Ahhh! The Money Crisis

This post is from guest blogger Brenda Schmerl:

Every day, it seems the financial news just gets more alarming — first, it was skyrocketing gas prices; then, the stockmarket took a dive; and finally, warnings from some leaders that an economic meltdown looms if we don’t bail out the big financial companies — to the tune of $700 billion! It’s hard not to get apprehensive whenever you turn on the news — so if you’re feeling extra nervous about money, we’ve got the tips you need to help calm you down.

I also want to know how all this financial turmoil is affecting you. Are you changing the way you spend and save? Are you trying to sell or refinance your house? Maybe you're looking to get a new job — or are worried about the one you've got? Add your comments here!

Egg-celent Ideas

After spending months, literally, trying to figure out what to do with leftover egg cartons (it's a long story that I'll share another day), I stumbled upon an article at FrugalVillage.com where DOZENS of uses for egg cartons are listed – toolshed organizer, loose change holder, travel container for jewelry, seed starters, desk organizer. The possibilities really are limitless. 

Tell me more! What do you do with those pesky egg cartons? What about milk jugs and oversize tin cans -- how do you recycle those?

Never Waste Money On Gifts Again!

I've been told that I'm an oddity when it comes to receiving gifts, in that I absolutely adore every single gift I get, from the blingy watch my husband bought for me a few birthdays back to the scribble drawing my three-year-old nephew created for me this birthday. I don't care what it is, as long as I get something. 

What to Do With Those Leftovers

(Add them to this yummy pasta dish!)

When it comes to food, my eyes are always bigger than my stomach. Instead of baking a couple of drumsticks for my husband and I (the only two in my household), I cook a whole roaster with intentions of eating the entire thing in one dinner. It never works out that way. I'm stuffed after my fill and we're left with more than half a chicken!

I just met Stacey DeHass, the Executive Chef at Amish Naturals, a  fast-growing organic food company out of Holmesville, Ohio. Because of the high price of food these days, Stacey has gotten quite crafty in the kitchen and has developed an entire roster of  tasty, fulfilling and healthy recipes by using leftovers. Here's one of her delish concoctions:

***This recipe is a perfect way to utilize seasonal vegetables, which are generally cheaper, and to experiment with different additions such as leftover grilled chicken.  Just heat it in the microwave and toss it in at the end.

12 oz Pasta (try Amish Naturals Pasta...it's really good!)

4 qt Water

1 Tbsp Kosher Salt

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Tbsp Roasted Garlic, crushed

3/4 cup Sweet Onion, diced

3/4 cup Bell Peppers, diced

3/4 cup Zucchini, diced

3/4 Mushrooms, sliced

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Asiago Cheese

Boil water with tablespoon of kosher salt in large covered stock pot.  Remove lid, add pasta and boil according to package instructions or until al dente (soft but not overcooked).  Drain pasta through colander and rinse immediately with cold water to stop cooking process.  Set aside.

In large sauté pan over medium heat, heat oil, then stir in garlic, onions and peppers and sauté until nearly tender.  Add zucchini and mushrooms and continue sautéing.  Season with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste and mix in remaining butter.  Stir in pasta and cook long enough to heat thoroughly– garnish with grated cheese to serve. 

Cracking the Creditor Convo

Health Benefits that Benefit You…And Your Wallet

In the middle of the night my husband had an allergic reaction a couple of weeks ago to one of the ingredients in our favorite restaurant’s “secret ingredient barbecue sauce.” He needed to get to the emergency room asap, but (since we don’t have a car) he was hesitant for me to call an ambulance. “How much do you think our insurance will cover,” he managed to muffle out of his growing-by-the-second lips. Once again, we found ourselves nickel and diming our health benefits

According to Tracey Baker, a Certified Financial Planner, there are easier (and less itchy) ways to save money with your health plan. There are key financial decisions that we can make to put as much as $4,000 back in our bank accounts. Oh, what I could do with $4,000!

1.       Save with Mail Order

Many health plans offer discounts if you use mail-order pharmacies for routine medications. You could get a three-month supply of your drug but only pay for a two-month prescription.

2.       Go Generic

Last year, the average brand name prescription drug cost about $85 more than the average generic.  By switching just one prescription from a brand name drug to a generic, you could save more than $1,000 a year.

3.       Visit Your Doctor Online

Some doctors offer online consultations, which are often more convenient than in-person visits.  Talk to your doctor or your insurer to find out how to use online visits properly.  Virtual doctor appointments save you gas money, too!

For more information on making smart health benefits decisions at every stage of click on the “Navigating Your Health Benefits” tool at www.PlanforYourHealth.com.

Build a Water Park in Your Backyard

I haven’t been to a water park since I was 10-years-old, but I remember it being one of the most fantastic places to vacation. I thought of going back this summer – a reunion of sorts – but was shocked by the ticket price to get in.

I’m not going to let that stop me (or you) from having a jolly ol’ time! I’ve tracked down the elements you need to fake a fabulous water park on your own lawn. All you need to add is water (and a few kids, so you don’t look like the big, grown-up dork in your backyard on the slip n’ slide alone). 

