Joan’s Boomer Blog

I recently discovered Groupon and it’s a great way to save money on restaurants, entertainment, spa treatments and more. How does Groupon work? You sign up for free for the city or cities of your choice and then each day one business offers a special deal which saves you anywhere from 50% to 90% for dinners, yoga classes, massages, bowling, or just about any service or business you can imagine. The deal is emailed directly to you each day.

If you want the Groupon deal, you can purchase a printable coupon and off you go.

The idea behind Groupon is that if lots of people group together and take a deal, it makes it worthwhile for the business to offer it.

Groupon.com is not specifically a senior discount site but it sure helps seniors stretch their dollars. Yesterday I bought a Groupon certificate for a local restaurant. The deal was $25 worth for $12. So the next time we visit Habenaro’s Mexican Restaurant, our first $25 is already paid for with more than a 50% discount.

The only drawback to Groupon is that you have to live near a major city but more cities are being offered all the time. Plus, think of Groupon next time you travel. You always have several months to use the deal after you buy it. You can also buy Groupon coupons to give as gift certificates so if you have a friend or relative in a major city, sign up for their city and view the deals!

Visit Groupon today and save.

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Are you concerned about your online reputation or the reputation of your company? Managing your online reputation was just made easier with www.reputationmanagers.com

When potential customers want information about your company, four out of five people will do an Internet search. What will they find out about your company? Will they read comments or reviews by disgruntled customers or former employees? Perhaps they will even find negative comments put out by your competitors. How is your company keeping their reputation positive, putting out information you want them to see instead of negative comments put out by others?

You can find help with www.reputationmanagers.com. Their company can create a reactive reputation management campaign for you, your brand and your company which will actively push down negative sites. Another option is to take control of your online reputation with a proactive campaign to help you achieve a positive Internet presence. This is a great option particularly if your brand is new and you want to get the word out.

How long does it take to see results? Usually about one to six months.

Get a detailed evaluation and customer quote with no obligation at www.reputationmanagers.com. They will guarantee that they can improve and help protect your online reputation.

The author was compensated for this article.

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Want to go organic but don’t like the high prices? You can get organic food coupons for many of your favorite products to help save you money. If you know where to look, you can find coupons for organic milk and yogurt, organic meat, organic baby foods and more.

Organic food coupons.com offers links to printable coupons for everything from organic dairy products to organic pet food. The website also has a handy listing of local supermarkets so you can browse their ads for organic foods. Chose an item, like organic free range eggs, and get a list of website to find coupons.

MyGroceryDeals.com is another site where you can find organic food coupons and it also compares in store sales at supermarkets in your zip code. If you search for “organic food” and then go to “category,” it gives you choices such as bakery, fruits and veggies and juices. You can also clip and print coupons on this site.

Another way to find organic food coupons is to visit the site of the company which sells organic foods and see if they have printable coupons. For instance, Laura’s Lean Meat offers a $1 off coupon for organic meat and Stoney Field where you can get coupons for their organic yogurt, milk and ice cream.

Organic Valley organic milk also offers coupons on their website for their organic milk, half and half, cottage cheese, butter and more. Print them out and take them to the store with you to save big on these organic products.

Most of these sites require registration, but it’s free. You can sign up for newsletters and email info too if you’d like and many of the articles are very informative.

Coupons.com sometimes lists coupons for organic foods too. Print out several if it’s a product you like. Recently, they had a $1 coupon for Muir Glen organic tomato paste. Since one can costs $1.79, I got more than 50% off the can.

Compare prices on your favorite organic products at The Find.com. I just recently discovered this fantastic, money saving website. You can put in any search term you want, for instance Organic foods which found 8,651 stores with 242,098 organic food offerings. You can compare prices, whether or not coupons are offered, or if the item is on sale or has free shipping.

The Find also offers lots of money saving articles on many different topics as well.

Other places to save on organic foods without a coupon:

Costco - Costco is carrying a wider variety of organic products these days. Be sure to break down the price per unit to see if you’re really saving money, however. Just because it’s at Costco, doesn’t necessarily make it cheaper. If you can’t use a huge bin or organic lettuce and throw 2/3 of it away, are you really saving money? On the other hand, if you can freeze or preserve the leftovers, and you can use it all in a green smoothie, for instance, you would save money on that tub of spinach.

Walmart too is starting to carry more organic options. However, be sure to check for freshness. I’ve seen organic grapes and other produce at Walmart for a good price but because not many people are buying them, half the bag is inedible.

