Last Chance for Giveaway!

Today is your last change to enter A Girl and Her Gun's fantastic giveaway.  It's open to any lady interested in the shooting sports, and the prizes are:
(1) $300 Toward any Self-Defense Course from A Girl and Her Gun
(2) 1000 Rounds of Ammo (pick from a slate of standard self-defense calibers) from ZerCool, North, Tango Juliet, Scott McCray, The Calm Gun, and  Old NFO.
(3) Your option of either (a) a basic pistol and concealed carry class in Va or (b) a $50 gift certificate for gear from Keads
(4) A $50 gift certificate from Gun Goddess
(5) Ear muffs and a holster consult (in Va) from Female and Armed
(6) A pistol class for yourself and a friend in IA from Bill
(7) A holster from Remora
(8) A St. Barbara's medallion from Nancy
(9) Three cans of Steelguard Firearm Protector from Firearm Protector
(10) The Gift of Fear from GunDiva

Any lady interested in shooting can enter.  You can be a complete novice who has never fired a gun and still win all this great stuff.  Why are you still here?  Go enter now!

Eating the Baking Chocolate with Random Thoughts

Yep, I am.  Unsweetened dark chocolate is surprisingly good when you dip it in honey.  It's not doing anything for my weight loss goals, but I am so tired that I just can't bring myself to care.

Haven't gotten anything done this week, really.  Fortunately, there is still the rest of the week to go.  I am very blessed to have enough help that, despite Football's constant stomach troubles for the last three days, I've been able to get some sleep.

I am also blessed to have them at all; a good friend's 3 month old granddaughter died this week, and the doctors aren't even sure why. The funeral is on Friday so that they can do the autopsy today and tomorrow.  My babies got a lot of extra hugs and kisses for the last couple of days.

I don't blog much about firearms because there are so many other people on the web who do it better than I ever could, but I've found that the range is generally a great place to meet incredibly nice people.  A Girl and Her Gun talks a bit about her experiences with the firearms community this week, and, to give back, she is hosting a fantastic giveaway.  Since I've been lucky enough to attend some solid training, so that what I need is constant practice, I'm not entering, but I encourage any lady who is interested in the shooting arts, particularly in their self-defense applications, to put in an entry (it's easy).

Four more days until I have to post my dirty fridge picture ... I gotta get on that fridge cleaning thing!

Chance to Win $300

Well-Heeled Blog is giving away a $300 cash prize courtesy of Prosper. Unlike most website giveaways that I see out there, she doesn't require any sign-ups, so go over there and comment on your Easter savings to enter!

$10 extra for using Coinstar

Coinstar charges you an 8.9% fee to change your coins into cash - bad.

Coinstar charges you nothing to change your coins into e-certificates for places like Amazon, iTunes, Old Navy, and CVS - OK.

Coinstar will give you a $10 gift certificate with $40 in change turned into an e-certificate between now and 12/6/9 - SIGN ME UP!

Thanks Frugal Dad.

$25 Amazon Gift Card

if you could use an extra $25 to spend at Amazon (and who couldn't) head over to Money Funk's $25 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway.  Just tell her about your favorite part of the holidays and you're entered to win!

No Excuse Not to Get Free Books

You can now Download the Kindle for your computer.  For free.

This means that, if you have a PC, you have access to all the Free Books available from Amazon to download.

Above is a link to the Kindle Bestseller list (which always has several free books on it.)  The other good way to find free books is to go to your favorite genre in the Kindle Store and look at the books from lowest price to highest (i.e. all the free books in that genre show up first).

Now you have no excuse not to read - you don't even have to drive to the library:)

I am so sick and tired of being sick and tired!

I'm really falling down with this blog lately, but all I can say is that it's hard to think of something to say when you're sick and high.

For you PF types, I ended up over my budget by ~ 3k last month, and I'm looking to be down another K this month.  Most of last month was the bed; this month will be co-pays and things that aren't covered by my insurance.  I'm having codine injected directly into my spine this month - I shudder to see what the co-pay on that will be.  If only I thought the bill that is about to pass the House would help, but, from what I've seen, it looks like I'd pay more in premiums for less care.

Anyway, I shouldn't whine - at least I've got it.  With employment at >10% (and that's not counting people who are so discouraged that they aren't even looking any more) I am doing well and I know it.  My EF is getting very slim, and I won't be buying any new boots this month, but so far I'm still avoiding more debt.  I'm off to go read a free book on my Kindle (at this point, I've probably read almost enough stuff free to pay for the device outright).

