Time for your money making tip of the day! Yep, I said money MAKING today.

You may have heard about Craigslist, but have been skeptical or not quite sure how it works. Well, today I'm gonna school you on how to do well selling via Craiglist.

1. Take good pictures of what you want to sell. Make sure you have good lighting (I highly suggest photographing your items during the day. Even better, take the items outside if you can. Natural light is always best!) Multiple views of items, close-ups to show detail, and nothing distracting in the background.

2. Use your email only as a contact in your posts. You really do not want every stranger who reads your area's Craigslist board to know your phone number. When it seems like you have a buyer, THEN you can give them your phone number. And I highly suggest you make it your cell.

3. Price your item about $10-15 higher than what you want for it. The people who like to shop for used goods LOVE to haggle. They WILL try to talk you down on your price.

4. Agree on the price they are willing to pay you (and you are willing to accept) BEFORE you meet up to complete the sale. Otherwise people will pull all kinds of tricks to get it for cheaper than what you asked for. I have had people show up and say "Oh I know you asked $30, but I was hoping you would take $20 for it". I have also had people show up and say "Will you take just $20 for it? I know you asked $25, but I don't have any change and all I have are these two twenties". I have heard THAT ONE a lot.

5. Only accept cash. Tell them this upfront before they come to buy from you. I suggest writing it as the last line in your post. Taking personal checks from complete strangers is a mistake. You will most likely never see them again. They could very easily scam you and give you a bad check.

6. If you can, meet prospective buyers in a public place. I tend to meet my buyers at the local Wawa (it's a popular convenience store/gas station chain, for those who aren't local). Even if I do have to meet them at night, it is well-lit and always full of people in and out of the store. I don't dig on having strangers come to my house to buy stuff. A couple times when I was selling bigger stuff (like a baby crib) I did have to have the person come over. I made sure they came during a time when my husband was at home, so I would be safe. You never know...just sayin'...An added bonus to meeting at a store parking lot is that if they don't have change they can easily go in the store and get the cashier to break that twenty.

7. Try to respond back to everyone who is interested in your item. Sometimes the first person (and sometimes even the second) seemed so darned interested and you think it's a sure thing. And then they see the item and it's not what they thought it would be. Or they change their mind. Or are a no-show. It happens. I like to pick one buyer to pursue and keep 2 as backups.

8. If for whatever reason you do not sell the item within a few days, post it again. If a lot of people are posting their stuff, your post might get buried and not be seen by new onlookers.

9. When the item is finally sold, delete the post. Otherwise you WILL get emails days, weeks, and months after the item is long gone.

Ready for the tip of the day?

Take notice of the little things you often purchase. Examine your home and notice how much those little things add up. As a toddler our son loved Thomas the Train. Loved the show, loved collecting the little metal trains, loved anything to do with that silly blue train!

Since he delighted in them, we often used the promise of a new train to motivate him in certain behaviors. Potty training brought a whole lot of those trains! And a whole slew of other occasions. Sure, some were also given to him as gifts by relatives, but we bought a whole lotta trains over the years. He has over 100 of them. I lost count a long time ago. But they cost $5-6 a piece! Long ago we thought that was a steal, especially since the wooden trains were more like $12-20 each.

However....

I have come to realize we own hundreds of dollars worth of metal toy trains.

How the heck did THAT happen?!?!?

Learn from my lesson. Think twice before you start letting your kiddos collect things that are inexpensive. One toy train doesn't seem like a big deal, does it? But they really DO add up. So do other small and seemingly insignificant purchases. A candy bar from the grocery checkout each week. Downloading a new ringtone whenever the mood strikes you.

It all adds up...to A LOT.

New to couponing? Are you wondering if it's really worth your while to pick up a copy of the local newspaper? Will there be any coupons for products your family uses?

Find all of this out by checking out the Sunday Coupon Preview!

Dr. Kevin Leman has written a plethora of parenting books, and I have loved every single one I have gotten my hands on so far. And It's Your Kid, Not a Gerbil is no exception!

Are you tired of running the rat race (or gerbil race, as the metaphor goes in this book)? Do spend each and every moment of every day running from one place to the next, with your children in tow? Many families are living out what is now considered "the norm". Moms work, dads work, kids are involved in multiple extracurricular activities, and everyone is busy, busy, busy! When did it get to be that everyone, even children, are scheduled and over-scheduled for every moment of their lives?