Eating organic foods is better for your health and the environment at a whole and now you know it’s possible to get more of these nutritious foods into your diet and save money with organic food coupons.

As I find more websites offering Organic coupons, I’ll add those too so check back frequently. If you have a good source for organic food coupons or can thing of other great ways to save money and eat organic, please leave a comment and we’ll check it out.

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ZenniOptical is now the number one website online to order fashionable, budget friendly eyeglasses. Prescription eyeglasses are necessary for eye health, but ZenniOptical knows that eyeglasses are also a fashion statement. They provide a high quality product at affordable prices. Did you know that despite the fact that ZenniOptical is a bargain for eyeglass wearers, many opticians don’t want you to order your glasses online?

The reason opticians don’t like ZenniOptical is fairly obvious. They would rather you pay their higher prices, which does not benefit you.

How can an optician stop you from ordering bargain, quality eyeglasses online? They leave out one vital part of your prescription, the Pupillary Distance, or PD. The PD is the distance in millimeters, measured between the pupils of each eye, center to center. To get the proper prescription made for you, ZenniOptical needs that measurement. However, there is a growing trend among those providing your prescription to you not to provide it unless you ask specifically.

If you’re looking for fashionable, quality eyeglasses at bargain prices, try ZenniOpitical. It’s easy. Just put in the prescription and choose the features you want. You can get beautiful eyeglasses for as little at $29!

Read what other eyecare professionals are saying.

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They Can’t Tax Voluntary Simplicity - Yet!

What is Voluntary Simplicity and How Can it Help You Avoid the Coming Economic Crisis?

Voluntary simplicity has a different meaning to each person who practices it. In a nutshell, voluntary simplicity goes against the commercial culture of America which equates material possessions with happiness and fulfillment. Advocates find fulfillment in saving money, downsizing, living simply and finding ways to do for themselves.

Many who embrace voluntary simplicity live debt free, clip coupons, cook from scratch, live closer to nature and try their hand at pass times like gardening and sewing or raising their own chickens.

Maybe this isn’t you but each of us can simplify our lives and focus on saving money, rather than making money. They can’t tax you for saving $20 with grocery store coupons but that is $20 you still have in your pocket.

Is Economic Disaster and Double Dip Recession Coming?

Life as we’ve all gotten used to it may soon end. For the past 20 years, the economy has been booming mostly, real estate prices shot up, the stock market was going great guns. Then it all fell apart. My 82 year old mother recently told me when she hears the term “new normal” in relation to the high unemployment, volitile stock market and near depression-like economy, she can’t help but think that the years of the booming economy were the abnormal years.

Most of the years of my mother’s life, she knew depression, war, pinching pennies. I grew up learning thrift and tried to teach my kids the same thing, but young people really have no clue about living through a real depression.

Are you worried about what the looming economic crisis will mean for you? Are you worried about the huge tax hike coming in 2011 to pay for the exploding national debt and President Obama’s health care plan. Perhaps you have one of those “Cadillac” insurance plans, where your companies’ contribution will now be taxed as income. Dick Morris says America is facing the same financial disaster that is now occurring in Greece.

President Obama campaigned on the promise of tax cuts for those earning less than $250,000 (really all Congress would have to do is keep President Bush’s tax cuts in place - which saved our family $2,000 in taxes each year.) Yet, on June 22, 2011, House Majority Leader, Rep Steny Hoyer, acknowledged that it would be difficult to reduce long-term deficits without breaking President Obama’s pledge to protect families earning less than $250,000 a year. (See New York Times article)

My husband wants to retire. He has a military pension and a good job, which already puts us in a tax above $88,000. Anyone earning over $88,000 will be taxed to pay for the health care of those who cannot afford it. I am trying to earn extra income to supplement our retirement but unfortunately, the more I make, the more taxes we will pay.

So what is our plan? How will we protect ourselves from economic collapse? I’ve decided that I can limit my hours of working on my multiple streams of income (which is pretty much on autopilot now) and focus on pinching pennies.

• I search coupon websites and grocery ads for the best deals, buying only what we need and what is on sale.
• I rejoined our organic food co-op to get fresh organic produce for our green smoothies.
• I planted tomato plants in pots for the first time since we moved to Texas. We are currently buying land where we can grow a bigger garden.
• I dusted off my dehydrater so I can preserve food and not waste anything.
• I bought a sprouter to I can grow fresh sprouts for our smoothies. You can grow tons of sprouts for pennies, providing fresh greens for your diet.
• I am making my own kefir with kefir starter instead of buying sugar-laden and expensive yogurt.
• My husband and I are putting major purchases on hold and going on a spending fast, after reading Jeff Yeager’s Guide to Cheapskate Living (a great book with lots of voluntary simplicity tips and advice)
• We’re buying an RV to put on the land and if we need to live in it for a year or two to save money, we can do that.

