offer high end, name brand clothing in almost new condition for a fraction of the cost! Plus, they have a really great offer for new members! MAKE SURE YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE! 🙂

New members will receive a FREE $10 credit! Clothing starts at only $9 so that means you can get 1 piece of clothing for free – just pay shipping! AND now, if you send in some clothes to sell you get a $10 bonus on top of the CASH that they pay you for your clothes! Yes, they pay cash for things that are taking up space in your closet! Time to get spring cleaning!

Here is the outfit I purchased today.

american eagle 12NEW with tags American Eagle sweater $12 (It retailed for $44.50! That’s 75% off!)

lucky top 22

Lucky Brand top $22 (It retailed for $79! That’s 70% off!)

cropped american eagle 19

American Eagle Cropped Jeans $19 (Originally $45!)

Shipping is $5 or free on purchases over $49. I went ahead and added a J. Crew tank top ($12) to my order to get free shipping. After my $10 new member credit I paid $55 for all 4 pieces of clothing. Or just $13.75 each. SHIPPED! I saved about $150 off the retail value!

All items have a 30 day money back refund and free returns!

I know that you can find clothing cheaper in thrift stores and at yard sales, but our local Goodwill charges $8 for jeans and $6 for tops! So for me, the convenience of plugging in my size and having all my options come up is worth the extra cost. Plus knowing that the items I choose have been inspected for holes, broken zippers, etc is nice to know. Like Twice only puts out the best quality merchandise!!!

So go here to claim your free $10 credit. And if you are interested in selling some of the clothes taking up room in your closet go here to receive a bonus $10 on top of the cash for your clothes!! You can take advantage of both offers!

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Get Rid of Cable & Still Watch Your Favorite Shows

tv get rid of cable

 

I’ve had a few people ask about how to cut their television bills so I thought this would be a great time to repost! Especially Since Ooma is still on sale on Amazon – ditch the cable once and for all!

A while ago I took the plunge and cancelled cable. My family didn’t take the news very well. My husband was upset that I cancelled it in the middle of the NBA Finals (to my defense how many games are there?) and my son was appalled that we would no longer have Cartoon Network. (Just to save money? What kind of excuse is that?)

But after their anger subdued I explained to them that we were spending $2,000 a year for our cable! And while yes, this includes our cable, Internet and home phone I just thought that it was an outrageous amount. There are so many options out there to replace cable and most of them come with a free trial! So test them out and find what services work best for you and your family!

Instant Streaming:

Many services allow you to instantly stream movies and television shows right to your TV! You do need a few things in order to do this. You will need:

– An Internet connection

– A Smart TV, Roku Box, or a Video Game Console (that is connected to the Internet)

To stream you simple use one of the devices above and connect it to your Internet. Then choose which ‘channel’ you would like to add.

What in the world is a Roku Box?

A Roku box is a small box that you plug into your TV. It takes about 3 seconds to set up. Roku allows you have instant access to tons of channels. Think of it like your cable box that you have now (except smaller!) You buy the Roku box and that’s it – you never get a bill. You add the ‘channels’ that you want (some are free and some you pay for), you have access to Pandora (free music streaming), *play games (you can even play Angry Birds!), and instantly put your photos and movies from your phone on your TV!

There are a few different Roku box choices. (*not all games can be played on all Roku boxes. Some games, like Angry birds have to be played on ones with a motion controller).

We have one in each of our bedrooms. (We use our video game consoles to stream in our living room.) We bought ours on Amazon.

Your Local Channels

mohu

Invest in a good antenna and you can get access to your local channels – for free! The Mohu Leaf Antenna is a top rated antenna. You can go to TVFool and plug in your address to find out how many miles away your house is from a television transmitter. Knowing how many miles will help you find out which antenna you will need to purchase. It’s important to buy a high quality antenna so you are able to get all available channels as well as have good, uninterrupted service. Remember, buying the antenna is a one time buy! You will never receive a bill for your local channels! This is the antenna that we have and we really like ours! (And it’s on sale for $36.33 plus free shipping! Amazon prices can change at anytime.)

