I have been using Ting mobile service for almost three years now. Can't say enough about how much I've loved the *big* money savings from Ting. Or the excellent Ting customer service!

For our DD's 8th grade graduation gift we are upgrading her phone to a Samsung SG3. It is a refurbished one we purchased from the Ting store.

Her current phone was a refurb from the Ting store and it has served her well these last two years.
I really like that we can buy used and save some big money - since most teens are going to abuse their phone right away anyway - *almost* new is good enough.

So, if you are looking for a sensible grad gift, or maybe Father's Day gift, check out Ting right now and save $100 smack-a-roos!

Details directly from Ting:

From now until 11:59pm ET on June 8, the Ting Refer a Friend program is offering you $100 to try Ting mobile phone service. If you sign up and activate a phone, I'll also receive a $50 credit.
Once you join Ting, you'll be able to refer your friends too.

https://zlibcgmej.ting.com

That's my unique referral URL and the key to this offer. Click it or copy & paste.
You must use this to receive $100 off select phones in the Ting shop or a $100 service credit if you bring your own phone to Ting.

Speaking of which, the phone you already own will probably work with Ting. Go to the Ting compatibility checker to find out for sure.



Ting mobile, Ting money saving offer, Ting coupon code, Ting save $100, Ting refer a friend $100, Ting promotion, limited time, link to save $100 on Ting mobile

I bought Quicken Deluxe in 2012 at Costco for $20.
I had never used Quicken before and quickly fell in love with using it. Honestly, I open and update our accounts in Quicken probably three to four times each week. I love the colored charts and how easy it is to track every penny. I also use it to plan my bill paying a month ahead of time.
It's like a game for me when I'm on Quicken.
(My DH has even referred to me paying bills/accounting as "playing on the computer"!)

About two months ago I started getting messages about how if I didn't update to the latest edition I would lose the ability to download transactions directly into the program. This is a big deal for me. It saves mucho time to just click a button and have all my financial accounts updated. Oh sure the program would still work after May 1st; I'd just be manually entering all transactions.

Had I known at the beginning of the year they would shut off the auto downloading I might have bought it at Costco again. They have Quicken on special every January. I checked the price now - $49.99.

The biggest rip-off is the maker of Quicken - Intuit - says "upgrade now and we will give you $10 off". The cost on their website is $74.99, so $64.99 for all the loyal current customers. The highest price out of anywhere I checked.

Last night I broke down and purchased the 2015 version through Amazon - downloaded and installed it with about three clicks. That process was very easy and smooth.

So far the new version works the same as the old one that I was quite happy with, plus these "improvements".
* The chart and graph colors are in a new color scheme - whatever.
* Some things have been moved from one side of the screen to the other - I find that annoying.
* I get my credit score listed in the side bar - wow (not).
* You can access your account from your phone - I opted out of that for now as I want to try to limit exposure to sensitive account info.

It cost $39.99 on Amazon. BUT, I still had gift card money from the CC rewards so it cost $0!
*Silver Lining*

And honestly, $40 every three years for something I use so often is a good deal. I just hate being pushed into it.

I bought Quicken Deluxe in 2012 at Costco for $20.
I had never used Quicken before and quickly fell in love with using it. Honestly, I open and update our accounts in Quicken probably three to four times each week. I love the colored charts and how easy it is to track every penny. I also use it to plan my bill paying a month ahead of time.
It's like a game for me when I'm on Quicken.
(My DH has even referred to me paying bills/accounting as "playing on the computer"!)

About two months ago I started getting messages about how if I didn't update to the current edition I would lose the ability to download transactions directly into the program. This is a big deal for me. It saves mucho time to just click a button and have all my financial accounts updated. Oh sure the program would still work after May 1st; I'd just be manually entering all transactions.

Had I known at the beginning of the year they would shut off the auto downloading I might have bought it at Costco again. They have Quicken on special every January. I checked the price now - $49.99.

