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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