Evernote... everynote... ever simple!

Ok, so I have found *the* tool I needed. No more searching, no more scraps of paper, no more losing stuff. That's right, I am excited!

You have to see it: http://evernote.com/

It synchs with your phone, so whatever you do on the computer or on your phone, the other knows about. Sraps of shopping lists? No more. Too many bookmarks to even find what you wanted? Not an issue.

My dream of having an up to date pricebook is so much closer now. I also use it to clip recipes from the web.

Everything is searchable, so it's even better than Pinterest in that respect, plus everyone doesn't have to see what you are doing this way, especially if you are planning a birthday or event you want to keep under wraps.

A bonus? You. Can. E-mail. Directly. To. It.
So that important e-mail you got relating to the party you are arranging? You want it to quickly go into the Party folder, you just e-mail your unique address at Evernote and put '@ Party' in the subject line. Because @ pops it into whatever folder you name.
And it tags beautifully. You can tag to your hearts content, each note then gets tagged. Then just click the 'car' tag to see everything you have ever saved relating to your car. For me, it's will be the last MOT certificate, the last price I paid AA, when car tax is due...

And for me, I love the fact that... it has checkboxes... and bullet points... and you can change font size and colour. I am very visual so it helps hugely. Already I have build up several recipes, logged key household information, shared it with hubby... and now I can relax because between dropbox and Evernote, things are going to speed up alot in our household. Especially the recycling... as hubby is shared on that folder now! Do you use it? What tools do you use to stay organised? Would love to bounce ideas around as to how you do things.

Stay on top of those pesky tasks...

Well this week had been a near disaster, so many things to keep on top of! My daily list of things to think about, plan, and action goes something like this: - Start researching nurseries for early next year and maybe visit some - Renew cat insurance - Get new wheel for car - Finish tiling lobby (hubby is mid-tiling, due to finish on the weekend, dead handy when I need to get the pram in and out now... not!) - Re-design office layout at work and plan purchases accordingly - Research family tree and join some sort of website so I can create a proper tree - Finish decorating bedroom - Think about garden design for front of house (because the back is a jungle, scary for even a professional - I kid you not!) So... someone at work recommended www.remindersetc.com, and I have been using it fairly sucessfully. It won't automatically recurr on tasks but thats fine, I spent nearly an hour entering things and then it e-mails me reminders... it can even text you them. I'm sure I have divulged my Moleskine notebook addiction, and in there I do have a project list, a short and basic to do list, diary etc, but reminders etc is my nagging helper! So we now have a 1 year old little boy, costs are starting to get steeper, but we're trying to fight against it... I will write a separate blog about that though, lots of topics to cover! If you have any tips on how to stay on top of tasks, I'm all ears, as I manage all household finances, most of the meals, birthdays, planning a social life (ha ha!) and events for baby too...

Spring has sprung!

Hi everyone sorry for the delay in keeping in touch. I have family emmigrating, work has been busy, and works starting on our home so things have been very hectic.

However, we have managed to start planting - so far we have some lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, chilli, potatoes, onions and sunflower seeds. This year though I really want the lettuce and carrots to survive - hopefully I will do it right this time! The sunflowers have already started to peek through so the first 2 leaves are showing now... Then we also got some Jasmine, which I need to figure out how to take care of as it is delicate, but I do love them so much.

The main thing I have learned this month is that a) budgeting has gone out the window, my finance management skills need severely reigning in, b) car insurance quotes are a nightmare and all seem to have differing standards and c) don't beleive it when cans of paint say 'one coat'! I have learned that primer is almost always needed when repainting - I will share a photo on here soon so you can see what I have been up to in the kitchen.

The other thing I have done is joined a site called FreebieGB, who give you a free prize if you register, select a prize, then refer a few people (amount of referrals depends on the prize you choose). It may not be for everyone, but it sounds to me that if you club together with friends and family to sign up, you will get an item you can all share. For our family we will be doing the TomTom Satnav and I have followed the sign up procedure with FreebieGB. Then all of us can use the TomTom amongst us and it saves everyone some cash. Anyone with any feedback on these guys feel free to share, but it looks good so far.

I will add some photos here soon of both the seedlings and plants, DIY work so far and also some lovely finds we have come across second hand, to maybe inspire folks who are looking to change decor or buy items cheaply. I love the idea of recycling items and giving them a second lease of life, plus furnishing a house with mostly second hand items.

Enjoy and do drop in any comments on what you are up to now the sun is out!

