Shop Your Way, and Win Your Way… You guys know that I’m a big fan of “Strategic Shopping,” right? {Got that perfect description for it from my buddy over at November Sunflower. She’s a rockstar when it comes to smart shopping.} Using cash back sites before shopping online, clipping coupons, and maximizing rewards programs are all things that totally save me a ton of money when I’m picking up things that my family needs. One super simple program that I’ve been using more and more is the Shop Your Way Rewards program, from Sears and Kmart. Just by using my rewards card when shopping online or in-store, I earn points that I can redeem for cool bonuses. Well – now there’s another super sweet program that’s partnered with them -WinYourWay.com.
What Would You Build on a Free Piece of Land?
“Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for – in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it.” – Ellen Goodman… Now, that doesn’t sound much like the American Dream that we all imagine, does it? Definitely not my idea of happiness. After losing my job while I was on maternity leave a couple of years ago, I had to make a lot of changes in life – I had to find ways to cut down my bills, simplify my life, and chart a new path. That led to buying a house with my mom instead of saving to buy one on my own. {Yep, we like each other well enough to live together. Almost all of the time… Lol.} It led to me starting this site, and finding freelance work online instead of going back into retail management. It meant selling some of our unneeded things, cutting back on things like cable and nights out, and cutting more coupons. But – without ever meaning to, these changes are leading me to actually finally get closer to my ideal life. My version of the American Dream – I get to work from home, spend time with Abby, have flexibility when I need it, and am my own boss. Sure, I’d love to make the income that I made running retail stores, but I’m happier here at home.
What would your perfect home be like?
The house that I bought with my mom isn’t my “perfect” home, but it truly is pretty great. It sits on a really big piece of property, with a covered patio, 4-bay shop, fenced yard for Abby to play, and an in-ground pool that quickly became the gathering spot for all of our friends and family each summer. There’s enough space for us all to be comfortable, and I even have a guest bedroom for when friends come into town to visit. The house isn’t huge, but it’s cozy, it’s got what we need, and it makes me happy. And, our untraditional living arrangement really works well for us. It started out with more of my family living with me too – which was a little bit crazy for a couple of years. But I love that Abby has gotten to grow up so close to her grandma, cousins, and uncle James. And I’m lucky that we all get along well enough to have made the situation work, so that I’m able to get by on a smaller income while I build my business. I’m so grateful that when life gets tough, I have a great home filled with amazing family to rely on!
American Dream – How to Build Your Dream Home on a FREE Piece of Land
My dream, ever since I was a little girl, was to build my own house someday. {I also wanted to be an architect, and would draw out my perfect floorplans and stuff all the time…} I love the idea of creating something that’s just exactly what I want – unlike when you are looking at homes, and have to find one that’s “almost” perfect to settle for. We still sometimes dream about this – but honestly, I wasn’t even sure how we’d get started. I recently was introduced to this really cool option by a friend of mine – It’s called LandCentral. They make it easy to buy your own piece of land without a ton of money down, to build on now, or as an investment for your future. And – the coolest thing about it all is that to help introduce their program to more people, they are doing a giveaway where one amazingly lucky winner will get to choose their own TOTALLY FREE piece of land in one of five states! Can you even imagine? To enter, visit LandCentral.com. It only takes a few minutes, and could lead to an amazing opportunity for you and your family!
Click through – then look for the sidebar box that looks like this to click and enter to win!
What would YOU do with a free piece of land? Build a dream home? Build a vacation cabin? Save it to pass down to your kids? Leave me some comments!
{Disclaimer: I did not receive any compensation for this post. I seriously love LandCentral and what they can offer you, and wanted to share this fantastic giveaway with you. I hope one of you win this – Good luck! Photo Credit one: Jeffweese. Photo Credit two: Jeda Villa Bali – both on Flickr Creative Commons.}
$25 Cash Flash Giveaway – One Day Only!
It’s a One Day Flash Giveaway during the Meg’s Moxie One Year Anniversary Giveaway!
And One Lucky Winner Will Receive $25 Cash!
This giveaway starts 10/2 at 12:01am EST and ends 10/3 at 12:01am EST!
Just wait for the Rafflecopter to load below and good luck everyone!
One lucky family wins a Wii Gaming Package!!
The leading online moving supplies retailer, Get Moving Supplies, LLC knows that the weather is getting cooler and time outside is slowing down. To keep us active and entertained year round they’re offering a great prize… A free Wii Gaming Console Could Be Yours!
Sponsored by:
Get Moving Supplies, LLC proudly serves over 300 cities nationwide and is ready for your moving boxes needs! They are locally owned, so every time you choose them, you’re supporting your local economy.
and the amazing
Bulu Box – the 1st vitamin and supplement nutrition sample box company. And, you don’t have to wait until this giveaways over to score big!!
Bulu Box is offering the first month’s box free. Just use the code: BLOGLOVE at check out and cancel at any time.
About the Giveaway
Mommy’s Memorandum, Pittsburgh Frugal Mom and a bunch more of my favorite bloggers have teamed together to bring you this awesomesauce giveaway where ONE LUCKY WINNER will receive a Wii Gaming System!!! So cool, right? All you have to do is enter to win using the super simple Rafflecopter below, and then check your email Friday morning to see if you won!
Feelin’ lucky? Scroll down my sidebar, and enter to win all of the other awesome prizes I’m giving away this month too! Good luck!
Are YOU the Sports Parent of the Year?
