Kelly's Thrifty Tips

Because my son has a sore throat, and I keep seeing more and more people with colds, I decided that I would share some health tips. This isn't all about cold and flu symptoms.

Sore Throat - Oregano oil has been shown to be as effective at killing germs as streptomycin and some other prescription remedies. I have read two different ways to use it. One advises mixing two drops of edible oregano oil into 6 to 8 oz of water and gargling with this mixture three times a day. The other advises dropping four drops of edible oregano oil onto the tongue twice a day for two days.

Acne - Cod liver oil has been recommended by many as a great treatment for acne from the inside out. I have to admit, I have not tried this yet, but from everything I read this is a great treatment. Cod liver oil contains large quantities of vitamin A, D and Omega 3 fatty acids. These help your body more easily fight an accumulation of toxins.

Daily Health Boost with Green Tea - Research has suggested that drinking two cups of green tea can double your ability to destroy viruses before they can make you sick.

Garlic is another fabulous healer. It has a natural ingredient called allicin which kills bacteria again more effectively than many antibiotics. When my son had earaches growing up, we would mix garlic and oil and warm it slightly before putting it in his ears. The aches would be gone within days. Usually no more than two. It was great because we were able to avoid having to use prescription antibiotics.

Because I was thinking about health, I started to also think about screenings and thought I would share a few resources that can assist people with free or low cost medical screenings.

Go to the Well Woman HealthCheck Program that provides free cancer screenings to woman who qualify. Follow the link below to go to their website and get contact information to see if you qualify or to share with someone you know who would need this.

LINK: Well Woman HealthCheck

Vision USA provides basic eye health and vision care services free of charge to uninsured, low-income people and their families. It is a group of AOA doctors of optometry who donate their services.

LINK: Vision USA

Skin Cancer Screenings - American Academy of Dermatology works with many of their dermatologists for free skin cancer screenings. Follow the link below to look up the screenings in Arizona.

LINK: Skin Cancer Screenings



FREEBIES

If you like to cook and like new recipes, sign up now for Sorrento's limited edition cookbook "For The Love Of Lasagna." There is a part where it asks for a promotion code, but a code is not necessary.

LINK: For The Love Of Lasagna Cookbook

Right At Home is back with a free Pledge Microfiber Cloth to the first 3,000 to sign up. Take a chance and see if you are one of the pack.

LINK: Pledge Microfiber Cloth

I am always looking for a planting opportunity. Red Robin is offering Heinz tomato seeds at their website while supplies last. When you get to the website, they have a slide of different promos. Just look for the one for Heinz tomato seeds and sign up.

LINK: Red Robin Heinz Tomato Seeds

Sign up for a free Organizing In Style booklet which comes with $35 in savings and great organizing tips. Get yours while supplies last.

LINK: Organizing In Style

Wow! I was going to share a free sample from Walmart for OXY Clinical skin care, and it went too fast! Soooo I rushed over to their website, and at least right now they are offering a free sample there. So sign up in a hurry!

LINK: OXY Clinical Sample

While supplies last, sign up for a sample of Parent's Choice Baby Formula. These samples are great to have on hand when you want to have some formula quickly at hand or of course just to get a try on. :)

LINK: Parents Choice Baby Formula

Jiffy has updated their recipe book with new recipes that will utilize even more of Jiffy's fabulous boxed mixes. Get in while supplies last.

LINK: Jiffy Recipe Book

If you haven't ordered one yet, there is another chance to pick up a sample of Shout Color catcher. This is a great little laundry helper in that it will snag the dye from something that is runny and keep it on the catcher rather than your other clothes.

LINK: Shout Color Catcher

Here is another free magazine subscription, American Baby. Definitely a great magazine for parents of wee ones, and while supplies last you can get a free subscription. American Baby has been around for quite some time. I heavily relied on it back when my son was a wee one.

LINK: American Baby Subscription

Free CCM again is one of THE best stops for your free Christian music downloads. This week's newest download is "Light Up The World" by Desperation Band. And of course, they still have some wonderful downloads still up from Gateway Worship, Cloverton, Know Hope Collective, Parachute Band, Jonny Diaz, Todd Agnew and Sara Groves! That is quite a song collection right there.

LINK: Free CCM Music

Amazon has a couple of new free Christian book downloads that you can download to your Kindle, Kindle App on your smart phone or download with a Kindle App to your computer.

Calm My Anxious Heart - A Woman's Guide To Finding Contentment by Linda Dillow

Moms' Ultimate Guide To The Tween Girl World by Nancy Rue

Michal by Jill Eileen Smith

Whisper on the Wind by Maureen Lang

Riven by Jerry B. Jenkins

The Secret (Seasons of Grace Book 1) by Beverly Lewis

Kelly's Thrifty Tips - Give A Little Bit

Before I get started with some thrifty tips, I wanted to offer up a few ways that you can give in a way that will bless and cost you nothing.

Dress For Success: Dress for Success is an organization that is all over America as well as moving on in some other countries as well. Dress for Success strives to help disadvantaged women achieve independence by providing attire, career assistance and also networking support. From today, February 24 to 27 they are having SOS Weekend which stands for Send One Suit. You can bring a nearly-new dress suit in to any Dress Barn to donate to Dress For Success. They have all kinds of needs too. Suits, pocketbooks, and shoes. Check out the Dress For Success website for more and for Dress Barn locations go to Dress Barn's website.

LINK: Dress For Success
LINK: Dress Barn

Donate used cell phones to Shelter Alliance for recycling. Domestic violence shelters can earn up to $30. Go to the website to print out a prepaid shipping label.

LINK: Shelter Alliance Donate Cell Phones

Are you an avid reader? Consider donating your books to soldiers. Books For Soldiers helps you donate to a soldier or a whole unit. For soldier's security, you do need to register. Get details and get started at the link below.

LINK: Books For Soldiers


GREAT GIVEAWAY SITE


How long has it been since I have posted a cool giveaway site. I think it has been a while so how about a fabulous one? Check out Blog Giveaway Directory which truly can be your one stop, blog giveaway place. I have mentioned time and time again how much I love blogs and how you can not just learn a thing or two but also win a thing or two. Check out Blog Giveaway Directory where they will point you to some amazing giveaways. You can win clothing, gift cards, food, entertainment items like books and movies. The possibilities are endless!

