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Safety Features For Your Home You Can’t Afford Not To Have

This post does contain affiliate links. Regardless I only post legitimate offers from trusted sites.

It seems there’s all kinds of safety products available on the market. Everything from identity theft protection to sophisticated home security systems. But what is safety features should your really have in your home when you’re on a budget?

Smoke alarms: I know you hear this all the time. But it’s true. A smoke alarm will give you the time you need to be able to escape if there’s a fire or maybe even put it out if it’s a small one. You can get affordable smoke alarms, you don’t have to go for the top of the line ones. A simple beeping smoke alarm will suffice. Remember to check your batteries on your smoke alarms too. Some will even beep when the battery is low.

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Carbon monoxide detector: We actually got one for free from our local fire department during a fire safety fair. They’ve really come down in price over the years. Our gave instructions to put it in the basement or lowest level of the house nearest our heating system.

House Insurance or renters insurance: If you have a mortgage on your house, your bank may require you to have insurance. Even if they don’t this is really something you don’t want to skimp on if you have a choice. A fire, pipes busting, a freak accident, a burglary, there’s a lot of reasons one might want to have house insurance. Renters insurance is usually very cheap. You might not think you need renters insurance since you don’t own the place but if you have something stolen or there is a fire renters insurance will help replace those items. I lived in a 3 bedroom apartment at one point and renters insurance was only about $16 a year. Granted it may have gone up and it may vary depending on the insurance agency and what you need to protect but it’s almost silly not to have it.

Baby Safety device: If you have a baby or toddler you know (or will soon learn) they get into everything. There are tons of safety devices out there and i’ve tried many of them with 4 kids. The ones I used the most with all my kids was cupboard latches (to keep them from getting a cleaning products and from pulling heavy pans onto themselves), furniture tethers (for chest of drawers), corner cushions for those pointy corners on the entertainment stand, coffee table etc, outlet covers, and baby gates. I did try a stove guard, actually a few stove guards but I never found one that worked quite right. Most baby safety devices are pretty affordable.

Fire Extinguisher: again for obvious reasons. There are a few different types. Getting a multipurpose one for your home is probably a good idea. What I didn’t realize when searching for prices on these things is that they actually make fire extinguisher aerosol cans now too. I’ve never personally used one so I can only imagine they’d only be good for a small cooking fire or something along those lines.

I also did a guest post on safety features to look for when buying a family vehicle.

Small Town Fun For Small Time Money

Be honest, when you think of small towns, what do you thing of? I think sometimes small towns get stigma put on them. Nothing to do, nothing going on. I’m from a small town here in Pennsylvania. Sure the bigger areas might have more options but that doesn’t mean you can’t find some interesting things in a small town. We sometimes have relatives come to the area and ask what there is to do. One of my fave things to tell people to see is the Johnstown Inclined plane. It’s the steepest vehicular inclined plane in the world and only costs a few dollars for a round trip ride. There are not many vehicular inclined planes in the US so it’s really a unique experience for people visiting my town.

johnstown inclined plane — picture credit to wikipedia.org

Johnstown was the home of the 1889 flood that killed over 10,000 people. It’s been featured on the history channel and many other educational channels. One time I visited Disney World and started talking to a couple. We told them we were from near Johnstown, PA and they said “oh that’s where that big flood was” So even people in different parts of the country know of it. The Johnstown Flood museum gives some history and insight to visitors and how and why it happened. Only a couple dollars to get in.

Thunder in the Valley is a huge motorcycle rally that happens for a week in June every year drawing more than 100,000 people some years. Bikers from all over the country come in for the bike rally. There is something for everyone including kids’ areas, motorcycle shows, stunt shows, bands, plenty of food and more. You don’t really have to spend a lot of money though. The stunt shows and motorcycle shows are free. The bands are free. It’s a good time

The Cambria County War Memorial has been getting bigger and better acts in. A couple years ago I got to see Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie for a Halloween tour. On March 11, my husband and I are going to see Jay Leno for an anniversary date. I can’t wait. Of course, since we’re a smaller town the tickets don’t cost near as much as going to a more urban area.

What I’ve found is small towns are pretty proud of their beginnings, their friendly atomsphere, their heritage, and what they do have to offer. Don’t discount a small town the next time you drive through. Stop and experience some of the little treasures you’ll find.

This is just a few things of note to see. There’s a lot more. I also put a fun guide together on places that are better seen in your vehicle on a guest post I did. Of course I had to include the Johnstown Inclined Plane.

Riteaid Coupon Deals Starting Feb 15 – 21, 2015

This post contains an affiliate link. Regardless I only post links from trusted sites.

