New Links

I am in the midst of spring cleaning/nesting/collecting and purging junk for my garage sale, and I happened across some magazines that I have not had time to read yet. I put the kids to bed early last night, threw on my ultra soft plush robe and slippers and fell onto the couch to power through them. I found some cool links while I was reading, so I dog-eared the pages to check them out when I had more time. Here are a couple, and I added them to my "Cool Things to Check Out" section as well.

Kids Off The Couch - not quite what it sounds like (although I do wish most days that we didn't own a TV). The website gives an idea/theme for the week, and then several things to do with it. A movie to rent, books to read, activities to do, etc. Most of the movies are rated PG (which is not something that I will allow Brynn to watch at this point) but I thought they could be adapted to work for younger or older kids as well. The archives are full of week themes, and I didn't have a chance to check out more than 3, but they looked fun, and idea inspiring.

Gas Buddy - I am seriously frustrated with the rising costs of EVERYTHING in this county. My grocery bill has increased, my PG & E, water, etc. The only reason why my gas bill is relatively the same is because I don't drive to work, my friends and family all live close by, the church is 2 miles away, and all the kids activities are within walking distance (not that we actually walk...) I would love to say that our gas guzzling SUV is next to be sold on Craigslist, but in all truth I love my car (especially the sunroof) and wouldn't trade it for the world. Anywho, check out Gas Buddy, type in your local zip code, and it will direct you to the cheapest station in your area. The list comes complete with address and dollar amount. You can even contribute to the list if you feel like it. Just thought it might be helpful.

Last but not least - Get Rich Slowly - is a website that has some great all around personal finance info. We just finished looking over our budget last night (a little late start, but better late than never) and were shocked to see how much money we DIDN'T save, and how much money we spent on items that are worthless. I don't agree with all of the site, but there are several categories that helped to answer some questions for me. Although Rich and I are in no debt (besides a house payment) it was cool to get some frugal ideas, some retirement saving advice, and read up on personal finance topics. The author is entertaining, and easy to read, so even I (tend to glaze over when the CPA who does our taxes attempts to explain the refunds to me) was willing to read more.

Alright, back to life in the Andre' house. More pics and stories from the kids coming soon.