Free $25 - Weird but absolutely true

OK, the MoneySavingMom blog this morning has a "too good to be true, but is" posting about a bank that's opened up what they hope will be competition for PayPal. It's called Revolution Money Exchange and (here's the "too good to be true" part), just for opening an account, they give you $25.00. That's right -- $25 free. No strings. No depositing money of your own. Poof! $25.00.

I've done it, I've created an account. But I didn't do it until I got online and did some research on the parent company and, to the best of my knowledge and researching skills, it's legit. They are the First Bank and Trust in Brookings, SD, have 8 branch offices, are FDIC insured, etc. I do not fill out forms lightly on the internet, so you know I had to feel pretty secure to fill this form out. If you're so inclined to receive $25.00 free, use the button here in my post because I will get a $10 referral fee. Then go put it on your blog and do the same! Once you sign up, go to MY ACCOUNT and somewhere on there you'll see the word ACCEPT with a blue check mark - click on that to have the $25 put into your account. Once you do that, you can withdraw the funds!! Hey, free money is free money! ADDED LATER IN RESPONSE TO ANONYMOUS' COMMENT: I agree to ALWAYS be leary. However, can you actually give me the names of the web sites that called this a scam, because I don't find them (try doing a Google search for INTERNET SCAM "REVOLUTION MONEY EXCHANGE" ). Not only do I not find posts calling this a scam, I find the opposite. Here's what I find (and I'm not trying to push this on anyone!!! I'm just trying to make sure that something *I* signed up for is not a scam!!) Washington Post – "Former AOL chairman Steve Case is at it again, this time using his Revolution LLC investment firm to start a new credit card company he's calling Revolution Money…AOL vice chairman emeritus Ted Leonsis will chair the new company…the board also will include former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, former Mastercard CEO Russell Hogg, and former Charles Schwab chief executive David Potruck." USA Today - "Leonsis predicts the service will have 1 million merchants and 1 million customers signed up within a year." ReadWriteWeb - "The company recently announced a $50 million Series B round of funding from Citi, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank and others." Bloomberg - Case's Revolution Introduces Credit Card With Lower Fees - Case, 49, has invested $100 million of his own money in Revolution. Computer World - CEO Jason Hogg says, "At the same time, you have greater security. I think there are opportunities for a better model, and an Internet-based payment platform affords us that opportunity." Wall Street Journal – "Revolution Money is also offering the first anonymous credit card with PIN-based encrypted technology. There is no name or account number on the card, 'drastically reducing the risk of identity theft, fraudulent charges and other consequences of cards being lost or stolen,' the firm said." TechCrunch - "Of course, if they want the money, they have to sign up for the application, and link it to their bank account. But that's exactly how PayPal went viral....In truth, Revolution Money sees MoneyExchange as a loss leader for its real business, which is the RevolutionCard, its credit card that undercuts Visa and Mastercard. It has no intention of making money off of MoneyExchange by charging for transactions because in its eyes the online payment service is just a way to build up a valuable network of potential credit card customers. You can be sure that every MoneyExchange member will get an offer for the RevolutionCard. Steve Case is just seeding the market."

STILL LATER: Thank you, Anonymous, for your comments and your clarification. I think we're both on the same page -- I just took the dive. I do want to report back on all this. I had no problem establishing an account. One person took me up on my offer, so my account then showed a $35 balance. Tonight I went into my account and requested a check for $32.50 (they charge a $2.50 fee for issuing a check vs direct deposit, but since I didn't want to give out my bank info, I preferred a check), which they say will arrive within 7 to 10 business days. The MY ACCOUNT area does have a function to close the account. However, since I'm an Ebay seller and would actually LOVE to see PayPal have some competition (their fees have grown enormously), I'm going to stay with it for a bit and see how many people join up. I have read several blogs that tell me Ebay Sellers are excited about the possibilities. I'm going to hang on and see. IF the check arrives I will post here. I will also watch my credit report watch dog service and make sure this hasn't in any way affected my credit report, and report back here if I see anything. The ONE drawback I see is that this new service does not pay interest on money you leave in the account, as PayPal does. When I'm actively selling on Ebay I often leave money in PayPal for months at a time (in case someone requests a refund), and I do like getting the interest on my money. We'll see!

