frugal tips – Page 3 – Luv Saving Money

Thinking About Self-Publishing? Read This

Did I ever tell you that one of my brothers wrote a book? I mean, I think I did, in a blog post about it a while back. It was something he had wanted to do for a long time and he finally did it. When it first became available to buy his book was in the top 200 on Amazon..I think it was back then. Which, when you consider all the books on Amazon that’s not too bad. Want to know something else? He self-published his book.

My brother wrote Night of the Dancing Puppets which is a horror genre. Some people say it fits in with the popular game “Five Nights At Freddy’s” I’ve never played that game or saw the movie so I can’t personally speak on that. What I do know is that it was a constant up and down adrenaline rush. My brother has lived in Florida for many years and you get a sense that the book takes place in Florida.

This book is not recommended for children as it is a horror book and some profanity is used in the book. To self-publish, he went through a site called fastpencil.com but I’m sure there are other sources as well. There are also publishing companies that can help with reviewing, printing, publishing, etc but of course there is more cost involved with that. I think if I decided I wanted to write a book someday I’d go the self-publishing route too.

Being that my brother had self-published this book and never wrote a book before, I thought this was a pretty good start. I know he was talking about doing a sequel to the book but I don’t know where he is on the process of that. I know it can take a long time until a book is finally finished and ready for shelves.

You may be shocked to know some pretty famous authors have self-published at some point or another like Mark Twain. Did you know John Grisham and Tom Clancy started off self-publishing? This an interesting piece of information from an article on the huffpost website:

Tom Clancy’s first novel, The Hunt for Red October was acquired by the Naval Institute Press in Annapolis, Md., when an editor there, Deborah Grosvenor, became enthralled by Clancy’s novel, convinced she had a potential bestseller in her hands.

Sam Haskell also talks about self-publishing books. He wrote the book Promises I Made My Mother. Sam Haskell has an impressive resume including being an Emmy nominated producer.

So in the end, I guess what I’m trying to say is that, self-publishing can be done. If you checked out any of the links in this post then there is hope for new authors with big dreams and small budgets

This post is sponsored by Diamond Links. Any opinions expressed are my own.

4 Steps For A More Secure Financial Future

Between household bills, unexpected expenses and trying to save, it can seem like you never get closer to securing your financial future. Luckily, financial security doesn’t have to be an elusive dream. There are steps you can take to help you move closer to making it a reality.

1. Develop a Budget

The first place you need to start is by developing a realistic budget. After all, you can’t adjust spending and start saving if you don’t know how much you actually bring home each month. Find a comprehensive budget worksheet template and then gather together bills and receipts to get started. Be sure to include everything you spend on throughout the year because it can be easy to overlook annual premiums when you are planning.

Resist the temptation to focus exclusively on your future and ignore present needs and wants. For most families, a budget should allow a little room for fun and entertainment. Otherwise, you run the risk of feeling deprived and may abandon the plan too early to see positive results.

2. Pay Down Your Debt

Once you have a handle on what you make and spend, work at paying down your debt. Look at every dollar you spend in interest as one you don’t get to invest and earn interest on. Two common methods are the debt avalanche and debt snowball method. They both require you to really focus on paying off one balance at a time, but they differ in how you choose which one to work on first. Check them out, learn the differences, and see which one works best for your family and lifestyle.

3. Purchase Life Insurance

Take a minute to think about what would happen to your family if you were to get killed in an accident tomorrow. Would they be able to afford your housing and vehicle payments? For most people, the answer is a resounding no. That is why life insurance is so important. Guaranteed acceptance term life insurance can be a viable option even if you have had trouble securing a policy in the past.

4. Save for the Future

With a firm grasp of your budget, it is time to look toward the future. Set up educational accounts for your children and ask family and friends to contribute to them for birthdays and holidays. Chances are younger children won’t miss the gifts, and they will really appreciate the lower cost of college when they are older. You are never too young to start saving for retirement, either. If you don’t have an employer-sponsored plan, explore traditional and Roth IRA options and see if one is a good fit for you.

Taking the time to lay out a budget is an important first set to taking charge of your finances. Having the right savings and investment accounts will help bring it all together.

After About 16 Years We Finally Switched Cell Phone Carriers and Saved Big Money

Years ago, I started my wireless service with AT&T. At the time it was just me and I don’t think smart phones were really a big thing. Maybe they were but I just don’t remember. My bill wasn’t bad and I got a nice discount through my employer.

When my husband and I got engaged I added him to my cell phone plan. Still it was reasonable and again, I don’t think smartphones were that big at the time. I think I had a plan that had unlimited talk and 200 texts a month. That was just fine for the two of us.

After we got married we ended up adding my father-in-law to the plan. Then several years down the road my oldest son. Cell phones and plans changed and our wireless bill was crazy. Even with the 24% discount I was getting through my employer it was insane. We stayed with AT&T though because we’ve had our numbers for so long and figured that was as good as we were going to get given the nice discount through my employer.

