Beautiful Custom Jewelry Giveaway from Lisa Leonard Designs

[Update: And the winner is... Jody from Mommy Moment! Congratulations!! Thanks to everyone for entering this fun giveaway! ]

It's time for another fun giveaway -- this one from the lovely and super-talented Lisa Leonard from Lisa Leonard Designs! If you have not seen her beautiful custom jewelry before, it is amazing! Each piece is unique and perfect for everyday wear.

I have been an admirer of her jewelry for some time now, so when Lisa contacted me to see if I would host a giveaway, I jumped at the chance! I adore the clean design of these pieces, plus Lisa is an absolute sweetheart. Any piece from her jewelry collection would make the perfect Mother's Day gift..... (Hint, hint, Mark... Hee hee!)

Now the fun part -- One lucky reader will win a $50 gift certificate for Lisa Leonard Designs! To enter for your chance to win, visit Lisa's shop and leave a comment telling me which piece is your favorite. Be sure to leave your email address in the comments field! Tweet/Blog/Facebook about this fun giveaway, and you're in for three more entries!! (Just be sure to leave a comment that you blogged/Facebooked/tweeted).

This giveaway ends Saturday, March 13th @ 6:30pm EST and winner will be chosen by random.org

This giveaway is now closed! Thanks to everyone from entering! Another fun giveaway starts soon, so be sure to check back! 

5 Tips to Save Money on Eating Out

Last week, Mark and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary, and we thought it would be nice to take the family out for dinner to celebrate! As a frugal freak, I'm always looking for ways to save money and cut costs. Here are some of our favorite ways to save money on eating out:

1. Kids Eat Free -- Visit kidseatfree.com for local restaurant deals featuring free kid's meals. This can be a huge money saver, especially for those large families with several kids.


2. Restaurant.com -- Find deals on neighborhood restaurants and purchase $25 gift certificates for just $10! 


3. Entertainment Book -- Depending on where you live, and how often you go out to eat, the Entertainment Book can be a huge money-saver.


4. Brochures from Local Hotels -- If you live near any hotels, visit the lobby and pick up any brochures for local attractions. Many of these contain coupons for restaurants as well!


5. Yellow Pages -- Your local Yellow Pages is also a good source for restaurant coupons, and some even list several menus from restaurants (which could save you lots of time too).

Get Your FREE Sub

Quiznos is giving away coupons for a free sub to the first million people who register at http://www.millionsubs.com Go get your coupon!

Free Books!

My mother-in-law first told me about this tip, and I am so glad she shared it with me! If you are a literature junkie, be sure to check out DailyLit.com to read books for FREE via email or RSS. Lots of children's titles are available too. It is so easy to sign up and get started. First, browse their collection of books to find the title you want. Enter your email address, and click subscribe. Most books are available in several segments that require less than 5 minutes a day of reading. The best part -- no late fees from the library! For more information, click here.

Save Money on Electronics

One of the questions I am asked quite frequently is "How do you get the best deals on electronics?" Here are some of my favorite tips to save big bucks on that new digital camera, laptop, or other electronic purchase:

1. Network: Let everyone know that you are in the market to buy a (insert electronic name here). Often a friend of a friend may have exactly what you are looking for, or know of a place that is having good deals, so it never hurts to get the word out.
2. Buy Used: Place an ad on Craigslist. It is free, and you may be able to snag a good deal. Also, browse eBay for listings on used items.
3. Try Refurbished: Check out Amazon Warehouse for great deals on refurbished electronics. Our digital camera came from here (Nikon D40), and we have been so happy about this purchase.
4. Open Box Models: I went to a large electronics store to buy a sub-woofer for Mark. I asked about the Open Box model and got a substantial discount. It even came with the same warranty, just no box -- they wrapped it in bubble wrap.
5. Other Deals: If you have not checked out Woot, you should. Woot features one item a day (usually deeply discounted) and they sell it until it is sold out before offering another item the next day. No matter what you buy, the shipping is always just $5!!

Save Money on Eating Out

Go to Restaurant.com and use checkout code DINE to purchase a $25 gift certificate to your local favorite restaurants for just $2!! Certificates do not expire for a full year, so it is a good time to stock up. Offer good today only.

