The very hungry caterpillar

Jumpstart, a leading non-profit organization dedicated to childhood literacy, has teamed up with Walmart to encourage everyone to Read for the Record on October 8, 2009.

Mark your calendars, and help break the record for the most people reading the same book on the same day! This year’s selection for the annual program is Eric Carle’s beloved book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

You can pick up a special commemorative copy at your local Walmart for only $8.00 from now until October 8th. All net proceeds from the sale of the book will benefit the Jumpstart literacy program for low-income preschoolers. Click here for more info.

Free Day at Disneyland

Disney announced on Good Morning America yesterday that if you spend a day volunteering with a participating organization, then starting on January 1, 2010 you can get a free one-day admission to Disney World or Disneyland. They haven’t released a list of the participating groups yet, but if you think you might want to take part in the offer, they suggest signing up for e-mail alerts which will let you know when pre-registration starts since ticket quantities are limited.

A maximum of 8 family member can participate and children must be at least 6 years old to qualify. So you could theoretically get a free day of admission for the entire family during your next vacation. Click here for more info.

This and that

Boston Market has a new promotion: 2 Kids Eat Free all day, every day. Requires one adult meal purchase. Read about it here. (10/31/09)

Get a 30 day free trial of Magic Jack, click here. I believe it requires a credit card number which won't be charged until after 30 days. Many people do have Magic Jack - it's a legitimate alternative to a regular landline and it is much cheaper. You pay a flat rate for the year.

There is a charity promotion going on at Macys. Donate $1 and receive a $10 Macys coupon good on $10+. Unfortunately, there is a wide variance on how the promotion is being handled. Some stores are requiring a $5 donation, some stores limit it to one per person, and some stores are selling them in unlimited quantities to anyone. Obviously, if you can get a $10 coupon for only $1, that is like buying a $10 bill with a $1 bill. Gee, if you are lucky enough to have a Macys that will let you get as many as you want, that's a great way to stock up on small purchases, like socks or undies, kitchen gadgets or sale items. Each register has a stack of the $10 coupons, so even if you're told at one register they are all out, go to another register and keep asking. You can't stack them, meaning you can't use two $10 coupons to buy a $20 item. The fun part is finding great deals in the $10.xx range.

On September 24th from 5 - 8pm, Cold Stone Creamery will have a charity event. Get a 3 oz Creation when you donate any amount to Make-A-Wish.

Balancing wants with affordability

I read this the other day on kingdomfirstmom's blog the other day. (See below) It got me to thinking how caught up many people have found themselves with expensive birthdays they can't afford. The rented clowns, the pizza parties, etc. I think we can teach our children a lot more by living within our means and still having a good time doing it. It teaches them to appreciate what they have. They learn to stay out of debt. That you don't have to have the biggest and best of everything, but you can still have a good time. Recently there was a questionnaire going around on facebook that asked what your favorite childhood memory was. Almost every child (and adult) without fail said camping with their family. Now I found that very interesting that they all chose something low budget that did not include high tech equipment or expensive amusement parks. When I first had my kids I had very little money. As finances improved I started buying them all kinds of stuff. I desperately wanted to do those parties at Chuck E Cheese but could never afford in the past. But after a while I realized they neither appreciated it or took care of the stuff. I cut back and they went back to appreciating it. I heard from another mom that only allows her kids to have 10 toys. If they get more than that they have to choose something to donate. It sounds strict, but on the other hand do they really need more than 10 things? Wouldn't it be nicer to bless another child who doesn't have anything? I know another mom who spent days creating a fantastic birthday party for her child. Her husband innocently asked why they couldn't just have a cake and swim party. The mom had all sorts of reasons why not. I have to confess I wondered the same thing myself. Now I'm not suggesting you shouldn't do it if you want to and can afford it, but for those of us who can't as you will see below you can do other things without going into debt and it will be fabulous!

She wants to take her guests to the movies.

But instead they will enjoy a $1.00 rental from Red Box and stove-popped popcorn while in their jammies.

She wants a trip to the fancy kiddie “spa” for makeovers, pedicures and glitter.

But instead they will enjoy painting their nails at home with my abundant stash of free nail polish from CVS.

She wants a restaurant meal at [insert name of family chain here].

But instead they will munch on pizza and fresh fruit at home.

She wants a trip to her favorite ice cream shop down the road.

But instead they will enjoy home-made ice cream sundaes and all the trimmings with their chocolate cake.

She wants to visit a bowling alley or a trip to the local gymnastics center.

But instead, she and her friends will play board games and take turns on our new Wii.

And you know what? It will be fabulous.

Dental update

Well going to UCSF dental school is certainly not easy, but we have found some ways to make it fun. After all IKEA is only 15 minutes away! lol But seriously here is what has happened so far. Since it is a school it is a process. If you choose to do your dental work this way be prepared to spend some time. You first go in for xrays if you don't already have them with an evaluation. After the eval, you then go back for the treatment plan. The cost for that is pretty comparable to a regular dentist. Ken needs 4 teeth pulled including a impacted wisdom tooth. My daughter was charged $2400.00 to have all 4 teeth pulled at her dentist and they told Ken it will be $800 so that seems like a pretty good savings. Recently I had a dental emergency forcing me to go to a local clinic. They gave me a treatment plan totalling $4500.00. I plan to take my xrays to the dental school to get a really good cost comparison. I'm glad I will have the opportunity to put it to the test. I will let you know how it all turns out.

Papa Murphys customer appreciation days

Customer Appreciation Days at Papa Murphys is coming Sept 14 - 17. Get a large Pepperoni Pizza for only $4.99, limit 3, no coupon needed.

UPDATE:
The email I got must have been wrong because when I called the store they don't know anything about it. Sorry......

While I was sleeping

While I was sleeping today all kinds of good stuff popped up. Enjoy!