Small World Squirt 'n Spray Fire Nozzle, $12, Target.com

Finding Nemo Wacky Water Mat, $30, Amazon.com

Banzai Skimboard Surfer, $40, Toysrus.com

Half Priced P.M. Pick-Me-Up

Warehouse Club Pricing Codes to Know

I don’t have a car, so I don’t get to shop in bulk at those glorious warehouse stores as much as I’d like. But, don’t cry for me. I’m good at talking a car-owning friend into dropping me off and picking me up; and when I do, my favorite things to buy at Sam’s or Costco are salsa, wine, and batteries – in bulk, of course.

I just found out that many warehouse clubs have secret pricing codes to indicate an item’s status – re-ordered, cancelled, etc. For example, at Sam’s Club if a price ends in $0.01 the price has probably been recently reduced due to cancellation or to make shelf space for newer items. At Costco, look for prices that end in $0.97, as this may indicate a markdown and a great reason to stock up.

Know any other secret pricing codes that I should know to get my salsa, wine and batteries for even less? Do share!

Buy Furniture on a Budget

 Have you ever walked through a model home and thought to yourself: “The house is ehhh, I wouldn’t buy it. But some of the decorations and furniture inhere are perfect!” Me too.

Turns out, you don’t have to just lust over that cute dining room set! If you see something you like in a model home be bold and ask the sales office when the furniture might be available for sale. Such sales offer the model home furnishings for as much as 70 percent cheaper than retail.

How do you find these model homes? Go for a drive through the newer housing developments in your city, as these neighborhoods may still be under construction and still in the selling stages. Check out the websites below, too, which list model home furniture auctions/sales for cities across the country.

Buildersauctioncompany.com

Lagesseauctions.com

Extrafurniture.com

Good Things Come in $1 Packages

I recently read on Washingtonpost.com that the Dollar Tree, the nations third-largest deep-discount retailer, is one of the few retailers that is making gains in this tough economic market. Surprising? I think not.

The Dollar Tree rocks! Where else can you know your total cost just by counting the number of items in your cart?

Here’s a list of some the BEST things I’ve found at the Dollar Tree stores. What are your favorite scores at dollar stores?

Conditioner (use it as a moisturizing shampoo)

Gummy Bears (movie candy...hello!)

Cleaning supplies (buy in bulk)

Birthday cards (buy a batch of them for the entire year)

Picture Frames (get crafty by painting them or dressing them up with beads and crystals)

Don't Go Broke Going Back to School

When I was a school/college kid, saving money on school supplies meant covering my books with paper bags. Real talk. It meant ripping the pages out of barely-used notebooks from last year and reusing them. Oh yeah, and it meant no Trapper Keeper, the holy grail of school supplies (and the most expensive item on the supplies list). A new back-to-school wardrobe? Fuggetaboutit. If it fit from last year, I was good.

Today, back-to-school sales are starting early...way early. Blame it on soaring gas prices or plummeting stock, but these deals seem even more significant than years past and much too good to pass on (even if you’ve been saving paper bags for months!). Lucky kids.

Here are my favorite sales going on right now:

- Now through September 8, OfficeMax (officemax.com) will offer 1-cent products and special penny bundles of key school supplies.

- Walmart (walmart.com) is currently offering school uniforms for as low as $6!

- Students who by a MAC computer from Apple (apple.com) before Sept. 15 will get a free iPod Touch or iPod Nano.

- Spend just $50 on school supplies and uniforms at Target.com and get free shipping.

- Get a Dell (dell.com) laptop with free 2-day shipping for as little as $499!

Calling All Kitchen Beauticians...

I tried making soap a few years ago. The idea itself was solid–I’d create pine scented, antibacterial soap for hands that I’d wrap up pretty and dole out as holiday gifts. The end product was a disaster. It wound up smelling like toilet bowl cleaner. Ack! And that, ladies and gentlemen, is when my soap-making days ended.

I know that some of you may have kept at it. You might even have a really innovative product/concept on your hands – an idea that may be a hit with your friends and family, but one that you don’t have the funds to market to the masses. My suggestion: If you’re a beauty entrepreneur ready to take your product to the next level, submit it to Breakthrough in Beauty, a company that searches for novel beauty innovations and then markets them for you. If you win, Breakthrough in Beauty takes your undiscovered idea, incubates it and provides it with growth opportunity and guidance.

They’re currently looking for the next big thing in color cosmetics. Still, all submissions – from foot butters to bar soaps (the bars that don’t smell like Pinesol!) – will be accepted.

For more information visit breakthroughinbeauty.com.

Take the Gourmet Foods Pop Quiz

Ritz crackers are good, but they just don’t compare to those gourmet crackers (ever-so-slightly seasoned with pepper and sesame seeds) that are laid out with fine cheeses at weddings and other fancy functions. If I could afford to snack on those crackers regularly, I would. Same applies with everything else in the gourmet aisle at the supermarket. Ever tried Das Caramelini Salted Caramels? Oh. My. Goodness.