Spring cleaning - slow but sure

I've gotten several "junk drawers" cleaned out and my coupons cut and organized (they were all stuffed in a drawer in my office), and today I'm attacking the family room. I need to remove the winter slipcovers, wash them and hang them out, plus take down the curtains, wash and hang out. If I can also get the tracks of the sliding door cleaned (it's toothbrush time!) and the windows, doors, and electronics cleaned, I'll be happy.

The weather here is just gorgeous - should be low 70's today. I've turned our furnace off completely, though it's still high 40's and low 50's at night. Hopefully we won't have to turn it on again this season, which will be a huge savings. Jeff did, however, refill and connect the hot tub, so the savings of having the furnace off is going to be counteracted by the new increase in electricity for the hot tub. Ah well...

Aside from the Spring cleaning tasks, I have some errands to run today, and I need to buy gas. I just checked GasBuddy.com and found gas prices in my errand route range from $3.12 to $3.34! I'm glad I checked as my "regular" station is in the $3.20's. Gas prices change so quickly here that I'll check one more time, just as I'm ready to go out the door.

Homemade no sugar Cole Slaw

You will be amazed at how great this coleslaw is! 1/2 bag prepared coleslaw mix (or slice and dice your own cabbage and carrots) 1/2 cup mayo (I use only Canola Oil Mayo) 1 tbsp Splenda 1 tbsp white vinegar Sprinkling of caraway seeds (optional) Mix mayo, caraway seeds, Splenda and vinegar, pour over coleslaw mix and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Option 1: Adjust Splenda and vinegar, depending on how tart/sweet you like your coleslaw. Option 2: If you want a creamier coleslaw, add sour cream. Option 3: For low-fat recipe, just use low-fat mayo.

Grocery shopping

Grocery shopping this week took me two full hours, but it was worth it. I didn't receive this week's Kroger flyer, so I went to their website and found I could make my list there from what was on sale, and print it off! They have a lot of 10 for $10 sales, plus you get $5 off if you buy 10 of these items. I used the web site and determined ONLY the items on sale that we use on a fairly regular basis, plus other sale items not in the 10/10 category. With list in hand, off I went. I paid $114. Sound like a lot? I've already sat down and made up TWO WEEKS of menu's for what I bought! YAY! That means I'm right at my target of $60 to $70 per week. I used about $9 in manufacturer's coupons (which Krogers matches up to $1), had a few freebie coupons, and then focused on the items that would get me the $15 cash back. I also bought 5 lbs of ground beef ($1.49 lb.) and 16 bone-in chicken breasts (which I will skin and de-bone myself) at $.99 cents a pound. The bones and trimmings that come off the breasts will make a good soup. Here's a look at my two week menu's: Sun - Hamburger chili casserole (Dreamfield pasta $1 coupon), salad Mon - Baked chicken, rice side dish, vegetable Tues - Manwich on 100 calorie Eng muffins, salad or soup (depending on the weather) Wed - Left over chicken in Stir Fry, veg egg rolls (from freezer) Thurs - Spaghetti w/meatballs (make xtra meatballs and meatloaf for freezer) Fri - Chicken pot pie, salad Sat - Taco salad (cooked extra meat from Sunday's casserole, freezer) Sun - Breakfast for dinner (husband's favorite dinner) Mon - Tuna casserole, salad Tues - Pork chops (freezer) w/BBQ sauce, homemade coleslaw, salad Wed - Meatballs in beef gravy served on egg noodles, vegetable Thurs - Baked chicken, baked potato, vegetable Fri - Pizza night (order in) - Donation book gives us 2 pizzas for price of one, we'll split the cost with daughter, pay $6 for large 2 topping pizza. Sat - BBQ chicken on the grill, salad Sun - Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, veg, crescent rolls I also bought 2 packages of lunch meat (turkey, ham), 6 cans of tuna, 2 bags of organic chips, 2 loaves of bread -- so I have plenty to make Jeff's lunch for the next two weeks. He'll have dinner leftovers for lunch the next day when available. Brayden will eat tuna casserole, spaghetti, and leftover chicken for his lunch. Breakfasts will be cereal, oatmeal or breakfast burritos. I also bought bananas and apples, which we'll all eat for lunch and snacks. Krogers had 12 packs of Diet Coke on sale 4/$10, and I have apple and orange juice in the fridge, so we're all set on drinks. Plenty of coffee on hand (always). I did buy one cake mix, and I'll make cupcakes and put them in the freezer and pull them out frozen for Jeff or Brayden's lunch, frost them at the last minute. The cake mix and canned frosting were both on sale for .50 (10/$10, less $5 cash back). I can't make them from scratch for that price. So I think those are good menu's for two weeks, on less than $60. The cashier at Krogers told me they will be having a similar sale next week, but I won't participate unless I can find manufacturer's coupons and end up with the items for free, or they are "stock up" items we use regularly. And while I was out, I got a FREE car wash. I go to a great car wash that charges $11 to clean your car inside and out, and they REALLY clean it, including washing inside windows and wiping down all inside surfaces, then vac'ing it out. Every time I go, I get a card punched, and today I got my free car wash! Made the grocery deals just that much sweeter!

