Thursday, August 12, 2010


In dusting off things around here at The Frugal Bookworm, I've decided to breathe a little life into "Thinking Ahead Thursday" again. Now that I'm back to work (school starts in less than a week!), I'm trying to crank up my "thinking ahead" processes.  What helps me the most?  I'm a list-maker.  As I type that, I feel like I should say, "Hello, my name is Amy, and I'm a list-maker."

What are some of the benefits of list-making?

  • List-making is not a fine art.  You can make as many lists as you want, or as few (I do suggest that if you're just starting out that you keep it on the few side).  
  • You can make a list anywhere.  I've made lists while sitting in the cry room with the Princess waiting for Sunday services to start.  I keep a tiny little notebook and pen in the bathroom.  You never know when inspiration will strike!  :-)  If you're waiting in a doctor's office or at the salon, you can take that few minutes to make a list.
  • You can make a list about anything.  I keep a running list of upcoming holidays, who I need to buy or make presents for, and gift ideas in a Microsoft Word file on my laptop. Grocery lists, lists of errands to run, or a "bucket list" are other options. 
  • List-making is frugal.  You don't have to have fancy software to make a list.  You can write on a scrap sheet of paper, on the back of an envelope (a favorite technique of my mom's), the cardboard that comes inside pantyhose (another favorite of my mom's), or in a notebook.  My preference is a college-ruled composition notebook and a plain ol' pencil. 
  • List making gives you a sense of accomplishment.  Use a red pen, or simply use the same pen or pencil you made the list with to cross off items as you accomplish them.  Something about that red pen (I guess it's the teacher talking) let's me know I've succeeded.  I used to keep lists in Microsoft Word and delete the items as I completed them, but that didn't show me how much I had accomplished.  There's a little ego boost that comes with seeing how much you've accomplished in one day.
What do you use to make lists?  What are your favorite lists to make?  Leave a comment, or if you have a post about "thinking ahead", please share it with us in the Mr. Linky box below.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Sweepstakes for Teachers!

In addition to "Back to School" promotions, a lot of websites are running special sweepstakes for teachers. 

  • Office Depot:   Each day, ten teachers win a $500 gift card.  Even if you're not an instant winner, they do have a coupon for a printer.  Their captcha boxes are a little funky, so be aware when you go to their site.  Right when I get ready to give up on the captcha boxes, they go through.  Isn't that always the way it works though?  You can enter daily.
  •  Avery Celebrates Teachers:  The grand prize includes a goodie bag of Avery products valued at $500, a SpaFinder® gift card valued at $350, and a Starbucks® gift card valued at $150.  I don't know about you, but I would love that Starbucks gift card.  You can enter this one daily as well.
  • Carson Dellosa Publishers & Scotch:  You can enter once for a chance to win a $500 Back-to-School prize pack.

Back to School with Swagbucks!

It's a big weeks for Swagbucks!  Swagbucks is fighting the Back-To-School blues all this week with lots of fun promotions! First, you'll have the chance to win five different limited edition back-to-school themed Swag Bucks - if you snag them all, you'll earn a 50 Swag Buck bonus! Take advantage of sales in the Swag Store on all School Supplies and Cookie's Kids Merchandise, make sure you follow Swag Bucks on Twitter and Like them on Facebook for more rewarding opportunities. Plus, they're having another Swag Code Extravaganza on Thursday, where you'll get at least 5 codes for extra bucks. If you're not already searching and winning on Swagbucks.com, head over now and enter the code BackToSchool for 40 bonus bucks during registration!

Search & Win

Make it (Do) Monday: "Creature Comforts"

Since I've been desperate for inspiration, I'm tweaking "Make it Do Monday" a little.  Eventually I hope MI(d)M will be a grand "Monday Meme" that lots of people will participate in.  But for now, it's baby steps.  I'm tweaking "Make it Do Monday" to "Make it (Do) Monday".  What's the big deal, you ask?  I'm making the "do" optional, so you can either leave a link to something you've made or a way you "make do" with what you have.  Genius, huh?  Haha!  Thank you, dear frugalistas, for being patient as the Frugal Bookworm experiences some growing pains.

Today's "Make it (Do) Monday" is all about "Creature Comforts".  It has nothing to do with animals...unless you ask a teacher's perspective (haha!).  Since I'm going back to work today, I'm referring to my idea a teacher's creature comforts, and providing you with a great gift idea for your child's classroom teacher. 
What are "creature comforts" to a teacher?  It's the little things that matter...the tiny objects that make it possible for us to make it through the day.  Some of these items I keep on hand for myself, just as a little pick-me-up when I'm having a rough day. Many of the objects can be obtained very frugally, and in fact, if you request free items, you can get these items for free!  If you're frugal (like I am), you can make a gift bag for your child's teacher for well under $5.

