Last month when my son expressed his desire to have a desk for his homework, I found myself scratching my head and wondering where I was going to find a sturdy desk that would fit my budget. 

With Christmas on the horizon, I was having trouble making this important need a reality.  I tried to creatively come up with ideas, and a month passed.  My 3rd grader, who rarely asks for anything was doing his homework at a toddler table in this bedroom so that he could have some peace and quiet.

After searching yard sales and looking online, I realized we had an old desk in our storage closet (now stacked with toilet paper and garbage bags) we had used for our home daycare years ago.  The desk was in bad shape.  The drawers were broken, it swayed back and forth and it was badly scratched.

I decided to go to work on this desk and after $10 for paint, screws and some wood, and a whole lot of sanding I have a beautiful, like-new desk for my son.

The desk looks new after a coat of black paint and it no longer sways, thanks to the wood I used to strengthen it.  The drawers don’t function (I screwed them in place), but he has a cupboard where he can keep his things.

We’re both quite happy with this solution!  I love reusing items that I’d normally take to the trash, and has a “new” desk!

Do you price match on a regular basis?  Target and Walmart are two national stores that will price match their competitor!  You can save a bundle by price matching strategically.

I have been price matching a lot recently and the savings are pretty significant for the small effort I put into it.  At Walmart, you don’t even need to show them the ad!  Simply tell them the price!

I have been saving time and money by using multiple ads from Kmart, Aldi and Giant Eagle to get the best deals at Walmart.  You can even use coupons to lower the price after the price match.

Here are just a few deals I did this week price matching to Giant Eagle at Walmart:

• Eggs $1 ($.87 savings per dozen)
• Teddy Grahams $2 ($.88 savings per box), plus use tearpad coupon at Walmart to save $.50 more per box
• Honey Bunches of Oats $2 per box ($.98 savings per box), plus use recent printables to save another $1

In the past I’ve price matched produce, meat, flour, sugar and milk for even more savings!  Did you know Walmart will match their Great Value Brand prices to Aldi prices?

What are you price matching this week?

It is astounding to think of what bad habits like smoking can end up costing you per year.  I am sure you could take a lavish vacation on what many people spend on their bad habit.

Becoming an ex-smoker is a personal thing. Some things will work for you, others not so much. You need a plan based on your needs.  That’s where EX® comes in.  EX is a free plan to help you stop smoking and stay on track for life!  There are no gimmicks and they are not selling you any type of stop smoking aid.

After you register for your free Quit Plan, you’ll get access to your personalized homepage, which is filled with the tools, guidance and motivation you need to stay on track. Think of this page as your home base, letting you track your progress through the quit plan, letting you select a quit date and monitor your progress, giving you exercises to stay motivated and more. You’ll also receive instant access to the EX Community, where you can connect to other EX members for support, encouragement or just to pass the time (boredom is a big smoking trigger).

You might remember my post from about a month ago.  I was nearly insane with kids gloves!  Missing, mate-less gloves were slowing us down every morning and keeping them organized was next to impossible.

I had an epiphany one morning while browsing the deals on Zulily.  I bought this really neat shoe organizer and use it to keep our gloves in order!  In the Spring, I’ll fold this up, gloves and all and put it into a storage bin for next year.

You can organize your family’s gloves with Shoe Organizers for about $12.99!  It is so worth it!

And for those of you who never heard of so many gloves, you obviously live in the south and probably have more shoes than gloves.  It works just as well for that purpose.  :)

Let’s talk taxes…and let’s talk saving some money!  Having your taxes professionally filed is not necessary for most households where one or two income earners work at a job and bring home a paycheck.

In the past, you may have used a tax professional because you could not keep up with all the tax laws.  This is no longer a reason to pay someone to do your taxes.  H&R Block and Turbo Tax have taken the headache out of filing your own taxes by providing you with FREE software which contains the 2012 tax laws.  These programs walk you through the process in simple, easy steps.

Both of these companies provide audit support, should you have any problems.  You can get either of these free OR get them both and see which one gives you a higher return!!

Download H&R Block At Home 2012

Download Turbo Tax 2012

Buying high-priced meat can ruin your budget.  Check out these tips for saving money on meat!

Know Your Store’s Procedures for Marking Down Meat
If you shop frequently at a store, keep an eye on the meat expiration dates and watch when they get marked down.  Or, simply ask the meat department when they mark down meats.

Shop after the Holidays for Meat
Stores stock meat heavily for the holidays.  What doesn’t sell gets marked down within the next few days.  I snapped the photo above at Walmart at 11 pm on 6/1/11.  There was a HUGE quantity of chicken marked down from Memorial Day.  I purchased 8 packages that were dated 6/5/11 and saved close to 50%.  I’ve found great pork prices after New Years and grat ham prices after Easter as well!

Shop Early in the Morning or Late at Night
This is definitely true for my stores.  My Giant Eagle marks down meats in the morning, while my Walmart marks down meats at night.  I almost never find meats marked down in the middle of the day.

Freeze Your Meat 
If you shop the meat markdowns it is important to eat it right away or freeze it right away.  Since the meats are nearing their expiration dates, you wouldn’t want to keep it in your refrigerator for too long.