We are in the process of purchasing 5 acres of land where we can have a huge garden, raise chickens and build an energy efficient house with wind and solar power. (President Obama admitted that his cap and trade bill will cause electricity prices to skyrocket and trying to break our dependence on oil could cause gas prices to go to $7 a gallon.)

All is not gloom and doom, whether the nation experiences economic disaster or not. What each person must do is be ready to live in the worst of conditions and become more self-sufficient. Try saving, not spending money. Try saving instead of increasing your income. Give voluntary simplicity a try and you will have the satisfaction of knowing you can face whatever happens.

One thing our government officials have not considered is what will happen when more and more people are willing to earn less, do more for themselves and pay less taxes? They’ve made it the sensible solution but how will the government machine survive once they’ve destroyed our economy?

Resources:

Making your own kefir is easier than you think.

Sprouting seeds at Home

Raising Chickens in Your own back yard.

Check out the many coupons and money saving articles on this blog as well.

Learn more about Living Simply

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Being called a cheapskate used to be an insult but now guides to cheapskate living are some of the most

The Ultimate Cheapskate by Jeff Yeager

popular money saving books published. Voluntary simplicity has become a lifestyle to be proud of and Jeff Yeager’s The Ultimate Cheapskate’s Road Map to True Riches: A Practical (and Fun) Guide to Enjoying Life More by Spending Less is one of the most useful books on cheapskate living that I’ve come across.

If you’re interested in downsizing, saving money and learning to embrace the voluntary simplicity lifestyle, Jeff Yeager’s book about becoming the Ultimate Cheapskate yourself, can be a wise investment.

Do you get enjoyment from buying “things?” Do you tend to buy as an emotional choice? Perhaps you’re stuck in a good paying, but unfulfilling job and buy things, telling yourself “Why not buy stuff? I earn it?” Do you have large credit card debt and were wishing you had none? The Ultimate Cheapskate can help!

I’ve been following the advice of Jeff Yeager for nearly 30 days and I’ve found that many of the purchases I made before were not things I really needed. I love to shop and I pride myself on finding the best prices but when you embrace voluntary simplicity, you learn that it is possible to spend zero money in a week, that being debt free brings more enjoyment than buying things and that being free of “things” brings freedom and fulfillment to your life.

In America, we are bombarded with commercials just about every minute of the day. We are convinced by smart marketers that if we buy their product we will be happier and more fulfilled. If you become an ultimate cheapskate like Jeff Yeager, you can find that not spending money brings even more fulfillment - your quality of life will increase, rather than decrease with each dollar you don’t spend. Plus the book is written in a humorous, lively style that makes it a pleasure to read.

If you’re looking for ways to be happier by spending less money, whether because you’re forced to or because you see it as a better option in life, then The Ultimate Cheapskate’s Road Map to True Riches: A Practical (and Fun) Guide to Enjoying Life More by Spending Less can help you live in voluntary simplicity in a totally painless way. Order through Amazon for less than $10, plus the order qualifies for free shipping. What a cheapskate deal!

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How to Earn Multiple Streams of Income Doing What You Love

Six-Figures In Less Than A Year
Do only the things you LOVE to do, and generate multiple revenue streams!

If you could earn multiple streams of income working at home, building a profitable business based on your own passions in life, would you want to do it? Would you like to quit your current unfulfilling job and make your own schedule, doing something you love every day? If you answered yes to these questions but aren’t currently living the life you’d like to live, maybe you may just need someone who can teach you how to set up multiple streams of income, a mentor who has made thousands doing just this.

f you’ve seen the movie “the Secret” you’re probably familiar with Bob Doyle. I’ve been a member of his terrific Wealth Beyond Reason program for about 3 years and I’ve always wanted to take part in his Six Figure Streams of Income Program about building a profitable business on the internet. However, the $1300 price tag was just more than I wanted to spend. Imagine how I felt recently when I opened an email from Bob Doyle and found he was offering this same program for just $97!

The Six Figure Income Course is based on principles of the law of attraction to create multiple streams of income -helping you to find what you’re passionate about and build a profitable business around it. Work becomes play! Even if don’t currently have your own website or a product to sell, or even know how to do this, Bob’s course teaches you everything you need to know to build your own business around marketing information on the Internet.