LINK: Blog Directory Giveaway


FREE SAMPLES

While supplies last you can sign up for a free sample of New Fragrance Shampoo from Creme of Nature. We are talking yummy Sunflower and Coconut! Doesn't that sound amazing?

LINK: Creme of Nature Shampoo

Join Kraft First Taste and you can take advantage of some amazing offers. It is lots of fun getting the chance to try a new product and give your opinion. If you haven't signed up, check them out and sign up. If you have signed up in the past, go sign in and check your account. You may have an offer for a coupon for free Philadelphia Cooking Creme.

LINK: Kraft First Taste

Lowe's Build and Grow Clinic has another event this weekend. The Build and Grow Clinics are a great activity for the kids. This Saturday they will make a wooden race car with a pull back motor and on March 12 they can build a shoot around basketball game. These are all free fun for the kids. Don't miss out. Follow the link below to sign up.

LINK: Lowe's Build and Grow Clinics

Another fun free event is at Target. Target will be hosting Dr. Seuss Story Time from 9 am to 11 am at your local Target. Encourage your child's love of reading and maybe get some fun giveaways and snacks too. Contact your local Target to see where their reading event will be located.

LINK: Target Read Across America

More awesome music awaits at Free CCM. You can download Cloverton's "Take Me Into The Beautiful" as well as Know Hope Collective "Build Us Back," Parachute Band "Peace On Earth," Jonny Diaz "What I'm Waiting For," Todd Agnew "Reach Down," and Sara Groves "When It Was Over." The Cloverton song requires you to go on a special link and put in your name and email and the download link will be sent to you. The other downloads are free on the FreeCCM website.

LINK: Free CCM Free Music Downloads

iTickets.com has a free download of Brian Doerksen's "The Jesus Way"

LINK: Free Music at iTickets

Learn to make some tasty restaurant treats in a healthier way. Not only are these recipes better for you, they will eliminate your need for some of the more pricey restaurant options because you can make them at home. Download the free ebook from Fave Diets called "28 No-Guilt Copy Cat Restaurant Recipes." Making these great recipes at home will definitely help take a bit of a load off of your wallet. When you go to the page just click to download you do not have to join anything even though a pop up opens. Just close it.

LINK: Recipe Book

Go to the Redbox Facebook page and click on Freebie today to get your free code for a free movie tonight! Remember it is only good for today (February 24th)

LINK: Redbox Freebie

Kelly's Thrifty Tips

After all the yummy candy indulgence that Valentine's Day brought, I thought I would share with you an awesome fitness site. FitDay.com is amazing. It is a free online diet and fitness journal that helps you keep track of calories, exercise, goals and lots more. Seriously it is a fabulous fitness tool that you can enjoy for free. It has very extensive information that will really help you make wise decisions and stick to your fitness goals.

LINK: FitDay


Lately I have been thinking about preservatives along with prices. Prices are still one of the highest concerns for me. This has caused me to start looking into what I can make at home rather than pay for the convenience of premade. Here are a few recipe links that I have found.


MEATBALL RECIPE



Back in the day, I used to make meatballs, sausage and peppers. For convenience sake, I stopped making my own meatballs and started buying frozen. They were definitely convenient, but not necessarily a good value. One of the good things about frozen meatballs was that they taste great. I had no idea that they did. I finally realized that if I can make meatballs fresh, I can certainly make them and freeze them for later. There are a lot of great recipes out there, but one that I liked is from Tammy's Recipes. Tammy has a lot of fabulous recipes. Even if you do not want to try your hand at meatballs take a browse around her website. You will not be disappointed. The link here is for a spaghetti and meatball recipe, but it is separate so check out the meatballs they are good for anything. I also have a great Italian meatball recipe that I got from Cooks.com that is pretty awesome too.

Freezing is super easy too. I fill the sink up half way with water, put the meatballs in a freezer bag, and submerge the bag enough in the water to get the air out and also making sure the water doesn't go in. This has worked like a charm.



HOMEMADE LAUNDRY SOAP


Another thing I have wanted to make of my own is laundry soap. I have found lots of great recipes and this one below I have found all over. This one in particular I got from the Duggar's Favorite Family Recipes. :)

4 Cups - hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar (can get at some grocery stores and many hardware stores)
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (this is not baking soda make sure you buy the right stuff)
½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

HOMEMADE YOGURT


I am a true lover of yogurt, and though I am thankful to find it on sale fairly often, I was thrilled when I found a totally easy recipe. This is from one of my favorite bloggers, Kristen The Frugal Girl. This is a recipe that you can do without any fancy equipment. Check it out here.

GRANOLA BARS

Kristen also has a fabulous recipe for granola bars. I only by these when they are on a super sale and I have coupons with this recipe, I won't have to. My son loves them. Check it out here.




FREEBIES

Okay this is again one of those deals that you need to go to Facebook for and you need to be there at a certain time. To show appreciation to their fans, Tide is offering a bottle of Tide Stain Release to the first 5,000 fans to respond at 3:00 pm EST. Give it a shot by following the link below. Don't forget to "like" them.

LINK: Tide Facebook Freebie

Join P&G Everyday Solutions, and you can request a huge variety of coupons that will be mailed to your door. They also have a great quarterly free sample program.

LINK: P&G Everyday Solutions

If you didn't order these last week, I highly recommend ordering Love Handles Cards from Dr. David Jeremiah. I ordered mine last Wednesday, and I got them this Wednesday. They are really cool. You get to see how men and women approach things and how to merge those ways together to better your relationships. Truly I highly recommend this set.

LINK: Love Handles Cards

Join Benihana's Chef Table and you will get a $30 Benihana Birthday Certificate.

LINK: Benihana

Sign up with Rewards Gold, refer three friends, take a survey and do two reviews, and you can get a subscription to Forbes magazine. It is VERY simple. I have been fortunate to get many subscriptions through Rewards Gold, and I cannot recommend it enough. Follow the link below.

LINK: Rewards Gold subscription to Forbes magazine



Download the Parachute Band's "Peace On Earth" at FreeCCM. As usually FreeCCM still has some of their amazing download offerings from the last few week's artists Jonny Diaz, Todd Agnew, Sara Groves, Phil Wickham, Chris Rice and The Afters.

LINK: Free CCM Music downloads

iTickets.com has some wonderful music downloads this week with "Show Me" by Audrey Assad, "Attention" by Know Hope Collective, and "Be Lifted High" by Bethel Live.