Combine Meat Markdowns with Coupons when Possible
Prepackaged meats are also marked down when nearing expiration or during overstocks.  I love to combine these deals with coupons.

Budget for Meat Markdowns
Purchasing meat during markdowns will lower your budget for the following weeks.  Be sure to set aside some of your grocery budget for the next meat markdown.  If you find the markdowns and stock your freezer, you will never need to buy at full price again!

If you have a meat buying tip be sure to tell us about it in the comments.

Mixing up your own oatmeal packets is incredibly easy and a real money saver, not to mention a lot healthier.

Follow this simple recipe and add your own combination dried fruits, nuts and flavors.  Place your ingredients in snack-sized Ziploc baggies.

1/4 cup instant oatmeal
1 Tablespoon dry milk powder (or non-dairy creamer)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon raisins, cranberries, freeze dried blueberries, dried bananas or other fruits
1 teaspoon nuts (optional)

When ready to eat, add approximately 1/4 cup water and microwave for 30-45 seconds, depending on how creamy you like it.

Don’t throw out your baggies!  You can reuse them to make more oatmeal packets!

Welcome to Money Saving Tip of the Day, where you can get an idea for saving money in your daily life. Check in daily for this feature, share your great tips, and go away with new ideas for saving.

Starting a “saving lifestyle” is a big step and can often be very overwhelming.  Take small steps to get your financial situation in line!  Realizing you need to make a change is the first step!

• Do without  Many people don’t realize that to meet your goals, you must go without!  Think about which little luxuries can be cut from your budget until you meet your goals.  You may find you don’t even miss them or want them back in the end.
• Scale back  If you can’t go totally without, simply scale back!  Change to generics, buy less, minimize your cell phone plan. Do what it takes!
• Use coupons and try new products  Brand loyalty costs money.  Try different brands and use coupons.
• Shop at stores like Aldi, Goodwill & the 99 Cent Store  Who needs high supermarket prices on produce when you’ve got stores like these around the corner?
• Make a price book and buy only when the item is at the rock bottom price
• Pay off loans and credit cards
• Scale back on Christmas and vacations to pay down debt
• Find small ways to earn or make extra money to help meet your goals   Got stuff?  Ebay it! Earn small amounts of money online through Swagbucks and survey sites.
• Make small changes over time.  You can’t do it all at once!  Set goals and give yourself a reasonable amount of time to accomplish them!

Welcome to Money Saving Tip of the Day where you can learn about new ways to save your hard earned money!  Share a tip and go away with a new one!

Bank fees are just not cool!  But don’t worry, you can completely avoid them! 

Many years ago I calculated the ATM fees my husband was being charged each month and I nearly fell over.  His bank was charging him $2 for every ATM transaction and other ATMs were charging him as much as $3.

My bank was not charging me a penny, in fact they were paying me interest to keep money in my checking account.  I convinced him to change banks and completely avoid ATMs that charged fees, unless it was an emergency.

11 years later we are a bank fee-free family.  Bank fees do not enter our world and they should not enter yours.  Look for ATMs and banks that do not charge fees and make changes to save money!

Welcome to Money Saving Tip of the Day, where you can get an idea for saving money in your daily life. Check in daily for this feature, share your great tips, and go away with new ideas for saving.

Last year I purchased these Stanley TimerMax Digislim Daily Digital Indoor Lamp Timers for my Christmas lights to save on electricity.  Amazon sells them in a two pack for $16.42 or you can buy them in singles for $9.84.

This helped me to get the Christmas lights on when I wanted them on, and get them turned off at a reasonable hour.  I used one for the Christmas tree and one for outdoor lights.  This definitely saved us some money in getting the lights turned off each night.

After Christmas, I found that these digital timers worked great all year for lamps!  I have used them since last January to turn on our lamps at dark and turn the lamps off at a reasonable hour.  They are a great security feature.

I can’t even estimate how much these have saved us.  It is probably not a huge amount, but they’ve definitely paid for themselves and then some, which is fine because they are really convenient!

Welcome to Money Saving Tip of the Day, where you can get an idea for saving money in your daily life. Check in daily for this feature, share your great tips, and go away with new ideas for saving.

Several years ago I had an epiphany of sorts.  As we prepared to move from a small house to a larger one, I declared clutter and knick knacks the enemy and vowed to simplify life!  This has been a moneysaver on a grand level!

I remember the day it hit me.  I was visiting friends and though they had a fairly large house, they had things piled everywhere.  I wasn’t junk or garbage, it was the aftermath of shopping too much!  An outrageous amount of toys, knick knacks and “things” really created an unwelcoming space.

We moved and I vowed to eliminate everything without a true purpose.  Now I constantly consider each item I buy and whether it has a true purpose in my home.  The last thing I want is to buy so much that it looks like “piles” or clutter. 

I still shop, just far less!  I find it is easier to clean, the house stays cleaner and there is less money spent!  I don’t miss the clutter or knick knacks and when I do shop, it is to replace something that is well used.  In the long run, thousands of dollars will be saved! 

Are you ready to declare war on clutter?  Your local Red Cross or Salvation Army will be glad to help you find a new home for your items!