Ways to Save ... The Financial Nanny

Ways to Save Money this Summer and all year round!

I just started getting the magazine All You. You can only get it at Wal-Mart or via subscription. I got an assume deal on the subscription through Southern Living at Home for $19.99 for two years. In store it costs around $1.99. That is a savings of about $24! The cool thing about this magazine is that it is chocked full of useful coupons from food, bathroom and household items etc. I also like that it has a month worth of meal planning and recipes to go with it. I will be getting a link to purchase it shortly up on my blog, The Financial Nanny.

The June 26 issue has a great article on when to buy things to get the best price. For the month of July, your best deals are on gym memberships. You can most likely get a great deal on a month to month membership. The gyms are trying to keep their membership quotas through the summer months. If you have been looking to join the gym, it sounds like now is the time. For the month of August, is of course, the biggest back to school shopping events. Everything from clothes, crayons, notebooks, pencils, pens and computers have large discounts on them. If you are in the department for a new air conditioner or camping equipment, August provides healthy deals too.

Are you one of the people who don’t like paying full price for things? If so, I have a website for you! This website, Current Codes, contains codes for over 2000 websites. These codes can be used for discounts on purchases and shipping etc.

Nannypalooza Deals:
There are two ways to enter for a free conference registration to Nannypalooza in the fall. The first one is sponsored from NannyNetwork/Homework Solutions

Details:
How to Win:

#1 You must be a registered NannyNetwork.com Bulletin Board Poster with a minimum of 5 posts on 5 separate dates. Why? NannyNetwork.com wants to reward loyal posters who understand the value of networking with peers.

#2 You must be a nanny! Sorry, business representatives and others are ineligible.

#3 Contest is open June 1, 2009 - July 31, 2009.

#4 Email Webmaster at NannyNetwork.com with the following information: Subject = NannyPalooza 2009, NN Screen Name, Your Name, Your email Address, Your Telephone Number, Sentence (or more) on why you post at NannyNetwork.com that may be quoted on NannyNetwork.com.

#5 HomeWork Solutions will choose a winner at random.


The Conference Pass and Hotel Room night are NON TRANSFERABLE. All entries agree that their name and quotation ONLY may be posted by the operators of NannyNetwork.com when announcing the winner. The winner agrees to confirm within 10 business days their firm intention to attend. If you are the lucky winner and you cannot attend - please have the courtesy of allowing another nanny to attend.

The next one is the Nannypalooza Bounce Back Scholarship. Details:
It’s been a tough year for our industry. Many longtime nannies have lost their jobs and are finding it challenging to land a new position at a livable wage. One of the results is that some past Nannypalooza attendees won’t be able to join us this year because of their financial situation.NANC, with the help of some generous nanny sponsors, is offering a scholarship to help those nannies make it to Nannypalooza 2009. The scholarship includes conference registration and Saturday night accommodations at the Doubletree Bethesda Hotel.

Eligibility Requirements

• Worked as a nanny for at least one year and lost her job due to economic reasons.


• Currently unemployed and actively looking for a permanent position OR currently working but were unemployed for 4 or more months between Nannypalooza 2008 and now.


• Attended a Nannypalooza in the past.


• Facing a financial situation that would making attending Nannypalooza 2009 a hardship.

To enter to win the Nannypalooza Bounce Back Scholarship, please send your full name, your city / state, and support group affiliation if you have one to info@nannycredential.org with Bounce Back in the subject line. On Friday, August, 14th, we’ll draw a name from random and notify the lucky winner.

Fun and Learning - Everyday Adventures in Montgomery County, MD

Another great resource for those who live in or are headed to Montgomery County, MD.

Fun and Learning - Everyday Adventures in Montgomery County Maryland

Thanks to Alice Shaffer for providing this information.

Things to Do - Washington DC

Thanks to Alice Shaffer for providing this great information.

Things to Do - Washington DC

Things to Do - Virginia

Thanks to Alice Shaffer for providing this great information.

Things to Do - Virginia

Come back and check out Things to Do - DC.

Things to Do - Maryland

Thanks to Alice Shaffer for providing this great information.

Things to Do - Maryland

Come back and check out Things to Do - Virginia and Things to do - DC.

Great Giveaway Open to All Nannies

Check out the NEW blogs of The Financial Nanny and Gentle Transitions for an exiting opportunity to win a FREE INA Membership.

The Nanny Financial Corner - Oh Budget!

The following article appeared in the May/June 2009 ADCAN newsletter.

by Alice Shaffer

Oh Budget!

We have all been told at one time or another we need to follow a budget. However the problem we run into is how exactly to set one up and where our money goes. We would all love a personal financial planner but can't afford one. Today I bring you some hope to this frustrating process. I recently discovered an incredible site called Mint.com. This is a FREE site that is the next best thing to a financial planner. It tracks your spending habits over the past 90 days. It will sync and track your financial accounts, help create budgets and alerts you if you have been charged a bank fee or have gone over your monthly budget. There is also a feature that analyzes your accounts and can recommend additional checking and savings accounts for better interest rates including credit cards. It provides you with a pie chart of your expenses and investments. This is great if you are a visual person. Mint automatically categorizes expenses and line items which is very useful. You can also create your own categories if the default ones don’t make sense to you.

I went to the site and in about 10 minutes I had signed up for my account. The main information you need is your login, password, and security question for all the accounts you want to track. Now you might be saying "Why, would I give them access to my information?" They use the same security sign in systems as your credit cards and banks. They are a "read only" site. They don't have your account numbers. You cannot move money around in this system. For more information on their privacy policies please go here. It is a secured network.

Mint.com was named one of the 50 best websites of 2008 by Time Magazine and has won multiple Webby and PC World awards. It was also named Best New Financial Service at the American Business Awards.