We have used these before (and given some as gifts), and it is always a good deal!

Help with Taxes -- For Free

Dealing with taxes might not be much fun, but you may be able to take advantage of some good free resources to make filing your taxes a little less painful. Here are some of my favorites:

Go to itsdeductible.com for a FREE download from TurboTax that helps you get the biggest deduction for your charitable donations. You will get an accurate value for your donations, plus you can easily import your list to TurboTax.  For more information, click here.

For more FREE help with taxes, visit H&R Block for a free federal edition and e-File. 

Frugal Generosity

Do you want to continue with charitable giving while still saving money? If you are low on funds, there are plenty of other creative ways to be generous to those who are less fortunate. Here are some of the best resources that allow our family to give more while spending less cash:

1. Click to Give -- Visit thehungersite.com and click the yellow button. The site's sponsors will deliver food to the poor every day you click the yellow button. Sign up for their free reminder email service, and they will send you a free "Seek Peace" bracelet! 
2. Volunteer Your Time -- Visit volunteermatch.org to find local volunteer opportunities that match your schedule and skill set.
3. Give Blood -- If you are eligible, consider donating blood. Visit givelife.org to find a local blood drive and set an appointment. It is important to remember that giving blood saves lives.
4. Donate Your Hair -- If you have long hair and would like to try a shorter style, visit locksoflove.org for more information on how you can donate your hair to be made into wigs for cancer patients. I did this several times, the most recent was while I was pregnant with Clara. I figured if I was not color treating my hair, I might as well grow it out so someone else could have it. After the pregnancy, I treated myself to a new style (and color), and donated over 10 inches of hair!
5. Try a Micro-Loan -- Kiva.org lets donors choose a specific entrepreneur from a developing country to help empower them out of poverty. Loans start at just $25 and once a loan is re-paid, you can re-lend it to someone else in need, donate funds to Kiva, or withdraw your funds. We always choose to re-lend it and make sure our donation helps the most people. Kiva also has gift certificates for Valentine's Day!
6. Donate to Goodwill  -- With your upcoming Spring cleaning, be sure to set aside any clothing items, small appliances, household goods, or furniture to be donated to Goodwill. The sales of your donations help fund job training and other career services that help people become successful at work. Click here to find a Goodwill store near you.

Has your family made use of these programs, or do you plan to use any of these for the first time? Do you know of any others I forgot to add? I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment and share you ideas with us!

The Frugal Princess

I found these templates for princess gear from HP and they are FREE! We printed this beautiful wand and this personalized tiara and put them together in minutes. They do not even use a lot of printer ink! Tip -- I found these go together much easier using tape instead of glue. Emily could put together the tiara herself, but needed a bit of help with the wand.

I used some gold ribbon to make this princess wand extra special. There are lots of other free printables over at the HP Activity Center, so check them out! 

If you have ever made any of these projects, I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment and share your stories with us!

Free Stickers!

Visit the Gmail blog for some free stickers! Just send a self-addressed stamped envelope. Click here for details. These look really cute!

Create 6 FREE Valentine's Day Cards

Stories by Everyone is running a special for 6 FREE Valentine's Day Cards. You can upload a photo to personalize them -- very cute! Shipping is also free. Enter code valentine at checkout. Offer expires 2/1/2009. Not valid with any other offer.

Top 10 Cheap and Healthy Foods

Epicurious has a fabulous article on some of the best money-saving ingredients (complete with recipes). This is a great resource, and you can find the list here.

Do you use brown rice, potatoes, apples, eggs, beans, or any of the other ingredients listed in your everyday cooking? I would love to hear about it! Leave a comment and share your ideas with us!

Related article: 8 Tips for Healthy Eating on a Budget

20% off Online Solar Course

Are you considering installing solar panels to your home? You might want to enroll for an extensive 4 hour online course offered by Eco Achievers. Enter coupon code RENEW at checkout and you will save 20% off the $59 enrollment fee. Offer expires 02/16/2009. Click here for more details.

