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Frugal Mom

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Daytime

Published: March 19, 2009

1. Stop paying for things you can get for free!
Free legal advice – www.Avvo.com
This is one of my favorites, and man, could I have saved thousands had I known about it when I went through a divorce.
Consulting a real, live attorney usually costs about $400 an hour.
At avvo.com, you can ask any legal question – even anonymously – and get a personalized answer.
This is so relevant right now – most people have financial questions, maybe some tax or property related questions – this advice can be priceless.

2. Talk is Cheap! www.Boostmobile.com
One of the easiest ways to cut down your family budget fast is to get cell phone savvy. This is one of the biggest areas people continue to fork over fist-fuls of money when they don't need to!
According to the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today, the real "smart" phone this year for people on a budget – is the unlimited pre-paid kind – specifically the just launched Boost Mobile unlimited prepaid talk and text plan for $50 a month.
This is the first time one of these no-contract, no background check kind of plans has been available in a nationwide calling area (before you could only use it in your own city).
Why this is so hot – it's affordable and predictable.

3. Meal Steals and Deals – www.kidsmealdeals.com
At KidsmealDeals.com, you can find all kinds of places where kids eat FREE with a paying adult.
This includes Denny's and Lone Star Steakhouse -- kids eat free every Tuesday night (and some Saturdays).
IHOP, Golden Corral, Red Robin and Roadhouse Grill restaurants offer kids-eat-free deals at select locations.
You register, type in your zip code and the site gives you all the freebies in your area.
Restaurant.com
If you go online and type in "restaurant deals" and you'll come up with hundreds of sites offering coupons for everything from high-end steak houses to fast food freebies.
restaurant.com is the grand-daddy of restaurant savings sites. This company has partnered with 95-hundred restaurants nationwide.
You go online, sign up and spend $10 to buy a gift certificate that's worth $25 at the restaurant of your choice.
The catch: many of the restaurants on this site tell you upfront that your coupon is only redeemable on certain days – often not on Saturdays, and only after a minimum purchase of $30 or so – AND with an 18% gratuity added.

4. Online Swap versus Online Shop: www.Swapstyle.com
The average person spends about $1,750 a year on clothing and its upkeep, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' most recent Consumer Expenditure Survey. Why on earth would you spend all that money when you can get great stuff for just the cost of shipping:
At swapstyle.com, you can swap clothes, accessories, shoes – even cosmetics – with a huge social network of people – mainly women – online.
At www.swaptree.com – you can get free Books, DVD's and Videogames
I listen to audio books with my daughter during our commute time in the car – one book on tape can run anywhere from $20-$50 – you listen to it once and that's it. Now, I just list the CD book we're done with and trade it for the next Harry Potter book (or whatever)
I also like the earth-friendly aspect of re-using and recycling here. It's kind of a natural thing for moms to want to do anyway – here we have a whole new world opened up to us.

5. Smart & Savvy Do It Yourself Car Help: CarMD www.carMD.com

The average person spends nearly $2500 dollars a year on car maintenance. With this little tech gadget, you can save huge.

This handheld little gadget can save you thousands of dollars a year.
It's called CarMD and it's like having a mechanic in your glovebox…and a dozen years of automotive training right in your own computer.
10% of all vehicles have a check engine light on right now (including mine).
You plug CarMD into your car's computer via a port near the steering wheel – it's really easy.
CarMD costs less than $100 and could more than pay for itself the first time you use it, especially if it diagnoses a hidden problem that could wind up costing a fortune down the road, AND it can be used on up to three vehicles.
A lot of people are buying used cars – use CarMD before hand and make sure you're getting your money's worth. You can also use CarMD to pre-"smog" test your car or get a second opinion on your mechanic's report.
Also, with spring break coming up, it's nice know has a clean bill of health before road trips
You can print the results out on your home computer and compare it to the mechanic's notes.

6. Free directory assistance: www.free411.com

I was pretty mortified when I realized I was spending $30-$50 a month on 411 calls – a service you can totally get for free!

By calling 1-800-FREE411, you get free directory assistance service for any business, residential, government or toll-free listing in the United States.

How it works: is that after navigating the voice prompts, you listen to a short advertisement (about 12 seconds long) and then you have the option to connect to the original business you requested, or to the sponsor.

A family of four can save up to $80-$100 a month – or about a $1000 a year.

In 2007, People spent 6-7 billion dollars on directory assistance calls – that's more than the US Government spent on cancer research that same year!

The catch: it's all automated (which is part of the reason they can give it to you for free)

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