Food Allergy Training Programs

Are you or someone you love managing food allergies?  FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education) has a wealth of information and resources available to help those managing this life threatening condition.  There are training materials available for teachers, school nurses, parents & caregivers and restaurants.  Educating yourself and others is the best option for spreading awareness to ensure people with allergies can remain safe and healthy. 

If you have younger children dealing with life threatening allergies be sure to check out Binky Goes Nuts.

Binky Goes Nuts: Understanding Peanut Allergies: The popular animated PBS children’s series Arthur explores food alleriges in an episode titled "Binky Goes Nuts." The DVD and educational activity unit can be used by teachers and parents to teach kids about food allergy, and teach them how to help make their schools a safer place.

Free Nutrition, Recipe and Fitness Tips E-Book

Head over to Eggland's Best and 'like" them on Facebook to download a Free copy of their latest e-book "Better Taste, Better Nutrition, Better You." This book is from Eggland's Best and Cathe Friedrich.  

Grab your free copy now, this book is originally $9.99!

Freezer Cooking 101

I love to freeze everything! I will be sharing all my freezer tips and recipes here for all my readers and would like to know what are your top freezer questions or concerns?  Here are a couple of pictures of what will be included in the next few posts:

Frozen Bananas = Banana Ice Cream
Frozen Strawberries = Smoothies and Fruit Syrup

Individual Pasta Bake for work/school lunches
Homemade Dairy Free Garlic Bread

Small Frozen Burritos = Quick After School Snack
Waffles = Healthier recipe and supper fluffy (easy fluffing tip)

Easy French Toast
Quick Crock Pot Freezer Meals

Stayed Tuned to learn the tips, recipes and watch the videos!

Field Museum Groupon ~ 1 Day Only!

If you are in the Chicago area or plan to be before November 30th, you have to take advantage of this one day only Groupon for the Field Museum.

Here are the Groupon details:

- $12.50 for a child's admission (regularly $18.00)
- $17.50 for an adult's admission (regularly $25.00)

Admissions expire Nov 30th, 2014. Limit 5 per person.

This Groupon is good for a Discovery Pass which grants you access to all of the Museum's permanent exhibitions and your choice of one special exhibition. Kids under 3 are FREE!  

The 30 Day Rule

Are you in the market to make a big purchase? Have you determined if this purchase is actually necessary or is it an impulse buy?  If the purchase you are about to make (or thinking about) is not a necessity or an immediate need wait 30 DAYS and then determine if the item is still needed.  After 30 days the urge to purchase will pass and you may find yourself not even thinking about buying that particular item anymore.  The 30 day rule can help you save money by avoiding unnecessary impulse purchases.  Next time you’re at the store about to pull out your plastic, remember to wait on it for 30 days and then decide!

Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program: Free Children's Book

Don't let the kids fall behind this summer by participating in the Barnes & Noble summer reading program. Children in grades 1-5 can earn a free book by reading any 8 books this summer.  Here is what your kids need to to do earn their free book.

• Read any 8 books by September 2nd, 2014 and record them in the Reading Journal.
• Bring the completed Reading Journal into your local Barnes & Noble store.
• Choose a free book from the selection located on the back of the Reading Journal.

This is a great way to keep kids on track this summer all while earning themselves a great education reward.

Save $5 on Frozen

Are you planning on purchasing Disney's Frozen?  If you are (or already have) make sure you save your receipt, grab this rebate form from Kidfresh and purchase two qualifying Kidfresh meals to get $5 back in the mail. Find all the details here.

FREE Green Thumb Drive with Pre-Loaded Tips

I hate to admit it but I do not have a green thumb. at. all.  I usually run into several issues including, which soil to use, how much water, when is the right time to plant.  Thankfully First Editions is offering a great freebie just for me (and other non-green thumbs out there).  

With this freebie you will get a pre-loaded thumb drive with all the gardening dirt you want including: plant specs, planting tips, care instructions and design ideas.

Head to First Editions here to get this great freebie.

TopCashBack Earn $10

TopCashBack has a limited time referral award of $10 (until the end of the year, the regular offer is $5).  This is a great opportunity to earn some extra money by getting your friends and family to sign up through your referral link.  After your friend authenticates their account and earns a minimum cash back of $10 of payable or claimed transactions, your commission will be awarded to your account.

