Sunday, January 31, 2010

Free homeschooling site

http://www.freehomeschooling101.com/

Just a quick post. A free homeschool site to help cut costs there! I'll be back later today. I have links to check, and I'm going to be taking a bunch of pics so I can list more on webstore.com (I'm shelszoo there). Check it out. A free site to sell stuff!

Sad day

I was just informed from my friend that a 15 year old boy has died. *sigh* He and his brother had been in a serious car accident a few days ago. His brother is still in the hospital fighting for his life. They were part of the community, good kids who played sports. I never met them, but I do have kids of my own and this is one of my worst nightmares. Take a minute today to hug your kids and tell them you love them. You never know what tomorrow may bring.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Wednesday

Here it is hump day and I didn't get as much done as I'd hoped. Dh took a day off since they were slow at work. I'd rather he'd have stayed and saved the paid day off for a family fun day. Need the money right now!
Trying to get some stuff listd to sell - if I can find the free site a friend sent me yesterday. I'll be uploading picture to my other blog for my businesses. I'm having a fundraiser for a local church so they can move their orphanage there. Should take a bit since I'm not sure how to add them to a blog.
I may have someone to buy the truck! Woohoo!! That'll help with bills. Just need to get it emptied out now. *sigh* It was nice using it for storage! lol Still looking for the van's title so that can go too. I know I have to spend more time in the basement to make room for all that'll come in - including the car bed parts for little man.
Tomorrow I get to go to a ladies night out. *grin* Yep, no men or kids allowed. Just hoping to sell the truck so I can buy something! Paid a bunch of bills and now we're waiting for payday again. I did manage to get a bunch of groceries cheap today. A bunch of marked down bread (I took all they had out), plus Hamburger Helper (.84 plus had $1 off 3 coupons I used, and I got all my coupons worth), some yogurts (a 6 pk drinkable for $1 after coupon, then a couple new ones *free* after coupon). I also got the Christmas tree butter for .59 each and picked up a sour cream cheap after coupon. Now I know I need to organize all of my coupons since I can go back Saturday after wrestling for more free yogurts! The littles love it for a snack! I also got pretzels and dh some chips with coupons for $1 a bag. The bigger bags:)
Managed to finish painting the downstairs bath. Not sure why we painted it (okay, that old floral panelling had *something* to do with it!), since it's going to be gutted and redone once things are settled here. Hoping to have this estate settles soon. That's just another stressor in my life, and one I can do without! It make me feel alot better when the neighbors tell us (every time they see us) how much better the house looks since we've been here. Considering how this place looked when we moved in, just knocking it down and starting over would have been better. Not even getting into making the list of what needs done in each room since it'll just overwhelm me. We're just focusing on getting what needs done on the CO to clear that.
I can't wait to do our garden again and this time do more landscaping out front! Definitely need some curb appeal. I'll be looking at the blogs, websites and magazines trying to figure out what do where. We get lot of sun out front (east facing), plus there's not alot of trees in my area. Our garden did well last year, just need to tweak a few things for this year. I'd like to find a community plot so we can add to what we grow. When you feed 8 people, you need to make alot of food!!
I am dreading doing our taxes. Just alot went on last year, and it'll make doing taxes that much more stressful. Then again, I want them done so we can book our vacation. We desperately *need* time away from here. Didn't get to go last year since we had to keep 2 households going (bill wise), finish schooling, and get the other house ready to sell - and me without a car and the other house 6 miles away!
If you want to help with my fundraiser, hop on over to ShelszooSuperstores.blogspot.com and check it out. Just know I'm new to this whole blog thing:) I will be putting pictures there later tonight. I need to decide which ones showcase Uppercase Living the best.
I've rambled enough for today. Thanks for stopping by and I hope I didn't put you to sleep!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Almost Wednesday