The biggest rip-off is the maker of Quicken - Intuit - says "upgrade now and we will give you $10 off". The cost on their website is $74.99, so $64.99 for all the loyal current customers.
The highest price out of anywhere I checked. :annoyed:

Last night I broke down and purchased the 2015 version through Amazon - downloaded and installed it with about three clicks. It was very easy and smooth.
It cost $39.99. BUT, I still had gift card money from the CC reward so it cost $0!
*Silver Lining*

And honestly, $40 every three years for something I use so often is a good deal. I just hate being forced into it.

Actually it cost us $11.66.

I use FreeTaxUSA.com. I have been using it since 2006 and keep coming back. Very easy to use. Super affordable. No hidden fees!

If you haven't done your taxes yet and want to give this site a try. Here is a coupon code to save 10% - FREETAXUSA10

I paid our car insurance for the year in a single payment. It was $579.

This is the third year I've been able to pay it in a single payment using savings. Boy, is it a good feeling.

It's nice that it saves me a little time because I don't have to make the monthly payments. But, I do it because it saves us money.

The insurance company charges a $7/month billing fee. They split the bill into 11 payments, so we save $77 dollars for the year by paying all at once.

I can't think of another bill where we could save by paying all at once.
Do you have any bills that save you money by paying all at once?

WOW!

If you are thinking about signing up for Ting cell phone service NOW is the time!

https://zlibcgmej.ting.com/
By using my referral code (or another SAer's link) you will get $100 towards a phone and / or service.

To sweeten the deal just a bit more, many of the high end smartphones are on Black Friday sales.

Happy Saving to you all!

Good news for us - had a letter today from DS's preschool that we will be receiving $1k in tuition assistance for next school year. Tuition is broken down into 10 monthly installments, so that is $100/month savings!

We also received a check from DD's 4H club for $50 toward her week at 4H camp this summer.
The camp is a deal at $245 for six days/five nights of sleep-away camp with all meals and activities.
The $50 "scholarship" brings the cost to under $200.

Charged $71 to the Propel AmEx today for a tank of gas. It was $3.95/gallon at Costco.

As most of you know we use Ting here and LOVE it.

Recently we were able to switch DH and his beloved iPhone over to Ting. That simple change has saved us $60/month. Which came at just the right time because we ended up needing $60 more per month to cover the new health plan for the children.

As stated in the title Ting service actually saves us more than $60 each month.
Here is how I am basing that statement:

Sprint (network Ting uses) is now offering it's "Framily" plan. So assuming all three of us phone users in our family used that plan it would be $45/pp/mo. That is $135 per month. And say another $6 for taxes and fees, so $141 total per month.

Here is our Ting bill from February 18 to March 18.
(so you all don't think I made up numbers!)



(Our texting is high due to DD. She pays difference between the $5 Medium level and whatever level her texting lands us.)

Yes, that total is $61.97 for three smart phones. Really it could be much lower if we tried harder to limit some of the usage.

AND the amount I actually *paid* last month was $36.97 because I had a $25 referral credit (THANK YOU dear person!).

I think the savings are even greater if you compare plans from AT&T or Verizon. One of them is offering a "special deal" - a four line plan for $180/mo.

SO, if changing your cell service to Ting sounds like something you'd like to do you can save $25 right away by using my referral code:

https://zlibcgmej.ting.com/

MonkeyMama and Ceejay are also using Ting. I know MM likes it. I am interested to hear if Ting is saving CeeJay money and if she likes her new phone.

UPDATE: CeeJay was the first one to comment!

We have had two large trees that we wanted removed from our yard. One in the front yard and one in the backyard. I previously mentioned that we planned to use some of the tax refund to pay for this project.

My dad is a timber faller. His whole life (nearly) has been spent in the woods. He has primarily worked forest fires falling burned trees and for road building companies clearing road space.

My dad is saving us money by falling the trees. Then he and DH will cut the large stuff into rounds that we'll be able to burn in our fireplace next winter.

My dad insisted he'd do the whole thing - he has the equipment to do it. This would involve dad climbing the trees and cutting them down in pieces as they are too large and near houses/fences to cut down whole. But, he is much older now then the last time he climbed into a tree. Not worth it to me for him to take risks like that! I vetoed that plan.

DH and I hired a local tree company to limb and top the trees. Having the company only do part of the job cost much less than having them do the whole job.
A difference between $2600 (estimated by one company for the whole job) verses the $550 we paid!