Ok – So I admit fully that I am NOT athletic. Or coordinated. Or even all that active {but hey, chasing a toddler half of the day in between writing on my laptop counts for something, right?} But I do come from a pretty athletic family – My brother James was kind of a rockstar at basketball, for most of his life – until high school when he hurt his knee. And his son, my nephew Cade, is the amazing little sportsman that was invited to attend the Young Athletes Innovation Summit with me, at the Nike World HQ earlier this year. Awesome stuff. And that kid – oh man. Throw him into any sport, even something {if you can find it!} that he hasn’t played – and he’ll still blow everyone out of the water. It’s so amazing to me to watch, since I’ve never been blessed with any type of physical skill. {I always say that I have 3 left feet… Yep, it’s THAT bad, lol.} So – since we love to celebrate athletics and the people who help kids succeed, I’m excited to share something new and very cool from Sports Illustrated with you guys….
For the first time ever, Sports Illustrated Kids is naming a “SportsParent of the Year”
This campaign is modeled after the famed Sportsman and SportsKid of the Year awards, which you’re probably familiar with. So this new SportsParent of the Year title will honor a parent who embodies the essence of sportsmanship. After all, we wouldn’t have a Sportsman or SportsKid without the role model who initially set the example, right? A true SportsParent is dedicated to using sports to support family and community, not scores and trophies. The SportsParent will exemplify qualities that SI Kids aims to impart to children through a shared passion for sports, including fun, dedication, healthy living, and the value of community and team.
The “2012 SportsParent of the Year” Grand Prize Winner will receive a $1,000 VISA gift card to support his/her child’s or community team’s sports needs! The winner may also be featured in an upcoming issue of Sports Illustrated Kids magazine and/or on SIKids.com. How cool is THAT, right?
How to Enter:
- Decide who to submit for the award, whether it is yourself, your spouse or another parent.
- Simply go to www.sikids.com/sportsparent and follow instructions to submit your nomination.
- Remember there is (1) nomination per person or email account.
- “Like” the Sports Illustrated Kids Facebook page.
- Share your entry with all of your friends and followers via social media (Twitter Hashtag: #SPOTY2012).
Get a FREE SI Kids September tablet issue COMPLETELY FREE!
The tablet edition has everything that the print magazine has, but also includes bonus photos and interactive features like games and sports cards that kids will love! Simply download the SI Kids app on iPad or Kindle Fire, and use these credentials to access this latest issue: Login: freeissue@sikids.com & Password: september2012.
Or, if you ready to get an entire year of SI Kids in print and on tablet for only $19.95, you can subscribe right now by heading HERE!
{Disclosure: I received this great information from Sports Illustrated Kids in conjunction with this post, so that I could share it with you ladies. I also received a complimentary year subscription & limited promotional merchandise as compensation. Regardless, all opinions, as always, are my own – and 100% honest.}
Back-to-School Art Contest Lets You Earn Money for Your School’s Art Program
BACK-TO-SCHOOL Liberty Bottleworks Art Contest – You Can Make Money for Your School’s Art Program… Liberty Bottleworks is an amazing company located right here in my hometown of Yakima, Washington. All of their awesome, reusable, earth friendly water bottles are made right here in the USA, and are 100% BPA free. Liberty Bottleworks is launching a new line of 16 oz. kids bottles, and to celebrate the new kid-specific design, the company is hosting a Back to School Art Contest to give one aspiring artist a chance for their work to be featured on a limited edition Liberty bottle. How cool is that, right?
Winning design will be sold to benefit art program at winner’s school
The Back to School Art Contest began Monday, July 9 and entries from young artists ages 5-13 – no help from parents allowed — will be taken through July 20. The winning design will be printed on a limited run of Liberty’s new 16 oz. kids bottles and sold on www.libertybottles.com, and through participating retailers. The company will donate $7 from each bottle sold to the art program at the winning student’s school.
“These new kids bottles have been a lot of fun for our illustrators to design, and we know there are some talented young people out there who can do us one better,” said Liberty Co-Founder Ryan Clark. “Plus, we know art programs around the country are struggling to survive and every little bit helps, so it’s a chance for the winning artist to make a real difference at their school.”
Rules and Contest Details
The contest opened at 12:01 a.m. on July 9 and submissions will be accepted through July 20. Entries will be posted on Facebook (www.facebook.com/
- The number of likes an entry receives on Liberty’s Facebook page.
- Best design as decided by Liberty’s art staff.
- Relevance of Back-to-School themed design .
Artwork must be no larger than 8.64″ wide by 2.27″ tall and must be original. Artists (or their parents, on their behalf!) can enter by submitting to the Liberty Bottleworks Facebook page with the artist’s age included in the caption. Entries may also be sent to libertybottleworks@me.com to be posted on the Liberty Facebook page. Votes will be accepted through July 20 and five finalists will be named on July 21. The winning design will be the one with the most “likes” by July 31, and their design will go into production immediately using Liberty’s one-of-a-kind cylindrical digital printer to transfer their art onto the Made-in-the-USA bottles.
The 16oz. kids bottles retail for $18 and are available from www.libertybottleworks.com and through retailers around the country
The new line of kids bottles from Liberty boast the same features found on the company’s 24 and 32 oz. models – BPA-free, recycled aluminum construction, food grade inner coating, tapered neck for easy pouring and dent resistant design – but come in a smaller package. The 16 oz. version will feature Liberty’s standard, patent-pending quarter turn cap, while the smaller, soon-to-be-released 12 oz. bottle will come standard with the new sport cap, which is spill proof and easy for younger children to use.
Founded in 2010, Liberty Bottleworks was created out of the belief that the best products are made in America by American workers. With a commitment to domestic machinery, raw materials, technology and manpower, Liberty Botteworks makes the industry’s only completely BPA-free metal water bottle from 100 percent recycled aluminum at its state-of-the-art factory in Yakima, Wash. Perfect for active lifestyles, whether in the backcountry, the boardroom or the back porch, Liberty bottles can be purchased from retailers across the country or from www.libertybottles.com. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter to stay updated on new products and other cool promotions.