Then AT&T started with sketchy sales tactics. “Oh you’re getting a new iPhone we have a promotion right now where you can get a new ipad for $1” I asked about the catch, of course we had to add another line for it. I did it but almost immediately regretted it but we were stuck with it then. After having it for a year and a half I did a live chat. I told them I wanted to remove the ipad from our plan because it never connected to service anyway and could only use it with wifi. I told them I only wanted to do it if there was not going to be a penalty. If there was then we’d just keep it on the plan until we had to. They said no problem, took it off our plan then charged us $60.

We had talked about switching over to Consumer Cellular for some time but still had payments left on our phones. The ipad incident made me want to be done with AT&T. A few coworkers had switched to Consumer Cellular and save a lot of money. Then my father -in-laws phone broke. All the new phones were expensive or required a 2 year contract. I got a call from a sales agent for AT&T trying to talk me into getting my father in law a new Samsung for only $1 and I could save money if I switched plans and there would be a two year contract. I thought, oh no it’s the pad incident all over again. I said no. My husband and I decided it was time to call Consumer Cellular.

The sales agent was so nice and helpful. Answered all the questions I had and then some. You guys, we are saving over $100/mo by switching over AND get WAYYY more data to use. We only had 4 GB of data to share between the 4 of us with AT&T. Of course that never worked out with my teenage son and me being a blogger and social media influencer. We now have 25GB of data with Consumer Cellular for less!! Even without my employer discount. We have the same coverage because they use AT&T and T-mobile cell towers, we got to keep our phones, and keep our numbers!If you want to check out Consumer Cellular to see if they can save you money on your wireless bill too check out Consumer Cellular’s website here.

The links in this post are my Consumer Cellular referral link. If you go through one of those you’ll also get a $10 credit on your first bill!

Grow Your Own Avocado Tree With AvoSeedo 2.0 Better Than Ever

Have you ever wanted to try growing your own avocado tree? AvoSeedo makes it easy. I actually did an AvoSeedo review a couple years ago. AvoSeedo worked but now they’ve made it even better with AvoSeedo 2.0.

AvoSeedo 2.0 is on kickstarter now. It’s already 70% funded. The first version sold over half a million times! It’s easy to use. As long as you have the AvoSeedo tool the only other things you need to start your own tree is water and an avocado pit!

The new closed design ensures your avocado pit stays right where it’s supposed to. No sinking. The cute design ads some whimsy. So adorable right?

Even with the older version I always had questions about it when people came to visit. I can only imagine the conversations this one will bring up. It’s exciting to see the first signs of growth from your avocado pit thanks to Avoseedo.

Your Avoseedo 2.0 kit comes with everything pictured below:

The only thing you’ll need additionally is the avocado pit and water. So easy to use!

Check out the AvoSeedo 2.0 on kickstarter I’m also happy to announce that AvoSeedo 2.0 will be participating in this year’s Holiday Guide 2019 here on LuvSavingMoney.com.

FREE 40 Piece Rubbermaid Set After Cash Back!

Get your food storage needs taken care of with this freebie offer. 40 piece Rubbermaid set free after cash back for new TopCashBack members. Just follow the steps below to get yours.

You don’t need to use it for just food storage though. Use it to organize craft supplies, use it to organize office supplies. Organize all those small toy parts your kids have laying around. If you don’t need it, get a set to give to your college bound kids or see if your child’s/grandchild’s teacher wants them. They’re free!

Step 1:
Click Here to Get Started. Join TopCashback and signup for a FREE account if you haven’t already.

Important: Check your email to confirm your email address. Click on the link in your email to authenticate your new account.

Step 2:
Click on the pink “Get Offer Now” Button

Step 3:
Add any 40-Piece Rubbermaid Food Storage Containers from Walmart totaling $12.25 or more to your cart and head to checkout. You must spend at least $12.25 to get this deal.

TIP: Want to purchase more than $12.25? Make a second transaction instead of adding more to an existing cart to maximize additional cash back.
Do not close the window, open any new tabs, or use non-TopCashback approved coupons while checking out.
Free In-Store Pick Up & Free Shipping over $35+

Step 4:
Pay $12.25 or more. That’s it! The $12.25 will post to your TopCashback account within 14 days, and the amount will become payable. Cash back can be credited straight to your checking or PayPal account.

Note: Transactions must contain at least $12.25 worth of purchases to ensure the $12.25 cash back is credited to TopCashback accounts. Transactions may initially track lower, but within the 14 days after purchase it will be uplifted and turn payable at the amount of $12.25. Transactions may take up to 7 days to appear in your TopCashback account. The deal is open until 11:59pm PST on 8/25/2019 or until supplies run out; whichever happens first; applicable for purchases made directly after clicking through TopCashback. Only one TopCashback account is permitted per member.