$2 T-Shirt – Day 1
On Day 1, Vistaprint is offering a $2 T-shirt! Show off that school spirit by customizing your child’s school name, colors graduation year and more! Click Here.
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Nearly Free Summertime Activities for Kids
If you have recently looked into summer camps for your kids, you were probably shocked to realize it could cost over $500 per week to keep two kids occupied from 9 to 3 every day. Insanity! Instead, you may want to get creative and entertain your kids for free or nearly free over the summer months. Let’s see what’s available:
1. Library and bookstore programs.
In addition to regular year-round storytimes, many libraries and bookstores ramp up their summertime offerings for kids to include craft classes, visits by authors, and book clubs – all at a low cost, and sometimes absolutely free. Local libraries may even host magicians, clowns, cartoonists, and more.
2. Vacation Bible schools.
Week-long day camps are a mainstay for many church youth programs. Usually the cost is minimal as the programs are subsidized by the church. The kids are treated to crafts, songs, outdoor activities, and more. If you plan it right, you can sign up for several camps at different churches in your area. Sometimes parents are enlisted for staffing, snacks, etc., so be aware of the requirements before you commit.
3. Babysitting co-op.
Your friends with kids are in the same position you are – a long summer with no relief in sight. Team up to provide each other support. Enlist several of your friends with kids, and each family takes one day a week to host the kids for three or four hours. One day per week in exchange for three or four days of freedom is a great bargain!
4. Mother’s helper.
If you have younger kids, you may want an extra pair of hands to help you entertain them while you get some work done around the house. And if you have older kids, you may just need someone to keep an eye on them to keep the living room from becoming a battle zone. In either case, a mother’s helper may be your ticket. Usually a “mother’s helper” is younger than a babysitter hired to watch the kids while you’re out. A mother’s helper also would typically charge less than the average high school sitter. Perfect for at-home, part-time help.
5. Start your own part-time daycare.
Turn your pain into a gain, and watch other people’s children at your home for pay. Most states don’t require licensing for casual babysitting of just a few children, but check with your town and state to make sure you’re fulfilling all requirements. Be sure you have a schedule that remains structured in order to provide reliable care. Offering a safe and fun place for several children to remain while their parents are at work may be a perfect solution to your own family’s summer activity plans.
Having enough activities for your children this summer doesn’t have to cost a fortune. You can keep your family active and happy all summer long with just a little bit of ingenuity. Have fun for very little money and create a summer full of fun!
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How to Never Pay Full Price
Whether you’re in search of snowshoes, an acoustic guitar, or a power mower, you don’t have to pay full price! From apparel to automobiles, the best deals are often available with just a little bit of legwork. Here are some of the most widely used sources for bargains:
eBay.com
eBay is the gold standard for online auction sites. If you’re not familiar with the service, it’s simple. Sellers auction off their wares online to the highest bidder, and bidders can scoop up bargains and hard-to-find items at rock-bottom prices. The best way to look for a specific item is to find the model number and description (and retail price) on a retail site, and then search eBay for a current auction. With the specs in hand, you can determine what’s a fair price. Read the details carefully. You are typically responsible for shipping, so that $10 bicycle becomes a $300 nightmare when it ships from Singapore. Because eBay offers a fairly rigid tracking process, you can see your seller’s rating based on previous transactions.
Craigslist.com
Known as the world’s largest garage sale, Craigslist offers a variety of goods sold classified-ad style. Goods are usually used, and quality can be all over the map. The database is searchable by location, and prices can range from downright steals to highway robbery. Unlike eBay, you can make offers and arrange to see items before you purchase them.
Freecycle.com
Freecycle is the place to find used furniture, household items, and the like – yours for the taking! There are around 4900 Freecycle groups so far and over 7 million members around the world. If you’re a fixer-upper re-purposer type, check it out!
Bizrate.com
With the tagline, “Search. Compare. Conquer.” you know that Bizrate is in the business of comparison shopping. With a few clicks of your mouse, you can find the best online deals for new and refurbished electronics, clothing, furniture, and more. You can also sort your results by which sites offer free shipping or coupons. It makes comparison shopping a breeze!
Garage sales
While decidedly low-tech, garage sales are still the source of some of my biggest bargain coups. The key is to shop ahead – if you know your son is going to need skis in a certain size for next winter, start shopping NOW because garage sales don’t stick to a season, as department stores do. You have to strike while the iron’s hot, so know sizes, what you’re looking for, and reasonable prices for used equipment. And don’t be afraid to make an offer, particularly later in the day! The owner will most likely let that doll-house go for less when it gets close to the end of the day and she’s thinking about having to haul it back into the garage or tote it off to Goodwill.
It’s quite disturbing when you buy an item at full price only to see the same item sell for a lot less somewhere else. Do your homework and you won’t ever have to be disappointed again!
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Finding Cheap Bridal Accessories
Finding cheap bridal accessories online or at a local retail store is not very hard to do. If you live in a bigger city that has many discount stores or outlet malls, you can find some wonderful bridal accessories at affordable prices. A cheap accessory does not mean that the quality is loss, it just means you are going to save money for other important things, like the honeymoon. Some of the things you need for your wedding include wedding invitations, thank you cards, dress, shoes, make up, jewelry, veils, wedding favors, flowers, garter, bridesmaids gifts, cake, cake topper, cake and server set and a guest book. Once you have all these bridal accessories, you should be set for your wedding day.
Sears and JC Penney’s have online outlet stores that do carry dresses, veils and shoes. You can always look through the websites to see if they have any closeout specials running, which in many cases, allows you to find some very good deals on designer dresses. Shoes and veils can also be found at these outlets or you might try a specialty shop for the veil and one for the shoes. Keep in mind, your veil or headpiece needs to compliment your dress and so do the shoes.
If you need make up, many websites offer sample make up for a very low cost. This would be a great way to fill your entire make up needs for a low cost. You can spend sixty to eighty dollars on make up that you may not use after the wedding, therefore, sample make up packages are idea. If you need nail polish or false nails that you can do yourself, you might also consider looking online. You can find cheaper ways then going to a nail saloon to have beautiful nails.
Flowers are a little harder to buy online unless you have a florist in your local area. Many flower shops allow you to design your bouquets online and they have everything ready the day of your wedding. For the most part though, flowers are usually the one thing you have to do in person. Cheap bridal accessories might also include rose petals for the miniature bride and do not forget the corsages for the men. Once you have your flower order made, you just have to look for the rest of your bridal accessory needs.
Another thing to keep in mind is the wedding cake. You can order cheap bridal accessories, but the cake is usually going to be full price unless you find someone to make the cake for you. You can find many cake pictures online and if you can, you could find someone to make the cake for you. Then all you need to do is find the cake topper, cake knife and the cake server. Along with the cake and cake accessories, you will want to find a guest book for your guests to record their names. These books usually come with a fancy pen attached right to the book.
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