This will make the part my dad does much easier for him and less stressful for me. We are still saving a huge amount by *only* paying $550 to remove two large trees. And we will have firewood for next winter that will help reduce winter heating costs. Maybe saving $200+ over the course of the winter?

The wonderful preschool DS goes to has a scholarship program. I was a bit on the fence about applying.. Paperwork to fill out, tax returns to copy and a $27 application fee. I had pretty much decided not to apply.

I know it seems silly that here I am blogging on SA and I WASN'T going to apply. It seems silly to me now that I really think on it. The reason is that I don't look at our family as a family in *need* and I don't want to take from a family that truly has *need*.

(Have you ever found yourself stepping aside for others; assuming someone has a greater need than yourself?)

The front office lady, EL, swayed me to going for it when she told me these two things.
First, there is a pool of money and some years it doesn't all get used. (Um.. What?!)
Second, our part as parents is to apply; not decide if we qualify for anything or not. That is the job of the tuition company the application goes to.

When she put it in that perspective I thought "why not?" EL was very encouraging about applying. (I hope that hints at a favorable outcome!)

Last night I filled out the application. The most difficult questions was "How much can you pay toward tuition?". If I put too small of an amount am I trying to get more than I need? If I put too high, then am I shorting the possible assistance payment? I settled on $5k less than full tuition - that would be a huge savings.

This morning I made copies of the W2s and tax returns. I just put the packet in the outgoing mail here at work.

Any help would make a difference to the budget next year.

Last night I transferred DH's cell phone over to Ting. I am so excited about this mostly because of the big monthly savings. Secondly, because it's one less bill/company I have to deal with monthly.
I had offered many times to buy him a new phone just to get him to move to Ting, but he is very attached to his current phone.

Just a note: Ting is not fully supporting iPhones.. yet.. *Fingers crossed* for other Apple users. They are activating iPhone4 and 4s that are Sprint "branded" which basically narrows it to two phone models being eligible. This was where we got lucky because DH's phone is a 4 and he bought it through Sprint on Black Friday 2011.

I did have to maneuver a bit to make it happen.

First, I had to swap his Sprint service to an old cell phone so we didn't lose his current number. That meant digging around to pull out all our old phones. Then I was almost ready to give up because the first *four* I tried were not supported by the Sprint network anymore so they couldn't be activated. I almost didn't try the last one - glad I did 'cause the *fifth* old phone worked like a charm!
That made the iPhone inactive with Sprint (the phone must be inactive in order to re-activate with Ting).

Next, I logged into Ting a requested the number be "ported" and to activate the iPhone.

Two hours later I received the email that stated the number has been ported and to finish the activation steps.

My DH was happy because I told him he might be without his phone for 24 hours because I didn't know how long it would take to get his phone number switched.

I was/am so happy because the savings each month!!


**Previous monthly cell charges:

DH's Sprint = $86/mo (average)
Me & DD's Ting = $33/mo (average)

Total = $119/month

**New, anticipated, monthly charges:

Medium Minutes = $9
Large Texts = $8
Medium Data = $12
Device charge = $6 (x3)
Taxes = pocket change

Total = $49/month

$70/month SAVINGS!

**Happy Dancing**

This is great news, especially for higher usage customers!

Even though I use as little data as possible by connecting to Wi-Fi most of the time, my DD typically bumps us to the next level of usage with her YouTube surfing and music listening while not on Wi-Fi. Not that it is a *big* deal - about $10 additional per month that she pays for.

Here is the email I received this morning:




Then this evening I was able to read the blog post and saw their new rate table.



**Remember my referral code is on my sidebar and it will save you $25 when you decide to switch.

I know many people are starting their tax returns, or will be soon. I just wanted to remind everyone about the web site *freetaxusa.com*.

It is *free* for federal and $12.95 for state (up from the previous fee of $9.95 - shucks!)

This year will be the eighth year I have used this site to file.

You don't pay until the very end when you are ready to e-file, so you can see if you like it for no cost. Save yourself some big bucks and check it out!

