Owner: Engineer a debt free life URL:http://engineeradebtfreelife.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2008 20:18:55 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Frugal living, saving money, paying down debt, bills, free things, freebies and anything cheap. Site statistics:Click here
Save tons, make your own laundry soap... 2008-05-06 23:09:00 I originally got this idea from an awesome article from another of my fave blogs, TIPNUT. Anyway, TIPNUT has 10 recipes for home made laundry soap.-homemade-laundry-soap-detergent-recipes/Being on this frugal quest, I thought it only my duty to test it out and report my findings. I do not have any pics, but I am going to make some ultra-sensitive stuff soon for the baby clothes and will do a how too on it in the next couple weeks.In the meantime, I took a pot of boiling water (maybe 2 quarts or so) and added to it one bar of shredded soap (I used a bar of irish spring since we had a bunch from a bulk pack sitting here). Wait on the soap to disolve into the boiling water, minding that it doesn't boil and foam... I can't imagine the mess that could make. Once that was mixed up I dumped it in
Only a couple days left for free $25 2008-05-06 20:21:00 Revolution Money Exchange's free $25 for creating an account is going to be ending May 15th so if you haven't done it yet... DO IT SOON!This is a paypal wannabe site, set it up and grab your 25 bucks, no strings attached.Tell everyone you know, the wife and I both got it, that was 50 bucks for 5 minutes work.SWEET! Read more:couple
Free 8X10 at walgreens... 2008-05-06 13:12:00 Walgreens - Free 8x10 print Walgreens is giving away a free 8x10 photo print with coupon code 4MOM. Choose your favorite print, pop it in a frame and you have the perfect gift for Mother's Day. Expires 05/07/2008.
Save Money - wikiHow 2008-05-05 23:05:00 How to Save Money
from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can EditSaving money is one of those tasks that's so much easier said than done. There's more to it than spending less money (although that part alone can be challenging). How much money will you save, where will you put it, and how can you make sure it stays there? Here's how to set realistic goals, keep your spending in check, and pay yourself first. Steps Set savings goals. For short-term goals, this is easy. If you want to buy a video game, find out how much it costs; if you want to buy a house, determine how much of a down payment you’ll need. For long-term goals, such as retirement, you’ll need to do a lot more planning (figuring out how much money you’ll need to live comfortably for 20 or 30 years after you stop worki
Gas saving tips, great article... 2008-05-05 23:00:00 Andre Gunther wrote a great article on 29 ways to save gas, worth reading. This is actually a good article, unlike some of the BS news channels that hook you into watching the news just to tell you to keep your foot out of it and air up your tires.-guide/uncategorized/how-to-save-money-on-gas-29-tips.htmlEnjoy!
Wal-Mart offers even cheaper prescription RX's 2008-05-05 22:39:00 Thats right, Wal-Mart first brought you $4.00 prescription
s for a 30 day supply. Now they are offering $10.00 prescriptions for a 90 day supply.Rock on, this will help save me a couple more bucks. As much as I hate the monster, they still have their uses.Official Press Release: is a list of the covered drugs (350 kinds): get it!
Money quandry... any thoughts? 2008-05-05 22:21:00 Welp, between a bunch of ebay auctions, an upcoming gigantic garage sale and our economic stimulus check we should hopefully have close to $3000 extra to put towards debt. In my mind, putting every cent we can towards debt is what its all about right now. We save money where possible and hopefully will not have any emergencies to where we need a bunch of cash right away for anything. Which brings me to my quandry... should I put $1000.00 of that extra money into a savings account and have it for an emergency fund in case of XYZ emergency? Or... should I put it towards paying off our siding loan even quicker, putting us that much further ahead? Hmmm....I can see both sides to this. My feelings have always been that in case of emergencies I could use the plastic since we don't have any Read more:Money
, thoughts
Sweet! Free Oil Change 2008-05-05 21:52:00 Took my wife's blazer in for an oil change today and when I picked it up, $0.00 was due. SWEET! Our dealership has a frequent oil change keychain, you get 4 oil changes and the 5th is free, I didn't realize that it was at a free one, so nice surprise.For what it's worth, here are some money saving tips for oil changes:Call around for pricing, don't assume that the 10 minute penzoil place is the cheapest, here in our small town, the 10 minute guy charges $35.00 an oil change, the dodge dealer right beside my work charges $21.99. BIG DIFFERENCE. $13.00 x 5 oil changes a year =$65 PER VEHICLE!Ask if they have any specials. The place I used to use was really bad for this, they would give you the oil change for $29.99 because thats what everyone asked for, but they had an LOF (lube/oil/filter) Read more:Sweet
, Change
Blog Settings 2008-05-05 21:07:00 I was dorking around with the blog settings, so forgive me if it has changed on you since your last visit. I found that the 3 bar setup did not work well on all resolutions. It was good on 1024x768, but the 800x600 was all wonky. Hopefully it's fixed pretty decent now. Let me know if it doesn't show right and I will tweak it. Thanks. Read more:Settings
W00T !!! Got my stimulus money today... 2008-05-08 22:47:00 We got 600 for me, 600 for wifey and 300 for "le petits enfant". So that's 1500 more towards the siding loan on top of the extra we put so far. Sweet.I know... don't get me started on the politics of it. I would rather take my money the government borrowed from china and put it towards my debt rather than spending it on more goods from china in essence further supporting their economy. See... I told you not to get me started. LOL.Anyway, if you haven't got yours yet, here is the IRS site to find more info on it:,,id=177937,00.htmlCheers!
