Scattering of Random Deals

I have a lot of cool things in my inbox today, so I'm just going to do a quickie post with everything good.


This DVD player is a deal of the day, so today only.

April magazine deals for Amazon look good! Get two years of some magazines for the price of one year, making some really awesome deals! Click the link to see all the magazines included in this deal, and here are a few of my favorite deals.  There are a lot of others for $8-10 for two years. 



Bath and Body Works is offering a cute free tote with any $25 purchase today only.  It says you have to click through the email link, so give this one a try.

I'm not sure how it will work to stack, but there is a code for a free Signature Collection travel sized item with $10 purchase. Use SAPPHIRE at checkout or APRILSHIP for $1 shipping.

Get a free ream of copy paper from Staples with this printable coupon, 4/7-4/10 only.  This coupon may only be good once.

I have a lot more deals that I hope to get posted, but this will be a good start.

Freebie Central

I just received two great freebies in the mail yesterday, so that made me want to seek out a few more.  I may as well share with all my readers while I'm at it, right?

• Free Dove hair care
• Free sample of True Lemon
• Free trial pair of contacts
• 50% off coupon for Michaels!
• Free sunflower seeds
• Free rainforest stickers
• Give kids good schools, and then get some stuff to show your support
• Urban wildlife sticker
• Free coffee from McDonald's?  It used to be on Mondays, but ended.  If you try this out today, please let me know how it works.  I don't know if you need the coupon or not.  There's also no dates on it, so I have serious doubts.

Borders Deals!

I just received an email from Borders--are you a Border's Rewards member yet?  It's free to be a member, and you get some really great coupons.  This current coupon is good 4/6-4/8 (through Thursday, so act fast) and it gives you buy one get one 50% off almost every item they sell.  You can also use the discount online with code BSE7442K.

Write this down on your calendar, too.  Borders is having a poetry party for kids on April 17 at 11 am.  They usually put out some good coupons to coincide with this party, too, so keep an eye out.

Snapfish Deals

I just got this in my inbox from Snapfish.  If you need photos or other photo gifts, take a look.  They have deals every day.  Through April 7, get 100 prints for $10 total with shipping.

 The rest of the days:

• Classic photo book for $10 with code APRIL1BDAY good through 4/7.
• 2 collage photo mugs for $10 with code APRIL3BDAY good through 4/7.
• Most of the rest have already ended, but there are still 5 more deals.  Get on their mailing list or check back to see the rest of the deals.

The Nickel Game

Some friends asked me to post this, because it seems to be really working for us to get the behaviors we want.  First off, I'm a huge believer in this man--Thomas Phelan, with his "1-2-3 Magic" system is pure genius.  If you can get your hands on the DVD, it's a lot easier to understand how the system works.  It's not just a matter of counting to three, or we'd all be doing just fine.

Once you get the kids to stop the bad behaviors with the Magic, you can move on to his "More 1 2 3 Magic" for some good ideas on starting the behaviors you want.  In this one, he has a lot of good strategies, and I've used several of them with a little success, but I needed the big guns recently for the kids.  They were thinking they could watch TV all day, and I was constantly picking up after them.

In the back of my mind, I remembered Phelan's story of a long car trip to Disney World, where he gave his kids their souvenir money one quarter at a time as long as they were sitting quietly in the car and not fighting.

Using that as my basis, I devised a plan.  My kids are younger (6 and 3) so the money values may have to vary accordingly, but I decided that I would give the kids 20 nickels a week.  On Monday, they get a little dish with 20 nickels ($1) but they have to pay for their "screen time."  A 30 minute TV show, computer time, or video game time costs a nickel.

I will pick up your coat off the floor if you neglect to hang it up, but it will cost you a nickel.  It's not all negative cash flow, however.  I also pay them for doing extra jobs or if I catch them doing something good, and the money that's left over at the end of the week goes into their bank for later fun spending.

Another friend of mine has tried it out, and it is working for her kids, even with older ones.  The money amounts could differ depending on the ages of your children, but this is working very well for us, while at the same time teaching the children about money and math.