Websites that can save you money & time today

Today I'd like to share some of the sites that I use to save some money, but the benefit is that they also save time too. Some you may already use and some may be new to you - either way share yours on here too:

- BidNip - This site saves me alot, it is a site that will bid for ebay auctions on your behalf. I am terrible for wanting to 'Buy Now' and this costs lots more money than waiting until a normal auction ends and bidding the normal way. So I do reecommend if you use ebay, sign up to BidNip. You place your maximum bid and let them remember to bid for you. It saves you waiting to the last minute and then getting carried away with bidding. Their 'snipe' can go in seconds before the auction ends. As an example, I was paying £1.70 for 1 door handle on normal Buy It Now auctions, but I used BidNip (and some patience in havoing to wait!) and reduced the handle cost to £0.80p - a 50% saving.

- Boffer.co.uk - A site that has a daily deal, listed at 11:59 every night and once sold out, that's usually it. They do run occasional special offers where they extend the deal.

- FirstDirect.com - Believe it or not, yes, your bank an save you time. Time equates to money, so that's why it's on this list. I can pay bills and never have to queue - I can call them at 3am, any day of the year. I can post cheques to pay in. It's rare to love a bank, but I do love mine.

- Amazon.co.uk - Associates programme - You can earn money from books or 2nd hand items through this programme, sometimes it is better than ebay as Amazon pay a fixed postage amount. I have sometimes bought 5 books for £2 for example at boot fairs, then listed each book on Amazon at £0.01, making some cash on the Amazon fixed postage. Not much if you always list at £0.01 but sometimes you will list a book for more, which is when it really counts. I did this alot for the Moneysavingexpert.com challenge "Make money from nothing" and it worked really well. You start off by selling items you have already got at home or were given and the money you make from that, you invest in other items, so you never spend 'real' money from your pocket. I made over £400 in that challenge and learnt alot. One Chanel book was £0.20p and sold for £9!

- Moneysavingexpert.com - This one goes without saying! The Wednesday e-mail is essential and will keep you updated on all sorts.

- Paypal - Most of us already have an account but if you don't, it can really change how you make payments and save alot of time. No more bank transfers, international payments, converting currency. Any time you can save converts to cash in other ways as you can focus on other moneysaving.

- Online Calculators & Time Savers:
Pleasures V Treasures
WhichBook - Can prevent you from that quick impulse book buy!
Mortgage Overpayment Calculator

FixtureFerrets.co.uk - This site can save you lots of cash on your supermarket shop. Find out who has the best deals before you even go there - well worth signing up for.

So there you have it - what sites do you recommend? See my other articles on moneysaving websites.

Also as Spring approaches, might be a good time to review my Spring Money Saving tips article

Fat Cheese - Cashback New Kid On The Block!

Hi all,

Today I have another interesting cashback website for you - they're called FatCheese, a strange name but they seem to have good offers!

(If Cashback sites are new to you and sound confusing, don't worry - it's a great way to make money online and buy items you were going to buy anyway - see the Cashback Sites section on the right hand side).

A few sites as you all know just get you in on good offers and then once you start to use them, you see those offers dissapear. Some of the sites remain more loyal to customers than others. It seems FatCheese are aiming to be a real contender, with enough going on to keep us all interested, plus with quick customer service response as well but this is my first impression after a couple of months.

Customer service has not always been great with these types of sites, nor do they always share 100% of what they get from suppliers with us. So far my queries have been answered quickly, and my transactions are tracking smoothly, so I thought it was time to write about them a little more.

From what I can see at the moment, they have a good selection of offers on, it might be that some of them are of interest to you now, but you can always take them up another time if you don't need them at the moment. However, these ones seem particularly good, 3 of which involve no spend at all.

Some of the Best Offers at FatCheese today:

- Sky+ at £75 cashback. You can get a free Sky+ box plus £25 Tesco voucher so overall this is worth quite alot - IF you were planning to subscribe to Sky+ anyway.
- Hastings Direct Car Insurance. FREE £20 MOT voucher just for getting a quote, so there is no actual need to take up the offer if yous insurance is not yet up but you want to get an idea of prices.
- T-Mobile FREE SIM cards. £1 cashback for ordering two FREE SIMs. Costs nothing and is useful too if you need some SIMS.
- Gala Bingo. £20 cashback for each new player depositing and wagering a minimum of £5. Essentially you would get £15 free in cashback terms.
- Synovate. £1.35 cashback when you register, easy and quick to do.

As always make sure you clear your cookies effectively (ie: delete all cookies before you log in to the cashback site to make any purchases or register for no-spend offers such as the above SIM cards or Synovate / Hastings Direct) - see my Cashback section on the right-hand side menu for more tips, or request my full guide.