PineCone Research Cheque

Sunflowers over at The Debt Chronicles posted a referral for PineCone Research on August 12th. I signed up that day, took my first survey the next, and received my first $3 cheque today. The survey took maybe 10 minutes of my time, so they're basically paying $18/hr.

If you are interested in signing up, her referral page is here.

August Any Soldier

Since I need to save big money for kitty vet expenses, I gave myself a budget of $15 (including shipping) for Any Soldier this month, with a goal of finding as much free stuff to send as possible. Here is the result:

Total Spent: $17.09 ($2.09 over)

Stuff From July:
As I said previously about July, I purchased multiples of things that were a good deal (or I thought so at the time). So I had no outlay this month for:
(1) Shampoo and Conditioner
(2) 2-pack of toothbrushes
(3) Blank cards

Free Stuff:
(1) Books: Playing with Fire was lying around, presumably from an airport bookstore before I had my Kindle. I can't remember if I bought The Message Promise Book with The Message or if it came free, but since I have the entire Bible, I never use it. Hopefully someone out there will be able to. I also found a second copy of A Game of Thrones, the first book in A Song of Fire and Ice, but I actually ran out of space in the box; I'll send it next month.
(2) Hand Lotion: Given to me for Christmas and never used.
(3) Toothpaste and Dental Floss: Gifts from my dentist. I have a terrible habit of misplacing my dental floss and then buying more; I think I have about 5 open packages right now. And I don't use Crest toothpaste.
(4) Instant Coffee: Taster's Choice sent me a sample pack of their new line of instant coffees in individual-sized packages. I don't drink coffee, and Mr. Goat won't touch instant with a ten foot pole. They didn't waste their money, though, as I think it's such a good idea that I'm planning to use the $1 coupon they sent me to buy more next month.
(5) Ibuprofen. CVS was giving away a free bottle of ibuprofen with any purchase this month. I'm not sure if soldiers have access to things like ibuprofen for cramps or not, but I've seen it requested before, so into the box it goes.

Semi-Free Stuff:
How can stuff be semi-free? If Rite Aid gives you a rebate on the purchase price, but not the sales tax. Since the sales tax out here is a lovely 9.5%, that's not a negligible expenditure. This is the first time I have ever tried to buy stuff at Rite-Aid and then claim the rebates, so I am not sure that it will work as advertised. Still, I am going to count my spending on this stuff as though I already had the rebate money in hand.
(1) Venus Spa Razor: With refill cartridges costing around $13 for five or so, the soldier who receives this will only get the two cartridges that come with the holder. Originally priced at $9.99, it was on sale for $7, I had a $2 coupon, and Rite-Aid will give me a $5 rebate. So, free except for sales tax. And it got great reviews on Amazon as a product that really does not require shaving cream. At ~ $.32 ea, I thought it was worthwhile to put in the box.
(2) Werther's Candy: Full rebate on the purchase price at Rite-Aid.

Paid Stuff (all prices include tax):
(1) Ivory Soap: On sale for $1 at CVS.
(2) Popcorn: Buy one (for $.69) get one free at Rite-Aid. With a $.75 off for 2 coupon, total cost for four packages was $.69.
(3) Pantyliners: $.99; used $.89 in extra bucks, so paid $.19.
(4) Tampons: On sale for $6.99, with a $.50 coupon and a $3 rebate from Rite-Aid, so paid $4.08, or a bit more than $.10/ea (less than what I've paid for store brand the last two months).

Shipping is $9.85, since I buy the postage online and print it out ($.50 savings).

Here is is, all ready to go:

For those of you who have posted comments about sending stuff to Any Soldier, I highly recommend sending to a female contact person (i.e., the name you send to found on the website), even if your stuff is for a male soldier, if you want a response. Although females have not given me a response 100% of the time, I have never had a response from a male soldier or a male contact, and I have been sending stuff for years. And one female contact sent a thank-you note for every package I sent, for the entire year her unit was there. I'm not sending stuff for the thank-you notes, obviously. But it is nice to get a response that lets you know that your package has arrived, and let you know what else they might want.

Credit Card Rebates and My Rules

To date, I have made $1229.20 in credit card rebates this year, off my Amex Cash Rebate Card and my Chase Amazon.com Visa.

The Amex Cash Rebate Card pays once a year, on your anniversary date. They give 1.5% cash back on gas, grocery stores, and drug stores; .5% on everything else for the first $6,000 you spend on anything. Then you get 5% on gas, grocery stores, and drug stores, with 1.5% on everything else. I'd say that 25% of my regular spending comes in those three categories. Last year, I put everything on my Amex, and ended up getting 2% back for the year. But when I say everything, I mean literally everything - If I bought a pack of gum, it went on my Amex.