Awesome debt snowball calculator... 2008-05-08 22:41:00 I came across an awesome debt snowball calculator, figured I would share it.It figures, I spent a ton of time doing this on excel spreadsheets to figure out my amortization tables and when things would be paid, then re-amortized with the new payments, and so on and so on...This took me 2 minutes and I got the same answers. LOL.Enjoy... great resource...
I set a personal debt payoff timeline plan... 2008-05-08 20:51:00 Well I have read that it helps to have a goal for being debt free for many reasons, but for me I can see the phsycological reasons the most.So, I figured out our debt snowball plan before we started... all I needed to do was figure out the dates.Step 1: Right now we are putting every cent into our siding loan at 375 a month plus extras. The plan is to have it paid off by the end of the year. Hopefully if we keep our expenses down and income up we can pay it off even sooner. End of loan worst case 12/08.Step 2: Put that 375 a month towards the truck payments on top of the 480 a month there, making it 855 a month plus whatever extra possible. That should have it paid off around 4/10 worst case.Step 3: Put that 855 a month towards the mortgage on top of the 350 a month there, making it 1205 a
Spring Cleaning To Save Money 2008-05-08 20:04:00 Okay, the weather is nice out, spring is upon us and it is time for all of those things we forget to do in our day to day but need to keep on top of.Consider this your reminder, take some time this week or weekend and boost efficiency around your home. Here's some tips from my quarterly/semi-annual cleaning routine.1. Check the 9V batteries in all the fire alarms, smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. This little battery can save you and/or your family. Spend the couple dollars and put fresh batteries in them at least once a year. Ignoring it isn't being frugal, its being stupid. While you're at it, see the little button on it, push it in and test to see if it's still working.2. AC/Furnace filters. I change mine monthly in the summer and bi-monthly in the winter here based on how Read more:Spring
, Cleaning
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Make up to 100 bucks on epinions.com 2008-05-10 16:32:00 Sweet deal, you get money for posting opionions on e-pinions site. I have used them before and found the reviews helpful. 10-19 reviews for $1020-29 reviews for $2030-39 reviews for $3040-49 reviews for $4050-59 reviews for $5060-69 reviews for $6070-79 reviews for $7080-89 reviews for $8090-99 reviews for $90100+ reviews for $100*An additional $10 will be awarded for every 10 reviews rated "very helpful."Enjoy.
w00t! Scraped up $3000 for debt payments... 2008-05-10 13:20:00 Whew... after a ton of hard work selling old electronics from college on eBay, old textbooks, books, RME money and referral money we have managed to scrape up $1500 dollars extra towards debt. Plus our economic stimulus deposit came through at another $1500 buckaroos.Cut a check for $3000 for our siding loan as an extra payment and mailed it off. Man, does that feel good. It's funny how when I would spend thousands of dollars before when I was racking up debt it never bothered me, yet now cutting a 3k check makes my stomach queasy.Now our siding loan should be down to roughly a 3000 balance with 375+ a month going there.Unfortunately I am about out of things to sell, so I can't make any more money that way. Next big money making task... overtime and garage sale.
Get your FREE annual credit report, no strings attached... 2008-05-10 12:07:00 Okay, I have seen a million things to get your "free" creditreport
, but most of them are gimmicks for some monitoring service that you can't easily get out of.Here is where wifey and I get our free credit reports every year. It is a government initiated deal to allow everyone free access to all 3 reports (Experian, Transunion, Equifax). There are no strings
attached, nothing to sign up for and cancel. All you need is your info.I print ours off and keep them for reference. The site will take you to one place, then the other, then the other. You have to confirm your identity by selecting some items that are from your credit report, like who your mortgage is through, but that's all the more complicated it is. does not give you your credit "scores", they still make you buy those if you wa
Free admission to 70 museums for BOA cardholders 2008-05-12 12:47:00 For anyone who has a Bank of America credit card (ACK!), they have a free museum admission program going on. I hate BOA, but a freebie is a freebie if you have one of their (sucky) cards.