So much to do and so litle time! I know I have to get into the girls' room tomorrow - and hope I come out alive! Who knows, maybe I'll find another kid in there? There's a few calls to make (one about a Noah's Ark party, one about a fundraiser, then about some charges on our account when I canceled the accounts. *sigh*), cleaning, run Boo to lift, pick him up (hope the Queen of Evil is still home!), paint the rest of the bathroom downstairs so my other half can hang that cabinet. Then there's always school, I have to copy a bunch of papers, mail out some stuff and hit the store quick for some coupon items. Should also call about checks I was to get that aren't here yet. 2 of the places I'll wait until after hours. Just not up to dealing with those people again. I'll be uploading photos for my business site and maybe redoing this one. I'm not too computer literate, but I feel really lame when I look at all the other blogs out there!
Saturday is my last day to man the door at wrestling. Just think, I'll get to sleep in after that! YES!! It's nice to get out of the house, but I am *so* not a morning person!
I'd still like to go visit the local craft mall. See what all they carry. Maybe see about getting a booth there. I can have a ton of printables for the 4 home party businesses (some have issues with selling in places like that), and maybe make pet treats and such to sell there. Since I have *so* much free time anymore! You know, 6 kids, schooling 3, doing preschool with 1, toddler running amok, trying to unpack (only been a year since we moved here!), declutter and keep my sanity. There's more, but quite frankly, I'm too tired to list it all. Luckily my other half does the wash. Don't be jealous, the washer is dying. (Inherited part of the house. Oven already went and was replaced. Not doing anymore until things are settled.) Since he's downstairs (he likes it cooler) where the washer is, he's right there to switch the control to get it to spin. Hoping for a front loader by summer!
It's turning cold here and they want some snow this weekend. Don't have too much to do this weekend that needs to be done outside. I can postpone it easily and just work in here for hours and not make a dent in my to do list.
I'm still looking at sites to share here. I'm looking for freezer cooking sites. My favorite site was shut down suddenly (and without the owners knowledge), so she's working to get it up someplace else. There will be homeschool sites, printables, holiday ideas, sites for teens (pertaining to internships, apprenticeships, etc.), work at home sites (where you actually get paid!), craft sites, and more. I'll be listing stuff tomorrow on a site my friend told me about. It's free, and that means alot right now. If I can, I'll set up a webstore there since I have *so* much to get rid of! Kids clothes, my clothes, maternity clothes, books, schooling books, craft books and more. Just alot of stuff crowding us here and I'd like it to go! I'm finally in a place where I have room to go through the stuff.
I am hoping to be more regular here once I get a little more organized - as long as my sinuses/ allergies co-operate!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Places to find money in your home

Full disclosure!! This was copied from the yahoo page. I thought I would bring it here to share for those who don't look at those stories on the line. I hope to have a post later tonight geared towards parents of teens (getting ready for college). Internships, apprenticeships, etc. Been battling a headache, but seem to be doing better for the time being. Hope this can help someone!


Here's a brief rundown of some services that can help turn your trash into cash. Start your sales research here (this is by no means an all-inclusive list). Even better, if you have successfully used another service, share it with the entire class in the comments area below this article.

Old electronics and other gadgets: Most of us have a veritable gadget graveyard somewhere in our home. (Attention Smithsonian curators: I recently unearthed a stack of five-inch floppy discs at the bottom of a closet.) Here are a few places that’ll help you clear out some drawer space and get some cash:


· Gazelle.com buys “pre-loved” cell phones, digital cameras, laptops, camcorders, and other electronic doodads. Once the condition and market value of your item is verified, you'll get a check, PayPal payment, or gift card -- your choice. Recently, an iPhone 3G 8GB fetched $103, and a Samsung Solstice SGH-A887 earned the seller $116.

· Over at BuyMyTronics.com, you can price out what you’ll get before you sell by answering a few questions about the condition of the item and the accessories you still have for it. You can offer anything from PDAs to Apple software to eBook readers.

· Flipswap.com lets you recycle your old phone for cash (or a donation to a charity of your choosing), or trade it in for credit at a store that sells cell phones. At the high end, Flipswap pays out an average of $160 for old BlackBerrys and $220 for iPhones. Even that old Samsung Blackjack is worth $41, or your kid’s old Motorola RAZR around $20.

· Even retailers have gotten into the trade-in business. Costco has a program with Gazelle.com that enables members to recycle their electronics for grocery money deposited on their Costco card.

· And check out the market for your used stuff at RadioShack and GameStop, although stores typically only give you store credit for your castoffs. And at Gamefly.com, you can trade in those video games Junior has tossed aside for credit toward purchasing a new first-person shooter game.


Gift cards: You might think they're duds, but gift cards can be worth, well, almost their face value to other folks. With billions of dollars of gift card balances going unredeemed every year, it's no wonder there's a crop of services to help consumers off-load them.



· You can auction it off, sell it outright (Giftcardbuyback.com), or swap it (Swapagift.com) for something better. You'll typically find a full menu online of cards from stores like Lowe's, Wal-Mart, and Cheesecake Factory, among dozens of others. (Other sites to check out: plasticjungle.com, giftcardrescue.com, and monstergiftcard.com.)

· Don't expect to get full face value: Most pay out anywhere from 60% to 90% of face value. (You'll get top dollar by selling cards from hot retailers, in round dollar amounts, and with distant -- or nonexistent -- expiration dates.)

· Some sites charge you a percentage of the final transaction, and others charge a flat fee. Balances must typically be at least $10 to be eligible for swapping, trading, or selling.


Over at Dealnews.com, they ran a handful of these sites through the paces and recommend selling directly to the site (instead of auctioning the card off to members) and using a combination of sites for the highest payout.


Unused airline miles or points: At Points.com, you can swap, share, or redeem your unused rewards. If your points are spread around, you can even combine them so you can get something -- a gift certificate, song downloads, etc. -- before your points expire. At Loyaltymatch.com, you can sell your loyalty reward outright to another member or trade it for something else. Another option is to donate your miles to a cause. Many organizations are set up to facilitate this transaction directly.

Oddball, unusual, and limited-appeal stuff: To get top dollar for your collectibles and other items that might not have mass appeal, eBay is still the obvious first choice. You don't even need to go through the hassle of setting yourself up as a merchant. Simply take the treasures from your attic to an eBay drop-off location, and they'll conduct the transaction from start to finish. For a fee, of course. At the other end of the spectrum is craigslist.com, a digital town crier where you can list, for free, the stuff you want to sell.

