Is Your Computer Backed Up? (Try Carbonite for Free)

Last week I almost had a heart attack when my computer's boot-up screen said "Hard disk bad.  Back up and replace."  Thankfully it warned me early, and I was able to "back up and replace" before I lost everything.  But computers don't always warn you early.  I am now backing up my computer online instead of taking a huge risk.  Even an external drive is no guarantee that your files will never be lost.  What if you have a fire or theft?  What about power surges that would kill both your computer and your back up drive?  I'm convinced that online back-up is the way to go.  Yes, it costs money, but you could literally pay for back-up service for the next 50 years for the price it would cost to get data retrieved from your hard drive (and that's if they're able to retrieve it.)

Try Carbonite online backup free for 15 days. If you decide to purchase you'll get an additional 2 months free. Carbonite works automatically and continually to make sure your computer files—and memories—are backed up offsite. There is no credit card required for the free trial.

Go here to try Carbonite free.

One of the Most Helpful Books I've Ever Read

I recently purchased the e-book Tell Your Time by Amy Lynn Andrews.  While my frugal self does not normally spend money on things such as e-books, I was so glad that I did this time!  I was beginning to feel like my life was being spent spinning my wheels.  I felt like I was always working on something, but not getting anything done.  I was frustrated because I wanted to spend more time with my kids, but I wanted to have a clean house and a nice dinner on the table too.  I was always telling the kids to "wait just a little bit longer; I don't have this or that done yet".

Tell Your Time helped me see how to really determine my priorities, how to cut out what was costing me unnecessary time, and how to schedule my day around what was most important.  While things are certainly not perfect and there are definitely still unexpected interruptions, I am now enjoying the clean house I longed for as well as happy and contented children who get the attention that mommy has been wishing to give them.

Like any book, the principles contained in Tell Your Time are not going to work unless you actually put them into practice.  That is one of the things the author points out.  She realizes that her book is not a magic potion, but instead encourages the reader to work towards the goals she helps you lay out.

If you're feeling frustrated with your time management, I would encourage you to purchase a download of Tell Your Time and give the principles a try.  It is concise and won't take you long to read at all.  For $3.99, I think it's a great deal for the amount of help it will give you!

Go here to purchase!

10 Tips for Incorporating Fun and Play into Your Child's Daily Activities

Playing is probably the one thing that kids enjoy the most. If they're eating, they're playing with their food. If they're taking a bath, they're playing with bath toys. If they find a stick on the ground, it suddenly turns into a fishing pole, a sword, or any number of other imaginary items. It's great when we as moms are able to take the every day things kids do and allow them to have that play time that they enjoy so much. Here are ten tips for incorporating play into their daily activities:

• 1. Make mealtime fun. Use cookie cutters to cut sandwiches into fun shapes. Make smiley faces with the syrup on their waffles. Don't discourage them from using their imagination. (My son's hot dog bun was a boat today.) As long as they're not getting too distracted from eating or making a huge mess, I don't think there is anything wrong with letting kids use their imagination with their food.
• 2. Have fun while dressing your children. Frequent are the tickle-fests we have while I'm getting my son dressed in the mornings. We play peek-a-boo through the head-hole of his shirt. We do "This Little Piggy" before I put his socks on.
  
• 3. Take time to read. Reading to your children is so important. There are so many things they can learn. You don't have to stick to the exact words of the book. Make it fun - use sound effects and use different voices for different characters. Point out objects in the book or teach them the color or shape of various objects.
  
• 4. Have fun with chores. Teach your children to help make the bed, but have a little fun playing hide and seek under the covers first. Make them pick up their toys, but let them race you to see who can pick up the fastest.
  
• 5. Sing action songs. Not only will your child learn to sing, but it will get him active and work out some of his energy.
• 6. Let children help with cooking and baking. Children love to be grown-up, and cooking and baking definitely satisfy that desire. If you are unable to let them help (you're pressed for time, you're cooking for company and need your food to be just right, etc.) give them a mixing bowl and some spoons and let them sit on the floor and pretend.
  
• 7. Bath time? Let them play with traditional bath toys or any of their toys that will dry off easily. My son likes to play with plastic containers and pretend he is cooking.
  
• 8. Do you have yard work to do? That's perfect for the kids because they love to be outside anyway. Let them help you or play on their own. (Just make sure you're able to keep a good on them!) Kids like to play with balls, ride bikes, look for flowers, or dig in the dirt. Let them do whatever they think is fun!
  
• 9. Make mundane moments playful. Did you just wash your hands? How about giving your child a little splash before you dry your hands? My little guy gets a big kick out of things like that.
  
• 10. Just play! Take some time out of your day to give your children your undivided attention and just play with them. Let them choose whatever activity they want and do it with them. Children will know they are loved when you give them your attention.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and The Hub blogging program, making me eligible to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

5 Fun Family Vacation Activities Your Kids Will Love

Whenever I think of vacation, my frugal self always has to think of ideas that are not only fun, but that are the least expensive as well. It is more than possible to have a fun family vacation without going into debt to do it. My parents certainly understood that. Our family was always on a tight budget, yet I have so many great memories of the things that I loved doing on vacation as a kid.

These are my top 5 favorite fun (and frugal) activities, in no particular order:

1. Tubing
My brothers and I had so much fun going tubing down the river. There is almost no cost involved other than the gasoline to get to the river and the price to rent a tube if you don't have one. If you prefer to spend a little more, you can go rafting instead. Both tubing and rafting can be done on as rough or as calm of a river as you prefer.