New to TopCashBack? Just like other cash back websites, TopCashBack give you cash back for you online purchases through vendors linked through their site. The nice thing about TopCashBack is that they give you 100% of it's commission to you without taking an administration fee, so in turn the rates tend to be higher.  Through their referral rewards you can also get cash back from other peoples transactions.

My latest transaction through TopCashBack you can find here.

• I made a purchase for $19.96 made through the TopCashBack site
• I received a $22 cash back
• A friend signed up to take advantage of the same deal through my referral link
• Boom… I got a $10 reward
• As seen below I now have $32 pending in my account from just 1 purchase and 1 referral.

Free Minties Dog Dental Treat

Snag a Free Sample of Minties Dog Dental Treats by simply liking their Facebook Page Here.  Click on the Free Sample tab and fill out the request form… as an added bonus they will send you a coupon in the mail.

Simple and Free $5.00 from Amazon Local

Here is an awesome Freebie = $5.00 to your Amazon Local account.  Who doesn't love Free money!

Heres how to get it:

• Click here and select New Customer Start Here from the drop down menu (upper right hand side of page).
• Create a new account (or input your existing Amazon account info).
• Click on Payment Methods
• Enter the promotional code SPRING05
• Thank you Amazon local for $5.00 to use!!

Free Copy of Disney's Frozen on Blu-Ray/DVD combo

Hurry today only you can snag Disney's Frozen for FREE!

Heres how:

• Sign up for a Top Cash Back account HERE (quick and easy)
• Use their search bar and type in Walmart (you will see a new screen that shows $22 with an orange cash back button… click it.
• On the next screen you will see the details for the Frozen deal (also see below)
• Click on Get Cash Back Now
• Search for the Frozen Blu-ray/DVD combo pack on the walmart website and put it in your cart.
• For this deal to work you can only purchase the movie (don't add anything else to your cart).
• Chose In-Store pickup and as a new user you will get $22 cash back.. making the movie FREE!

Deal Information:

NEW TOPCASHBACK MEMBERS' FLASH-FREEBIE SPECIAL: free (just-released) Disney's FROZEN Blu-ray DVD after cashback

close details

$22.00

Ends Tomorrow

NEW TOPCASHBACK MEMBERS' FLASH-FREEBIE SPECIAL: Snag a free Disney's 'Frozen' Blu-ray DVD priced at $19.96 with $22 cashback, when picked-up from an available WalMart store or FedEx Office.

Visit WalMart through TopCashback, purchase the newly released Frozen Blu-ray DVD priced at $19.96 to be picked-up in-store or at a FedEx Office and within seven days $22 cashback will have posted in your TopCashback account.

Collection from a store or FedEx Office, subject to the item's availability at the location, is free. The $22 should cover the cost of the movie and any sales tax you may possibly be charged, effectively making the item a fantastic freebie!

Within 30-90 days the $22 should turn payable and can be credited straight to your checking or PayPal account. Alternativley you could opt to be paid in an Amazon.com Gift Certificate, which with its current 5% bonus on top would mean you could get $23.10 instead of $22.

This offer is available to new TopCashback members only. However as TopCashback doesn't limit accounts to one per household, if you're an existing member now's the perfect time to tell your husband or wife, mom or dad, room-mate, neighbor, co-worker or anyone else about TopCashback and perhaps they'll share their freebie with you! And remember; get them to sign-up through your Tell-A-Friend link and you'll earn $10 for each new TopCashback member who goes on to take out this special offer.

Terms and conditions

IMPORTANT: Transactions must only contain one Disney's Frozen Blu-ray DVD priced at $19.96 to ensure $22 cashback is credited to TopCashback accounts. If another item is purchased or additional items are purchased at the same time, the cashback amount awarded will be 4% or less (depending on the item(s) purchased) instead of $22.

This promotion is subject to stock and pick-up location availability.