LINK: iTickets Music downloads

New Release Tuesday Members can download "Skeleton" by Hawk Nelson from their new CD "Crazy Love" and "Gave It All" by Parachute Band from their CD "Love Without Measure." Join up, it is free to join, you get great music and great CD previews too.

LINK: Free Music Downloads from New Release Tuesday

Kelly's Thrifty Tips

Here is a great website for saving money. Mashupmom.com. Mashup Mom is a website with all kinds of valuable information. There are printable coupons, e-coupons, store deals and freebies, and information on working from home. Seriously, this is a fine site that you are going to love.

LINK: Mashup Mom


RECYCLING ORGANIZING TIP

It is cold and flu season which means if your family is anything like my family, you are using a lot of tissue. Instead of just throwing the empty boxes out, consider cutting the tops off and using them as organizers in the various drawers around the house. They are great in the bathroom to organize make up, brushes, curling irons and hair accessories. They also work great to keep an underwear and sock drawer in order. Don't cut the tops off and use them to hold the plastic bags you take home from the store for later use. Keep them in the laundry room to toss in lint from the dryer. When it is filled up, toss it out.

Or don't toss out that dryer lint. There are actually some things you can do with it.

Dryer Lint Crafts - PlanetPals.com has some craft recipes that help you make clay, paper, and paper mache.

Dryer lint can be used as a compost ingredient.

Dryer lint can be left in the trees for birds to use as nesting materials. This works great for the birds but the draw back is it also provides some cozy materials for mice. Weigh this into the equation before you spread the lint out for this use.

I have also seen dryer lint suggested as a great fire starter for camping or for the fireplace. Some suggest putting some lint inside toilet paper or paper towel tubes, and filling the ends of the tubes with newspaper. The tubes can be inserted into the wood as kindling. I also read about filling up cardboard egg carton slots with dryer lint, covering the lint with melted wax, letting this dry and then separating each egg cup by tearing them apart and using those as starters as well. Some are for these methods and some are against it. Do you own searching and check it out. By the way, safety was not an issue. Some people just felt it didn't work well where others felt it did. I do know that one of our listeners, BJ uses egg cartons and melted wax as starter so that definitely does work. The lint is just an added part. If you do use dryer lint for burning, I have been told that cotton lint is the way to go. Stay away from polyester lints as they can be smokey.






FREE SAMPLES

Walmart.com has another free sample of Maybelline FIT Me foundation. Sign up and get all 18 shades. This is a whiles supplies last so don't wait on it.

LINK: Maybelline FIT Me Foundation

FREE FOOD

Taco Bell is giving a coupon to the first 1 million people to like them on Facebook. This coupon is worth one free crunchy taco. You do have to print the coupon. You will probably notice that they have over a million people already liking them, but this is new so give it a shot.

LINK: Taco Bell Free Taco

Like Cheez It on Facebook and vote for their new flavor, and while supplies last you can get a free sample. I love Cheez-Its so this is a freebie, I couldn't pass up. Hurry though.

LINK: Cheese It Sample via Facebook


FREE FAMILY RESOURCE


Dr. David Jeremiah has Love Handles. No not the belly kind, the kind that can lead to relationship bliss. Here is a quote from the website: Love Handles” provides twenty-five key topics where the two divergent views can be looked at and the “perfect blend” can be found to promote harmony in a relationship. Learn how to “get a grip on bliss” with “Love Handles.”

LINK: Love Handles

FREE ENTERTAINMENT

I just love, love, love FreeCCM. They always have interesting music news, interviews and even devotionals, and of course there is the plethora of free music! This week's newest free be is Jonny Diaz song "What I am Waiting For." There are still some great flashback tunes from Todd Agnew, Sara Groves, Phil Wickham, The Afters, and Chris Rice.

LINK: Free CCM Music

For a limited time you can download a 4 song EP from Abandon Kansas via Amazon.

LINK: Abandon Kansas download

If you are new to Amazon On Demand you can sign up and get $5 credit. This credit has to be used by March 31, 2011 and cannot be used on every video on demand (the video will tell you this). The credit will be applied to qualifying purchases through their video on demand.

LINK: Amazon Video On Demand promo

Lowe's Build and Grow Clinics has a special project on February 12th. Your child can build a music box with a heart shaped lid. It is very, very cute. While at the sign up page you might also like to sign up your child for the class on February 26th to build a pull-back #48 race car. Check out the link for all the details and to sign up. Classes begin at 10:00 am, and remember you must follow the link to register.

LINK: Lowe's Build and Grow Clinics

Send a virtual Valentine from an app on the Redbox facebook page, and you will get a code for a free Valentine's movie rental for you and your recipient will get one too! This rental code will only be good on Valentine's day. There are several varieties to send, and they are awfully cute. Even the intro is pretty sweet.

LINK: Free Redbox rental code when you send a Valentine

Kelly's Thrifty Tips

Whether you are all about Valentine's Day or not, I thought it would be nice to share some ideas and links for inexpensive Valentine gifts and crafts, because it is always nice to show the ones we love how much we love them. If money is tight, do not spend more than you can afford. There are lots of ways to share your love with the ones you love if you just get a little creative.


KID CRAFTS

When I was a child, I loved crafts. Kaboose has some amazing crafts for the kids that are fun and frugal. Follow the link below to get lessons on making Valentine Cards, a Valentine Pinata, paper crafts (I just love the puffy paper heart) and candy rings. Seriously, you and your child can get lost for hours making fun treats to share. You will also notice on the right of their web page a video loop of fun crafts from Family Fun.

LINK: Kaboose Valentine Day Crafts


TREATS FOR YOUR SWEETHEART

If you would like to spoil the love of your life with some yummy treats, Kaboose is the place for you too. They have scads of fabulous recipes for you to play around with. I was extremely intrigued by the dessert pizza and the cappuccino truffles really called to me. Of course I plan on making the treats and giving.

PRINTABLES

Mint Printables has free printable Valentine stationary that might be just right to make a sweet note for the ones you love.

Presentation Magazine has some lovely printable free Valentine Cards. All you need is some card stock and a printer.

I found some nice romantic coupons at parenting.leehansen.com. These are of the Breakfast in Bed, A Hug For No Reason variety with two coupons you can write in. Might I suggest the coupon for winning one argument no questions asked. That is a nice gift to give.

