Show Your Creativity with These Graduation Invitations

Students everywhere are looking forward to graduation, and now is the time to be thinking about invitations. As I read through this, I couldn't help but think that it sounds like a great option for creating some personalized invitations you're sure to love:

One of the most wonderful things we can do in life is to be creative. Connecting to our creative sides helps us reconnect with our inner child and can help us feel renewed. Creating and designing is exciting and fulfilling. Our minds are stimulated and engaged. When we have finished designing something, we feel ready to turn our attention to our less creative and inspiring to-do lists again.

It can be difficult to find time to be creative, however. A few weeks ago, I had to help a friend start preparing for her college graduation. It was a very stressful time for both of us. I had graduated the semester before and was frantically looking for a job to pay the bills. My friend had finals and projects to work on. She also really wanted to send out graduation invitations. Initially, I didn’t think this would be a good idea. We were both stressed to the max, and I didn’t think we could find the time to take photos and design invitations.

My friend was adamant, however, and we found a way. One of our friends is majoring in photography, and she agreed to take pictures of my friend for free. It was great going out and shooting the photos. We both felt a huge rush of relief being outside and just having fun.

Then we had to find a stationery company to print our cards. We looked at dozens of websites, but we finally settled on Basic Invite. My friend and I really liked their simple graduation invitations. They are pretty and elegant, and they match my friend’s personality really well. Searching through all of Basic Invite’s graduation announcements was another great way for my friend and me to relax.

Once we chose the invite (the Gemstone Grad Graduation Announcements, above, for those of you who were wondering) we got to the fun part. Basic Invite lets you customize your invitations. You can choose the colors you want your invites to be, from blue to red to yellow, and anything in between. Many of their invitations even have foil options. All of their foil is available in either gold, silver, or rose gold. You can also choose if you want your foil to be raised or not.

Designing the invitations was a joy. It felt great to let our imaginations run wild and come up with the craziest color combos. We had trouble deciding between a couple different color combinations, so we decided to have Basic Invite print out a few samples to help us come to a decision. The samples arrived in the mail a few days later, and we were able to decide which one looked better IRL and chose the paper quality we liked best.

Once we settled on the color scheme, we went to print our order. Basic Invite has over 40 different envelope colors to choose from, and we were able to choose envelopes that matched my friend’s invites perfectly. We also took advantage of their address capturing service. My friend shared a link to her Facebook and Instagram profiles and had all her friends and family input their addresses. Their info was saved on my friend’s Basic Invite account. We selected the option to upload the addresses to the envelopes, and just like that, the hardest part of sending out announcements was finished. And, the envelopes are peel and seal, so we didn’t have to worry about eating gross envelope glue when we mailed the invites out.

If simple grad invites aren’t your thing, you might take a look at some rustic graduation invitations or these Hollywood graduation invitations. Our photography major friend can’t wait to use those when she graduates next year!

 

For anyone who needs invitations printed out, but doesn’t feel like they have the time, I really recommend Basic Invite. I think taking the time out of your day to do something both productive and creative will be a big help to you emotionally. You’ll feel better after creating something unique and beautiful, and if you need to get invites anyway, you might as well kill two birds with one stone, right? I hope you can reconnect with yourself and knock something off your to-do list by grabbing a few invitations from Basic Invite. You won’t regret it.


Right now Basic Invite is offering 15% off with coupon code: 15FF51

Save 74% on These Winter Boots

I love boots!  And I love a good deal.  So, I give you two of my loves - a really good deal on boots!



That's right, you can save 74%!

• Buy any pair of winter boots for just $26
• Choose from four different best selling styles
• 5 awesome color options
• No Limit Per Person
• Your feet will look great for less!

 So grab a code now and go get some new boots.  I'd never spend $100 on boots, but $26....

Jeana, I haven't found a deal on golf clubs yet, but I'll be sure to let you know.  *grin*

Discount Dental Plan - an Alternative to Dental Insurance

If you've ever had to go to the dentist and not had dental insurance, you know it can be expensive.  Beth had about a year when she didn't have insurance - because she was over 19 or whatever the age was, and she wasn't in school, so she couldn't be covered under our family policy anymore, and she didn't have a plan of her own.  Thankfully now she's back on the insurance, but she did make at least one visit to the dentist when she didn't have the insurance.  Our dentist was willing to work with her and help her out a bit, because he understood she didn't have the insurance, but there's no guarantee all dentists will be that nice.