Went to the store this morning. Some good savings on things we consume regularly. My next trip to the grocery store shouldn't need to be until weekend after next.



One was getting two packages of Starbucks coffee for $6 each. I also picked up a third bag to redeem my Groupon with. Additionally, because I bought two bags before October 10th I earned a store coupon for a $5 gift card on my next visit.

On the ground coffee packages there are peel off stickers with "Star Codes". When I enter these codes to my Strbcks account I earn a star. Twelve stars and I earn a free coffee. So, I entered my three codes when I got home and now I have a free *fancy* coffee waiting on my card for me to use.

I was also given a $10 off coupon for next time.

A review of my year using Ting - the cell phone service company.

Bottom line: I really love using Ting! The last 12 months have saved us $400. And that is after I subtract the cost of the phones we purchased.

If that alone has helped you decide to change; just scroll to the end of this post for ways to save even more money when you switch to Ting.
....
When I look at my bills from Ting I don't cringe in horror like I used to. Especially because I am a pretty low usage user. I always hated how "Unlimited" didn't apply to me or how you have to have premium service if you want to use a smart phone. I know things are changing in the cell business - lots of competition is helping to lower the cost for everyone - I just want it super low now.

Using Ting for just myself the bill was $16/month. Now with my DD and myself we are $25 - $30/month.

I did buy a fancy smart phone last year when I switched. You can opt for a "simple" phone or a used one or you might be able to use the phone you use now. My phone quickly paid for itself with the big monthly savings and referral credits earned (THANK YOU!).

I LOVE my Android smart phone. DH has an iPhone and it's nice too, but I like my Samsung better.

I had Sprint service before switching, so I knew my coverage area would be the same, but far less money. In the past year my coverage has only gotten better as equipment has been updated and expanded.

The customer service is A+. You can email or talk to a real live person. That is so very nice.

Keeping track of your usage is also very easy. There is a "Dashboard" online that shows your usage like a speedometer in a car.

The only negative (a small one) is that when I call or text my DD it counts as double - me sending/her receiving. *shrug* Not a big deal, but something to bear in mind.

Also a negative for some people, the fact that Ting doesn't offer the iPhone. For me that doesn't matter, but I know some of you are holding out until the do.
Just keep in mind you are spending way more than you need to...

....
Now is a good time to switch to Ting if you've been thinking about it.

1) They are now offering to "pay" a portion of the early termination fee that you are charged when you leave your old carrier.
Information here:

https://ting.com/etf

2) Use my referral code to save $25 off a phone or service. *Thanks* in advance!
https://zlibcgmej.ting.com/



Happy Cell Saving to You!

Today is a slow day at work. Because it's slow I was going through my email and ended up clicking on Groupon. Normally I can look and not bite, but today I bought two "specials".

The first was $9. It is a $5 Starbucks card and a bag of Starbucks coffee at Safeway. This is something I would purchase anyway and by getting the deal I saved $3 or $4.

Second was $25 for a photo session. You get the sitting fee for entire party, a few prints and a CD with three images of your choice. I used this deal a few months back for photos of DD and DS. I didn't buy anything "extra" and came away with several very nice pictures. I want a family portrait this time with DH and myself with the kids. Twenty-five bucks is a heck of a deal.

So, yeah that's how my day is going... Spending money.

We've been lucky to have some extra income and valuable coupons come our way lately.

Most recent was the 20% off coupon I mentioned I used buying new shoes. The coupon was online and I brought it up with my cell phone while checking out in the store. $26 savings.

In May I added DD to my Ting cell phone plan. It has increased my monthly bill from $16/month to $30/month. BUT, I've had two more referral credits come my way since then and that really helps cut the cost. $50 credit.

If you or anyone you know are planning to move service to Ting please, please consider using my referral link. It will give me a credit and you'll have $25 savings off your service or a phone purchase.

https://zlibcgmej.ting.com/

With Target moving into our town there is more competition among the stores. We live close to most the stores, so our neighborhood ends up with coupons that aren't distributed citywide - stores fighting over us I guess. On Friday we received this in the mail:



I'll take $30 in savings thank you very much.