You need to be a wellness+ rewards member at Rite Aid (which I highly recommend) in order to get the sale prices, +Up rewards and benefits. It’s free and you can sign up at your local Rite Aid. Register your card at Riteaid.com to get RiteAid coupons from Video Values and load2card. That being said, here are the coupon deal highlights:

1. L’Oreal Advanced Haircare Shampoo or Conditioner is on sale $3.99. Use this coupon and buy 2 to get them for $1.99 each

2. Simple Skin Care is on sale Buy one get one 50% off go to the video value “Get Close This Valentine’s Day” section (you’ll have to watch the video to access the coupon) and print the $3 off Simple Moisturizer and $1 off Simple Wash, wipes, or cleanser to combine with the bogo offer. Plus you get $5 in +UP rewards if you buy $10 worth of those products.

3. Speed Stick Gear is $3.49 but grab a Rite Aid sales paper because there is a $2 coupon on the front page that will get you a tube of Speed Stick GEAR for $1.49. If you have the $2 or $1 coupons from the sales papers 2 weeks ago you’re in luck because it could be free or 50 cents depending which coupon you have!

Beauty Lovers Check Out This Deal From Swagbucks!!

This post does contain an affiliate link. Regardless I only post legitimate offers from trusted sites.

Swagbucks has a really cool deal for beauty lovers. You’ll need to be a Swagbucks member though to take advangtage of this deal. It’s free and you can earn free rewards. Sign up here.

Once you sign up or if you’re already a member Swagbucks has a deal for Sephora.

The banner is a little confusing but if you spend $20 at Sephora with a registered card. When you use the link, Swagbucks will receive feedback that you participated and you will receive 1500 Swagbucks which will get your a $15 gift card from the Swagbucks reward store.

20 Random Acts of Kindness That Don’t Cost a Thing

Did you know that February 9 – 15th 2015 is random acts of kindness week? Yep. You might have heard the awesome stories around the holidays about people paying of lay-a-ways and things of that nature. Those things are super awesome. I wish I was in a position to do something like that. But just because I can’t afford to pay off people’s layaways doesn’t mean you can’t do something meaningful for free.

I want to tell you a story about a stranger who did a random act of kindness for me. I was living in South Carolina years ago. My two oldest children were very small. My oldest about two years and my youngest was only about 6 months or so. I was going through an extremely difficult time in my life. I was about to go through a divorce with my first husband after I found out he was cheating on me. We had some serious financial issues and no family in the state to reach out to. I had gone to Walmart by myself and bought a little bit of groceries. I had the two little ones in the cart. As I stepped out the doors of Walmart it was pouring down rain. Fitting, I Thought. I made my way to my car, opened the car door to get my one son in. An older man comes running over to me with an umbrella in his hand. I’m embarrassed to say that I was startled at first. Why was this man running at me? He stood next to me with the umbrella over my head as I put both boys in the car and he helped me load my groceries. I thanked him several times but I don’t feel like I could ever really thank him enough. With everything I had going on in my life that nice gesture brought some sun into my life. I still remember that to this day. I wish I knew who he was so I could tell him how much I needed something like that at that time of my life. I always cry every time I talk or write about this.

Now that I told my story. Here are some random acts of kindness you can do that don’t cost a thing. Who knows you might just help someone at just the right time:

1. Shovel or snowblow a neighbors sidewalk or driveway for free.

2. Got some free samples in the mail you don’t need? IE: diaper sample, lotion sample, etc. Give it to someone who can use it.

3. Leave a note for a coworker letting them know they’re doing a good job

4. Let someone in front of you in line at the store if they only have a few items or have kids with them

5. Open a door for someone

6. Hold the elevator for someone coming down the hall

7. Have a coupon you don’t need? Leave it with the item on the shelf at the grocery store so someone who needs it can use it.

8. Know that stuff your kids grew out of that you’ve been meaning to donate? This is the week to do it.

9. Leave a random (but meaningful) comment on someone’s facebook wall

10. It’s cold out. Offer your mail carrier or parcel delivery person a hot cup of coffee or cocoa in a disposable cup so they can takeit on the go. If you know about what time they come, have one ready because they’ll probably have to keep moving.

11. Reach something off the shelf for someone at the store.

12. Offer to babysit for a friend or family member free of charge.

13. Call up a friend or relative and tell them you’re thinking about them.

14. Send a random positive text to someone in your contacts.

15. See someone at the hospital, store, walking down the street who looks lost? Offer them directions.

16. If you see a neighbor garbage cans got blown over by the wind, pick them up and put them back into place.

17. Leave a note for your significant other somewhere letting them know, in your own words, that you appreciate them.

18. Used a gift card to pay and only have a couple dollars left on it? Offer the card to the person behind you in line and let them use the rest.

19. Leave a few pennies in the penny tray at the cash register (ok so this one costs a couple cents)

20. Offer to run an errand or help with a few odds and ends around the house for an elderly family member, friend, or neighbor.

I could probably keep going but I thought this was a good start for ideas for random acts of kindness. Have you experienced a random act of kindness? I’d love to hear about it. I did a guest post for Random Acts of Kindness for Motorists too.