I didn't realize this, but there are options for people without dental insurance - discount plans that can save families up to 70% on most dental procedures.  There are several discount dental plans to choose from on the Dentalplans.com site. Preferred Network Access by Cigna is one of the better ones.  Individual membership is $134.95/year, and a family membership which includes the member plus a spouse and dependent children up to the age of 18 or full-time students up to the age of 25, is $189.95/year.  They're even offering 3 months free when you join now. Membership gives access to discounts on dental care at over 93,000 participating providers nationwide, and members receive immediate savings on dental procedures.

If you don't have dental insurance for yourself and/or your family, be sure to check out Cigna dental plans to see how much you could save.  Just put in your zip code, and they give you a list of usual fees and discount fees for plan members.  Judging by these sample fees, it looks like one of these plans would pay for itself after one or maybe two dental visits.  And the plan includes vision and prescription discounts - so there are even more savings there.

Even if you don't think you need this, remember it's available.  It looks like you can join anytime, and your plan will activate the very next day.  That means, if you or someone in your family gets a toothache and really needs to go to the dentist (this can be used for routine visits, but let's just say you're only going to visit the dentist if you really have to), you can join today and use your benefits tomorrow.  Just print your membership card, make an appointment with a participating dentist and enjoy on-the-spot discounts.  Payment for services performed is due at the time of service, and there are no paperwork hassles to worry about.

Baby Signs Complete DVD Series - 50% Off

Right now you can get 7 Baby Signs DVDs for only $49.99 plus $4.95 shipping!

This set usually sells for $99.99, so now is a really good time to grab it - that's 50% off!

Babies often become frustrated by the communication barrier between them and adults. It's frustrating for parents and care givers as well when there's confusion about what baby wants. The solution? The sign language for babies program from Baby Signs! With this program babies ages 6 months to 36 months are able to learn to communicate using simple signs and gestures. This set makes the perfect gift for first time parents, seasoned parents, and anyone who works with small children. The Baby Signs Complete DVD Series is included in this deal price which means you will get all 7 DVDs for half off! A deal like this doesn't come around too often, so get it before it's gone!

The Baby Signs Complete DVD Series is a complete set of 7 DVDs:

1. My Mealtime Signs (Teaches the signs for Eat, Drink, More, Milk, Cereal, Bib and All Done.)
2. My Bedtime Signs (Teaches the signs for Stars, Moon, Book, Light, Sleep and Love.)
3. My Bath Time Signs (Teaches the signs for Bath, Bubbles, Water, Toothbrush, Frog and Duck.)
4. My Pets Signs (Teaches the signs for Cat, Dog, Bird, Bunny, Fish and Turtle.)
5. My Park Signs (Teaches the signs for Ball, Butterfly, Slide, Flower, Tree and Swing.)
6. My Getting Dressed Signs (Teaches the signs for Hat, Coat, Shoes, Socks, Comb and Diaper.)
7. Bonus DVD: Welcome to the Baby Signs Program Parent DVD with 100-sign Video Dictionary

Details:

• Deal ends on Thursday, 11/24/11 at 11:59pm MST - you must order before then to get this price.
• Orders open to US mailing addresses only
• Orders will be postmarked for shipping within 72 hours (working business days) of the conclusion of the deal

Order the complete Baby Signs DVD Series now.

Saving For Your Child’s' Future Education

It's easy to forget, or sometimes just put off, the long-term costs of having a child. We're often faced with the overwhelming day-to-day expenses of getting by and forget about things like education. Not saving for a child's college education isn't uncommon by any means, but a college education will become essential to find any job in the coming years. You might ask yourself where the money is going to come from after you're done paying all the bills and feeding a family, but there are ways to accomplish this without having to radically change your life.

Before you do anything else, you'll first need to figure out how much you'll need to save up. This is pretty tough considering that the rate of tuition increases greatly every year and can go up several thousand dollars for online college and universities. You can go to a page supported by CNN and you can factor in many of the costs you're likely to see when you child comes of age. With this you can factor in multiple children and many of the side expenses you child is likely to see. It's important to not let these figures scare you. College is expensive, but you have time to save.

Consider the options available to you before you start packing money away into an account. One option that has become a very popular avenue for parents is the 529 Savings Plan. This was devised as a strategy for parents to start saving early for college. It's available in every state and it's named after the same federal tax code that allows significant tax benefits. There are two different options with this plan: the prepaid tuition plan and the 529 savings plan. With both options, you'll be able to earn tax free interest with your investments and will cover anything education related. Check the program out to see which 529 option works best for you situation.

