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Welcome to the weekly Friday giveaway roundup! Every single Friday we post giveaways ending within the next week. If you want to make sure you never miss one of these posts be sure to subscribe via RSS or Email.
Happy Friday everyone!
This week really got away from me. I’m not sure what it was, but I definitely felt “behind” all week. Nevertheless, we had some really great posts this week – at least in my somewhat biased opinion ;)
- I kicked off the week with Saving Money on your Phone Bill: Search for a Cheap Wireless Plan. In this post I talk about how my wife and I will save obscene amounts of money by switching to the Walmart Family plan powered by T-mobile. I will be posting another blog in a few weeks here with more opinions about the plan, since at that point I will have been using their service (and the new LG L9 phone) for about a month.
- Next I shared 5 Tools to Help you Manage a Small Business from anywhere in the World. I had some really great feedback from this post and tons of suggestions in the comments of other tools and services that people use to manage their small business or even just their personal life.
- Our staff writer, Cat, wrote about Everything I Want My Kids To Know About Money. I definitely want to teach my kids similar things as she suggested. Be sure to check out the post to see what they are and whether you agree or disagree with them.
- I wrote about saving money at Target in my post 3 Ways to Easily Save Money Shopping at Target. I’m in shock that there are so many people who shop at Target on a weekly basis who do NONE of these things. People are seriously leaving hundreds or thousands of dollars on the table each year when they could be pocketing a ton of savings.
Random updates:
- As many of you know, Google Reader is going away soon. Please consider following via a different RSS reader, such as bloglovin’.
- A big piece of news for online publishers: Amazon will no longer offer their affiliate program to Minnesotans. This was in direct response to the new online sales tax being implemented in July. This will have a big impact on thousands of bloggers and publishers in Minnesota, some who I know personally. I don’t make a lot from Amazon’s affiliate program, but I actually am rethinking whether or not to launch a website I was pretty much set on launching this year. I previously had expected a large percentage of revenue to come from the Amazon affiliate program. With that revenue source completely gone, I’m not sure it’s worth it.
- I was tested for allergies for the first time in over 15 years. The worst part of the experience was not being able to take allergy medicine for five days beforehand. I take it every single day of the year, so being deprived of it obviously didn’t sit well with my body, especially at a time when outdoor allergies are really ramping up. I was miserable the couple days before testing and I’m definitely happy to have it done.
I’m going to take shots to train my body not to react to the allergy triggers. The bad part is that the first six months I will have to go every single week. The good news is my insurance is already maxed out so it’s all free! The bad news is that I will probably have to take shots at least once a month for at least five years. The REALLY good news? 70% of people are completely cured of their allergies after five years. I think that’s a pretty incredible number. Has anyone else had to go through this??
- Our friends had their baby! Definitely happy for them and their growing family.
I would also like to mention quick that we were mention in Carnival of financial independence.
This weekend I have a few things on deck. I have my usual blog workload which is primarily writing posts. I do need to do some work getting my finances from the site in order, as I have definitely put this off for far too long. What I would like to have is some sort of Excel workbook that has all the details for this year. I plan on seeing the new Superman movie tomorrow.
I am always interested to hear about what your plans are this weekend?
On to the giveaways!
Next check out the 111 giveaways that are ending from 6/21 to 6/27. Good luck!
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I know what you mean about allergies. There’s this rock on the planet I come from called Kryponite….that thing just literally kills me whenever I’m around it.
AverageJoeMoney You’re comments are always hilarious haha
I don’t have the allergies issue, but I have acid reflux that I take a pill daily for. There are programs people advocate for naturally curing it, and while the end result is certainly attractive, so far I’ve been too lazy to try and do it. Hopefully your shots do the trick for you.
Matt @ Mom and Dad Money Most people are too lazy to do allergy shots. It takes commitment! One shot a week for the first six months, not fun.
Tell your friends congrats on the baby!! Were you using the Amazon program? I know a few people that were really pissed that they keep cancelling in certain states. Sucks if you are making money through them. Sad part is a lot of people never take their sites down and still refer sales to them. You and Cat had some really good posts this week.
YourDailyFinWill do! I was definitely using the Amazon program.Thanks for the kind words about our posts, I definitely was proud of them this week. You get out of things what you put into them, and I definitely put a lot of time and effort into this week.
That is a ton of giveaways. I hope you have a great weekend!
Holly at ClubThrifty Thanks Holly I hope you guys have a great weekend as well!
that sucks about Amazon. glad you didn’t start your site for nothing.
RFIndependence Yeah, niche sites take a ton of work. I still think it’s a good idea for a site, just not for someone living in MN with no access to Amazon associates.
Sorry about the allergy issue DC. I don’t have them, but my wife has them and she’s always in agony this time of year. To make matters worse, she’s been pregnant during the summer like 4 out of the last 6 years and was really limited on what he could take. Have a great weekend DC!
FrugalRules Ah that’s terrible! I hope that she feels okay this Summer. Hope you have a great weekend (and week!).
I was one of those bloggers upset that the Amazon program is going away, although I’m not surprised – and I can’t blame them for doing it. If I was a business and i had a choice to collect sales tax or drop an affiliate program, I’m doing the same. In the end I can’t imagine the new law is going to result in that much new tax revenue, and it may end up causing some business – and a few bloggers – to move out of state – if their losses are great enough.
Today is my 11th anniversary with my wife, so this weekend we’ll probably be going out to a nice dinner and a movie to celebrate. Last year we went to Mackinac Island in Michigan, so this year we may try to be a bit more frugal.
moneymatters Ah yes I remember hearing about your trip to Mackinac Island. I know of at least one person who is moving away because of the loss of Amazon associates. Too bad I don’t see the government changing their position here, at least with the legislatures we currently have…
I remember a few years ago when Amazon did that to California too. Sorry your allergies are so much trouble. Have you ever tried Acupuncture for them?
Hope your weekend goes well ! I doubt we will be doing much as our city is pretty much under water….
TacklingOurDebt I have never even thought to try acupuncture for anything. I really don’t know anything about acupuncture.
I hope you have a great weekend too! It’s going to be pretty wet here as well – storms all weekend.
I’m kind of meh about the whole Amazon affiliate program myself. They are stingy with their affiliate pay outs (3 or 4%) and they have a mile long list of rules that they can use to yank you’re account. Of course, this might be because I haven’t made any money off them. ;-)
LindseyatCents Haha I haven’t made much either, but I know some who make quite a bit on it. I like how easy it is to add links for it, though, and I had a niche site idea that would have been largely dependent on Amazon Associates. That idea is now on hold.