Cool stuff

Since being a stay-at-home mom for now, I have mastered the art of online shopping to my honey's dismay. I also have and will take advantage of Mom only discounts. I can't always go out like I want to but the internet is always open. I am listing a few of my favorites since some of my friends have no clue about the savings. And, no, I am NOT getting paid to endorse them, though I would LOVE to get some compensation for this...

1. Upromise. I cannot sing its praises enough. The way to save for college is 2-fold. You can enter your grocery club cards and buy products that participate in the program (sometimes they are not the cheapest, but if you follow brand names, then it can work for you) and shopping. For online shopping, you have to enter a credit card number for them to track but you get a percentage back from your purchase as long as you access the online merchant through the upromise site. It is VERY easy to do. You can also get money back from patronizing merchants (ie-ExxonMobil) by using the registered credit card. Then you link the upromise account to a 529 account (research the one right for you) and you dump the money in there for the kids college, tax free. Awesome.

We grabbed our relatives keys, copied their grocery card numbers and entered them as our own. There is a correct way to do it (through their Friends and Family link) but a lot of our family is computer illiterate, so we opted for the easy way. Granted, it is pennies on the dollar, but every little bit helps. If you have good credit, you can get the Upromise credit card from Citibank and get more savings.

2. ING Direct. All of the articles I have read in Money Magazine have told me not to open an account in your child's name as it can affect the amount of financial aid they are eligible for when it comes to college tuition. So I opened a separate ING subaccount for each girl under my main account and any money they get as gifts, I deposit into my checking account and then transfer the money into their own savings account. Why go with ING? 3.4% interest on the savings account. Even better rates for CDs. The site is incredibly easy to use.

I have also requested that the girls get savings bonds instead of gifts from family. Some toys are ok, but they have enough. It is the givers choice. You can also get savings bonds online.

3. Peapod.com. My savior. Online grocery shopping with home delivery. My mother is VERY jealous as they don't have something like this in her area, but it is coming soon. She HATES to grocery shop. Peapod is a service from Stop and Shop but other stores have it. In NYC, you can get Fresh Direct. I can also use my grocery savings card and get Upromise items. And I don't have to worry about schlepping the baby and groceries in the rain. So far, they have a 95% track record with me. Always on time for the delivery window I chose and no substitutions. They forgot the rolls and salad that come with the party platter we ordered for the christening party, so I called and they took 6 bucks off the bill. Quite a time saver.

4. Reel Moms. This is a cool thing for the occasional movie WITH the baby. If it is available in your area, there are other moms and dads there with baby in tow to see the latest movies. They don't turn off the lights, they are dimmed and the volume isn't as loud. If you need to breastfeed, no problem. Crying babies are ok. If you don't have a Loews theater that offers it near you, check out other theaters. Some cool theaters have daycare and a fancy dinner menu. Don't rule out date night outside of the home.

I have more stuff to share, but the princess is crying. She didn't sleep through the night this time. Oh well. We'll keep trying.