You Can't Win If You Don't Play...

...and I'm not talking about the Lottery. I found www.sweepsadvantage.com recently and found it very interesting. It contains the largest directory of Free Sweepstakes and Contests. It even includes Instant Win Sweepstakes! Why not try your luck?

Can you make dinner for $5?

You can at 5dollardinners.com! It's a really interesting site. Of course they have a recipe section with meals you can make for $5 (and each ingredient has it's cost right next to it). Some of the other sections include Meal Planning, Bargain Meal of the Week, Printable Coupons and a Garden section which teaches you how to grow your own fruit and vegetables. I think I might make the $5 Taco dinner tonight.

Got Cheap Treats? Just go to Cheaptweet...

At cheaptweet.com you'll find over 20,000 of the best deals on the web each day. It's FREE to use and you don't need a Twitter account to find deals. Some of the categories you can search through are: apparel, baby, pets, toys, grocery items and lots more! Today I found the following:

•A coupon for $30 off at Gymboree and FREE Shipping
•A Buy One Get One FREE Snapple coupon
•A coupon for $2.50 off Huggies diapers
•A 7 night Hawaiian cruis for $799
•$10 off a $30 Purchase at Thinkgeek.com
•SpongeBob DVD player for $35 with FREE Shipping

I could have found a lot more but only had a few minutes to look. I'd say this site is well worth your time.

Looking for a book?

Dont't pay for new books...just swap them with others. At paperbackswap.com you can trade paperbacks, hard cover books, audio books, textbooks and more. Join the site for FREE and list any books you'd like to swap with other club members. Once a book is requested, mail it to the club member. In return you may choose from 4,515,498 available books. Books you request are mailed to you for free. Start your new library today!

Money Saving Mom

Are you tired of going through the Sunday paper circulars and making a list of the great sales at each store? This site will be a tremendous help to you: http://moneysavingmom.com. When you click on the "Deals and Steals" category you will find the best deals of the week sorted by store. They even include information on where to get coupons for these items. For example, Huggies Diapers are on sale at Walgreen's this week for $8.99. Click on the link under the Huggies Diapers and it takes you directly to a site where you can print out a $3 off coupon for Huggies! You pay only $5.99 and they did all the research and linking. What could be better?

Save Gas Shopping Online With Free Shipping!

At Freeshipping.org you can find free shipping coupons and coupon codes to over 850 stores including Amazon.com, Target.com and Buy.com. Simply enter a store name, select a store from the drop down menu or pick a shopping category. The information you need will be at your fingertips!

Budget Meals

Rachael Ray has a segment on her website devoted to budget meals. Just go to www.rachaelray.com, click on "Food" and then click on "Budget Meals" to get there. The last time I visited she had recipes such as Italian BBQ Cube Steak and Buffalo Chicken Stromboli to name a few. Another segment of the site is entitled "Rollover Meals". Rollover meals are leftovers that can be rolled over into one or even two more meals! Check it out!

Save On Sneakers

If you need new sneakers but don't want to spend too much, try shopping at holabirdsports.com. The selection is great and the price is even better! I did notice that holabirdsports.com did not come up on many comparison shopping sites so you'll have to bookmark this site so you remember to use it!

Garage Sale Buying/Selling Tips

Garage sales are a great way to make money or save money. At betidy.com you'll find FREE, useful and highly effective garage sale tools. My favorite part of the site was the Buyers Shopping Kit which has a list of everything you should take with you to garage sales. Whether you're the seller or the buyer, you're sure to learn something from this site.

Need Help With Your Computer?

Crossloop.com is a website which provides friendly and affordable computer support. Next time your computer is acting up you might want to contact them before paying a fortune to a service which makes housecalls.

Get The Best Price on Gas

Want to find the best price on gas in your area? A few of the sites I found are gasbuddy.com, autos.msn.com, gaspricewatch.com and gasprices.mapquest.com. Just remember, it's probably not worth driving 15 minutes out of your way to save 10¢ a gallon!

Have Fun Even Though You're On A Budget

At wisebread.com they believe that people on a budget can still enjoy fabulous and fun lives. The writers at Wise Bread consist of a diverse group including financial consultants, homemakers, journalists, career counselors and professors to name a few. You'll find financial advice that is easy to understand and apply as well as career and money making ideas that will add zeros to your bank account at this site. Check it out!

Need Child Care, Senior Careor Pet Care? Check This Out...

Care.com is a wonderful resource for finding child care, special needs care, tutoring, senior care, pet care, housekeeping and more. You can select your caregiver based on their profiles, background checks and references.

Find a GOOD Restaurant While Traveling!

We've all looked for a good restaurant in an unfamiliar area. Instead of taking a chance on a restaurant, why not do a little planning at roadfood.com? When you click on "Restaurants" a search page will appear. Simply choose a state, city, a specific type of food you are looking for (optional) and a restaurant type (or just use "All Restaurant Types"). Visitors to the site can see if others thought it was worth a detour and what people had on their "Must Eat" list.

Senior Savings Site

Todaysseniors.com specializes in issues important to seniors. I Thought that their page of "Articles and Smart Money" tips was wonderful. It is chock full of information about personal financing, budgeting and planning with many potential solutions to help you simplify your life. If you're a senior, this site is well worth your time.

Google Alerts Really Helps!

Google Alerts is a great way to save time and money! Just log on to www.google.com/alerts. You will see a box which says "Creat a Google Alert". Enter the information you want to search for (for example- recliner sale), your e-mail address and how often you'd like to have an e-mail with results sent to you (as it happens, once a day or once a week). You will be sent an e-mail whenever your search term appears in a new web page, blog or news article.

Find True Bargains

Honesty.com can help you find true bargains on eBay. When you search for a particular item, they show you a current range of prices for that item on eBay and identify the bargains among them. Sometimes the item you're searching for may be too rare for them to identify a bargain price. In those instances, they will simply show you which auctions are out there with no bargains highlighted.

Another site I just LOVE is Woot.com! They pick one item a day to sell at a big discount. This site can be addicting so be very careful. You might just find yourself buying something you don't need just because the deal is so good!

Ebates Is Awesome

At Ebates.com you can actually earn money by shopping at certain stores online. It is FREE to sign up which is also a plus. When you shop, a percentage of what you spend will go directly into an account set up just for you. Different stores give different percentages. Four times a year they will mail you a "Big Fat Check" or transfer the money into your PayPal account if you prefer. They can also send the money directly to your favorite charity. More money can be made by referring friends to Ebates ($5 for each friend who signs up and becomes a qualified member).