8 Apps and Sites that Help Families Save on the Little Things

Technology can help you save a lot of money on the little things that your family needs on a regular basis. By knowing which apps and websites can help you save the most, you can reduce the amount of money that your family spends.

That means you can get more out of the money you have. You might even find that you can start putting more money towards your savings to prepare for a financially stable future that allows you to splurge on occasion.

Using Smart Phone Apps to Spend Less on Gasoline

The best way to spend less money on gasoline is to drive your car less often. Many families, however, just don’t have time to commit themselves to walking or riding bikes more. When it comes to shuttling the kids from school to soccer to ballet to whatever else they’re into, you’re lucky if you can even find enough time to fuel up your car.

Several smart phone apps can help you find the cheapest gas in your area. That way, you can compare prices easily without driving around (burning more gas) just to save an extra penny. Some of the top apps include:

Other apps can help you save money on gas by choosing better driving options:

  • Route4me shows how to schedule multiple destinations so that you burn less fuel;
  • Waze helps you avoid traffic jams to reduce stop-and-go driving;
  • Carticipate connects you with other drivers so that you can share rides.

Saving Money With Group Buying Sites

Group buying sites are another great way to save money on the little things that your family needs. Many sites even focus on niche markets. That means you can choose a buying site that only offers deals related to your family’s interests.
Some of the top group buying sites that you should consider include:

  • Parents Deals focuses on discounts that will help your family spend less money without giving up the good things in life;
  • Living Social offers free discounts to members who publicize the site’s deals successfully;
  • Groupon focuses on deals in specific areas, allowing you to use discounts relevant in your town.

Today, every family is looking for innovative ways to save money without giving up the products and recreations that they enjoy. Try using these apps and sites to help your family save on the little things. What other money-saving strategies does your family use?

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Cheaper and Greener Cleaning Supplies

An American bathroom of a freshly renovated ho...

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A clean home is a healthy home.  Or at least it ought to be.  Surprisingly, as it turns out, scientists are showing that some of the cleanest homes actually expose us to disease.  The chief culprit is our cleaning products and the resulting chemical saturation.  The good news is that you can have a spotlessly clean home, reduce the chemicals in your home, and save a ton of money to boot. Here’s how.

Five Basic Cleaning Supplies

With five basic cleaning supplies you can clean almost everything in your home.  You probably already have these supplies on hand.

  • Baking soda
  • White vinegar
  • Mild dish detergent
  • Rubbing alcohol
  • Salt

Getting Started in the Kitchen

Clean your sink daily by scrubbing it down with a nonabrasive sponge and baking soda. For really tough stains, dribble a bit of lemon juice on the stain and scrub with salt. Clean your microwave by microwave a half cup of white vinegar for one minute, then wiping  down  the inside of the microwave with a soft cloth or paper towel.  The vinegar and steam loosen any caked on food. Clean the burners of your stove with a paste of baking soda and water.

Tips for Cleaning the Bathroom

Use a spray bottle filled with 3 parts water to 1 part white vinegar to clean porcelain sinks, tubs, and toilets in the bathroom.  Clean show stalls by spraying the walls with warmed white vinegar. Leave the vinegar on the walls for 15 minutes then scrub with baking soda and sponge. Rinse with clear water and you’re done.

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Home Computers

Home computers are a tool that many children have become accustomed to seeing in homes across America. For many of these children, they cannot remember a time in their lives when a computer was not a common fixture in the home. They have grown up using these computers, and as they get older and deeper into schooling, they will become dependent on these machines in order to submit homework, complete research and play games. The danger with many of these events is that viruses can be downloaded and embedded into a computer, allowing them to work their destructive magic, slowly destroying the computer. There are some things that can be done to prevent viruses from becoming a headache that you need to deal with. Free antivirus downloads from PC Tools is a great start to protecting the home computer.

As far as childproofing a computer, some of the things that need to be childproofed include the access to certain sites, like adult sites, or violent sites. Also, many parents want to protect their children from online predators, and that would include chat rooms and instant messaging via child subscription sites. Installing monitoring software will allow parents to view what their children are doing.