I can't draw a heart. I should correct that statement. I can draw a heart, but I cannot draw an even heart. My hearts always end up somewhat lopsided. This caused me to look around for some simple heart templates. I found one at Family Fun. This will work great for any kind of craft where you need a nice, perfect heart.

RANDOM ACTS OF VALENTINE'SNESS

Here are a few other things you can do for Valentine's Day. Surprise your children or spouse with love notes. This requires planning. Take the time to write some small love notes and leave them in various places where your loved ones will find them. Put them in pockets, under pillows, in lunch boxes, the car, silverware drawer, the bathroom mirror and wherever else it will be a surprise. Even if your loved one doesn't find the notes all in one day, it will be nice for them to randomly find these sweet notes from you.

Does your spouse like coffee? Send them off to work with their favorite blend.

Create a love jar. Pick up a Mason Jar or even recycle a jar you have at home. Fill this jar with candies (Hershey kisses, jelly bellies, those candy hearts with the sayings on them), little love notes from you, and some coupons like the printables above.

If your love likes crosswords, buy them a puzzle book. My husband loves Arizona Highways Magazine so one thing I like to do when at Thrift Stores is look for old issues so he can have fun looking at the past. Make a mixed CD of songs that remind you of him/her.

Hand massages. Yep. Hand or feet really, but if you are squeamish with feet, I totally recommend a hand massage. My husband didn't even know he liked having his hands massaged until I did that for him.

Instead of doing dinner which can be pricey and definitely crowded, go out for lunch or make a dinner at home. Rent a movie that will make your spouses day, and pick up their favorite theater treats and have a fun date night at home.

Always keep in mind that it is not what you do but who you do it with. Shower the people you love with kindness and love all day. You will all reap the benefits.

FREEBIES

Looking to get your Omega 3 vitamin kick, but not sure what to buy? Walmart has a sample on their site for MegaRed Omega 3 Krill Oil. Follow the link below. Don't forget that these deals are available only while supplies last.

LINK: MegaRed Omega 3 Krill Oil

I am always looking for the next best thing to make my skin feel amazing. I jumped on the chance to get a free 1.5 ml sample of Origins Plantscription anti-aging serum. Like them on Facebook and you are in!

LINK: Origins Plantscription

If you like almonds, check out this deal. On game day, February 6 at 6pm EST, you can go to Planter's Mr Peanut Facebook page and get a coupon for free Flavor Grove Almonds. They are giving 25,000 coupons away.

LINK: Planter's Flavor Grove Almonds

February 4th is free Coffee-Mate day. Coffee-Mate will be giving out 100,000 coupons for a free bottle of Coffee-Mate on February 4th at 9:00 am PST. You can sign up at their website or their facebook page. You can even text them for deals, but I would stick to the FB or website. Like them on Facebook now so you can get the signal when they start the giveaway.

LINK: Coffee-Mate Website or Coffee-Mate Facebook

Perhaps back by popular demand, but quite possibly not around for long, Walmart has Breathe Right Strip samples. Follow the link below, but don't wait too long.

LINK: Breathe Right Strips Sample

FREE TAX PREP

H&R Block and Turbo Tax are offering free simple form tax online tax filing. When filing was simple, I was all about Turbo Tax. It is not so simple anymore for us, but if it is for you or you know someone who can use it, lead them to these links.

LINK: H&R Block and Turbo Tax

MORE KINDLE FREEBIES

I hope that you were able to take advantage of some of the awesome free Kindle books that I posted a few weeks ago. They do change fast, and I have to say that I am glad that I picked the ones I did while I had a chance as many aren't free now. Remember you do not have to have a Kindle to get the free books. You can get the program on your iPhone, Windows PC, Mac, BlackBerry, iPad, Android (that is what I have), and Windows Phone 7 just go to this link.

Here are a couple free books that you might want to check out while they are still available.

The One Year Book Of Devotions For Couples by Teresa Ferguson (This could be a nice thing to kick off together on Valentine's Day. You don't have to start with January after all)

After The Leaves Fall by Nicole Baart

The Choice by Suzanne Woods Fisher

FREE MUSIC

Blast to the past continues at freeCCM with Todd Agnew's "Reached Down" from his CD "Grace Like Rain." You can still get downloads from Sara Groves, Phil Wickham, The Afters, and Chris Rice.

LINK: Free Christian Music

Members at New Release Tuesday can download "Give It All " by Parachute Band and can still snag "New Beginnings" by Luminate.

LINK: New Release Tuesday Music Downloads

Kelly's Thrifty Tips

Good morning!!!!! I have some awesome things to share today. I have been looking up some ways to save money with cooking substitutes, play substitutes and even some grooming substitutes. I also have some more job hunting sites to share with you today, because you really just can't stop at seasonal sites. And finally I have some awesome freebies for you to peruse. Take a little stroll through this post. I think you will see something you'll like. :)


This week I made fried chicken for the first time! Let me tell you, I was beyond proud. At first I was a little scared as I had never made it before. Honestly it is amazing what you will try to make in order to give your husband a little smile! At least that is how I am.

See the plan went like this...Saturday afternoon my husband and I were driving home from the Shepherding Your Teen conference (which was amazing), and he told me he was craving fried chicken. This mainly translates to expensive fast food eating. In all fairness I should admit I do enjoy a little KFC now and then (though I was a bigger fan when they tried skinless fried chicken). At this time of my life, I just don't enjoy the prices. On a whim, I decided to make it myself. Truly I thought for a moment that I had made a big mistake, but once at home I found a great recipe and there really was no stopping me...I was committed. There was only one problem, I needed buttermilk. I don't buy a lot of buttermilk. No that isn't true. I NEVER buy buttermilk. I purposely avoid buttermilk and have ever since I was seven and mistook buttermilk for eggnog. BLECH. In fact, I don't even think I have seen buttermilk at my local store. They probably have it, but then again, maybe not. This is not an item that rings very high on my shopping list. I recalled a recipe that you can use to make a buttermilk substitute. I jumped on line and found it.

All this searching made me decide to show you a few substitutes that you can easily make in order to save money or make when you don't have certain things on hand.

Buttermilk - Mix one cup of milk with one tablespoon of lemon juice (we usually keep those plastic lemons full of juice in our fridge). Let sit for five minutes and then use as recipe requires. I used this in the fried chicken recipe and it was GREAT!