Another popular option is the Coverdell Education Savings Account (CESA), traditionally known as the Education IRA. This option allows parents to save up to two 2 thousand every year, which is completely tax free. One of the biggest benefits of this program is you can pay for elementary and secondary school tuition. One of the problems with this program is that they are considered holdings, and when you child applies for financial aid later on, they might not get very much because this money will be factored into their government financial aid award.

There are many other programs out there designed to help parents save for their child's future. You just have to do some research. You don't have to be wealthy to put money away for you child. Everyone wants the best for their child and investing in one of these programs is an investment in your child. Give your kid the best possible future and look at ways you can help them later on in life.

Save on Car Magnets

Cory's last day of driving for Driver's Ed is tomorrow. Then it's just a matter of letting him drive as much as possible to get as much experience as he can. I just wish I had some Car Magnets to put on the van, something that says "Student Driver" like they have on the Driver's Ed car. That way people will know to be patient, right?

VistaPrint has small and large-size car door magnets. You can choose from over 100 designs or design your own. You can either design using their design templates, choosing designs and customizing your text, or you can design your magnet with your photo editing or other program and upload the finished design. There is a one time fee for orders using an uploaded image, but after that you can use that same image on additional products at no extra charge. Either way you get full color printed magnets at a good price.

Because of their technology, VistaPrint can print small quantities and still offer the best value. Printing custom magnetic signs used to be a laborious, hands-on process, and therefore expensive. Now that VistaPrint has automated the process of ordering, printing and manufacturing custom magnets, the cost has dropped considerable, and VistaPrint passes that savings on to their customers. Even better, enter code CarDoor25 and save 25% off VistaPrint's already low prices on Car Door Magnets, and be sure to sign up for their email notifications for additional savings.

4 am?

I just saw a commercial on TV that said Kohl's is opening at 4am on the day after Thanksgiving. 4am? I remember when I worked at Kohl's we opened at 7am on the day after Thanksgiving, and we thought that was early. Compared to our normal opening of 9:30am, I suppose it was. Even then I thought people were crazy to be waiting outside the doors to shop at 7am. I think they're even crazier if they're willing to be out shopping at 4am. Cory says there are some stores that are opening at 3am.

You couldn't pay me to go shopping at that time in the morning or pretty much any time on that day. There is absolutely nothing I need or want that bad. I don't care how great a deal they say it is.

Online Shopping Coupons

I think I've mentioned this a few times - I'm really cheap. I hate spending full price on anything. I try to keep up with the sales, clip coupons, and then try to combine the two by buying on sale with coupons. I've also recently become aware that there are all kinds of Online Coupons available. I admit, cheap as I am, I haven't always used coupons when shopping online. Sure, I've seen those little boxes when I check out, asking for a coupon code or promotion code. Where do I find a code to put in there? How much can I save? That's where Rather Be Shopping comes in. Coupon codes from all kinds of online stores are compiled and listed on this site. So, before I check out, I need to visit Rather Be Shopping. Maybe I can save some money, and that's always a good thing. It's at least worth a try.

Teens and Money

We went to the bank this afternoon and set up a checking account and a savings account for Beth. Our bank offers what is called a High School account - no minimum balance required because the account is linked with the parents' account. I wasn't seriously thinking about setting up the accounts until the day Cory left for Boston. He was going away from home with a wallet full of cash, and it occurred to me that it would have been nice for him to have a debit card to use. Too late for that - and the minimum age for this High School checking account is 15, so he wouldn't have qualified anyway. Next trip...

Beth is planning to get a job soon, so having a checking account will be good. Once she finds that job, she can sign up for Direct Deposit so she can get her paychecks put right into her account. That way she won't have to worry about picking up her checks or getting to the bank to cash them. Even if she doesn't do the Direct Deposit thing, she will at least be able to cash paychecks without needing one of us and our account. Besides that, it will make it easier to give her money if we don't happen to have cash on hand. That doesn't mean she just gets money any time she want some - whatever she may believe. It will be good for her to learn to keep track of the money in her account - something she needs to know how to do.

Also this week I got her a Discover card - this one for putting gas in the car only. I think she'll do ok with that. She is very adamant about not using credit cards - ever. Good for her. I hope she sticks to that. Getting into credit card debt is a very bad thing. The Discover card? Just convenience, so we don't have to be sure she has the cash with her, and we get a 5% cashback bonus on gas purchases. I always pay that off every month.