This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

Ok, I admit it. I have turned into one of those people who says “I have an app for that”. I try to catch myself but it just slips out, lol. It is so obvious how much I love my iPod Touch. I am a firm believer in every little bit of money can quickly add up. When I heard about WeReward.com it caught my attention. Why? It lets you earn money while using your iPhone!! Now I have not made the transition to getting an iPhone just yet but I want to. It is just a little hard to make that leap and plus I want to get a really good deal.  Anyways, We Reward is an app where you earn points for doing stuff in real life. These tasks can include making purchases or checking in at a business and taking a picture. There are different reward points for each task. Every point equals one penny. When you reach 1,ooo points, which is $10, you can cash out with PayPal. This sounds like a perfect way to earn some extra money while visiting the places you probably already go to anyways. You can even refer friends and earn points that way. So what do you think, will you Download the App and give it a try?

If you don’t have an iPhone you can see the app in action by watching this video.

At the beginning of this year my goal was to work on getting out of debt. I was prepared to push full steam ahead. I must admit it was much easier at the beginning. I did pretty good those first few months. But then so many other issues have required my attention that I lost my focus. I am still saving money but I am not choosing the best way to use that money.

I have been curious about how far off track I have fallen. So when I heard about the BillsIQ test I could take at Bills.com I was a little anxious. I did not expect anything over failing. Well I took the test and got 74% a C. My lowest scores were on the budget and life plan areas. This is no surprise to me. Sticking to a budget has always been hard for me especially when I come across so many bargins. I think one of the main issues I need to deal with is planning better for the future. I do not have as much as I should in savings. Luckily I have been making some good decisions regarding our 401k.

After looking around the bills.com website I saw that it is not only full of resources to help you save money. There is also information that could help those of us who need to know a little more about Debt consolidation,Debt help and Debt relief. Here is a little haiku I wrote. I don’t think it is too bad.

To save is so hard
credit is easy to spend
debt is not my friend

How do you think you would do on the BillsIQ quiz?

Today I was searching the net looking for inexpensive recipes like I do every week. I came across this site called Blogander which is a collection of blogs on different subjects. One of the blogs is called Cheap Eats. It is a guide to eating cheap with tips, recipes and techniques. I think these would be some great additions to your LifeTips . Hopefully you have your own lifetips to keep track of all the frugal information you come across

Home Fried Potatoes – 70¢ this is for one serving but I think it is pretty easy to change the recipe for your particular family size

Quesadillas – price starts at 70¢ but it varies depending on what you add to it. Super easy recipe Take 2 tortillas, add some cheese that easily melts, layer in a pan and you are done!

Quick French Toast – 95¢ about 2 to 3 servings, 6 slices of toast

Garlic Bread – $1.36 I must admit I am surprised by this one. I have never thought about making my own garlic bread. I always thought it was just cheaper to buy it already made.

Penne Pasta Casserole – $3.42 very easy to make

Bread Pudding – can use any type of leftover sweet bread or plain bread

Ground beef layered casserole – simple to prepare uses potatoes and tomato sauce

Magic Milk Shakes – uses no ice cream! Amazing right?

Lasagna – can be prepared as a make ahead meal, serves 9-10 people

Nothing but Ramen Noodle Recipes!

Taco Salad-takes about 20 minutes start to finish. Ingredients can be found at Aldi’s

Free recipe e-books!

The past few days I have come across a lot of interesting posts. Well, two of my favorite bloggers , CheapAzz.net and beingfrugal.net, came up with a combined total of over 250 tips to save money. I could not wait to share so that is why I am postin at 1:30am instead of in the bed, lol.

Cheapazz.net has come up with 101 tips to save money, but in a classy way
These two are my favorites.
Number 21. use leftovers for lunch is a favorite in my family. Just ask my hubby and his friends. They love my leftovers
Number 32.  shop the dollar store.  I love the dollar store. I get tons of stuff from there. You can always find something there. Even those fancy helium balloons.
CheapAzz is even giving away a free ebook of the list so you can share it with others. Now you know that is a great deal so go grab yourself one and tell him thanks.

 Beingfrugal.net has really put some hard work into this one. She was able to put together over 150 tips to help us hold on to a little more money. She was even sweet enough to sort them into categories. One of my favorite tips is to shop year round for Xmas gifts. I believe that is the only way to get the best deals.

Beingfrugal even had a free ebook for download back in February. If you missed, go and get it now. It is something you will want to read.It is a collaborative effort between 16 personal finance bloggers.

A lot posts I read across the blogosphere have a lot to do with groceries and money. You know, “how much should you spend, how much is too much , what are other people spending” and stuff like that. It is really hard to come down with a definite dollar amount. Food is a need, a want, an addiction and just tastes sooo good. It appears to be that you need to spend as much on food that is required to survive since food is a basic that you can not live with out. But that is not the go ahead to buy the most expensive brands of food either. You have to find a healthy medium. Now before I continue please keep these 2 things in mind; always remember you have to do what works for your family not everyone else, the rule is you should only spend 15 – 20% of your income on food. What methods work for you?

There are a lot of things that need to be considered when setting your grocery budget:

• how much income do you have
• how many people do you need to feed
• do you clip coupons
• do you plan menus
• do you have other sources for food? Maybe your own garden, free breakfast program at schools, you know someone with a garden?
• are you brand loyal? this is not always a good thing. There are some items that I always buy generic: salt, pepper, sugar, cooking oil, flour, pancake mix, panacake syrup, bread, potatoes and applesauce just to name a few.