Mayonnaise - Honestly I wanted to do this because I have a thyroid condition and soy is bad for my thyroid. Soy has been a main ingredient in just about every mayonnaise I have found so I hunted for a recipe I could make on my own. Follow this link for very easy mayo instructions: Mayonnaise recipe

Fingerpaint - When my son was little, he just loved fingerpainting. It wasn't very expensive. We just ran out a lot. I wish I had these recipes back then: Make your own fingerpaint

Playdough - No matter how hard we tried, our Play-doh would always dry up or get mixed up into an ugly purplish-brown color, and no one would want to use it. So I got in the habit of making our own playdough. Here is a link to a very easy recipe: Make Your Own Playdough

Natural Dye for Playdough - Honestly food coloring always worked for us, but if you want to go that route there is a nice instruction guide here, and the colors are lovely: Natural dye for homemade playdough

Shaving Cream for ladies - Now this substitute has nothing to do with mixing an item with another. A while back I mentioned using conditioner for shaving cream (talking to you ladies out there). I have to say that this truly is one of the best substitutes I have ever come across. You don't even have to go pricey. Last week Suave shampoo and conditioners were on sale for 99 cents. I bought two huge bottles of strawberry conditioner and totally replaced my shower shaving cream. It smells great, works great and you don't step out of the shower with dry and itchy legs.

SHOPPING TIP - Did you know that you are more likely to purchase an item when you physically touch it? Ohio State University did a study that found that people who handled an item were more likely to buy it. It takes about 30 seconds to already "feel" like an item is yours. Keep that in mind the next time you go shopping especially Christmas shopping. :) Here is a link to an article from MSN about this study: If you touch it, you buy it

WEBSITE TIP- Where the jobs are

A few weeks ago I gave a couple of websites that are great for seasonal job hunting. Today I wanted to give you a website that is helpful for the job hunt in general. Check out Simplyhired.com. This is an amazing search engine that enables you to search for jobs in broad terms by state or more specific by keyword or category. Definitely give it a look and pass it along. It is a great tool.

LINK: Simplyhired.com

Another awesome site is LinkUp.com LinkUp goes though thousands of corporate sites and posts the jobs that you may not normally stumble on. Again it is another fabulous resource to take advantage of.

LINK: LinkUp.com

Remember you do not have to own a computer to use these sites. Simply go to the library where you can have access to computers and the internet for free.



FREEBIES

Start Sampling which is totally one of my favorite sample sites has a huge listing of freebies. Follow the links below for each one:

Crest Pro-Health Clinical Gum Protection (quiz to qualify)

Cottenelle Fresh Flushable Moist Wipes

Redken for Men Clean Spice 2-in-1 Conditioning Shampoo

Gas-X Prevention

True Lemon (also orange and lime - great in H2O)

Sun Crystals

PowerBar Energy Gel Blasts

Dove Ultimate Go Fresh Deodorant (Sam's Club Membership # required)

Lanacane Anti Chafing Gel (Brief Survey)

John Frieda Root Awakening Shampoo and Conditioner

OXY Clinical

Dove Daily Treatment Conditioner

Nature's Bounty Your Life Multi Adult Gummy

Shout Color Catcher

HUGO BOSS Cologne Sample

Eucerin Daily Skin Balance (facebook sample)

Gas-X Thin Strips

Garnier Fructis Ant-Dandruff Shampoo

Emergen-C Vitamin D & Calcium

And some more samples from around the web...

Ester-C Gummies

The First 10,000 entries will win a FREE studded bracelet from Seventeen. Entries are limited to females ages 13 to 29. This is while supplies last. A notice will be posted when they reach 10,000 entries.

Make Me Chic Studded Bracelet


Kashi still has two of their snack drive samples left if you haven't gotten in on this freebie.

Kashi Snack Drive Sample

Vaseline Intensive Rescue sample while supplies last (giving away 1 million samples)

Vaseline Intensive Rescue

Printable Coupon for two free 5 x 7 instant HP Photo Cards from Walmart. Print your coupon, bring your best photos and leave with two awesome cards.

Coupon for 2 free 5 x 7 instant HP Photo Cards

My son is taking Japanese, and one of the things he has toyed with is oragami. When I saw the free samples of Origami paper from Everything In Paper Crafting. I knew I had to check it out. They have tutorials too so you might want to check it out yourselves. One thing after I entered for the paper it mentioned a sample for comet. It was one of those participation samples (register, complete offers, and get samples)...don't do it.

Free Origami paper

FREE REDBOX MOVIE CODE

There is another free Redbox code circulating: CHANCEMONOP This code can only be used once per account. The code is supposed to last until it has been used 1 million times.


Well, that is all for today. See you next week!

Kelly's Thrifty Tips

Two weeks ago I posted some tips for having your own yard sale or garage sale. Last week we focused on Father's day. Now I am going to refocus on yard sale tips but this time as the savvy buyer. Or semi-savvy buyer which I tend to be. I haggle minimally. Some people (like my fabulous sister-in-law) can haggle like a pro. I just don't have it in me, but I will if I feel motivated.



Okay off to the tips:

1- Plan your yard sale route. Most newspapers will have online postings and newspaper ads for yard sales, garage sales, estate sales and church rummage sales. Look them up and decide where you want to go. If you do this online you can map things out fairly simply with mapquest.


2- Start early. This is pretty obvious, but the fact is the really cool stuff gets snatched up. Of course if saving the most money is your goal, starting late works too. You can get a lot of great deals at the end of the day when a seller is not interested in packing there stuff up. Ages ago I read "Saving Money Any Way You Can" by Mike Yorkey, and one of the things that stuck with me was this woman Mike knew who purchased things for their church. She had like a free shop for people. She would go to yard sales at the end of the day and offer them a flat amount for everything they had left. If you do this, be sure you have the transportation to pull it off and some containers to do some sorting.


3- Shop with smaller bills. If you are planning on purchasing some high priced item, by all means carry the bills you think will be necessary, but do be sure to have plenty of denominations below $20 and some change too. This is simply a point of being considerate.


4- Carry a list of your family's clothing sizes and shoe sizes. You never know what you are going to find.


5- If you are looking for certain movies or books bring a list of those items. I can't tell you how many times I had stumbled on an amazing pile of books with some of my favorite authors and new authors I had recently discovered and I was a bit unsure of what I had and what I wanted.


6- If someone is having a bag sale (where you purchase a bag and fill it up), roll the clothes to get the most room. They also wrinkle less this way.


