Book Review Coming Soon...

Something new I'd like to start doing is sharing a few book reviews. I just finished "The Duck Commander Family", a book about the family featured in the popular A&E series "Duck Dynasty". Stayed tuned this weekend for the complete review and a clue as to the new book on my February reading list.

Free Tax Filing

Several tax companies are offering deals this tax season.  You can lower your tax bill by taking advantage of these free online programs.  You can also use them to get an idea of what your return may be before you file.

H&R Block – Free Federal E-File

Turbo Tax – FREE Federal E-File

My husband and I have had great luck with Turbo Tax over the last 4 years. We're using it again this year!

Inbox Dollars (Paid Surveys)

If you’re looking for a way to earn some extra cash from home, here’s a new opportunity from Inbox Dollars.  Earn $5 just by joining, and then get additional rewards by reading emails, shopping online, and completing surveys. I joined Inbox Dollars a year ago, and while it won’t make you rich,  you can earn a few extra dollars by taking their surveys.

Read Emails – this is the easiest way to earn with InboxDollars. Join InboxDollars and you’ll start receiving emails with offers on products and services. Simply click the link at the bottom of each email to confirm that you read it and you’ll earn cash rewards. You don’t have to purchase or sign up for anything, but of course if you complete the offer in the email you will earn even more cash!

Complete 100% FREE Offers – Check out the 100% FREE offers area of the InboxDollars site and you can earn cash (between $0.25 – $3.00) for trialing a new product or service with no money down and no credit card required. To find 100% FREE offers, visit InboxDollars.com, place your mouse over “Offers” and you’ll see 100% FREE offers as the first option.

Search the Web – you must download the InboxDollars toolbar to use its paid search feature. You earn $1.00 for downloading the toolbar and earn $0.01 per search per day, up to a maximum of $0.05 cents per day. Do five searches a day to max out your earnings!

Watch Videos – this may be the most fun way to earn rewards. Simply watch short videos on InboxDollars.com and you’ll earn cash – up to 6 cents per short video. New videos are posted every week, so you’ll always have new opportunities to watch and earn.

Take Surveys – earn between $0.50 – $10.00 for sharing your opinion via surveys. InboxDollars emails you with survey opportunities and posts new surveys to its website every day.

It’s easy to earn your first $30 in about 4-5 weeks. After receiving your $5 sign-up bonus, complete 5-10 surveys and several 100% FREE offers, read emails regularly, do web searches and watch a few videos each week. Once you’ve reached $30 in earnings, remember you need to request your first payment. Visit your My Account area on the site and click on “Request Payment” so InboxDollars can verify your mailing address and get a check in the mail to you.

Mint (Budget Tool & App)

A couple of months ago, I discovered Mint.com. It has really helped to keep me on track with my budgeting and kept me accountable. It is very user friendly especially for novices like myself, but the best part is that everything is simple to understand. If you’re not familiar with Mint.com, it’s is a great, free website that helps you manage your money. There is also an fantastic free app you can download. 

You can enter your budget, it shows how much you are spending and warns you if you are about to over spend. 
You can categorize every purchase, then it breaks down your spending so you can see exactly where your money is going. 
It creates a beautiful pie chart (for those who love to see numbers in picture form!) to show what percentage of your money is going where. 
The app lets you see how much is in your account and how much you’ve spent from your budget. 
When you enter your budget, it shows what the national average is for spending in that category (which is so interesting, and exciting when you see you’re spending a lot less than everyone else!)

Say NO to Fees

Avoid ATM fees like the plague. It’s like throwing money away…literally. Here's a few tips to help you hang on to your hard earned money:

• Only use free ATMs, which are the ones at your banking institution. If you bank at a smaller “hometown” bank, consider switching to one with a larger ATM network (like Suntrust Bank).
• Bank with financial institutions that will reimburse your fees (like USAA). 
• Keep a little "mad money" at home for unforeseen outings. Instead of “running to the ATM”, we can just grab what we need.
• Get cash back. These days, most ATM cards double as debit cards. If I need some cash, I simply use the cash back feature offered at most checkouts. Some stores will allow you to get as much as $100 back!

Kick the cola

Did you now that just two sodas, energy drinks, or fancy coffee drinks can cost as much as $5 a day…that’s $150 a month and $1,800 a year! I ♥ my coffee, but I rarely go through the Starbucks drive-thru because why pay for something I can make for pennies at home? Sure, I get an occasional hot coffee or tea when I’m out but it’s rare. It’s a special treat. I can afford it, but I’d rather save my money so I have more for things I really want! Nickels and dimes…they add up 

Random Joy!

Family is the second best gift to me besides my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I am often reminded of just how often I take family for granted, I always believe they will be around and miss opportunities to spend some real quality time with those that I love. I came across this great photo of my Mom, aunts, uncles and grand parents back in 1987 and was immediately consumed with a sense of overwhelming joy. I love rifling through old photo albums and getting caught up in those memories. These moments are what I call "Random Joy". When was the last time you took a trip down memory lane?

What's the plan?

There are plenty of new topics and goals that I'd like to share with you in the upcoming weeks. I've learned the importance of settings realistic goals and allowing myself to mess up without giving up. In the past 6 months, I have been determined to save my pennies to build an emergency fund and though it has been difficult from time to time, it has been worth it. Here are a few goals that I am working on now...

2013 Long term goals:

• Save $2000.00 in an emergency fund
• Generate $500 in side income (I will be sharing these ideas with you soon)
• Generate $500 in gift card income
• Buy a "new to me" used vehicle by paying cash

It's also important to set some short term goals, these help in growing my confidence and giving me a sense of accomplishment. So what are your goals for 2013? Is there a big ticket item you want to purchase or a vacation you've been planning for a while? I'd love to hear from you.

Hello Grace Savers, it has been quite some time since I've posted. I've felt a longing to return to blogging for a while now and decided that I will be posting once again, however on a limited basis. The reason I first quit was due to being burnt out, I don't want that to happen again. I'm going to try a new approach of writing about what I truly love, doing it intentionally and not caving into the pressure of posting every single deal out there. I want positive and uplifting content that will bless myself as well as you. I will also incorporate sound biblical principles that have helped my husband and I to thrive in this roller coaster economy. I hope you will be apart of the fun & discussions. So stay tuned and watch out for new posts coming this weekend. 

God Bless,
Anna