I used to think that my husband and I had it all figured out when it came to parenting. But then I attempted to head back to work full time and soon found that the balance we were once so proud of went spiraling out of control, and fast! This book helped me snap back into reality and re-evaluate my priorities. I highly recommend this book to any parent.

Time for your frugal tip of the day!

I do believe I have just found a very useful tool. It's a site called Book Sale Manager and it can help you search for used book sales in your neck of the woods. The prices of books at national book shops make me feel faint! Why pay full price when there are so many sources of books that have been read maybe once or twice? I have had good luck at used book sales in the past, and have scored books for 60-90% off the retail price.

Time for your money saving tip of the day!

Sometimes a cheap item is just a cheap item. If you go to a dollar store and something seems too good to be true, then it just may be. Here are some products you should avoid buying at dollar stores:

-Electrical items (it has been found that some of these have fake UL labels that say they've been tested for safety)

-Children's jewelry (it has been found to contain lead)

-Vitamins (have been found to be expired or have labels with misleading info)

The safety of your family is worth much more than the savings you'll find on these cheap items!

As a blogger, I get lots of mail from various companies asking me to check out their books, products, etc. FedEx, UPS, and the postman make regular appearances at my house! While this leaves me super excited to come home from work to find what goodies have arrived, my son can get a little sulky. He wishes for mail, too.

Well, last week he got his wish!

He tore into a package that contained a Mega Bloks Blok Squad playset. The set we received was the Fire Patrol Rescue. And it rocked my son's world! It came with 190 pieces, including 2 of the highly coveted little figurines. "Lego" guys are a coveted item for all the first graders in my kiddo's school, but building block sets and figurines made by the other guys can be pricey. So we were psyched to see that this Mega Bloks set came with 2! The retail price for the set is $9.99, which I have paid for one figurine from the other brand. Crazy, yes. But sometimes we do crazy things to make our kids happy.

I can honestly say that all of our future building block set purchases will be Mega Bloks purchases. The prices cannot be beat! Other Blok Squad themes are construction, beach patrol, space and army, and range from $4.99 to $9.99 to $39.99.

My kiddo is already talking about asking Santa for more from this collection.

Time for your money saving tip of the day!

Wouldn't it be great if you could earn money just by recycling? You can! Join Recycle Bank and earn points redeemable for great prizes, like magazine subscriptions, high value coupons, and much more.

Even if you don't live in an area that participates in the Recycle Bank program (I don't, sadly) you can STILL join Recycle Bank and earn points for prizes. How? Simply log in from time to time and take pledges to recycle certain products, watch short videos on earth-friendly practices, sign up for e-newsletters, and other super-simple tasks.

I love getting something for nothing, don't you?

Ready for your frugal tip of the day?

When you are shopping pay close attention to "sale" signs. Often times you will see signs that look just like the signs you typically see when an item is on sale. It might be a bright color (yellow, orange, red...) or have large, bold print. The fact of the matter is, many stores use this to trick you into thinking the item is now at a special price. But often times, close inspection will show that the item is just at it's regular price. Stores like to use this trick for goods that are are not selling so well or are about to expire.

Our family loves Halloween! And this mommy likes saving money wherever she can. Enter BuyCostumes.com

This year we decided to shop online to take advantage of great savings with clearance prices. Some of the costumes we saw in store made me weak in the knees when I looked at the price tag!

My little guy happily chose a costume and it was delivered to us in no time! Unlike some other specialty Halloween costume stores and sites, BuyCostumes.com offers a variety of costumes for those of us on a budget. I love that their home page features costumes $10 and under, $20 and under, and $30 and under.

Tip of the day, coming your way!

Some peeps get excited about finding new outlet malls, assuming they will save tons of money. This is not necessarily the case all the time. Next time you hit up an outlet store, be sure to compare those price tags to the ones you see at the regular stores. Many times outlets will have some racks of reduced price merchandise and the rest is the same stuff you get in the mall for the same old price.

When I meet an expectant mommy I always, always, ALWAYS tell them to subscribe to baby magazines. They are a fabulous resource, not just for parenting advice and milestone info, but for coupons, too!

My favorite?

Baby Talk, hands down. To get a free subscription, click the magazines above!

Laptops. E-readers. Smart phones. Tablet computers.

My family is a crew of tech-lovers (okay, okay, nerds who love gadgets). But frequent use of those gadgets leaves them all icky. Natural oils in your skin and hair muck up their screens. And fast! By the end of the day, my iphone in particular is downright gross. Too much chatting, tweeting, Facebooking, surfing, and texting does a number on it.

