I don’t know about you but I’m still having a hard time adjusting to the time change. I’ve been waking up about 45 minutes later than I should which means I’ve only really adjusted by 15 minutes. Yet somehow I still feel sleepy! If you’re like me, maybe these freebies will wake you up!

Free Starbucks Pastry: On the morning of March 23rd head to Starbucks for a free pastry with the purchase of a hand-crafted beverage. Just make sure to bring this coupon in with you.

Free Irish Cheese: Here’s another great coupon for you to print. This one will get you free Irish cheese from Earth Fare with any purchase. It expires on March 23.

Free Oatmeal: Get a free sample of Better Oats oatmeal. They want you to try theirs against the brand you’re currently eating. When you share your experience in a video or email they’ll donate fives meals to help feed hungry families in the US.

Free Ben & Jerry’s: March 23 is Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s. Head to your nearest store between noon and 8pm for your free cone!

Free Dog Food: Give your pooch a fabulous freebie. Sign up for a free sample of Rachel Ray Nutrish dog food through Walmart.com.

Real Simple magazine recently featured several websites to help you find the best prices on items from groceries and televisions to clothing and medicines. Here are several sites that may help.

Couponcabin

This site’s coupons are coupon codes and deals for online shopping, printable for in-store purchases, instantly redeemable and updated daily. When you find a coupon that you like, click on the link, shop at [...] Continue Reading…

Before Twitter alerts and social networking, millions of Americans managed to mobilize and create Victory Gardens. Planted during World War I and World War II the Victory Gardens helped build up the public food supply when so many men were serving in the military. The backyard garden is a returning trend, with corporate America trying to encourage Americans to join in on home farming. [...] Continue Reading…

With lawmakers trying to hammer out new health care policies and many Americans facing skyrocketing health insurance premiums, you may be wondering if there’s an alternative. An option to consider is Medi-Share, a program where Christians share each other’s medical expenses. Since beginning in 1993, Medi-Share members have saved and shared more than $470 million in medical expenses.

Medi-Share does not claim to be [...] Continue Reading…

Joe Sangl, financial guru at my church, recently posted advice on paying down your mortgage. I’m sure we’d all like to learn how to work on eliminating this large debt looming over us. It’s a pretty monumental occasion when you buy you first house or any time you buy something that is such a large sum of money.

When Joe set out to buy his [...] Continue Reading…

I’ve heard that money is the number one cause for divorce. You don’t have to be married long to see how finances can create sticky situations in marriage. That’s why our latest Twitter Tuesday Profile started her blog, Couple Money and started tweeting from @Elle_CM. Elle is a freelance writer and also works temporarily as a recruiter for the US Census. She and [...] Continue Reading…

For years I’ve bought items just because. I never gave much thought on whether there was a cheaper option or whether I truly needed them. I just bought the items because I always had. I guess you could say it was out of habit. But thanks to pancakes, that all changed.

My husband and I have a Saturday morning ritual. We go to the [...] Continue Reading…

Can you believe March is almost half over? Before letting another day rush by, stop and score yourself some freebies. There are lots of great ones available… check them out!

Free Pinkberry: If only I lived near a Pinkberry. But those of you that do can snag this awesome freebie. Get a free Mango Pinkberry with toppings from 5-9 tonight. You’ll also have a chance [...] Continue Reading…

Have you ever looked at the clock, realized it was time for dinner only to discover you had no idea what to make? Does this happen to you regularly? You may want to consider meal planning. Here are some of the benefits:

* No rushing to the store for a few ingredients, something that takes time and money.
* No last-minute fast food stops [...] Continue Reading…

I have a birthday coming up, so this article immediately caught my eye. I’m always on the lookout for free or discounted stuff! The article on Yahoo! Finance provided a list of restaurants and other places to get freebies on your special day.

Denny’s

For kids 10 and under they can get a birthday card for a free kid’s meal and sundae. They must be enrolled [...] Continue Reading…

Many of us find it hard to talk about money to those we’re closest with. That embarrassment is what drove our next Twitter Tuesday Profile to start a personal finance blog and begin tweeting about her finances. The 26-year-old therapist and fitness instructor lives in the San Fransisco Bay Are of California and when she’s not working she’s blogging or tweeting as @hiclassloincome.

OODC: [...] Continue Reading…

This weekend I ended up a two new shirts, a new purse, a new dress and a cute pair of Jessica Simpson heels. Sounds like a went on a shopping spree, right? Actually it was all free thanks to a clothing swap! A friend of mine organized the event as a way to clean out her own closets while getting a few “new” things [...] Continue Reading…

Spring is coming… can you feel it? For those of you still covered in a blanket of snow, perhaps these freebies will cheer you up!

Free Vitamin Water: Become a fan of Vitamin Water on Facebook and you’ll have a shot at a free bottle of Vitamin Water Connect. You must be one of the first 100,000 people to request your freebie.

Free Crest [...] Continue Reading…

The Bible teaches us many things about money. We have a pastor of financial planning at our church in South Carolina and his business continues to grow as he travels around the country teaching others how to handle their finances in a Biblical manner. The Sun Sentinel in Florida recently wrote an article about the increase in Christian-debt elimination programs.

