Actually, I need to get a pair of good shears for doing my husband’s hair with.  Using regular scissors is SO frustrating!  I’ve actually been using my BIG sewing scissors, but the tips don’t cut straight for hair, it sort of ’spoons’ it.  There are some BEAUTIFUL pink/jewel tone shears, but the student models are more in our price range.  If you compare cutting at home (even with the cost of expensive shears) to going out for hair cuts, it’s still much cheaper!

When our first daughter was born we went through a LOT of different diapering ointments. One that wasn’t available at that time was Boudreaux’s Butt Paste, formulated by a pharmacist with the direction of a pediatrician to help out with effective diaper rash care.

Diaper rash, I know we’ve all battled it at one time or another. One of the main ingredients in Boudreaux’s is zinc oxide, around 16%. If you’re familiar with mineral makeup at all, zinc oxide is one of the compounds responsible for the protective, nourishing properties of minerals for the skin, and it works this way on baby bums too. Zinc oxide is a soothing, anti-inflammatory, and definitely worth giving a try. There are other ingredients as well, like peruvian balsam. Apparently it smells good, cleans up easily (have you ever had zinc preparations that are terrible to wipe off of babies bum at changes?), comes in many sizes, has been featured all over national television, and is easy to find nation-wide.

Whew. Worth giving a try? You can get your free sample of Butt Paste by sending them a 6″ x 9″ SASE (around $1.69), so you can try it for yourself on any rashy baby bottoms you have handy before investing in a full size.

Enjoy!

Wow, is it already that time of year again?  August is almost upon us, and while we homeschool pretty much year round, I know children in some districts will be back at it come the beginning of next month!  Others will be restarting their educational studies in September, but still, I can hear moms across the continent already turning their thoughts back towards scholastic activities.

I’m always up for a good bargain, and although I’m not the most ‘online coupon’ savvy cookie in the bunch, I’m starting to learn that there are great savings to be had online, if you only know where to look!

My Coupons is a source you may not be familiar with that offers free, exclusive coupon codes for back-to-school.  They have popular back-to-school savings for new wardrobes, to textbooks, novelties, and more.  From free shipping at Crocs to 15% off at Oriental Trading Company, there’s  a little bit of everything there for young students on through college (like textbook rentals).

You can also find My Coupons on Twitter and Facebook for easy ways to stay up to date on new coupon offers.

Have fun bargain-hunting as back-to-school season kicks into gear!

99 Ways to Increase Your Income

This title is a good choice for readers who just want to “dip a toe” into the world of economizing and increasing potential earnings.  For dedicated frugalistas and economizers, there are likely to be few tips here that they haven’t come across before.  Personally, we already utilize many, many of the suggested economizing methods, and are engaged in developing alternative income sources ourselves.  For readers like us, you’ll need a meatier book than this one, but for young adults with little financial or budgeting experience, who are just setting out on their own, this title could make a good, broad introduction to the subject.

The tips are fairly short, and none go into much detail.  For example, in the sections on blogging for income and freelance writing and editing (both of which I have done myself), there is only a paragraph or so, which is really only enough to plant the germ of an idea, not enough to actually pursue these courses as a viable source of income without further extensive research (entire books can and have been written on the topics!)

Martin does write in a lively, entertaining style, and the book is a brisk, introductory read.  Christian principles shine through in his dedication to generosity, and avoidance of any sort of unethical suggestions.

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW AT CHRISTIANBOOK.COM OR AMAZON.COM!

Times remain tough across North America – even here in Canada we are just at what is predicted to be the start of a lengthy recession.  Despite some news that the economy is starting to improve, a recent report entitled Recession, Recovery & Store Brands found in a survey of 800 US shoppers, that 8 of 10 supermarket shoppers see no improvement in the economy, and 40% say things have actually gotten worse in recent months.

In a reaction to their perceptions of an economic low, 62% of consumers plan to buy more Store Brand products as they deal with the tough economy.  These are the ‘No Name’ or store name branded products, up here we have “Our Compliments” as one store brand, I’m sure you can think of the others that are available locally.  These products are lower priced, but are often still good quality, the only difference being the savings that would normally be spent on marketing campaigns. Parent’s Choice is a baby formula that meets all government regulations but offers significant savings to formula-feeding parents who are feeling the crunch.

