There are so many differnet ideas out there for this coming Christmas already.  From big things to little things.  It always amazes me how advertisers try to make us think that people spend a lot more money than they really do.

Why would someone list a Wii game as a stocking stuffer?  If I pay $50-$60 for a game it is going to be a regular old present.  Just because something is small doesn’t make it a stocking stuffer.  I mean loose diamonds are small, but no one would ever call that a stocking stuffer. I mean come on, times are tough right now. What we need to be doing is watching every cent we spend, and start now before we’re all broke.

Guess I’m just grumpy tonight.

Recently I realized that we did not have our money in the best savings account at our bank.  It turns out that we could have been earning a whole lot more interest than we were.  When I found out I immediately switched our accounts. 

If you’re not sure if your savings accounts are getting the most interest possible then you really ought to check out other banks. Or maybe start investing to increase your cash flow. Try investing in stocks and bonds, or even advanced Forex training. If that doesn’t work for you just dump your cash in an account that will return a little money back, every little bit counts and it all adds up.

So what are your plans for tonight?  For us- we’ll probably be sitting at home like we do every weekend.  A few weeks ago we went out and celebrated a special day.  We were with my parents so they were able to babysit our daughter so it was our only chance to go out.  I do have a special little dessert planned that I am going to make for my husband and daughter.  And then after my daughter is in bed maybe I’ll put on a little sexy costumes for my husband.  I never do stuff like that even though he likes it.  He’ll be shocked for sure if I do!

Need to save some money? With the rising costs all around us most of us are looking for ways to save some extra cash. Here are a few things you can do this summer to reduce your electric bill.

1. Set your air conditioner to 78° while you are at home.
2. Run a portable fan which will make the room about 4° cooler.
3. Only run your dishwasher when it is full.
4. Stop your dishwasher before the dry cycle and let the dishes air dry.
5. Wash your clothes in warm or cold water (not hot) and use cold water for your rinse cycle.
6. Hang your clothes outside to dry instead of using the dryer. (Unless you have allergies, like me, then you do not want to do that.)
7. If you use your dryer- make sure you run it full, use the moisture sensing setting so that it doesn’t run longer than necessary and clean your lint filter.
8. Turn off or unplug your electronic items when you are not using them. If you can’t turn your computer off, at least turn the monitor off when not in use.
9. Replace your old incandescent light bulbs.
10. Keep your refrigerator or freezer full.

And one thing we like to do is eat outside on our electric grill. It sure beats turning on the stove, which costs us more than we ever thought. By using our grill our electric bill went down. I’m going to be cooking out more even during the winter.

Once again I’m talking about how I am getting discouraged with my weight loss. Last week was ok, I mean I did good, lost a few pounds. One thing is for sure, I haven’t taken any diet pills, or read any apidexin review. I really only have a little ways to go to get back to being in great shape. I would like to lose it faster, but they say lose it slow, it’s better that way. By the way, who are they, and are they over weight, or need to lose some weight? If not they have no idea what’s like being a little over weight. So I say to them, stop tell us to lose it slow, I want it gone now.

I know that most people are usually looking for some ways to save some money.  Especially with how our economy is right now, most of us don’t have a whole lot of extra money to spend.  One way you can save yourself some money is to make sure you are getting several insurance quotes to locate the most affordable insurance you can find.  Now, I don’t mean that you are getting bad service.  I mean you need to make sure you are getting the cheapest possible rates that you can.  This may require some time on your part- calling around to various companies for quotes- but it will be well worth your time.

When my husband I first got married we spent quite a bit of time looking for the best insurance company for our insurance needs.  And by we, I mean me.  I made a lot of phone calls.  I made sure we got all of the discounts possible.  And we are definitely saving quite a bit of money on our insurance.  So, make sure you shop around for the best rates.

Did you make a resolution for this year?  How is it going?  So far I’m doing pretty good with the goals I set for myself.  The one thing I am struggling with is losing weight.  I don’t have a lot left to lose and I know that last pounds are the hardest to lose.  But it’s frustrating.  I wonder how many people were really motivated at the start of the year and went out and bought treadmill. Or how do you think the people are doing that said they were no longer going to smoke their arturo fuente cigars? Smoking will kill you, that’s a fact, no lying or bending the truth about that.  Anyway, most people will get or feel discouraged and quit and give up their goals.  I’m pretty sure it usually happens by the end of January.  Although I’m not giving up I am discouraged.

I am planning to make tomorrow a day filled with shopping.  I have so much to get done. I am really starting to feel overwhelmed.  I need to check stores for all sorts of different items I am looking for.  And I need to start looking online for what I can not find.  And I need to do it quickly or I won’t have time to get everything done.

I have some interesting things on my list that I am looking for- a headlight for a bike, a glass cylinder shaped measuring cup, led christmas lights, and so much more.  Why can’t people just ask for things I can find at Target?  Oh well- everyone has their own things they want and I want to get everyone what they want.  Some people probably wonder why I want some of the things I want.

So tomorrow I am off to get a whole bunch of shopping done!

Does your car need a little tune up? Or how about your body? It might be time to break out the old pull up bar, which I can’t do, a pull up. I don’t think I was ever able to do a pull up. Anyway, my car howver does need a tune up, which fortunately my husband can take care of all of that kind of stuff for me.  It sure saves us a lot of money that he is so knowledgeable about cars.  He recently put all new brakes on my car, in the front and the back, which would have cost quite a bit to have done at the dealership.  He can do pretty much any job that needs to be done.

I am sure many of you will be doing some if not all your online shopping these days.  And you already know that you need to be careful when you are shopping online.  Here are a few more tips that I received today via email that I think are worth posting:

Here are some tips you can use to avoid becoming a victim of cyber fraud:

Do not respond to unsolicited (spam) e-mail.
Do not click on links contained within an unsolicited e-mail.
Be cautious of e-mail claiming to contain pictures in attached files, as the files may contain viruses.
Only open attachments from known senders.
Avoid filling out forms in e-mail messages that ask for personal information.
Always compare the link in the e-mail to the link that you are actually directed to.
Log on to the official website, instead of “linking” to it from an unsolicited e-mail.
Contact the actual business that supposedly sent the e-mail to verify if the e-mail is genuine.

And if you’re buy stuff for your business like a ipad, make sure you get a good ipad warranty . That goes for anything you buy, make sure you have a warranty, one you can understand. To many stores out there today have changed their terms on products that are being returned.

Enjoy your shopping but be careful!