So when the peeps at Magid offered to let me try out their cleaning towlettes, I was intrigued. Could the same tiny towlettes that are used to clean safety goggles and eyeglasses shine up my computers? They sure did! Me and the hubs were a big fan of their anti-fog and anti-static properties. No more smudgy screens for us.

Looking for your money saving tip of the day? Look no further!

Potatoes can be an inexpensive staple to your family's diet. But storing them improperly can lead to rotten or sprouted potatoes that are no good for eating. Be sure to take the potatoes out of any plastic bags they might have come in. Then put them in a cool, dry place. For added measure, put an apple in with the taters. I'm not sure what magical powers apples have, but I have heard this over and over and it does help!

I used to think products like Goof Off were just for the garage. Ya know, good for removing gunk like grease and tar and motor oil. Boy, was I wrong!

I recently had the chance to try it out firsthand to see the magic it could work for a busy mama. Did you know that Goof Off can remove crayons, glue, and stickers from surfaces around the house? It sure can! And much to my surprise, you can even use it for tough laundry stains like those dreaded grass stains. Yep, spray it right on your clothes. I was shocked, too.

Since Goof Off arrived at my house, I've been busy as a bee removing what I thought were permanent stains, scuffs, and general yuck. And so far there's nothing it can't tackle.

And this month, the folks at Goof Off are offering a Back-to-School special--10% off any purchase on their site, plus free shipping for orders over $25. Just use the code: SEPG

Tip of the day time is here!

Try a little tv experiment. Reduce the amount of time your kiddos watch tv (or the channels they watch) and you will have less whining and begging for new toys and stuff. Reduce your tv viewing time and you'll have less desire to try new products.

How do I know? We stripped our tv service down to the most basic of basic cable packages. It pretty much lets ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS come in clearly. The absence of Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network means my six year doesn't see hundreds of toy commercials anymore! Not to mention, he is now watching much more educational shows, an added perk.

Have you seen the new award-winning animated series, The Tuneables?

My son (a very musical little guy) just loves it! In the show, characters Max and Annie go to a local music shop for their first-ever music lesson. Before they know it they enter into a magical world called Tuneland where music instrument shaped folks come to life and sing and dance, all the while teaching youngsters the fundamentals of music.

It's a great series, because the shows are highly interactive. It's not one of these cartoons your kids will stare and drool over. They are encouraged to (and they will!) clap, march, dance, and sing along to the beat. When Team Mom presented us with the opportunity to check out The Tuneables CD/DVD set "I Love Music", I jumped right in! My son is six years old and takes piano lessons afterschool and sings in our church choir, so he loves music. I had a feeling we would become fans of The Tuneables, and I was right!

I can tell this is going to be something my little guy is going to be making us watch and listen to over and over again. And that's a good thing, because repetition is key for learning. Kids will learn to hear and sing tonal patterns in songs, develop their rhythmic skills, expand the range of their singing voices, and enjoy the sounds and melodies of classical music.

Tip of the day, comin' right at ya!

Social networking can be lots of fun...but can it cost you money? Logging onto Facebook day after day to see everyone's daily brags can stir up envy. It can easily seem like everyone's always taking fancy vacations, buying new cars and clothes and whatever else all the time. Before you know it, you're wishing you could have all that stuff. And that could trigger some serious impulse spending. If "everyone else" is living the life, why shouldn't you? Right?

Facebook might be a new platform for this kind of thinking, but the concept itself isn't new. Peer pressure and keeping up with The Joneses has been around since the beginning of time! If you sense this kind of thinking creeping into your mind, you may want to start limiting your time online, or keeping in mind that some of those people who seem to have it all may indeed have everything their hearts desire (and more--in the form of huge credit card bills!)

Hey, frugal friends! It's about that time---time for your frugal tip of the day!

Do you have an e-reader? Buying digital e-books on retailer websites can get pricey (they sometimes cost just as much as buying the book in print!) But did you know that most libraries will let you borrow e-books? More than 2/3 of the nation's libraries now offer access to e-books. Check with your local branch!

I know the Nook, Kindle, Kobo, and e-readers built into smart phones will allow you to use borrowed e-books on them.

As a former preschool teacher, I will tell you all day, every day that play dough is hands-down the best toy you can give your kiddos to play with! It is amazing for strengthening the muscles needed for fine motor skill activities like handwriting, scissor cutting, and coloring. And it also engages the imagination.