In addition if you follow my referral link:

Fat Cheese

You will get access to an extra £5 to use Coral, currently it's £5 cashback but the above link will give you £10. This will be credited in due course on your statement. You may of course like to check other sites for what they offer, I just thought I'd mention this little extra if relevant to you as that extra £5 effectively pays for your admin fee on FC.

Soon they will be offering a full 10% cashback on purchases at Play.com which is a great offer, given that you cannot get any cashback for Amazon. This means if you buy a £15 DVD from Play.com via FatCheese you would get £1.50 back, reducing your price to £13.50...

I would love your views on this site once you have started to also use it, so we can all comment on whether they may be serious contenders to Quidco!
They seem to offer 100% cashback rather than 'share' the cashback' with members. They do charge an admin fee but I think overall this will still be worthwhile, especially with the kind of offers they are starting to make available.

As always over the coming weeks I will keep you updated on any other sites and will also be updating my cashback site Guide with more info, removing the sites that have been failing members and updating with fresh offers and new sites.

Enjoy the sunshine out there today!

Saving Money... Nipping ebay in the bud!

Hi everyone and hope you are enjoying teh fabulous weather out there - even if it's just a quick walk at lunch!

Today I thought I would focus on the amount of money we all spend on ebay, as it can become an addiction... but as usual, I hope to save you some cash on that hobby too!

Around 6 months ago I joined this site called BidNip and they bid for you, in the last few seconds of the auction. If you do not win the auction, there's no fee to pay!

How it works is that you pay for some credits in advance so you can 'snipe' an auction. They are incredibly cheap at a few pence per 'snipe' (only charged if you win) and have saved me at least £80 over 6 months as I buy lots of clothes / books / aromatherapy, items for my workplace and more on there.

You then tell BidNip the auction number (normally on the right side of the screen on the ebay page). Copy and paste that onto BidNip, tell them the maximum you are prepared to pay, Snipe the auction, and wait to see if you win because they will bid for you in increments until your set maximum is met!

So - no more of that last minute paying more than it's worth because you got heated up and *had* to have the item...

I normally set my 'snipe' to 8 seconds before auction end... so if you want to be in bed, or out on the town when that auction finishes, now you can - because BidNip will do the work for you even in your sleep!

Let me know how you get on!

Various Websites to help the budget

Ok, so February is cold and miserable, a great time to stay in and keep that spending to a minimum... Here are some sites I recommend to get the creative juices flowing in terms of cutting back:

Spending Diary - Use this free useful site to track your daily spending. That's the muffins, the magazines, the extra glass of wine, the chocolates and more... by the end of the month you will finally know where it all goes and can cut back!
By cutting back on buying lunches for work last year I have saved around £30 per month, or £360 per year. If someone came up to you today and offered you £360 in cash to make your own lunches at home, would you do it? How about if they offered you £104 to stop buying chocolate and therefore be healthier? Magazines would be £160 in your pocket if you read them in the library or Borders instead of buying them... not to mention greener for the planet! We will all have different ideas on what our limit would be - try to re-define yours.


Volunteer4Panels - If you are accepted, this cashback-type site enables you to accrue points which you can then turn into high street vouchers. We save these for Christmas or clothing, very handy and only takes a few minutes per week. All you need to do, is tell them each week what clothes/cd's/beauty products you have bought and you will earn at least £1.50 per week if you do this.

MoneySavingExpert - Of course, I wouldn't even have this blog if it were not for the great Martin Lewis - we've truly turned around our spending since finding this site. The forum is particularly useful and so insightful, to learn from so many generous people that share their tips and hints. I have learnt so much and we have made many changes - we now try to give back on the forums and this blog and pass it on...

Take the chance to review things and prepare for the coming year - what are you aiming for? What real goals would you like to achieve by the end of the year? What small steps can you take now, so that in a few months you are closer to them?

We have a few in mind and have been talking about the small stepping stones, an example is only going out to a meal once per month. This could be seen by some like something we could cut out, but one meal per month at around £25 (less if we use buy one get one free vouchers etc) won't break the bank and it helps us avoid take-aways etc the rest of the month. Plus it means we save gas & electric at home one night per month by not cooking, not washing up and not having the tv/computer on... we can catch up with eachother properly and have some quality time.

So in these troubled times with so much talk of recession / depression we all need to get planning now, see what sites we can all join to help save or make cash... Here's to the year ahead and us getting through it all together.