As long as you’re cleaning out the garage … : If you’re burdened by a car lease agreement you no longer want or cannot afford, check out Leasetrader.com and Swapalease.com for some financial relief. These sites match folks looking for a short-term lease with those looking to get out of their contract early.

Clean out the attic and get cash this weekend

There are plenty of other places to sell your unwanted stuff. Consider the following:

· Consignment shops are great for designer-label clothing that's in good condition.

· Jewelry stores or pawn shops might buy that gold rope chain you sported in the '80s, which can be sold for its value in scrap.

· Children's consignment shops are a popular way to get a little money for those toys, clothes, and strollers that your little one has outgrown.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

New financial footing

It's time to start 2010 on a new financial footing! Get all the bills together, figure out if something is high (like the elecric due to the holidays), or missing (like water since that's every 3 months). I've been to http://www.crown.org/Tools/ for some help. They have a page where you can input your yearly income (gross), and it will tell you what you *should* be paying in all areas. Understand that not everyone will have all areas (some won't need a monthly school or child care budget line), but it's a great starting point! Check out www.donnayoung.org for homeschooling and some household printables. I love www.organizdhome.com and www.organizedchristmas.com for their printables and gift ideas. www.Budget101.com has a ton of information. Recipes - including a menu plan to feed a family of 4 for less than $200/month. Know that includes alot of beans. She also has frugal articles and financial sites linked to hers. You can spend a few hours there with all of the recipes, gift ideas, frugal ideas, etc. Homeschoolers should check out www.thehomeschoolmom.com and all she has to offer. She has free enewsletters with great sites to keep your children learning about some really great stuff (most sites are free, but she does run ads to help with the operating costs).
www.debtproofliving.com is by Mary Hunt. There's alot for free, but you can also sign up for a 12 month online membership for $29. Try www.smartcookies.com for some free tools and tips, but the premium membership does cost ($5/mo, $15/3 mos. or $50/yr). There's still enough there that's free to make this a site to check. You can try www.abcsofmakingmoney.com if you're bored. The layout seemed to want you to buy stuff, and I'm leaning more towards giving *free* options. I didn't spend alot of time there, but seemed like alot of the same. Feel free to check it out and see if there is anything new and exciting! (I'll go back when I can't sleep and check it out more thoroughly) Next is a site that share's freebies and deals www.fantabulouslyfrugal.com. Personally, I belong to a yahoogroup that is for freebies. (I just forget to check out blogs for goodies, with a group, you get emails with the links, and that makes it easier for me to do everyday). Another blog to check is www.thefrugaldiva.com. She has a post about volunteering for a Disney ticket, and she seems to be pretty good at posting every day. www.budgetsaresexy.com looks to be a good find. There's also mention of 2 other blogs (clever dude and frugal dad), so, figure lots of reading material at least! (Just a side note, for this paragraph I found these sites in an article in my daily paper)
One great way to save money is to read the paper online! The only paper I buy now is Sunday's for the coupons - and I do buy extra, at the dollar store where they sell for less than the regular price.
An idea to save at the holidays is to start shopping now. Use after Christmas sales to stock up on wrap, cards, ornaments. I give my kids ornaments every year. This way when they move out, they don't have to decorate a tree on their own! Not all ornaments have special meaning, but they should have enough to fill a small tree by the time they're ready to leave us. There are alot of sales going on right now - winter clearance - where you can get a few things to put aside for this holiday season. Not for smaller kids maybe since they seem to grow overnight, but maybe adults or teens.
A site I just found, which seems similar to freecycle but you earn points, is www.kashless.org. I just signed up, so I don't know all the in and outs yet, but I promise to post any goodies I score!
That should give you more than enough to check out for now. Tomorrow I'll post sites where you can do good. Volunteering and donating goods. Unless people would like work at home ideas/ sites?

Friday, January 15, 2010

January madness

It's about an hour until JJ turns 17. *sigh* Can't believe he's that old all ready! Since he unfriended me on FB, I guess I'll just have to scan in some really cute pics of him as a baby/toddler. Make one my profile pic to celebrate his birthday! Since I have some same friends, he'll know sooner or later! lol
I have to get to bed soon since I have wrestling tomorrow morning. Actually the next 3 Saturdays I have wrestling! I need to print out some labels so I have something to do while taking people's money. Lexi's going with me too, to keep me company.
It's going to be a busy day! Jim works in the morning and then has something after. I'll come home from wrestling to take down Christmas lights, move the wood from out front to in back, clean out the Suburban, pick up the living room, try on more clothes, and work in the girls room. I'd like to do my 5 free ebay auctions and maybe list some other things on different sites. I signed up for kidzola.com, maybe I should try 1 or 2 things there.
Hoping to get our taxes done early this year. Find a nice condo to rent for vacation and send that deposit - make sure Jim actually requests off! Have one week away from here and all of the stress.
All right. Better stop here and get my printing done so I can get some sleep. I'm hoping to finally get rid of my hadache before tomorrow!