But truth be told, Play-Doh is not my favorite. I've never been a fan of that distinctive smell, especially once it transfers to your hands. And I wasn't really a Moon Dough lover either, because when it first came out it didn't live up to the hype. It was supposed to be this awesome alternative to Play-Doh that wouldn't get stuck in your carpet and cleaned up easily. But it was crumbly. And it dried out pretty fast.

Since I never say never, I decided to give it another whirl when the Moon Dough folks touted their product as new and improved. And now I think it's a pretty darned good play dough. It's far less crumbly, odorless, and wheat-free. Nowadays there are so many children coming to school with some interesting and serious allergies. Wheat is one of them. And Play-Doh and many other varieties of play doughs are made from wheat. Hypoallergenic products are a must for schools!

Have you signed up for JC Penney's savings newsletter yet? You should! Otherwise you'll miss out on special coupons and sales...

Thanks to the good people at Book Sneeze, I was able to get tickets for the Women of Faith conference in Philadelphia.

A few words on Women of Faith...Inspiring. Uplifting. Most of the motivational speakers did their very best to energize and raise up the thousands of ladies who were there waiting to be filled up. Sheila Walsh was among the best of the best. God just flows right through that woman! And Lisa Harper. I knew I'd love her because she's also a favorite author of a fab book I recently read, Stumbling Into Grace.

However, I must note that I was more than disappointed by the talk with Dr. Henry Cloud, a clinical psychologist. Right from the start, when he was introduced as someone very familiar with "weirdos" I was slightly offended. I certainly hope MY psychologist doesn't refer to me (or any of his other patients) as a "weirdo", "wacko", or "crazy ". I do sincerely believe that his intention was to be funny in his approach to talking to women about the common problems they face. But I personally like my psychology without humor. And I've seen a few therapists in my day. Perhaps I was being a tad sensitive, but I'm not the only person who was annoyed with the doctor.

And I did find it to be a bit overwhelming. Being surrounded by thousands of women I didn't know while I was digging deep into my emotional vault and praising God was strange and new to me. I prefer a much more intimate setting for weekend worship events. And the whole event seemed a wee bit canned to me (read: mass-produced and churned out in a variety of cities with the same dialogue and product pitches). And the prices for said products and books were outrageous. I window-shopped the booths feeling a little less nurtured and fed and a little more like I was there to spend some serious dough.

All in all it was an okay time. I was glad for the opportunity to go and experience it for the first time, but I'm not entirely sure I'd go back again in the future. It just wasn't my cup of tea...


*Disclosure: The folks at Book Sneeze provided me with 2 tickets to Women of Faith, free of charge, in exchange for 2 blog posts about my experience. I was not given any monetary compensation and these are 100% my own thought ans opinions.

Glucerna shake (5 ww pT+)

Having the right coupons to match up with next week's sales is crucial to saving big. Find out which coupons will be in the paper come Sunday...right now.

Top of the day, comin' your way!

Did you know that refrigerators with the freezer compartment on top use 10-25% less energy than the side by side variety (or the newer bottom freezer models)? It's true! Keep that in mind next time you're in the market for a new fridge.

Tip of the day time already? Yeppers!

I love nothing more than listening to some good tunes at work to help the day go by. For a long time, I've been a Pandora fan. But then a friend introduced me to Last.fm

It plays music that is similar to your original choice of band/song. Ads appear on the site while your tunes play, but who cares? It's free online music!

Time for that tip of the day, my frugal friends.

Do you need to ship something out? Before you start buying up pricey packing materials, let me tell you about a free material you probably already have at home. Newspaper. Yep, good ole newspaper. You can wrap up breakables in it and then surround it in a box with crumpled up paper balls around it so it won't jiggle around.

An added bonus to using newspaper? It is lighter than bubble wrap so shipping costs will be less!

Congrats! I will send you an email to get your full contact info!

Congrats! I'll be in touch soon!

Tip of the day, comin' your way!

If you're hankering to try some new cuisine at home and need more "exotic" spices, try shopping at an ethnic food mart instead of your regular grocer. Spices, pasta, and other staples for ethnic recipes are usually to be had at a much cheaper price there.

I love shopping at Indian, Chinese, and Mexican marts! You care always sure to find some new and exciting snacks and foods at those places. And at a good price to boot.

Have you joined Right@Home yet? It's a great way to get coupons, special offers, and chances to get free stuff! I have been a member for several years now and I love seeing Right@Home pop up in my inbox and mailbox at my home.

Click the box above to join today!