The combination of a free antivirus software and monitoring software, such as PC Tools Free Antivirus, can help parents protect their computers and their children. These programs will help keep the experience of computer use positive, and allow parents to feel free while their children use the family computer. This can lend to a lot of peace of mind, and eliminate much of the stress associated with the possibility of children downloading malicious information accidentally. It is usually through accidental use that many computers run slow, act up, freeze, or give that infamous error message, Hard Disk Error.

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Worst Projectors on the Market: Know Before You Shop

The world of home entertainment is exploding. Families all over the world are recognizing that it is cheaper, and far more cozy, to stay at home and watch a movie. With streaming movies to your television and computer, and on-demand cable services, people are spending big bucks to outfit their basement or great room with high tech equipment.

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At the forefront of this is the home projector. With its crystal clear picture and massive picture size, the home projector is soaring in popularity and more and more people are rushing out to take advantage of a movie-style experience at home.

That means choosing the right projector for your home. While companies like Dell have made a living making top of a great projector line, other companies have swung and missed. Here are some projectors to avoid:

Sony VPL-ES2

This model got some of the worst ratings from experts and consumers alike. While it has been given good marks in the past for its brightness, users have reported that there have been more than a few bulbs to burn out quickly. There is nothing fun about watching a movie with half a picture.

Aaxa Tech L1 Laser Pico Projector

This projector provides a double-dose of trouble to the consumer. While it was tough to find customer reviews for this little projector, it was fairly easy to find an expert review that slammed First, it’s speaker system does not begin to compete with the market.

In fact, you have to practically put your ear by the speaker get any rich sound. Second, the picture capability is only 26 inches.

Mitsubishi HC 5000

Don’t be swayed by the reasonable price. The Mitsubishi HC 5000 cuts corners when it comes to picture quality, making it a poor investment no matter the price.

In a darker home movie setup, this projector showed it didn’t have the settings to project a quality picture. Turn on the lights? The blacks in this aren’t strong enough to show up. It’s a good projector only if you aren’t committed to seeing the screen.

Canon LV-7565 LCD Projector

The best thing about this Canon model is that it isn’t the worst projector on the market. But it may be one of the bulkiest. At a time when projectors are getting smaller and smaller and lighter and lighter, while retaining and even adding features, the people at Canon have somehow been in the dark.

Slim, trim and maximum portability is what people want in their projectors. Someone Canon didn’t get that memo from its marketing folks.

Radio Shack Cinego Projector

While there isn’t anything obviously wrong with the projector, that isn’t to say that it’s very good either. The Cinego boasts nothing to be proud of and nothing to write home about.

It’s the bottom basement of home projectors. While you could probably do worse, you can certainly do better.

If you are joining the trend to a home projector, make sure you avoid these models. You can do much better with other options on the market. To be safe, you may want to avoid disappointment and shop for a Dell.

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Do-It-Yourself Fashion Makeovers

If you are on a tight budget, as many people are, you probably have never thought about re-vamping your wardrobe. Maybe you have recently had a new baby, or have spent most of the past few years caring for your other children and haven’t really paid much attention to your own look. Well, now is the time to take care of yourself and do something special. It may be as simple as buying a new dress, or going full-throttle and getting a whole new, trendy wardrobe. Giving yourself a whole fashion makeover can be one of the best gifts you can give yourself!

Spring fashion trends for 2011 are the best way to start your fashion makeover. Look at the different websites that offer styles that are “in” or visit your favorite designers’ site to see what he or she has been working on. The most popular new spring trends this year may actually contain items that you may already have and can reuse in different ways. Before you go on that day long shop-till-you-drop shopping trip, check out what is already in your closet that can be re-used as an “in-fashion” trend this year.

Some of these items may include a sheath dress. Sheath dresses are classic dresses that many of us already have in our closets. They can be updated easily to fit into whatever trend is popular at the time. Other items you may want to search for are leather jackets. Yes, the biker look is coming back this year. A nice leather biker-jacket thrown over the colorful sheath dress you thought had gone out of style is a great way to update a look without spending a fortune.

Once you have gone through your closet and found the items that you can use this year head out and add a few more elements to keep you trendy. All you may need is a few items to bring yourself up to date and be a fashion trendsetter.

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