Archive for November, 2009
So thanksgiving is behind us as is Black Friday and Cyber Monday or whatever they were calling it. Clear sailing, right? Not really because here come Christmas. It seems like we were just shelling out our wallets for summer vacation. Believe it or not there are still some relatively free or frugal things you can do with your family.
1. I am surprised how many people that I know who make use of their Local Library. It's a sign of the time but you can get free movies to rent from the Library. I have no idea how current they are but I am sure you can find something to keep the kids occupied without breaking the bank at the video store or the movies.
2. There are plenty of snow or winter activities at your disposal like tubing or tobogganing or outdoor skating. Skating is a great way to get exercise and a great free way to get the family together for an afternoon.
3. Check your local public free newspapers or websites for freebie activities. For example, our local zoo has a free outdoor movie night during the summer or free plays. There are more free activities going on out there than you would think.
4. Get together with your friends, other couples or family and have a pot luck kind of night. You can have a great night out without spending a fortune on food and drinks.
5. You can still have fun playing board games believe it or not. We still play monopoly and it kills the day and keeps everyone occupied.
6. Get the family together and do a Christmas Light tour. Take a walk or drive around your place and check out the houses all lit up for Christmas or your local park or city attraction.
7. Do some baking, the girls in my house make a day out of baking cookies and muffins.
Those are just a few frugal free activities you can do with your friends, family or other half. You just have to look a little harder.
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I was out and about the other day and really noticed how many people were walking down the street texting or playing with their cell phones. I have a basic type of corporate plan and pay about $25 a month and that is without any texting or internet. You really have to ask yourself, do you need that big cell phone bill every month? I am sure that if you are looking to save some money that you can get by without at least some of the features of your plan.
Check your services and see if there are any you aren't using. For instance, are you paying for conference calling and never using it? Are you paying for internet surfing and finding that you really aren't online that much each month. Review your services and see if you can cut back on features that aren't that important to you or aren't used.
Can you take advantage of a family or friends plan and save money? There are so many promotions out there that include some sort of group rates that it may be worth checking into. Like I said, I have a corporate plan and compared get a pretty good deal.
If you are a cell phone junkie maybe consider cancelling your home phone. There shouldn't be any reason to have both if you find that you are on your cell phone all the time. You can save a pile by cancelling your home phone if you don't use it. You don't need both.
Those are just a few things to think about. Review your plan and see if you can cut your phone costs.
I was thinking about this for the past few days. What do you do when your computer isn't working right? Do you right off the bat drag to your local computer store and have them wipe it clean or fix it and end up paying them a good buck for it? I can't believe how many people don't have the confidence to try and fix it themselves.
For instance this week my wireless connection was acting really goofy and dropping the connection. I thought there was something from with my Linksys router. I thought my network was comprimised. I thought my network card was perhaps broken. I went into total panic mode and wasn't sure what I was going to do.
The first thing I did was make sure that I could get on the net the old way, wired. Once I did that I used good old google and searched for my problems. You can bet if you have a problem you aren't the only one in the universe. Sure enough I found my solution. I had to delete my current network settings, reset my router and set up a new secured network. No problems since then.
My computer is under warrenty right now but it it wasn't, I saved some money by staying calm and using the internet to solve my problems. Remember, back up on a regular basis and stay calm. I will blog some good free computer applications and how to use them over the next bit. You can protect your computer for free.
This is something that I have just taken for granted. I purchased my life insurance many years ago and just turned my back on it. I never look at what I am paying or what the terms are or anything really. There are lots of articles online that give you tips on how to save money on your life insurance. They are mostly the same, get in shape and stop smoking, decide on how much coverage you need and determine your goals and needs. While this is all true to keep in mind you also want to do the most important thing when buying life insurance.
Shop around and compare life insurance online or buy calling old school style. Once you have determined what you want and where you are in life you have to look at what the different companies are charging for it and then put together your package for the best price you can. When you find what you want look at what the different insurance companies are charging for the same thing and I bet you will find one is at a better price than the others.