Save cash on food - great site!

Hi all just wanted to let you know of a great site called:

www.approvedfood.co.uk

This site sells items for far less than the shops.

Most foods are either close to their due by date or past it, but still perfectly fine from the comments I have read. They have items like soup, crisps, chocolate, larder items, animal food and even household items etc etc.

Items start from £0.10p and I am placing an order Monday with some colleagues to split the delivery charge - will let you all know how it goes!

Think of it as a £1 store online, except most items are far less than £1 ;o)

Free Money in your mouse - yes, really!

http://www.wepromiseto.co.uk/r/795295Free cash? Yes. Make cash from just clicking sites online - no catches, but some (easy but medium to longterm) work involved!

I have now released my latest & updated guide to clicking on the internet. It earns up to a massive £3.59 a day if you follow my sugested clicks! The text below is an explanation on how to get started - contact me via the MSE Link below if you would like the daily routine itself.

The key is:
1) to click every day if possible and
2) be patient as it can take a week or so to show up
3) look at this for the long term

If you take it seriously the next 12 months will be a great chance to get free cashback for clicks for any goal you have. If you also buy your pressies, clothes, gadgets and more via the cashback sites, you will of course earn even more cash on top! I make most of my free cash from just clicking though!


The basic concept:
You can make money daily, from clicking.
Websites will pay you small cash amounts as incentives to click on their links so they can show you their products. You can click on these every day and earn money. You do not need to buy anything. If you click over a period of time, these amounts add up and you can then cash-in what they owe you. Simple - but involves daily clicks and self-discipline!

WARNING:
You must be prepared to put the work in for all sites and to wait at least 12-14 weeks for the money on each site to start to look like anything significant! Remember - this is a long term thing and patience is essential as it can take a week or so for the first cash to drip in so do be patient and read on...




From the cashback sites below I made over £375.89 in 2007 for free + £120 in vouchers (hubby and I do it) from Pigsback so I'm very chuffed indeed (with more pending as I type). I have made NO purchases, just clicking away slowly but surely.

You DO need to be disciplined though to get this free cash & it helps to have a goal in sight - for me it was that Christmas 07 food & booze was totally FREE and funded by cashback sites ;o) and I DID IT!

I can e-mail you the guide and I am sure my cashback routine will help you out even if only small amounts here and there they do add up and when you get the payout it will all be free so I think it is worth it for 15-20 mins a day (or more time = more money if you have the time). I can also e-mail you an automatic cashback calculator to help you see your earnings build up as you go - change it as you like.

Step 1 - Join Up

I recommend you join the sites below (PS: feel free to use the referral links, or if you prefer you can go directly to the sites if you do not want me to refer you). Each site has been selected by me because they are good earners - I have dropped a few over the last few months and the list below are the current updated best in my view:

Get £££££ bonuses straight-away for signing up to these sites!

Here are some links for signing up to the main cashback sites if you are not already signed up:

MoneyBackMadness £10 bonus join-up!
http://www.blogger.com/www.moneybackmadness.co.uk/Register.aspx?rm=10002979&rf=Friend

Non referral – www.moneybackmadness.co.uk


Loyalty Shopper
http://loyaltyshopper.co.uk/forum/register.php?referrerid=12724

Non referral – www.loyaltyshopper.co.uk


We Promise To ** NEW - like Quidco **
http://www.wepromiseto.co.uk/r/795295

Non referral – www.wepromiseto.co.uk


Get Pounds Back

http://www.getpoundsback.co.uk/join.php?muq=795&duq=e0705a

Non referral – www.getpoundsback.co.uk


Cashback Rewards

http://www.cashback-rewards.co.uk/r/?l=1512

Non referral – www.cashbackrewards.co.uk


Cashback Chief £2.50 bonus sign-up!

http://www.cashbackchief.co.uk/referafriend.asp?referrer=sophiegist

Non referral – www.cashbackchief.co.uk

Quidco
http://www.quidco.com/ (not a referral link)


Remember to click the activation e-mails per site to fully start your cashback membership of each site and get the bonus welcome money per site (where applicable).


Remember when you have registered for WePromiseTo, to sign up your debit or credit card details for the OFFLINE shops, you can earn cashback on the high street at:

- Superdrug
- JJB
- Cineworld
- Halfords
- Little Chef

and more coming soon - just by shopping on the high street! If you have registered your cards, those companies will then automatically put up to 3% back into your online WPT account, even though you shopped on the high street.

This is the first time I have seen this feature and it's great!