For our family of 6 we roughly spend $420-$477. So far this is working for our family. I am hoping this will go down if I ever can get started with the once a month cooking. I am a little curious though, what are you spending on groceries?

I know, I am a little late with the updates so far for online income. It is not a lot but I am still hopeful and I am continuing to stick with it. 

sendearnings $6.79 

inboxdollars $7.96

snapdollars $6.92

payperpost $50

A.W. Surveys $10   

Ok, the IRS has a “official”calculator on their site to help determine exactly how much you will be getting back for your rebate (aka Economic Stimulus Payment). You will need your 1040 tax form and it will take a few minutes to complete. But remember this is just a estimate!

There is even a pay schedule now for those of us that want to know when do I get my money? I need it now! Economic stimulus payments will be issued according to the last two-digits of the main filer’s Social Security number. People who use direct deposit also will be among the first to receive the payments starting May 2. Paper checks will be put in the mail starting May 16.

DIRECT DEPOSIT

PAPER CHECK

People who file a return after April 15 will receive their economic stimulus
payment, but probably about two weeks later than the schedule shows. A
return must be filed by October 15 in order to receive a stimulus payment
this year.

The IRS website has lots of great information to answer all the questions we all have.

Recipients of Social Security Benefits

Recipients of Veterans’ Benefits

Railroad Retirement Recipients

Low-Wage Workers

The IRS has even went as far as to give examples of different tax scenarios:

Married with Children

Married without Qualifying Children

Married Filing Separately

Single (Head of Household) with Children

Single without Qualifying Children

I love my bank because it has a pretty good rewards program where we get money back. That is a big plus in my book. Another reason I am showing my bank “love” is because I was going through my mail and found 2 coupons for a free fee reversal. This means if for some reason I have a overdraft, I give the bank my coupon and they erase the $39 overdraft fee! This is just one of those things that I am glad to have in hopes that I will not need it. And I would like to give myself a little pat on the back because we have had no overdrafts since the beginning of the new year!!! (That is a big deal since I used to get 3-8 overdrafts a month.)

I just found out they have a savings plan for kids. I think that is a great idea because while I am learning how to make better money decisions I would like to teach my kids about money right from the start. It is called the

Free & Easy Kids Club Savings Account

By making it fun and rewarding to save, the Free and Easy Kids Club savings account helps teach savings habits that kids can take into adulthood!

Create Great Savings Habits:

• Just $10 to open and receive FREE gift: kids can start with what’s in their piggy bank!
• Prizes awarded for deposits: Kids receive a prize whenever they make a deposit (one per day please!) so they look forward to saving!
• Interest earning: Kids can watch their money grow and learn how interest works.
• Monthly statement: Kids get a statement showing how much they’ve saved, which encourages more saving!
• Free & Easy Kids Club website: fun activities, games and practical tips for kids and parents on allowance, savings and more can be found at our Kids Club Website!

Flexibility for small and big savers:

• Every dollar counts: Kids are rewarded for deposits of just $1 but we hope they save much more!
• Automatic deposits: Adults can set up systematic deposits in any amount from their checking or savings account into their child’s account.
• No monthly service fees or minimum balance requirements
• Any adult including parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles can open an account for the special children in their lives.

I think this will encourage even the youngest member of our family to save. I plan on signing the kids up next week.

Well yesterday I had a moment of weakness. My husband and I went to OfficeMax because I wanted to look at some clip-art software. I was looking through the software trying to make a decision between 2 when a clearance sign caught my eye. It was not in my direct line of view and it was off to the side but it caught my eye anyway. So of course I just had to take a quick peek. At first I saw nothing that I could use or even wanted. But then I saw it.  A mp3 player. And not just any mp3 player but the one my daughter has been asking for since October of 2007. The regular price is $69.00 and it was on sale for $25!!! I just had to get it. My daughter will be 14 on March 26th and I had no idea what I would be able to get her for her birthday that was in our price range. So I had my clip-art software ($9.99) and the birthday gift ($25) and I was ready to go. My husband is in line and I am just looking around, you know at the cameras and stuff then something else caught my eye. It was a mini photo printer regular price $99.99 on sale for $35! I remember seeing this printer years ago wishing I had one. So I rush towards my husband to tell about the deal of a lifetime on a printer. Guess what he said? “Why do you want another printer, don’t you have 3 now?” I just stopped in my tracks. I could not believe he would not let  me get this printer. I felt a little embarrassed. I mean why should I have to beg for $35 to get a printer? I actually wished I had my credit cards. I could have just bought it and that would have been the end of it. I was actually quite upset after we left the store. I really wanted that printer. But late last night I started thinking. I really did not need that printer. I have printers at home. One of those is a HP that I love very much. I think what got me was the printer was on clearance. I saw that little yellow sign and felt I had to have it. It would be stupid if I did not buy it. But in my case it would have been stupid if I did by it and I am so glad my credit cards are in the freezer. Over the past few months I have learned a little but I still have a ways to go. I am definitely glad I was with my husband.

There is a great ebook about money matters that is free over at Beingfrugal.net  It is a collaborative effort between 16 personal finance bloggers:

• Quest For Four Pillars

I am so happy that this is available. I already downloaded my copy. Go get yours.