Claiming This Blog on Technorati

I was reading Frugal Franny's blog the other day and she had her blogs registered at Technorati. Seemed worthwhile to do. I just have to do a post so that when they 'spider' (like a google crawl), they have proof that I own this blog. Anyways, check out Technorati and Frugal Franny.
My profile is in the link below (I haven't really set much up on it yet).

Technorati Profile

Hammermill Paper only $1.99 / Ream at Office Depot (Through 11/26)

Handling the accounting and purchasing at the office, I know a good price on copy paper. Our temperamental copier does best with the Hammermill brand. Haven't seen it lower than $2 per ream in a long time.

Offer ends 11/26/07.

Update...Bummer...looks like they cancelled the deal.

Hammermill(R) Tidal Copy Paper

Black Friday - Avoid the Chaos - Shop On-line at Buy.com

Buy.com will be having many promotions and great deals on-line for both Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Much better use of your time to find the deals in the comfort of your own home.

Black Friday Chaos - 6AM, 5AM and Now 4AM Sale Starts

Okay...the 6AM store opening for Black Friday sales is earlier than I really need to shop. They've taken it one step further now. I saw an ad for Old Navy; their stores will be opening for their Black Friday sale at 5AM. Even worse...Kohl's is going to let you get a bright and early start at 4AM. Is there really anything we need so badly that we'd be willing to give up sleep and time with our families to get up at 3AM to make it to the store for 4AM (because you know by 4:05 the specials will be sold out).

Shop on-line! A lot of stores are doing on-line specials. It's time to put an end to this commercial madness!

Wine Spectator Top 100 Wine List of 2007

Something interesting to review for the holidays. Value is one of the four criteria that they evaluated the wines on (other three are: availability, quality and X-Factor or wow factor). Most of them on the list are pretty pricey and admittedly out of my price range; but there are a few that are under $20 which I can get myself to splurge on (especially for special occasions).

Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2007

Free Downloadable Business and Legal Forms at Docstoc.com

I just set up an account for myself at Docstoc.com because I needed to find a Non-Compete agreement for the office. It's kind of an interesting site, but take it with a grain of salt. This is a community site for sharing business and legal forms/documents. If you're in a critical situation, you're going to want legal expertise. For a form to cover your butt in a hurry, though, it's worth perusing.

Black Friday Chaos - Target TV Commercial

From my previous post, you know that I'm not a big fan of Black Friday shopping. When the stores put up ads encouraging the mayhem, it doesn't help me to warm up to the whole idea.

Last night I saw a television commercial for Target. The commercial involved an animated person pushing a shopping cart. Although it wasn't really pushing the shopping cart, it was running with it and grabbing various things (I think it's dog was one of them) and throwing them in the cart.

Is this what the holiday season is about? I'm very disappointed in Target for running such an ad. I've always liked shopping at Target because it's not as commercial (in your face, store aisles packed with product) as the other '-mart'.

Once again, I will keep my productivity level up and avoid this shopping mess on Friday.

Update...
Now the ad is on MSN...ya can't avoid the hype!

Selection of DVD's As Low As $3.75 at Buy.com Through 11/26/07

Buy.com has a selection of 146 DVD's on sale through 11/26/07 for as low as $3.75. There are a bunch of noteworthy titles even at the $3.75 price point. Shipping is free if you spend $25 or more.

DVD's As Low As $3.75 at Buy.com

Get Organized In 2008: Brother PT-1280 Label Maker Only $15.39 at Buy.com

I use one of these Brother PT series label makers at the office. They work great and I recommend them to everyone for home or office use.
This model at Buy.com is only $15.39 (No Rebates!)and includes Free Shipping.

Brother P-Touch PT-1280 Label Maker

Black Friday Deals - Sorry Not My Thing

I know this blog is all about finding great deals and saving money. One exception for me, though, are the so called 'Black Friday' deals. If I find an outstanding deal that you can try to buy on-line that day...great, I'll share that. You won't catch me running from store to store at 6am trying to find that ultimate deal (which I'm sure the store only has limited stock of). Black Friday happens because the customer allows it to happen...maybe if we don't buy into the lure of Black Friday, Christmas shopping season may be a month long period of great deals instead of just one day.

Therefore, my one-man stand is to avoid the whole thing. I've gotten burned a couple times doing this, so I'm going to tag this post under 'productivity' because I think your time could be much better spent.

I just hope that after posting this I don't get lured into the mayhem;-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Full Freezer = Lower Electric Bills

I guess I shouldn't complain when our freezer is packed so tight you can't find a thing in it without calling in an excavation crew. Apparently when the freezer is full, this helps reduce the electric draw of the freezer...makes sense...less open air to cool.

Check out the post at What Works For Us:

Save $$ - Keep Freezer Full at What Works For Us

Free Kobalt 6 in 1 Screwdriver

The Bargain Shopper Lady found a form to fill out which gets you an email which will allow you to print a coupon good for a free Kobalt 6 in 1 Screwdriver redeemable at Lowes.