Spring has sprung

Spring has hit full tilt here in southwestern Ohio, and I'm loving it. It was warm enough yesterday to hang out laundry for the first time! I did three loads of laundry, so that's three times the dryer was NOT used. I'm thinking of keeping track. I have two loads of sheets to do today, and almost can't wait to climb into bed with those fresh smelling sheets. Now that I think of it, I should probably wash the blanket and quilt that are on the bed as well -- and have a fresh start. Mmmmmm...

I spent the evening sewing last night... you can see the results on my other blog. I was more "productive" yesterday than I've been in awhile.. yay! It felt good. I hope to get back in there today for a few more hours.

Today I'm headed out grocery shopping, specials and coupons in hand. Our local Krogers is having a 10 for $10 sale, where you then get $5 back for your next grocery shopping, with a maximum of $15. I made sure to add to my grocery list ONLY those items I buy on a regular basis (I try not to be a "it's on sale so I must have it" kind of shopper), and I will still get the entire $15 off. I also went to manufacturer's websites to look for coupons for what was on sale, and found several to print off. I'll get to my grocery bill goal of $65 this week, I think.

I made a Spring wreath for the front door. The wreath was fairly low cost -- $2 for a grapevine wreath (with 50% coupon from Michaels - which is $2 too much considering I could have walked out to my garden and picked my own grapevines.. duh), 5 stems of forysthia at .65 each (Michaels, on sale) and some Spring-green ribbon I already had. So for under $6 I have a beautiful Spring wreath on my front door! (I also made a big bow of the green ribbon, but the ribbon is so thin that it just looked like a giant green dead spider on the wreath -- I took it off.)

I also need to run to the next town's local library. Our library no longer carries the free downloadable audio books (boooo!), so now I have a .wma file player without anything to listen to. Luckily, both the Mason and Cincinnati Public Libraries have them, and I can get cards at both. I do miss listening to audio books while doing housework, though I've been turning on Sirius radio and listening to that while I clean -- but it's not the same.

Spring cleaning is still ongoing, but progressing. I'm thinking I might talk to Jeff about hiring someone to come do the outside windows. We bought this house a few years before the new windows came out that allow you to clean the outside of the window from the inside -- boy, would I love those! And in the next few years we will have to replace all our windows. But until then, the dirty outside windows drive me crazy and Jeff hates climbing a ladder to wash them as often as I'd like. Talking about paying for someone to do them will accomplish getting the windows cleaned -- whether it's by actually hiring someone OR by Jeff mumbling "No, I can do it...." is yet to be seen. (Marriage tip to the newlyweds out there -- this is how you get things done without seeming pushy -- always let him think it's his idea!)

Well, off to hang more laundry, and then grocery shopping before the church crowd floods the store!

Stretching my dollar

I've recovered from the very strange little flu bug I had for 48 hours or so. Nauseous, tired, achey, fuzzy-headedness (is that a word?) and chills were the symptoms -- sleep and Pepto were the cure.