What kind of ‘Channels’ can I get from instant streaming and how much do they cost?

Crackle

PROS:

  • It’s FREE!

CONS:

  • Limited choices – Crackle was originally designed for men 18-34. There are mostly action, comedy, anime and adventure choices.

What do we watch on Crackle?

We honestly don’t watch much, but we do watch the original Three Stooges – a lot! They have a few decent movies, but most of them are also available on other channels. (The Three Stooges however is not on the other channels.) But new things can be added at any time so we keep it.

Netflix logo

Netflix

PROS:

  • FREE month trial! After that, you can get unlimited instant streaming for just $7.99 a month.
  • Netflix Kids is included. Netflix Kids groups together all of the kids shows in one spot, which is nice. When my son logins in to Neflix on his 3DS, I don’t have to worry about him watching something inappropriate.
  • Netflix just got the rights to Disney movies! That means you can find movies such as Lady and the Tramp and TV shows like Phineas and Ferb.
  • When you pay for Netflix you pay $7.99 for your household. That means for $7.99 one person can watch in the living room through the X-Box, one person can watch in the bedroom through the Roku and someone else can watch through their computer all at the same time, all something different.
  • Good selection of movies and television shows.

CONS:

  • Some movies are by mail only. This is an extra service. Choose from a Blu-Ray or DVD rental plan and you can check out 1 – 3 discs at a time. Prices start at $7.99 per month for this service. I will say that they ship out quickly!
  • The television shows are past seasons. You won’t be able to watch last night’s episode of your favorite show.

Netflix is one of our favorite services! What are some things that we watch? Law and Order, West Wing, Phineas and Ferb, The Lorax, 101 Dalmations, Extreme Couponing, and more! We currently have the 3 DVDs out at a time mail plan in addition to instant streaming. We pay an extra $15.99 a month for this. It may sound like a lot, but we are big movie people! We probably get 30 discs a month, so I think the price is fair. If you don’t watch that many movies I would pass on the mail offer.

The DVD by mail plan is no contract so you can cancel one month and get it back the next. This is great because on months that we have a lot going on or we are going on vacation we cancel that month’s services. There is no need keeping it if you aren’t going to have time to fully use it!

Web

Hulu Plus

PROS:

  • FREE week trial! After that if you would like to continue your membership it is $7.99/month.
  • If you don’t purchase an antenna this is a good alternative!
  • Watch current television shows.

CONS:

  • The TV shows are awesome, but we didn’t see any movies we were interested in watching.

Hulu Plus is really great if you are worried about having to give up your shows. They have a huge variety of shows to watch including Days of Our Lives, Shark Tank, CSI, Glee, Modern Family, Nashville and of course, children’s shows as well.

Amazon prime

Amazon Prime

Pros:

  • FREE month trial!
  • Amazon Prime is $79 for the year (or $39 for students. Must have a valid .edu email address) While that may sound like a lot it’s actually a good deal. It comes down to only $6.67/month (cheaper than Netflix) and it includes free 2 day shipping from Amazon as well as you can borrow a book for free if you have a Kindle.
  • Good variety of movies and television shows.
  • You can buy movies instantly on your television and watch them again and again. OR if you buy select DVDs/Blu-Rays on Amazon you can watch it instantly on your TV while you wait for your movie to arrive in the mail.

CONS:

  • Like Netflix, not all movies are included. However, unlike Netflix you pay per movie. Movies cost as low as $0.99 which is MUCH cheaper than renting a movie On Demand through cable or satellite! Watching TV shows that are not included in the Prime instant streaming can get expensive though! They are usually $1.99 PER EPISODE!

We have Amazon Prime because we order a lot of items through Amazon so the savings on shipping alone is worth it for us! I also think that Amazon is quicker at adding new movies over to the ‘included’ side. Also, they have the rights for season 3 (and future seasons) of Downton Abbey – which for me is huge!

redbox-instant

RedBox

  • FREE month trial!
  • For $8 you get instant streaming + 4 codes/month to use for movie rentals at any RedBox.

