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Saving dollars with sense. I'm hoping to help the masses save their pennies by providing information, links and by sharing my experiences...no matter how embarrassing they may be....and also hoping you'll share yours.

Credit Cards - Budget Centsability

Hiatus

February 21st 2009 01:25
Due to personal circumstances I am taking a short hiatus from blogging. I hope you will all understand and that I don't lose my lovely audience. I'll be back to it as soon as I can.



Cheers to you all.

Cheryl J



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This Valentine's Day Give to The Bushfire Appeal

February 10th 2009 05:34
Each year millions of dollars are spent by lovers' giving the gift of flowers, chocolates and expensive dinners on Valentine's Day. This year I'm asking people to give a gift of real and unselfish love - donate to the Australian Red Cross Bushfire Appeal.



The latest news puts the death toll of the Victorian bushfires at over 160 people but warn that it could reach in excess of 230.


Although many people have been generous in donating food and clothing, the Red Cross is now saying that they cannot take any more of these supplies and are asking instead for cash donations. Australians have been very generous in support of the families involved. As at 3pm on the 10th February, the Fund had received $25.7 million from over 139,000 website and phone donations, with governments including the Victorian Government and Federal Government and corporates pledging additional sums. Donations are still continuing to flow in but much more is needed, so this year, why not make a donation in your loved one's name or make a joint donation in leiu of a Valentine's gift.

I know many people who read this blog are on a budget but every one of us, no matter how broke we are can afford something. Every dollar helps. Don't forget all donations over $2 are tax deductible.

Show your love this Valentine's Day by doing something really meaningful - reach into your pocket and give to those who have lost so much. If you cannot afford to give money then please donate blood.

Donations can be made using the Red Cross secure online donations form or by phoning 1800 811 700. If you cannot get through on the first attempt please do not give up! They are being inundated with callers not only offering assistance but people calling the incorrect line to find out news about loved ones.

From the Red Cross Website:

Red Cross response (9am, 10 February)

Over 160 lives lost with the number expected to increase as authorities access more homes and discover vehicles in which people attempted to escape the fires.

Two centres in the Beechworth area were re-opened during the night with fires and ember strikes threatening the area.

The Red Cross enquiry centre is continuing to receive a large volume of calls from people concerned about family and friends and we are seeing an increase in calls from overseas as international news services relay the news.

There are still significant numbers of people registering with us so that family and friends can check on their wellbeing. One whole community that was surrounded by fire but spared, has late yesterday come forward to register with us so their loved ones know they are OK.

Over 400 volunteers and staff continue to work in shifts, Red Cross call centres in WA, ACT and NSW have opened to help deal with the volume of calls from people checking on the welfare of evacuees.

Image reproduced from touchpodium.com

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Loyalty Cards - Save a Bundle!

February 4th 2009 05:16
Loyalty cards and programs come in many different forms, from credit card points to shopping, coffee, eating out and fashion and beauty. You can save money on a regular basis just by checking out the various places that provide cards for the services you regularly use.



I use loyalty cards for many everyday things and the savings add up quickly.

I buy my coffee from two different cafes, one near home and one near work, that not only sell good cheap coffee – for every ten coffees I buy I get one free. When you fill your card they also put you into a draw to win coffee free every day for a week.

I buy a lot of my health and beauty products from Priceline which gives you points for every dollar spent and provides discounts every three months. I buy my smoothies from Boost Juice bars which also provide a free smoothie or juice for every ten bought.

For my waxing or salon needs I buy five treatments in advance and the sixth is free saving me $60 on a brazillian wax – a saving not to be scoffed at.

For Manchester and lovely girly smelling gifts I have a membership card at Holy Sheet which gives you points for dollars spent and can be redeemed at the end of the year providing significant savings.

If you are very disciplined with your credit cards it is well worth signing up to one that provides points that can be used for purchases or frequent flyer points. The only catch with these is it is not worth your while unless you can pay the balance in full at the end of each month but if you can do this you can use your card for everything from groceries to paying bills and reap the rewards. A friend of mine has received a quality cappuccino machine and movie tickets among many other things for free just by paying for everything on his card.

Woolworths supermarkets has turned its entire rewards program upside down and is offering consumers a great new alternative to the traditional paper dockets.

Instead of having the shopper dockets that consumers tear off, they've put their entire program on one card which you can use at the shops and at the petrol station. They've also given consumers an opportunity to win prizes and great rewards.

Also, many businesses such as roadside assistance services like NRMA and RACV in Australia reward their members by providing discounts with retailers and on travel.

If you look around you will be surprised at the kinds of business that reward loyal customers and if you are using many you can save a bundle within a 12 month period.

Check it out, you may be pleasantly surprised. And if a business you deal with often doesn’t have a loyalty program in place, then suggest it. It has worked for me in the past and it not only helps you it helps the business retain customers.

Do you know of other businesses that provide loyalty cards/programs? If so I'm sure everyone would like to hear about them.

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Want To Make Easy Money? Just Focus...

November 5th 2008 09:01
Have you ever participated in a ‘Focus Group’?

A focus group is a form of research in which a group of people, in an informal setting, is asked about their attitude toward products, services, concepts, advertising ideas and product packaging, The groups are interactive and usually have between between 6 to 12 people where participants are free to talk with other group members and air their views – the more honest the better


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Gear grinding, dead microwaves and the one finger salute.

November 1st 2008 06:55
This week has been so much fun for me. That would be a big fat NOT. My car has decided that it no longer wants to function in society and is sulking in the corner of my carpark all covered in leaves and cobwebs. I could of course take her out for a spin. I can’t tell you how much joy it is to be in heavy traffic and have to stop and turn your car off and on just so you can change gears. It’s definitely an attention getter, so many lovely people have tooted their horns at me, it’s such a friendly city that everyone just wants to say hi so I just give them a wave and so I don’t strain myself too much it’s usually only with one finger and restart my car and off I go, praying that the next light will be red so that I can have an actual reason to stop the car. I often get the same wave back so it’s nice to see we’re all conserving our energy.

My microwave, after 14 years of faithful service, also passed away this week. May it RIP. I got home from a hard day at work, threw my leftovers in and turned it on. It lit up and spun its little heart out as usual and I went about my usual routine only to find that shock, horror, my food was still stone cold after 10 minutes. Now I have to resort to the very messy heating things up on the stove until I go and get a new one (I’ll keep you updated on how I get the best price on that one). It was just a bother and not a tragedy until this morning when I went to make my coffee with my little stovetop espresso maker and went to microwave my milk. Damn it! I had to do that on the stove too. Grr. I’m not happy before my coffee


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Sense and centsability

October 27th 2008 11:06
Well this is just a little introduction to tell you what kind of things I’ll be posting on this site. As you may have guessed from my woefully pun-filled blog site name, it has to do with ta-da…Cheryl J’s version of budgeting.

As a bit of background, through circumstances completely out of my control, I’m poor. Not homeless poor but I do it tough. Around 10 years ago I got sick, incredibly – unable to work, barely able to function – sick. I lost my job, I lost my home but I didn’t lose my sense of humour or my ability to adapt. So I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve learned about how to live well when you barely have two cents to scrape together. Now unless you’re a high income earner with a large disposable income, everybody wants to save for something


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