As I've posted about before, I've been focusing on getting my grocery bill down while prices continue to go up. I've done fairly well -- dropped from $130 to $140 a week to about $80 to $100 a week, mostly by taking advantage of sales and using coupons, and continuing with my weekly menu planning. I know I could feed the two and a quarter of us for less (the "quarter" is Brayden Lee on babysitting days), but at some point you have to have a food standard, I think. I'm not willing to serve beans and rice over and over again. We like to have a healthy meal that includes meats, vegetables and alternating starches. But I would like to get my bill down to $65 to $75 a week -- I'd be very happy!

I've been making use of blogs on frugal living and coupons, such as Centsible Shopper and Money Saving Mom. Those two websites alone can save you an amazing amount of money. They combine readily available (and often printable) grocery coupons with current grocery or drugstore sales, and can often tell you how to get products for free (after coupons and rebates). I took advantage of some Walgreen rebates this week and did get $13.00+ of items that I buy on a regular basis for free. Today, Money Saving Mom has a link to a free sample of True Lemon powdered drink mix (0 calories, 0 carbs), which I thought was bringing to your attention. Not only do you get a free sample, but when you order your free sample, they donate 10 samples to troops overseas! Talk about a win-win offer! You can get your free sample here. I have some other freebie things that I love, and thought I'd share. First, is the Kraft Food and Family magazine. I have tried so many recipes out of this free magazine, and look forward to it every month. I am a good cook, but I'm definitely not a gourmet cook. Show me a recipe with more than 7 or 8 ingredients, and I'll make reservations for us at our favorite restaurant. I like simple foods (it's the New Englander in me) with not a lot of ingredients. This magazine covers everything from salads to desserts, cooking for parties to cooking for kids. It's actually a beautiful, professionally done magazine that you don't expect of a freebie. You can sign up for your copy here (sign up for the web site itself, then once you're signed up, you can request the magazine). Another free magazine I enjoy is Lowe's Creative Living magazine. I think it's published six times a year, but it's jam-packed with good ideas on creating storage solutions, decorating ideas, and heck, it's just plain fun to look at and dream. You can sign up here. While you're signing up, you may want to subscribe to their Garden Club magazine as well. I will never, ever shop for anything online without first doing a Google search for the particular web site, plus the word "code". Last week I received email from Direct Gardening and they were having a good sale on a new species of Willow trees that I was interested in. We've been talking about using trees as a natural fencing for two years now, and this tree (and sale) was just what I was waiting for. The trees were already a good deal, but I did my google search thing and came up with a code on Retail Me Not that gave me freebies at checkout, and, combined with an offer they already had going, I'll receive my 20 trees PLUS 40 additional plants, including a red maple tree! So if you go to buy something online, and at checkout you see a box that says "coupon code" or "promotion code" or some such thing, do a google search for that web site's name, plus "code" and you may be very pleasantly surprised. Gas prices got you down? Gas here in the greater Cincinnati area fluxuate by as much as .30 a gallon in a 24 hour period. I just never know when to buy gas anymore -- until I found this web site: GasBuddy.com Before I head out to run errands, I check this web site and find where gas is the cheapest in my area and plan my errands around it! I usually save between .10 and .20 a gallon by doing this. Lastly (wow - this is a long post), I have two "Helpful Hints" for you regarding buying items online. In most instances, you'll use a credit card for online buying (I prefer to use PayPal but not all websites accept it). I have one credit card now that I use strictly for online shopping. No other charges go on this card and it allows me to easily view transactions online so I can feel safe that my card number hasn't been stolen. (As a side note, I use the Bank of America credit card because they notify me INSTANTLY when a charge is made to my card. If it's over an amount I pre-set, they actually call me to verify the charge! Under that amount, they email me and let me know a charge was made via the Internet or telephone. GREAT feature!) I use my regular bank's debit card for all "live" transactions. (And just so my son the financial wizard will stop having heart palpitations -- my credit card is paid off each month!) Also, set up your email to help you keep track of online orders. I have two folders in my Outlook Program -- one labelled "Internet Orders" and a sub-folder of that named "Received". When I place an order, the email verification that I receive goes into the "Internet Orders" folder. When the item is received, I drag and drop it into the "Received" folder. This allows me to make sure I've received everything I've ordered, plus it gives me a record-copy of invoices in case I need to return something.

Sick

I've been hit by a stomach flu...ugh. I'm spending most of my time sleeping, but I'll be back..