Shoppers who identify themselves as frequent buyers of store brands are now at an all-time high (57% of shoppers), so if you are trying to economize in this way, you’re not alone!  43% of shoppers are trying Store Brands for the first time in categories where they used to buy only national brands and virtually all (97%) of shoppers who switched to a Store Brand are happy with their new choice.  49% say their new Store Brand selections compare “very favorably”, a percentage which has increased from 35% in June 2009.

This is definitely an area where downsizing is as simple as changing brands, if you aren’t already economizing with store brands, you might want to step out and give it a try.

This spring, they’re celebrating their 3rd birthday with 15% off everything!  They also have some exciting new products like all natural play clay.  So, hurry on over before March 21st at midnight and use coupon code “springbirthday2010″ to get your discount!

You can sign up here, and they have free shipping on orders over $39 as a matter of course.

Hmm, I can hear chapters calling my name…

Fellow Canadian book-lovers, this PSA is for you .

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

Just in time for the busiest shopping season of the year, Dirtdevil.com has released an exclusive (free) guide to finding bargains online!  Written to provide online shoppers with the tools, resources, and all-important bargain-listing websites they need to get geared up for Black-Friday and the newly instituted Cyber-Monday

While we don’t go in for the ‘holidays’ we certainly don’t object to receiving great deals on items that we’ll need throughout the year if they’re on sale during this season!

You might be thinking, yeah yeah – a gift guide from Dirt Devil, it’s likely loaded with vacuum cleaners, right?  Well, yes and no.  I did see some super-great Dirt Devil products that I wouldn’t mind owning (like their combination sweeper/vacuums – my kitchen needs one!) but they’re lightly sprinkled through the guide, giving suggestions for men, women, and family.

The bulk of the guide is actually helpful for any bargain-hunter, with money saving websites, rebate sites, twitter accounts to follow to alert you to deals, 300 money saving tips and resources all together. Something I was previously unaware of is the second annual Free Shipping day on December 17th – there’s something we should ALL know about!

Well, I’m off to look at those sweeper/vacuums online and see if I can get a deal one one!

These aren’t necessarily the ‘big’ questions of life, but the little ones, “Where can I buy this?  Will this item last?  Is it a good value for the money?  What is the best type of product that will accomplish this task?” and so on.  Freshdeals.com provides a unique combination of shopping search engine and advice column where people go to for their answers – the worldwide web.

Readers can look-up the latest deals, including coupon codes, discounts, and savings at a variety of online shops.  They can also ask and answer questions related to a wide range of shopping questions.  Anything from “Is there a baby sock that is made to stay on your baby’s feet?” to “Are they baby pants available with pads in the knee for when the baby starts crawling?“, they can be sorted by category and searched. Product searches can also be conducted with associated questions shown beneath them, as well as an option for price comparisons when more than one listed store offers the item.

Overall, Freshdeals is a unique site for shopping reconnaissance – I’ll certainly be heading there the next time I need a shopping question answered and I don’t want to do a lot of online ‘legwork’ myself.

Now I’m excited to share a coupon code for this fabulous baby carrier with you, as well as an opportunity to vote in accordance with your love for this comfy, convenient wrap.

Sleepy Wrap has been listed on the Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine Readers Choice Awards! Readers from all over the world may vote online at the Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine Website for their favorite baby and maternity products.  Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine Reader’s Choice Awards will determine the top brands in many categories of baby and maternity products based solely on the input received from voters such as yourself. We hope that with your help, Sleepy Wrap will have it’s time to shine! 

So, what do you need to do to vote the Sleepy Wrap up?  Head on over to Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine and register for an account there (free of course).  After you activate your account, and log in, click on the big pink words Vote Now In Our Readers’ Choice Awards! under your name, and you’re off!

As their way of saying “Thank you!” our readers get a 15% off coupon code for the beautiful new Organic Sleepy Wrap! The code “ivoted” (no space!) is good until May 31st when the Pregnancy & Newborn RCA poll CLOSES! 

When you Vote now you can also enter to win Pregnancy & Newborn’s GRAND PRIZE SELECTION OF THE WINNING GEAR! So have fun, vote on the categories you’re familiar with, and if you love Sleepy Wrap’s, keep them in mind!