FREE Kidzui Browser For Kids

My daughter is only 4 and already knows how to navigate the internet to find her favorite sites. At first I was bookmarking to my desktop her favorites but then I found Kidzui, a free browser for kids.

She already had some knowledge of how to get around in her favorite sites. I heard about browsers for kids and went looking for something I could trust to let her do whatever she wanted without worrying that she would would stumble on something that was too mature for her.

Kidzui is a free kids browser software. You download it onto your computer and put a icon on the desktop. Once opened, kids can navigate this browser for kids and find webpages, videos, music and more that is appropriate for them. They can create a kidzui avatar, a cartoon character they can change to look like whatever they want.

My daughter spends most her time on NickJr, Playhouse Disney, and watching her favorite YouTube video's like Taylor Swifts Love Story.

Everything on Kidzui is first manually moderated by parents, teachers, and others who have a childs best interest in mind. Get Kidzui for free.

RUN To Athletic Shoe Sales!

I am very excited right now! My new Skechers Women's Featherweight shoes in White/Pink arrived today. Regular price$59.99, my price $34.99 at the shoes.com Saturday sale a week ago. I am in love with Skechers Athletic shoes without laces and finding pairs on sale that are wide down at the foot and have the full back is not an easy task.

I've found that these shoes don't often have deep discount sales. So when they go on sale for $25 off regular price with free shipping and no tax, I jump. If there is a pair of shoes that you buy repeatedly every time the old ones wear out, grab them when there is a good sale. Better to get them with a HUGE savings and put them away for when they are needed then to wait until the old ones have no life left in them and pay full price.

If you are looking for new shoes, watch Shoes.com and Zappos.com I've purchased shoes from both of them and have been happy with all my orders. Both offer free shipping and both also offer a free return policy if the shoes don't work out.


Shoes.com has a 20% off coupon available right now until 3/31/09 to use on any order with the coupon code: MSAVE

Zappo's doesn't offer coupons. But they do have an outlet store where you can get some crazy good deals at 6pm.com

Earn Extra Money As A Merchandiser On The Weekend

Years ago I worked as a merchandiser. My job was to take a hand held scanner and go to specific grocery stores scanning endcaps, scanning magazine racks, and doing out of stock audits. At the end of the work day I would plug my scanner into its base and transmit the information through a modem. The work was easy, it paid $10 an hour and it was only an average of 14 hours a week. This was perfect for me as I was a new mother and wanted to be able to spend as much time possible with my new baby girl. I continued to do this job for a year until I was ready to go back to full time work.

I found this job by going to NARMS aka National Association for Retail Marketing Services and setting up a free profile. My supervisor saw my posting and called me for an interview, I started work the following week. I recommend anyone looking to get into merchandising to start with NARMS. Legit companies go there to find workers. Go there and create a profile that tells prospective merchandising companies what kind of merchandising type skills you have.

Merchandising jobs vary from passing out samples to placing magazines in grocery stores. There is vareity in the work and because many of the jobs are short term, there are always new things to learn. The work can pay as low as minimum wage or as much as $20 an hour. The more experience you gain while working as a merchandiser the more job offers there will be.

To learn more this article about how to get work as a merchandiser has helpful information.

HR Block Review: I Walked Out!

My taxes were a little different this year so I didn't want to chance doing them myself and figured what the heck I'll walk into HR Block, sit there and let someone intelligent do it for me, and then walk out spending maybe $120 to have it done. WRONG!

When I got to my appointment I was paired up with a "tax advisor" who appeared to be smart. If only because he was a much older white dude that wore a cleaned, pressed button up shirt. I'm such a dork for assuming looks equals brains. While he was working through my return I had to correct him on three mistakes, the first being that he didn't know the difference between a dependent and an exemption.

While going through my paperwork he also felt it necessary to add an additional note to my tax return to tell the IRS that Although there are other people in my home (my parents and brother) that they work full time and therefore can not provide care during the work day for my daughter. This note he attached to my earned income credit. WTF? Since when does the IRS need an addition piece of paper (which HR Block charges for) to tell them about my daycare situation in order to get EIC? EIC has nothing to do with my daughters daycare. Perhaps, it would have made sense to attach it to my childcare credit, but then I really don't think its necessary to tell the IRS that my mom couldn't babysit. I am an adult single mother. I provide all financial needs for my daughter except for housing thanks to the parents. I pay $700 a month for daycare. Even if my mother had been home and not working it would not be her responsibility to provide care.

When all was said and done the HR Block tax advisor told me that my total would be $250. Plus an additional $30 if I wanted the fee to be taken out of my tax refund instead of paying right there. I asked him if I HAD to file with HR Block or if I could do it at home. He said "well ya if you can figure it out".

I was polite, I walked out of there not having spent a dime. I went home, signed in to Taxact and filed my taxes for free. My refund was in my bank account in less then 10 days and it was easier for me to do by myself, then it was watching the HR Block guy and making sure I was able to catch his mistakes as we went through them. I should have just gone with Taxact in the first place.

