I’ve mentioned that I’ve used the website www.MySavings.com for many years, and I like to go there to see what kind of free samples and other freebies I can get. I discovered my current favorite face wash that way, as well as several past favorite shampoos, razors, and plenty more.

Here’s a list of current freebies available at MySavings:

(you have to login but signing up is FREE!) ;0)

• Land O’Lakes with Olive Oil – Free with rebate
• Free Redbox Movie Rental at Kroger With Code
• Become a Fan for a free sample of M&Ms Pretzels
• Free Home Made Simple Newsletter
• Blockbuster Express – Free Movie Rental With Code
• Enter to win $1,000 and get a free reusable tote.
• Free Pack of Uncle Ben’s Ready Whole Grain Rice

Also check out these other offers from MySavings:

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P.S. The image ads are affiliate links, the freebie links are not.

Originally published November 9, 2008. Making your own yogurt is really so easy! And frugal, too.

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If you like yogurt, but you don’t like the price – have you ever considered making your own?

Stephanie at a Year’s Worth of CrockPotting has a recipe for making homemade yogurt in your crockpot – and it’s really easy!

REALLY. EASY.

As she said, it came out a little on the thin side – but the Dannon fat free plain yogurt I buy is also a little thin, and I don’t mind it. Next time I think I’ll let it sit a little longer than 8 hours and see if it makes a difference. It may or may not.

For me, the cost of a half gallon of milk was a little under 3 dollars, and I spend about $3.50 for a large tub of Dannon yogurt. Considering you make at least twice that amount, that’s a pretty good savings. I guess I should’ve done the exact math before posting this, huh?

The yogurt turned out well, and to flavor it, I just added some vanilla and sugar substitute – that way I can add fruit on an individual basis if I want, or leave it vanilla flavored.

End result?

The yogurt works and tastes good. We like that.

We save money. Big Daddy likes that.

Note: Since the writing of this post, I have made our own yogurt several more times, each successfully. For storebought, I have switched to Yoplait Fat Free Plain Yogurt, because it has more protein per serving than Dannon Plain Nonfat.

Photo Credit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/notahipster/ / CC BY 2.0

How is it that I am sitting here listening to a bunch of Christmas songs in iTunes when a few days ago, it only had a handful?? Amazon.

Amazon regularly offers free downloads each day. But this time of year, they have a LOT of Christmas songs available for free download. So I did!

They also offer a lot of songs for less than a dollar.

Browse this list of free downloads and pick out a handful for yourself, too. Merry Christmas, and thank you Amazon!

Hello friends! The holiday weekend is upon us – got plans? We don’t, but I may make some impromptu plans to visit with my inlaws over at their house to enjoy their pool, their grill and their company. Tomorrow is my birthday but my family will all be engaged in this other really big thing so we could also throw a bday cake into the mix of Labor Day burgers and potato salad. Yum! Speaking of Labor Day weekend, did you see my list of fun Labor Day links? Let’s see… this week I tackled a bunch of school stuff and housecleaning – not very interesting but very necessary. I’m preparing to start our school year on Monday and I still have a lot of work ahead of me. I ordered a few supplies earlier this week and I’m eagerly anticipating their arrival. While I was at it, I ordered this for myself for my birthday (click for bigger):

So that was pretty much all we did this week, what did you do?

Onward, forward to all the links of goodies I found online this week!

Kristen @ We are THAT Family is letting it all hang out. Um, her udders that is. Um, no wait – it’s a cow suit. Oh, just go check out her cow-suit-vlogging adventure!

Pray for the Burke family as they seek to reunite with their daughter.

The Chupacabra caught??

What IS a Chupacabra anyway? I particularly found the first paragraph under “Reported Sightings” interesting.

What would you do if a stranger walked up and slapped your toddler for crying in a store? (I have no idea, but I’ve been known to have a very explosive temper.)

Signing up for General Mills’ newsletter will earn free recipes and printable coupons.

The President will be giving an unprecedented speech to school students via the web next week.

Sponsoring a 5$ puzzle piece for my new bloggy friend, Ali @ My God-Given Mission Field, will not only contribute towards their adoption process but also help them build, piece by piece, an amazing momento of their adoption journey to enjoy for years to come. (Incidentally, I found Ali through the curriculum swap, she sold me a set of Saxon math books – YAY!!)

SmileMakers (a teacher resource site) is having a sale.

Free computer desktop calendar wallpapers.

My bloggy friend, Momma Knows is giving away, Free to a needy family, 2 cleft palate baby bottles.

The disgusting blob that Fred’s wife poured from his Diet Pepsi can was probably a gutted toad or frog. (OH. GROSS.)

How Dooce got her washing machine fixed, her sleep-deprived insanity relieved just a tad, and a free Bosch washing machine and dryer for a local shelter. The power of Twitter?

5 Ways to Tell Your Daughter “I love you.” (Or son.)

How buying Tide with a yellow cap can help others in need in the event of a natural disaster, aka Velveteen Mind’s 4yr Anniversary of Katrina post.

Make Ahead “Meal Makings” from Home… With a Purpose

I can’t believe I said that! One mom’s humorous ponderings of the many unexpected things she’s had to say to her children, from Mom-2-Mom.

Want more? You can browse the links below!

Now, it’s your turn. Tell me what you did, what you learned, what you found – pretty much anything. Link up your favorite post from this past week and show it off. Come Shoot the Breeze with Me!! {{OOH! Afterthought.. it would be SUPER cool if I got 31 links on this post for my 31st birthday!! That and a clean house.. I’ve already got the kids working on the 2nd part. =p Think we can make it happen???}}

Grab the code:

This is a tip I’ll be using TODAY – since today is my Princess’ ninth birthday!

Today, after we visist a nearby farm, feed some baby goats, go into town and get our hair cut at the salon, we’ll head to our local Sonic so Princess can redeem her Free Wacky Pack coupon.

If you go to the Sonic website and sign your kids up for the birthday club, they (you) will get an email shortly before their birthday that can be redeemed anywhere within the next 30 days.

We did this for Drama Queen’s birthday last month. I don’t usually order kids meals for them at restaurants (I have my reasons) so it was a real treat for her to get to pick one out. And Sonic now has healthier side options for their kids meals, too. String cheese or banana anyone?

And it’s free – which I never complain about. Hubs says, if you want to do this “the right way” you’ll just take her to get her Wacky Pack and come home. Otherwise, if you spend money on food for the rest of y’all, they win. Good ole hubs. He’s right.

Of course that’s not the way we’ll be doing it today. We’ll be out all day. After Sonic we’re picking up my mother in law and taking Princess shopping for her gifts. Hey – we need to eat lunch somewhere, right? Sonic here we come!

Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by Kristen @ We are THAT Family!

By the way, I’ve got a guest post up over at Keeping the Kingdom First – a rewrite of a post from a long time ago, in which we address the question: “What does it really mean to be frugal?”

So go give her a visit. Oh, and tell Alyssa I said, “Hi!” won’t you? =)