personal finance in a coupon blog

No matter what your musical taste, there's no doubt that somewhere in the world there's a music festival planned that's right up your alley. Whether you're one of the thousands of people that descend upon Rhinelander, Wisconsin (my hometown) each summer to see Reba, Sugarland, and Neal McCoy at the Hodag Country Festival or you prefer the more rocking lineup of the Sunset Strip Music Festival, there's music being played for you. And if you're an indie music fan, there are more festival options than you know.

I can't believe August is almost over. Did the summer fly by for everyone else as well?

As we wend ever nearer to back-to-school, it puts me in mind of childhood days: allowances, penny candy, piggy banks...

Which inspired the theme of this listing of our favorite finance blog posts for the week: I give you finance blog round-up, the dollars and cents edition.

If you're like me, you love being outdoors. The air is fresher, the sun enhances your mood, and it's great for sports. Belonging to a gym is a great way to get in shape, but they aren't as exciting or refreshing as working out outdoors. Many different activities you can do in the gym are significantly enhanced outdoors. The mountains and the ocean provide the best setting for taking advantage of these activities.

Another bonus provided by outdoor activities: they usually cost far less than a gym membership!

Adobe Photoshop is arguably the most recognizable imaging software on the market today. The brand is the popular favorite among amateur and professional photographers, graphic artists, digital painters, and designers the world over. Which is why have plenty on Adobe coupons for you to choose from. When it comes to image manipulation and enhancement, Adobe Photoshop is hands-down the king above all other similar software options.

Here are some reasons why:

If you're an eco-friendly, tech-savvy, go-getter, then chances are you love Flavia. We sure do! For over 25 years, Flavia has been refining and perfecting its scrumptious line of teas and coffees in a quest to enhance their appeal and enjoyment for all the senses by focusing on the constant improvement of the merchant's 3-Step Source, Seal and Serve system.

As such, we felt it only fitting to focus on Flavia as the Featured Store of the Week!

According to a recent article in the L.A. Times, the average family has completed less than half their back-to-school shopping. If you've been putting off getting ready for the new school season--well, we can hardly blame you. Everyone wants to sell you something and shopping with and for the kids can be undeniably daunting.

But hang in there, we're here to help! Follow this game plan and earn and A+ on your back to school shopping trip.

As a fairly avid music fan on a budget, I often struggle with spending lots of money on concert tickets, downloads and music magazine subscriptions. I want to stay connected to what's going on and to what's new, but it's rough with all the TicketMaster fees and with the ever-present temptation to pirate music instead of legitimately paying for it.

I have, however, found a few ways to maintain my music knowledgeability without spending all my monies on music and music-related purchases.

Here are a few tips to help you stay hip without breaking the bank...

Even when you've only been a college graduate for 3 months, looking back on those four years of your life evokes a powerful sense of nostalgia. Some of my friends spent that time being voluntarily swamped with work from challenging majors, and others took advantage of the fact that until you put on that mortarboard, you're technically not an alcoholic. The one thing most of us have in common is that college was a time when we turned cheapness into an art form and learned to get by on as little money as possible.

For me that was especially true; although my scholarship spared my parents and me from being haunted by the specter of student loans until the year 2030, it made me ineligible for campus work study jobs and left me bereft of spending money.

Here are some of the things I learned from four years of being an academic peasant:

I was confronted with an interesting situation when I went to pay my T-mobile bill online the other day: either I "go green" with their paperless billing, or pay $1.50 for privilege of receiving a paper bill each month. The choice was a no-brainer.

I "chose" to go green...

Who's ready for some deal-icious savings?! We can't hear you! Well, of course we can't hear you. We know that, but here at Savings.com we just get so gosh darn excited about our coupons. The votes have been cast, fellow shoppers. Feast your eyes on the lovely Top 10 Deals of the Week:

We've all heard it before..."The best things in life are free." If you really think about it, you'll find that statement to be pretty true. I've polled my co-workers here at Savings.com to see what kinds of free things they consider to be priceless. Yeah, I'm going for something along the same lines as the g'zillion MasterCard commercials we've seen over the years. You know...two tickets to a baseball game - $24. Two hotdogs and sodas - $30. An afternoon ballgame with your kid - priceless.

In any case, here's what I heard back from the team...

This past week, I (along with several of my co-workers) attended an out-of-town conference for several days and I have to tell you, it's really good to be back! Not that I didn't learn a lot and wasn't grateful for the opportunity to spend quality time with my fellow Savings.comers, but sinking into my own bed, with my own pillows last night was a welcome relief from strange hotel rooms and crowded airplanes.

So in honor of that, I give you this week's finance blog round-up--the "Home Again" edition: