Be sure to check out this free E-book Saving Money on Groceries  from Christine over at The Menu Mom.   Tawra

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We’ve decided for a limited time to offer a free Valentine’s Day on A Dime e-Book!

Here is your free copy of the Valentine’s Day on A Dime e-book from LivingOnADime.com. We hope you enjoy it!

Here’s what to do now:

1. Right click the “Download” link below and save the files to your computer.
If you are a Mac user, you may have to use “Control+Click”.

Right click here to download the free “Valentine’s Day on A Dime” e-book now!

2. Open the pdf file using the program of your choice.
(If you would like to download the free Adobe Reader, you can find it on Adobe’s web site here.)

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Free e-Book – Saving Money And Time Without Losing Your Mind

I wanted to take a moment to share a free e-book with you today. I and seven of my fellow frugal blogging friends decided to write Save Money and Time Without Losing Your Mind.

In it, you’ll find inexpensive ways to feed your family more healthfully, tips for what to do when organizing has you on the verge of a nervous breakdown, 5 ways to save more money using coupons, ideas for saving money on cleaning supplies and more!

Be sure to grab your copy of this free e-book today. And yes, please feel free to share this on facebook, your blog, website or just pass it around to your friends and family!!!

Have a great day!!

Tawra

Right click here to download your free "Saving Money And Time Without Losing Your Mind" e-book.

Download Note: When you try to download, we recommend RIGHT clicking the download button, clicking "Save as" and then saving the e-book to your computer. This allows you to tell the computer where to save the file. Then you should be able to double click the e-book file where you saved it on your computer and it should open with Adobe Reader.

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Free "When Queens Ride By" e-book and Welcome Back!

Hello Readers,

For the last couple months, our newsletter service was unable to deliver the Living On A Dime newsletter to our subscribers who use the Roadrunner Internet Service Provider. Many of you contacted us asking why you were no longer receiving the newsletter. We spent many hours on the phone with the newsletter service over the last 2 months checking on their progress in correcting the problem.

I’m happy to say that our newsletter service just informed us that the problem is resolved, so we would like to welcome back our long lost friends! We missed you!

To celebrate and to say thank you for your patience, we’d like to offer our readers a free "When Queens Ride By" e-book.

Right click here to download your free "When Queens Ride By" e-book.

Download Note: When you try to download, we recommend RIGHT clicking the download button, clicking "Save as" and then saving the e-book to your computer. This allows you to tell the computer where to save the file. Then you should be able to double click the e-book file where you saved it on your computer and it should open with Adobe Reader.

If you missed the last two months’ newsletters, you can catch up by reading them here.

To all of our readers: If you ever notice that you’re not receiving the Living On A Dime Newsletter, please let us know and/or check our Frequently Asked Questions page! Often, there’s an easy fix for the problem, but occasionally, there’s a big problem and we often only find out when readers report it to us. Thanks!

If you have never subscribed to our FREE Newsletter, fill out the form below and click "Submit". It’s free, we don’t sell or share your e-mail address with anyone and, if you find it’s not for you, you can unsubscribe any time!

Have a wonderful day!

       -Tawra, Jill and Mike

photo by: robertsharp59

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Free Money Saving Meats e-book

We recently re-designed the cover of one of our popular e-books and changed the title from "Penny Pinchin’ Mama" to "How I Lived On A Dime: The Story Of A Penny Pinching Mom".

We were trying to reach a broader audience by making the title more descriptive and to make the cover prettier, but it really backfired! Many of our readers who previously bought Penny Pinchin’ Mama were disappointed to find that How I Lived On A Dime was the same book. Others were confused because the new title is so similar to some of our other e-books.

If you bought "How I Lived On A Dime" but had already previously bought "Penny Pinchin’ Mama", we’ll be happy to refund your money for the duplicate e-book. Please contact us and we’ll get it fixed.

As a way of saying "We’re sorry for the confusion", we also wanted to offer our readers a free download of our Money Saving Meats e-book.

Click Here To Download your free copy of the Money Saving Meats e-book

If you haven’t ever gotten your own copy of "Penny Pinchin’ Mama" or "How I Lived On A Dime" (mom’s story about how she raised my brother and I on $500 a month and lived to tell about it!), there’s still a little more time to get it for half price! Go Check Out the How I Lived On A Dime e-book Here!

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Our friend Susanne from Hillbilly Housewife graciously provided this free "Staying Cool This Summer" Mini-eBook for you to download! It’s full of healthy drink and snack recipes to help you and your family stay healthy and keep cool.

Download it Here!

If you like the Staying Cool This Summer Mini-eBook, you might also like Susanne’s Summer Cooking e-book, which she has offered to our readers this week for only $7.00. Along with the Summer Cooking e-book, Susanne is also throwing in a 140 page collection of her favorite Summer Recipes this week only!

 The Summer Cooking e-book includes lots more recipes that are similar to the Staying Cool This Summer Mini-eBook, but it also includes recipes for breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, desserts grilling and more! Learn more about Simple Summer Cooking here.

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Is Extreme Couponing Worth It?

Jaime Writes:

"I recently saw a special on the TLC cable channel called "Extreme Couponing" where people use coupons to stockpile grocery items, which they get nearly for free. I would love to hear your thoughts about it."

I have seen that show. I have no problem with using coupons even though I sometimes sound like I don’t like them. As a matter of fact I used to be an "extreme" couponer. I would go the to store armed with my coupons and would often get my groceries for free or for very very little money. I loved it. I would even get a "high" from it and be so excited. I could hardly wait until the next time I went to the store so I could do it again.

It wasn’t until years later when I couldn’t get coupons anymore and lived in a town where I couldn’t use them that I realized the stress I had been under while I was using coupons and the effect it all had on me while I was doing it.

I don’t have a problem with couponing but extreme couponing has me concerned.

Let me pause right here and say please don’t e-mail me and say, "You don’t know my situation. I don’t have a problem with anything you mentioned and I coupon all the time." That’s fine. There are exceptions to my rule and you might have circumstances in your life that make it easier for you to engage in extreme couponing so, if this describes you, I am not talking about you.

I am talking to the thousands who feel guilty, like they are failures in some way because they don’t jump on the bandwagon and start clipping every coupon in sight. When riding on a bandwagon you can run into lots of potholes, which advocates of something don’t always tell you about.

Most things, when done in the extreme, are not good. You have to have balance in life. What happens to a set of scales when you add way to much to one side? It can cause the scale to topple over, creating a chaotic mess.

Here are some things I found out about extreme couponing in my own life and from watching others:

• Even when I was well organized, it still caused me a lot of stress when I went to the store. I had to keep track of so much — Did I get the right size milk so I can get the free cereal? Was it the right brand? Was it sugar free or regular? Do I have the coupon for the milk? Was it the 14.5 oz. size and not the 15.4 oz. package?

• Do they even have the item in stock? Many times, when an "extreme" deal comes on the scene, it is gone before you can get it. I’m sick and I don’t have the energy to go back to the store several times to get a deal. Doing this with so many of the items I shopped for was stressful.

• Then, when I got to the checkout, I had to watch every item like a hawk - Did I get the two cans of beans to get this bacon free? Did this item not have a coupon? Am I a coupon short? …and on and on.

• Half the time I had to convince the store clerk that, yes, this coupon can be used with that item. When you have 50 items you are doing all of this for, it gets tiring.

• To add to the stress, there were always people in line behind me making it known that they weren’t happy with the holdup I always caused.

These were just a couple of the little things that made extreme couponing stressful at the grocery store itself.

At home, before I left, I would spend ages clipping and sorting my coupons, putting them in order to make the shopping easier. Then, when I came home and found I had bought something without a coupon or had forgotten to give them a coupon, I would be so upset at myself.

I didn’t realize until after I stopped doing extreme couponing how much it controlled me emotionally. It was like an addiction.

On the show you don’t always get all of the real information. They don’t add all of the expenses to give a true amount of the savings. For example:

I paid almost $100 a year for a newspaper subscription to get my coupons. (Yes, I know you can get the coupons free off of the Internet now but I am talking about adding up the expenses and the newspaper happened to be one of mine).

On one extreme couponing show, two people took a day off of work just to go shopping. If they make say $20 an hour that was $320 they lost from not working. If they saved $920 on groceries you have to subtract the $320 and that meant they only saved $600.

A lot of those people buy coupons off the Internet. If you do this, you should subtract that cost from your savings.

You should also add in the hours you spent organizing, clipping, searching for or printing the coupons. At different times, I have made $25 an hour on my business so if I spent 4 hours couponing instead it would cost me $100 from my business. You have to take that off of the amount saved or you’re fooling yourself about the savings. Yes, I know a lot of people clip coupons in their spare time and if you truly have so much spare time that it’s worth it then that’s ok. In that case, it’s like working another job.

It may sound exciting but, like so many things, it can get out of control.

One couple had enough deodorant for more than 100 years. I know some people give it away but it still took lots of time, energy and thought to deal with all of that deodorant. Then the people had to pay for shelving to store it (another expense), they had to insure it (more expense), sort it, stack it, put the newer things toward the back, etc. They went to all of that effort for deodorant they probably won’t even use.

There is an old saying– Beware of things that sound too good to be true. At the risk of sounding negative, there really are very few "free" things in life. There usually is a certain amount of work involved.

Lastly, I hate to have all of my eggs in one basket. I learned how to shop on clearance, how to shop at Aldi and how to stretch the food I did buy and not waste it. That way, if I couldn’t use coupons, I had other means of saving.

      -Jill

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Free Getting a Job E-book

I wanted to tell you about a new e-book I found with some great tips for getting a job. If you are looking for a job you need to check out Get A Great Job Fast. He has some really good ideas on how to get a job. The step-by-step system is practical and easy.

The best part, it’s FREE! I read it and loved it. We get a lot of e-books to review but this one stands out and has many out-of-the-box, excellent ideas! If you need a job, so be sure to check out Get A Great Job Fast.

      -Tawra

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Free Candy Christmas Wreath e-Book!

Here is your free copy of the How To Make A Candy Christmas Wreath free e-book from LivingOnADime.com. We hope you enjoy it!

