Money Smart Moms

Going Into Sleep Mode

I’ve been writing to this blog since November of 2006. Time flies….

I’ve grown on the web and now have over 30 websites I manage and keep track of. What that means, is that it’s time to look at what I’m doing, and re organize. Not only am I shifting things, some blogs are going into hibernation. This blog happens to be one of the blogs I’ll be putting in hibernation at this time. I may get back to it, but right now, I don’t have the time, and would like to focus my time on my flagship blog over at Surviving NJ.

Please come visit me at Surviving NJ, where you can follow me along.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, and I wish you well.

Give Me My Discount!

I love my Crocs, but they run about $30 a pair. I’m planning on picking up a pair for my son this summer, along with another pair for myself. We don’t wear the clog style, just the Athens flip flop ones. Anyway, I saw that Dick’s Sporting Goods carries them too. That got me excited, because I can hop onto CouponChief.com and grab Dick’s Sporting Goods coupons, which means, I’ll be saving money next time I shop!

I’ll be ordering those babies up come spring, since we’ll be doing a lot of traveling this summer, and I want our feet to be comfortable! I don’t care for the clog type style, but I’m loving those flip flops. I won’t wear anything else in the summer. It’s Crocs or sneakers for me, that’s it!

Two Same Flavors, Two Different Tastes

I drink a mixture of 4 ounces of juice to 20 ounces of water. I usually use Cran-Grape light juice. I decided to try another brand, which was about 1.50 a bottle less than my regular brand. I figure they’re pretty much the same. The ingredients are the same, and it’s the same flavor, and they’re both the light variety. Yikes, what a difference!

The new one has an almost “raspberry” flavor to it! I don’t like raspberries, so that’s not cool. Oh well, I bought two bottles of it, so I’ll still use it up, but I’ll happily be switching back to my regular brand. We know to stock up when it goes on sale! One time we bought 8 bottles on sale! It’s close to $3.50 a bottle, so when we see it on sale for $2.00, we’re in buying mode. I hope it goes on sale again soon, because this other juice isn’t doing it for me.

Does Your Small Business Need Help with Technology?

Have you heard of BlackBox.com? If you’re a small business, you’ll want to add them to your list of resource companies. They offer a catalog of over 100,000 products for technology goods. Whether you need CAT6 Modular Plugs or workstation outlets, they’ve got the goods to help you out.

They also offer a test lab, so you can figure out what your needs are. Need help figuring out your needs, they offer free equipment planning as well. It’s as easy as contacting them. They’ll come to your location and help you design, plan and install your network needs. That’s a huge bonus for business owners unsure of where to start. If you’d like to check out all the offerings that Black Box Network Services offer, check them out at BlackBox.com.

My Neat Stacks Means I’m Putting Off Work

My poor desk area looks like a bomb went off. I promised myself it wouldn’t get this messy, but the stacks are slowly piling up. I think I’m going to take some time today and sort through the stacks. I need to organize and get rid of papers I no longer need. It’s an icky job, but I guess it’s my job.

It’s so easy to create a neat looking stack, and think it’s organized, but I’m only lying to myself. I know that it’s me putting it to the side so I don’t have to look at it until later. Today, it’s time to sort through and clean up.

Safety First

If you’re looking for self defense products, one place you may want to check out is AAA-SafetyFirst.com. They offer pepper spray, stun guns and many other items for self defense. As always check your state guidelines, because while something may be legal in one state, it may not be in another. Maybe you’re looking for a personal alarm, a pool alarm or an auto dialer. They have a huge selection of items to check out. You can also order a catalog if you’d like to have a print copy to look through at home. Remember the name, when you’re ready for self defense products, AAA-SafetyFirst.com.

I Substituted a Kid’s Pad

I was looking for a large pad to use for some projects I’m working on. Ideally, I’d love a giant white board to work with, but seeing as my office is in my living room, a large white board doesn’t really fit. We came up with a brilliant idea. We bought a huge art pad that I can lean up against some drawers I have near my desk. Now I can jot some things down that need to be spread out on large sheets. I have a regular organizer, but one or two projects I’m working on, I’d like to fan out and etch my outlines.

Anyway, we thought we’d check at Michael’s and get a big art pad. Guess what we found instead, for $3.00 at Target there was a giant kid’s drawing pad from Crayola. It’s a floor pad and was perfect for what I need. The sheets of paper are 16 inches x 22 inches, so I was tickled….and hello, three bucks!

One Trip Turned Into Three

I’m not sure if I mentioned my summer vacations here or not. I have a couple of blogs, and sometimes I forget what I say where! I should get better organized, eh? Anyway, if I’ve mentioned it, please forgive the repeat. If not, I’ve got a summer packed full of fun. I was torn on what I wanted to do, because I have a timeshare. I can use it in different places through out the country, it’s just finding out what I want to do.

I was online for a long time, searching everything from Branson hotels, to cabins in the Poconos, to Disney and things like the tropics. I just couldn’t make up my mind. Well, it’s finally all done and decided. I’ll be heading to the beach in early June off season, heading to South Carolina in July, and heading to Florida in September! It’s going to be a lot of fun heading off in so many different directions. I hadn’t planned on taking three trips, only one, but it worked out the way it did.

Busy Weekend

We had a full day today. We ended up going all over the place. We did lunch out, hit Target, Lowes, the grocery store, and a little pet store we go to. We went one direction, then turned around and went the other! I’m not sure what we’re doing tomorrow, but all our errands are done, so we’ll either catch a movie, or go for a drive somewhere like the shore. We like to play in the arcades off season. We play air hockey, skee ball and video games.

What did your weekend look like?

Gather Your Records

I hope your checking accounts are in order! Tax time is upon us, and all those little details need to come together. I did my taxes for years, but now my husband does them. It’s time to get records on savings accounts, checking accounts, W-2’s, expenses and more together. If you’re looking for a new place to open a checking account, you may want to check out WAMU.com.

The WAMU.com website is easy to use. Go to their site, click on checking, then click the state that you bank in. Once you’ve done that, you’re given different options for your area. For instance, in my area of New Jersey, they offer a free checking account or a Platinum checking account. Check them out if you’d like to learn more about what they offer in your state.