Cons:

* There are always tons of free Redbox codes online and through their text alerts.

* I feel as though the options at the Kiosk aren’t updated very often and sometimes it can be hard to get the movie you want.

 

I have not used RedBox to stream instantly. I do plan on taking advantage of the free trial! I’ll let you know what I think!

Watch Internet Videos on your TV with PlayOn. 30 Day Money Back Guarantee.

Play-On

Pros:

  • 30 Day money back guarantee
  • VERY affordable – pay once and have a lifetime membership. Plus, they are almost always running promotions. We paid $70 for a lifetime membership, plus they gave us a free Roku box (a $50 value). Currently, at the time of this being written, a lifetime membership would cost $44.99. Even if you only used it for 1 year that is just $3.75 a month! (The free Roku box deal is not currently available Check out their current deals here.)
  • Chose to watch television shows from tons of channels like MTV, PBS, A&E, History Channel and more.

CONS:

  • You have to download Play-On to your computer. Then through the wifi it will play on the TV. I’m hoping that in the future we will be able to just download the ‘play-on’ app straight to our game console/Roku box.
  • It could be better organized. We have a lifetime membership so I hope that in the future it becomes more organized.

We have Play-On simply because it was a great deal. We were planning on getting a Roku Box anyways so essentially we paid only $20 for a lifetime membership. You do get a wide variety of channels and shows available which is nice. We also have Pandora (free music streaming). I love to put on the 90’s station and go to town cleaning up the house. We watch shops like Duck Dynsasty and other favorite shows that would be on Cable .

What we use:

This is what we do at our home:

We have the Mohu Leaf Antenna and get our local channels. Most of our shows are those that are on local channels anyways so it works out! We also have Play-On (so we have access to some of our favorite cable shows!), Amazon Prime, Crackle and Netflix. Some months we subscribe to Netflix mail order DVDs. I say some months because if it is a month where we are going to be super busy or on vacation I cancel it for that month! For example, we will cancel our subscription for May and June because we have a few events to go to on the weekends of May and we will be leaving for New Hampshire for 3 weeks at the end of May. There is no use in having something if you know you won’t be able to utilize it well. So we still get all of our tv shows + we have a HUGE “on demand” movie library! It’s really pretty awesome.

Here are our costs:

One time costs:

Antenna – $50 (Bought on Amazon)

2 Roku Boxes – $78 (Bought on Amazon – One came with our Play-On subscription)

Play-On – $70 for a lifetime membership

Total one time costs: $198 (we spread our start up costs up over time and used the money we saved on our cable bill to put towards the cost of buying these items. The first thing we purchased was the antenna and used our Xbox and Wii to stream for our free month trials. Then, as our savings came in we finished purchasing our ‘start up items’)

Monthly costs:

Amazon Prime: $6.58 (this is paid once a year in a lump sum of $79)

Netflix: $7.99

Total cost per month: $14.57! Plus I never have to pay for shipping on Amazon! On month’s that we use the movies by mail service our bill is only $30.56!

So our old cable bundle was $100 (after taxes and charges we were paying about $150 a month). Now we pay $25 a month for Internet and $23 (average for months we use the mail order service) for our television. We also pay about $4 for our home phone (find out more here). Our new ‘cable bundle’ costs us $52 a month – a $100 per month savings!! That’s $1200 per year! And we feel like we have more options than ever!

How to choose what is right for your family:

First, determine if you are going to need a Roku box or if you can use a gaming console. If you have a gaming console great! If not, then you are going to have to invest in a Roku box. I would check Amazon for them! You don’t need the fanciest one to start out with (unless you want) but I would recommend getting one of the HD ones.

Then, take advantage of the free trials listed above! You will quickly figure out which services you and your family use the most!

Do you use instant streaming? If so, where do you stream from? How much have you saved by ditching cable?

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