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Cutting Grocery Costs without Cutting Nutrition

Simple, healthy, and affordable ways to weather the rising price of food

by Karen Collins, R.D., American Institute of Cancer Research

Grocery prices are projected to increase again in 2008 – that’s following 2007’s highest annual increase in 17 years. But surviving these tough economic times doesn’t have to mean sacrificing good nutrition. Some simple strategies can help you cut food costs and eat more healthfully, too.

Kids of the Month

Jason & Sarah are Kids of the Month

Gut Decisions May Not Be Smart

by DEIRDRE VAN DYK

If you have ever struggled with a difficult decision — new job vs. new boyfriend, sports car vs. minivan, read the book vs. see the movie — you have likely also been offered a heap of decision-making wisdom. Make a list of pros and cons. Go with your gut. Sleep on it.

Savings and Debt

Banking news

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Amazing Mom

Post your Amazing Mom story, comment on other stories. Winner receives a gift card. Winning story is posted here.

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Money-Saving Tips

by Jacquelyn Lynn - Author of Online Shopper's Survival Guide

A comprehensive guide to buying on the Internet, Online Shopper’s Survival Kit will teach you how to effectively and safely shop online for just about anything. With input from expert buyers and sellers, it discusses strategies for getting a great deal on online merchandise, including the top categories, like cars, real estate, and travel services. It reveals how to recognize and avoid scams and frauds and discusses consumer protection issues.

Shopping online is the easiest way to find the lowest price for whatever it is you want. But there are plenty of ways to save money besides just getting a good buy.

The following is an excerpt from the book The Maui Millionaires

• Sales, specials, and closeouts. Just like brick-and-mortar stores, online retailers often have sales and reduce items to clear out their inventories. Check your favorite sites regularly, or sign up for e-mail alerts.

• Manufacturer rebates. Rebates are not limited to traditional retail transactions -- you can get them with online purchases as well. To find out what rebates are being offered by which manufacturers, visit a rebate-tracking site, such as www.myrebates.com or www.rebateshq.com. But if you find a rebate and use that in your decision-making process, be sure to follow up and file the necessary forms to get your money. Manufacturers know many of their customers won’t bother.

• Online coupons. Online coupons work the same way paper coupons do, except that instead of handing a cashier a slip of paper, you enter a code during the checkout process. Many merchants issue online coupons for various types of discounts; you’ll find them in catalogs, direct mail pieces, and even in the inserts with your order (a way to get you to buy again). You can also find coupons at web sites designed to help you save money. My friend Brian Lewis offers this advice, “Shop and find the best deal on what you want, then go looking for a coupon to bring the price down even further.” An interesting note is that Brian says he feels cheap when he uses a coupon in a brick-and-mortar store but not when he’s buying online.

Online Coupon Sources

The following sites are great sources for finding promotional codes and special offers that can save you big bucks:

• www.ableshoppers.com

• www.coolsavings.com

• www.couponcabin.com

• www.couponmountain.com

• www.currentcodes.com

• www.dealcatcher.com

• www.dealhunting.com

• www.dealtaker.com

• www.fatwallet.com

• www.hotdealsclub.com

• www.shoppersresource.com

• First-time customer discounts and specials. Many e-tailers offer special deals to customers making their first purchase. Those deals might be a discount of a flat amount or a percentage on that purchase, a coupon for discounts on future purchases, free shipping, a free gift, free gift-wrapping, or whatever. If you’re making your first purchase from a particular merchant, check around the site to see what sort of bonuses are available.

• Free or reduced shipping. In general, the buyer pays the shipping for online purchases, but merchants often offer specials on their shipping rates just as they do on their products. An increasing number of merchants are offering free shipping, or free shipping with purchases over a certain amount. A site I buy from occasionally offers special shipping deal of 99 cents during a specified period, no matter how much you order. A friend of mine orders regularly from a few sites that periodically offer free shipping; she waits to make all of her purchases from those sites for the time when she won’t have to pay shipping.

• Have your entire order shipped together. If you’re buying more than one item from a site, it’s possible things will be available at different times. Some sites charge the same total amount for shipping regardless of when various items go out, but some sites charge more if they have to make separate shipments. In those cases, requesting that everything in your order be shipped together can save you money. Also, if you’re not in a rush and the site offers shipping choices, choose the slowest -- it’s usually the cheapest.

• Get on merchants’ mailing lists. Many merchants will ask if you’d like to be on their mailing lists. If this is a company you expect to buy from again, say yes. You’ll get notices of special sales, clearance items, coupons, and other special offers.

About Author:

Jacquelyn Lynn is a widely published business writer and highly experienced online shopper. She is the co-author of Make Big Profits on eBay as well as numerous titles in Entrepreneur's Startup Series. Her work has appeared in more than 100 regional, national and international publications. She is the author of 10 books in Entrepreneur Media’s business start-up guide series. In addition, she has ghostwritten several bestselling business books

For more information, please visit www.jacquelynlynn.com or www.entrepreneurpress.com.

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How to deal with economic stress

Stressed about the economy? You certainly aren’t alone. According to a recent survey from the American Psychological Association, 74% of Americans say work or money cause them stress and anxiety. The thing is, stress has a huge impact on your body. It can cause headaches, impair your immune system, disrupt your digestive system and can even affect heart function. Here are some stress-busters you can start today to help curb your symptoms.

by Gi Gi

The author talks about the struggles a single mom goes through and the discovery that you can have HEAT (Happily Ever After Today) just as you are, being single, taking care of your kids...

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The Super, Sexy, Single Mom on a Budget

by Renee Rayles

A quick reference guide designed for the busy,

single mom who has little time to read while running the mom taxi, cooking dinner, helping with homework, and trying to fit in a date night every now and then.

TheOnlineMom.com offers parents and consumers a guide to the top-rated, age-appropriate, kid-tested and parent-approved tech toys and gifts.

Your 5-minute guide to protecting your identity

20 steps to protect yourself from identity theft, and seven ways to clean up things if you become a victim.

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Money makeover: Single mom

Jacqui Sentmanat is trying to give her child the best of everything, but who's looking out for her financial future?

by Joe Light, Money Magazine staff reporter

(Money Magazine) -- When you're the single parent of an only child, you want only the best possible life for your kid. That's how Jacqui Sentmanat feels. But it's an expensive proposition.

It already cost the 42-year-old Houston accountant $20,000 to get pregnant through fertility treatments and to take time off work to be with her daughter early on. This nearly drained her emergency savings. She has since replenished the funds, but now she faces a quandary: how to invest for her retirement while tackling her daughter's long-term needs.

For starters, Sentmanat wants to send Franqui, 3, to private school. She has already paid the $8,200-a-year tuition for preschool. That's on top of the $5,500 a year she'll have to shell out for after-school and summer care. And when Franqui gets to high school, annual tuition costs will likely soar above $10,000. Then there's college to worry about. With public schools costing more than $16,000 a year, it's easy to see how saving for Franqui could eclipse any hope of a regular retirement for Sentmanat.

She knows her retirement is important, but she really wants Franqui to be able to graduate without student loans. "This isn't just about freedom for me in retirement," she says, "but freedom for her from debt."

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Smart Spending

Saving money -- you can do it, Strategies for saving more and spending less

Strategies for saving more and spending less

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