I just got wind of The Nibble, a free online gourmet food magazine, that offers its readers the chance to win something that's normally reserved for special occasions – i.e. chocolate marzipan dusted with confectioners sugar, imported honey mustard...hmm, you get the point. Every week, take a four-question quiz (that you don't even need to answer correctly) and you could win that week’s gourmet gift. This week it's a box of 36 assorted bags of Popchips.

P.S. A little birdie tells me that since the contests are still an undiscovered gem, your odds of winning are quite high.

Take Flight…On the Cheap

With airlines digging deeper into travelers’ wallets (on some aircrafts we now have to pay extra just to fly with a suitcase? Puh-lease!), the days of cheap flights are long gone. Right? Not quite.

My favorite airline (because they have TV’s in the backs of every seat and for a nominal fee they let pets fly coach!), JetBlue, just slashed their autumn fares to start at the VERY low price of $39 each way for travel between September 3rd and October 31st that is booked by June 26th.

What are you waiting for? The season finale of So You Think You Can Dance? Watch it on the plane...with your cat!

p.s. Enter the promotion code OCTJET2 when booking for an extra 10% of JetBlue flights.

With its rising costs, what are the other ways you plan to save on flying? Click here to tell us!

In the Bag

Nothing says summer like a great beach read and great bag. Put the two together and you’ve got double the fun.

Enter Avon Books, the leading women's fiction publisher, and The Sak, a celebrated handbag maker, who have joined forces to launch "Book in a Bag," a year-long giveaway of chic handbags filled with the newest fashion fiction.

Enter to win HERE.

The Lost Art of Bartering

There’s a weekend flea market in the school yard across the street from my apartment. Vendors sit under umbrellas selling the usual fare – antique furniture, hand-crafted jewelry, homemade cookies.

Then there’s “The Lady in Red.” She is dressed in, well, red and sits cross-legged in the center of a large white sheet surrounded by a variety of baubles (cups, candy, mini-heart pillows). Her wares have no rhyme or reason (other than the fact that they're mostly red) and I recently found out why after trying to buy a cute pair of crimson hope earrings from her. “The Lady in Red” does not accept money for any of her items. If you see something you like, you trade her something of yours – as long as it’s red and/or white.

I ran home and scrounged around for something worth trading and decided upon a red and white popcorn bowl I’ve had lying around, but have yet to use. The Lady in Red was pleased with her new acquisition – as was I!


What’s the best barter/trade you’ve ever made? Click here to tell us about it!

Voluntary Blackout Day

It started on Valentine's Day. My honey and I decided to splurge on dinner at one of those super swanky French restaurants where the prices go up as the portion sizes go down, plus two tickets to see my all-time favorite crooner, Rufus Wainwright. Needless to say, it was a budget-busting night. Fearing a month's worth of ramen-noodle dinners to undo the financial damage, I was relieved when toward the end of an amazing set, Rufus introduced Blackout Sabbath (blackoutsabbath.org), a master plan to help the environment — and your electric bill.

Here’s how he explained it working: On June 21, from noon to midnight, pull the plug on your household appliances (especially that money-guzzling air conditioner!), grab a picnic blanket and head outside! Then sit back, relax and enjoy the savings. (You'll find me celebrating with a cooler and some sandwiches at the beach!) When the clock strikes 12:01 Sunday morning, reflect on all those nonessential gadgets that suck up power — and your hard-earned dollars — all day, every day. Is that 24/7 slideshow on your digital photo frame really worth the cost?

What fun energy-saving activity will you be enjoying this summer?

[Our guest Discount Diva of the day, Nicole Sia (pictured to the left), is an assistant editor at Quick and Simple who spends her freetime cruising the deal sites for bargains. Best score to date? "When I moved into my new apartment two years ago, I managed to scout a gorgeous 65-piece flatware collection for $20 and a classic white dish set for $25 on slickdeals.net -- with free shipping! Obviously, we hosted a dinner party to celebrate!"]

Got Allergies? Try a Pair of (Free) Contact Lenses

My dad has always had the worst – and I mean the WORST – seasonal allergies. I remember being a little girl and laughing at him (out of love, of course) whenever he made that funny noise to scratch the back of his itchy throat, or when he wore sunglasses at the dinner table to disguise his puffy, watery eyes. Unbeknownst to me, I would grow up to develop the exact same allergies!

And, since I wear contacts, when my allergies kick in, the dryness of my peepers is ridiculous – it literally feels like little ants are crawling around on my eyes (sorry for the icky visualization!). A friend just told me about a free brochure from the American Asthma and Allergy Foundation that gives information about how to manage eye allergy symptoms.

The brochure is free (my favorite price) to download on www.acuvue.com/seasons/DD where I also downloaded a FREE Trail Pair Certificate to try 1-Day Acuvue Moist (single-use) contact lenses. I’m psyched to try them out, as they’re supposed to be one of the BEST contact lens options for allergy sufferers.

The Country’s Best Dad

Still at a loss of what to get pops for Father’s Day? Here’s an idea: Take him for a scoop of his favorite flavor...for FREE! This Dad’s Day, TCBY (The Country’s Best Yogurt shop) is giving away cups and cones to all dads. Just visit tcby.com and print out the flyer as directed to bring with you.