Beauty 4 Moms

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This is a great free opportunity to get a Free Conair Fabric Steamer. If you’re not already a member, sign up for Viewpoints and apply to receive a free “review and keep” Conair Fabric Steamer. Only those who qualify will get one, but sign up and apply to be considered. They have product review & keep offers quite often, so it’s a great membership to have!

Viewpoints also has a variety of product reviews and surveys where you can earn money. Sign up today and get updated directly from Viewpoints!

Pin It Now! Take a look at this fascinating article from Associated Press. I would have never thought of this!

MILWAUKEE – Here’s a way you might save $20 this year: Change the font in the documents you print.

Because different fonts require different amounts of ink to print, you could be buying new printer cartridges less often if you wrote in, say, Century Gothic rather than Arial. Schools and businesses could save thousands of dollars with font changes.

Data on the subject from Printer.com, a Dutch company that evaluates printer attributes, persuaded the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay to make a switch. Diane Blohowiak, coordinator of information-technology user support, has asked faculty and staff to use Century Gothic for all printed documents. The school also plans to change its e-mail system so it uses Century Gothic.

“The feedback we’ve gotten so far has been positive,” she said. “Century Gothic is very readable.”

The school of 6,500 students spends about $100,000 per year on ink and toner cartridges. Although students and staff can change the default font to something more ink-intensive, Blohowiak said the university expects to save $5,000 to $10,000 per year with the font switch.

When Printer.com tested popular fonts for their ink-friendly ways, Century Gothic and Times New Roman topped the list. Calibri, Verdana, Arial and Sans Serif were next, followed by Trebuchet, Tahoma and Franklin Gothic Medium. Century Gothic uses about 30 percent less ink than Arial.

The amount of ink a font drains is mainly driven by the thickness of its lines. A font with “narrow” or “light” in its name is usually better than its “bold” or “black” counterpart, said Thom Brown, an ink researcher at Hewlett-Packard Co., the world’s top maker of printers.

Also, serif fonts — those with short horizontal lines at the top and bottom of characters — tend to use thinner lines and thus less ink than a “sans serif” counterpart.

Read the full article here.

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For the long-time personal finance guru's this topic of interest might be repetitive to you, but for the newbies who are seeking order from financial chaos, Mint.com is the latest technology in budget maintenance.

Mint.com is an online personal financial and budget management service designed to help people meet their financial goals through a user-friendly website. Over one million people use this free site to manage their budget, pay bills and get education on saving money, tax returns, free tax prep, loan payments, and investments. The site is safe and secure and offers specific guidance for anyone using the service while still allowing them to remain completely anonymous.

Mint.com lets people see exactly what they are doing with their money. It offers fun quizzes to help people choose and open the best IRA for them. It includes online budgeting tools to track current spending and set budget goals. It compares bank accounts, credit cards, CD, brokerage, and 401(k) products to find the most appropriate and cost effective option for each user. It connects all accounts in one central location. Regardless of the services someone chooses to use on Mint.com, they can all be accessed via any web browser. Mint.com can also send time-critical email and text message alerts to pre-established telephone numbers or email addresses.

One unique feature on Mint.com not commonly found on other financial planning websites is their blog section. This section, MintLife, offers an entire portion of the site dedicated to providing financial news and advice. Common topics include getting out of debt, housing, retirement, student life, becoming wealthy, frugal living, employment, and the economy.

Mint.com offers all of these services, and many more, for no fee. It does not require the installation of any special software and can be set up in as little as five minutes. Once the account is set up, adding or deleting account options and features is only a click away.

Pin It Now! Do you live in a state where people spend the most? Check out the U.S. states and cities where Americans spend the most. They have interesting statistics on how much married couples with kids spend vs how married couples without kids spend and spending by age. It makes you think. : )

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Right now you can get a coupon for $5 off the Neutrogena Acne Therapy System!

This could really save you money if you use your coupon the next time that CVS offers an ECB deal on Neutrogena's products!

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There are several great deals going on at Kmart this week and I'm going to share with you my favorite!

Special K cereal is on sale for $2.50 and when you buy five, you'll get $5 off your order.

Now here's how to turn this into a money-maker:

Even if your local Kmart isn't doubling coupons each box would still only be $0.50 after the coupons and instant savings. Enjoy!

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While I can’t eliminate laundry from your to-do list, I can help you save money on laundry with these frugal laundry tips.

Laundry can be as expensive or as inexpensive as you want it to be. Not all tips are right for every one; just choose the ones that will work for you and enjoy lower utility and laundry supply bills!

Here are 9 different ways to save on the cost of doing laundry, ranging from quick and easy to long-term solutions. Enjoy!

1. Buy Energy Star rated appliances. That Energy Star emblem means they use less energy therefore it will cost you less to use. When replacing old or worn out appliances, check first for the Energy Star for your replacement choices.

2. Cut dryer sheets in half. One box lasts twice as long when you cut the sheets in half. As soon as you buy the box, break out the scissors and cut your dryer sheet expenses by 50%! Or you could use each dryer sheets twice, this works just as well with less work!

3. Use correct amount of laundry detergent. Be sure to read and follow the recommended amount of detergent for your size load. Detergent caps are misleading! Often they will have 4 or 5 lines but only require detergent for the first line or maybe the second for a large load.

4. Use less detergent and liquid fabric softener. Are you strong enough to skip the diluting and just use less? More power to you!

5. Clean the lint trap before every load of laundry. A clean lint trap lets your dryer work more efficiently and dry clothes faster. Spend the extra 20 seconds and empty it before you start the dryer. Every 3 months scrub your lint trap with soap and water to eliminate invisible dryer sheet residue. Plus, a clean lint trap cuts down the risk of a dryer fire!

6. Line dry your clothes. Hang items to dry outside or inside over store bought racks. Personally, I don't use a dryer for undergarments (they'll last a lifetime longer and hold shape better if you don't!), nice shirts or sweaters, & t-shirts with large print on them (they will crack & look older faster if you dry them).

7. Do less laundry. Wear jeans several times before washing, use bath towels more than once (change wash cloths daily). Sweaters and jackets easily be worn more than once if you wear them layered with a shirt underneath. Make sure you hang up clothes that can be worn again so that they’re not wrinkly or washed by mistake.

8. Dry loads back to back if possible to keep the dryer from heating up again (save time and energy).

9. Wash in the coldest temperature recommended for your clothes. Save your water heater energy when possible. Cold water temperatures are proven to clean just as well as hot and will also help to preserve the fibers of your clothing so it won’t wear out as fast.