Luv Saving Money – Page 630

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.

7 Inexpensive Ways to Refresh Your Home for Spring

I’m not a fan of winter. I don’t like being cold, I don’t like driving in the ice and snow, and I especially don’t enjoy the dull gray yuck about this time of year. It’s around February that I’m completely over winter and I start itching for some fresh air, warmer temps, and some bright colors. I’ll have to wait on mother nature but I can take control in my own home to start refreshing for the spring. This always help me to feel a little better and get rid of some of that winter dulldrum.

Bust the Dust

I never realize how dull dust can make things look until after I do a good thorough cleaning. During my spring cleaning I hit the areas that don’t always get the attention like wiping down walls, cleaning the blades of the ceiling fans, and dusting the knick knacks.

Shed a Little Light On the Subject

Cleaning out the light shades and lamp covers for ceiling lights and lamps and replacing burnt out light bulbs will make your home brighter. Replace them with energy efficient light bulbs to save on your electric bill too.

Spring is a Time for Change

Changing things like your curtains, throw pillows, table cloth or even hand towels can make a nice change. I recently did this in my living room putting up lighter colored curtains to brighten my dark room up a bit. I don’t buy curtains or table clothes very often but when I do, I’ve gotten some good deals online . Honestly even Dollar General has some sheer or lace curtains for about $6-$10 that’s just right to give you a change without breaking your wallet. If you stick with neutral colors you could even exchange curtains with windows of similar sizes. For instance, our bedroom windows are almost all the same size as our living room windows. If you can’t afford to buy new you could swap and put the bedroom curtains in the living room and living room in the bedroom. As long as they match and fit of course. Consignment stores and thrift shops are another option.

Hey Carpet Your Winter is Showing

Things like dust, pet hair, and even dirt tracked into the house can make your carpets look dull. Sure I vacuum every day (with 4 kids and 2 cats I don’t have a choice) but I like to give my carpets a good scrubbing with my carpet scrubber to get a thorough clean in the spring. If you don’t have a carpet scrubber you could rent one for a day or even just use a carpet foam that you can vacuum out.

Get Movin’

Spring is a great time to rearrange furniture to break up the monotony. Moving the couch and love seat in a different position, rearranging the small appliances on the counter, or moving the your bed in your bedroom can all be a nice change. When you move those things out you might find some winter dust bunnies you can get rid of too.

Smells Like Spring

If you like fragrances in your house pulling out the spring candles, warmers, or air freshners can be a nice pick me up. Fragrances with names like April Showers, lily of the valley, and even citrus scents (for energy) can do the trick.

Ahh Fresh Air

Here in Pennsylvania winter get cold. It’s a rare occasion to be able to open the windows between October and March. We do get those freak warm days. Actually today it hit 50 degrees which is warm for February in south central PA. Anywho, it was a nice opportunity to pop a few windows open for about a half hour or so just to get some fresh air.

I also did a guest post on ideas to refresh your car for spring. I’d love it if you checked it out.

Where Can I Get Coupons For That?

As a frugal lifestyle blogger and a mom of 4 I don’t like to pay full price for anything . Not only is it better for my budget but I feel a sense of accomplishment when I get my family things they need and not have to pay what’s on the price tag . I love me some coupons. One thing my friends and coworkers have asked me more than a few times is “Where do you get coupons for that?” So here’s some places to look to find coupons for the things you want and need.

1. Newspaper – ok this might be the obvious one but did you know that different areas might have different coupons? For example: When I buy my coupon papers I buy a Johnstown paper and a Pittsburgh paper. Often they have different coupons OR when it comes to Procter & Gamble inserts and things like that I get several then.

2. Coupon websites – sites like coupons.com, savingsstar.com, and more offer coupons you can either print or load to a grocery store card. Sites like coupons.com will usually allow you to print each coupon twice so if you see a 2 for deal or just really like a product, go ahead and print 2.

3. Load to card – Those rewards cards you have for Rite Aid, Giant Eagle, etc. If you go to the website you can register your reward card and load coupons right to your card. Then when you buy that product the coupon gets taken off automatically. No worries about forgetting your coupon. My only issues is, sometimes I forget what coupons I have on there and when they expires. So it’s a good idea to print a list and keep it in your car or purse. Cross it off when the coupon expires or you’ve used it. It’s easy. Often they have a load to card option on the site once you’re logged in. Just tick off the coupons you want and they’re on your card. Here’s what Rite Aid’s load2card option looks like. You can find the load2card option for Riteaid under the “Deals” category and select the load2card option or under the wellness+ option:

4. Company websites – sometimes the coupons aren’t in the paper or on a printable site. BUT occasionally the company websites has coupons. I’ll give you a for instance. Giant Eagle recently had International Delight coffee creamer on sale 2 for $4. I love my coffee creamer but wanted to see if I could get an even better deal. I couldn’t find a coupon anywhere else so I went to the company website. I registered on InternationalDelight.com and there it was a printable coupon for $1 off 1 International Delight Coffee Creamer. I was able to print it twice and got my creamers for $1 a piece! Also it helps to sign up for your favorite brand’s emails newsletters.

5. Write the company – When all else fails, you can sometimes have luck with emailing or writing the company . I had a thing for those Annie Chun’s soup bowls for a while. They were a bit expensive. I emailed the company to let them now how much I liked their soups and praised them for their eco-friendly packaging. They wrote back, thanked me and offered to send me coupons. I of course accepted and they sent me a small stack of coupons for their soups.

6. Coupon kiosks – My local BILO store actually had a coupon kiosk where you could print BILO store coupons you might need for your shopping visit. You need to print only the ones you needed because they normally expired within a day or two but it was nice to grab an extra coupon or two when shopping.

7. Check your receipts and register printouts – Plenty of stores will have coupons either right on your receipt or as a separate print out. Giant Eagle does a separate print out, Rite Aid will print them right on the receipt, Dollar General has them right on the receipt ($5 off $25 purchase sometimes), etc. Check your receipts!

8. Right on the package – Occasionally you will buy a product that has a coupon taped right to the package or sometimes a tag around the neck of a bottle like a cleaning product or soda, for instance. Sometimes it will even say something like “save $2 now save $2 later” etc. These you can use. Do NOT cut coupons off of packages.

9. Sales papers – sometimes your sales papers will have a store coupon in them. Rite Aid usually has one or two each sales week. CVS will do this too.

10. Sampling kiosks – Walmart does this often. They have someone at a sampling kiosk and you can try a little taste of whatever they’re trying to sell that day. Often there will be a small pile of coupons meant for you to take one or two to buy the product. I tried a sample of a Kellogg’s cereal the one time. The lady had a huge stack of coupons. I took one (never be greedy) and she said “honey you can take more than one” so I took two. She said “Take more than that, I have plenty” so I did. lol

11. In the package – diapers will do this often . Pampers, Luvs, Huggies will kindly put a coupon inside the package. You’ll sometimes find them inside the back panel of cereal boxes or frozen foods.

12. Magazines – Magazines like all you, Parenting, Taste of Home and more will have coupons in them sometimes as small booklets or right in the ad for the product.

I wrote a guest post on how to save money on vehicle maintenance too. As soon as it’s like I’ll post the link here.

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!