Now for a really cool snowflake ...
Our family was selected to participate in a survey program that pays DD, DH and I $25 every month!



We each received an initial $10 bonus for signing up.
After our first month (last week) we each received $100 bonus checks!
After 90 days we'll each get a $50 bonus.
There are also weekly drawings for $250 and $500 and special drawings almost monthly for prize money ranging from $10k to $15k.

How did this happen? I opened something that looked like junk mail and it had $1 inside and it just went from there.

Everyone gets to do what they want with their money.
My money is going into the EF. $125 this month.


Last, but certainly not least, is some steady cash coming from some "cat care" I'm doing. This involves me "visiting" the cat twice weekly to administer subcutaneous fluids. (Owners can do this themselves, but this daddy chooses not to.) He pays me $40/visit.
I have done this for three weeks now - tomorrow will be the fourth week.
Starting this week this cash will head to the EF. $80.

I am feeling blessed and lucky to have these opportunities.
Going to pack these snowflakes into chunky snowballs!

I heard this on the radio and wanted to pass along..

Buy two (or more) movie tickets on Friday from Fandango with your Visa Signature card and get one of the tickets for free.

https://www.fandango.com/visasignature/

I have three baby showers to go to this summer - one for June, July and August. All gals that I am close to. I am aiming for usable, low-cost gifts.

This weekend is my sister's shower. She lives about four hours up the coast from me, so the biggest expense will be the gas. I already gave her our infant car seat from DS, a highchair and several smaller hand-me-down items. I bought a giant box of wipes and a two-pack of rash cream that I will divide between the two of us. I'd like to add one more small item like a blanket, sleeper, toy or book.

Our mom's birthday is this weekend also.
My sister has planned to make a quiche and fresh fruit salad for a Sunday brunch. My contribution is a bottle of champagne.

I made a photo book for mom's gift about two months ago. It was FREE with a coupon I had gotten. I did pay for the shipping which was $4 or $5. I am thrilled about this gift because it is really nice and I was able to get it for so cheap (regular price was $30).

Trying to come up with a little something for Father's Day. Both for DH and my dad... hmmm..

Next month DD has her 12th birthday. I am thinking about taking her to get her ears pierced as her gift.

With all these events coming up I looked at cards over the weekend - whole cow!! When I buy cards I aim for the $0.99 - $1.99 cards. I was blown away at the cost of cards. I saw a very cute Father's Day card - $7.99!! None of the mom birthday cards appealed to me at all, maybe because I couldn't find one that was less than $3.49. Baby shower cards weren't any better.

Sorry to gripe, but please, I could have spent a serious chunk of change just for several squares of folded paper!!

I ended up with one card. A graduation card for our niece who lives out of state and graduated high school a few days ago. It was the second least expensive graduation card at $2.39. I figured buying a card for her made sense; something nice to send $20 in. Everyone else is going to have card-less gifts.

How is everyone doing with the time change?

The time change has been a little rough on me this go around. It doesn't help that it is dark AND foggy when our alarm goes off in the morning. Plus, little DS has been running a low-grade fever that started Sunday night and the guy just wants to sleep until his "normal" wake-up time. I feel bad that I have to get him up when he could really use that extra sleep.

I don't think I have much problem when we fall back, but the spring forward has me dragging a$$ for the first 90 minutes of my day.

Of course the flip side is that I feel like I am slipping out of work early. And the weather here is absolutely gorgeous! The afternoons are full of sun and fresh springtime air.

So much so that I am thinking about starting on our garden boxes early. Several of our clients have been thinking the same thing too. I was talking to a few this morning and it seems there is widespread Spring Fever.

------
We had *fabulous* BBQd chicken Sunday night for dinner. Super juicy.

Saturday night I opened the package by mistake so I put the boneless, skinless breasts in a glass dish. Sprinkled them with a bit of black pepper. Then I slivered three cloves of garlic and layered it among the chicken. Then I took some oranges (4) and lemons (2) that were getting squishy, cut them in half, and hand-squeezed the juice over the breast until they were all covered. Tight plastic wrap on the bowl and refrigerated them. Sunday evening DH BBQd them with our regular sauce and they were awesome.
Great use for citrus fruit that isn't bad, but is getting too soft to really peel and eat.