This TopCashback Disney offer is available:

• until 23:59 PT on Friday, March 21, 2014 or until stock runs out
• while it's priced at $19.96
• to new TopCashback members only. This is defined as someone who hasn't ever made a transaction through TopCashback.com, regardless of whether they have already created a TopCashback account or not. If an existing member is found to have created more than one account, TopCashback reserves the right to terminate their accounts and withhold all cashback earnings
• to new, current or past WalMart customers
• for online sales only, for purchases made directly after clicking through TopCashback.com

Only one:

• Frozen Blu-ray DVD is allowed per TopCashback account/member
• TopCashback account is permitted per person

All Other Purchases

4%

Ends in 3 Days

Electronics, Video Games, Movies, Music, Books & Photo

1%

Ends in 3 Days

How to Remove Urine from a Mattress

If you've ever had a young child in your home you know that potty accidents are a guarantee. Night time accidents can become an issue if you are not properly protecting your child's mattress. We had bought a hypoallergenic "water proof" mattress protector for our sons bed, but turns out it did absolutely no protecting. Before purchasing a new mattress protector we had to first clean the mattress. Then we made sure to purchases a Premium Mattress Protector - 100% Waterproof - Hypoallergenic - 10 Year Warranty - Vinyl Free - Twin / White.  We made sure to purchase one that was 100% waterproof and had a warranty included. Here is our simple and cheap solution to clean urine from a mattress.

Ingredients:

• 8oz 3% hydrogen peroxide
• 3 TBSP baking soda
• 1-2 drops of liquid dish soap

Supplies:

• Empty spray bottle
• clean rag

Carefully mix all ingredients and pour into a spray bottle.  Spray the urine stain and watch as the stain disappears before your eyes (or within the next 5-10 minutes).  Our stain was pretty bad so after I sprayed and waited, I sprayed a second time a rubbed it out with a rag.  I then opened the window and turned the fan on to allow to dry. 

To prevent further stains find a mattress protectorthat is actually water proof… or cut open a garbage bag and place it underneath a regular mattress pad cover.  

Forever Stamp Increase

Did you know that the United States Post Office is raising the cost of the Forever stamp to $0.49 from $0.46.  If you know you'll be using a high quantity of stamps in the near future head out today or tomorrow to stock up before the price hike on Saturday February 1st. Can't make it out the post office to purchase your stamps, no problem purchase them online HERE.

Free Pantene Shampoo and Conditioner

Click HERE  to get your free sample of Pantene shampoo and conditioner.  Simply fill out the short form and your sample will be in the mailbox in 4-6 weeks.

Easy Allergy Friendly Banana Ice Cream

If you are looking for a quick healthy dessert you've come to the right place.  Stop spending money on desserts at the grocery store.  For one they are very unhealthy (I've also heard store bought ice cream contains antifreeze, find out more on that here) and they are over priced. Almost $7 for some brands in our grocery store.  Here is a very easy healthy alternative… Banana Ice Cream

The best part of this recipe is that you can adjust it to your liking and it is allergy friendly!

5 Unique Ways to Save Money on your Wedding

Looking to get hitched soon.  Don't put yourself in debt planning your wedding.  Be smart, be creative and most of all search out DEALS!

Free Eucerin Lotion

Is the cold weather wreaking havoc on your skin?  Take the pledge to put the health of your skin first.  Simply select to pledge now, indicate your level of dryness and claim your free sample of Eucerin lotion.  You can choose 1 of 4 Eucerin body lotion samples: Daily Replenishing Moisturizing Lotion, Smoothing Repair Dry Skin Lotion, Professional Repair Extremely Dry Skin Lotion or Sun Protection Lotion.

Pledge Now

DIY Anti-Aging and Wrinkle Creams ~ Save Your Money and Do Them at Home

Stop spending so much money on over the counter wrinkle and anti-aging creams.  There is research that shows these creams don't work as advertised and they are way to expensive.  You can get great results using products you already have on hand in the kitchen.  Below are 5 great DIY recipes to help with your wrinkles. Before we get into the recipes here is the number one tip for healthy skin ~ Drink More Water at lease 8 glasses per day.

Are You Using Checkout 51 Yet?

Checkout 51 is an ecoupon app that you can use either on your smartphone or computer.  Simply buy groceries and get cash back.  All you need to do is keep your receipt, snap a picture of it and select which items you bought. The deals reset each week on Wenesdays with new ways to get cash back. While you're downloading apps also pick up the Ibotta app (new users get a $10 welcome bonus) and use your receipt for both apps for maximum cash back.

