personal finance in a coupon blog

If you're in the midst of searching for an at-home workout program, I've got one that will bring back childhood memories. With Cardio Core & More, you can take the weight off with a hula hoop workout program.

While it may sound far-fetched, do you remember your younger years when you went into the backyard and counted how many times you could hula hoop and you would try to one-up your friends? It never did feel like a workout and it was more about having fun.

With that concept in mind, Cardio Core and More takes the fun in hula hooping and integrates it into a  whole body fitness program. You work your core, your arms, your thighs and more. It's hula hooping to the next level! Read More »

I don't mind telling you I have three Roku boxes in my house. That's not me being boastful; it's me revealing how much I love Roku boxes.

The new $99.99 Roku 3 takes the place of the Roku 2 XS as the high-end model in the line, and it's without a doubt the company's best box yet. But questions remain: Is it worth the extra cash, and does it beat the Apple TV at its own media-streaming game?

For the uninitiated, a Roku box plugs into one of your TV's HDMI ports, then serves up nearly every video and audio service known to man: Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, HBO Go, Netflix, Pandora, Slacker, Spotify, TuneIn Radio, Vudu, and literally hundreds of others. Read More »

Unless you've figured out how to clone yourself, you can't be in two places at once. But you can keep an eye on, say, the baby's room, the babysitter, an elderly parent who's living on their own, an empty house, and so on -- even when you're not there.

All you need is a Webcam that feeds live video to your smartphone or tablet.

The Stem Innovation iZon Remote Room Monitor is one such Webcam, and it costs far less than competing products. Ah, but is it any good?

Yes and no.The concept behind the iZon is excellent, the price quite reasonable. It's the execution that falls a bit short, though not so far that you should rule out buying one.

Small, white, and cylindrical, the iZon stands about four inches high on its curved, magnetic base. That base makes it easy to position the camera, and can even be hung upside-down. Read More »

Are you looking to lose weight, and get leaner or stronger? Just recently, I couldn't fall asleep and I ended up coming across the CoreBody Reformer on a passing commercial/infomercial. I asked myself, "Can this really give me a good workout?" or "Is this just another fitness product that's going to end up on Craiglist?"

The last time I actually worked out was 5 years ago, before I had my first child. I know it sounds like a long time ago, but with 2 children and hardly anytime for myself, working out was not at the top of my to-do list (sometimes I feel lucky to even get to the restroom alone).

But this year, I wanted to start getting into the groove of things. I wanted to find something that I could do at home and enjoy doing it. Although I wasn't looking to lose weight because I'm on the thinner side, I wanted to build strength. I always heard that strength training is essential to good health and that it combats osteoporosis.

When I saw the CoreBody Reformer by Nautilus, I felt like it was a match made for me. Since I danced all my life and did gymnastics, the only workouts that I really enjoyed were my Pilates Reformer and Bikram Yoga classes which all have a "core" basis. Plus, my goal was to add lean muscle mass not bulk.

While I thought this was the product for me, I was still hesitant to believe that there was an in-home product that would give me in-studio results.  All I could think of were the many fitness products featured on QVC and HSN that ultimately ended up on my local Craigslist (and when the seller says I didn't have time to use it, I assume that it did nothing for them). Read More »

A couple months ago I got my first look at the MagicJack PLUS—the latest version of the home-phone gizmo that's long been a staple of TV infomercials.

The original MagicJack, you may recall, promised unlimited local and long-distance calling for a ridiculously low price ($40 for the gizmo and the first year of service, $20 per year after that).

 

Read More »

So-called "casual" games are all the rage, and with good reason: They're fun, easy to learn, usually non-violent, and perfect for those times when you have 5-10 minutes to burn. That's in contrast to your average first-person shooter, role-playing game (RPG), massively-multiplayer online game (MMO), or the like, which can consume entire weekends--and a good chunk of your paycheck. Read More »

Interested in a mani-pedi kit for the little princess in your life?  Nail Buddy from me4kidz (makers of my favorite first aid kit, medibag) is the perfect starter kit that's easy to use, affordable and compact in size.

Inside the reusable and recycled carry case, there are 2 nail files, 2 nail polishes (non-toxic & water based), 1 nail brush, 1 nail buffer and 2 sheets of self-stick nail appliques. Read More »

If you're like me, you have your smartphone on hand all the time and you're constantly checking it. So, when you start thinking about travel plans – maybe it's a weekend on an island to escape the cold or a trip to hit the slopes – why would you pull out your laptop, when apps for all your travel needs are available for your phone? Many apps are free, though there are some that go up in price from a few cents to a yearly fee. The savings, however, far outweigh the convenience offered when with the touch of a screen you can book your flight, choose your seat, make a hotel reservation or even send a video postcard once you've reached your destination.

 

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As an occasional wine drinker, I never gave much thought to the environmental impact my mid-level, whatever was on sale, bottle of wine had on the environment. But a few months ago an article on pesticides used in U.S. wineries prompted a mini-freak out and I temporarily stopped buying wine. 
That was until I found organic wine sold in environmentally friendly box packaging. Thankfully, there is good wine out there that doesn't hurt the planet. Read More »

What's the biggest buzzword at this year's Consumer Electronics Show? No, it's not "Beiber." It's ultrabooks. Three guesses what they are:

1. Regular books, only super-better.

2. Kindle-style e-book readers plated with shiny titanium.

3. Super-thin, super-light laptops that used to be known as "ultraportables," "ultralights," and "subnotebooks."

Read More »

Of all the dumb headlines I've read lately, this one from today's The Daily Beast takes the cake:

"Even Woz Thinks Android Bests the iPhone." (http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/01/14/even-woz-thinks-the-android-bests-the-iphone.html)

Did you catch the dumb part? "Even Woz" presumes that just about everyone else thinks Android is better than iPhone as well, and now the Apple co-founder is finally conceding this widely held "truth." Read More »

Remember the Cisco Umi, a fancy consumer-oriented webcam that turned your TV into a Jetson-ian video phone?

It was an intriguing idea hampered by a ridiculous pricing structure: $600 per unit, plus $25 monthly for Cisco's proprietary video-calling service.

Earlier this year, the company lowered prices a bit--but no way was anyone going to shell out that kind of cash when they could accomplish the same thing for free with Skype and a laptop webcam. Read More »