Ideas and some of my favorite "Creature Comforts":
  • Hand sanitizer:  You can pick up small bottles of Purell or an off-brand at the store of your choice.  You might even be able to find a coupon for a freebie, or take advantage of a Bath & Body Works 5/$5 sale.  Personally, I keep a couple of pumps of Bath & Body Works for my personal use and buy a huge pump for the kids.  I can't afford BBW for everyone, but the scented hand sanitizers just give you a little bit of aromatherapy.  And believe me, there are days a teacher needs that!
  • Hand lotion:  Again, you can often get these as free samples or free by using a coupon for a trial size (rare, but hey, sometimes it happens!).  My hands get so dry from using so much hand sanitizer and handling so many papers.  My kids are probably used to seeing me do three things:  1)  Blow nose, 2)  use hand sanitizer, and 3) use hand lotion (Haha!).  Seriously speaking, teachers are models of good habits for kids.
  • Cough drops / hard candy /throat lozenges / gum:  I get severe laryngitis once a year, if not twice.  Hard candy is nice to have on hand for when your mouth gets dry.  Gum is also great, especially for those days that the cafeteria serves (or you pack) Italian.  I've seen a lot of deals on gum lately, so keep watch on those coupons!  Check out this post at Common Sense with Money about how to get a pack of gum for free.
  • Snacks:  If you're a compulsive freebie-holic like me, you probably wind up with snack or food samples that you might not ordinarily eat.  Put a protein bar sample in the bag for a teacher.  Add a small pack of mints (like the Altoids you could get for free at CVS last week), a bag of chips, or a pack of microwaveable popcorn.
  • Emergen-C Samples:  These are perfect for a teacher who feels like she or he might be coming down with something.  In fact, if you head on over to Wal-Mart's page, you can sign up for free samples right now!
  • School Supplies:  If you're following the deals right now, you can get free school supplies to put in your teacher's bag.  Check out some of Mercedes's posts about how to get free Bic pens at Target or a free sample of post-it notes.  Crystal from Moneysavingmom also has an article up on how to get free post-its and Scotch tape for $0.50 at Target.
  • Band-aids / antibiotic ointment:  Kids ask for band-aids all the time!  Think high-schoolers are too cool for kid-friendly band-aids?  You would be surprised!  A couple of years ago, I found cheap boxes of patriotic Band-Aids at a Big Lots store.  When I ask, "patriotic or plain?", you would be surprised at how many kids pick patriotic!  Plus, I'm not immune from a nasty cut from a file folder or a splinter from an old desk myself!
  • For more ideas, be sure to check out Education World's ideas for a Back to School "Survival Kit!"

What do you put it all in?  You can make a gift bag (I love this tutorial on how to make gift bags from newspaper), use something you have on hand (think totes that you received for free or bought at a yard sale), or make a tote bag (see TipNut's list of reusable tote tutorials).

Let me let you in on a little secret...the parents and children who show appreciation towards a teacher are in that teacher's favor for..ev..er!  In my first year of teaching, I had a student whose mother made all of his teachers flower pots with flower ink pens in them. Because I'm a Tennessee fan, he had his mother make mine an orange rose.  I love that kid!  I still treasure that ink pen! (Even though I accidentally knocked the flower pot off of a shelf and broke it.)  It showed me that the student and his mother cared. The most important thing is that you let your child's teacher know that you're thinking of them (and if you pray, that you're praying for them.)  Let them know that you're available to help, to purchase needed classroom supplies (like tissues and hand sanitizer, our two biggies!), and that anytime your child needs help or misbehaves in class, that you are listening!

How have you "made do" this week?  Any tips on something you've made that you want to share?  Leave a comment!

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Here she comes...Miss Frugalista!

Good morning, Frugalistas!  I'm sure some of you are wondering, "Just what has been going on with that Frugal Bookworm?  Where is she?"  Never fear, I haven't abandoned you!  Our family went out of town for a couple of days for a little mini-vacation before school starts back.  Yes, that dreaded "S" word is coming soon.  In fact, I go back to work on Monday for "teacher workdays".

I wish I could say our mini-vacation was restful and relaxing, but it wasn't.  I got a touch of food poisoning before we even left town, thanks to a "hot" roast beef sandwich!  I was in a world of pain and the autistic Princess had more than one meltdown in public.  It's good to go away for a couple of days, but I was so glad to get home!  I crawled straight into bed when we arrived home Thursday morning!  I'm feeling a bit better now, enough that I've actually been up since the clock went off (instead of going back to bed...you know bad habits are hard to break!).

What's coming up at the Frugal Bookworm?  Some exciting things...stay tuned!
  • The Lending Library...favorite links, tutorials, and tips from my weekly "feed" reading.
  • Reintroducing "Thinking Ahead Thursday"... Why should you become a list-maker?
  • My first "tutorial" about what to do with all that paper left from printing coupons!

What's new in your world, or your blog?  

From the Archives...

Are you new to the Frugal Bookworm?  I wanted to share a few of my favorite posts from the archives, as well as a post or two I wish I had written!  Hope you enjoy!



What's your favorite post from the Frugal Bookworm?  Is there a must-read post on another blog that you would like to share?

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Back to School: Sales from the History Channel & Biography!

Through Sunday, August 1, the History Channel is having a big back to school sale.  You can get 25% off if you use the code BACK2SCHOOL.  My suggestion is that you go through Ebates, and you get 5% cash back!  Biography DVDs are also on sale, with some titles starting at $5! If you homeschool, teacher, or just love history, make sure you check out their clearance section!  I saw one episode of World War II in HD for $1.99!