What makes this multiple streams of income different from other business building courses? An all-important part of Bob Doyle’s course is teaching you how to overcome the resistence you’ve built up in your thinking-resistance that is holding you back from living the life of your dreams. Do you think you have to work hard to make money? Do you think money is hard to come by and only very lucky people “make it big?” These are limiting beliefs that are holding you back and Bob gives you the tools to overcome these beliefs so that anything is possible.

If you could spend your day devoted to any subject, what would it be? What are you passionate about in life? What is your hobby or what subjects are you drawn to? What do you love read about that you’d love to create a business around? Do you have a special area of expertise that you’d like to share with others? Would you like to create unlimited income around these ideas?

Bob Doyle’s Six Figure Streams of Income program helps you to sort through all that information and gives you specifics on creating ebooks, videos, and websites based on what you personally love to do to earn money through multiple streams of income.

If you’re a baby boomer facing retirement, what are you going to do with your time? Wouldn’t it be fun to make some extra retirement income doing something you have fun doing?

If you’ve ever thought how wonderful it would be to work at home and turn your own passions in to a profitable business and earn multiple streams of income, you owe it to yourself to check out Bob Doyle’s Six Figure Streams of Income Program.

Six-Figures In Less Than A Year
Do only the things you LOVE to do, and generate multiple revenue streams!

If you’re interested in the Wealth Beyond Reason program, I can tell you that since joining I’ve used and reused the information. I listen to the audios over and over and re-read the books that are part of the program. It was one of those programs I purchased that I never even once regretted or thought it wasn’t worth the money. The information is something that I use again and again.

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Joan’s Boomer Blog - More Coupon Sites for Deals and Freebies

I love getting freebies and using money saving coupons. Coupon sites are growing in popularity and I’ve found some new ones through reading ShopSmart magazine. Put out by Consumer Reports, ShopSmart contains no advertising so there is no conflict of interest in the products and tips they offer to help save you money.

In a recent article, ShopSmart offered these freebie and coupon savings sites. Although these aren’t strictly for seniors, seniors can certainly benefit from these money saving websites.

Coupon Savings.com

Coupons.com

Grocery Smarts.com

Beauty Product Freebies and Coupons:

These money saving coupon sites let you know when department stores are having product giveaway days - such as free gift with purchase. Search by brand name or retailer. You can also subscribe to these great websites so you can get updated on new deals and freebies.

GWP Addict.com - Keeps you up to date on best shopping days for freebies with products like Clinique. Also a coupon page for instore or online coupons, grouped by when they expire so you aren’t trying coupons that are out of date already.

My Gift with Purchase.com

To get coupons for beauty products, lotions and body care products, also sign up with company websites. Ulta.com has a free membership card where you can accumulate points toward gifts, plus they email you discount coupons for online or in store shopping. Other companies like Aveda and Oil of Olay also offer discount coupons for signing up at their website.

Forums where coupons savings shoppers swap tips:

A Full Cup.com

Moms View.com

Slick Deals.com

Some recommendations when using freebie and coupon sites:

Print only from reputable coupon sites. Make sure coupons contain bar codes and expiration dates.

It might be helpful to set up a separate email address just for all your coupons site sign-ups. This will help you avoid spam and keep all our coupons and newsletters in one place. I’ve had to create new email addresses over the years when old ones got too spam filled. I use these older ones for my coupon site sign-ups.

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Have Fun and Earn Prizes with SwagBucks!

Want to have some fun and win some prizes? Swagbucks is almost a phenomenon these days. Sign up is totally free and everything you do helps you to win Swagbucks prizes. I recently installed the Swagbucks tool bar so it comes up each day. I can use the Swagbucks search tool, check the blog for the daily prize code, or shop using the stores on Swagbucks. Just about everything you do can earn you come bucks, which you can then spend on free prizes.

What Kind of Prizes can I win with Swagbucks?

One recent special offer was a $5 Amazon gift card for 450 Swagbucks. This was marked down from 1,000 Swagbucks and thousands of people took advantage of this one. Every day there are some special offers or you can just visit the Swagbucks store to see prizes like:

• Gift Cards for various online stores
• Tee shirts, hats and other fashion gear
• Magazine subscriptions
• Books
• Gift sets
• Video games
• Music

Here’s a great way to save money when dining out. With just 400 Swagbucks you can purchase a gift card for a $25 e-card for Restaurants.com. At Restaurants.com you can then buy $25 gift cards for various restaurants for just $15 - which would be free if you used your Swagbucks card.

