Coupon Class this Saturday!

Don't forget to come to the East State Street Rockford Public Library this Saturday the 26th for Couponing 101! We will be there teaching the class from 11-12pm!

The class is free and open to anyone even if you don't live in the Rockford area! More details here.

February - Get money smart in 2011

Remember our January - Get money smart in 2011 well here is February's installment.

February

CHECK ONE CREDIT REPORT! Go to www.annualcreditreport.com and order a free report if you haven't done so in the past year. Choose from Experian, Equifax or TransUnion at the site.
BE SURE YOUR STUFF IS COVERED. Double check and update your homeowners or renters insurance policy, especially if you have pricey new toys.
GET YOUR MONEY BACK! Are you do a tax refund this year? File your return as soon as possible. And you might want to adjust your withholding so that Uncle Sam keeps less of your paycheck each month.

Get money - smart in 2011 by ShopSmart Magazine

In the latest issue of ShopSmart (a magazine published by Consumer Reports) there was a great article called "Get money-smart in 2011". The article contains an easy checklist to trim your expenses, increase savings, and get spending under control one month at a time. Each month we will post that month's checklist so you can follow along!

January
CREATE A BUDGET! Check out free sites like Mint.com and Yodlee for the basics, or try software like AceMoney ($30) or Quicken Deluxe ($60) for more comprehensive planning.
SOCK AWAY EXTRA PAY! If you budget is based on four weekly paychecks a month, in those months with five checks (Jan, March, April or May, July and October) put that windfall into savings.
PREPARE FOR TAX SEASON. Start organizing the paperwork you'll need for you 2010 tax return now.

Helping New Moms

We are blessed at our church to have some very new additions, the latest one having just been born today. By the end of November we will have 3 "newborn boys" (well, all under 3 months) in our nursery.

Today, when I saw this post on "The Finer Things In Life" I couldn't help but want to share it with others and try to implement a few of them to help out these moms! Even if you're in a difficult financial time in your life, some of these would make great "free" gifts - just make up a coupon for the new mom (i.e. - I'll clean your kitchen) and give it to her for a gift!

Hope you enjoy the read! "Encouragement for New Moms"

Thanks for the tips Jen!

Another opportunity to help

Did you miss the first call to help for Haiti we posted here but would still like to help? We just got another opportunity! Read about it here!

Great community rallying!

Wow! God is good! The word got out about our supply drive and so many responded. We packed 118 boxes at an estimated value of $250,000! There were lots of surgical tools, medical supplies, and baby formula! You can read about it here.

Thank you to all out there who contributed to the success of this drive! Thank you to the TV stations that covered it and got the word out. We only had about 24 hours to get it all together, and, by God's grace, it went SUPER! If you'd like to watch the news clips about it, here they are:

13 News (WREX)

23 News (WIFR)

17 News (WTVO) and full interview here

There is still time to help in Haiti!

If you read Anouk's post here about helping in Haiti, we just wanted to let you know that there is still time to donate through 6pm tonight at the Meg's on Alpine and until 7pm tonight at our church. Our church is located at 3426 Colony Bay Dr., Rockford, IL 61109.

Read the post here for specific supplies but they are requesting baby formula and medical supplies. Check it out and see if you can help.

If you want to give a monetary donation, go to Global Grace and click on the orange donate button. Global Grace is a ministry of our church Morning Star Baptist. Check out their blog too.

A Small but Tangible Way to Help Haiti

If you're like me, you've been wondering what you can do to help with the great need in Haiti. There are many ways, I'm sure, but I want a way that I KNOW will be of help.

So, if you're in the Rockford area, there is a way you can help, but it's a "in the next 24 hours" type a way! Our church has a good contact and has found a way to be of tangible help. You can read about it here!

Our church, Morning Star Baptist Church, is located at 3426 Colony Bay Drive, Rockford, IL 61109

A free one-day pass to Disney?

Go here to find out how to get a free one-day pass to in Disney's "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" promotion. I guess they announced this back in September, and the promotion starts today. Quantities are limited, so check it out soon if you're curious or interested!

Thanks FrugalGirls for the head's up!

Help and be helped!

Are you like me? Do you have a pile of papers that need to be burned or shredded? Well here is the perfect opportunity to get rid of that stuff AND help a worthy cause. As found on WIFR.com (with spelling corrected) check it out below:

Rockford Rescue Mission Document Shredding Benefit
Sep 1, 2009 - Sep 30, 2009 All Day, weekdays
Mailboxes & Parcel Depot 5411 E.State St. Rockford

Every weekday during the month of September, bring an item to Mailboxes & Parcel Depot from the list below to be donated to the Rescue Mission and get 7 minutes of free self-service shredding. For each item brought you get to shred and destroy all the documents you can feed through the machine in 7 minutes.

There is a limit of 14 minutes per day.

Donation Items:
Fruit & Veggies
Towels & Cloths
Bleach
Diapers
Feminine Hygiene Products
Garbage Bags
Mouthwash
Nail Clippers
Poly Grip
Q-Tips
Sheet Sets (twin)
Women's Pj's
and more.... call 815-399-2555 for a full list of items.
815-399-2555

I brought a can of Dole Pineapple, a can of peas, and threw in some Tylenol and aspirin (which aren't on the list, but I figured they probably could be of use). It gave me the maximum of 14 minutes (I only needed about 5 minutes). I'm going to dig around the house to see if I have more to shred and maybe I'll bring Q-tips next time!

Mailboxes & Parcel Depot is open M-F from 9am to 6:30pm.