Here is what my account looks like after my first receipt upload.

Food Allergies Breaking the Budget and Our Sweet & Sour Chicken Recipe

We are a family riddled with food allergies.  In just our immediate family we have allergies to dairy, wheat, eggs, nuts, tomato and garlic.  We also share environmental allergies, allergies to many medications and two of us suffer from eczema and sensitive skin.  Needless to say things can and do get very expensive around here from food to special creams and numerous specialty doctor visits.

One thing that is very important to families with food allergies is to cook all foods from scratch. You can imagine how time consuming and tedious this can be. Especially if you have an extremely busy schedule. We've tried to buy allergy friendly foods in the past, but they can become expensive and they  usually have very poor nutritional value if any. I have been playing around with some of my recipes to convert them to fit our food allergies (listed above) and would like to start sharing some of them because they have helped us out a lot.  These are recipes that our whole family can eat and really enjoy.  Some recipes include some store bought items. Please read all labels of any product you buy to make sure it fits your families needs.

Here is our all time favorite allergy friendly recipe

FREE $15 Wal-Mart Gift Card

Would you like to win a FREE $15 gift card to Wal-Mart from Tips 4 Saving

Simply go to the Tips 4 Saving Facebook Page and 'like' the FREE $15 Wal-Mart gift card post… AND in order to be eligible leave a comment on the same post letting me know you 'liked' the post.  Earn an extra entry for sharing the post!

It's that easy!  Contest will run from 1/12-1/17. The winner will be randomly chosen and announced Friday 1/17 at 6pm CST. The winner will be notified by Facebook message and will need to provide an email address to receive their e-gift card.  Open to US resident 18yrs+. 

Good luck and Thanks for Stopping by Tips 4 Saving!

Don't forget to also 'like' the Tips 4 Saving Facebook page to hear about more exciting tips, freebies and giveaways!

Free 2 Year LEGO Club or LEGO Club Jr. Magazine Subscription

Do you have any LEGO fans at your house?

Right now you can order your child a free 2 year subscription to either LEGO Club or LEGO Club Jr Magazine.  If your child is under 7 they will automatically receive the Lego Jr magazine.  When you sign up you will receive the Free Lego Club Magazine, gain access to exclusive content at LEGO.com/club, receive a monthly email newsletter with exclusive LEGO Club news, building steps and Contests and Club Codes to unlock cool stuff.  Click the link below to go directly to the Free Magazine Sign up at the LEGO website.

Save Your Pipes: Learn How to Dispose of Kitchen Grease

We just received our local village bulletin in the mail and I found one section very interesting.  There was a small blurb about FOG (Fats, Oils and Grease) buildup in the community water pipes.  It sounds like most people are disposing of their FOG incorrectly and thought I’d share how to dispose of kitchen grease properly.

First, you should never pour any grease in sink drains, toilets or disposals.

If you have a small amount of grease leftover in a pan, let it cool down and solidify.  Once it has a more solid texture wipe it up and throw it in the garbage.

If you have a larger amount of leftover grease let it cool down just a bit and then pour it into an empty glass jar or coffee can.  Let them cool completely and solidify.  Don't forget to seal it with the lid. If you have not filled up the container place it in your refrigerator to save it for next time.  Once the container is full simply throw it in the trash.

So remember to save your coffee cans and/or glass jars.  If you don’t have any ask family, friends or neighbors.

Share this post to communicate with your friends and neighbors about the potential problems grease can pose to your local sewer system and how to keep it out.

Do you dispose of our kitchen grease or save it for future cooking?

5 Indoor Winter Activities for Kids

Are the polar arctic temperatures getting to anyone else?  These negative temperatures sure have us going a little stir crazy.  If you're anything like us you are definitely looking for some fresh new indoor activities.  Here is our top 5 favorite indoor winter activities. 