7- If you are hitting yard sales for a specific need, write that need down and the price range you are willing to go. This way you are ready if you come across the item you want. When I moved into my first apartments, I needed everything. I purchased everything too through yard sales and thrift stores. When you arrive at a sale and don't see what you are looking for be sure to ask.


8- When shopping for baby. Do not purchase car seats, cribs, bouncy swings...etc. The fact is so many things have been recalled that it is just wise to go new for those items. Do buy clothing and toys, but keep in mind choking hazards. Most of my son's clothes were purchased through yard sales and thrift stores because baby's frankly don't have the time in the clothing to ruin them. I also would resell his clothes at yard sales, thrift stores and consignment stores. Always use your judgment.


9- Keep some bags on hand for your finds. Some sellers will have bags and some will not.


10- If you aren't sure if you want an item, walk around with it while you shop. You don't want to set it down and have someone else pick it up just when you decide you do want it.

11- BE POLITE AND CONSIDERATE - This is one of the reasons I mention bringing smaller bills. Also watch how you park your car. Don't block a neighbor's driveway. Look both ways before bolting across the street. Don't cross in someone's lawn to get to a person's yard sale. Be polite to the other shoppers. My being polite helped me score a color television over a rude shopper which I sold eight years later for the same price I paid.

Also by being polite, don't get cranky if someone doesn't want your haggled down price. Some people have a set price and that is it. The year I was moving cross country, I had a yard sale in which I sold comic books at 25 cents each. A man tried to get me to sell my boxes (250 per box-no joke I was a collector at the time) for $5 each. Basically about two cents a comic. He yelled at me when I politely told him my price. He proceeded to yell that he was a comic book dealer and he knew prices. I informed him that I was a collector and I too was well aware of the prices and had no intention of going any lower than I already had. I had been to far too many comic book shows and knew for myself what those comics could sell for at any show and that any dealer would charge at least double my 25 cents and more likely prices of up to $1.00 for most of my inventory (yes I was a comic geek).

His rudeness eventually got him removed from my yard by another shopper who was highly irritated at this man's actions.


11- Carry tools with you like a measuring tape, screw driver, tape, rope and pliers. You never know when you are going to need to take an item apart, tie it down, or measure it to see if it will fit.


12- If you don't need it, do not buy it. This goes for yard sales and any kind of shopping. A great deal isn't a great deal if you don't need the item.


13- If you are looking for collectibles. Study up on what you are looking for. You can get some great deals that way.


Now onto something cool. It has been my dream for probably the past ten years now to go to the World's Longest Yard Sale which is also known as the 127. This sale is a four day yard sale extravaganza that had its humble beginnings in 1987 as a way to bring people to the less traveled highways of Tennessee and Kentucky. This year's sale is to extend from Hudson, Michigan to Gadson, Alabama and runs August 5th to August 8th. Check out the map of the sale below:



For more information about the 127 Corridor Sale follow the link below:


LINK: 127 Corridor World's Longest Yard Sale or 12 Corridor World's Longest Yard Sale (2)



FREE SAMPLES


While supplies last you can get a free sample of Biore Steam Activated Cleanser or Makeup Removing Towelettes. They take 8 to 10 weeks to arrive.


LINK: Biore Samples


If you are a dad, John MacArthur and Grace to You have a hard cover copy of "The Quest For Character." This very generous offer for dads expires on June 27th.


LINK: Grace to You - The Quest For Character


Walmart has another sample of Starbucks VIA. If you find yourself to occasionally desire a little coffee but don't want to make a full pot, this is a great way to go. Follow the link below:


LINK: Starbucks VIA


Free Samples of Gas X Thin Strips. Beat the tummy grumbles with Gas X. Give it a try at the link below:


LINK: Gas X Thin Strips Sample


From IKEA Wednesday June 23 to Monday, July 5 Kids Eat Free. Here are the details from the website:

Wednesday, June 23, 2010 tp Monday, July 5, 2010

Kids Eat FREE!

Fill up their tummies with a free meal 11am until closing!

Valid Wednesday, June 23, 2010 - Monday, July 5, 2010. No adult purchase necessary. Choose any three kid-sized items to create a meal, including five meatballs, mac and cheese, PB&J sandwich, kid's yogurt, two cookies, chocolate milk, and more! Kids under 12 only. A $2.49 value.

Always check with your local store first. This is from the Tempe IKEA.




REBATES


Buy $50 worth of Olay facial care productss including their cleansers, moisturizers and specialty treatments and get a $20 rebate. This is definitely worth the time if you like Olay products. The products must be purchased by June 30th and postmarked by July 16th.


Rebate link: Olay $20 Rebate


Get a $5 rebate from Clorox if you buy the Clorox Toilet Wand System. Expires 2/1/11.


Rebate Link: $5 Clorox Toilet Wand


While supplies last mail your receipt from the purchase of Cover Girl Lash Blast and get a free Elle Mirror (very cute). Again this is while supplies last. Follow the link for directions.


LINK: Free Elle Mirror with CoverGirl Last Blast Receipt


Get a free reusable grocery bag mailed to you from Jolly Time popcorn when you send in 3 UPCs while supplies last. Get details on the website at the link below. I totally recommend picking this up. I got a great one a while back from Sunsweet, and these bags are amazing. They hold way more than your typical grocery store reusable bag.


LINK: Free Jolly Time reusable grocery bag with 3 UPCs


Send receipt with purchase price circled and UPC from Just for Men - Touch of Gray and get $9.50 back. Know someone who'd like to try this out? This is a great way to give it a shot.


LINK: Just for Men $9.50 rebate


Get a $15 rebate when you buy any Neutrogena Clinical. Neutrogena has long been known for their excellent skin care. Try their new Clinical Treatments and get $15 back. Purchase needs to be made by August 31, 2010 and postmarked by September 14, 2010. Follow all the directions on the form.


LINK: $15 rebate on Neutrogena Clinical


Schick Hydro will give you up to a $10.99 rebate just for trying Schick Hydro. Mail the original sales receipt, UPC, and rebate form (not valid on purchases from Sam's Club or BJ's Wholesale Club). Always follow the directions to get your rebate. Receipts need to be dated between 6/14/2010 and 8/18/2010.


LINK: Up to a $10.99 rebate for trying Schick Hydro


Get $5 back by mail when you purchase any three SC Johnson Products. Products listed here:


Ziploc
Glade
Windex
Scrubbing
Bubbles
Pledge
Shout
Fanastik
Draino
Raid
Off
Saran
Nature's Source

Must be postmarked by 7/15/2010 and received by 7/30/2010. Follow the link below for the rebate form and all the details. Remember follow all the directions.