This one is going in the SAVE catagory. Consider it $280 dollars saved by just doing my taxes myself.

BzzAgent For Free Stuff

Over the years I have been a member, a BzzAgent for a word of mouth marketing agency called BzzAgent. BzzAgent is a powerful tool that brings together consumers with manufactures looking to spread the word about their products.

What does this mean for the average single momma looking for free stuff? It means free stuff! I have received boxes of candy, samples of hot sauce, a full size bottle of Ralph Lauren Hot, even a $200 Sonicare toothbrush that wasn't even in stores yet when it founds its way to my front door.

In return for all this free stuff, my only requirements were to spread the word, talk about the products with people I know or people I run into, and then write a few short reports telling bzz report who I buzz and what our conversation was about. It has been the easiest way for me to get some free stuff, some full size, expensive products, and get to try things some people are just finding out about.

BzzAgent is free to join and is a reputable website. Do a google search for BzzAgent business information, then sign up and go get some earn free stuff just by talking to people.

IPod FM Transmitter Deal Under $20

In stores, it will cost $60+ to get a FM Transmitter for your IPod. Steep price for a mom on a budget. I love listening to my Ipod in my car but I can't justify spending so much for an IPod FM Transmitter.

A few years ago I found out about cheap Ipod FM Transmitter that are sold on Ebay. They aren't quite as fancy as their more expensive counterparts, but they work well and the sound quality is good. Sound quality isn't exceptional, but it is a little better then radio quality.

They plug into the car cigarette lighter and play the music through your cars stereo. The best part, they only cost about $10 to $20 depending on if you get one with or without a remote. I'm on my second, only because I left my first in the backseat and my little girl decided to figure out how all the parts worked and pulled it apart.

Wanna get one from Ebay? Go here to buy IPod FM Transmitter. Look for sellers with good feedback and don't pay more then $20. If the one selling the soonest is more then $20, wait for the next, these are always available.

Almost Free Things To Do With Kids

Currently, I am unemployed. I am sitting back, waiting for my old employer to call me to return to work, and in the mean time sending out resumes trying to find work until I get that call. So, while money is usually tight, it is extremely tight right now.

I am a mother of a preschooler though, and she still wants to go places. I try and find free places, or almost free places to take kids. Usually I aim for completely free, or under $10, but this weekend we raised our limit just a little and had a fantastic time together for less then $15.

I took her to Taco Bell and Chuckie Cheese's for an afternoon out. For our favorite order of 2 regular crunchy taco's no lettuce for her, and 3 Fresco style taco's for me our total was under $5. Then we spent over an hour at Chuckie Cheese's with full tummy's so no worries about hunger spending. We purchased $5 in tokens, a total of 20. My daughter spent over an hour playing, 20 tokens can go far for a 4 year old. She also enjoyed climbing through the overhead tunnel toy.

On our way out we cashed in her tickets she earned. Instead of buying more tokens to try and earn tickets with, I let her pick from the toys in the baskets and paid the difference of just a little over a dollar so she could get a slinky and a plastic toy locket. Chuckie Cheese has a ticket=penny policy so there is no need to play $20 in tokens to try and get enough tickets for something. Just pay the difference from how many tickets you have and how many it requires.

I also chipped in $2 for a bag of cotton candy on our way out. Our entire adventure for the day cost less then $15. Check out this article for 30 more ideas of almost free or free things to do with kids

Reuse Foam Soap Dispensers To Make Your Own Foam Soap

Foam soap dispensers are picking up in popularity but what many consumers don't know is that using them can result in huge savings. I am a big fan of bath and body works foam soaps, but at $3 each on sale, it's still a lot for hand foam soap.

To get the same effect, I have some bath and body works foam soap dispensers from past purchases. When they start to empty, I refill my B&BW foam soap dispenser with a 1/4 to 1/3 cup of my favorite B&BW body wash, or whatever looks to be about that much in the bottom of the dispenser. Then I add hot water to fill the foam soap dispenser, turn it upside down and all around to mix the soap a bit. Pump until I see foam, and its ready to go. Instead of paying $3 every few weeks to replace the entire dispenser, I refill it from the same bottle of body wash over and over.

For more information about the actual math breakdown on how much these can really save a family, check out this article about foam soap dispensers.

Free Grocery Coupons Sent To Consumers By Manufactures

Grocery and other food companies are sending out free grocery coupons to shoppers. Consumers who take advantage of the contact us form found on many food manufacture websites may find their mail box full of free grocery coupons.

It's not as simple as just asking for free grocery coupons, generally the most successful way to get coupons for free grocery products is by leaving feedback. Positive, negative or neutral, companies love feedback provided by their customers, much more so then consumers who just come looking for a freebie. In return for valuable and useful feedback, the grocery and food companies send a few free grocery coupons for free products in the mail box to say thanks. Follow the link to learn more about how to get started getting free food coupons works, great tips on how to write a feedback e-mail, and a list of companies that are proven to provide free grocery coupons.