1. Indoor Ice Skating: Grab some wax paper and rubber bands.  Wrap the wax paper around your feet and hold it up by placing the rubber bands around your ankles.  Very fun… and slippery so be careful!
2. Have a Picnic: Open the blinds and throw a blanket on the floor and create your very own indoor picnic.  The kids will love the change and it'll be so much fun to see what they bring on the picnic.
3. Water Balloons, Water guns and Bubbles: Turn bath time (or shower time) into an indoor water fun zone.  Allow them to bring the jar of bubbles into the bath and see how many bubbles stick to the water.  Fill a water balloon and see if they can keep it under the water.  Don't forget the squirt gun to pop all the bubbles that haven't popped yet!
4. Go Camping: Set up a tent (some type of couch cushion, blanket or cardboard box tent), bring some pillows, blankets, flashlight and books.  When you're done playing in your tent try some hot chocolate or smores.
5. Toy Hide and Seek: There's nothing more exciting than hiding toys and having someone else find them.  Find 5 toys and have your child hide them in one room… then you find them.  Reverse the roles and watch the enjoyment on their faces as they try to find their toys!  We went through everyone room in the house the other day using 5 dinosaurs… it was so much fun!

What activities do you turn to during the winter?

Looking for a Guest Blogger

Tips 4 Saving is on the search for a guest blogger.  If you are interested in becoming a guest blogger on Tips 4 Saving please use the contact form to send your information.  We will accept business, finance and money saving posts.  Each guest blogger will be allowed one link to their site and one other additional link (Facebook, Twitter, etc.).  Thank You!

52 Week Money Challenge - Free Tracker

Have you heard of the 52 Week Money Challenge?  It's the easiest way to save almost $1400 this year. The "challenge" is quite simple.  Each week you will simply deposit the amount of the week you are in into a savings plan.  For example, during week one you will deposit $1; week 2 you will deposit $2 and so on.  If you continue on this track for all 52 weeks you will have saved $1378 this year.  This is a great plan for everyone, but especially for parents of young kids trying to save for college.  If you start this challenge when your kids are born and continue the challenge for 18 years you will have saved almost $25,000 for your kids college fund.

Are you ready to start the Challenge? Simply Copy and Paste the following chart to help you stay on track, simply check off each week you have made a deposit.

52 - Week Money Challenge
Week	Deposit Amount	Account Balance		Week	Deposit Amount	Account Balance
☐       1	$1.00	$1.00		☐      27	$27.00	$378.00
☐       2	$2.00	$3.00		☐      28	$28.00	$406.00
☐       3	$3.00	$6.00		☐      29	$29.00	$435.00
☐       4	$4.00	$10.00		☐      30	$30.00	$465.00
☐       5	$5.00	$15.00		☐      31	$31.00	$496.00
☐       6	$6.00	$21.00		☐      32	$32.00	$528.00
☐       7	$7.00	$28.00		☐      33	$33.00	$561.00
☐       8	$8.00	$36.00		☐      34	$34.00	$595.00
☐       9	$9.00	$45.00		☐      35	$35.00	$630.00
☐      10	$10.00	$55.00		☐      36	$36.00	$666.00
☐      11	$11.00	$66.00		☐      37	$37.00	$703.00
☐      12	$12.00	$78.00		☐      38	$38.00	$741.00
☐      13	$13.00	$91.00		☐      39	$39.00	$780.00
☐      14	$14.00	$105.00		☐      40	$40.00	$820.00
☐      15	$15.00	$120.00		☐      41	$41.00	$861.00
☐      16	$16.00	$136.00		☐      42	$42.00	$903.00
☐      17	$17.00	$153.00		☐      43	$43.00	$946.00
☐      18	$18.00	$171.00		☐      44	$44.00	$999.00
☐      19	$19.00	$190.00		☐      45	$45.00	$1,035.00
☐      20	$20.00	$210.00		☐      46	$46.00	$1,081.00
☐      21	$21.00	$231.00		☐      47	$47.00	$1,128.00
☐      22	$22.00	$253.00		☐      48	$48.00	$1,176.00
☐      23	$23.00	$276.00		☐      49	$49.00	$1,225.00
☐      24	$24.00	$300.00		☐      50	$50.00	$1,275.00
☐      25	$25.00	$325.00		☐      51	$51.00	$1,326.00
☐      26	$26.00	$351.00		☐      52	$52.00	$1,378.00
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