------
EDIT:
I was mistaken about Ting's credit - with the referral credit *YOU* still get $25 off, while *I* get the bonus double credit until 3/15.
Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Still it's a great way to save money - so give it a try.

It's a quiet afternoon here at the office. My coworker has left for the afternoon because it is so slow. My boss is out to lunch now.

The weather is beautiful and I would have been the one to leave early, but I need to take care of my cat sitting cats tonight. They live very close to my work and I live in a different town about 20 minutes away. Plus, as much as I'd rather be at home on the internet I might as well be here at work on the computer and getting paid for what I'd be doing at home anyway.

Using some of the down time to check some little To Do's off.

The first was to log in and renew the library books my children have. In addition I paid the overdue fines that we seem to get just about every time we check something out. It is never a lot at one time, but $0.10 here $0.50 there and it accumulates. We (I) must get better about remembering the due dates.

Maybe writing them up on the white board we keep in the kitchen?
I literally had never thought of that until just now. Doh!

The fines were $10. I am happy I can pay it online with a cc and it takes about 60 seconds. Now it's done.


The second thing is tracking down the insurance payment for my root canal in December. If you read my post back then I was figuring I'd be due to get a $500 refund. Well I've been waiting for my claim's statement to show up in the mail. And waiting. And waiting. Today I created online access for my dental insurance company and searched my recent claims.

The only claim that showed for the last 90 days was my crown and that has been submitted and paid already. No pending or paid claim for my root canal.

Called the endodontists office and she was surprised that they hadn't been paid. According to her the claim had been submitted on the same day as treatment

She called the insurance company and resubmitted the claim.

And, yes I will be getting a check from the dentist for $502 once they receive the payment from insurance. Yay!


The third was transferring a $1 balance on a Starbucks gift card to the gift card I have registered. That was easy to do online.


DH and I opted to pass on DD's big school fundraising dinner this year. It would have been $70 for dinner and we would end up spending more if we wanted to bid on any auction items or buy raffle tickets. Just better to forgo completely. I did donate $25. I just put the check in the collection envelope the PTA sent home for the dinner ticket purchase. I felt very good about doing that. We saved and the school didn't lose out (much).

Last night I met my DH at the shoe store and he picked out two pairs of shoes (work and gym) and the total came to $71. I had a $10 coupon from taking a survey on a previous visit and if I want I can earn another $10 coupon by taking the survey for last night's visit.

------
Tomorrow I start taking care of two elderly kitties for two weeks. I will make just over $500. This will all go to a cc payment. I wish I could make this much extra money more often. I have thought of making up a flier or business cards for pet sitting, but I don't know how much I can realistically take on with family and work responsibilities. However, making a chunk of cash like this makes me think...

------
I signed myself up with a data collection company who wants information about the flea and heartworm preventative products we use at work. (How many units we have in stock, order and sell each month.)
I will get a check for $20 each month I provide the data sheets. It should only take me about 15 minutes to put the info together each month.

------
Can't believe it is almost February! Wow, where did January go??

Next month the AmEx card I opened for the $250 rewards last year will be up for it's annual renewal. The first year had the membership fee waived. If I chose to keep the card it would be $125/yr. Of course I will not be keeping it.
We had a good run, but now it's time to say goodbye.

I was just on their site and redeemed points for a $50 card to the Cheesecake Factory (never been) and a $50 card for V. Secrets (bras for me!! Yay!). I still have a bit over 500 points and I am hoping that I can redeem the points I've "earned" this month right before I cancel the card. I should have enough for a $15 reward, I'm thinking Old Navy and use it as a gift for DD.

I am really looking forward to surprising DH with a dinner out to the restaurant either for V. Day or when we go for a SF Giants game in a few months.

Last night I checked my Ting account to look at my usage and *surprise* I had another $25 referral credit posted!

So, to who ever out there used it - Thank You!

Two credits equal three months of paid cell service. I am thrilled!

------

Today is a quiet day at home watching both playoff games.
(**GO NINERS!**)

A few cool, small, money saving events have happened recently that I wanted to share.