Sunriver Church will be hosting on Sat. Sept. 19th, a one day Crown Financial Seminar: "Journey to True Financial Freedom" at 4450 N. Brawley 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM.

This is open to other churches and the seminar will be taught by the regional director of Crown Financial. From what we have been told there isn't another seminar like this scheduled in the Central Valley.

If you know of people that would benefit from this seminar on biblical stewardship, please let them know about it. We will exhort folks to apply what they have learned in their lives and their churches.

The cost is $25, which goes directly to Crown financial (we don't receive a cent). And there will be a $5 charge at the door for lunch. They can register from the Crown Financial link at www.sunriverchurch.org or call 559-447-1752.

We will be following up with a 8 week Crown Financial Bible studyduristudy during AM Sunday adult school Bible Study which starts the following week.


Buy two double scoops of Thrifty ice cream for $3.00 and get Free Smucker's toppings*. From 2 to 6pm on Saturday Sept 12th. Also scoop up balloons, stickers and coupons.

Don't miss out, this is our last Saturday Sundae!

Restaurant.com has a sale for 90% off. I have never seen them offer this much ever. I bought 5 gift certificates today for less than $6.

Free Flu Shots For Unemployed & Uninsured

Posted: 09 Sep 2009 11:51 AM PDT

If you happen to be a victim of the current economic climate and without a job or health insurance, CVS and Walgreens have your back and are offering free flu shots.

Despite press releases saying the shots started this month, CVS is actually giving out free flu shots starting in October. You can call 1-888-FLU-SHOT to find the nearest location and time.

Walgreens has an offer where they are giving away free flu shot vouchers if you visit a Wellness Tour bus between September 17 and November 15. The offer’s a bit limited, however, as the bus tour schedule shows it’s only going to be in 17 states.

Don't miss your free health screening at Rite Aid tomorrow, September 10th. Afterwards, you can discuss your results and medications with a pharmacist.
Click here for location.

Get a 2-year subscription to All You Magazine for $29 (after cart coupon). Amazon is offering $5 off magazine subscriptions and this two-year deal includes renewals! The $5 off the regular savings price of $34 comes off in the cart. It's a total savings of almost $31 off the cover price - LINK TO OFFER

Lastly, Entertainment is offering free shipping this week on all books. If you don't have one of these, what are you waiting for? - LINK TO OFFER

use your skills for cash

1. Put your talent to work. Answer peoples questions for cash. liveperson.com

2. Do tasks for others. domystuff.com

3. Explore the internet and answer peoples questions chacha.com

4. Sell your pictures to stock photo sites. zymmetrical.com, crestock.com, bigstockphoto.com, phototrade.com

Always check with the BBB, federal trade commission, state attorney generals office, and do a internet search on the company before committing.

Great money savers

I found a whole bunch of great links in Readers Digest the other day. Sure hope their bankruptcy doesn't mean they will be stopping the magazine. I absolutely love it. While I like reading stuff on the internet I still really enjoy the newspaper, and stuff like Readers Digest.

www.mythings.com (tracks warranties for you)

School supplies:
schoolpak.com
educationalwarehouse.com
classroomdirect.com
platesplus4kids.com
lunchboxes.com
laptoplunchbox.com

Sports gear:
playitagainsports.com (rents equipment)

Printer ink:
consumercalculator.com (rates cost of ink for your printer)
123inkjets.com
4inkjets.com
ecofont.com (font ink saver)

Trade instead of buy

irta.com (trade business services and products)
meetup.com or freecycle.org (personal belongings)
u-exchange.com or bartering section of craigslist.org (onetime trades)
swaptree.com (cd's, dvd's, and video games)
goswap.org, pad4pad.com or domuswap.com (trade homes)

Computer help:
techguy.org
computerhope.com

Appliances:
repairclinic.com

Labor Day deals and more

To celebrate over a million followers on Amazon Twitter feed, they are giving away one million songs valued at $1.29 or below. Read about it here.

The Arby Free with Purchase Wednesdays have been extended through September. Next week 9/9, you'll get a free regular Roast Beef sandwich with the purchase of any soft drink. Call first to see if your Arbys is participating.
9/16: Free regular SideKickers with any sandwich purchase
9/23: Free Roastburger with any soft drink purchase
9/30: Free FruiTea with any sandwich purchase

On Labor Day (Monday) wear your sports team logo to Chick-fil-A from 10:30 am to closing and get a free original chicken sandwich. Go early. They will be swamped. Who doesn't have a sports team shirt?

Free bowling Sept 5th

The 2009 National Bowling Week Kicks Off On August 29 With The Record-breaking Attempt To Occur On National Bowling Day, September 5.
To launch the weeklong celebration, bowling centers across the United States will host special events that will include coaching clinics, bowling parties, quick and easy league sign-up and plenty of fun.

On September 5, All People Who Downloaded A Free Game Coupon At www.BOWL.com Will Be Able To Bowl A Free Game At Their Local Participating Center. You can bowl a game for free and take part in the World Record breaking event. For your efforts, you will also receive a certificate to verify your participation!
Across The United States, Bowling Has Seen An Incredible Resurgence In Popularity.
We are proud to celebrate a great year for bowling and to thank all of the people who have supported bowling centers. We are excited to join thousands of centers, from coast-to-coast across the United States, in attempting to set a new world record. We invite bowlers of all levels and talents to stop by and bowl for free as we try to help make history!

The World Record Event and National Bowling Week are sponsored by the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America (BPAA), Strike Ten Entertainment (STE), the International Bowling Pro Shop and Instructors Association (IBPSIA), the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) and the United States Bowling Congress (USBC).

For more Information about National Bowling Week and bowling in general,visit www.BOWL.com or www.gobowling.com.

Click Here for coupon.