Save Money Taking the Family out to Eat
_As a mom on a budget, I am always looking for ways to save money! This website
has a search engine which lets you find out which restaurants (and
where) have "kids eat free" nights or other deals to save money if
you're going to bring the family out to eat.
Education, Books & Such
_I am homeschooling my children and being a
Christian mom with no college education in teaching, I have become a
member of the Minnesota Association of Christian Home Educators. I have benefited greatly from the resources they provide and from attending the annual conference. If you are even considering homeschooling, a MUST-READ (regardless of what age your kids are or what state you live in) is Cathy Duffy's Top 100 Picks.
I checked the book out from my local library, anticipating it to be a
basic review of some of the "best" curriculum choices available, but
what I discovered was so much more. This book assisted me, step-by-step,
to grow from having no direction & no confidence about whether or
not I could homeschool to having a written "Philosophy of Education." I
am personally going to "tackle" homeschooling in a way to custom-tailor
what & how I teach to my children's personalities & learning
styles as well as our family's schedule and beliefs. If you want to check in on me to see how things are going, on my blog I have tagged entries that are related to Homeschooling.
Whether or not you homeschool, if you are ever looking to purchase a book online, I have come across a few websites that are the "regular" places I check to compare prices before buying any book online. I will list them below starting with the one I find myself actually making a purchase from most often, second most often, and so on, after having compared all of the sites for availability and cost+shipping/handling:
1. Thrift Books offers free shipping in the US and has typically lower prices than most of the other sites listed. Although they don't always have hot-off the press new-releases, they have a pretty good selection (and their inventory moves along quickly so keep checking back if there's something you are after) and I purchase from them most frequently.
2. Goodwill Books also has very low prices, and their shipping rates are very reasonable (I think they offer shipping via media mail?). I can't always find what I'm looking for, but when I do, I almost always love the price.
3. If you are looking for a newer book or perhaps a book that's part of a curriculum, check out Christianbook.com because I've found some significant savings there on hard-to-find books. The other great benefit to Christianbook.com is that the reviews are usually coming from a Christian perspective. If it is a science related book, for example, odds are at least one reviewer will comment on whether a book's content supports evolution/old world/new world/creation, etc. Also, I have noticed parents are more apt to specifically describe any questionable/objectionable language or moral content on their reviews. Thank you, fellow reviewers for giving other parents a heads-up!
4. Of course there is Amazon. Sometimes you just can't find the book you want elsewhere, and since they also list a number of sellers offering books that are used (but consider the shipping/handling costs), a couple times a year I end up purchasing through Amazon. I LOVE to search for books on Amazon, because their search criteria/engine is great, check out reviews, and then go purchase the same book through another site for a lower price.
5.-6. Better World Books and The Book Depository offer free shipping worldwide (with no minimum purchase) and prices are comparable to (sometimes lower than) Amazon.
7.-8. Of course, you can always check ebay and half.com as well- just check seller ratings & make note of shipping charges before bidding or buying. Also, make sure you check out the seller's return policy (if they have one!) if you are buying an item worth enough money that you would go through the hassle to return it if it wasn't as described.
9. Otherwise, if it is homeschool books you're after, you can always check the Homeschool Classifieds to buy or sell used books/curriculum. I have no experience using this site, but I have heard it brought up in conversation many, many times, so obviously it has a good number of users, hence one would assume there should be some deals to be had.
10. If you use facebook, do a quick search for "[name of your town or county] garage sales" or "[name of your town or county] swap and sell". While it is hit or miss as to whether anyone may have it, you can make a post that says, "ISO: [title of your book]" and you just might find a local deal.
Whether or not you homeschool, if you are ever looking to purchase a book online, I have come across a few websites that are the "regular" places I check to compare prices before buying any book online. I will list them below starting with the one I find myself actually making a purchase from most often, second most often, and so on, after having compared all of the sites for availability and cost+shipping/handling:
1. Thrift Books offers free shipping in the US and has typically lower prices than most of the other sites listed. Although they don't always have hot-off the press new-releases, they have a pretty good selection (and their inventory moves along quickly so keep checking back if there's something you are after) and I purchase from them most frequently.
2. Goodwill Books also has very low prices, and their shipping rates are very reasonable (I think they offer shipping via media mail?). I can't always find what I'm looking for, but when I do, I almost always love the price.
3. If you are looking for a newer book or perhaps a book that's part of a curriculum, check out Christianbook.com because I've found some significant savings there on hard-to-find books. The other great benefit to Christianbook.com is that the reviews are usually coming from a Christian perspective. If it is a science related book, for example, odds are at least one reviewer will comment on whether a book's content supports evolution/old world/new world/creation, etc. Also, I have noticed parents are more apt to specifically describe any questionable/objectionable language or moral content on their reviews. Thank you, fellow reviewers for giving other parents a heads-up!
4. Of course there is Amazon. Sometimes you just can't find the book you want elsewhere, and since they also list a number of sellers offering books that are used (but consider the shipping/handling costs), a couple times a year I end up purchasing through Amazon. I LOVE to search for books on Amazon, because their search criteria/engine is great, check out reviews, and then go purchase the same book through another site for a lower price.
5.-6. Better World Books and The Book Depository offer free shipping worldwide (with no minimum purchase) and prices are comparable to (sometimes lower than) Amazon.
7.-8. Of course, you can always check ebay and half.com as well- just check seller ratings & make note of shipping charges before bidding or buying. Also, make sure you check out the seller's return policy (if they have one!) if you are buying an item worth enough money that you would go through the hassle to return it if it wasn't as described.
9. Otherwise, if it is homeschool books you're after, you can always check the Homeschool Classifieds to buy or sell used books/curriculum. I have no experience using this site, but I have heard it brought up in conversation many, many times, so obviously it has a good number of users, hence one would assume there should be some deals to be had.
10. If you use facebook, do a quick search for "[name of your town or county] garage sales" or "[name of your town or county] swap and sell". While it is hit or miss as to whether anyone may have it, you can make a post that says, "ISO: [title of your book]" and you just might find a local deal.
Sending a Fax Online for Free
_If you ever need to send a fax and don't want to
run somewhere and pay a fee, you may be able to send it online without
paying a penny! Check out this site
that allows you to fax up to 10MB/10 pages for free a limited number of
times for month. All you do in exchange is provide 3 friends/family's
email addresses and they will get only one email telling them about the
website. You will get email confirmation when your fax is sent
successfully & I've had good luck with it!
Fun Things to Do:
Bored and need a craft or project to work on? Is it close the the holidays and you want to make them meaningful? Click on the blue words in the previous 2 sentences to be taken to entire pages I have dedicated to these subjects with families in mind!!! As I have time I will be adding more & more content ;-)