Also, remember that they do a monthly draw, whereby you can win cash from their Honesty Pot.



Step 2 - Be Disciplined

I have an A4 guide - just e-mail me for a copy. On it I have shown what amounts you earn per click, this way you never forget anything. Remember that the guide is what I have at the moment, you should check each cashback sites yourself as time goes on as there will be new clicks added that are not shown on the enclosed routine. Don't miss out on new or extra clicks!

Do the clicking religiously every day for around 15 minutes (you can choose to do more, or less) and the amounts will build up. If you start to feel lazy or can't be bothered at any time - think of the final goal - what will you use all that free money for? Set your goal and maybe stick a photo next to the A4 Guide as a reminder. Could be a weekend away, Xmas food or Xmas presents, a spa day, paying off debt - anything. Sign up to all the enclosed sites and do it for at least 12 weeks and it will be worth it because you can then start to transfer cash to your savings account, sometimes sooner. Of course as well as clicking, buying through the cashback sites will also increase your cashback to fantastic levels.


Before you go to each cashback site:
Clear Your Cookies

It's important to always clear your cookies between each cashback site just in case, so I have included that as well as a reminder on the sheet. How?
To clear your cookies go to Internet Explorer > Tools > General > Browsing History > Delete Cookies.
Also if you are on a cashback site that allows you to click on the same link twice, like High St Web for example, click once and follow through, then clear cookies, then click again and follow through so it tracks twice.


I also find it helps to save all the cashback sites to your favourites in the order they are listed on the A4 Guide too.


Step 3 - Start Clicking

Once you have joined the above sites you will get some free bonus cash straight-away (up to £22.50 if you sign up to all sites), others are later when you cash-out.

Then simply start your daily routine at whatever time you like and click away at the same time-ish each day. Remember - generally you need to click through, then carry out a search, then click on an external result/site for the cashback to work properly. You must also ensure you delete cookies between each cashback site.

Each site allows you to see your total (see enclosed for an example you can modify) so I know how much I have earned across all of the sites.

You need to be self-disciplined each day and make sure you do it so the free cash is slowly building up across all sites. For me, I like to take Sunday off! Each day I do my clicks between 8:00 and 8:15, just 15 minutes, before I start work. You can choose whatever time suits you but I'd say a day off is needed so I chose Sunday ;o)


Step 4 - Get Paid
Then when you have reached each sites' payout level, you will get paid! Check each sites' terms but you can request to get paid directly into your bank account or Paypal, but I don't do that as it costs money to send it to Paypal and as an avid MoneySaver every penny counts!

When you get paid by each site pop the money into your ISA or savings account so you can spend it on something special. Then start building the money up again with more clicks! OR if you don't trust yourself not to spend it... save it all year and then cashout...

PS:When you have reached your payout level on Moneybackmadness they pay you £1 for each month you don't cashout, which is great. I rollover my payout each month I can for the extra £1! I think they allow 4-5 months so it's £4 or £5 free!

Top Cashback allow you to withdraw any cash that has cleared, no minimum payout level, which is fab ;o)
Loyalty Shopper update every Wednesday for your earnings (sometimes Thurs or Friday)



More Free Cash/Vouchers

I would also recommend you join Pigsback if you are not already a member. You get vouchers to spend in stores such as Waitrose / John Lewis / UCI / Top Shop and more just from clicking and spending no money. I earn around £10 every 5 weeks and so does my husband - we have £120 from 2007 alone and used it towards Christmas.

Please let me know if I can refer you to Pigsback and I will do so asap - just let me know your initial, your surname and your e-mail address.


Here is the MSE thread that I have set up all about this guide & the daily clicks full of Q&A’s and tips etc:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=609037


Please subscribe to the thread ;o) I can then e-mail you the spreadsheets and list of clicks that go with the guide.


Please do ask any questions on the thread so we can all benefit - I will be there to help and once you get set up you will be flying, possibly earning £25 per site every 3-4 months or so or maybe even in less time / earning more money depending on your routine / extra items you buy etc. An MSER helped me to get into this so I would like to help others too - don't be afraid to ask questions there, even tiny or 'silly' ones.

Enjoy the free cash & hope to see you on the above MSE dedicated thread if you have questions!

Please do the above and do not post your e-mail here if possible, and if you do, delete it as soon as you have posted it, so spammers can't see it. Thank you.

Money Saving With Martin

My first recommendation would have to be that you join www.moneysavingexpert.com to save loads of money. Martin Lewis will then send you a weekly e-mail on Wednesdays with all the latest UK news and deals - vouchers off and much more.