Seminars are now being offered [...] Continue Reading…

The CBS Early Show recently featured the CEO of Billshrink who discussed the many things that we tend to pay way too much for.

Non Bank ATM Fees

You can pay an average of about $3.50 every time you have to use an out-of-network ATM, says Peter Pham, with Billshrink. According to Bankrate, Americans pay more than $4 billion in ATM fees per year. Pham offers [...] Continue Reading…

Have you ever wondered what the pizza guy thinks about you answering the door in your underwear? Then you need to follow @deliverawaydebt, our next Twitter Tuesday Profile. He goes by Jeff and he’s a husband and father to two kids, a nearly-three-year-old boy and a 15 month old girl. By day Jeff is an engineer/maintenance foreman for General Motors in Michigan. But at [...] Continue Reading…

The average credit card rate in the U.S. is almost 16 percent, according to a recent article in Good Housekeeping. There’s a new act out there, the CARD Act, that gives credit card holders protection from unfair practices. The CARD Act stands for Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure. This act will help you save.

No more retroactive rate increases. Now changes to your interest [...] Continue Reading…

If you’re a fan of Dave Ramsey you often hear people call into his radio show, telling Dave their stories of paying stupid tax. It’s basically just money that people have essentially thrown away because they didn’t know any better. Some examples of stupid tax are:

* Someone leased a car only to end up owing a balloon payment at the end of the [...] Continue Reading…

One of my favorite places to go and get financial advice is Joe Sangl’s web site. He is the Pastor of Financial Planning at my church and travels around the country teaching seminars on money.

He recently wrote about maximizing your tax refund and I wanted to share it with you.

Before You Spend It, Plan It

We all start dreaming about how we’ll spend our new [...] Continue Reading…

We’re in the heart of tax season. Tax preparation companies are probably popping up in strip malls all over your town. While many of them offer a useful service and do their job well, some may be spreading lies just to get your business. Do these sound familiar?

You can get your tax refund immediately. Is this true? Not really. You’re actually getting a Refund [...] Continue Reading…

In today’s tough economy it can be difficult to put away some cash and keep it there. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, the personal saving rate in December was 4.8 percent, up from 4.5 percent in November. The personal saving rate is calculated by subtracting what Americans spend from what they make. A recent article in Florida Today newspaper [...] Continue Reading…

My friends and I are working on starting a business. While I am excited about this new opportunity, I am also nervous about the fact that it could put stress on our friendship. I certainly don’t want to lose any friendships because of a business deal, but at the same time I’m excited about the thought of working with people I love on a [...] Continue Reading…

We often hear about people who don’t pay their taxes, but what about the people who pay too much? According to statistics, 2.2 million taxpayers over-payed their taxes by $1 billion! Could that be you? If you’ve ever opted to take standard deductions rather than itemized deductions it could be. Or perhaps you learned about deductions you’re eligible for that you didn’t know about [...] Continue Reading…

It’s the last Friday of February. Spring is around the corner so why not celebrate the arrival of new life and warmer weather with some freebies? We’ve even got some freebies that will help you with spring cleaning!

Free Swiffer Starter Kit: Have a business? Register as a Proctor and Gamble Professional and you can receive a free Swiffer Starter Kit. It should arrive within [...] Continue Reading…

Sick of winter yet? For many this winter has seemed like that pesky cough you can’t get rid of. It just keeps coming back. Since March is approaching and that means Easter, sunshine and daffodils, many of us are starting to get antsy for spring. While the weather outside may be all winter, try bringing some spring into your home with these five quick [...] Continue Reading…

About a year ago Cinda Baxter wrote a blog post about the importance of supporting local businesses. Soon that idea blossomed into what is now The 3/50 Project. Here’s the lowdown:

3: Think of three local businesses that you love. What would happen if they shut down? Make a commitment to stop into those stores this month.

50: If half the employed population spent [...] Continue Reading…

A recent article on Yahoo! Hot Jobs listed job sectors that aren’t so hot. In fact, these ten industries are experiencing significant declines and many of these jobs are expected to disappear over the next eight years.

1. Department stores: Projected to drop 10.2 percent of the 1.56 million jobs they had in 2008.

2. Semiconductor manufacturing: Estimated to lose 33.7 percent of the [...] Continue Reading…

Last month my husband and I committed to not spending money for two whole weeks. That gave us time to reevaluate our budget and launch The Envelope System. The Envelope System is a simple way to track your budget. Here’s how it works:

1. Get On a Budget: Write down your expenditures and income. Plan out your bills and find out exactly where your [...] Continue Reading…

Between birthday parties, anniversaries, baby showers, and weddings there are constantly demands pulling at our pocket books. My husband and I have really focused on staying on our budget this year, but it seems that just as soon as we commit to spending less, more requests pop up that threaten to attack our bank account. Because I don’t want to seem stingy and I [...] Continue Reading…

Free samples have been showing up in my mailbox all week. That’s just one of the perks when you take advantage of the great stuff we list here on Free Stuff Friday! Here are some new ones to look forward to:

Free Pretzel: I told you about this one last week, but now the day is almost here. It’s Free Pretzel Day at Auntie [...] Continue Reading…