LINK: SC Johnson Rebate download



Buy $25 worth of Aveeno products in a single purchase (yes SINGLE purchase - very important to remember in other words can be more than one item but only one receipt), send in certificate, receipts with items and purchase prices, write in UPC codes on the space provided on the form, and send it in. The items must be purchased between 6/14/2010 and 7/18/2010. Follow the directions to the letter.


LINK: $10 Rebate from AVEENO for $25 in AVEENO products purchase.


The word at A Full Cup is that there is a Snapple rebate pull off at several grocery stores that gives you a full rebate up to $6.99 for the purchase price of a Snapple 6 pack. I haven't seen it yet, but I thought I would give you the heads up. This would be a tear off thing. One per household so just take one if you find it. :)


Don't forget to check out the newest coupons from Cellfire that you can download directly to your store's loyalty cards. Follow the link below.


LINK: Cellfire

Kelly's Thrifty Tips

Last week I talked about having a garage sale or yard sale and gave some tips I learned from watching my mom and grandma through the years and participating in some of my own.

One thing I forgot to add was what to do with the stuff you have left after a yard sale. Most of the time, my mom and grandma would keep the item for the next sale. So this could be choice number 1, but some areas have a limit to how many yard sales you can have. When we were moving, it became necessary to sell what we could and get rid of what we couldn't. Here are ways you can do this:

1 - Donate what you don't sell. There are many places you can donate to. There are two nice things about donating. You are blessing an organization who will use the funds to help others, and you can get a receipt for tax season.

2 - Post what you have on Freecycle.com. This is what we did when we had our final moving sale. We boxed everything we had left and posted on Freecycle that we just had a yard sale and everything we had left over was boxed up. We invited people to come take the boxes with the stipulation that they did not go through the boxes. This is because we were renting and we wanted the boxes taken away. Within two hours everything we had left was gone. Next week I'll talk about shopping the sales. :)

3 - You can always supervise a free time by posting a free sale sign when you are done. I find the Freecycle posting works the best though. You get to set the parameters (like insisting they take a box and not go through everything) and anyone who comes will follow your lead.





FREEBIES


I have a website that you are totally going to want to check out. It is Kraft First Taste. Kraft First Taste gives its members the opportunity to try new products, share your opinions, and get connected and in the know with other members. I had joined a while back and when I logged in a few weeks ago, I was pleasantly surprised to find out I qualified to try several products.

Through the mail I received a coupon for:
One free Kraft 100 Calorie Cheese Bites
One free Kool-Aide Fun Fizz Drink Drops
One free DiGiorno Deep Dish Pizza
One free package of Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Shaved Meats
One free package of New Kraft Homestyle Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese Dinner (I just saw a commercial for this new product and it looks more like homemade baked mac n cheese)
One free package of Ritz Crackerfuls.

I added up the retail value on the coupon and it adds up to $21.06. And all they ask members to do is try the products and come back with their opinion. :) Follow the link to sign up.

LINK: Kraftfirsttaste.com


Walmart has a great bodycology free sample right now. They have great fragrances and right now you can get a sample of Cherry Blossom or Cucumber Mellon. Follow the link.

LINK: bodycology free sample

In fact, Walmart again has some amazing samples in several categories. Follow the link to take advantage of them all.

LINK: More Walmart samples

If you are looking for a fun activity for the kids, check out this month's and next month's Lowe's Build and Grow Clinics. Follow the link below and decide between the Monster Truck clinic on 6/26 from 10am to 11am or the ball and cup game on 7/10 also from 10am to 11am! Actually you can go for both. :) Follow the link to see what these finished products look like and sign up.

LINK: Lowe's Build and Grow Clinic

While available, you can register for the Kellogg's All Bran Promise Pack. Get them while they last by following the link below.

LINK: Kellogg's All Bran Promise Pack

Friday June 18th is National Flip Flop Day and you get a treat if you are one of the first 500 in the Tropical Smoothie Cafe in flip flops. If you do don some flip floppage, you will get yourself a FREE Jetty Punch Smoothie! There aren't a plethora of Tropical Smoothie Cafes in Arizona but there are three in Mesa. Follow the link below for information.

LINK: Flip Flop Day at Tropical Smoothie Cafe

I have no idea how much you are going to get, but Bull's-Eye has some new regional barbecue sauces, and while supplies last, you can get your hands on two samples. Follow the link below to get yours.

LINK: Bull's-Eye Regional Barbecue Sauce Sample

Costco has a free sample of Dove Damage Therapy Shampoo and Conditioner. You do not need to be a member, but it is one per household so if you signed up before for the member only promo that counts.

LINK: Dove Damage Therapy Shampoo and Conditioner Sample

I have mentioned before how you can get some pretty nice freeebies via Facebook. There is a really awesome one going on right now for Clairol Natural Instincts Hair Color. They are giving away a free hair color to the first 1000 facebook fans to sign up at noon EST on the 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th and 21st. Check out the details at their facebook page.

LINK: Clairol Natural Instincts Hair Color

Parents don't pass up this free sample of Pampers Extra Protection. The samples come in size 4 or 5 and are up for grabs while supplies last or until June 30 whichever comes first.

LINK: Pampers Extra Protection

Free CCM free download this week is Vicky Beeching "Blessing and Honor." They also still have free downloads of songs by Carlos Whitaker, Addison Road, Jonny Diaz, and 33Miles. Sign up while they are still available at the link below.

LINK: FREECCM Downloads


CRAFTS FOR DAD AND THE FOURTH

Father's day is this Sunday, and Michaels has some pretty great activities for the kids that can help them create something pretty special for dad. And below those activities links, I have also included a few more activities that I found online.

Michaels

Children ages 6 to 12 can make dad a Duck Tape wallet while supplies last. This is today's activity (that is 6/17) so don't wait too long. The time is listed as 6 to 8pm, but I would check with your local Michaels.

LINK: The Knack craft for dads Duck Tape wallet

June 18th at 6pm children 2 and up can enjoy a make it and take it activity for dad by jazzing up a t-shirt. This activity requires a t-shirt purchase. Again this activity is listed as 6 to 8pm.

LINK: Make it and take it T-shirt for dad

On June 19th kids 3 and up are welcome to come and make a Father's Day card from 10am to 2pm while supplies last. Get there early!