Happy Mothers Day ! ! ! 2008-05-11 11:36:00 From our house to yours, Happy
mothers day to all the mothers out there!As a frugal father I try my best, but one thing is for sure, there is no substitute for MOMMY!
Read more:Mothers
, Happy Mothers
, Happy Mothers Day
free book for kids from B&N 2008-05-13 21:01:00 Barnes and Noble is giving away a free book in their summer reading program. All your kids have to do is read 8 books each, write down their favorite parts and get your free book. See the website for the details. Seems easy enough and promotes reading amongst the youngsters. Not bad, just take the kiddos to the library for their 8 books and go get the freebie and B/N.
Free vision screening for infants 2008-05-13 12:27:00 I know this works because we had our 10 month old son screened and checked out at the eye dr. recently. It was all free and covered by the public service, no requirements on income or anything.® is a public health program designed to ensure that eye and vision
care becomes an integral part of infant wellness care to improve a child's quality of life. Under this program, which will be available in Read more:infants
Free Dunkin' Donuts sample 2008-05-13 10:28:00 Free Dunkin' Donuts
sampleFree Dunkin' Donuts sampleHere's your chance for another free sample of coffee from Dunkin' Donuts. This time there's choice of flavors: Original Blend, Original Blend Whole Bean, Dunkin' Decaf, French Vanilla, Hazelnut, and Cinnamon. Available while supplies last.
Free book and summer reading program... 2008-05-14 23:30:00 Barnes and Noble are having a summer reading program where your child can get a free book.Check it out, your child just has to read 8 books (get 'em free from the library) and write what they liked about them. Then they get a free book from B/N.
E-How.com...Make your own aftershave... 2008-05-14 21:31:00 Here's a frugal tip, make your own aftershave. I will have to give this a try.-aftershave.htmlThings You’ll Need:1/2 cup rubbing alcohol1/4 cup witch hazel1/2 cup distilled water3 drops oil of benzoin1 tbsp olive oil1/2 cup dried herbs and/or a few drops of essential oils of choiceStep1 Combine all the ingredients in a GLASS jar.Step2 Store jar in a cool, dark place, remembering to give it a goo
Last day for RME's free 25 dollars end 5/15 2008-05-14 17:43:00 Revolution Money Exchange's free $25 for creating an account is going to be ending May 15th so if you haven't done it yet... DO IT SOON!This is a paypal wannabe site, set it up and grab your 25 bucks, no strings attached.Tell everyone you know, the wife and I both got it, that was 50 bucks for 5 minutes work.SWEET!Referral Link To RMETo re-iterate, this ends Thursday, May 15. After that there is n Read more:dollars
Dunkin' Donuts - Free Iced Coffee tomorrow 2008-05-14 16:24:00 Dunkin' Donuts
- Free Iced Coffeetomorrow
Dunkin' Donuts - Free Iced Coffee tomorrowDunkin' Donuts is giving away free 16 oz. Iced Coffees tomorrow, May 15, 2008. Stop by your local participating store between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. to pick up one of these refreshing drinks that offer a pleasant change from traditional hot coffee. Offer valid 05/15/2008 between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. only. [Thanks, Ever
Mega Garage Sale-A-Polooza...Pt.1...Organizing 2008-05-17 20:36:00 We are in the process of planning a garage sale for next saturday. We are going to hold the mother of all garage sales if possible. In an effort to raise money for debt and clean up this crapshack in an effort to declutter. So we have been researching garage sale tips, advertising, organization, sales, pricing and strategy. Whew, this is overwhelming.So far I have bought about a half dozen bri Read more:Garage
Free juicy juice sippy cup.. 2008-05-17 20:29:00 Sweet, getcha a free sippy cup for the kiddo's or yourself if you so desire. LOL.
Free viva paper towels... 2008-05-17 20:28:00 mart is giving free Viva paper
towel samples.I love Viva's, they are soooo soft, almost like kleenex.
Free medicine program, worth trying out... 2008-05-17 20:26:00 am not sure what this place is about, I am going to try to get my prozac from them and see if I qualify.Check it out, can't hurt.
Get cash for your old cell phone... 2008-05-17 20:22:00 This place is great, I forgot about it until I saw an ad just a bit ago. A few years ago I got paid cash for my old cell phone
that wasn't in service anymore. of sitting on your junk, get paid for it!
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