Why Your Birthday ROCKS

Clearly, you're aware that your birthday rocks. YOU were born! Don't you think that everyone should celebrate? Well, lots of people want to help you celebrate! Check out all the stuff you can get for FREE on your birthday!

*I scream, you scream, we all scream for FREE ice cream on our birthday! Baskin Robbins, Cold Stone Creamery, and Ben and Jerry's offer a free scoop on your birthday if you register online with their clubs.

*Register your Starbucks card and get a FREE drink.

*DSW offers $5 off a pair of shoes on your birthday when you join their Rewards program.

*Like beauty products? Sign up for Sephora's Beauty Insider program and you'll get something free on your birthday!

*Are you a movie buff? Hollywood Video gives you a free rental on your birthday! Check with a local theater to see if they offer you discounts or even free tickets (it's done differently in so many regions, so I can't confirm what chains offer birthday bonuses).

*There are loads of restaurants that do things for your birthday. Some of my favorites: Red Robin (free burger of your choice when you join their eclub), Qdoba (free entree when you buy a second one when you join their club) and BJ's (free PIZOOKIE when you join their club). Just in case you have never had one, a pizookie is a cookie pizza with a scoop of ice cream on top and it's ah-mazing. Nothing like putting on the pounds as your metabolism starts to slow down...

*Definitely check around your local area - some of your favorite restaurants may offer a deal. For example, Ray's Boathouse in Seattle offers free lunch on your birthday!

Make sure to check the fine print for each business. Some will give you the freebies on the DAY only while others have a two week window. Some are even good for the whole month of your birthday!

So cheers to you and your new year! Anyone else know of good things to get for free on your birthday?

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Friday Deals!

Happy Friday everyone! I'm definitely looking forward to my 3 day weekend! Here are some freebies and good deals!



*FREE Fresco Taco at Taco Bell. After seeing the commercials week after week of the so-called "Drive Thru Diet", I'm definitely equal parts intrigued and disgusted. But try one for yourself with this coupon.



*FREE Taster's Choice instant coffee 6 pack.

*FREE adult lift ticket when you purchase 10 gallons of fuel from participating Shell gas stations. Check here to see what ski resorts are participating and for more details. Good through April 16th or earlier if there's no snow.

*$1 oatmeal at Jamba Juice every Wednesday during January! Yum!

*50% off clearance items at DSW! It's online only and use code 50CLEAR. Now until January 18th.

*25% off everything in stores or online at Ann Taylor LOFT. If you're shopping online, use code SAVE25 at checkout. Oh, and free shipping for orders over $125.

*Reward yourself for going to the gym (if that was a New Year's Resolution) and get some new clothes at Lucy - take an additional 30% off sale merchandise. Cute tanks for $10! And I'm loving these pants for $30!


*J. Crew is also having excellent sales on their clearance - take an extra 20% plus free shipping for orders over $150 (basically, a shirt). If you're buying online, make sure to use code EXTRA20. I think this camisole is so pretty. Would I pay $50 for it? No. $40? Well, not in No-Spend January, but I can dream...

*If you're in the market for furniture, Cost Plus World Market is having their biggest sale of the season - up to 50% on select items. There's a cool 3-in-1 sofa, chaise, and bed for $299 (normally $400)!

*And courtesy of Fantabulously Frugal, Restaurant.com is selling $25 gift cards to select restaurants for $2! Use the code INDULGE now through January 19th. There are some stipulations, so just check before you buy.

Have a great weekend! Cheers!

No-Spend January, Week 2

I'm nearly halfway done with No-Spend January! It's definitely been a learning experience and I really feel I'm starting to hit my stride now! However, when February 1st gets here, I'll be very excited.

It's hard not spending money, actually a lot harder than I thought it would be, particularly on the weekends. I met up with some girlfriends (including Frugal Femme) on Saturday, and it was so much fun! Frugal Femme hosted lunch while my friend Julia and I brought sides. I made a lemon poppyseed cake, so I had to get two extra things at the grocery store - ingredients costs me $3.18. We watched "New in Town" - predictable, but can you really turn down Harry Connick Jr.? On Sunday, I did something totally for free with my friend Kate and we went for a walk around the neighborhood. It was great catching up with her, we got in a workout and it was totally free!

Also on Sunday, I went to a mall to exchange some Christmas gifts (cue "Psycho" music) and it was TOUGH. Sales, promotions, new items that screamed "Take me home!" I caught myself a few times asking my husband to get me that really cute sweater (kidding, but not really). He didn't, and we both made it through without buying anything.

But isn't this sweater sooo cute?

This past week has made me come to two conclusions: one, pretty much every activity I do with my friends revolves around money. Going out for dinner, to a movie, even for coffee. It usually isn't expensive, but I had a hard time figuring out what to do for free. When you think about it, when was the last time you did something with your friends that costed absolutely nothing?

And then I got to thinking that I need a hobby. One of our readers David suggested this as a way to save money in one of his comments. And I totally agree. I feel that too many people (myself included) would count shopping as a hobby, and that could be a detriment to your bank account. Not that some hobbies don't get expensive (have you been inside a scrapbook store recently?), but I feel like I need a hobby that is time-consuming and not necessarily dollar-consuming.



I think that No-Spend January is really forcing me to take a good look at my spending habits, and while I like what I see for the most part, there is always room for improvement. Now, on to search for a hobby! Any suggestions?

Will the bus save you money? Maybe.

I take the bus everyday to work. My primary motivation is not to save money. It's simply that the bus is faster than if I were to drive everyday. Plus I hate just sitting in traffic. On the bus I can read at my leisure, respond to e-mails and even take a nap.
Just out of interest, I tried the transportation calculator to determine how much money I'm saving by taking the bus. And it's a lot. $1288 per year. So it's definitely a win-win for me.
However, the interesting part I found was that if I didn't have to pay for parking, I would actually lose money by taking the bus. It would cost me $823 more to ride the bus to and from work than if I were to drive.
So the morale of the story is, check out the commute calculators, here is a link to the Seattle Metro calculator.
Remember though, that riding the bus has benefits to the environment and is a much more relaxing experience. Also remember if people who ride public transit, hopefully we'll have a more extensive system and ultimately more cost effective pricing.

Paying off Mortgage Early?

My husband passed along an interesting article to me about paying your 30 year mortgage in 15 years. We're considering doing something similar to this, but it does require a refinance, and due to current house values we're not sure if that's something we're able to do at this time.
I do find the concept very intriguing. Although your house payments clearly go up, in the end you pay a lot less interest.
I think instead of trying to refinance at this time, there are some other options the article suggests that we're looking into.

• Bi-weekly payments: Essentially you end up paying 13 months instead of 12 for each year. However, there is often a fee associated with this, so depending on terms it may not be the best option.
• Send an additional payment equal to next month's principal. This way you can accelerate paying down the principal.

The article lays out good pros and cons for each approach. Has anyone tried any of these methods or have other suggestions?

Cupboard Clean Out Challenge Take 2

So at the end of last year I proposed a regular post where I would try and clean out those random items from the cupboard. To be clear this is not an attempt to fully clean-out the cupboards, because have regular items on hand is always helpful.
As a reminder every Monday I will post items I'm going to use in the following week's menu plan. I'm looking to our wonderful readers for recipe suggestions. Preferably the recipes will be easy to prepare and not require expensive ingredients. On Friday I will post the recipes I will be trying in the upcoming week.
This week my challenge items are (some might look familiar from last time's challenge):

• Sun dried tomatoes
• Panko bread crumbs
• Cashews

Please leave your suggestions in the comments box or on own Facebook page!