LINK: Father's Day Card

On June 26th bring the kids in to make some patriotic projects before the 4th of July! This event is from 10am to 2 pm while supplies last.

LINK: Patriotic Projects

Family Fun has a whole page full of great ideas for showing dad how special he is. Follow the link and learn how to make some great gifts for dad. One of my favorites is a sunglasses sling you make out of one of dad's old ties. Mind you they suggest purchasing him a nice new one too. :)

LINK: Family Fun Father's Day

The Holiday Spot has a great selection of Father's Day activities, crafts, recipes to celebrate dad's special day and a history on how Father's Day got started check them out for some great tips.


LINK: The Holiday Spot Father's Day


You might also like to check out the Idea Box for some more ideas. There are lots out there. I don't know about you, but my dad always liked things that were handmade. You can't lose with the ideas at any of these sites. Plus the idea box has a great pancake recipe to get the day started just right.

LINK: The Idea Box Father's Day

Kelly's Thrifty Tips

I will be back to post on what I talked about this morning, but in the meantime, here are a few goodies!

REBATES AND COUPONS

Jennie-O is giving away rebates that can hook you up with a FREE (yep free) Jennie-O product up to a $5.00 value. All you have to do is join their new Wellness Group. The rebate is for the first 5000 so you definitely want to get going. Once you sign up, simply sign in and click on coupons. There you will get the form to fill out for your printable rebate. Another plus is right now Safeway has Jennie-O Store Extra Lean Ground Turkey Breast (20 oz) for $4.99!

LINK: Jennie-O

COST PLUS World Market has a printable coupon for $10 off a $30 purchase. The coupon expires 3/15. They always have something interesting to check out and some pretty cool prices. There is one right over at the mall here in Prescott, so I am definitely picking this up!

LINK: Cost Plus World Market Coupon

The Children's Place has a 15% printable coupon available now too! This is definitely the time to take advantage of some great deals. The coupon is good until March 16th!

LINK: The Children's Place

Aeropostale has an printable coupon to be used in stores only for $10 off a $50 purchase. They also have a buy one get one deal on polo shirts. I don't have a store near me, but if I did, this would be printed up and out the door. Coupon expires on February 28th.

LINK: Aeropostale $10 off $50


FREE SAMPLES


Sam's Club is offering a free sample of Member's Mark baby formula. You do not have to be a member to get in on this deal, but I definitely would not wait on it too long. Follow the link below.

LINK: Member's Mark Formula

Got a facebook account? Do you like Zone Perfect? Zone perfect has been offering their first 30,000 fans a free ZonePerfect Indulgence nutrition square sent right to their address. They are also donating a dollar for each fan up to 30,000 to the Save the Music Foundation. I like both music and ZonePerfect so this is a win win! They have about 3000 slots left so you will want to do this fairly soon.

LINK: ZonePerfect


I do not know how long this will last but there is a deal right now for a free South Beach Living S'more bar. Who can pass up a deal like that? Really, who can pass up smores of any kind? Again, I am not sure how long this will last so give it a shot.

LINK: South Beach Living S'more Bar Sample

Walmart's website is giving us some more great free samples. Head on over to get a sample of Olay Total Effects Body Wash. I was just thinking, do they even call it Oil of Olay? Did I just totally date myself? Link up below (click on request a free sample when the page loads up)!

LINK: Olay Total Effects Body Wash


Walmart's website also had a link to get a free sample of Tide Plus Febreze. There are also a lot of coupons to check out too.

LINK: Tide Plus Febreze

iTickets.com has a free download this week for Starfield's Rediscover You from their new CD The Saving One. It is a beauty.

LINK: iTickets Download of the Week

FreeCCM has downloads for Chasen, Chris Rice, Phillips, Craig and Dean and Stellar Kart! I love this place! Don't forget, you do have to be a member, but it is totally free. :)

LINK: FreeCCM music!


LOSING WEIGHT FRUGALLY

I have recently started the Special K diet plan. Basically it is a two week thing, and it is a nice way to kick start some weight loss. One of the things that stood out to me was the 90 calorie snacks which you can get in by eating one of their bars or a 90 calorie serving of their crackers. I picked up some of the bars as they were on sale and I had amassed quite a few coupons, but the crackers were out of the question as they were pretty pricey (over $3.00 a box). I decided to come up with some 90 calorie snacks that fit my tastes but also fit my budget. When the diet is through, I will up the snacks to 100 calories.

The most important thing to do is take the time to figure things out. Do not pay for convenience. Just because you can buy a box of bagged 100 calorie snacks doesn't mean you should. You pay nearly double for what you would a regular box that isn't bagged and get much less. Take the time to plan, and you will not regret it. The bad eating choices and spending choices are usually due to not planning.

Good low cal snacking

Air popped pop corn

You can have 3 cups of air popped pop corn for only 93 calories. You can also add seasoning like Kernel Season's pop corn seasoning to flavor it up. If you like your popcorn cheesy you can add a 1/4 teaspoon of their nacho cheese seasoning is just 2 calories. You can easily add two of those and still be below 100 calories. There are 100 servings per bottle. If you like it sweet, they have a caramel seasoning for 5 calories per 1/4 teaspoon.

Cheez Its (Reduced Fat)

Save on spending money for the 100 calorie packs and figure out the calories and add your own snacks to the bag. I am not a math whiz but I figured about 22 crackers would be about 100 calories, because they are roughly 4.5 calories per cracker.

Gingersnaps

If you want something sweet. Eat three Nabisco Gingersnaps for 90 calories.

Hershey's Dark Chocolate Kisses (because sometimes you just want chocolate)

If you have to have something sweet, you might want to go for the dark chocolate Hershey's kisses. Dark chocolate is better for you and four kisses will get you a tad over 100 calories.

Plums

You can have three average sized plums at 30 calories each. That is filling and sweet. This is definitely a good way to go for a snack.


Want to know the calories in your foods? A great resource is CalorieKing. At Calorie King you can look up the calories in different foods and also see what kinds of activities you would be able to do to burn it off.

Have you ever been totally excited by an exercise video and then find yourself doing the exercises for a week or two and then dropping it because it just doesn't suit you? I recently found ExerciseTV. This is an amazing resource for FREE online exercise videos. Definitely worth checking out, because it is not only free but there are so many options, you will have a hard time getting bored.