Printable Coupons for Organics

Here is a great list of online printable coupons for organic items:

1. Organic Valley -- Save on milk, cheese, soymilk, and butter.  Each coupon can be printed twice.  Also, click here for a printable coupon for $2 off the purchase of any 2 Organic Valley products.
2. Mambo Sprouts -- Many coupons here for green cleaning products, organic peanut butter, organic chocolate chips, and more!
3. Horizon Organic -- Sign up on their website for free printable coupons for organic milk and butter.
4. Earth's Best Organic -- Register to print a coupon good for $1 off 10 jars of organic baby food (You may print the coupon up to three times), and $1 off any two Sesame Street Earth's Best Organic products (You may print once).
5. Stonyfield Farm -- Register for several coupons for organic milk, ice cream, and yogurt.
6. Brown Cow Farm -- Register for several printable coupons for yummy organic yogurt.
7. Earthbound Farm -- Quiz your knowledge on organic farming and you will receive a coupon (via snail mail) for Earthbound Farm's organic products.  They will usually include a newsletter which also contains coupons!

Know of a good printable coupon for organics that I forgot to add?  Leave a comment and share it with us!

Money Channel on Oprah's Best Life Series

Photo by Cliff Dix Jr

Looking for a good financial podcast?  Click here to find out how you can subscribe to Oprah's Best Life Series for free.  The series includes a Money Channel with Suze Orman.  And it's free!!

Download Suze Orman's New Book -- For FREE

From now until January 15th, you can download Suze Orman's new book, Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan for FREE -- courtesy of Oprah. For more information, click here.

From the site:

This book is copyrighted. You may view and download the file, but you may not copy the file or share or forward it to any other person. Offer expires at 11:59 p.m. CT on Thursday, January 15.

This looks like a great resource for the new year, so be sure to download your free copy and don't miss out!

Come Join Me on Financial Bliss

Good news! I will be a contributing author for the Financial Bliss channel of Blissfully Domestic. I plan to contribute articles at least twice a week and focus on frugality and budgeting. I feel honored to be included with such a strong group of women writers. The site is launching in the next few days, and I cannot wait to get started!

I would love to hear your topic suggestions and article ideas you would like me to write about for both Financial Bliss and Frugal Family Fun Blog.  Please leave a comment and share your ideas with me!

$10 iTunes Gift Card Giveaway

I thought it would be fun to do another giveaway, so here we go! I am giving away one $10 iTunes Gift Card to one lucky reader. Download music, audiobooks, videos... whatever!  

There are several ways to enter this fabulous giveaway:

1. Become a Follower -- Click here to become a follower of Frugal Family Fun Blog, and you will be entered three times.  Those of you who are already followers are automatically entered three times as well.
2. Subscribe to My Feed -- You can subscribe via email by clicking here. Subscribing to the feed means you will never miss an update on Frugal Family Fun Blog, and you will be entered 3 times!  Those of you who are already subscribers are automatically entered three times as well.
3. Link to me -- Show me some link love!  Use the Link to Me button on the right of this page to create a link to Frugal Family Fun Blog on your blog, blog about this post on your blog, or create a text link to Frugal Family Fun Blog on your site, and you will be entered 5 times!  Don't forget to come back here and leave a comment so I can check out your site to verify the link.
4. Leave a comment -- Post a comment anywhere on Frugal Family Fun Blog between now and January 16th.  You will automatically be entered once.

This giveaway ends January 16th @ 6pm EST.  Winner will be chosen by random.org and contacted via email for mailing address information.

By the way, I am in no way affiliated with iTunes.  

Good luck!!

25 Free MP3 Music Downloads + 1 Bonus Audiobook

Looking for some free tunes for your iPod?  Check out emusic.com for a free trial that includes 25 free music downloads and 1 bonus audiobook.  Take 2 weeks to decide if you like emusic and if you don't, cancel and keep the 25 music files as their gift to you for trying!

Barnes & Noble Coupon

If you already have a Barnes & Noble membership, you can get even more savings by clicking here for a printable coupon good for an additional 15% off one item.  To use this deal online, enter code R4E7X9F at checkout for 15% off the highest priced item in your online cart.  Offers good until January 4, 2009.

Note:  It appears the printable coupon is good for cafe goodies as well! Yum!