Here’s what to do now:

Right click the "Download" link below and save the files to your computer.
If you are a Mac user, you may have to use "Control+Click".

Right click here to download the free "How To Make A Candy Christmas Wreath" e-book now!

You can also watch the "How To Make A Candy Christmas Wreath" video below!

Here are the written instructions you’ll find in the e-book! In the free e-book, you’ll also find step by step photos to help make it easy for you!

Tawra

How To Make A Candy Christmas Wreath

Each year on the day after Halloween, I go and buy candy that is marked down to half price* to use to make my Candy Christmas Wreaths. I am telling you about it now so you won’t miss out on the opportunity to get candy for less to make these great gifts.

Since I was little we have hung a candy wreath on our door. When someone came to visit, they could cut a piece of candy from the wreath to take with them when they arrived or left. Kids and adults alike love this tradition.

Some years I have tried to have mine done before Thanksgiving. That way, when we get together on Thanksgiving Day, as a small gift, I give each one of my grown children one to hang on their doors.

I hang mine up the day after Thanksgiving along with the rest of my Christmas decorations. If you are going to a friend’s house for Thanksgiving, this is a great and very different hostess gift to bring.

These also make great gifts for those hard to buy for people on your gift list or for those occasions when you have to buy for a whole family but aren’t quite sure what to get for each member and you’ve given gifts in a jar for the last 5 years. It also saves you money because you aren’t having to buy individual gifts.

Another added benefit is that you can make them early in November and give them out by the end of the month. This means that by the first week of December, you can have some of your gifts totally taken care of. Oh — no wrapping necessary either!

These wreaths are very simple to make and something the kids can easily do. You’ll find complete instructions on what to buy and how to make them below.

*Don’t forget to get candy for your other Christmas recipes during the after Halloween sales. Be creative! I was supposed to use Hershey’s candy bars in my million dollar fudge recipe, but when my daughter found a ton of Hershey’s kisses for 50 cents a bag, I used those instead.

How to Make a Candy Wreath

1. First, buy your candy. You need to use wrapped candy like Tootsie Rolls, Jolly Ranchers, peppermints, bubble gum, butterscotch candies, etc. How much candy you need depends on the size of wreath you make. Usually for a 12 to 15 inch wreath, I buy enough candy to fill a large mixing bowl to the top.

I make mine with lots of mixed candy but you can make it with all peppermints, all green and red Jolly Ranchers, or whatever you like. Whatever you decide, first place it all into a large mixing bowl.

2. Cut string into about 3 inch pieces. The lengths don’t have to be exact. Just make them long enough so that they are easy to handle while you tie them around the ends of the candy and then to the ring for the wreath. You need one string for each piece of candy. I don’t sit and count how many I need. I just cut a pile and then make more when I need them.

3. Take a heavy wire clothes hanger and form it into the size wreath you would like. Cut off the hook part at the top then slightly bend the 2 ends to form small hooks that you can hook together to make a circle. I haven’t checked lately but you might be able to buy a metal circle in the wreath section at your craft store.

4. After you have made your ring, tie each string to one end of a piece of candy. This is why candy like Toostie Rolls work so well. The little flags of paper on each end make it easy to tie the string to them. Then tie the other end to the wreath ring. Keep pushing the candy together as you go so you have a nice full ring of candy.

5. When you can’t squeeze one more piece of candy onto the wreath, make or buy a large red bow to place at the top, which will cover the section where you hooked it together.

6. Tie one end of a ribbon or string to a child’s pair of scissors and then tie the other end to the bottom of the wreath. This pair of scissors is for people to use to cut their own candy.

If you  want you can add this poem. 

Friends and neighbors all draw near
For a bit of Christmas cheer
Take the scissors, give a snip
Then enjoy a candy nip!!

As you can see this is an easy project for kids. I mean what kid wouldn’t love to handle mounds of candy, especially it they get to sneak a piece every once in awhile?

Hang it on your door. Adults and children alike love cutting a piece when they are coming or going or both!

Jill

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As most of you know I LOVE my Swagbucks. I have been doing this for awhile and I just love their rewards program. Every time you search you can earn a few points.

They have some great Amazon gift cards for just 450 points, Target and Lowe’s gift cards that you can earn too. If you have a blog, website or a lot friends they have a wonderful referral program where you can earn even more points quicker!

 If you are new to Swagbucks: Swagbucks is the search engine that rewards its searches with prizes like gift cards, games and more!

 Ways to Earn: Searching – make Swagbucks your primary search engine and earn points randomly every day just for doing what you normally do. You can do all your searching from Swagbucks just like other search engines.

Add the Toolbar – Adding the toolbar allows you to get instant notifications from the Swagbucks team, and many times these messages contain “Swag Codes” for free points, or show you where to find Swag Codes. The toolbar also randomly adds Bucks to your account just for having it installed on your browser.

Refer Friends – Tell your friends about how awesome Swagbucks is, and be sure to let them know about the new code for sign-ups. 

Be sure to check it out! It’s a great way to earn some $5 Amazon.com gift cards! Tawra

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