2. Camping
This is a great way to have affordable vacation lodging and let the kids have some fun all at one time.

3. Hiking
This activity is totally free depending on where you go. Look online to find hiking trails in the area you wish to hike. You'll find information about how long and strenuous the hikes are. This way you'll know which trails are appropriate for the ages of your children. Kids will enjoy getting their energy out and exploring nature along the way.

4. Historic Sites
Visit a local historic landmark. Many are free, and those that charge usually only charge a small fee. Though they may not admit it, the kids will enjoy learning, especially if you go to a place with hands-on activities or battlefield re-enactments.

5. Playgrounds and parks
Pack a picnic lunch and let the kids enjoy a day at a playground that is new to them. It will be free for you and fun for the kids!

Use the internet to research before you go. The kids will NOT have fun if you spend all day in the car driving aimlessly hoping you'll find a great park or hiking spot.

Your kids can have lots of fun without your wallet feeling a pinch. Spending time together as a family is what makes family vacation fun. Participate in these activities with your kids and they will have the time of their lives!

Find more fun vacation activities from other bloggers here.


I wrote this blog post while participating in the Williamsburg Tourism and TwitterMoms blogging program for a chance to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Where Have I Been?

You may have noticed that I haven't posted anything in several days. My poor computer has been deciding to give me fits! It seems to be working halfway decently today, but since I've been offline so long, I've got a lot of catching up to do! Besides that, today is my only day to work on Thanksgiving food preparation. I've got a lot of things I want to share with you, though, and I'm hoping that during the kids' naptime I'll be able to get some things posted for you!

Frugal Focus: I'm Featured!

Have you heard of Frugal Focus?  You can check out all the latest frugal content from over 70 different blogs!  I'm happy to say that The Deal Scoop is now included in the content at Frugal Focus.  Go here to check it out!

How Do I Know All This Stuff?

I was asked the other day how I find out about all these deals that I post. My main source of information is a source that anybody can use - discussion forums. And since I don't have time to post every single deal that I'd like to, I highly recommend that you join a couple of forums yourself. A couple of my favorites, especially for grocery store deals, are A Full Cup and Hot Coupon World. Were it not for these sites, I would not be able to do nearly as well on my grocery budget. I find out all the time about "hidden deals" that someone has spotted that I otherwise would not be able to take advantage of.

Go here to visit A Full Cup and here to check out Hot Coupon World.

Sick Day

My family and I have been battling sickness all week. Between taking care of my family, being sick myself, and being up a lot in the night with a newborn, I'm really feeling the need for some rest. I'll be taking a little time off to try and get over this stuff. This will put me a little behind schedule for the Virtual Baby Shower, so I'll be extending it by a day or two in order to get all the reviews and giveaways posted for you. Keep a lookout because as soon as I get back up and around, there will be plenty more giveaways going up!

In Case You're Wondering...

Those of you who don't know me may be wondering where I've been the past few days. I've been just a little busy bringing a new life into the world! We are so thankful for the safe arrival of our sweet baby girl!



I will be taking it easy for a few days and easing back into posting the deals for you. I'll have more details for you a little later, but you'll want to make sure to check back every day during the week of October 11 - 17. We'll be having an online baby shower here with product reviews, discount codes, and giveaways from over 20 different companies! You won't want to miss the opportunity to check out some great baby gift ideas and enter to win fabulous prizes!

We're Now on Facebook

I finally got a Facebook page for The Deal Scoop! Come on over and Fan my page! If you're a Facebook junkie like some people I know, you'll easily be able to stay up to date with what's going on around here!

Attention Bloggers!

Would you like your blog button to show up on my sidebar? You can easily add it! All you need to do is add my blog button to your site, click "Add Your Button" underneath all the other blog buttons on my sidebar, and fill out the info. I'll notify you as soon as I've added your button!

<a href="http://www.thedealscoop.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://jdmebream.googlepages.com/Button.gif" /></a>

(Please note: I will only your button if your blog is family-friendly and shares the ethics we have here at The Deal Scoop. I doubt this will be a problem, but I'm just letting everyone know!)

School Supply Deals

I was going to publish a roundup of all the school supply deals around town, but Moms By Heart has already published one! Check out the list of great school supplies at all your local stores here.

Please Excuse the Mess!

There are still plenty of things I'm working on here at the Deal Scoop. Some things are not quite set up completely, but I wanted to go ahead and start posting since we have triple coupons coming at Harris Teeter this week! If you see something that's not quite right, please just ignore it and enjoy the deals! I'm hoping to get things finished up around here very shortly!

New Blog, New Focus

Many of you already know me since I used to blog over at Centsible Savings. When my husband and I found out that we are expecting our second baby, I felt it necessary to discontinue blogging and make sure I had all my priorities in order. I want to make sure I am as dedicated to being a wife and mother as I possibly can, and to make sure my values are focused on eternity rather than the present.

However, even though I stopped blogging, many people still looked to me as their information source to help them navigate through the grocery and drug store deals. Without a blog, I was writing lists, emailing people, calling them, etc., when they asked about the deals. This was taking up even more of my time than I had been spending before.

My husband agreed that the best course of action would be to go ahead and start another blog with a focus primarily on helping friends and family stay updated with our local deals. This will all be with the understanding that my responsibilities as a wife and mother will always come first. If there are days that I cannot get the deals up without skewing my priorities, then the deals will have to wait. I do want to be a help to others, but even more than that I want to be the best wife and mommy that I can!