Here's the link for the form to complete:
http://www.kobalttools.com/?source=banner&campid=262016212212195100&CMXID=2111.001231.xmc

The coupon expires 12/1/07, so hurry in to Lowes.

Please visit The Bargain Shopper Lady's blog to show your thanks.

Update 11/29/07...the two Lowes stores local to me were out of stock.

Get 800 Checks at Checks Unlimited For Only $16.50

Use code Z2Y6 at Checks Unlimted and get 4 boxes (800 checks) for only $16.50. This is for new customers only. Includes Free Handling and Free Custom Lettering. I've ordered from them before. The service was great, checks were perfect and they offered a huge selection of checks.

Here is their website: Checks Unlimited

Thrifty and Creative: Great tip for getting pet odors out of Carpet!!!

I've been trying various methods to get a cat urine smell out of carpet. Came across this one at Thrifty and Creative. I'll have to give this a shot...what do I have to lose. If anyone has experience with this (especially this method), let me know.

Thrifty and Creative: Great tip for getting pet odors out of Carpet!!!

Creative Webcam w/Headphones and 10 Games $4.99 AR

After $25 rebate (expires 11/30/07) get this Creative Webcam for only $4.99 at Buy.com. The package includes a set of headphones and 10 games. The cam got good reviews from shoppers at Buy.com.

Creative Webcam Instant Bonus Pack w/Free Headphone & 10 Games - 73VF004000026

Woot.com Has a Woot Off Today

Woot.com has what they call a WootOff for today. New deals throughout the day, one sells out, then a new one starts.

Free Country Home Magazine Subscription

StartSampling.com has a free 10 issue subscription to Country Home Magazine. This in addition to the four listed in my previous StartSampling Post.

Uses For Newspapers by Frugal For Life

Frugal For Life compiled a list of uses for newspapers (other than throwing in the garbage or recycling bin).

Check out the list... there are a lot of good ideas.

Frugal For Life: Uses for Newspapers

Free On-Line Language Lessons From BBC

I actually came across this reading the Buffalo News this weekend (old fashioned style reading). In the Money Matters section they had a short article from MarketWatch.com titled 'Get Free Language Lessons'.

I checked out the website that they referenced and was quite impressed. It is a self-paced system (I sure can't commit to it daily...but once a week...maybe). You can take a test for it to gauge what level lesson you should start at; or for someone like myself (who took Latin in highschool) just start at the beginner level. The beginner level has some nice activities to get you going. There are also 'crash courses' if you're hopping on the plane tomorrow. You can even download popular phrases to your mp3 player. There are a wide variety of languages including:

• French
• Spanish
• German
• Italian
• Chinese
• Portugese
• Greek
• more...

Well worth it to check out the site: BBC Languages

Extending the Life of Razor Blades

Folks over at Lifehacker found a Chicago Tribune article about extending the life of razor blades. Years ago, would have sounded silly. But nowadays, for some razors, the blades are expensive. Anyways, use the link below to go to the Lifehacker article (which links to the Tribune). Read the comments from people at Lifehacker too for additional ideas.

How to: Extend the Life of Your Razor Blades - Lifehacker.com

Office Max Sunday Ad Specials 11/11/07

Sceptre 20" Widescreen LCD Monitor #2148-8212 $169.99 (save $70) No Rebates!
Musetek 7" Digital Photo Frame $59.99 #2126-1518 (save $30) Great for holiday gift!
Verbatim Store 'n' Go™ 2GB USB 2.0 Drive #2103-6068 $19.99 (save $20)
Lexar 2GB SD Card #2107-9823 $19.99 (save $20)

PNY 2GB SD Memory Card Only $14.99 at Sears

Saw this in their Sunday ad (I think it was only $12.49 last week...but still a good deal).

PNY 2GB SD Card $14.99 at Sears

Print Coupons at Cool Savings

Save BIG at CoolSavings with COUPONS, FREE STUFF and MORE!

4 Free Magazine Subscriptions at StartSampling.com

Currently at StartSampling.com you'll find 4 magazine subscriptions available at no cost!
Sign up for a free account (use a hotmail or some other email address you don't care much about). If you're presented with the same offers I see, you'll find the following magazines:

• Electronic Gaming Monthly (12 issues)
• Games For Windows (12 issues)
• Boating Life (18 issues)
• Water Ski (10 issues)

Why not get some free reading material!

33 Things You Can Recycle by Simply Thrifty

A nice site for savings ideas, Simply Thrifty, had a great post on recycling ideas. With a list of 33 items ranging from yard waste to high tech products like computers and pda's. Coincidentally, right after I read the post, I picked up my Workbench magazine (a subscription I got free, by the way, through freebizmag.com) and on page 8 of the October issue they sure enough have an article on recycling fluorescent light bulbs (item #14 on Deborah's list at Simply Thrifty...something I would never have thought about.

33 Things You Can Recycle by Simply Thrifty