There are 43 great gift card choices, including Starbucks, Target, Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Ticket Master, Lowes, Paypal and many many more. You’re sure to find a gift card that you can use yourself or give as a gift.

You can also get Swagbucks widgets for your blog or website. There’s a group on Facebook to keep you up to date as well.

Another way to save with Swagbucks is to sign up for their free newsletter which lists the latest offers for your favorite stores or the latest Swagbucks news.

Sign up for SwagBucks today. Have some fun and win some prizes, all for just searching or shopping at stores you’d ordinarily use anyway.

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Free Newsletters for Senior Discounts, Coupons, Freebies and Samples

‘ve scoured the internet for Senior Discounts and I came up with a list of websites which offer free daily or weekly email newsletters listing new discounts, coupons, freebies and samples. Many of these discounts aren’t just for senior citizens either. Anyone with a little time can save big on the many discount and coupon offers out there.

If you sign up for the free newsletters, you get a summary of new coupons and discounts and also, having  link handy in your inbox helps you remember who has the great money savers you are looking for. I can tall you that, with age, memory is the first thing to go-lol.

Here is a great list of online discount and coupon websites that offer free registration and a free newsletter, along with a summery of what they offer.

SeniorDiscounts.com offers a weekly newsletter with “hundreds of senior discounts,” opportunities to enter contests and more info on how to locate senior discounts. On their homepage is a list of featured discounts. There is also a paid subscription to this site but you don’t have to join to gain benefits. You can also submit any discounts you find to this website too.

These sites also have free newsletters with coupons and freebies and they aren’t just for seniors. You can save a lot of money each week with these great newsletters though.

CouponSurfers - Emails you a newsletter with about 10 of the weeks’ new printable coupons. They list nearly 300 printable coupons on their website.

Coupon websites abound on the Internet. Many have free newsletters or you can save the listing in a file and check them weekly for the best deals. You don’t have to be a senior to get these great discounts!

Printable Coupons.blogspot.com offers grocery, restaurant, retail, pet food coupons and more.

StartSampling.com offers printable coupons and samples and freebies. The only catch to the freebies is that you have to give your name and address so they can mail them to you. This can be good or bad. They can mail you samples and coupons if you don’t mind getting a little more “junk” mail.  I’ve gotten free magazine subscriptions through this website, including Parents Magazine for my daughter and Better Homes and Gardens for me - as well as lots of free samples.

CouponCabin.com offers a weekly newsletter with coupons to your inbox, plus a listing of coupons you can use on the internet. Great listing of printable coupons.

ValPak.com You may be familiar with the Val-Pak that is mailed out to you with great discount coupons but they also have an online version. You can sign up for their free newsletter, tailored to your zip code, with great weekly deals.

Costco If you’re a member of Costco, you can sign up for their free newsletter and find out about their latest coupons and sales.

My Grocery Deals.com newsletter with links to printable coupons. You can also put in your zip code and get deals just for your area.

Don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter for your favorite grocery store. I go to Kroger all the time and they offer a free newsletter and printable digital coupons on their website. You can fine tune it for your zip code too. Kroger stores also include Fred Meyer.

Another great tip for saving on groceries - take your weekly newspaper coupons and match them up to the sales at your favorite store. Most of the time, Kroger and Albertsons, for instance, will match their weekly sales to the weekly newspaper coupons, which doubles your savings.

Don’t forget newsletters for products you like also. I love Betty Crocker products so I signed up for the newsletter, which offers free recipes and over $16 in coupons in the last issue.

Here’s another hint for shopping on the Internet. If you want to purchase something, do a search for “product name and Promo code” to see what comes up. When I was purchasing domain names for my websites, I put in “GoDaddy promo code” and came up with a discount that brought my domain name down from $9.99 to $7.69 each. This works for just about any product if the coupon is out there somewhere.

If there is a store you frequent, sign up for their membership club or any newsletters they have. I love hobbies so I get an email newsletter from Joann’s and Hobby Lobby each week with printable coupons and all their latest sales.

You can also set up Google alerts to be delivered once a day to your inbox, keywords like senior discounts and you get a listing each day of blogs, websites and others which mention senior discount. I have alerts set up for baby boomer, RV Travel and Knitting, as well as Senior Discounts, which keeps me current on what’s being written on these topics each day.

Keep checking back for more senior discounts as I find them!

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