First, someone used my Ting referral code. I have no idea *who* it was, but a huge "Thanks!" to you.
By using my code I received a $25 account credit and didn't have to pay my phone bill. Next month I only need to pay $5. $25 almost pays for two months of service for me.

Second, we had a very nice man who helped us when DD had her eye exam. He asked me if we had an AAA membership (we do) and it saved me $20!
I *never* think to ask about that discount unless I'm making travel arrangements. I thought it was really nice of him to ask.

Third, I have a Starbucks gift card that I registered. I will get a free drink for my birthday and a free drink every three to four months (every 12th drink is free).

Fourth, I had an expired $10 reward coupon for Safeway and the checker honored it anyway.

I love those "little things". It makes me smile.

I frequently use Diapers.com for supplies. The company has expanded to several websites since I started using them. From now until the end of the year they are offering 30% off a single item (up to $20 off) from each of their sites for first time customers. I have not shopped all their sites so I am planning to take advantage of this for Christmas gifts. The offer is displayed on the homepage of each site, just click on it for the codes.

Diapers. (baby/toddler supplies)
YoYo. (for toys)
Bookworm.(books)
Casa. (household)
Soap. (soap/groceries)
After School. (sports equipment)
Wag. (pet supplies)
Vine. (natural living)

Hope this helps you get a good deal on something!

We did pretty well in October spending money on *needs* only.

The *wants* that we did spend money on were Halloween, breakfast out for DH's birthday, two lunches out, clothes for DS and a few miscellaneous grocery items. There were several times I wanted something (little things: cupcake, coffee, etc..) but walked away.

Going to continue to stay very strict November and December as every little thing adds up.

Click here or copy and paste this great Ting coupon (referral) link.

By using my Ting referral code you get $25 off your phone purchase or $25 account credit if you bring your own phone and I get a $25 account credit. (Think of it as a $25 off Ting coupon - That's a valuable coupon!)

Please feel free to pass it around!
Really, who wouldn't want a coupon??

With Ting I have the smallest number of minutes/texts/data and my monthly cell phone bill is $16.19.

My thanks to Frugal Texan for pointing out that there was a referral code for Ting.
(Thank you very much FT! )


9/19/2013 ETA: My Review of Ting After One Year

Basically my review is this:
I am so happy I switched to Ting. Love the service. Love the savings. Love my Galaxy S3.

If you are interested here is the link to my review post.
http://lookingforward.savingadvice.com/2013/09/19/ting-ting-...

Additionally, Ting is now helping to bail you out of your contract by paying a portion of your cancellation fee. Be sure to check it out on their website.

4/3/2014 ETA: Saving $80 + per Month With Ting Now

Yup, switched my hubby's iPhone to Ting cell service a few months ago. Now we are a three smartphone, Ting using, stickin' it to the big guys, money saving family!

All the details are here:
http://lookingforward.savingadvice.com/2014/04/03/ting-cell-...

6/1/15 ETA: $100 in Ting Credit - Limited Time

Still extremely pleased with Ting service and especially the savings.
Upgrading DD's phone as her graduation gift to a refurbished Samsung Galaxy 3.
Limited time $100 savings for new customers until 6/8/15. Use my referral code.

All details in my recent post:
http://lookingforward.savingadvice.com/2015/05/31/save-100-w...

Several weeks back MonkeyMama posted about a new cell phone plan where you could pick your features.

I happened to mention this company to one of my girlfriends a few weeks back. I walked with her this morning and she mentioned that she and her DH had switched cell service to Ting. They bought new phones and with Ting you buy the phone outright, so that was a bit of an up front expense. But, she said their cell phone bill is now $25/mo. Right now they have the smallest amount of minutes and texts. She might move up to the next level for texts, but even if they do they are saving a ton over their old AT&T service. She was really happy I had told her about it... So I'm passing her "Thanks" along to MM.

I told my friend I was glad she was trying it out. (She can be our guinea pig )

Made the cc payments this morning.

$18,872 - Previous Balance
$18,385 - Current Balance

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Added to the EF this morning also. (Giants wins while on vacation)
$3,038 - Previous
$3,046 - Current