I cheated a little this year. Mr. Goat and I have been spending more money at Amazon in the last year, and so I have been planning to get this card for a while. Cardholders get three points for purchases at Amazon, 2 points for purchases at gas stations, drug stores, and restaurants, and one point everywhere else. Since you can trade 5000 points for $50, each point works out to 1% cash back.

For the first three months, though, new cardholders get double points. Mr. Goat and I had been planning a vacation to New York for a while, so I timed my acquisition of the card with the start of our vacation, where I knew we would be spending tons of money, especially on restaurants. After three months, we had 35,000 points, which I have just turned into $350. Since there is a limit of 60,000 points per year, I will go back to my Amex for the rest of the year.

Of course, next year, I will make less on the Amex because I put everything for three months on Chase Amazon.com Visa. But I still anticipate that I will make more than one thousand dollars from credit cards, as I have this year and did last year.

In addition to these cards, I have a Discover card and a Citi Card that I have yet to redeem rewards from. The Citi card is rather dubious, but I confidently anticipate another $25-50 from Discover by the end of the year.

My rules for credit card rebates are as follows:
(1) Cash is king. I am not interested in airline miles or hotel rewards. I want only cash or cash equivalents (e.g. gift cards from places that I actually shop).

(2) I don't pay annual fees. No matter how good the perks are promised to be, I'd rather have the $80+ myself. Also, I never have to worry about whether I am getting enough cash back on any particular card to justify the annual fee.

(3) Pay off all balances, every month. Reward cards without annual fees have super high APRs. That's how they plan to make their money. I thwart them at every opportunity, knowing that I am always one slip-up away from them making money off me.

Therefore, I don't recommend doing this unless:

(a) You are anal about your budget. I keep a total of how much I have left in every budget category at all times. I refer to these totals often, and if I don't have it, I don't spend it. This won't work for people who always spend a bit more on their cards than they can afford to pay off this month.

(b) You always pay your bills on time. If you are late, even one month, you will lose a significant proportion of your anticipated cash rebate to fees, interest, and penalties. I have four credit cards that I use to get the best rebates that I can. that means keeping track of four due dates. It's easy for me, because my mind is wired that way. People who have trouble remembering what year it is, let alone what month and date should probably stick to a single card with auto pay; it will be cheaper.

Don't forget chocolate!

You can still get free chocolate today.

Chocolate redux

I got my free chocolate coupon in the mail today. I see that I signed up for it June 12, so that's a less than four week turnaround. Now all I have to do is remember to get one three more times before September.

His Majesty's Dragon - Free for a limited time

One of the neat things about owning a Kindle is that Amazon gives you free books. Of course, they hope to entice you to buy more. I am OK with that - if I like a book enough to pay money for it (rather than borrow it at the library) it makes my day.

I understand that, if you have an iPhone, you can download an free app that allows you to read Amazon Kindle content on your phone. Details here (directs you to Amazon.com).

If the price below shows as zero, you can still get this book free.


Anything free is worth what you paid for it. I liked it so much that I also bought the next 4 novels in the series and made them my vacation reading.

The series is set in the Napoleonic wars. Except that, in Ms. Novik's world, dragons inhabit regions all over the world. All regional dragons possess different characteristics; some are acid breathers, some are fast, some are more intelligent than others. And the nations of the world use them to wage war.

A British Navy captain captures a Chinese dragon egg. No one on board knows anything about dragons, except that they have to be tamed at birth, and there is no time to get the egg back to England. Because it is Chinese, it is infinitely precious, because the Chinese breed the best dragons in the world. Due to misadventure, the Navy captain tames the dragon, and thus is thrust into the word of the Dragon corps, a licentious, freewheeling lot, despised by the Navy, that even accepts women into their ranks. Of course, they see the Navy as a bunch of supercilious prigs, and most of them treat him accordingly.

This book contains enough classic fantasy elements to make it a rollicking good read, without so many cliches that you can anticipate the entire ending ten pages in. By the fifth book in the series, Ms. Novik has taken her characters to a different place than I guessed at the end of book one, or even at the end of book two.

It's not deathless prose. But if you like fantasy, and you need a summer read, I would suggest it. If you don't like ebooks, it also comes in paper here.

Chocolate

Thanks to Won't Go Down Without a Fight, I too have been promised free chocolate (check my mailbox in 4-6 weeks).

I don't actually eat Mars-brand chocolate, as I avoid high fructose corn syrup. However, I regularly send care packages to soldiers in Iraq through Any Soldier, Inc., and Mars products are one of the things soldiers request.